Battlefields of the Marne 1914, by Anonymous.

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FOREWORD

For the benefit of tourists who wish to visit the battlefields and mutilated towns of France we have tried to produce a work combining a practical guide with a history.

Such a visit should be a pilgrimage, not merely a journey across a ravaged land. Seeing is not enough, one must understand: a ruin is more moving when one knows what has caused it; a stretch of country which might seem dull and uninteresting to the unenlightened eye, becomes transformed at the thought of the battles which have raged there.

We have, therefore, prefaced the description of our journeys by a short account of the events which took place in the vicinity, and we have done our best to make this account quite clear by the use of many illustrations and maps.

In the course of the description we give a brief military commentary on the numerous views and panoramas contained in the book.

When we come across a place that is interesting either from an archæological or an artistic point of view, there we halt, even though the war has passed it by; that the tourist may realise it was to preserve intact this heritage of history and beauty that so many of our heroes have fallen.

Our readers will not find any attempt at literary effect in these pages; the truth is too beautiful and tragic to be altered for the sake of embellishing the story. We have, therefore, after carefully sifting the great volume of evidence available, selected only that obtained from official documents or from reliable eye-witnesses.

This book was written before the end of the war, even then the country over which it leads the reader had long been freed. The wealth of illustration in this work allows the intending tourist to make a preliminary trip in imagination, until such time as circumstances permit of his undertaking a journey in reality beneath the sunny skies of France.

HISTORICAL PART

IMPORTANT NOTE.—On pages 4 to 16 will be found a brief summarized account of the Battle of the Marne and of the events which immediately preceded it. We recommend the reading of these few pages attentively, and the consultation of the maps annexed to the same, before reading the descriptive part which commences at page 17.

A clear understanding of the action as a whole is absolutely necessary to comprehend with interest the description of the separate combats.

The above map gives a general view of the ground on which took place successively: the battle of the frontier, the retreat of the Allies, the victorious stand, and the pursuit of the retreating enemy.

The distance from Paris to Verdun is 140 miles as the crow flies; from Charleroi to the Marne is 97 miles.

In consequence of the tearing up of that fateful "scrap of paper" which preceded the invasion of Belgium by Germany, in violation of the common rights of man, the Battle of the Frontier (also called the Battle of Charleroi) was fought in August 1914 on the line Mons—Charleroi—Dinant—Saint-Hubert—Longwy—Metz.

On August 22, 1914, and the two succeeding days this Allied offensive failed at Charleroi, in consequence of which the French Commander-in-chief, General Joffre, broke off contact with the enemy and ordered a general retreat.

It was impossible to do otherwise as the enemy forces were greatly superior in numbers. Moreover, they were well equipped with powerful artillery and machine-guns, whereas the Franco-British forces were short of both. Lastly, the German soldier had long been trained in trench warfare, whereas the Allies had yet to learn this art.

To help in readjusting the balance between the opposing forces, Joffre fell back in the direction of the French reserves.

The respite thus afforded was utilized to re-arrange the commands, and to train the reserves in the form of warfare adopted by the Germans. Meanwhile, the latter greatly extended their line of communications and more or less tired themselves.

Then began that heroic retreat, without precedent in history, which attained a depth of 122 miles, and in the course of which the Allied soldiers, though already fatigued, marched as much as thirty miles a day facing about from time to time and counter-attacking fiercely, often with success.

The Germans followed in pursuit, overrunning the country like a plague of locusts. Using their left wing as a pivot, their right undertook a vast turning movement taking in Valenciennes, Cambrai, Péronne, and Amiens.

By August 27 Joffre had fixed up a plan according to which the offensive was to be taken again at the first favourable opportunity. In view of the execution of this plan an important mass of troops, under the orders of General Maunoury, was formed on the French left.

General Maunoury's task was to outflank at a given moment the German right wing while, at the same time, a general attack, or at least unflinching resistance, was to be made along the rest of the front.

This was the Allies' reply to the turning movement of the German general Von Kluck.

A first line of resistance offered itself on the River Somme, where fierce fighting took place. It was, however, realized that the battle front could not be reformed there successfully. Joffre wanted a flanking position not only for his left wing, but also for his right, which the Somme line did not offer. He therefore continued the withdrawal of the whole front towards the River Marne and Paris.

On September 3 German cavalry patrols were signalled at Ecouen, only eight miles from the gates of Paris. The inhabitants of the latter were asking themselves anxiously whether they, too, would not have to face the horrors of a German occupation. The suspense was cruel. Fortunately, a great man, General Gallieni, was silently watching over their destinies.

This great soldier had just been made Military Governor of Paris, with General Maunoury's Army, mentioned a moment ago, under his orders. The entrenched camp of Paris and this army were, in turn, under the authority of the French Commander-in-Chief, Joffre, who thus had full liberty of action from Paris to Verdun.

On September 3 General Gallieni issued his stirring proclamation which put soldiers and civilians alike on their mettle:

"Armies of Paris, Inhabitants of Paris, the Government of the Republic has left Paris to give a new impulse to the National Defence. I have received orders to defend Paris against invasion. I shall do this to the end."

The temptation to push straight on to the long-coveted capital must have been very great for the German High Command. However, in view[Pg 6] of the danger presented by the Franco-British forces, which were still unbroken, it was eventually decided first to crush the Allied armies, and then to march on Paris, which would fall like 'a ripe pear.'

Seemingly ignorant of Maunoury's existence, Von Kluck's Army slanted off eastwards in pursuit of the British force, which it had received orders from the Kaiser to exterminate and which it had been harrying incessantly during its retreat from the Belgian frontier.

There will be heated arguments for many years to come as to whether the German High Command was right or wrong in giving up the direct advance on Paris, but whatever the consensus of expert opinion on the point may eventually be, one thing is certain—Von Kluck did not expect the furious attack by the Army of Paris, which followed.

Later, he declared: "There was only one general who, against all rules, would have dared to carry the fight so far from his base. Unluckily for me, that man was Gallieni."

On September 3, thanks to the Flying Corps, General Gallieni learned of the change of direction taken by Von Kluck's Army. Realising the possibilities which this offered, he suggested a flank attack by the Army of Paris. As previously mentioned, such an attack formed part of Joffre's general plan, matured on August 27. It was, however, necessary that the attack should be not merely a local and temporary success, as would have been the case on the Somme line for instance, where the remainder of the front was not in a favourable position for resistance, or attack.

On September 4, after conferring with General Gallieni, Joffre decided that conditions were favourable for a new offensive, and fixed upon September 6 as the date on which the decisive battle should be begun along the whole front.

SEPTEMBER 5, 1914

The map before you shows the respective positions occupied by the opposing armies on September 5, 1914, the eve of the great battle. The Allied forces are represented by a thick black line, those of the Germans by a black and white line.

Joffre directed the operations first from Bar-sur-Aube and afterwards from Romilly.

As you see, the half-circle formed by the Allies, into which the Germans imprudently penetrated, was supported at the western extremity by the entrenched camp of Paris and at the eastern extremity by the fortified position of Verdun. The River Marne flows through the middle.

Although the battle was only to begin on the 6th, General Maunoury's Army was already engaged the day before. Its orders were to advance to the River Ourcq (see map), but, despite furious fighting, it was unable to get there.

The British forces were to occupy a line running north and south, with Coulommiers as point of support. Unfortunately, the exceedingly fatiguing retreat it had just accomplished, retarded the execution of the necessary volte-face. The map shows them on the 5th, still far to the south of Coulommiers.

The fact that neither of these two forces was able to take up its assigned position greatly increased the difficulties of the turning movement planned by Joffre.

In front of the forces under Maunoury and French, were the right and centre of the First German Army, under Von Kluck.

The Fifth French Army, under General Franchet d'Esperey, whose position extended from the north of Provins to Sézanne, delivered a frontal attack against the left wing of Von Kluck's army and the right wing of the Second German army under Von Bulow.

At the right of Franchet d'Esperey's army was the Ninth French Army under General Foch, whose task it was to cover his neighbour on the left by holding the issues south of the Marshes of St.-Gond.

Opposing Foch was the left of Von Bulow's army, with the right of the Third German Army commanded by Von Hausen.

The Fourth French Army, under General Langle de Cary, was minus two army corps which had helped to form Foch's army. This diminution of the forces of the Fourth Army prevented the latter from breaking off contact with the enemy. While, at the extreme left, General Maunoury had already begun his advance towards the River Ourcq, General Langle de Cary received orders to hold up the opposing forces under the Duke of Wurtemberg. Unfortunately, Langle de Cary's forces had not sufficient liberty of movement to effect the necessary volte-face.

At the extreme right of the Allied front was the Third French Army, under General Sarrail, established in a position extending from the north-east of Revigny to Verdun, with a reserve group to the west of Saint-Mihiel, to be moved either east or west, according to circumstances.

The forces opposing General Sarrail were commanded by the future "War-Lord": the Crown Prince.

While the French were preparing to thrust back the invader, "War Lord the Second," drunk with victory, ordered the pursuit to be continued as far as the line Dijon—Besançon—Belfort: triumphal dreams destined to give place first to surprise, then to uncertainty, and finally to the bitterness of defeat.

Posterity will compare this arrogant order of the Crown Prince's with the stirring proclamation which Joffre caused to be made known to the whole of the French army on the eve of the great battle:

"On the eve of the battle, on which the future of our country depends, it is important to remind all that there must be no looking back. Every effort mast be made to attack and drive back the enemy. Troops which can no longer advance must at all costs keep the ground they have won, and die rather than fall back. Under present circumstances no weakness can be tolerated."

SEPTEMBER 6, 1914

On this and the succeeding maps, the Allied positions of the previous evening and at the end of the next day are shown.

The German positions are not shown, as too many lines might create confusion in reading the maps.

Maunoury's Army effected an advance of about six miles, but his left was unable to accomplish its task, which was to outflank the German right. Von Kluck who, till then, seeming to ignore Maunoury had concentrated all his efforts against the British and Franchet d'Esperey's Army, now perceived this manœuvre. With the promptitude and audacity which particularly marked his character, he completely changed his plans and rounded on Maunoury. Taking advantage of the state of extreme fatigue of the British forces, Von Kluck withdrew one of the army corps which were facing them and despatched it by forced marches to the help of his right wing. It was these unexpected reinforcements which enabled Von Kluck to hold up Maunoury's left.

On this day the British army finally recovered itself, and reached a line running from the north-west to the south-east of Coulommiers.

The armies of Generals Franchet d'Esperey and Foch fought with great stubbornness. The former wrested several dominating positions from the Germans and approached Esternay, but the latter was able only to maintain himself on the line of resistance assigned to him south of the Marshes of Saint-Gond.

General Langle de Cary was eventually able to hold up the bulk of the troops under the Duke of Wurtemberg on positions extending from the south-west of Vitry-le-François to Revigny.

The general plan of operations included an attack by the Third Army, under General Sarrail, against the German left wing, such attack to coincide with that of General Maunoury at the other end of the line. This was, however, anticipated by the Germans who, under the Crown Prince, and in far greater numbers, forced back Sarrail's left and prevented all progress on his right.

SEPTEMBER 7, 1914

On September 7, Maunoury's army began to feel the effects of the German heavy artillery, established out of range of the French 75's, and could advance but very slowly.

However, at the end of the day, Maunoury still hoped to be able to outflank the German right. Meanwhile, Von Kluck continued his risky manœuvre, and detached a second army corps from the forces opposed to the British, adding it to his right. Each was endeavouring to outflank the other.

Fronting the British, there was now only a thin curtain of troops taken from two of the German army corps opposed to Franchet d'Esperey.

This small force fought with great stubbornness, in order, if possible, to give Von Kluck time to crush Maunoury, before the advance by the British and Franchet d'Esperey could become really dangerous.

The slow progress effected in the British sector is explained by the extreme fierceness of the struggle.

General Franchet d'Esperey took advantage of the reduction of the forces opposed to him. Vigorously pushing back the latter, he continued his advance northwards, eventually reaching and crossing the River Grand Morin.

This advance helped to lessen the effects of the furious attacks that the Germans were then making against General Foch's army.

In front of the latter, Von Bulow, whose armies were still intact, realised the danger which threatened Von Kluck, and, in order to avert it, endeavoured to pierce the French front. He concentrated the whole of his efforts against the 42nd Division, under General Grossetti, whose arduous mission it was to maintain the connection between the Fifth and Ninth Armies, under Franchet d'Esperey and Foch respectively.

A terrific struggle followed, as a result of which Grossetti was forced to fall back. Fortunately, as we have just seen, the right of Franchet d'Esperey's Army was able, thanks to its advance, to come to the rescue and prevent the French front from being pierced.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Wurtemberg and the Crown Prince attacked fiercely at the junction of the Fourth and Third French Armies under Langle de Cary and Sarrail respectively.

The aim of the attack was to separate these two armies and force what is known as the Revigny Pass. The latter is a hollow through which flow the Rivers Ornain and Saulx, and the canal from the Marne to the Rhine.

While the Germans under the Duke of Wurtemberg attacked the right of Langle de Cary's army, in the direction of Saint-Dizier, the Crown Prince sought to drive back General Sarrail's left towards Bar-le-Duc.

The resistance of Langle de Cary's army began to weaken under the weight of the greater opposing forces. On the other hand, General Sarrail's army reinforced by an army corps sent by Joffre stood firm. At this juncture General Sarrail learned that the Germans were getting very active in his rear, on the heights above the River Meuse, and was accordingly obliged to make dispositions to avoid being surprised by German forces who were preparing to cross the river.

SEPTEMBER 8, 1914

During the night of September 7-8 Gallieni, who had been following carefully the different phases of the battle, despatched a division from Paris, in all haste, to Maunoury's left to assist in turning the German right.

To do this with maximum rapidity, Gallieni made use of an ingenious expedient, "a civilian's idea," as he termed it. He commandeered all the taxicabs in Paris. Those running in the streets were held up by the police, and the occupants made to alight. When the latter learned the reason, instead of grumbling, they gave a rousing cheer. Eleven hundred taxis made the journey twice during the night from Paris to the front transporting, in all, eleven thousand men.

Unfortunately, the effect of these reinforcements was fully counterbalanced by the troops which Von Kluck had brought up on the two previous days from before the British front, and only the extreme tenacity and courage of his troops enabled Maunoury to avoid being outflanked.

However, Von Kluck could not with impunity reduce his forces opposed to the British. The latter pulled themselves together, crossed the Petit Morin river and reached La Ferté-sous-Jouarre.

On this day of September 8, a German officer wrote in his notebook: "Caught sight of Von Kluck. His eyes usually so bright, were dull. He, who was wont to be so alert, spoke in dejected tones. He was absolutely depressed."

At the right of the British army, General Franchet d'Esperey continued his rapid advance and occupied the outskirts of Montmirail.

Moreover, his troops co-operated efficiently in helping to check the violent attacks of Von Bulow's army against Grossetti's division.

The Germans became more and more anxious, and rightly so, at the turn events were taking on their right where Von Kluck's army was beginning to be tightly squeezed between the armies of General Maunoury, the British and General Franchet d'Esperey. Von Kluck was forced to retreat and, in doing so, left exposed Von Bulow's army. The armies of Von Bulow and Von Hausen received orders to crush Foch and break through the French centre at all costs, so as to be able to turn Franchet d'Esperey's army on the west, and that of Langle de Cary on the east.

The position was this: If the manœuvre succeeded, Joffre's entire plan would fall to pieces. If, on the other hand, it failed a general retreat on the part of the Germans would be inevitable.

Foch's army received a terrible blow. It was forced back in the centre, and almost pierced on the right. However, Foch in no wise lost confidence, but pronounced the situation to be 'excellent.' The fact was, he clearly realised that these furious attacks were dictated by the desperate position in which the Germans found themselves. He rallied his troops, hurled them again against the Germans, but was unable to win back the ground which he had just lost.

Von Hausen's fierce thrust also made itself felt on Langle de Gary's left; the connection between the latter's army and Foch's was in great danger of being severed, and could only be maintained by the rapid displacement of troops, and by the intervention of a new army corps despatched by Joffre just in time to restore the balance.

While Von Hausen was striking on the left, the Duke of Wurtemberg brought all his weight to bear on Langle de Cary's right, with the Crown Prince executing a similar manœuvre against Sarrail's left.

The German plan was still the same, viz., to separate the two armies and, if possible, isolate Sarrail's army, so that the latter, attacked at the same time in the rear on the heights above the Meuse, where the Germans had begun to bombard the fort of Troyon, would find itself encircled and be forced to surrender.

SEPTEMBER 9, 1914

Under pressure from the right wing of Maunoury's army, and before the menacing advance of the British forces which had reached Château-Thierry, the Germans were obliged to withdraw from both banks of the River Ourcq.

In order to make this retreat easier along the banks of the Ourcq Von Kluck, at the end of the day, caused an extremely fierce attack to be made against the French left, which bent beneath the shock and was almost turned.

At that time, the situation was truly extraordinary: the Germans were already retreating, while the French, stunned by the blow they had just received, were in anxious doubt whether the morrow would not bring them disaster.

The struggle seemed so hopeless, that orders were asked for, in view of a possible retreat on Paris. However, General Gallieni refused to consider this possibility and, faithful to Joffre's instructions, gave orders to "die rather than give way." Maunoury's left continued therefore its heroic resistance.

Von Kluck's retreat along the Ourcq left Von Bulow's army completely unprotected, and he was, in turn, obliged to give way before Franchet d'Esperey's left.

The latter continued to co-operate actively in the heroic resistance of the French centre, by taking in the flank the enemy forces which were furiously attacking Foch. This general became the objective of the last and most furious attacks of Von Bulow and Von Hausen who, realizing that should they fail they would be forced to continue the retreat begun on their right, decided to make one more attempt to crush in the French centre.

They very nearly succeeded; all along the line, the French were forced to fall back, and the southern boundary of the Marshes of Saint-Gond was entirely abandoned.

The position, to the east of Sézanne, seemed hopeless. It was there that the loss of ground was most dangerous, and it is perhaps necessary to explain in detail this critical phase of the battle.

On the large-scale map below is shown the position of Foch's left and centre on September 8 and 9.

It was in the region of Villeneuve and Soisy that General Grossetti's Division had fought so heroically for four days. Absolutely decimated, it was replaced on the morning of the 9th by one of the neighbouring army corps under Franchet d'Esperey. This corps advanced during the day but, further to the right, the Germans forced back the French from the Woods of Botrait and from the crest of the Poirier, capturing the heights of Mondement.

Mondement is situated on a narrow plateau, the last counterfort before reaching the vast plain of the Aube. On the opposite side of this plateau are to be seen the villages of Allemant and Broyes.

If the Germans, in possession of Mondement, had succeeded in reaching these two villages on the day of the 9th, they would have attacked in the rear those forces under Foch which were fighting in the plain. Mondement had, therefore, to be held at all costs. Thus the battle pivoted on this axis. In accordance with Foch's instructions, the Moroccan Division under General Humbert, was placed there and, with the help of the 77th Infantry, not only held its ground but, recapturing the castle during the day, forced the Germans back on the Marshes in the evening.

At the foot of the villages of Allemant and Broyes, the vast plain of the Aube spreads itself out, and it was there that things were going badly with Foch, the loss of ground being serious. The colonials under General Humbert, who were hanging on grimly to the Plateau of Monde[Pg 14]ment, could see their comrades on the right falling back as far as Mount Chalmont, while the enemy fire reached successively Linthes and Pleurs.

If the centre had given way completely, the defenders of Mondement would have been taken in the rear, and obliged to abandon the plateau. In other words, it would have meant complete defeat.

To avert this terrible danger, Foch had only Grossetti's Division which, as mentioned a few moments ago, had been decimated by four days of the fiercest fighting, and which he had that morning taken from his left wing and sent to the rear to rest.

Foch recalled this division, and hurled it against the most critical point of his line between Linthes and Pleurs. He hoped it would be in a position to attack about noon, but at three in the afternoon it had not yet been reformed. These were hours of mortal suspense along the whole front.

General Grossetti needed all his energy to reform the scattered units of his division, and his men, who were on their way to the rear to rest, when they were again ordered into the thick of the battle, had need of superhuman courage to carry out the long fatiguing flank march of twelve miles, which was to bring them that afternoon to Foch's centre.

Finally, at about four in the afternoon, Grossetti appeared on the scene and the situation rapidly changed.

With what feelings of intense relief the defenders of Mondement must have seen Grossetti's men moving eastwards to the attack and driving the Germans back again behind Mount Chalmont. The enemy was literally demoralized by this unexpected arrival of reinforcements.

The objective of Grossetti's attack was the junction of the armies of Von Bulow and Von Hausen, viz.: the weakest point of the German front.

The German generals had at that time nothing with which to counter this last effort of Foch's, and, realising that the battle was indeed lost, began to make preparations for retreat.

Just as Franchet d'Esperey had supported Foch energetically on his[Pg 15] left, so, throughout this fateful day, Langle de Cary helped him not less effectually on his right, where he violently attacked Von Hausen. However, in the centre and on the right, the troops of Langle de Cary could not do more than hold their ground against the furious attacks of the Duke of Wurtemberg's army.

Sarrail, in turn, supported Langle de Cary, by operating with his left against the flank of the German forces, which were pressing that commander. Meanwhile, his right was in a critical position, owing to the operations in his rear by German forces on the heights above the Meuse. In spite of the danger, and although he had been authorized by the commander-in-chief to withdraw his right so as to escape this menace, Sarrail clung with dogged tenacity to Verdun: he would not abandon his position, so long as the Meuse had not been crossed, and while there was still the slightest hope of being able to hold out.

SEPTEMBER 10 to 13, 1914

The morning of the 10th witnessed a theatrical change of scene on the French left, where it will be remembered Maunoury's army was in a most critical position. After a night of anxious suspense, it was seen that the Germans had abandoned their positions, and were retreating hastily towards the north-east, to avoid being caught in the pincer-like jaws formed by the Franco-British forces the previous day.

Thus Paris and France were saved, as Von Kluck's retreat carried away Von Bulow's army with it, and Franchet d'Esperey crossed the Marne. Von[Pg 16] Hausen's right followed suit, pursued by Foch. The troops of the former had crossed the Marshes of St. Gond during the night to avoid disaster.

Langle de Cary precipitated the retreat of Von Hausen's army. His right, still under heavy pressure, was however obliged to fall back. Here, the Germans were only held up by the increasingly effectual help rendered by Sarrail's army. The latter withstood the furious attacks of the Crown Prince without flinching, while on the heights above the Meuse, the fort of Troyon, the heroic defence of which has since become famous, withstood the terrible onslaughts of the enemy forces which sought to cross the river.

It was only on the 11th that the Duke of Wurtemberg followed the retreat begun on his right the day before, and it was only during the night of the 12th-13th that the German retreat became general.

On the 13th the Germans reached their line of resistance, and, as will be seen on the map before you, their front extended from Soissons to Verdun, passing by Rheims. This map also shows the positions at the beginning of the battle.

The foregoing sketch gives a general idea of the character of this great battle, which has been called "The Miracle of the Marne," and for the winning of which the following factors were responsible: firmness on the part of the commander-in-chief; the clear and well-laid plan which he caused to be executed by highly capable army commanders working in close collaboration with one another; and, above all, the superhuman courage and endurance of the soldiers.

As time passes, these memorable days stand out more and more gloriously. The study in detail of this stupendous event will continue for centuries hence, but its main lines, which we have been at pains to trace, already stand out clearly. They recall all the old French traditions. The clearness of the plan, the suppleness of manœuvre, the bold use of the reserves, remind one of the Napoleonic era. The enthusiasm which galvanized soldiers and chiefs alike dates back to the Revolution. And going back into the remote past, it was the remembrance of the arresting on the soil of Gaul of the great barbarian invasions which inspired the Victory of the Marne.

TOURIST SECTION

For the greater convenience of tourists, we have divided our guide to the Marne Battlefields into the following sub-divisions, which correspond to the three main sectors of the battle:

2, THE MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND.—Visit to Coulommiers, Provins, and Sézanne.

3, THE REVIGNY-PASS.—Visit to Châlons-sur-Marne, Vitry-le-François, and Bar-le-Duc.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

ITINERARY FOR MOTORISTS AND MOTOR-CYCLISTS

This tour is comprised in the section 11-12 of the Michelin map, Scale: 200,000 (see scale of kilometres on French map).

The circuit is about 850 km. and can be covered in six days, i.e. two days for each part:

Ourcq;
Marshes of Saint-Gond;
Pass of Revigny.

I., OURCQ.

1st day.—Leaving Paris in the morning through the Porte de la Chapelle by N. 1 we cross Saint-Denis, then passing Pierrefitte turn to the right by N. 16 which leads straight to Chantilly (34 km. from the gates of Paris) through Ecouen, Le Mesnil-Aubry and Luzarches.

We visit the town (see pp. 22-36): lunch either at Chantilly (palatial hotel) or at Senlis (good hotel) 9 km. from Chantilly; afternoon, visit Senlis (pp. 39-67); dine sleep and at Senlis or Chantilly.

Tourists who wish to see the whole of the Castle and Park of Chantilly must choose a Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday (see p. 31) and devote a part of the afternoon to this visit.

2nd day.—Leave Senlis or Chantilly in the morning and reach Meaux by the route given on pp. 68-75. The distance from Senlis is 65 km. (by the direct route only 37 km.); lunch at Meaux (good hotel).

Afternoon.—Do the tour of the Ourcq as indicated on pp. 84-118. This tour may be increased from 53 to 92 km., according to the time the traveller has at his disposal or the speed of his car.

Alternate routes.—Tourists who consider the second day's distance too great, as planned above, can leave Senlis in the afternoon and thus dine and sleep at Meaux on the first day. They can visit Meaux in the morning of the second day, lunch there and make the tour of the Ourcq in the afternoon, returning to dine and sleep at Meaux.

II., MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND.

3rd day.—After mounting the course of the Grand Morin as far as La Ferté-Gaucher via Crécy, Couilly and Coulommiers, the tourist will lunch at Provins. In the afternoon he may visit the town, after which he will proceed to Sézanne to pass the night.[Pg 19] 4th day.—In the morning make the tour of the Marshes of Saint-Gond. In the afternoon proceed to Fère-Champenoise, Sommesous, ascending the valley of the Somme and spend the night at Châlons-sur-Marne.

III., PASS OF REVIGNY (273 km.)

5th day.—In the morning cover the distance from Châlons to Vitry-le-François and visit the latter town before lunch.

6th day.—In the morning the tourist may visit the lower town Bar-le-Duc and effect the circular tour which we indicate round the town. He will come back to Bar-le-Duc for lunch.

In the afternoon the tourist will visit the upper town proceeding thence to Verdun. The latter town and the surrounding battlefields should be visited with the help of the separate guide which has been dedicated to them.

IMPORTANT NOTE

On the above plan, towns, of which a map is given in the present guide, are shown by a circle enclosed in a small square; the large rectangles indicate the boundaries of the coloured maps inserted in the guide, on which the reader will be able to follow the itinerary.

I. THE OURCQ

VISIT TO THE LOCALITIES
in which were enacted the preliminary scenes of the
BATTLE OF THE OURCQ
from September 5 to 14, 1914
CHANTILLY

ORIGIN AND MAIN HISTORICAL FACTS

Chantilly derives its name from that of the Gallo-Roman Cantilius, who was the first to establish himself in the locality. The Castle (a fortress during the Middle Ages) passed to the family of Montmorency in the fifteenth century and in the seventeenth to that of Condé. These two illustrious families brought Chantilly to a height of splendour which made it a rival of the royal residences.

In 1830 the Duc d'Aumale succeeded the last of the Condés and at his death (1897) bequeathed the domain, with the Condé Museum, which he had installed in the castle (see pp. 24-35), to the 'Institut de France.'

The town itself, built in the seventeenth century, was for a long time dependent on the castle. In our day it has become a big centre for horse training and racing, the great race meetings in May, July and September attracting huge crowds.

CHANTILLY IN 1914-1916

The Germans, coming from Creil, entered Chantilly on September 3, 1914, and occupied it for several days. The mayor was at once seized as hostage but did not suffer the same tragic fate as the Mayor of Senlis. The troops were billeted at the castle (see p. 28).

After the victory of the Marne, Chantilly became the seat of General Joffre's headquarters and remained so until the end of 1916.

VISIT TO THE TOWN

Arriving by the Paris road the tourist will pass under the railway bridge, then 600 yards further on turn to the right and come out on to the "Pelouse" (Lawn). Turning round the Grand Condé Hotel on the left, he follows the Boulevard d'Aumale as far as the Maison de Joffre, shown in the photograph below.

The hundreds of officers and secretaries employed in the tremendous work incumbent on the Generalissimo were lodged in the Grand Condé hotel, near which the tourist has just passed. In contrast with this buzzing hive, Joffre's house seemed the embodiment of silence and meditation.

Only two orderly officers lived with the generalissimo, and his door was strictly forbidden to all unsummoned visitors, whoever they might be.

On leaving his office Joffre had the daily relaxation of a walk in the forest near by. It was thanks to the strict routine to which he subjected himself that the generalissimo was able to carry the crushing weight of his responsibility without faltering. We shall see, however, when comparing the peace time photograph given on p. 1 with that on p. 22 that these years of war have counted as double.

During the tragic hours of the Marne the general headquarters were first at Bar-sur-Aube and then at Romilly. The commander-in-chief's intense concentration of mind made him dumb and as though absent in the midst of his colleagues, who received all his orders in writing. In a few days his hair and moustache became perfectly white.

The Allies' grand councils of war were held in this house, which has counted among its guests all the great actors of the war.

The military functions were held on the lawn. The photograph on the next page was taken during a review.

After having seen Joffre's house we pass the few villas which separate it from the Rue d'Aumale and bear to the right, skirting the lawn; next we turn to the left into the Avenue de Condé, then to the right into the Rue du Connétable. In front of the "Grandes Écuries" (great stables), which border the extreme[Pg 23] end of the road on the right, stands the equestrian statue of the Duc d'Aumale, by Gérome (1899).

Leaving the church we turn to the right, passing through the monumental gateway, and go towards the castle. On the lawn (still keeping to the right) we come to the principal façade of the "Grandes Écuries", Jean Aubert's chef-d'œuvre, built between 1719 and 1740. They are seen on the right in the above photograph.

On the opposite side of the lawn stands a little chapel, erected in 1535, by the high constable Anne de Montmorency, at the same time as six others dotted here and there about Chantilly, in memory of the seven churches of Rome which he had visited in order to obtain the indulgences pertaining to this pilgrimage. He obtained the same grant from the Pope for the chapels of Chantilly.

Of these only two now remain, that on the lawn—Sainte-Croix, and another in the park—Saint-Paul.

The photograph below gives a view of the whole of the castle. The little castle dates from the sixteenth century; the big castle is the work of a contemporary architect, Daumet, who erected it on the basement of the old dwelling, demolished during the Revolution. The Castle of Enghien, built in the eighteenth century, is now occupied by the guardians entrusted with its preservation. The water surrounding the castle teems with centenarian carp. One can get bread from the concierge and, on throwing a few crumbs into the moat, which passes beneath the entrance bridge, watch the onrush of the huge fish.

[Pg 24] In the pages which follow we give a short historical account of the castle, referring the tourist for further details to the extremely interesting work of the curator, Mr. Gustave Macon: Chantilly and the Condé Museum.

SHORT HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE CASTLE

In the Roman epoch Chantilly was the dwelling place of Cantilius. In the Middle Ages it became a fortress belonging to the "Bouteiller" (cupbearer), so named because of his hereditary functions at the court of the Capets. (The "bouteille de France," originally in charge of the king's cellars, became one of the greatest counsellors of the crown).

The castle then became the property of the d'Orgemonts, who rebuilt it in the fourteenth century. In the fifteenth century it passed to the Montmorency family. Towards 1528 the high constable Anne de Montmorency had it transformed by Pierre Chambiges. Chambiges' work no longer exists in Chantilly, but the tourist will be able to judge of his talent when he sees the beautiful façades of the transept of the cathedral of Senlis (p. 57). The little castle was built thirty years later by Jean Bullant. From that time Chantilly has been famous. Francis I. often stayed there. Charles V. declared that he would give one of his Low Country provinces for such a residence. Henry IV. asked his "compère," the high constable Henri, to exchange it for any one of his royal castles. Montmorency, much embarrassed, extricated himself from this awkward situation by answering, "Sire, the house is yours, only let me be the lodge-keeper."

Henri II. of Montmorency, drawn into a revolt against Richelieu, died on the scaffold in 1632. His property was confiscated and Louis XIII., attracted by the hunting at Chantilly, kept the place for his personal use.

It was there that he drew up with his own hand the "communiqué" to the press, concerning the taking of Corbie (1636): "The king received news, at 4 o'clock this morning, of the surrender of Corbie. He immediately went to church to give thanks to God, then ordered all to be ready by 2 o'clock to sing the Te Deum, the queen and everyone else to be present, and ordered despatches to be sent commanding thanksgiving services in all the churches of this kingdom...."

In 1643, the queen, Anne of Austria, wishing to make some recognition for the splendid victories won by the Duc d'Enghien (the future "Grand Condé") gave Chantilly back to his mother, Charlotte de Montmorency. The latter, married at fifteen, had been obliged to leave France with her young husband in 1609, to escape from the attentions of Henri IV., still gallant despite his fifty-six years.

A gay life began again in Chantilly, interrupted in 1650 by the revolt of Condé, his exile and the confiscation of the domain, which then returned to Louis XIV. until the Treaty of the Pyrénées (1659). The prince then came into his own again but for long kept aloof from public affairs and devoted himself to the embellishment of Chantilly with the same ardour and mastery that he formerly gave to military operations.

In 1662, the transformation of the park and forest was placed in the hands of the great architect, Le Nôtre. The work continued until 1684. The result was a masterpiece, of which a great part is still in existence, but of which the finest features (particularly the Great Cascades which spread over the actual site of the town) disappeared during the Revolution. Below, we give a view of these "Jeux d'eau" (fountains), which were considered one of the wonders of the day.

In 1671, Louis XIV. spent three days at Chantilly, with all his court. Marvellous festivities were held on this occasion. The guests of the château alone filled sixty large tables; all the adjoining villages were full of officers and courtiers, boarded and lodged at the prince's expense. In one of her letters, Mme. de Sévigné tells of the tragic death of the superintendent, Vatel, who had the responsibility of this vast organisation. Desperate at the thought that fish would be lacking at the king's table, he went up to his room, leant his sword against the wall, and transfixed himself upon it.

All the great men of the seventeenth century visited Chantilly. Bossuet, the intimate friend of the great Condé, presented to him Fénelon and La Bruyère, who became tutor to the Prince of Condé's grandson. Molière and his company came to play (Condé was his patron, by whose intervention the production of Tartufe was allowed). Boileau, Racine and La Fontaine were habitual guests.

The development of Chantilly continued under Condé's successors, and the castle was modified by Mansart. The Duc de Bourbon caused the "Grandes Écuries" to be built by Jean Aubert. He established the manufacture of porcelain there (ceased in 1870), the remaining pieces of which are greatly sought after in our day.

In 1722, Louis XV. stayed at Chantilly on his way back from his corona[Pg 27]tion at Rheims. The festivities lasted four days; 60,000 bottles of wine and 55,000 lbs. of meat being consumed.

It was Prince Louis-Joseph who saw the Revolution. He had spent enormous sums in embellishing Chantilly, besides the twenty-five million francs which it cost him to build the Palais-Bourbon in Paris, the present seat of the Chamber of Deputies. He erected the Castle of Enghien, named after his grandson, the Duc d'Enghien, who was the first to inhabit it. (Early marriages were usual in these great families: at the birth of the Duc d'Enghien his father was sixteen years old and his grandfather thirty-six.) The Duc d'Enghien died in 1804, shot in the moat of Vincennes.

In 1789, after the Prince of Condé had gone into exile, the Parisians came and removed the cannon from the castle (see reproduction of engraving below, in which the castle appears as altered by Mansart). Thirty guns taken from the enemy during the Seven Years' War, which were never used except for firing salutes during fêtes, were brought in triumph to the Hôtel de Ville in Paris, whence La Fayette had them sent to the arsenal.

The great cascades, the menagerie, the orangery and the theatre disappeared during the revolutionary era.

Of the great castle nothing remained but the basement, whilst the town grew and encroached on the park.

In 1814, the Prince de Condé returned to Chantilly and commenced the restoration of the domain, a work continued by his son. The latter came to a tragic end in 1830; he was found hanging from the fastening of a window in his castle of Saint-Leu, and with him died the great family of Condé.

In his will he bequeathed Chantilly to one of his great-nephews: Henri of Orleans, Duc d'Aumale, fifth son of King Louis-Philippe. After distinguishing himself in the Algerian campaign, where he carried off the Smalah of Abd-el-Kader in 1843, the Duc d'Aumale was exiled in 1848. He established himself at Orleans House, at Twickenham, near London, where he remained until 1871. It was during that time that he began the splendid collections which later went to enrich the Condé Museum. On his return to France he presided at the tribunal entrusted with the trial of Marshal Bazaine.

In order to house his collections, the Duc d'Aumale had the big castle rebuilt, on plans made by the architect Daumet, from 1875 to 1882.

He died in 1897, bequeathing to the "Institut de France" the domain of Chantilly and the Condé Museum, of which he was the founder.

The Castle in 1914

About 500 Germans stayed at the castle for twenty-four hours. These reserve troops had not yet fought and did not take part in the battle. They committed no excesses during their short stay. The great moral firmness shown by the curators, Messrs. Élie Berger and Macon had great influence on the conduct of the German soldiers. The troops were lodged in the big castle, whilst the officers established themselves in the various suites of the small castle.

The curators had sent the gems of the collection to Paris and sheltered as many of the works of art as possible in the basement. This proceeding[Pg 29] caused some ill humour on the part of the German officer in command. As seen in the photograph (page 28) straw was spread in the rooms of the museum, on which the Germans slept. At the end of the room Chapu's touching Jeanne d'Arc overlooks the scene of desolation. The Germans were much impressed by the copy of the Duc d'Aumale's tomb in the museum, where he is represented in the uniform of a divisional general. Many gave the military salute when crossing the room. However, this did not prevent the commandant from warning the curators that if his troops were fired on, the castle would be burnt and they themselves shot.

Sylvie's House

If the tourist makes this journey on a day when the castle is closed, or if he has not time to visit it, he will at least be able to glance at the charming corner of the park where stands Sylvie's House. He need only take the path of Avilly (it is the road which is on the right of the main entrance) and skirt the park railings. After five minutes' walk he will reach the place from where the view below is taken. He can return to the gates by the same road.

This little shooting lodge, at first called the "Park House," was built in 1604 by the high constable Henri de Montmorency for King Henri IV.

Sylvie is the poetical name given by Théophile de Viau to his patroness Marie-Félicie Orsini, who in 1612, at the age of fourteen, married Henri II. of Montmorency, aged sixteen. The poet, Théophile de Viau, persecuted in 1623 for the licentious publication of the Parnasse Satirique, was given shelter at Chantilly and lodged in the Park House.

Condemned to be burnt alive, he was only executed in effigy through the intervention of the Montmorencys.

In his Odes to the House of Sylvie, he extolled the grace and goodness of the young duchess:

Mes vers promettent à Sylvie
Ce bruit charmeur que les neveux
Nomment une seconde vie....

The wish expressed by the poet in these lines was fulfilled and the name of Sylvie became attached to the house and park surrounding it. The great Condé rebuilt the house as it is to-day. (The rotunda seen in the photograph, page 29, was added by the Duc d'Aumale.)

In the eighteenth century Sylvie's House was the scene of the romance of Mlle. de Clermont and Louis de Melun. The head of the house of Montmorency objected to the marriage of his sister, Mlle. de Clermont, with this nobleman, whose rank he considered insufficient. The young girl disregarded this and made a secret marriage, soon ended by the tragic death of Louis de Melun, who was killed by a stag at bay in the course of a hunt in Sylvie's park. These various episodes in the history of Sylvie's House are recalled in the paintings of Luc-Olivier Merson, installed by the Duc d'Aumale when he turned the old house into a museum.

Visit to the Castle

The Castle, Sylvie's House, the Jeu de Paume, and the "Grandes-Écuries" are open to the public from April 15 to October 14:

The Park is open to the public all the year round on Thursdays, Sundays and holidays: from 1 to 6 p.m., from April 15 to October 14, and till 4 p.m. for the rest of the year.

We advise tourists to obtain the guide book sold at the entrance, which gives all useful information for the details of the visit. The plan (p. 31) makes it easy to find one's way about the museum. By following the numbering in this plan the various rooms will be seen in the order in which they are marked in the guide book.

The several photographs which follow can give but a faint idea of the richness and interest of the collections made by the Duc d'Aumale.

The picture on page 32 represents the magnificent carved and inlaid chest (the work of Riesener, the great cabinet-maker), which stands in room 24 (plan p. 31).

The Duc d'Aumale gathered the gems of his collection together in the room that he named the Santuario (No. 19 on plan, p. 31).

They are: The Virgin by Raphael, described as "of the House of Orleans," having belonged to that family for a very long time. This little panel,[Pg 31] painted about the year 1506, was bought for 160,000 francs in 1869. It is reproduced on p. 32.

The Three Graces, another small panel painted by Raphael at about the same time as The Virgin, was bought for 625,000 francs in 1885.

Esther and Ahasuerus, panel of a marriage chest, executed by Filippino Lippi, was bought for 85,000 francs in 1892.

Forty Miniatures by Jehan Fouquet, taken from the Book of Hours, by Estienne Chevalier: this leading work of the French school of the fifteenth century was acquired for the sum of 250,000 francs in 1891.

We must also mention the collection of portraits painted or drawn in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, divided between the Gallery of the House (7 on plan), the Clouet room (17 on plan) and the Gallery of Psyche (18 on plan). In the Gallery of Psyche, the visitor will notice, besides the pictures, the forty-four sixteenth century windows, representing the legend of Cupid and Psyche. There is also a cast of the head of Henri IV.

Lovers of jewels should visit the treasure tower (20 on plan). Tn the Monkey Parlour (26 on plan) will be seen the screen painted by Huet, representing the Monkey's reading lesson, and on the panels a charming eighteenth century decoration, attributed to the same painter.

In the Prince's Gallery (27 on plan) the great Condé had a series of pictures painted representing the battles he had fought.

In the trophy containing his sword and pistols there is also a flag taken in the Battle of Rocroi in 1643. It is the oldest standard captured from the enemy that exists in France.

In the middle of the gallery stands the Table of the Vinestock, carved out of one piece taken from an enormous vine, for the Connétable de Montmorency.

In the modern chapel (31 on plan), the Duc d'Aumale placed a beautiful altar, carved by Jean Goujon, also some sixteenth century wainscoting and stained glass windows taken from the chapel of the Castle of Ecouen.

In the apse stands the funeral urn which holds the hearts of the princes of the House of Condé.

Visit to the Park

On coming out of the museum we cross the Terrasse du Connétable, in the middle of which stands the equestrian statue of Anne de Montmorency, by Paul Dubois (1886). Leaving the Château d'Enghien on the right we enter the covered way by the avenue which passes before the little chapel of Saint-Paul. Saint-Paul and Sainte-Croix are all that remain of the seven chapels erected by Anne de Montmorency (see p. 23). A little further on, on the left, we come to the Cabotière, a building dating from the time of Louis XIII. It derives its name from that of the barrister Caboud, an enthusiastic amateur horticulturist, who made a magnificent flower garden in the park for the great Condé.

The avenue ends at Sylvie's House (see p. 29). In the interior can be seen paintings, tapestries, pieces of furniture, and beautiful panelling of the seventeenth century, which have been placed in the rotunda. From Sylvie's House there is a lovely view of the pond and park (see p. 29).

Leaving Sylvie's House on the right we walk about 150 yards down the path which skirts it, then turn to the left and follow the path which leads straight to the Hamlet (view on p. 35).

The Hamlet, which recalls that of the Petit Trianon at Versailles, dates from 1775. At this period, under the influence of J. J. Rousseau's works, nature and country life became the fashion, and it was the correct thing for princes to play at peasants in miniature villages.

An author of the eighteenth century thus describes the Hamlet of Chantilly: "Seven detached houses, placed without order, with thatched roofs, stand[Pg 34] in the middle of a lawn that is always green. Here is an ancient elm, there a well; further on a fence encloses a garden planted with vegetables and fruit-trees; a mill, its wheel turned by the brook; in front a stable, a dairy; one house is used as the kitchen, another is the dining-room, so decorated as to resemble a hunting lodge. One fancies one's self in the middle of a thick wood, the seats imitate tree-trunks, green couches and clusters of flowers rise from the ground; a few openings made between the branches of the trees admit the light. A third cottage serves as billiard-room, a fourth is a library. The barn makes a large and splendid drawing-room."

From the time when the hamlet came into being, there was never a big fête at Chantilly without a supper in this pretty corner of the park. Innumerable pots de feu illuminated the thickets; on the canal the guests drifted in gondolas to strains of dreamy music; fancy-dress fêtes were held, and the singing and dancing continued until dawn.

Retracing our steps we bear to the left and, having crossed, the first bridge, follow a pretty path which brings us into the flower garden of Le Nôtre, where we get a good view of the castle (photograph above). One can go straight back to the entrance gates by the staircase shown in the view. It is called the Grand Degré (great stair), and was built in 1682 by the architect Gitard. The groups which adorn the base of the Terrasse du Connétable, on each side of the stairs, were drawn by Le Nôtre and carved by Hardy.

This walk, from the time of leaving the museum until the return to the entrance gates, takes about three-quarters of an hour.

If one wishes to visit the English Garden and the Jeu de Paume, which will take about forty minutes longer, one must walk past the north front of the castle and follow the walk which opens in the middle of the thickets.

The English Garden was laid out in 1817 to 1819 by the architect Victor Dubois, according to the orders of the last of the Condés, just returned from exile. The site occupied by this garden, like the ground on which stands the town of Chantilly, belonged to the ancient park, devastated during the Revolution.

We pass near the Temple of Venus, which shelters a Venus Callipyge of the seventeenth century, near the Island of Love, dating from 1765 and on which are statues of Aphrodite and Eros. In the eighteenth century the Island of Love contained a luxurious pavilion, in which nocturnal fêtes were held, the canals and park being illuminated. The pavilion disappeared at the time of the Revolution.

The ancient Cascades of Beauvais that one sees before arriving at the Jen de Paume are remnants of the old park. They were the work of Le Nôtre.

The Jeu de Paume, constructed in 1757, is transformed into a museum. It contains various curiosities, notably Abd-el-Kader's tent, carried away when the Smalah was captured by the Duc d'Aumale in 1843.

After 3 p.m. one can leave the park by the gate next to the Jeu de Paume. We come out in front of the "Grandes Écuries" of the castle and can go in and look round them. (Enter at the side that faces the lawn.)

FROM CHANTILLY TO SENLIS

Returning through the monumental gateway, we cross the Rue de Connétable and go straight on, skirting the castle park on the right. We cross the Saint-Jean Canal, then the Great Canal, then turn to the right into the High Street of Vineuil. On the right one soon has a beautiful vista of the castle and park (view above).

We now go through Saint-Firmin. The church, on the left, contains in its choir Renaissance windows which are classed as historical monuments.

From Saint-Firmin to Senlis the road is easy. We enter Senlis by the Creil Gate (see plan inserted between pp. 36-37). Turn to the left by the Avenue Vernois and the line of boulevards to reach the station, where starts the itinerary described further on, in Senlis.

SENLIS

ORIGIN AND CHIEF HISTORICAL EVENTS

Senlis is of Gallic origin: it was the capital of the Sylvanectes. The Romans surrounded it with fortifications, a great part of which still exist (see view below).

The first kings of France, attracted by the hunting in the surrounding country, frequently stayed at Senlis.

It was in Senlis Castle (see p. 61) that Hugues Capet was elected king by the assembly of lords in 987.

The Capetians often returned to the birthplace of their dynasty and it is to them that the town owes its chief buildings.

Taken by the peasants in the war of the Jacquerie in 1358, besieged by the Armagnacs in 1418, it fell into the hands of the English and was delivered by Joan of Arc in 1429. Senlis knew great vicissitudes in the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.

After Henri IV., who interested himself greatly in Senlis and lived in its old castle, the kings of France gradually forsook the town in favour of Compiègne, Fontainebleau and Versailles.

Occupied in 1871 by the Germans, it reappears in history in September 1914. The burning of the town and the summary executions which took place there will be recalled in the course of the visit (pp. 38-52).

VISIT TO THE TOWN

At the Station one gets one's first view of the havoc done to the town by the events of September 1914. It was set on fire on the 3rd.

Follow the station road (Avenue de la Gare), which leads to the Compiègne Gate.

This is the road by which the Germans entered Senlis on September 2, at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

Whilst one part of the advance guard made the tour of the town, following the boulevards and the ramparts which encircle it, other groups descended directly south by the two main streets which cross Senlis, thus making sure of a thorough exploration.

The entrance lo the Rue de la République suffered a great deal, as is shown by the two photographs, taken before and after the fire of September 2, 1914.

On the left, the toll-house is completely burnt down; in the centre, the Hôtel du Nord and the Restaurant Encausse are in ruins.

The German prisoners who appear in the picture opposite are leaning against the wall of these barracks.

They were the few soldiers who, remaining in Senlis after the victory of the Ourcq, were captured by Zouaves sent from Paris in motor-cars.

Only a few years ago the Rue de la République was called the Rue Neuve-de-Paris, although it dated from 1753. It was made in order to spare the Court of Louis XV. the circuitous way and steep ascent of the old road, which followed the Rue Vieille-de-Paris and the Rue du Châtel.

Descending the Rue de la République we come to the Rue Bellon, which crosses it. We turn to the right, at the place shown on the opposite photograph, and a few steps further on, reach the Carrefour de la Licorne. This is one of the most devastated places of the town. The first view was taken during the German occupation, a German cyclist being snapshotted while riding. The other views show the state of the ruins in 1914 and the present condition.

We return to the Rue de la République. A few yards down, on the right, we see the charred house, the gable-end of which appears in the view on the following page.

We next reach the level of the Hôtel du Grand Cerf, of which the signboard is seen on the view below. The German headquarters staff stayed there, and that is no doubt the reason for its remaining intact. The Mayor of Senlis, M. Odent, was taken there on September 2, after his arrest at the town-hall, just before being taken to Chamant to be shot. The proprietor of the hotel having left the town, the German officers commandeered a restaurant keeper and made him prepare a meal for thirty people, with "ices and champagne."

The houses which face the hotel and which were still burning when the above photograph was taken, are those of the local justice of the peace and public notary.

Looking through the entrance gates of the latter residence, one beholds the scene of desolation reproduced in the opposite picture.

On the left of the Rue de la République we come to a building which served as the sub-prefect's office and Court of Justice. This building, formerly a hospital, dates from the beginning of the eighteenth century.

The work of the incendiaries is seen by comparing the opposite view with that given below.

All the ruins already pointed out, as well as those that will be seen further on, were made systematically.

The soldiers to whom this work was assigned arrived in columns; at the sound of an officer's whistle a certain number of men left the ranks and smashed in the doors of the houses and the shop-fronts; then others came who started the fires with grenades and fuses; lastly, the patrols who followed fired incendiary projectiles into those buildings which did not take fire quickly enough.

The above view was taken during the German occupation. It shows the Red Cross staff conveying the wounded from the overflowing hospital to the College of Saint-Vincent.

After crossing the Nonette, one arrives at the junction of the Rue de la République and the Rue Vieille-de-Paris.

At the corner stands the inn "Le Débit Simon," of which a view is given below. Simon was without doubt the first victim of the German occupation.

Tn the middle of the afternoon a German patrol, who had just been drinking at the inn, was shot at by a French rearguard, who had left Simon's a few moments before.

The Germans immediately seized the innkeeper, accused him of having fired, and shot him point-blank.

Other pretended reprisals were made, causing the death of twenty unoffending civilians, of which the reader will learn the details further on.

The view below shows the corner of the Place Saint-Martin where stands the Café Simon. Two German cyclists are seen in the photograph, which was taken on September 4, 1914. It will be noticed that the one on the left has a lady's bicycle, which certainly did not come out of the Army stores!

Following the Rue du Faubourg St. Martin shown above, the tourist will pass a pretty estate (view below), the old quarters of the Gardes du Corps, which was completely burnt and the ruins of which produce a startling effect.

In front, partly burnt, are the headquarters of the Cavalry. Still further on, at the exit of the town, is the Hospital.

The German advance-guards, beating back the French soldiers delayed in the Faubourg St. Martin, were met by the fire of the machine-guns stationed outside the town, along the road.

The Germans penetrated into the hospital and the neighbouring gardens, trying to outflank the French defences which they thought were placed on[Pg 45] the road, but a deadly fire from the transverse trenches made them fall back. Furious at this, they seized the passers-by and made them walk in the middle of the road, they themselves keeping close to the walls.

Among the hostages were a Mme. Dauchy and her young daughter. The latter was shot in the leg. Georges Leymarie was killed; one of his companions, Levasseur, while carrying the body along the pavement beside the hospital wall, suffered the same fate. Two other hostages, Audibert and Minouflet, the latter wounded, had also reached the pavement of the hospital. A German officer discharged a revolver at Audibert and left him for dead; he ordered Minouflet to show his wounds and, finding them insufficient, put a bullet through his shoulder. Three other people fell. The shrieks of the victims reached the French, who ceased fire. The surviving hostages then slipped past the trees along the road, under German fire, up to the French lines. The Germans took advantage of this to make a fresh attack, but were repulsed.

The hospital, situated as it was in the midst of the fighting, was not spared, A German officer, wounded by one of the first shots, entered the hospital and meeting an old pensioner, M. Maumus, on the threshold, shot him down in cold blood.

The ward where the French and Moroccan wounded lay was fired on with machine guns, as shown in the above photograph. By a wonderful chance no one was hit, the Crucifix also remained untouched in the centre of a wreath of bullets.

The tourist will now, retracing his steps, turn to the right into the Rue des Jardiniers, whence he will have a good view of the whole town. Always keeping to the left he will pass through the Meaux Gate into the Rue de Meaux which borders the College of St. Vincent (p. 64). (If on foot, it would be better to follow the line of the ramparts Bellevue and Saint-Vincent, instead of the Rue des Jardiniers. At the Meaux Gate he will go down the steps into the Rue de Meaux.)

Back in the Rue de la République, he will go up as far as the Rue Odent, which skirts the Hôtel du Grand Cerf. By this road he will arrive at the Place de la Halle, continued to the right by the Rue Saint-Hilaire, which leads to the church of Saint-Pierre (see p. 60).[Pg 46]

From the Place Saint-Pierre one goes to the left into the little Rue aux Flageards which passes in front of the north doorway of the cathedral, of which a view is given opposite. The tower on the right and the spire were struck by several shells.

Continuing along the Place Mauconseil and turning to the left into the Rue Villevert one reaches the charming square which lies in front of the parvis of the Cathedral.

(See pp. 53-59 for descriptions concerning the artistic features of the cathedral.) Here we shall only give the incidents of September 1914 in which the building shared.

During the day of September 2, 1914, about fifty shells struck the old church and caused rather serious damage, as shown in the following photographs. The vicar of the cathedral, the Abbé Dourlent, went about the streets of Senlis during the bombardment and had 125 inhabitants, who had been unable to find shelter in the cellars, escorted out of the town by one of his curates. On his return to the vicarage, which stands at the foot of the tower (the house visible in the photograph on p. 54, on the right, behind the two trees), shortly after the Germans had entered the town, the vicar heard violent and repeated blows in the cathedral. Coming out into the square he saw cyclists, holding a large fragment of a statue (which had been flung to the ground by a shell) with which they had battered in the small door of the cathedral (that on the right in the view on p. 54). Others, axes in their hands, were attacking the door of the steeple on the south side of the tower. The Germans, revolver in hand, rushed at the vicar, and their leader commanded him to take them to the top of the steeple, accusing him of having allowed machine guns to be placed there which had fired on them.

As they climbed the first step they[Pg 47] heard the first shots fired in the lower part of the town.

The visit to the steeple confirmed the Abbé Dourlent's declaration that no one had been up and that no military preparations had ever been made there. The men drew off, but a few moments later the porter of the town-hall brought the vicar the order to render himself immediately as hostage at the Grand Cerf Hotel.

When he arrived the Headquarters Staff had left, taking with them the mayor, who was shot that evening.

The incendiarism had already started; the vicar saw incendiary bombs thrown into the houses facing the hotel, which are shown in the photograph on page 41. He entered the vicarage, then returned to the Grand Cerf to learn what fate awaited him.

It was there that a German superior officer, who spoke French, said these few words which throw light on the events at Senlis:

Poor Curé, poor Senlis, your civilians have fired on us and we have been shot at from the top of your church tower, therefore Senlis is doomed. You see that street in flames (the Rue de la République), well! this night the whole town will be completely burned down.

We have orders to make of Senlis another Louvain. A terrible example is needed for Paris and for the whole of France.

The vicar implored for mercy for the town, and the officer promised to intervene with his superiors in order to obtain a mitigation of the sentence. Whether he gained his point or whether the giving up of the direct march on Paris caused the part of scape-goat assigned to the peaceful little town to appear of less immediate necessity, the incendiarism was limited to the Rue de la République and the Quartier de la Licorne.

The tourist will visit the Cathedral (see pp. 53-59), Saint-Frambourg (p. 60), the Castle (pp. 61-63), and will then go down the old Rue du Châtel.[Pg 48]

This road was the scene of an outrage of 1789, famous in the annals of Senlis. The clockmaker Billon, seeing beneath his windows the company of musketeers from which, as usurer, he had been dismissed, raised his musket and killed the commandant and several others. Trapped in his house, he backed from room to room still adding to the number of his victims. At the moment when they seized him the mine that he had prepared exploded, destroying his house and leaving twenty-six dead and forty injured.

The Rue du Châtel ends in the Square Henri IV., in the corner of which stands the Town-hall. Its façade (see below) dates from 1495. Above the door is the bust of Henri IV., with an inscription taken from the letters-patent sent by the king to Senlis as thanks for the town's resistance against the Leaguers:

"Mon heur a prins son commencement en la ville de Senlis, dont il s'est depuis semé et augmenté par tout le royaume."

(My good fortune had its beginning in the Town of Senlis, whence it has since sown itself and spread over all the kingdom.)

The Square Henri IV. received the first shells of the bombardment in September, 1914, which killed a fireman on guard at the town-hall.

When the Germans penetrated into Senlis, one of their superior officers went to the town-hall and asked for the "burgomaster."

For three generations the Odents had been mayors of Senlis. The grandfather of the present mayor distinguished himself during the cholera epidemic in 1832; his father was seized as hostage in 1870 and narrowly escaped being shot.

On the eve of the German occupation, M. Odent took his family to Paris and on his return to Senlis wrote a postcard to M. Cultru, oldest member of the municipal council, as follows:—

M. Odent had the presentiment that he would not come out of German hands alive; a fervent catholic, he performed his religious duties in view of a swiftly approaching death, and fastened a crucifix on his breast.

Above we give the last photograph of M. Odent. It was taken on August 5, 1914, during a military fête. M. Odent is in the middle.

The mayor was violently upbraided by the officer because of the deserted aspect of the town—barely 1,000 inhabitants remained out of 7,000, and during the bombardment houses and shops were closed. He was also blamed for the absence of proclamations exhorting the inhabitants to deposit their arms at the town-hall and to offer no resistance....

M. Odent pointed out the rapidity of events, and the peaceable ways of the old city. He was nevertheless led before the headquarters staff at the Grand Cerf Hotel. Immediately after, came the sound of the first shots fired by the French rearguard at the lower end of the town. The officer was furious and vowed that he would hold the mayor responsible and that his head should answer for the lives of the German soldiers. The town-clerk suggested to M. Odent that the deputy mayor should be fetched, but the latter refused, saying: "One victim is enough."

The resigned hostage was taken from the Grand Cerf to Chamant (see p. 66). He was brutally treated, his gloves snatched from him and flung in his face, his stick seized and brought down violently on his head. M. Odent and some other hostages spent several hours of cruel waiting for their fate. At last, at about 11 o'clock in the evening, they were brought before several officers. After having been made to stand at attention they were ordered to lie flat, their hands stretched forward; they were then again told to stand at attention. The officers, satisfied that they had thus asserted their authority, for form's sake then proceeded to interrogate the mayor, and in spite of his denial persisted in accusing him of having opened fire upon the German troops. They then informed him that he would be shot.

M. Odent returned to his companions in captivity, gave them his papers and money, shook hands with them, and bade them a dignified farewell. He then went back to the officers. At their command two soldiers dragged him about ten yards further off and put two bullets through his head.

The ground was hastily hollowed out and the body was laid under such a thin layer of earth that the feet were not covered. It was here that the cross shown in the above photograph was erected. The tourist can visit it when passing through Chamant (see p. 66). A few hours before the mayor's death six other hostages had been shot and buried in the same field. M. Odent's companions were more fortunate, they were sent back to Senlis the next day. On September 12 the bodies of the mayor and the six other victims were exhumed and taken to the cemetery in the town (see p. 52). Other hostages narrowly escaped death. At about eight o'clock in the evening, in the tailor's shop at the corner of the Rue du Châtel, in front of the town-hall, three inhabitants were seized and taken to Chamant. To these, in the course of the journey, were added a dozen others. They were about to share the fate of the preceding hostages when one of them, who spoke German, succeeded in inducing the Headquarters staff to set them free.

By the Rue Vieille de Paris (a continuation of the Rue du Châtel) we descend to the lower part of the town. (In 1358 the "Jacques," masters of Senlis, drove back the nobles who had entered the lower end of the road by rolling down the slope heavily laden wagons which overturned anything that happened to be in their way.)

In front of the old Convent of the Carmes, No. 3 of the Rue Vieille de Paris, stand Megret's Baths, to which a café is attached. In the afternoon of September 2 some Germans smashed in the door and demanded drink. It was no doubt at that time that other German soldiers entered the café Simon, a little further on (see p. 43). The two proprietors suffered the same fate. Mégret had barely finished serving the patrol with a dozen bottles of wine when a shot, fired point-blank, felled him to the ground.

On page 49 appears the photograph of three young German soldiers belonging to that column of incendiarists and murderers who did so much damage[Pg 51] to Senlis. With threats they forced the photographer, M. Rozycki, to whom we are indebted for the views taken during the German occupation, to take the photograph we have reproduced.

A little way past the Convent of the Carmes (which is turned into barracks, its chapel being used as a clothing store), we follow, on the right, the line of ramparts that goes from the Rue Vieille de Paris (where the Paris gate used to be) to the Place de Creil (where stood the gate of the same name).

These ramparts were made in the thirteenth and fourteenth and strengthened in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

The first portion is called le Rempart des Otages in memory of the executions of 1418, during the fight between the Burgundians, who occupied Senlis, and the Armagnacs, who besieged it.

The town, reduced to famine, was to surrender on April 18 if no help arrived, and six hostages were handed over as guarantee: two abbots, two nobles, and two commoners. Help was signalled on the day of the 18th; but the Armagnacs, before leaving, decapitated four hostages at the foot of the ramparts on which the tourist is standing. In return, the besieged flung down from the walls the heads of twenty prisoners captured during a sally.

Six centuries have elapsed, but it will be seen that, towards hostages, the Germans still retain the mental attitude of the Middle Ages.

A picture by Mélingue (reproduced above), which hangs in the town-hall, commemorates the execution of the hostages of Senlis in 1418.

The next rampart is called the Montauban, after the square tower which was added to it in 1588. It was in the dry moat below that the Archers' Company held their practice. The head of the company, the "King of the Crossbow," was exempted by Henri III. from paying taxes, and ever since that remote period archery has always been held in honour at Senlis. At certain fêtes as many as 4,000 archers were assembled, part of them belonging to the town, the others coming from the surrounding country.

From the rampart, the view of old Senlis, spread out at the foot of the cathedral, is particularly picturesque.

From the Creil Gate, where you come out on leaving the ramparts, the Arena can be visited (see p. 65). After that, turn down the Avenue Vernois, at the end of which is seen the entrance to the cemetery. The monument raised in memory of the hostages who were murdered in 1914 (view below) is in the western part of the cemetery. In the northern part is the grave of the soldiers who fell during the battles of Senlis (view above).

From the Boulevard Pasteur, which is a continuation of the Avenue Vernois, there is a pretty view of the country.

At the corner of the Rue Saint-Joseph stands a convent where seventy nuns remained during the German occupation. Some German soldiers made them open the door and demanded wine: "Oh!" answered the Reverend Mother, "the nuns only drink liquorice-water."

The tourist now finds himself at the Compiègne gate, from where he began his visit to the town. This is also the starting point fixed in the itinerary for the journey to Meaux (see p. 66).

ARTISTIC SENLIS

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame

The cathedral was begun in 1153 on the site of a church which had been destroyed and rebuilt several times since the third century. The work of construction was slow, as funds were often lacking, despite the help given by the kings of France. For several consecutive years collections were repeatedly made throughout the country in order to obtain resources for the bishop.

Towards 1240, the transept was raised and the spire, which is still the pride of Senlis, built.

In 1504, lightning set fire to the cathedral, which went on burning for two days. Luckily the spire was saved. The reconstruction of all the higher parts and of the façades of the transept lasted until 1560 and completely transformed the appearance of the building.

During the Revolution it was used as a ballroom and afterwards as a store-house for fodder. In 1801 it became once more a place of worship.

It has been seen (p. 46-47) that the cathedral was not spared by the German shells on September 2, 1914, and that its vicar very nearly shared the mayor's tragic fate.

In the foreground are seen the buildings of the old bishop's palace, standing on a Gallo-Roman site; one of the towers of this enclosure was utilised in their construction.

After 1790 Senlis was no longer a bishopric, and an archæological museum is now established in the old dwelling-place of the bishops.

The west façade of the cathedral, which escaped the fire of 1504, has retained the simplicity and bareness of the twelfth century church and is in remarkable contrast with the richness of the side façades built in the sixteenth century.

The great doorway, which will be fully described further on, is flanked by two small doors surmounted by a tympanum, the arcading of which forms a curious ornamentation.

The two towers were originally alike; it was only in the middle of the thirteenth century that the spire was added to the south tower.

This SPIRE is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture and for nearly seven centuries has been the admiration of architects and archæologists because of the science, audacity and solidity of its construction, which was proof against fire, the inclemency of the weather, and German shells.

Its summit is 255 feet above the ground. Octagonal in shape, it rests on the square base of the tower.

The transition from the square to the octagon is masked by the four pinnacles (each supported by three small columns), which occupy the four corners of the square.

The upper part of the spire is pierced with eight highly ornamented dormer windows; the arrises of the spire are decorated with crockets.

This construction reveals the great art of the architect, who knew how to break the monotony of the spire's long, sloping lines without making them appear heavy.

The edifice seen on the left of the photograph is the old home of the Vermandois family, modified in the fourteenth century. One can walk round the courtyard of the old dwelling, entering through the door seen between two big trees.

Between the house of Vermandois and the church stands the Chapter House (see p. 59).

The twelfth century doorway was damaged during the Revolution. The great statues were decapitated but have since been restored. The bas-reliefs suffered considerably, also.

This is the first doorway consecrated to the Virgin. Its design served as a model for those of the Cathedrals of Chartres, Rheims, Amiens, and Notre-Dame de Paris.

The bas-relief of the lintel, shown below, represents, on its left side, the death of the Virgin. This part is much damaged. The apostles encircle the bed on which the Virgin is lying, two of them swinging censers. Two winged-angels bear away the Virgin's soul, portrayed as a new-born babe wrapped in a swaddling cloth.

The right side, which represents the Resurrection of the Virgin, is in a better state of preservation. An angel stands ready to crown Mary, who is raised from her bed by three others, while a fourth leans forward the better to see over those in front.

All this sculpture shows a truth and freedom of attitude of which very few examples are found in the twelfth century.

Above the lintel, in the tympanum, is the Triumph of the Virgin; the execution of this work is far from equal to that of the lintel.

In the niches of the arches are statues of the patriarchs, the prophets and the kings of Judah.

The eight great statues which flank the door represent personages from the Old Testament.

The one nearest the door, on the left, is Abraham. He holds his son by the hair and stands ready to behead him, but an angel restrains his sword.

Beneath the pedestals of the large statues is a "Calendar," i.e., a set of symbolical scenes typifying the twelve months of the year, or the seasons. That of Senlis is carved with much spirit.

The lower part of the apse dates from the twelfth century, with its radial chapels and, above, the little semi-circular windows of the galleries. The upper part of the church belongs to the sixteenth century.

The opposite view shows the detail of the SOUTH FAÇADE OF THE TRANSEPT designed by Pierre Chambiges, son and pupil of Martin Chambiges. The latter worked on the Cathedrals of Beauvais, Sens and Troyes, and his son drew inspiration from his work for the execution of that entrusted to him at Senlis; this explains the great resemblance that various portions of those edifices bear to one another.

In comparing the south portal with the western façade one notes the development of Gothic architecture from the twelfth century, when its restraint and simplicity of line still recalled Roman art, to the sixteenth century, when rich, flamboyant decoration flared in its final splendour, making way for the art of the Renaissance that the Italian wars brought into fashion.

The appearance of this fine ensemble is spoilt by the adjacent polygonal vestry erected on its right, which was rebuilt in the nineteenth century. A part of it can be seen in the above photograph; though one can judge still better of its ugly effect from the photograph on the preceding page.

The north façade of the transept is, in its general arrangement, the same as that on the south, but it is less richly ornamented.

On the pediment which surmounts the entrance are carved the salamander and the "F" of Francis I. On that of the south are the arms of France.

The tourist should not fail to look at the north side of the Cathedral, which is very picturesque.

The galleries of the cathedral are among the most beautiful in France. The above view, taken from the choir galleries which overlook the southern part of the transept, shows those of the nave in enfilade.

In the chapel seen on the right as one re-enters the church by the south door, the visitor will notice the hanging bosses of the vault of which a view is given opposite.

In the chapter house at the north-west end of the cathedral (see plan, p. 58), is seen the curious capital of the central pillar, on which is carved a feast of jesters.

Two of the figures are playing the organ, that on the right is working the bellows, another with a stick beats the tambourine that he holds between his legs; on the remainder of the capital other figures are dancing.

Church of Saint-Frambourg

This stands in a little street which opens on the south of the cathedral square. The church can be seen from the square.

This church was founded on the site of a Roman temple, by Queen Adelaide, wife of Hugues Capet. Rebuilt in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, transformed into a "Temple of Reason" during the Revolution, it now serves as a carpenter's workshop.

On the façade one can distinguish the place intended for a large rose window, which, however, was never finished.

The church has no roof left above the vaulting. To visit the interior (consisting of a single nave of graceful proportions) apply to the carpenter. The entrance to the workshop is seen on the left of the photograph.

Church of Saint-Pierre

Market-day on Tuesdays and Fridays. If the tourist should wish to go to the top of the belfry or to visit the church on other than market days, he must apply to the concierge of the Tribunal (county court) in the square.

This old town of Senlis is so rich in relics of the past that it puts its ancient religious monuments to quite profane uses.

We have seen above that Saint-Frambourg shelters a carpenter. Saint-Pierre serves as a market, another church as a theatre, a fourth as a museum, and others as clothing stores or barns. Five have completely disappeared; as for the Abbey of Saint-Vincent, it has been turned into a college.

Saint-Pierre was founded in 1029 and reconstructed during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

The roof of the nave was begun in stone, but completed in timber-work. The façade dates from the sixteenth century and recalls the work of Pierre Chambiges in the cathedral.

The right-hand tower dates from the seventeenth century. From the upper platform there is a splendid view of the town and the surrounding forests. Another more ancient tower exists, the base of which is the remains of the primitive Roman church. The spire (the top of which is seen in the opposite photograph) was added in the fifteenth century.

The Castle

The castle belongs to the Count Turquet de La Boisserie, who allows it to be visited. Apply to the concierge.

The entrance shown in the above view is in the Rue du Châtel, quite close to the square of Parvis-Notre-Dame. On the left side stands the old Hôtel des Trois-Pots, so called from the signboard which hangs from the first floor, and formed of three pots which are being filled by a thin stream of water.

This old dwelling recalls all the history of France from the Gallo-Roman conquest to the reign of Henri IV.

The castle itself, of which only a part exists (visible on the left in the[Pg 62] above photograph), was erected on the site of an old Roman fort. At the foot ran the boundary line of the town, partly formed by the wall which encloses this side of the estate and the tower which flanks the north front of the buildings.

The Merovingian and Carlovingian kings often inhabited the castle, situated as it was in the midst of their favourite hunting-grounds.

It was the theatre of numerous historical events: Pépin, Duke of Aquitaine, grandson of Charlemagne, died imprisoned there, and Baldwin of Flanders carried off from there the daughter of Charles the Bald. In 987, the last Carlovingian king having died while out hunting, the French lords assembled in the castle and elected, as king, Hugues Capet whose dynasty reigned in France until the Revolution. Philippe-Auguste held festivities there on returning from his wedding with Elizabeth of Hainault. Saint Louis founded the priory of Saint-Maurice.

During the Hundred Years War, Catherine of France was married to Henry V. of England at Senlis, in 1420.

After Henri IV., the castle, being very dilapidated, was gradually abandoned. Justice was still administered there until the falling in of the Audience Chamber in the eighteenth century.

The interior of the castle is in ruins. There is one room to be seen, called Henri IV.'s room, which is shown on the following page. It dates from the thirteenth century, and is covered with fine panelling. The fireplace was altered in the fifteenth century, but the big circular section flue remains just as it was two centuries earlier.

On the left of this fireplace a thirteenth century window (now blocked up) can still be distinguished. The one at the further end of the room belongs to the sixteenth century.

In the photograph some tombstones are seen, resting against the wall; on a fragment placed against the chimney-piece are the arms of Diane de Poitiers (characterised by the crescent); the two cannon balls are of stone; these were hurled from catapults and from the first bombarding machines.

Of the chapel built in the beginning of the twelfth century nothing remains but ruins, a view of which is given (page 61). It was situated on the first floor; a "semi-circular" arcade of the nave is still to be seen, on the right side. The ground floor, vaulted like an arbour, formed a passage.

The priory of Saint-Maurice, of which one ivy-covered building still exists (visible on the right of the photograph at the top of the preceding page), was founded by Saint Louis in honour of Saint Maurice who commanded the Theban legion, massacred under Diocletian for refusing to worship false gods.

In 1234 the king succeeded in obtaining the bodies of several of these martyrs from the vicar of Saint-Maurice-en-Valais.

A church, copied from the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, was built to shelter these relics, but was destroyed during the Revolution.

Passing under the Roman enclosure by a subterranean passage, we arrive at the old moat transformed into a kitchen garden. From here, there is a very interesting view of the wall and the Roman towers, the cathedral and the castle. A good idea of it is given by the photograph at the foot of the preceding page.

The Roman enclosure continues towards the cathedral, passes by the apse, from there to Saint-Frambourg, and its oval rejoins the castle by the Place de la Halle, the Rue aux Fromages, and the Rue du Puits-Tiphaine. It measured 312 m. (1,024 ft.) at its greatest diameter and 242 m. (794 ft.) at its smallest diameter; twenty-eight towers adorned the walls which were 7 m. (23 ft.) high and 4 m. (13 ft.) thick.

The town, having grown, was cramped in the limits of the Roman city, so the new ramparts were raised between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries; the tourist has already travelled over a part of them.

The platform of the Roman fort, which was followed by the castle, stood on the part which (with the Rue Villevert) forms a corner of the estate. It is reached by the narrow passage, made in the thickness of the sub-basement, which led to the dungeons. It was in one of these (towards the year 870) that Pépin, King of Aquitaine, died, imprisoned by order of Charles the Bald, against whom he had revolted.

Subterranean passages connected certain important points of the castle. They were supposed to lead as far as the Castle of Montépilloy (see p. 67) and the Abbey of Châalis (see p. 70).

The old Abbey of Saint-Vincent

The Abbey of St.-Vincent was founded in 1065 by Anne of Russia, wife of Henri I., King of France, in fulfilment of a vow.

The tower, which dates from that period, is square; it has two storeys with very high dormer windows grouped in pairs on each front, which give a very light appearance to the general structure.

The other buildings belonging to the Abbey were rebuilt in the seventeenth century. Inside, an interesting cloister still exists, with a Doric colonnade, shown on the opposite view.

After the Revolution the Abbey was turned into a hospital, then into barracks, and after that into spinning mills. In 1836 it became the College Saint-Vincent, counting among its pupils Marshal Canrobert and the poet José-Maria de Hérédia.

Many inhabitants of Senlis took refuge in the Abbey cellars during the bombardment of September 2, 1914. St.-Vincent soon served as an annexe to the hospital, which was too small to hold all the wounded. In the photograph (page 42) we see the transport of the wounded being carried on by the Red Cross in September, 1914. This temporary hospital remained after the departure of the Germans, which explains the presence of the wounded seen in the foreground of the opposite view.

The Arena

The gate at the entrance of the road leading from the Place de Creil to the Arena is sometimes locked. Apply to the Syndicat d'Initiative (Hôtel du Grand-Cerf) for the key.

The arena was discovered in 1864. It apparently goes back as far as the third century.

The tiers encircle a track measuring 130 feet by 110 feet. Two large entrances, which were vaulted, lead into the arena at each extremity of the great axis. On the other axis are two little rooms, which were no doubt reserved for the gladiators. In the southern one, niches are hollowed in the wall: these probably served as cupboards.

FROM SENLIS TO MEAUX (65 km.)

(See maps inserted between pages 80-81)

via Chamant, Montépilloy, Baron, Châalis, Ermenonville.

Starting from the Compiègne Gate, we leave the town by the Route Nationale (N 17). After having crossed the railway we turn to the right and follow N 32 as far as the first road on the right bordered with trees, which leads to Chamant. A hundred yards this side of the village we enter a field enclosed by hedges, on the right of the road (2½ km.). In this field, which appears in the photograph (p. 50), the German troops were encamped. M. Odent, the Mayor of Senlis, and six other hostages were shot there (pp. 49-50). M. Odent's grave is near the wood which skirts the side of the field opposite the one which borders the road. Near the enclosing hedge is the grave of a German captain.

Go on to the village of Chamant, turn to the right, then to the left as far as the church, the steeple of which can be seen. This church dates from the twelfth century, and was modified in the fourteenth and sixteenth. The Roman spire, shown below, is remarkable. In the interior, the capitals and vaulting decorated in many colours were restored at the expense of Napoléon the Third, as was also the tomb of Lucien Bonaparte's wife, which is to be found in the side chapel.

Go round the church, turn to the left, then to the right, near the firemen's gymnasium.

The road, planted with trees, which forms a continuation (on the other side of the Route Nationale) of the road on which we stand, leads (700 yards further on) to the Castle of Chamant, where the German Headquarters Staff stayed. The cellar was pillaged, and more than 1,200 bottles of champagne were emptied.

This castle, which dates from the seventeenth century, was inhabited by Lucien Bonaparte. Attached to it are important racing stables.

Follow N 17 for about 1,500 yards, then turn to the right towards Ognon (8½ km.). Turn twice to the right in front of the church and go towards Barbery, the factories of which can be seen from afar. Cross the railway (12½ km.) near the station which was set on fire by the Germans, and keep straight on towards the keep of Montépilloy (13½ km.), which stands on a neighbouring hill.

The castle, the entrance to which is shown on the opposite view, forms part of a farm.

Its name comes from Mons speculatorum or "Mount of the watchers." It was built in the twelfth century. On August 15, 1429, Jeanne d'Arc occupied it. An English army commanded by the Duke of Bedford was between Montépilloy and Senlis. The battle took place on August 16, and enabled the troops of the king of France to retake Senlis. The castle was dismantled under Henri IV.

To obtain a view of the whole and to realise the dominating position of the castle one must, before entering it, walk a few steps along the road which descends on the right of the farm.

The entrance door is flanked by two large towers. The bulky masses of masonry, which supported the chains by which the drawbridge was worked, are still to be seen. We cross the old moats, of which portions still exist. On entering the courtyard we see the imposing ruins of the two towers, one circular (of which only one large piece of the wall remains) the other square.

On leaving the village, near an iron shed we turn into the paved road on the right and continue about 400 yds. The German guns which bombarded Senlis were placed in the hollow on the right. A German grave will be noticed in the meadow.

We return to the road and go down towards Barbery. After the level crossing, turn to the right into the main road. Journey 4½ km. turn again to the right, cross the railway line, then the village of Ducy; climb a ridge and descend by zig-zags to Baron (27 km.).

Entering Baron, we turn to the left in the High Street and, 300 yards further on, at the end of the block, reach the house of Albéric Magnard.

It is marked by a marble tablet (visible in the opposite view), on which is engraved the following inscription:

"Albéric Magnard, musical composer, born in Paris on the 9th of June, 1865; died on the 3rd of September, 1914, shot and burnt in his house while trying to defend it."

Celui-là qui, rebelle à toute trahison,
Et préférant la Muse à toute Walkyrie
A défendu son art contre la barbarie
Devait ainsi mourir défendant sa maison

Edmond Rostand,
de l'Académie Française.

(He who, revolting against treachery
And preferring the Muse to any Valkyrie
Defended his art against barbarity,
Was doomed thus to die, defending his home)

His inspiration entirely French, Magnard (as Rostand recalls in the above lines) had kept his art free from German influence.

His artist's sensitiveness made him suffer intensely from the horrors of invasion; he warned his friends that he was resolved to die rather than submit to the rule of the conqueror and that his revolver held four bullets for the enemy and one for himself.

He had sent his family back to Paris, only keeping his young son-in-law with him. The Germans entered Baron on September 2. On the 3rd at about 9 o'clock in the morning, a party of soldiers entered the grounds. The composer had locked and barricaded himself in the villa. After summoning him three times the Germans fired from the garden at the façade shown in the view below.

Magnard retaliated through the Venetian blinds of a window on the first floor, killing one of the soldiers and wounding another. The composer's son-in-law returning from a short walk, arrived at the beginning of this scene. Seized and bound to a tree, he only escaped death by passing himself off as the gardener. After having fired a few rounds the Germans awaited the instructions of the commander. The latter at first decided to burn the village as a reprisal but on the entreaties of the Public[Pg 69] Notary, Me. Robert, modified the sentence and ordered that the incendiarism should be limited to the villa Magnard. After having hurriedly pillaged the composer's study, the soldiers set fire to the kitchen with straw and grenades. When the smoke began to rise Me. Robert and Magnard's son-in-law heard a report from the interior of the house. The author of Guercœur and of Bérénice had no doubt just died by his own hand. An officer then said to the Notary "He takes the best way out." Magnard's body was consumed in the fire. His revolver was found with three chambers empty.

The village was looted. An officer ordered the Notary, Me. Robert, to open his safe. As he at first refused to obey this order, the officer told two of his men to load their weapons and Me. Robert was forced to hand over the 8,300 francs the safe contained. While the Notary was occupied in satisfying these demands, the Germans stole his silver, his jewellery and that of his wife, even his personal linen, in exchange for which they left him their dirty shirts. The cellar was entirely emptied by the officers, who took 1,471 bottles of rare wine.

Returning from Magnard's house follow the High Street as far as the Church (historical monument). This church is of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, with a fine steeple belonging to the fifteenth (view above).

There is beautiful panelling to be seen inside (view below). Jeanne d'Arc received the sacrament here on the eve of the battle against the English below Montépilloy, in 1429.

Follow the road which is a continuation of the High Street. At this point, and as far as Senlis, rearguard actions were fought in Sept. 1914. After 3½ km., turn to the left. In the field which forms the corner of the two roads there is a German grave.

3 km. further on, turn to the left again into the road to Ermenonville, and after having proceeded about 1,200 yards, go down the lane which leads, under the trees, to the entrance of the domain which constituted the ancient abbey of Châalis.[Pg 70]

CHÂALIS

At the very beginning of the twelfth century, on his return from the First Crusade, a lord of Mello founded a priory at Calisium. In 1136 the king, Louis le Gros, wishing to honour the memory of his brother, Charles le Bon, who was assassinated in Bruges, transformed this priory into an abbey which was placed under the management of the Order of Cîteaux, whose growing power was beginning to make itself felt.

The Abbey flourished under the protection of the kings of France, the bishops of Senlis, and the lords of Chantilly, and became of great importance.

Its present condition can only give a faint idea of its former disposition and size.

The good king St. Louis often came to share the peaceful life of the monks, cultivating the soil and the vine, looking after the bees, fishing for pike in the ponds, and eating in the common refectory out of a wooden bowl, amidst the tame birds that came from all the country around to join in the meals.

At the time of the Renaissance the Abbey fell in commendam, that is to say it was no longer the property of the community but that of the abbot, who was thenceforth chosen by the king, instead of being elected by the monks. The first commendatory abbot was the Cardinal Hippolyte d'Este, son of Lucretia Borgia. Reducing the monks to a bare pittance, the Cardinal made free use of the Abbey revenues, which enabled him to build his famous Villa d'Este at Tivoli and its magnificent gardens.

In 1570, the great Italian poet Tasso spent several months at Châalis and there worked at his Jerusalem Delivered.

In the eighteenth century, the reconstruction of the Abbey was undertaken. Jean Aubert, the architect of the "Grandes Écuries" at Chantilly and the Hôtel Biron in Paris, was entrusted with the plans. The work was begun but not completed. The abbatial building, which to-day contains the museum and which can be seen on the left of the beautiful avenue leading to the entrance gate, shows the dignified style that Aubert wished to apply to the new edifice.

All these works ran the abbey into debt so Louis XVI. had it closed and placed in liquidation. The Revolution completed its ruin. Sold as national property, Châalis greatly suffered.

The buildings were for the greater part destroyed, the old church was sold piecemeal at the rate of twelve sous (6d.) per cartful of stones.

In the nineteenth century the successive proprietors did their utmost to reconstitute the domain. The grounds were bought back and the ruins consolidated. The abbatial building became a castle, and the park was laid out again. In 1902, Mme. Jacquemart-André bought the estate for 1,200,000 francs. She bequeathed it to the "Institut de France" with the museum that she had established in the castle. The "Institut" took possession of it in 1912, at the donor's death.

The Church.

The church, built at the beginning of the eighteenth century, is of great interest from an archæological point of view, for it shows the first application (by the Cistercians) of the Gothic style of architecture which had just made its appearance in the "Ile de France." In the hundreds of abbeys created by the original abbey of Cîteaux (situated near Dijon), the Roman style had hitherto held sway. Beginning with Châalis, the Cistercians proceeded to spread the pointed arch all over Europe, where soon more than 1,800 branch abbeys were scattered.

Its transept (the ruins of the northern part are seen in the view on the preceding page) was remarkable for its enormous size, compared with that of the choir, and for the seven radial chapels—one of which is clearly visible on the right of the view—enclosed in each of its branches. An outline of the nave remains (on the left of the photograph); it had twelve bays, preceded by a porch. The steeple which rose from the tower was destroyed by lightning in the seventeenth century. The monastery was connected with the church, and the outline of the storied galleries is seen in the view below. The abbot's chapel appears in the middle distance, on the right of the view on the preceding page. It is designed in the style of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.

Visit to the Domain of Châalis.

From April 15 to November 1, the museum and park are open on Thursday afternoons, from 1 p.m. to 5 or 6 p.m. An interesting guide by the Curator, Louis Gillet, is sold for 2 francs.

For the passing motorist the visit in detail is not indispensable. The Museum, although interesting, is far from equal to that which Mme. Jacquemart André established in her house in the Boulevard Haussmann, Paris, and which she bequeathed to the "Institut" at the same time as Châalis. As far as concerns the park and ruins, an adequate idea of them will be obtained by following our itinerary.

From the entrance gate one sees: in front, the ruins of the church; to the left, the castle, containing the museum. The whole is quite imposing.

At a moderate pace we take the road (on the right of the gate) which leads to the ponds. After traversing them, through the enchanting scenery, of which the photograph below gives some idea, the road runs through woodlands and brings us back to the high road of Ermenonville, down which we turn to the left.

On the other side of this road spreads the second portion of the domain of Châalis: the Désert, which formerly belonged to the park of Ermenonville. In the neighbourhood of this park it consists of a lovely, wooded landscape, with two ponds in the background; but at the other extremity there is a great contrast, for an arid stretch of land, the "Sea of Sand," faces the ponds of Châalis.

The Désert, like the park of Ermenonville, teems with memories of Jean-Jacques Rousseau (see p. 73).

The castle, which belongs to Prince Radzivill, is on the left of the road (it is not open to visitors). The park (open to the public on Sundays, Thursdays and holidays) is on the right.

The castle was occupied in September 1914, by German staff officers, who contented themselves with pillaging the wine cellar.

The park of Ermenonville was designed by the Marquis de Girardin. This ardent disciple of J. J. Rousseau did his utmost to make the park an illustration of the philosopher's work. In the part which now pertains to Châalis, the Désert, he claimed to reproduce in miniature the Alpine landscapes where were laid the scenes of Julie ou la Nouvelle Héloise. This touching worship succeeded in dispelling the misanthropy of Rousseau, who was living in Paris in gloomy solitude. He accepted the Marquis's hospitality and settled down at Ermenonville on May 20, 1778. On July 2, the "man of nature" passed away amidst trees, flowers, and birds. He was buried in the Island of Poplars ("L'Ile des Peupliers," view below), in the middle of the pond that comes into view on the right of the road level with the centre of the castle. Rousseau's influence on his century was immense, and for a long time his tomb was the goal of universal pilgrimage. The philosopher's remains are no longer at Ermenonville; the Convention had them exhumed and transferred to the Panthéon.

Cross the village, leaving the statue of J. J. Rousseau on the left, and when at the top of the hill turn to the left. Four kilometres further on is the Plessis-Belleville School of Aviation. From there go straight on.

At Saint-Soupplets, at the branching off of the road with that of Dammartin (54 km.), stands the Belle-Idée Inn, which was the scene of an interesting exploit in September, 1914. A German officer and about fifteen men had stayed in the inn after the evacuation of Saint-Soupplets, when a French patrol, composed of Sergeant Vannerot and six men, entered. The officer immediately fired at the sergeant, but missed. The latter then trans-pierced him with a bayonet thrust, and the rest of the German troop were killed or put to flight.

At Penchard (61½ km.) turn to the left beyond the town-hall. The road descends towards Meaux, giving a beautiful view of the town, dominated by its cathedral. In Meaux we turn to the left to go under the bridge and arrive at the cathedral (65 km.) (see plan inserted pp. 74-75).

MEAUX

ORIGIN AND MAIN HISTORICAL EVENTS

Meaux was the centre of a little Gallic nation: the Meldi—the inhabitants of Meaux are called Meldois—and afterwards the capital of Brie. It was joined to the royal domain in 1284.

Religious life was always very active in Meaux: six assemblies of prelates were held there from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries, and two in the sixteenth century.

It was the Treaty of Meaux, in 1229, which put an end to the crusade against the Albigeois. At the time of the Reformation the religious wars in that region became extremely violent. In the seventeenth century the diocese became famous on account of its bishop, Bossuet, who was called the Eagle of Meaux.

The town was taken and set on fire several times in the course of its troubled history.

In 1358, the peasants in revolt, who were called the Jacques, were cut to pieces below the walls by the French and English nobles.

MEAUX IN 1914

Happier now than in 1814 and 1870, Meaux escaped in September, 1914, the horrors of invasion; and it was only crossed by some German patrols. A few shells fell in the Faubourg Saint-Nicolas and even in the neighbourhood of the cathedral, but no serious damage was done.

The British troops in retreat crossed the town on September 2 and 3 and blew up the Market bridge (view below) also the foot-bridge, further down stream. The floating wash-houses, which might have served as pontoons, had already been sunk.

Thirteen thousand out of the 14,000 inhabitants left Meaux with the civilian authorities. The bishop, Mgr. Marbeau, showed great energy in organising help for those who remained in the town and for the wounded that poured in after September 5. In spite of the abnormal circumstances, a Te Deum was sung in the cathedral for the election of the Pope Benoît XV.

VISIT TO THE TOWN

St.-Stephen's Cathedral

Beautiful panorama is visible from the top of the belfry. To visit, apply to the verger (gratuity).

The building of the cathedral was begun at the end of the twelfth century and continued until the sixteenth. It has just been completely restored.

The left tower, the only one completed, has no spire. That on the right is called the Black Tower, because of its covering of slates. The façade is in the decorated Gothic style. A beautiful rose window in the middle dominates the three doorways.

The middle doorway and that on the right are surmounted by acute triangular gablets; that on the left, of a more obtuse ogive, is placed under an arch in accolade. The church is preceded by a parvis dating from 1610, which is reached by means of eight steps.

The stone used in the present building has, unfortunately, very little resistance and is weather-worn. In the course of the revolutions witnessed by the old cathedral, mutilations were added to the damage caused by weather.

The three rows of statuettes which adorn each porch are much spoilt, as are the bas-reliefs which decorate the tympanum.

After having viewed the west façade, the tourist, keeping to the right of the cathedral, should go and look at the Lions' Doorway, which is on the south front.

This thirteenth century doorway, restored in the nineteenth by Viollet-le-Duc, takes its name from the gargoyles, representing lions, which flank it. It is a reproduction of the southern doorway of Notre-Dame de Paris.

Entering the Cathedral by the Lions' Doorway, the tourist will be struck by the lightness and richness of the decoration of the interior, which has been subjected to extensive restoration.

The great height of the aisles is noticeable. It is explained by the existence, in the original church, of vaulted galleries which were raised above the aisles, as in Senlis and Notre-Dame de Paris. These galleries disappeared in the great transformations which took place at the end of the twelfth century and the aisles therefore remained notably super-elevated.

The Tomb of the "Eagle of Meaux" is in the choir, on the right, marked by a tablet of black marble.

The PULPIT (see on the right in the opposite view) was made from some of the panels from the old pulpit where preached the great Bossuet. The bishop of Meaux, in spite of his cares at court, worked very energetically in his diocese and preached in the cathedral many sermons with that same inspiration that shone through the magnificent discourses delivered, during his career as a preacher, before the royal audience.

He maintained strict discipline among the clergy and religious orders under his jurisdiction. His contests with the Abbess of Jouarre went as far as a forcible seizure of the abbey buildings.

The opposite view shows the further end of the TRANSEPT, to which corresponds the Lions' Door on the exterior. The decoration here is particularly rich.

Above the transept rose a beautiful spire in timber-work covered with lead, but as it was in a very precarious condition it was found necessary to demolish it in 1640.

On the left of the view one sees the commencement of the CHOIR, the execution of which shows to what heights of lightness and boldness of construction Gothic architecture had arrived. The walls between the piers are hollowed out by piercings and mouldings; it is a miracle of equilibrium.

Originally the choir had only three chapels, but two intermediary chapels were added in the fourteenth century.

When making the tour of the choir the visitor will see opening on the north into the courtyard of the old chapter house the beautiful Porte Maugarni, dating from the fifteenth century. The name of Maugarni (a gaolbird hanged on this spot in 1372, by order of the bailiff of Meaux) came down to posterity by reason of the long lawsuit that the chapter of the cathedral brought against the bailiff because of this execution, carried out in ecclesiastical precincts.

Almost directly in front of the Porte Maugarni, with its back to the choir, is a white marble statue representing the kneeling figure of a young knight, Philippe de Castille. In 1603 his father founded the barefoot order of Notre-Dame-de-la-Merci. The statue comes from the church belonging to the convent of that order.

One can also see in the second chapel, beyond the great doorway in the north aisle of the nave, the group (in high relief) of the Visitation (seventeenth century) and the picture of the Adoration of the Wise Men, attributed to Philippe de Champaigne. The symmetrical chapel, on the south, contains the tombstone of Jean Rose and his wife. Jean Rose was one of the great bourgeois of Meaux in the fourteenth century. His name was given to one of the boulevards of the town.

At the entrance to the nave the seventeenth century organ is supported by beautiful arcading.

Bossuet's Monument, the work of the sculptor Dubois (1907), stands in the north aisle, near the main entrance.

At the foot of the pedestal, on the right, are represented Turenne and Mlle. de Lavallière, converted by Bossuet: Mlle. de Lavallière appears in the garb of a nun. It will be remembered how, after Mme. de Montespan had replaced her in the favour of the king, Louis XIV., she withdrew to the convent of the Carmelites, under the name of Sister Louise de la Miséricorde. On the left are Henrietta of France, queen of England, whose funeral oration was delivered by the "Eagle of Meaux," and the Dauphin, whose tutor Bossuet had been.

Behind the pedestal is a bust of the Great Condé. Bossuet was his friend, and frequently visited him in his beautiful castle of Chantilly, and often received him at the Bishop's Palace. His death inspired the "Eagle of Meaux" with one of his most magnificent funeral orations.

The Old Chapter House

Leaving the cathedral by the west door one walks into the courtyard of the bishop's palace, the entrance to which is on the right of the square. At the further end of the courtyard is the old Chapter House.

This old dwelling-place of the canons of the cathedral dates from the thirteenth century, and is in course of restoration. Its curious, covered outside staircase, which is well seen in the opposite view, is well known to archæologists.

We have seen already, in the case of the Porte Maugarni, how vehemently the canons defended their prerogatives.

The Old Bishop's Palace

The old bishop's palace, the courtyard front of which faces the cathedral, dates from the twelfth century, and was altered in the sixteenth and seventeenth. On the ground floor are two fine vaulted twelfth century rooms. An inclined plane leads to the second floor. According to tradition, one of the bishops had it made that he might go up to his rooms without dismounting from his mule.

Amongst the first-floor rooms are those of Marie-Antoinette and the king. Meaux was in fact a halting place for Louis XVI. and the royal family on their return from Varennes.

The king's room was also occupied by Napoléon I. when he came back from the Russian campaign.

The town of Meaux is now establishing a museum in the buildings of the bishop's palace.

The north front looks over a pretty garden, laid out by Le Nôtre (to be seen on Thursdays and Sundays. On other days apply to the lodge-keeper in the entrance courtyard. Gratuity.)

At the end of the garden, on the ramparts dating from the Middle Ages, is a terrace. It is reached by a covered staircase placed at the north-east angle. From there one has a beautiful view of the garden, the bishop's palace and the cathedral (view above).

On the terrace stands a little pavilion known as Bossuet's Study. The great bishop liked to work there, and often, by way of relaxation, took a walk along an avenue of fine yew trees on the ramparts near by.

The Old Mills

After visiting the bishop's palace we go through the Rue Martimprey to the banks of the Marne.

The view is extremely picturesque; on one side are the mills which dam the river; on the other, is the beautiful Promenade des Trinitaires, with its old poplars. The mills shown in the view below were rebuilt in the sixteenth century. The other side of the buildings looks on to the market bridge (view p. 74). These buildings, in spite of their age, withstood the blowing up of the bridge in 1914.

Slightly downstream are the modern mills of l'Échelle, which replaced mills similar to those of the market bridge, burnt in 1843.

VISIT
to the
OURCQ BATTLEFIELD
(September 5 to 9, 1914)

FROM MEAUX TO MARCILLY

(28 km.)

(See plan inserted between pp. 78-79)

via Chauconin, Neufmontiers, Monthyon, Penchard, Chambry, Barcy.

Start from Meaux in front of the cathedral. Go down the Rue Saint-Rémy, pass under the railway bridge, then turn to the left and take the N 3 for about 2 km. Turn to the right in front of a beetroot factory and follow the road planted with plane trees which leads to Chauconin (4 km.).

After having a peep at the little country church, we take a few steps along the path shown in the view below. The houses which border it still show traces of the incendiary fires of September, 1914. The Germans occupied the village for a few hours on the 5th, just long enough to pillage the dwellings and partly burn them by means of grenades flung on to the roofs, and sticks of resin thrust under the doors.

Having crossed the village, we have before us the buildings and high chimney of Proffit Farm, situated at Neufmontiers. Take the road which leads to it. On reaching the level of the farm, some French and German graves (of which a view is given on p. 81) will be seen to the right of the road.

The German grave is on the left, isolated. It is marked by a black cross on which is painted the letter A. In the background can be distinguished the wooded heights of Penchard, in the conquest of which fell the French and Moroccan soldiers here buried.

In front of the graves is one of the entrances of Proffit Farm. The view opposite shows a part of the courtyard. This fine farmstead had been marked down and condemned in advance.

The Germans had themselves specially guided there from Chauconin. They looted the farmer's house: near the safe was found one of the skeleton keys with which they tried to force it.

They then fired the stables and barns, where nearly 20,000 bundles of straw made a gigantic blaze.

Skirting the walls of the farm, the road leads to the Church, where the Germans installed an ambulance during their short occupation of September 5. The inhabitants who remained in the village were commandeered and had to carry in the German wounded, on ladders, from the surrounding neighbourhood.

On the morning of the 6th the French re-occupied Neufmontiers and captured the ambulance (view below).

Running between Proffit Farm and the church, the road slopes down to the brook le Rutel, which it crosses. At the fork of the road, turn to the right. A hundred yards further on is the spot from which the Panorama A seen below (6½ km.) was taken, embracing the field of action of September 5.

The advance guard of the Fourth German reserve corps had placed its artillery in the declivities of the heights of Monthyon and Penchard; the infantry troops and machine-guns had advanced into the plain, utilising le Rutel and the Neufmontiers to Iverny road as entrenchments. The first cannon shot of the battle of the Marne was fired on the 5th of September, at noon, from Monthyon at a French battery which was coming out of Iverny, and killed the captain. The fight was sanguinary all that day. The troops of the 55th division tried their hardest to push the Germans back beyond Monthyon but were stopped on the plain by the terrible fire of the machine-guns. At the same time the Moroccan brigade attacked the heights of Penchard and carried them with the bayonet, but it could not maintain its position there and was forced back behind Neufmontiers and Chauconin, which the Germans occupied. This occupation only lasted a few hours for, during the night, the German troops, threatened with being outflanked by the Seventh Corps further north, abandoned their formidable positions at Monthyon—Penchard and the outposts at Neufmontiers—Chauconin. The next morning the French took possession.

Continuing along the road to Villeroy we come, after about 2 km. to the GREAT GRAVE of which a view is given opposite. It contains the bodies of numerous officers and men who fell in the surrounding fields. At the extreme end of the grave on the right is buried the well-known writer, Charles Péguy, whose death seems to have been the one he desired when writing the following lines, now famous:

Heureux ceux qui sont morts dans les grandes batailles
Couchés dessus le sol à la face de Dieu....
Heureux ceux qui sont morts pour leur âtre et leur feu
Et les pauvres honneurs des maisons paternelles....
Heureux ceux qui sont morts, car ils sont retournés
Dans la première argile et la première terre.
Heureux ceux qui sont morts dans une juste guerre,
Heureux les épis mûrs et les blés moissonnés.

At the fork of the road beyond the grave, go to the right towards Iverny. It is within 200 yards of these cross-roads, in the field on the left of the road, that Lieutenant Péguy was killed, shot through the head while standing amidst his soldiers of the 276th, whom he had ordered to lie down. On arriving at Iverny, turn to the right towards Monthyon. At the entrance to this village, near the farm de l'Hôpital, there is a little pond where the cases of shells abandoned by the Germans were emptied (view on following page).

These cases belonged to the three batteries of 77's which were established on the right of the road behind the farm buildings, in a depression of the ground. We have seen above that these batteries started the cannonade which began the battle of the Marne. Marked down by the French batteries they hastily abandoned the position.

Leaving the pond on the right we follow the road to the left which brings us to the picturesque village of Monthyon (15 km.).

Despite the difference in spelling, it was the patrimonial fief of the celebrated philanthropist Baron de Montyon (1733-1820), founder of several prizes for good conduct and literature awarded yearly in solemn session by the "Institut de France."

We have seen that Monthyon, attacked without success on the 5th by the French, was on the 6th abandoned by the Germans. General de Lamaze established his headquarters there.

On arriving at the church turn to the right and descend towards the highway from Saint-Soupplets to Penchard.

Half-way down the slope will be seen on the left a villa which overlooks all the countryside, and where the French staff had a first-rate observatory during those hard days of September.

The view below, taken from the upper balcony, shows a corner of the vast panorama seen from there.

At the foot of the slope turn to the right towards Penchard and follow the railway lines on the road.

Two kilometres further, on the left, an avenue planted with trees leads to the Villa Automne, belonging to M. Charles Benoist, member of the "Institut" and deputy of Paris.

There the Germans installed an ambulance which received the wounded of the first battles with the Moroccans at Penchard.

Those who succumbed, among them several officers, were buried in the garden of the estate.

The villa had been ransacked; the most highly appreciated trophy being the owner's peaceful academician's sword.

At the entrance to Penchard (19 km.), keep to the right as far as the town-hall square, where the motor can be left.

By the road which borders the town-hall on the right (about 150 yards from there and going past the church) we reach the edge of the Penchard woods where the view on the following page was taken. The tourist who enters these woods for a walk, or a rest, will find graves here and there, the last traces of the furious battles that were fought around.

Penchard was attacked the first time on September 5 by the Moroccan brigade, which came from the Chauconin-Neufmontiersline, over which the tourist has already travelled. The struggle was a desperate and particularly bloody one on the edge of the wood now before us, as also in the gardens of the neighbouring houses. The Moroccans had the advantage in this hand-to-hand fight and towards noon succeeded in taking the village, which they held for several hours under a violent bombardment.

But we know that during this time the 55th division's attack on Monthyon had failed, and the Moroccans, unsupported on their left, had to withdraw beyond Chauconin-Neufmontiers.

On the 6th the brigade, renewing its efforts, found Penchard evacuated and went on to the village of Chambry, towards which we will now direct our steps.

When leaving Penchard the Germans posted several spies in the woods, their mission being to signal the positions of the French troops and artillery to the aviators.

One of them was caught and shot at the entrance to the wood in the evening of the 8th. He wore the red-cross armlet and on him were found pennons and rockets which he used for signalling.

We must retrace our steps as far as the fork of the road at the entrance to the village and take the road that runs to the right.

Immediately after this we come to the crossways of three roads; we follow the middle one which goes towards Chambry.

We arrive at the Monument des Quatre-routes, so called because it is placed at the crossing of the Barcy[Pg 86] to Meaux road with that from Penchard to Chambry.

This monument was raised by the engineers, by order of General Gallieni, to the memory of the Army of Paris.

Every year, commemorative ceremonies take place at Meaux and on the neighbouring battlefields, particularly at the monument of the Quatre-Routes. The view opposite was taken in September 1916. The bishop of Arras Mgr. Lobbedey, who some hours earlier preached a touching sermon from Bossuet's pulpit in the Cathedral of Meaux, is here seen placing the tricolour flag at the foot of the monument.

At the crossing of the Quatre-Routes, the tourist coming from Penchard continues straight on to Chambry, which is seen a little further on in a hollow (see photograph below).

Chambry (22 km.) is one of the points of the French right where the fighting was fiercest. It was taken and retaken during the days of September 6, 7 and 8. Alternately bombarded by the French 75's (which at Penchard and Monthyon had taken the place of the German 77's, driven from their first line), and by the light and heavy artillery that the Germans had established on the heights of Vareddes and Gué-à-Tresmes, Chambry, as shown by the great number of new roofs, suffered heavily.

The Germans were thrown back from the western ridge of the hollow into the village, which they were forced to abandon after violent hand-to-hand fighting in the streets. They then entrenched themselves on the east flank and particularly in the cemetery, which is seen in the view below.

Driven from the cemetery they fell back on their chief position, visible on the panorama B (pp. 90-91), whence they made obstinate counter-attacks. The soldiers of the 45th and 55th divisions fought for the ground foot by foot, and finally remained masters of it at the cost of heavy losses. Zouaves, Algerian sharp-shooters, and foot-soldiers of the line vied with each other in heroism during these terrible days.

Having entered Chambry we cross the square, leaving the main street on the left, and go straight on. We thus turn round the village by the east—that is to say, on the front that had to withstand all the German onslaught.

The gardens which border the road contain several graves of soldiers who were killed in battle and buried where they fell. The upper photograph shows one of these graves. Some Algerian sharp-shooters fell there, as is indicated by the crescent drawn on the tombstone placed at the head of the grave. The tricolour cockade pinned below is that of "l'Œuvre du Souvenir."

On the slope of the road, to the right, the French troops had established a trench and some precarious shelters (see photograph below).

This chance installation at the beginning of the war contrasts oddly with the scientific work that the struggle on fixed positions has now made common. It seems as though it could not have afforded anything more than moral protection against the German artillery, which for three days riddled the position with shells of 77, 105, and even 150 calibre.

The road followed by the tourist rejoins the main street which lay on his left as he entered the village.

400 yards from here, on the right, lies the CEMETERY of Chambry. Near the entrance, on the left, is a little chapel, whose doors were riddled with bullets. It served as a temporary infirmary but was very quickly filled up.

We have seen already the importance of the position held by the Germans in the cemetery.

Through embrasures pierced in the walls, rifles and machine-guns directed a fierce fire on the French troops as they advanced to attack from the direction of Chambry and Barcy. When the latter had taken the cemetery they, in turn, made use of its defences. The bombardment growing too violent, Zouaves and foot-soldiers took shelter in the trench outside the cemetery walls, visible in the photograph on the following page. A goodly number of these brave men remained there and took up the space that would have sufficed for the dead of that small parish for many long years.

The cemetery of Chambry has become a pilgrimage centre. Every year, in the month of September, numerous delegations come to cover the little graves with flowers. The photograph below was taken in 1915. In the middle of the crowd can be distinguished in the foreground, kneeling and leaning against the wire, Mgr. Chesnelong, Archbishop of Sens; behind him Mgr. Marbeau, Bishop of Meaux. The lieutenant seen on the left is the Abbé Dugoux, who had just celebrated mass in the Cathedral of Meaux.

On leaving the cemetery one sees in front, on the slope of the road, the remains of the trenches dug by the French to protect themselves against counter-attacks from the heights of Varreddes.

Following the road, one soon sees the harrowing sight of the Plateau of Chambry-Barcy, covered with graves. To the right especially, in the fields which were crossed by the troops rushing to the attack from the hill visible in the photograph below, one can reconstruct the progression of the lines under fire by glancing along the succession of graves.

The principal line of the German defence during the days of September 7, 8 and 9 was established on a position leading from Étrépilly to Varreddes, plainly visible on panorama B (pp. 90-91). The height shown in the photograph below formed its southern extremity and its most salient point. Trenches had been made there, supplied with machine-guns and supported by batteries of 77's.

One realises what energy the French troops needed to advance thus, over absolutely uncovered ground, under dropping fire. Several attacks were unavailing; one of them reached the trenches, but the Germans, who had every facility for bringing up their reserves, which were kept sheltered in the declivity on the other side of the hill, thrust the French back on Chambry.

At last, on September 9, the Germans having begun their retreating movement, Zouaves, Moroccans, and foot-soldiers hustled their rearguards and descended in pursuit of them into the hollow of Varreddes.

Continuing along the same road the tourist comes to a fork. Here he turns to the left towards Barcy and soon comes to a group of poplars, whence the panorama B (below) was taken.

This PANORAMA shows the objective of the French right during the days of September 7, 8, and 9. This was the little ridge which runs between Étrépilly and Varreddes, followed by a road bordered here and there with poplars. This road was filled with trenches and machine guns which easily swept the uncovered ground that had to be crossed before they could be reached.

The supporting artillery was in the middle distance, on the Trocy Plateau and the sides of the Varreddes hollow.

The 55th (Reserve) Division, the 45th Algerian Division, and the Moroccan Brigade hurled themselves against this redoubtable position for three days, while the 56th (Reserve) Division attacked Étrépilly and the plateau which stretches to the north. The line fell on the 9th, but over the whole surface of this plain (which has been called "the Calvary of the Reserve Divisions") lay numbers of dead who were buried, some where they fell, others in common graves. These graves, with their flags waving in the wind, give a veritable grandeur to this landscape of gentle undulations.

In the view below, taken in front of one of these common graves on the plateau, appears the then English premier, Mr. Asquith, who was anxious to make the Ourcq pilgrimage during one of his visits to Paris. He is seen standing on the right of the road, near the spot from where panorama B was taken.

Arriving at Barcy (26 km.) the tourist will see the site of the great commemorative monument which is to be raised by subscription after the war. At the cross-roads near the entrance to the village, take the middle road which goes through Barcy and leads to the church.

It was in the little square, opening out in front of the belfry and the town-hall, that the second photograph (reproduced on the following page) was taken, showing Mr. Asquith interrogating a little village girl come to fetch water from the fountain.

Behind the fountain stands Colonel Hankey, secretary of the Allies' War Council; beside him is the French officer who directed and expounded the visit; Mr. Asquith is in the middle; to the right his son-in-law, and on the extreme right Mr. O'Brien, Sir Edward Grey's colleague.

On September 4 Barcy was the headquarters of a German division. A few people, among them the brother of the Bishop of Meaux, had been arrested near Varreddes, in Mgr. Marbeau's car, and taken before the general. The latter, announcing that he meant to keep their car, told them to inform the inhabitants of Meaux that on the morrow, at the same hour, his troops would be before Paris. But on the morrow Maunoury's army had begun its flank attack, and on the morning of the following day Barcy was carried by the French troops arriving from Monthyon.

Barcy served as starting point for the assaults on Chambry and on the line of defence of Étrépilly-Varreddes; very often also as a place for defensive withdrawals. The fighting was desperate; on September 6 the 246th had nearly twenty officers, including the colonel, out of action, whilst the 289th found it necessary to attack three times during the day.

For three days the bombardment was terrific: the batteries of Étrépilly, Varreddes, and Gué-à-Tresmes rained shells on the village and its approaches.

The church suffered heavily, as shown by the photographs on this page. In the upper one is seen the hole made by the heavy projectile which brought down the bell seen in the foreground of the second photograph. Many houses, like those in the church square, still bear traces of the cannonade.

Others, less heavily damaged, have been repaired. Indeed, to look at the farm sleeping in the sunshine (see following page), one would never dream that it had lived through such tragic days.

The new roofing of the building on the left is all there is to remind one that it was not spared by the shells.

Before leaving Barcy, we pass the cemetery where lie buried many officers and men who fell in the neighbourhood of the village.

The Germans entered Marcilly on the evening of September 4, and abandoned it on the 6th, fearing the outflanking movement of the Seventh Corps towards the north.

The village was the centre of operations for the 56th (Reserve) Division. The photograph below shows General de Dartein's temporary headquarters beside a haystack, not far from the village, whose church can be seen in the background.

The tourist will have an opportunity of seeing in detail the objectives of the division when passing through Champfleury, Poligny, and Étrépilly. The struggle was very fierce and the bombardment incessant for three days.

The road crosses Marcilly but we do not go beyond the church, which is a very curious one, with its squat tower and rustic porch (see following page). Beside it is the school where a light infantry sergeant, mortally wounded, still found strength enough to write on the blackboard: "The 23rd battalion Light Infantry, the 350th Infantry, and the 361st Infantry have beaten the Prussians here. Vive la France!"

The few inhabitants who remained in the village also remember one of the prisoners brought to the Pernet Farm, whose torn tunic gave glimpses of a woman's chemise, trimmed with lace and little blue ribbons.

From the church square we turn back about 100 yards and take, on the left, the road to Étrépilly.

At the end of the village is a GRAVE where foot-soldiers, light infantry and artillerymen lie buried (see photograph overleaf).

Turning round, the tourist will have a wide view of Barcy, Monthyon, and Penchard; passing to the other side of the ridge he will see, on the left, the prominent farms of Champfleury and Nongloire.

The view below was taken during the battles of September in a field on the right of the road. We see a whole section, which thought itself in safety behind a haystack, destroyed by the explosion of a shell.

FROM MARCILLY TO ÉTRÉPILLY

(45 km.)

via Puisieux, Nogeon, Acy, Étavigny, Betz, Acy, Vincy

Étrépilly is 4 km. from Marcilly by the direct route, but we take the tourist round a loop of 45 km. before reaching Étrépilly, so that he may visit the front of the French left wing.

Arriving at a beetroot factory we come to a fork in the road and take the left branch. Around this factory desperate battles were fought between the troops of the 56th (Reserve) Division (who, having taken Marcilly, were trying to take Étrépilly) and the Germans, who defended this advance guard of their main position foot by foot.

The road crosses the Thérouanne; 50 yards further on, at the cross-roads, we take the road on the right which rises towards the Farm of Champfleury (5 km.). From this front, extending from the factory to the Champfleury farm, the 56th Division made many attacks on the strong line formed by Étrépilly and the plateau which spreads out north of the village, being also successful in shattering all the German counter-attacks.

Champfleury, very important by reason of its dominating position (as shown in the above photograph), was vigorously defended, but after two unsuccessful assaults it was finally carried by the French. There they were subjected for two days to a violent bombardment from Étrépilly, Vincy, and Trocy, which made all their attempts to debouch both difficult and costly.

The farm buildings suffered badly and the rooms of the farm-house were reduced to ruins by shell-fire.

The view below shows the façade; the officers seen in the photograph belonged to the staff of the 56th Division which took the farm. The owners had evacuated Champfleury at the beginning of September; when they returned they found in the billiard-room (which was smashed to pieces) a jeering inscription signed by a German officer, regretting that they (the owners) had not been there to take part in the cannoning performed on their table.

To enter the farm follow a little lane on the right for about 100 yards. Very likely it is still possible to see the various seats hidden in the trees in the garden, which were used by the look-out men.

From Champfleury the road descends towards Puisieux. The view below shows the situation of this village, in a fold of the ground. In the background, at the summit of the plateau, is seen the farm of Nogeon, which will be visited in the course of the excursion.

On the tourist's left, and outside the limits of the photograph, is a depression beyond which, in a position similar to Champfleury (see panorama D, pp. 106-107), appears the farm of Nongloire.

From the plateau on which stands this farm the French artillery hammered Champfleury and the Étrépilly position.

On the right, also outside the photograph, is the farm of Poligny, towards which we go, turning to the right, in Puisieux, into the Rue de Poligny. The view below was taken from the Poligny road in September, 1914. In it are seen guns, cartridges, and machine-gun belts abandoned on the battlefield, and a French drum, which latter doubtless sounded the charge when the troops of the Seventh Corps, starting from Puisieux, and supported by the 56th Division coming down from Champfleury, went to attack the farm.

The struggle was desperate, for Poligny, like Champfleury, was an advanced position of the Vincy-Étrépilly line, and the Germans defended it to the utmost. Before leaving they set it on fire.

The view below shows to what a lamentable condition this large farm was reduced by bombardment and incendiarism.

Only a part of the courtyard can be seen here, but all the buildings belonging to the farm, including the beetroot factory, are in the same state.

From Poligny the Germans fell back on their positions on the Étrépilly Plateau, which is in the background of the photograph, and the farm became a valuable point of support for the Seventh French Corps.

The German battery defending Poligny could not withdraw in its entirety, the fire of the French 75's having destroyed at least one of the field-pieces, of which a photograph is given below.

After this visit the tourist will return to the Puisieux Road (8½ km.) following the road, he came by, and crossing the village by an S-shaped route, leave the church on the right.

On the French front Puisieux formed the connecting point between the right (group Lamaze) and the centre (Seventh Corps). It received many shells from the batteries of 77's established on the Vincy-Étrépilly line and from the heavy howitzers of the Trocy Plateau.

Having passed the church, the tourist arrives at a little square, with several[Pg 98] roads opening into it. He takes the one on the right, which leads him to the plateau that dominates Puisieux on the north. On the left can be seen the distillery of Fosse-Martin; straight ahead is the Nogeon Farm with its beetroot factory.

West of Fosse-Martin, in a room in the Castle of Brégy, the flag of the 72nd Thuringian regiment was found, abandoned.

The French artillery, installed between Fosse-Martin and Bovillancy, maintained a terrific fight against the German batteries at Étavigny, Vincy, and Trocy. Colonel Nivelle, future generalissimo, commanded the Fifth Artillery Regiment which had just done great deeds in Alsace, and whose daring and enthusiasm shone forth anew on the plateau of Multien.

Nogeon Farm was one of the principal centres of battle during the days of September 6 to 9. Taken by the French after a hand-to-hand fight, it was subjected to several counter-attacks which, supported by violent bombardments, completely destroyed it. But labour soon claims its rights, and the view above shows the rebuilding in progress.

From Nogeon, and the trenches around it, the troops of the Seventh Corps gained Acy and attempted to reach Vincy. The progression towards this last position, over open ground swept by an intense cannonade, was particularly difficult. Many actions took place at night. It was during one of these, in a bayonet charge on September 7, that the soldier Guillemard, having transfixed with his bayonet the officer standard-bearer, captured a flag belonging to the 36th Magdebourg Fusiliers, decorated with the Iron Cross in 1870. Guillemard received the Military Medal from the hands of General Gallieni.

The young fellow shook with emotion during the ceremony, and the general said good-humouredly: "Now then, embrace me and imagine I'm a pretty girl."

From Nogeon the road descends to Acy-en-Multien (14½ km.) of which the slender steeple can be seen.

We cross the Gergogne and go through the village, following the High Street up to the twelfth and thirteenth century church, which is classed as an historical monument. This church came practically unscathed through the struggle which drenched the village with blood.

Acy's situation in the hollow of a valley robbed its steeple of all value as an observatory; it was therefore respected by the artillery on both sides.

After glancing around the interior of the old church, with its squat pillars, shown in the above view, we go on along the High Street, passing the town-hall.

Opposite is a photograph of the town-hall safe, which was blown up by the Germans during their occupation of the place.

A little further on is the cemetery, in front of which is a big military grave.

Acy's churchyard was much too small to hold all the heroes who fell on the territory belonging to that parish.

In front of the cemetery, on the other side of the road, stands the castle where the Germans quartered themselves.

The view opposite gives but a slight idea of the state in which it was found by its owners.

The park was placed in a state of defence and the Germans made a tenacious resistance there.

The tourist will now take the road in front of the cemetery which skirts the castle railings. Then turning to the left he will follow the zig-zag road which climbs the Étavigny Plateau.

The above panorama was taken from the last turn of the climbing path and gives a good view of the valley in which Acy is built.

Here we can follow the course of the battle: the French held the Nogeon Plateau, the Germans the valley and the heights where the tourist stands. Troops belonging to the Seventh Corps descended on Acy from Nogeon and came up in front of the village, others slipped along the Gergogne and made a flank attack.

After furious fighting in the streets, in the castle grounds and in the little woods on the hillsides, the Germans were flung back from Acy to the heights of Étavigny. They returned to the charge, and in their turn drove the French back to the Nogeon Plateau.

The village thus changed hands several times, and this terrible beating backwards and forwards caused great losses on both sides.

Continuing his road to Étavigny, the tourist will go over the position that the Germans established on the plateau.

The infantry and the machine-guns were entrenched along the road itself; the light and heavy artillery were in the hollow on the right. They showered shells on the French positions at Nogeon, and in return received the fire of the batteries placed, as before mentioned, between Fosse-Martin and Bouillancy.

Arriving at Étavigny (18 km.) our attention is at once drawn to the church, which suffered terribly.

The part played in the battle by the church of Étavigny was very different from the passive one assigned to the church of Acy. Its dominating position afforded priceless views of the French lines to the observer installed in its steeple. It was therefore by shells from the 75's that the church was damaged (see pp. 100 and 101).

Étavigny was taken and retaken in the course of the Battle of the Ourcq. The struggle was hard, the Germans making a desperate resistance, as a serious French advance in this locality would have meant the outflanking of their whole line. They succeeded in forcing the troops of the Seventh Corps off the plateau.

Taking the road to the right, beside the church, and continuing about 200 yards we come to the cemetery, which is in a state of upheaval from the bombardment. The photograph below was taken through one of the gaps.

From Étavigny the tourist can either return to Acy by the same road, or follow the itinerary that we now give, which forms a loop around the northern part of the battlefield. In the first case, the distance to Acy is 3½ km., in the second 14 km.

Starting again from the church along the road which crosses the village, continue straight on towards Boullare. Here keep turning to the left and take the road to Betz. In the hollow on the left were placed the German batteries which joined in action with those of Étavigny.

The road descends into a rather picturesque valley. Through it runs a small river, the Grivelle, which we must cross, then go through Antilly, turning to the right on entering, and to the left at the fork in the road just after leaving the village.

Betz did not suffer much from the guns, but some of its houses were burnt by the Germans, notably the Hôtel du Cheval Blanc (see p. 102), which can still be recognised by its signboard.

The castle was occupied by a German headquarters-staff, who left it in a deplorable state.

During the pursuit the French officers had to abandon the idea of lodging there: one of them records in his notebook: "The German officers have left disgusting traces of their passage; we see slices of melon, bearing the marks of their teeth, in the wash-hand-basins, and enormous heaps of empty and broken wine bottles."

The tourist will cross Betz by the main street, which is seen in the above illustration, and at the further end of the village he will go straight on under the railway, leaving the road to Nanteuil-le-Haudouin on the right.

This last-named town has not been included in the itinerary, although it played an important part in the ultimate manœuvre attempted by Von Kluck—that of outflanking the French left wing. The paved road which leads to it is bad, and the other roads by which one could rejoin the planned route are extremely rough. Below we give a view of a corner of this battlefield. It gives some idea of the great plain which extends from Betz to Nanteuil, where the 7th and 61st French Divisions resisted with desperate energy the furious attacks of the Fourth German Corps. The dead horses seen in the photograph belonged to a French battery. The 75's, fully exposed, supported the foot-soldiers in their efforts until they came almost into actual contact with the enemy.

After passing under the railway the road rises to the plateau and soon brings us near a commemorative monument, on the right (view on following page).

Thence it passes through the Woods of Montrolles, where the 61st Division particularly distinguished itself on the evening of September 8. Worn out with fatigue, its reserve supplies exhausted two days before, it yet, by a supreme effort, succeeded in driving back the Germans.

Having passed through the Woods of Montrolles, we soon come to a fork. Here take the road on the left.

To the right are the Heights of Bouillancy, where the French artillery was placed; on the left the Plateau of Étavigny on which were the German batteries.

A hollow, where runs a river, separates the two positions, between which the artillery duel was intense, preparing and accompanying infantry assaults which succeeded one another from September 6 to 9, with alternate advances and retirements.

The road then returns to Acy, skirting the wall of the Castle park. We again pass the church and, on leaving the village, cross the Gergogne. Immediately after the bridge turn to the left towards Vincy (35½ km.). The photograph below shows that this village also suffered from incendiarism and bombardment.

After passing through Vincy, bear to the left in order to pass in front of the Manœuvre distillery, leaving the hamlet of that name on the left. Étrépilly (41 km.) will be reached by the middle road of the crossways, which are about 1 km. further on past the distillery.

This Vincy-Étrépilly line formed part of the defensive front established by the Germans west of the Ourcq, marked out further north by the localities of Betz, Étavigny, and Acy, which have just been visited, and more to the south, by the position seen on panorama B (pp. 90-91). The Germans had made trenches and machine-gun shelters over the whole plateau, which stretches on the right of the road towards the farms of Poligny and Champfleury. On the right slope of the road one can still see the dug-outs where the snipers sheltered themselves.

The position was attacked from September 6 to 9 by the 63rd Division of the Seventh Corps and the 56th of the Lamaze Group which carried the advance positions constituted by the farms of Nogeon, Poligny, and Champfleury. They were stopped, however, on the line itself until the general withdrawal of the German troops.

To reach the spot where the view below was taken, follow the track which branches off the road from Vincy to Étrépilly, between the memorial and the burnt hangar. This is the road we see across the middle of the panorama. The tourist finds himself at the southern extremity of the Vincy-Étrépilly position, on the site of a German battery which was severely treated by the French 75's.

In the background is seen the Trocy Plateau, separated from the road by a hollow, in which flows a tributary of the Thérouanne. On the Trocy Plateau, where this itinerary will in due course lead the reader, the Germans had established their powerful artillery, composed of heavy and light batteries, which swept the whole battlefield from Nogeon Farm to Barcy, taking in Puisieux and Marcilly. Beyond the valley of the Thérouanne, south of Étrépilly, stretches the position of which the details appear in panorama B (pp. 90-91). The view extends to the wooded Heights of Penchard, which are outlined against the horizon.

On the brow of the hill where stands the observer, fierce battles were fought at the time of the attacks on Étrépilly. The 350th Infantry did once, on the morning of the 7th, make their way into the village, following the valley of the Thérouanne, but violent counter-attacks forced them back. They returned to the charge at night and climbed from the river's edge to the plateau. They were greeted by the fire of a machine-gun section upon which two companies flung themselves with fixed bayonets. Two field-pieces were taken. The French troops maintained their position until ten o'clock in the evening, but finally, as the German reinforcements poured in, were obliged to descend the slope and cross back to the right bank of the Thérouanne.

Returning to the Étrépilly road we pass in front of the memorial raised by the engineers in front of the cemetery, at the place where the battles of Étrépilly reached their climax. A military grave has been made behind the memorial.

The Germans had entrenched themselves in the cemetery, where they succeeded in checking the night attack of the Zouaves on September 7. The Second Regiment, coming from Barcy, reached the village and carried it at the point of the bayonet.

Without stopping, the Zouaves began to climb the height at the foot of which Étavigny is built.

Their rush carried them as far as the cemetery, and here, met by a terrific fire from the machine-guns, they tried to keep the position, but German reinforcements having come up, they were forced to abandon the plateau, evacuate the village, and return to their trenches at Barcy. Lieutenant-Colonel Dubujadoux, commanding the regiment, was killed; three-fourths of the officers and half the effective force fell in the course of this heroic charge.

In front of the memorial the twisted metal framework of a burnt shed is to be seen. According to certain accounts, the Germans, before evacuating the position on September 9, used this shed to burn the bodies of those of their soldiers who fell in the battles of Étrépilly. Some of the inhabitants say that to these were added the badly wounded, whose hurts were such that they could not be removed.

We believe, as a matter of fact, that a large pyre of corpses was set alight here by the Germans, who generally burn their dead when they cannot carry them away. But the hangar was destroyed by the French artillery which fired repeatedly on that side of the plateau at the battery of 77's installed there, at the cemetery, and at the German trenches.

Turn to the right at the foot of the slope into Étrépilly and on leaving the village take the road on the left; cross the river, turn again to the left and follow the track which climbs the plateau. After a few hundred yards the right slope disappears. It was at this point that panorama D was taken, showing, from the German side, the same battlefield seen from the French side in panorama B (pp. 90-91).

The road on which the tourist now stands goes on to the heights of Varreddes. Bordered with trenches and machine guns, it constituted the principal line of the German defence south of Étrépilly, the advance lines resting thus: the first on Penchard—Monthyon—Heights of Cuisy; the second on Chambry—Barcy—Marcilly. In this theatre of operations fought, south of the Marcilly-en-Étrépilly road, the 55th (Reserve) Division, the 45th Division and the Moroccan Brigade; at Marcilly and on the plateau north of Étrépilly, which is outlined on the extreme right of the panorama and crowned by the Champfleury Farm the 56th (Reserve) Division.

Leaving the trenches hastily dug on the Chambry—Barcy—factory of Marcilly line, the troops of the Lamaze group, before getting up to the German trenches, had to cross two kilometres of uncovered ground, under terrible fire. It was in one of these attacks, starting from Barcy, that Major d'Urbal (brother of the general) fell at the head of his Zouaves as, waving his cane, he drew them along. He was brought back to the French lines, thanks to the devotion of one of the few officers who survived the attack, helped by two Chasseurs d'Afrique. Because of his great height the commander's body could not be carried back, and they were obliged to place it on a horse. The group returned thus to Barcy under a hailstorm of bullets, where a shell-hole in the cemetery served for a grave.

In the counter-attacks, the Germans as they left their trenches also suffered serious losses, as one can judge from the preceding photograph, which was taken in front of the position.

The tourist will return to Étrépilly by the road he came, leaving the church (the roof of which was hit by several shells) on the right, and taking the Trocy Road on the left.

ÉTRÉPILLY TO MEAUX

(19 km.)

via Trocy, Gué-à-Tresmes, Varreddes.

The beautiful shady road that leads from, Étrépilly to Trocy first crosses a hollow, then winds up the hillside to the plateau on which Trocy is built (3 km.). On arriving, turn to the left and so enter the heart of the village.

Trocy did not actually suffer from the German attacks, but it was bombarded by the French artillery. In front of the horse-pond, on the left of the little church, stands a farm (view opposite) which in 1917 still showed traces of the "75" shell which damaged its roof. Other houses were completely destroyed.

The Germans had concentrated their chief artillery forces on the Trocy Plateau. Heavy and light batteries were in position north and south of the village, the greater part being north, between Manœuvre, Plessy-Placy, and Trocy.

The intense cannonade poured from this dominating platform very much hampered the progress of the French centre.

The position was evacuated by the Germans on the 9th, not without serious losses of light artillery, as shown by the photograph below and that at the top of the following page.

The limber (shown below), abandoned at the side of the road, is an infantry limber which contained rifle and machine-gun cartridges.

The French artillery which swept the plateau hit it in the course of the retreat.

Rounding the horse-pond, we take the road which runs under the monumental gateway, a view of which is given above.

This gate is one of the chief remains of the fortifications which guarded Trocy in the Middle Ages.

It will be seen that the strategic importance of the position has at all times been appreciated at its full value.

Having passed through the gate, we take, 100 yards further on to the left, the road that dips into a hollow, on the opposite slope of which stands out the fine farm of Beauvoir.

We reach this farm by a zig-zag ascent which comes out on the Route Nationale (N. 36). We then turn to the right and go down towards Gué-à-Tresmes.

This little place played the part, in relation to the extreme German left, that Trocy played in the centre. It was a heavy artillery position supporting the advanced line of defence.

At the entrance to the village, on the left side of the road, is a large residence surrounded by a park. It was occupied by the Germans and converted into a field hospital. In order to make room rapidly, the furniture was flung outside. It was thus that the billiard-table was found in the park. A soldier who was evidently a lover of fresh air used it as a shelter. On the opposite photograph can be seen a fish-kettle which did duty as a basin: frequent washing being indispensable during those hot September days.

A certain number of German wounded died in the hospital and were buried in the garden; their belongings were left behind at the time of the retreat, as shown in the opposite photograph.

This retreat must have taken the occupants unawares, for a meal was on the officers' table when the French troops entered the château.

At the cross-roads, about 300 yards beyond the château, go to the left along the Thérouanne. 200 yards further along this road is seen (on the right) the place where a group of German artillery was hidden. Well-screened in the hollow shown in the view below, several heavy batteries, for a long time out of reach of the 75's, made extremely difficult the advance of the French right on the Plateau of Chambry-Barcy. They also hampered the left, of the British army and the 8th French Division on the left bank of the Marne. In the course of this tour, we have already seen several examples of the German battery positions. Wherever the ground allowed of it, the guns were placed in a hollow, visible only to aerial observers. Telephones linked them up with the posts established on the ridges whence the firing was directed.

Returning to the Route Nationale, turn to the left towards Varreddes. On both sides of the road, which was their main way of retreat, the Germans had made lines of defence: trenches were dug and furnished with machine-guns, and light batteries were established as supports.

The whole, which joined up with the defence works of Trocy, constituted a position of withdrawal for the Étrépilly-Varreddes line, seen in panorama B (pp. 90-91). This was the first stage of the retreat on September 9.

This panorama was taken at the intersection of the Meaux-Soissons road (N 36) and a track which leads to Étrépilly, in the field bordering the road and where German machine-guns were established in order to sweep with their fire the Route Nationale and the bottom of the hollow.

It is easy to understand why the Germans attached so much importance to the Varreddes position.

The slopes west of the hollow (they form the background on the left of the panorama) were protected from the blows of the French artillery, and by availing themselves of this protection the Germans could easily bring up supplies or relieve the defenders on the crests, facing Chambry-Barcy. This ensured their resistance until the moment when the general trend of the action forced them to fall back.

After having examined panorama E, continue the descent towards Varreddes (12 km.). Before crossing the canal one can see, on the right, a '75' shell which has remained fixed in the wall of an inn, of which the sign has now become: "A l'obus."

At the entrance of the village is a certain number of houses that were damaged by the bombardment.

The German wounded, forsaken during the hasty retreat of September 9, were sheltered and nursed at the town-hall. They are seen in the opposite view. When leaving the village the Germans took twenty hostages with them, all very old, among them being the vicar. Three succeeded in escaping, but, for the others, the retreat proved (as will be seen) a veritable torture. Seven of them were murdered.

On the first day they were forced to march seventeen miles. M. Jourdain, aged 77, and M. Milliardet, aged 78, taken away with only slippers on their feet, were the first to fail from exhaustion: they were shot point-blank. Soon after, M. Vapaillé suffered the same fate.

The next day M. Terré, an invalid, fell, and was killed with revolver-shots; M. Croix and M. Llévin stumbled in their turn and were also shot.

All three were from 58 to 64 years of age. Finally, M. Mesnil, aged 67, utterly exhausted, gave in: his skull was smashed in with blows from the butt end of a rifle.

The other hostages, better able to endure, held on as far as Chauny and were sent to Germany by rail. They were repatriated five months later.

After having traversed Varreddes and before re-crossing the canal, a tree will be noticed on the left of the road (the 38th on the way out) which has been pierced by a '75' shell as if by a punching-press.

40 yards beyond the canal, on the right, are seen several tracks which scale the heights. We climb the one on the right up to the summit, where the above panorama was taken. This gives a view of the Varreddes hollow in the opposite direction to that of panorama E (pp. 112-113).

Germigny, seen on the right of the photograph, is known through having been Bossuet's summer residence. The Germans had a heavy battery there, which bombarded Meaux in the early days of September. On the 8th they re-crossed the Marne, blowing up the bridge behind them.

The appearance of a French reconnoitring party composed of a sergeant-major and nine men had sufficed to cause the evacuation of the position, which, with the river behind it, seemed a dangerous one. These ten heroes were killed in the course of the battle and buried at Germigny. On the 9th, the Marne was crossed on a pontoon bridge built by British engineers, under fire, whose heroic tenacity triumphed after seventeen fruitless attempts.

The Germans, attacked besides on the heights where the tourist now stands, were obliged to retire rapidly from the hollow by the Soissons Road, under fire from the French batteries.

On the crest of the hill a track crosses the ascending one, near two isolated walnut-trees. On the right this road goes to Étrépilly; it constituted the German line of defence which is the subject of panorama B (pp. 90-91).

The tourist will go to the left between the two walnut-trees and explore the crest which formed the redoubtable position occupying the background of the view on p. 89. It was well provided with trenches, machine-guns and light batteries, and all attacks against it failed, until September 9.

Turning again to the left 1 km. further on, at the first fork in the road, the reader will follow a little path which brings him back to the Route Nationale at the point where he left it. The walk takes about 30 minutes. The two paths, by which the ascent and descent have been made, served the Germans as channels for bringing up supplies. Their rearguard, which disputed the ground foot by foot, was routed there by a bayonet attack.

We now return towards Meaux. The retreating Germans followed this road, but in a contrary direction and pursued by the French shells.

At the highest point, on the right, is seen the trunk of a tree decapitated by artillery fire, at the top of which the workmen of the entrenched camp of Paris have fixed a branch to form a cross: humble and touching tribute to the brave men killed in going up to the attack.

Before arriving at Meaux we have a beautiful view of the town. We pass under the railway; then, on the right, take the N. 3 or Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Nicolas, which brings us back to the Cathedral (19 km.)[Pg 115].

II
THE MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND COULOMMIERS-PROVINS-SEZANNE

FROM MEAUX TO COULOMMIERS

FROM MEAUX TO CRÉCY-EN-BRIE

Leaving Meaux Cathedral by the Rue Saint-Étienne, which skirts it and is continued by the Rue Saint-Nicolas, turn to the right 100 yards beyond the apse of the cathedral into the Rue du Grand-Cerf in order to gain the "Pont du Marché." After crossing it, keep straight on along the Rue du Marché, leaving on the right the market where the famous Brie cheeses are sold wholesale. Take the Rue Cornillon and the Rue du Faubourg-Cornillon, and at the top of the slope, look back in order to have a general view of Meaux, dominated by its cathedral. On leaving the town continue straight along N. 36 to Couilly (9 km.) where we reach the valley of the Grand-Morin.

(The quickest road from Couilly to Crécy-en-Brie is N. 34, which turns to the left into the paved street of Couilly before arriving at the bridge, but the prettiest road is that indicated to the tourist, on the opposite bank of the Morin.)

Make for Saint-Germain, traversing the bridge and the level-crossing, and turn to the left immediately beyond the railway into the Rue de la Gare. Turn to the left again into the Rue de Villiers, which is bordered by telegraph poles. The road follows the railway which is on the left.

On the other side of the valley are to be seen the red-tiled roofs of the modern buildings of the "Home" for actors, built on the site of the old Abbey of Pont-aux-Dames. This abbey, which was founded in the thirteenth century, was destroyed during the Revolution. Louis XIV. sent the abbess of Port-Royal-des-Champs to end her days there, after the destruction of the famous abbey of the Jansenists. Mme. du Barry, favourite of Louis XV., after an eventful life, became acquainted with the calm and self-denial of Pont-aux-Dames, when the king was no more.

The "Home" was founded in 1903 by the comedian Coquelin aîné, who died there in 1909 while on one of his visits to it. He is buried in the grounds, where is also his statue. Pont-aux-Dames has room for eighty inmates. There is also an open-air theatre used for performances. It is open to visitors on Thursdays and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. (one franc each). The entrance is 1,200 yards from Couilly bridge on N. 34 which follows the right bank of the river.

The road draws nearer to the Morin, and the railway changes over to the right bank. One hundred yards beyond "La Picardie" (little rustic inn) we arrive at Villiers-sur-Morin and turn sharply to the left at the first street.

At this crossing, standing against the house on the right, is a pyramidical monument to the memory of the painter Amédée Servin, who died in 1884. His medallion was engraved by Falguière. It was Servin, together with the native poet Jules Grenier, who introduced the Valley of the Morin to the public. A little school of artists was formed there, which recalled that of Barbizon in the Forest of Fontainebleau, or that on the banks of the Yvette. The part known by the name of the "Morin des Peintres" (the artists' Morin) stretches from Couilly to Tigeaux (south of Crécy); many artists visit there each year.

Traverse the bridge over the Morin and the level-crossing. Immediately afterwards turn to the right (14½ km.) into N. 34 towards Crécy-en-Brie.

The Grand Morin was crossed on September 6, 1914, at the beginning of the battle of the Marne by the British troops, who utilised the several bridges between Villiers-sur-Morin and Coulommiers. The Germans offered but a feeble resistance; their forces at this point consisting merely of a screen of cavalry supported by a few artillery and infantry units. Their task was to cover the retreat northwards of the two army corps recalled by Von Kluck to resist the flank attack of the Army of Paris, to the north-west of Meaux.

Shortly before arriving at Crécy, the road traverses, by means of a level-crossing, the little railway line already met with several times since Couilly and which has its terminus at Crécy.

CRÉCY-EN-BRIE

The entrance to the burgh (16½ km.) is marked by a little brick belfry surmounting a tower which belongs to the ancient fortifications. That part of the Morin which flows at its foot forms the boundary of the town, and also served as moat to the ramparts erected in the Middle Ages. Of these important defences only a few scattered towers remain of the original fifty-five.

From the bridge we have, on the right, a picturesque view of the[Pg 118] tanneries shown in the photograph opposite.

The tourist would be advised not to cross the bridge, but to follow on the left the pretty avenue, planted with trees, which encircles Crécy on the outside.

This avenue, however, is not accessible to motors. The latter may take the Rue du Marché, the Rue Serret, and on the left of the Place Camus, the Rue Barrois and its continuation, the Rue Jean-de-Compans. At the bridge over the Morin, at the extremity of the town (view opposite), the motor may await the tourists, who will rejoin it by the pretty shady walk beside the Morin shown in the photograph above.

Each one of the houses bordering the river has communication with the boulevard by means of a foot-bridge, some of which are also draw-bridges. The little wash-houses fitted up in the lower storeys of the houses add to the picturesqueness of this rustic corner.

The ramparts, which in former times were reflected in the Morin, have almost disappeared; the opposite view depicts a remaining vestige: and during the walk others will be noticed.

Having returned to the car and if it is intended to visit the beautiful church of La Chapelle-sur-Crécy (see pp. 120-121), cross the bridge over the Morin and follow the Route Nationale (N. 34) for about 1 km.

(This is also the road to take if, instead of following the tour by the valley of the Grand Morin described hereafter, tourists prefer to go straight on to Coulommiers, 14 km. from Crécy. The tour is much prettier, but 11 km. longer.)

After visiting La Chapelle-sur-Crécy return to Crécy by the same road, cross the bridge over the Morin, follow the Rues Jean-de-Compans and Barrois and come to a halt at the Place Camus. Take a few steps towards the church in the Rue de Penthièvre and glance at the arm of the Morin which crosses the street. On the right is an old mill; on the left the charming scene reproduced below; in front is the tower of the church, and its most interesting part.

Returning to the car, take the Rue Dam-Gilles, immediately to the left of the Rue de Penthièvre.

Cross the Morin (19½ km.), then at the fork in the road 50 yards beyond the bridge turn to the left into G. C. 20 towards Tigeaux and Dammartin.

La Chapelle-sur-Crécy

This beautiful church, classed as an historical monument, dates from the thirteenth century and was restored in the fifteenth thanks to the generosity of Jeanne de Navarre, wife of Philippe de Bel.

Its situation, on a lower level than the Route Nationale, has necessitated the raising of the ground. At the present time, the height of the building is diminished by about ten feet, a fact which destroys the balance of its proportions.

This impression strikes us at once on entering, for the door is almost reduced to its ogival part. In the interior, as the view below shows, there is a flagrant disproportion between the height of the pillars and that of the arcades.

The triforium encircling the nave and choir is worthy of notice. The capitals of the pillars are finely carved; and the grimacing heads, which terminate the vaulting shafts of the choir supporting the ribs of the vault, show spirited workmanship. Before the window, at the end of the church and on the right on entering, is a group in painted stone dating from the Renaissance. It is reproduced in the photograph on p. 121.

FROM CRÉCY-EN-BRIE TO COULOMMIERS
VIA THE VALLEY OF THE GRAND MORIN

Turning to the left on leaving Crécy into G. C. 20, beyond the bridge over the Morin, a mill is to be seen on an island in the middle of the river. Then, on the other bank, standing out boldly against the sky line, is the church of La Chapelle-sur-Crécy. Leaving the houses behind, telegraph posts begin to mark the road, and on following them we soon reach Tigeaux (24 km.), through which we pass to arrive at Dammartin. Enter the latter and turn to the left beyond the cemetery. Go up towards the church (26½ km.), but skirt it and leave to on the left hand. Take the first road to the left beyond the church, and follow the wall of the castle park. A little before the end of the wall, take on the right the "Chemin Vicinal" to Guérard, which dominates the Valley of the Morin. This road rejoins the railway, and fringes it, leaving it on the right. A pretty descent through woods leads down to the valley. When the road begins to mount, before arriving at Guérard, take the road which goes up on the right (31 km.), but without entering the village. 800 yards further on, at the cross roads, turn to the left towards La Celle, through which we pass (32 km.).

We leave on the left, in La Celle, the road which crosses the Morin, and which, after following the right bank, rejoins, by way of Tresmes and near Pommeuse (6 km. further on), D 16 coming from Faremoutiers. We advise tourists to take the latter (D. 16) in order to give more variety to the tour by climbing the height above the river.

After passing through the lower part of La Celle, the road begins to mount, traverses a level-crossing, and then by a series of zig-zags reaches the height on which the other part of the village of La Celle is built. Turn to the left in the Grand'rue (D. 16) towards Faremoutiers, whose church, surmounted by a tiny steeple, may be perceived in the distance. On arriving at the Place du Marché at Faremoutiers, turn to the left into the Rue de Moutiers, then to the right into the Avenue de Garenne, which runs between the church and the town-hall, and descend into the valley.

Faremoutiers was the "moûtiers" (monastery) of Sainte-Fare, who founded a convent there in the sixth century. Among its abbesses was a daughter of Charlemagne. The nuns, who were much talked of, belonged to the Order of St. Benedict. They had also many disputes with the bishops of Meaux. The monastic building was destroyed during the Revolution.

Still following D. 16, traverse a rather dangerous level-crossing, after which turn to the right towards Pommeuse. At the cross roads preceding the village, turn to the left, thus leaving the church on the right. Cross the Grand-Morin, and 50 yards farther on, turn to the right (38 km.). It is here that we once again meet the road which we crossed at La Celle, and which follows the right bank of the Morin.

At Pommeuse, during the short German occupation at the beginning of September, 1914, the inhabitants were obliged to erect a barricade which was destined to bar the passage of the Morin against the British. One of the workers not displaying sufficient ardour was tied to a cart-wheel.

D. 16 leaving Mouroux on the right joins N. 34 coming from Crécy; turn to the right towards Coulommiers (44 km.).[Pg 122]

COULOMMIERS

ORIGIN AND PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL FACTS

The following is a poetical version of the origin of Coulommiers. When Julius Cæsar arrived in the region, a tower dominating a few huts stood on the site of the present town. A large number of doves had made their nests in this tower, and flew around it, a fact which caused the spot to be known as Castrum Columbarium, from which is derived Coulommiers (the inhabitants are called Columériens).

Coulommiers developed greatly under the Counts of Champagne. The tower was surrounded by ramparts, and protected by a moat fed by the waters of the Grand Morin. These fortifications have disappeared, only a few fragments, situated in the Avenue Victor-Hugo, remaining. Coulommiers was occupied by the English in the fifteenth century, by the Russians in 1814, and by the Germans in 1870.

On September 4, 1914, the retreating British army abandoned Coulommiers, from which the greater part of the population had fled, barely 600 inhabitants remaining in the town. The Germans entered on the 5th and remained until the morning of the 7th. During this short stay they pillaged methodically, and it was owing only to the energy of the mayor, M. Delsol, 77 years of age, and of the "Procureur de la République," M. Chatry, whose adventures are related below, that Coulommiers did not experience the horrors of Senlis.

VISIT TO THE TOWN

Enter Coulommiers by the Rue de Paris, which crosses the Rue de Melun opposite the Hôtel de l'Ours. Cross this street in order to follow the Rue des Capucins, which forms the continuation of the Rue de Paris.

We arrive before a gateway, on the right, opening into the picturesque grounds of the old castle. Enter by the gateway on the left of the principal building. A German Staff established itself here during the occupation of September, 1914.

Of the eighteenth century castle, built by the Duchess of Longueville, only the large moat and a few quaint ruins remain.

We cross the moat by the bridge shown in the photograph opposite, and pass in between two little lodges, on which some curious carving is still to be seen (view above). Enter the inner courtyard of the castle, now transformed into a garden. On the right and on the left a few ruins are to be seen. The view on p. 124 is of those on the left. After having re-crossed the bridge turn to the left in order to take a[Pg 124] glance at the ancient chapel of the Capucins dating from the seventeenth century. At the far end is a rood-loft whose rich wood carvings contrast with the dismantled walls of the chapel.

Leaving the grounds, take the Rue des Capucins again, and on arriving at the Hôtel de l'Ours (where the Germans held orgies as well as at the Hôtel du Soleil Levant, a little lower down, in the Rue de la Pêcherie,) turn to the right into the Rue de Melun.

We arrive at the bridge from which the photograph below was taken. The building on the left, of which only a corner is to be seen, is the town-hall. Further to the right, in the background and half-hidden by the trees, is a large house, which lodged a German staff during the occupation. Behind the trees is the theatre.

A little beyond the bridge is a green painted house, 7. Rue de la Pêcherie, where M. Chatry, Procureur de la République, was held prisoner. The latter, in his account before the Enquiry Commission, recalled the incidents of his arrest and of his imprisonment.

"In the evening I was at the town-hall, when a rough-looking Staff Officer came up to me in the secretary's office, saying: 'Take your casque (the magistrate's "toque") and follow me,' continuing: 'You said you did not know where to find any oats; we have just found some, so you lied; you are a liar and a swine. Come with me and see.' I accompanied him to the granary of the town-mill, which had been broken into and pillaged by the Germans. I remarked that after all there were oats there, and I became again the object of redoubled insults: 'Swine, you will be shot.' And when I protested, declaring my ignorance of this provision of oats, the officer shouted repeatedly: 'Swine, shut your mouth'; at the same time, I was roughly handled and my arm and shoulder bruised.

"He then forced me to go round the town looking for more oats. I was again insulted and roughly used in a shop where the officer kicked those who were there. 'If, within an hour,' he told me, 'you have not found more oats, you will be shot.'

"After a fresh search, I returned to the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, to be again insulted by the same officer, with whom was another, tall, pale, and bareheaded, with a monocle in his right eye, who said mockingly: 'You are responsible for this; it is all your fault.'

"The first officer then complained that the gas gave a bad light, and it was in vain that I explained to him that all the men from the gasworks had left us. He continued: 'We know that the town is rich, we could ask for one million or even two million francs here, but if at eight o'clock to-morrow morning you have not found 100,000 francs, you will be shot, and the town bom[Pg 125]barded and set on fire' I replied: 'You can do what you like with me, but I cannot possibly find you this sum, all the inhabitants having left and taken their money with them.' I was then arrested, hungry and dinnerless.

"Shortly after, the mayor, M. Delsol, and the town-clerk, M. Bard, came to join me. Armed soldiers then conducted the three of us to the Rue de la Pêcherie, to the house (No. 7) of a druggist named Couesnon. This house had been broken into by the Germans, and served them as a lock-up. We were led into the dressing room.

"During the night I overheard the following conversation which took place in German between the soldiers guarding us. I repeat it word for word: 'The Procureur de la République will be shot; the "gay brothers" of the Company have been fetched to kill him; and the street has been swept to look nice.' Another soldier replied: 'Be careful, he understands German and is listening to all you say, for he is awake.'

"About 2 a.m. the platoon came to fetch us, and we descended the stairs. Below, in the dining-room, a German soldier played Chopin's 'Funeral March,' and other pieces of music for our benefit. We were ordered out into the street, and made to stand on the pavement, all three of us on the same side, whilst the platoon, with arms ready, stood on the opposite pavement facing us. We waited, thus for fully twenty minutes, after which we were ordered to join the main body of the army. At about 300 yards beyond Montanglaust (the hill overlooking the town to the north) a superior officer of the Death's Head Hussars said to us: 'You are free.'"

The preceding minute account shows how heavy and painful was the task of the civil authorities in the occupied towns.

(Leave M. Couesnon's house, and on coming to the Rue le Valentin, turn to the right and continue for a few steps towards the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, in order to have a view of an arm of the Morin bordered by picturesque old houses. Return to the Rue de la Pêcherie.) We arrive at the Place Saint-Denis, where is the old thirteenth and seventeenth century church of that name, transformed into barracks during the war (view opposite).

Turn to the right in front of the church and take the Rue du Palais-de-Justice which leads to the Place Beaurepaire, on which is the statue to the hero of Verdun of 1792. (Major de Beaurepaire killed himself rather than sign the capitulation of the town decided upon by the communal council.)

FROM COULOMMIERS TO PROVINS

Leave Coulommiers by the Avenue de Rebais skirting the new church, and passing it on the right. Cross a little bridge after about 2 km., and 1,500 yards further on take the road on the right (G. C. 66), which follows the Morin in the direction of La Ferté-Gaucher.

This part of the river was crossed by the Franco-British forces only on September 7, the British crossing at Coulommiers and in the neighbourhood, the 2nd French Cavalry Corps at La Ferté-Gaucher.

Pass through Chauffry (8 km.) then Jouy-sur-Morin (17 km.). Turn to the right in the latter village, and leaving the church on the left, cross the Morin before turning to the left. Here the road passes over the railway, then skirts it to rejoin N. 34, in which turn to the left (19 km.) in order to descend towards La Ferté-Gaucher. At 400 yards from this crossing, turn to the right into D. 4 in the direction of Courtacon and Provins (a line of telegraph-poles breaks off from N. 34 to follow D. 4). The road ascends and gives a pretty view of La Ferté-Gaucher shown in the photograph below.

An anecdote relating to the passage of the Grand Morin has been recalled by Professor Delbet, whose mother's estate contains a bridge over that river. A German general obliged Mme. Delbet, aged 77 years, to be present at the passage of the troops over the bridge, a spectacle which lasted seven hours. "Madame," said he, "when you become German, for German you are going to be, you will feel very proud to have seen my army pass through your gates. I have, besides, the intention to order a handsome memorial tablet to be fixed here mentioning this fact." As Mme. Delbet protested at the idea of becoming German, he continued: "The French race is degenerate and worn out. As you belong to a family of doctors, you must know that this is a fact. The French are done for. I may as well tell you what we mean to do. We shall keep the finest men and marry them to solid German girls; in this way, they may be able to have healthy children. As for the other survivors, we shall ship them off to America."

A few days after, Mme. Delbet had the pleasure of seeing the German troops re-crossing the river in haste, pursued by French cavalry.

At the "Château de la Masure," at 3½ km. south of La Ferté-Gaucher, much more tragic events took place, as the Enquiry Commission has established. The occupants were M. Quenescourt, late mayor of Sézanne, aged 77 years, with an old servant, and a lady from a neighbouring hamlet who had come to seek refuge.

On September 5 several German soldiers and a non-commissioned officer took possession of the estate. In order to protect one of the women from the brutal attentions of the latter, M. Quenescourt sent her to hide in the farm near by. The German hastened to look for her, found her, brought her back to the castle and took her to an attic. The old gentleman, wishing to save her, fired his revolver up the stairs. He was killed point blank by the German officer who then ordered the woman out of the attic, and handed her over to two soldiers who outraged her in the room where lay the dead man; during this time the first brute fell upon the old servant.

At the cross roads, about 1 km. beyond the spot where the view was taken, turn to the left, abandoning the line of telegraph poles.

On arriving at Courtacon, we cross D. 8 (27½ km.) at the spot where the view above was taken (the photographer standing before the police station which was burned in September, 1914, but has since been rebuilt).

Continue straight on along D. 4, towards Provins; on the left is the group of burnt houses shown in the view below.

The Germans occupied Courtacon on September 6, and immediately set fire to it, after having drenched the houses with paraffin oil. The inhabitants were obliged to furnish the faggots of wood and the matches. The mayor and five other hostages were led away, and guarded in the midst of the troops during the combats which took place around the village. After having pretended to shoot them, the Germans sent them home again.

A young man named Rousseau, a conscript of the 1914 class, was torn from his house with blows from the butt-end of rifles, and led with his hands tied behind his back after the other hostages. Although the mayor declared that the youth's "class" had not yet been called up, he was shot at 50 yards from the village as a spy.

On leaving we may see, if we look behind us, the line of heights running eastwards from Courtacon to Esternay, and on which were established the German positions when Franchet d'Esperey's army began its offensive.

We arrive without difficulty at Provins (44 km.) after a zigzagging descent, which gives us a charming view of the town (see pp. 128-129).

PROVINS

The Upper Town of Provins dates from the Gallo-Roman period. In the third century a "castrum" was established there on the hill. The Roman general Probus, afterwards emperor, halted there about the year 271, and caused the walls of the fortress to be repaired. Domitien had forbidden the cultivation of the vine in Gaul, but Probus, during his sojourn at Provins, abolished this prohibition, and thus won the gratitude of the inhabitants. This fact has given rise to one of the versions of the origin of the word "Provins," which is supposed to mean "the vine of Probus."

ORIGIN AND PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL FACTS

The lower town is of monastic origin. In the seventh century some monks, flying before the Norman invasion, took refuge in the forest which stretched at the foot of the fortress, and there buried the remains of the martyr St. Ayoul. The body was discovered in 996, and a church was erected on the spot. The church was followed by a large monastery of the Cistercian Order, around which grew up the lower town.

In the tenth century Provins passed from the royal domain into the hands of the Counts of Champagne, under whose rule it flourished exceedingly. Many buildings were erected—abbeys, churches, palaces, and a hospital; also a new wall enclosed the town. Commerce and industry flourished. Dye-works, tanneries, weaving, and the manufacture of cutlery occupied thousands of workmen, and the town counted, we are told, 80,000 inhabitants (there are now only 9,000). Its fairs were famous and were visited by strangers from all parts of Europe; even the silks and carpets of the East were to be found there. Business was carried on by means of money struck at Provins. The "sou provinois" was accepted far beyond the borders of France.

This brilliant period did not outlast the thirteenth century. In 1270 Count Henri-le-Gros established heavy taxes on commerce and industries which the principal citizens refused to pay. The mayor, Guillaume Pentecôte, to calm them, lengthened the hours of the workmen, who revolted and put him to death. The English Prince, Edmund of Lancaster, who had married the widow of Henri-le-Gros, cruelly repressed these troubles. Provins finally lost its independence by the marriage of the daughter of Henri-le-Gros with the King of France. Philippe-le-Bel (1284).

In 1870 Provins was occupied by the Prussians and suffered many requisitions, but in 1914 the German wave stopped at its gates.

Provins is also known under the poetical name of the "City of Roses," because of the profusion of these flowers, which formerly constituted its beauty and its wealth. According to tradition, the red rose of Provins was brought back from the Crusades by Thibaut IV. The Earl of Lancaster introduced it into his coat-of-arms, and thus it became the rival of the white rose of York during the War of the Roses which, in the fifteenth century, drenched England with blood.

VISIT TO THE TOWN

Enter Provins by the Courloison Gate and Bridge, and, take the Rue Courloison which follows. At the end of the street, turn to the right into the Rue Abailard in order to arrive at the Place St-Ayoul, on to which fronts the façade of the church of that name. If it is considered desirable to take lunch before visiting the town, go directly to one of the hotels indicated, returning later to the Place St.-Ayoul.

CHURCH OF SAINT AYOUL

We have seen on p. 129 that a monastery was erected on the spot where the body of the Martyr Saint Ayoul was found.

About 1122, the great theologian Abailard, cruelly mutilated by the vengeance of Canon Fulbert, uncle of Heloïse, and persecuted on account of the boldness of his views, took refuge in the monastery adjoining the church of Saint-Ayoul. He continued to teach there, and gathered round him as many as 2,000 students.

Saint-Ayoul was burned, then rebuilt in the twelfth century, and restored in the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries.

The façade is reproduced in the photograph on p. 130. In spite of mutilations suffered during the Revolution, and the inclemencies of the weather, the great doorway is still worthy of interest.

A Renaissance gallery, terminated by a lantern, flanks on the left the great bare gable pierced by three windows which surmount the gate. The whole has thus a very original appearance.

In order to see the choir (thirteenth and fourteenth centuries), the chapel (fourteenth century) which adjoins it, and the transept (twelfth century), go round the church to the left of the façade. This part of the building, which appears in the view at the foot of the preceding page, is now used by the military authorities as a fodder store.

The Roman tower, which rises at the intersection of the transept, no longer possesses its belfry, which was destroyed by fire, The bells now used are those of the Tower of Notre-Dame-du-Val (visible on the right of the photograph on p. 130).

In the interior, in the part reserved for worship, the central nave and the side aisles of the thirteenth century may be visited. The north aisle was doubled in the sixteenth century by a second nave.

The most interesting objects are the seventeenth century pulpit, and a fine reredos, also of the seventeenth century, in carved wood, above the high altar. It contains a picture, Jesus in the Temple, painted in 1654 by the artist Stella, of Lyons, who, falling ill whilst passing through Provins, had been cared for in one of the convents in the town.

In the lady chapel, on the right of the high altar, is some beautiful[Pg 132] wood-panelling, dating also from the seventeenth century. It is by the same hand as the carved reredos, and is the work of Pierre Blasser of Amiens. Standing against the panelling is a delicate Virgin in ivory, of the sixteenth century, reproduced on p. 131.

To the left of the high altar is a group representing the Virgin and Christ crucified, between Mary Magdalene and St. John. These statues belong to the sixteenth century; as do also the smaller ones in white marble, representing angel-musicians, which ornament the altar placed in the angle of the church, to be found on the left on entering (see photo, p. 131).

On leaving Saint-Ayoul take a few steps along the first street on the right in order to glance at the tower of Notre-Dame-du-Val (classed as historical monument). The tower may be seen in the view at the foot of p. 130. It was built in the sixteenth century on the site of an ancient gate. Its construction occupied four years and cost only 1,400 "livres" (about £56), the workmen at this period receiving 2 sous (one penny) a day. The church and the cloister belonging to the tower disappeared during the Revolution.

Returning to the Place Saint-Ayoul, cross it on the right side, and at the far end take the Rue de la Cordonnerie, which is a continuation.

It was at No. 17 that the poet Hégésippe Moreau was brought up, and where he worked as a typographer. He has sung of Provins and the Voulzie in verses which are well-known:—

La Voulzie, est-ce un fleuve aux grandes iles? Non,
Mais, avec un murmure aussi doux que son nom,
Un tout petit ruisseau coulant, visible à peine:
Un géant altéré le boirait d'une haleine,
Le naiu vert Obéron, jouant au bord des flots,
Sauterait par-dessus sads mouiller ses grelots.

Cross the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, and following the Rue du Val, stop at the corner of the Rue Sainte-Croix in order to visit the church of this name a few steps further on.

Whilst the tourist continues his walk towards the Hospital-General and the ramparts, which are not accessible to motor-cars, the latter may go and wait at the Porte de Jouy. This is reached by following the Rue du Val and its continuation the Rue St.-Thibaut, which brings one to the upper town. Here cross diagonally the Place du Châtel, follow the Rue Couverte and the Rue de Jouy till the porte is reached.

Church of Sainte-Croix

This Church was originally the Chapel of Saint-Laurent-des-Ponts (it was impossible to enter it save by bridges thrown across the ditches, which are now covered in).

It was enlarged in the thirteenth century, and took its present name on the return from the crusades of Count Thibaut IV. of Champagne, who presented it with a fragment of the Cross, which he had brought from Jerusalem.

The church was destroyed by fire in the fourteenth century, and rebuilt during the sixteenth. During the Revolution it became a saltpetre factory.

The most interesting part of the façade is the doorway of the side aisle (see p. 132) which is a beautiful specimen of sixteenth century art.

Above the transept rises a twelfth century tower, whose semi-circular belfry windows on the lower stage have been blocked up. The upper part is surmounted by a modern spire.

In the interior, the nave and side aisles date from the thirteenth century, but the vaulting has been restored in recent times. It is noticeable that the pillars have not their normal height. The reason is that the level of the ground had to be very much raised, in order to protect the church from the floods, which were so frequent before the construction of the "Fausse Rivière" which now drains the town.

As at Saint-Ayoul, the north aisle was doubled in the sixteenth century. This part of the church is interesting on account of its moulded pillars whose carved capitals represent fantastic animals, as may be seen in the opposite photograph.

The choir, which was rebuilt towards the middle of the sixteenth century, is surrounded by a double ambulatory, and the screen which shuts it off is a beautiful piece of wrought-iron work.

A chapel terminates the apse, where are to be seen three windows of gray-toned stained glass, also dating from the sixteenth century. In the photograph above is the one on the left of the chapel; it represents the Annunciation.

The baptistery (in the left angle of the church on entering) is closed off by a railing which may be perceived in the above view. It contains an interesting thirteenth century font, on which are carved a series of figures taking part in a baptismal procession (see p. 134).

Beside the railing of the baptistery is a fine wrought iron lectern, dating from the seventeenth century and reproduced in the opposite photograph.

Worthy of notice also is a small stone stoup, dating from the twelfth century, which stands at the entrance to the south aisle (photograph opposite).

On leaving Sainte-Croix, turn to the right into the Rue Sainte-Croix; then take the first street on the left. At the end of this is the Rue de la Bibliothèque, on the right of which is the entrance to a public garden left to the town by M. Garnier. Before entering it, take a few steps to the left as far as the little river, le Durteint, which, flowing between houses, forms a picturesque sight.

Cross the garden, in the middle of which is the former residence of the donor, now transformed into a public library and museum. Passing alongside a monument to the memory of the sons of Provins killed in action, we leave the garden by the little entrance opening on to the Boulevard d'Aligre. This boulevard, constructed on the site of the ramparts, forms a pretty walk. On the other side of it, opposite the "Jardin Garnier," is the mineral water establishment. The ferruginous waters of Provins were discovered in 1646; they may be drunk or bathed in.

On taking the Boulevard d'Aligre to the left, we perceive, standing out on the right, the "Hôpital-Général." In order to reach it, cross the canal by the foot-bridge, and follow the path which leads to the foot of this building and to a gate giving access to the terraced gardens. Turn to the right in front of the gate, keeping to the wall; then take a steep path, half-way up which is the entrance door. Ring and ask permission to view the "hospital."

Hôpital-Général

We must climb a double staircase to reach the upper terrace where is the hospital proper.

The beautiful view of the whole town thus obtained is alone well worth this visit.

The hospital was originally a convent of the "Cordelières," founded in 1237 by Thibaut-le-Chansonnier, Count of Champagne. Tradition relates that he decided to build a convent because of a vision which came to him one night in his palace in the upper town: he saw St. Catherine on the hill opposite tracing the outlines of a building with her sword.

Henry IV. made it his headquarters when he besieged Provins in 1592, and he narrowly escaped death by a cannon-ball, which killed several of his officers.

In 1748 Louis XV. turned the convent into a "Hôpital-Général." To-day it is a home for old people and orphan children, managed by nuns, who act as guides to tourists desirous of visiting the establishment.

The galleries of the cloisters, dating from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, are interesting as showing specimens of very fine timber-work. The foliage of the capitals of the pillars is also to be remarked (see opposite photograph).

In the centre of the chapel is a little stone monument, of the thirteenth century (view opposite), which contains the heart of Thibaut, the founder of the monastery; that of his wife, Isabel of France, daughter of St. Louis; and that of her son. It consists of a carved and gilded metal cover surmounting six panels, each one containing, under a canopy, a monk reading a book.

The visit ended, we retrace our steps to the Boulevard d'Aligre and follow it to the right, crossing the Durteint. The city wall begins at this point.

The Ramparts

The line of the ramparts climbs upwards. At the summit is a doorway pierced in a part of the wall which juts off from the principal line of ramparts. It is the "Porte Faneron" and formed part of the original wall which surrounded the upper town.

Under the Counts of Champagne the ramparts were considerably developed, and in the thirteenth century were made to include the lower town. The opening in the wall on the right of the above view leads to a thirteenth century tower. The exit is by the "Trou-au-chat," so called because it was formed during a siege by a "cat" (a form of catapult for throwing heavy stones). The photograph below shows the picturesque view obtained from the interior of the turret.

Take the climbing path amidst the trees towards the top of the hill. It is a pretty walk, and affords a good opportunity to judge of the solidity of the walls, which are dotted here and there with towers. The path ends at the Porte de Jouy, where we shall find the car which we left in the lower town, and which has followed the directions on p. 132.

La Porte de Jouy (the Jouy Gate) reproduced opposite was constructed in the twelfth century and demolished in the eighteenth, as its keep threatened to fall. It comprised two gates, two portcullises and a drawbridge. A subterranean passage united the two sides; its entrance is still to be seen on the interior of the left hand portion.

Continue the visit of the walls by the outer "boulevard" which is accessible to motors. This part of the fortifications is being restored at present. The way leads past the "Brèche des Anglais" (the English Breach) (photograph opposite), by which the English are said to have effected an entrance in 1432. The great corner tower, the foremost on the photograph below, is the "Tour aux Engins"; it is 65 feet high and its walls are 8 feet thick.

The Porte Saint-Jean defended the old Paris road. It was built in the twelfth century, strengthened in the thirteenth, and was surmounted by a keep which has since disappeared. A drawbridge, a portcullis, and a double door presented successive obstacles to assailants. The masonry of the walls is worthy of note, the stones being dressed in embossment, that is to say, instead of being flat, they are protruding. This arrangement gave a greater force of resistance.

The guard rooms on the ground floor of the two towers communicate with each other by means of a subterranean passage; those of the first floor communicate by means of a gallery.

La Grange-aux-Dîmes (Tithe Barn)

At the end of the street on the left is the "Grange-aux-Dîmes" (view opposite). An old military building, rebuilt before 1176, it became in turn a market and then an inn. It was afterwards a store-house for the tithes of the harvest, and it is to this last use that it owes its present name.

To visit it, ask for the key from the guardian who lives opposite, in the house at the corner of the Rue Saint-Jean and the Rue Couverte. There is an archæological[Pg 139] museum on the ground floor (photograph on p. 138).

We descend into the crypt, which resembles the ground floor in disposition (view opposite), by a stairway whose entrance is hidden by a sort of wooden trap-door. A great many of the houses in the upper town have somewhat similar basements or cellars, with subterranean passages giving access to the open country, for use in times of danger.

The upper hall, which is of no especial interest, is reached by an outer stair, visible on the right of the façade.

Place du Châtel

On leaving the Grange-aux-Dîmes, take on the right, at the end of the Rue Saint-Jean, the Rue Couverte leading to the picturesque Place du Châtel seen on the photograph below. The old feudal well on the left, with its wrought-iron top, is 120 feet deep. Beside it is the Crois-aux-Changes, dating from the fourteenth century, on which the "edicts and ordonnances" were posted up.

Turning to the left on the Place we reach in the north-west corner, the old "Maison-des-Petits Plaids" where the provost meted out justice. It may be seen in part in the background of the opposite photograph. The curious low roof covers an interesting vaulted passage. The house is built over fine thirteenth century cellars in which the poet and songster Pierre Dupont (1821-1870) composed his "Chanson de la Vigne" (song of the Vine), during a vine-dressers' festival.

In the centre of the above view is the old "Hôtel de la Coquille," which derives its name from the shell carved above its entrance.

The neighbouring ruins are those of the twelfth century Church of Saint-Thibaut. Motorists are advised to send their car to wait for them in the lower part of the Rue Saint-Thibaut at the corner of the Rue Christophe-Opoix, whither they themselves will return after having visited the Cæsar's Tower and Saint-Quiriace. The beginning of the picturesque Rue Saint-Thibaut is to be seen in the photograph below.

Tourists should walk to the south-east corner of the Place and there take the Rue de l'Ormerie, then immediately on the right, the Rue Pierre-Lebrun. The house in which this writer lived is situated in a charming little square, opening off the street.

The Rue Pierre-Lebrun makes a bend in order to rejoin the Rue Jean-Desmare's, along which turn to the right. From this spot there is a fine view of Cæsar's Tower and of the Church of Saint-Quiriace (see the above photograph). The ruined wall seen in the centre jutting off from the tower belongs to the original fortifications. That piece breaking off from the "Porte Faneron" (p. 136) rejoined Cæsar's Tower.

Continue to descend, passing before the "Pinacle," the old palace of the mayors of Provins. It was there that Guillaume Pentecôte was murdered by the workmen of the town (see p. 129). Further remains of the city wall are encountered, which descend the slope of the hill to the right before rising to the east in order to enclose the lower town.

The steep path skirting the wall is called the "Chemin du Bourreau" because the executioners of Provins lived here. Their house still exists and may be seen at the foot of the slope, on the wall. Its last inhabitant was Charlemagne Sanson, who, together with his brother the executioner of Paris, guillotined King Louis XVI. in 1793. The opposite photograph of the Executioner's House was taken from the foot of the hill.

Tourists after descending as far as the "Maison die Bourreau" should remount the same steep path, then gain Cæsar's Tower by the path leading to it.

Cæsar's Tower

This superb keep was built in the twelfth century on the site of a Roman fort. The lower battlemented portion was added in the fifteenth century by the English to serve for the installation of their artillery. The pyramidical roof was added in the sixteenth century. The entrance is on the left in the old city-wall, at the top of a little stone staircase. The guardian shows visitors the rooms, the prisons, and the bells which ring for the services in Saint-Quiriace. From the summit a splendid view is obtained.

Saint-Quiriace Church

A pagan temple dedicated to the goddess Isis existed in early times on the site of this church. It gave place in the third century to a wooden chapel, which in its turn was succeeded by the present building, erected in 1160 by Count Henri-le-Libéral.

Saint-Quiriace, a converted Jew, who became Bishop of Jerusalem in the fourth century, indicated to Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, the spot where the three crosses of Calvary had been hidden. He suffered martyrdom in 363, and the basilica which crowns the upper town was built to receive the saint's skull.

The original tower which rose above the centre of the transept, was burned in the seventeenth century. It has been replaced by a vast zinc-covered cupola, which, while giving the church a quaint appearance, harmonises little with its style of architecture.

Saint-Quiriace is full of historical memories. King Philippe-Auguste here stood godfather to Count Thibaut-le-Grand (1201); Jeanne d'Arc and Charles VII. heard Mass in it (1429); and Louis XI., Francois I. and Louis XIV. came to take part in "Te Deum."

If the church had been finished it would be extremely large. Unfortunately, in the thirteenth century, the construction of the nave was interrupted at the second triforium, a fact which explains the very marked disproportion existing between the choir and the transept on one hand and the nave on the other.

The fabric of the choir is very imposing. It contains an elegant blind-storey gallery extending into the north and south transepts (view on p. 143), and is surrounded by an ambulatory (view above), terminated at the east end by three square chapels.

The greater part of the church furnishings was destroyed at the Revolution; but the fine Louis XV. gate of the principal doorway still exists (view opposite), as does the wood-panelling at the end of the church on the left (photograph below).

On leaving Saint-Quiriace, take on the right the Rue des Beaux-Arts leading into the Rue du Palais.

Take a few steps to the left in order to glance at a house in the Roman style, dating from the tenth century (photograph opposite). The tourist will then retrace his steps in the direction of the College installed in the ancient palace of the Counts of Champagne; then descend the Rue du Collège, in which, on the right, are the ruins of St. Peter's Church, built in the thirteenth century and destroyed during the Revolution.

At the head of the flight of steps leading to the lower town, beside St. Peter's, was the "Hôtel des Monnaies" (the Mint), which was founded by Charlemagne. It was there that the "sous Provinois," so well known in the Middle Ages, were struck (see p. 129).

Descend St. Peter's steps, and the Rue des Petits-Lions, which lead to the Rue des Capucins. On entering the latter, one perceives the old "Hôtel de la Croix d'Or," dating from the thirteenth century (photograph below); whilst a little to the right, on the opposite side of the street, is the "Hôtel Vauluisant," also of the thirteenth century. Its front, pierced by four fine mullioned windows with trefoil tracery, may be seen in the photograph below and in that on p. 146.

Retracing our steps we rejoin the Rue St. Thibaut by way of the Rue Christophe Opoix, a continuation of the Rue des Capucins. Here motors coming directly from the Place du Châtel by the Rue Saint-Thibaut may wait.

Before leaving, take a few steps up the Rue Saint-Thibaut to glance at the "Hôtel-Dieu," the former palace of the Countesses of Blois and of Champagne.

In the vestibule (view below), on the left is a Renaissance reredos in stone. The donatrice (the wife of a bailiff of Provins) is represented in the central panel kneeling to the Virgin.

The vaulted hall, which follows, is very large, and beneath is a crypt of the same dimensions.

This brief visit to Provins and its curiosities being over, regain the hotel for dinner and bed by taking the Rue du Val, the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, and the Rue de la Cordonnerie. Turn to the right at Saint-Ayoul into the Rue Edmond-Nocard continued by the Rue Victor-Arnoul where stands the hotel.

Next morning in leaving Provins make for the Place Saint-Ayoul, and turn to the right into the Rue Abailard which skirts the church. Here take the Rue Courloison on the left. After crossing the Courloison Bridge, turn to the left into D. 4, which climbs in zig-zags the slope of the hill to the north of Provins. We entered the town by this same road.

During the morning we shall visit the field of operations of the Fifth French Army and arrive at Sézanne for lunch.

VISIT TO THE FIELD OF OPERATIONS
OF THE
FIFTH & NINTH FRENCH ARMIES
FROM
PROVINS TO CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE

FROM PROVINS TO SÉZANNE

via Voulton, Augers, Montceaux, Courgiveaux, Esternay, Champguyon, Charleville, and La Villeneuve.

At the top of the zig-zag hill at the exit of Provins is a fork in the road. Turn to the right; then take, on the left, the road not lined with trees (G. C. 71) going to Voulton (9 km.).

On the right of the road, in the village, is the church (historical monument) which dates from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The interior is worth a visit as the photographs opposite indicate. If the door of the church is locked, ask the "curé" for the key. (The "presbytère" (rectory) is the house with a little garden before it, lying to the left front of the church.)

When the battle of the Marne began on the morning of September 6 the 18th Corps was at Voulton and to the east of this village.

After Voulton, cross through Rupéreux, when Augers may be seen in the distance, with its much damaged CHURCH (photograph p. 148). The heights which formed the principal German position shut in the horizon. The task of the left of the 18th French Corps was to push back the advance-guards of the Third German Corps between Voulton and Augers.

Arriving in the village, pay a visit to the church, which is to the right of the road. Augers was bombarded in turn by the French and by the Germans, each believing the other to be in the village, whereas they were merely in the neighbourhood. The church suffered particularly, as may well be realised by passing through the breach in the wall shown in the photograph below. The interior presents a scene of desolation.

Returning to the road after visiting the church, turn to the right, then immediately afterwards to the left, and take the "Chêmin vicinal" leading to the main road from Courtacon to Sézanne (D. 8) in which turn to the right.

The tourist now finds himself on the principal German position during September 5 and 6. After a preparation by the artillery, the French troops left the shelter furnished by the undulations of the plateau, and attacked and carried the road on September 7. Following up the pursuit of the retreating Germans, they reached La Ferté-Gaucher on the same day, and crossed the Grand Morin, thus gaining more than 10 km.

2 km. after the cross-roads at Augers, the road leaves on its left the Village of Sancy.

Sancy was not bombarded, the fighting taking place some distance in advance of the locality; but its inhabitants were obliged to submit to the law of the conqueror during two days.

The following is the account given by the "curé" of Sancy before the Enquiry Commission:—

"On Sunday, September 6, about 9 p.m., the Germans were carrying off the remaining bottles of wine from my cellar, and I was about to sit down to supper, when a non-commissioned officer announced to me and to my guests that we were to 'Hurry to the Place'. We were put into a sheep-fold to sleep. At 5 a.m. thirty of us were led as far as the barn at Perrelez (4 km. north of Sancy). We were given a little water and finally, to most of us, a small quantity of soup was doled out. The barn had been turned into a German ambulance. A doctor spoke a few words to the wounded who immediately loaded four rifles and two revolvers. A French hussar, wounded in the arm and a prisoner, said to me: 'Give me absolution, Sir; I am going to be shot. Afterwards it will be your turn.' I did as he wished, then unbuttoning my cassock, I placed myself against the wall between the mayor and[Pg 149] my parishioner Frederic Gillet. But two French mounted soldiers arriving at this instant saved our lives, for the Germans surrendered to them."

Without entering Sancy, continue to follow D. 8 which leads to Montceaux. Turn to the left and go up the village as far as the church (23 km.).

Montceaux, on account of its dominating position, had been organised as a defensive position by the Germans. The French artillery bombarded the whole village vigorously and especially the large farm whose entrance is visible at the end of the street in the above photograph. The Germans had established a heavy battery there, directing its fire from the top of the church tower. The church therefore received numerous projectiles, whose effects may be seen in the photograph below, which represents the chapel in the apse. The right of the 18th French Corps attacked the village on September 6, on the south and on the west, and carried it after a violent combat which lasted from 4 p.m. until nightfall.

We retrace our steps and turn to the left into D. 8 in the direction of Courgivaux. On the right of the main road, the Germans, holding the heights where stands the hamlet of Les Châtaigniers, offered a desperate resistance to the efforts of the Sixth Division of the Third French Corps commanded by General Pétain, afterwards Commander-in-Chief. On September 6 this division succeeded in taking the hamlet, but was not able to advance beyond it, in spite of the fact that the 18th Corps held Montceaux. On the following morning, the Germans counter-attacked unsuccessfully, and in the afternoon the French (whose 123rd Regiment had particularly distinguished itself at Montceaux) hurled their adversaries back on to the farther side of the Grand Morin.

Before arriving at Courgivaux, pass over a level-crossing, then turn to the right by the drinking-pond, and ascend the village, bearing to the left towards the cemetery (29 km.). The latter occupies a dominating position and played an important part in the actions engaged in by the Fifth Division, commanded by General Mangin, for the possession of Courgivaux.

The German advanced defences around Escardes (about 2½ km. along this road) were carried after a stiff fight in which the two colonels of the Ninth Brigade were wounded. The Germans fell back on the line formed by the cemetery of Courgivaux and the farm of Bel-Air visible in the photograph above, and about 300 yards west towards the village.

After a bombardment by "75's," the troops of the Third Corps, leaving the woods, crossed the open ground at a run, and after several fruitless attempts dislodged the Germans from the cemetery, then from the farm, and finally from the village. The French held these positions in spite of a counter-attack at night, and on the 7th the Germans were in retreat towards the north.

After having visited in the cemetery the graves of several officers of the 39th, 74th and 129th Regiments, who fell here, we retrace our steps and turn to the right into the G. C. 46 in the direction of Esternay. A long climb leads to Retourneloup where G. C. 46 rejoins N. 34 coming from La Ferté-Gaucher.

We are now entering the theatre of operations of the First French Corps. Retourneloup was bombarded, as a German battery had been established there to hold the road to the Esternay hollow. This battery was hammered by the French artillery. The "curé" of Esternay, who had been made prisoner at the very beginning of the German occupation, was led to Retourneloup, and passed an anxious time during the battles of the 6th and 7th. Each time that the French attacked—and they attacked ten times during the day of the 6th, the "curé" was placed at the head of the German column which advanced to resist them. He was also roughly handled and given nothing to eat, besides being frequently threatened with being placed against a wall and shot. The Germans took him with them in the retreat and continued to put him in an exposed position in all rearguard actions. They finally set him at liberty about ten kilometres from Esternay.

A zig-zag descent leads down to Esternay, in the hollow. Go straight on without entering, and gain the opposite slope. After crossing the railway line, take the road on the left leading to the castle (36 km.).

This last is preceded by a farm which still bears traces of the bombardment which it suffered (view p. 150).

The castle, which belonged to Marshal Fabert, is now the property of the Marquis de la Roche-Lambert. The opposite view gives a good idea of its picturesqueness. It was occupied by a German staff, and its park defensively organised. The castle suffered less than the farm.

We retrace our steps over the 300 yards separating the entrance to the castle from N. 34, which we cross in order to take the opposite "Chêmin vicinal" leading down to Châtillon-sur-Morin. Pass over a level-crossing in order to enter the village, which was completely destroyed by the bombardment and by the fires lighted by the Germans before evacuation.

Turn to the left in the village to arrive at the little church (38½ km., view below), which by a curious chance alone remained untouched in the midst of ruins. The above view was taken from the church tower.

Châtillon formed the advanced position of the defences of Esternay. The troops of the First Division had the honour of being chosen to attack, and fierce was the fighting in the burning streets of the village. The 84th Infantry, many of whose officers and men are buried in the churchyard, gave a brilliant example of stubborn courage. On the evening of the 6th, Châtillon was in the hands of the French, who were, however, for that day unable to advance further towards Esternay, being held up by the defence works on N. 34 (see panorama on p. 152).

Return to the main road from Esternay to Sézanne (N. 34), stopping at the last houses of Châtillon, the spot from whence the above photograph was[Pg 152] taken. The position which the French troops in possession of Châtillon had to carry was formed by the plateau seen on the horizon, along which passes D. 8 at the foot of Esternay castle.

This frontal attack presented many difficulties, for even if the French arrived as far as the railway line which runs along the bottom of the valley, and were able to take cover under the embankment, they would be mown down when they attempted to scale the bare slopes. The woods which appear on the right in the above view afforded shelter to the troops up to the main road, but when they attempted to advance into the open they were met by a murderous fire. Being unable to force the frontal defences, the commandant of the First Corps ordered the Second Division to make a considerable detour to the east, under cover of the woods, in order to take the positions on Esternay Plateau in the flank. On the evening of the 6th, a first attack failed, but next morning the Second Division carried the position which covered the German flank, and combining its efforts with those of the First Division on the front, entered Esternay about 10 o'clock in the morning.

Once more on the N. 34, turn to the right. The slope served as a protection for the Germans, who dug many individual shelters there. One of[Pg 153] these may be seen in the foreground of the preceding photograph. We begin to realise the difficulties which the French had to surmount when we remember that after the battle, on the front of a single battalion, 11 officers and 4 non-commissioned officers lay dead, killed while leading their men.

Leaving behind, on the left, the park which adjoins the road, we perceive on the right the great common grave of Esternay (view above), where lie buried the heroes of the 73rd who fell during the attack. The turning movement mentioned on page 152 led across the road at about 3 km. from this spot, at the other extremity of the wood. The village of La Noue, to the north of the road, was carried, and the Second Division then turned back towards Esternay.

(Sézanne is only 10 km. from this point by N. 34, but the tour indicated hereafter, which leads across part of the line where the direct attack on this town was broken, makes a circuit of 34 km. The remainder of the line will be explored to-morrow.)

We retrace our steps. A little wood fringes the road on the right. The German machine-guns were installed there, and cut down the French who attempted to leave their shelter on the other side of the road. About 100 yards further on the wood gives place to a field, on the edge of which, at about 20 yards from the road, in the midst of the trees, is the grave of an unknown French soldier—a pathetic sight. A little further on, in the field, are to be seen the isolated graves of two German officers, one of them of the family of the Chief of the General Staff, Von Moltke (view below). Between these graves and the border of the castle park many Germans lie buried. The fighting was very violent here in the trenches which the enemy had dug at right angles to the road. Outflanked on the north by the turning movement we have spoken of, the castle and the farm, as well as the park, were carried at the point of the bayonet. From this moment, Esternay, situated in the hollow, could offer no serious resistance, and the French entered it without difficulty.

Re-cross the railway line and take the first road on the right, leading into Esternay and to the Place de l'Église (48 km.). The church was transformed into an ambulance station by the Germans.

The following evidence given by the deputy-mayor and other witnesses before the Official Enquiry Commission recalls painful incidents of the occupation by the enemy.

"On September 6 the Germans pillaged nine-tenths of the houses in the town. This pillage was organised, objects of all kinds, linen and other belongings, being placed on carts."

Another witness declared: "About 3 o'clock in the afternoon, thirty-five or forty Germans came out of the church shouting, and leading with them M. Laurenceau, aged 52 years. The latter on arriving at the road made[Pg 154] a movement as if to escape and was immediately felled to the ground. Then, although he lay quite still, he received three bullets."

A third witness declared: "On the night of September 6 I was with my two daughters and Mme. Lhomme in hiding under the stairs of the cellar of Mme. Macé, a widow. Groups of German soldiers kept passing round the house, and some had even come into the cellar without discovering us. Between 11 p.m. and midnight, one of these bands having found women's clothes in a cupboard, came towards our hiding-place. As they had seen us, Mme. Macé exclaimed: 'Do you wish to kill old women?' To which they replied: 'No, no harm to grandmother,' and pushed her on one side. They next tried to push me aside, crying 'Fraulein all naked,' but could not move me. One of them then shouldered his rifle. I raised my arm to strike up the muzzle, but he was too quick for me, and, taking advantage of the space thus disclosed between the young girls and myself, lowered his arm and fired. Mme. Lhomme was wounded in the left arm by a ball which then shattered the left arm of my daughter Marcelle, aged 27 years. She died between 4 and 5 o'clock on the afternoon of September 7."

In the Place de l'Église, turn to the right, then immediately afterwards to the left towards Champguyon. The road (G.C. 48) shortly afterwards traverses a level-crossing and passes alongside the cemetery which contains the remains of many French soldiers. This road was the one followed by the Germans when they fell back on Montmirail, before the French.

Traverse the long street of Champguyon (53 km.) which suffered much from the bombardment, but more from the fire started by the enemy. The view above was taken in the courtyard of a farm, which stands on the left of the road, a little this side of the church. The view below shows a ruined house, being one of a group about 1 km. further on.

Several of the inhabitants were murdered. The widow of one, Mme. Louvet, thus related the death of her husband:

"About 5 p.m. on September 6, my husband, whom the Germans were dragging along and striking with sticks, called to me, exclaiming: 'My wife, my poor wife.' I ran and kissed him through our garden gate, but was roughly repulsed by his captors, and fell. My poor husband was in a piteous state, blood streaming from his ears. He begged for mercy and asked: 'What harm have I done you?' He also cried out: 'Colonel, colonel.' I could not help him, for the Germans who were torturing him were from ten to fifteen in number, and kept their rifles pointed at my throat. They bore off their victim to the end of the village, doubtless to put an end to him. The next evening about 5 p.m., I found the unfortunate Louvet. His head was horribly smashed, one eye was out of its socket, and one of his wrists was broken. He was almost unrecognisable."

Continue to follow G. C. 48, then take, on the right at the cross-roads, G. C. 46 leading to Morsains (56 km.). Arrived at the latter, turn to[Pg 155] the right beyond the church. This road is the G.C. 47. Cross through the village, and before arriving at Perthuis, turn to the left at the cross-roads. At Perthuis (58 km.) turn to the right, and, traverse the locality, turning again to the right on leaving it. We thus leave the theatre of operations of the First French Corps and enter that of the Tenth Corps. On the right of the horizon may be seen the Forest du Gault, on the borders of which the Tenth Corps engaged furious combats with the Tenth German (Reserve) Corps.

On reaching La Rue-le-Comte (59½ km.) traverse it throughout, as also a level-crossing, in order to arrive at Le Gault-la-Forêt (60½ km.). Pass through it. Several of its houses were burnt by the Germans, who also shot the old rural policeman.

At the cross roads at the end of the village, turn to the right, then immediately afterwards to the left, going round the church. After reaching the hamlet of Le Recoude (63 km.), the western portion of which was damaged by bombardment, turn to the left on entering and traverse the village from one end to the other.

During the morning, on September 6, the left of the Tenth French Corps, after penetrating the Forest du Gault, reached the road which the tourist has been following between La Rue-le-Comte and Le Recoude. In the afternoon it was obliged to retire into the forest, but on the following day it attacked again, took numerous prisoners in the forest, and carried the line which it had occupied the day before. It was from this line that it set off on the 8th to continue its advance to the north-east. G. C. 47 continues in the direction of Charleville. Before entering the village, stop the car at the mile-stone "6 km. 2," 20 yards before arriving at the first isolated house.

Take on foot the path on the left, which leads to the grave seen in the photograph on p. 155, and which is about 150 yards distant. This grave made in a sand-pit contains the bodies of 180 officers and men who fell in the[Pg 156] engagements at Charleville. 50 yards further on may be seen from the path and to the left, the view shown in the photograph on p. 155.

The French occupied a trench dug under the line of trees seen on the left; the Germans were installed on the hills which shut in the horizon. It was only on September 8, after three days' fighting, that the 20th Division was able to dislodge the enemy from these slopes.

Return to the car and enter Charleville (66½ km.). The church, seen in the photographs on p. 155 and opposite, was much damaged by the German bombardment. Walk round it, then enter.

Although the neighbouring villages of La Villeneuve and Le Recoude changed hands several times, Charleville, which had been taken on the 6th by the 20th Division, remained in the possession of the French. The fighting was extremely fierce all round the village, and particularly on the spot indicated above where the 2nd Infantry Regiment distinguished itself.

Continue to follow G. C. 47, leaving on the right the road which leads through the village. At the next cross-roads bear to the right and continue until La Villeneuve (68½ km.) is reached.

Numerous houses were destroyed by the French and German bombardments. The church, as may be seen in the photograph below, is in ruins. La Villeneuve was where the Fifth and Ninth French Armies joined. It was occupied by the 42nd Division on the evening of September 5. On the 6th it passed from hand to hand: lost at 8 a.m., retaken at 9 a.m.; lost again towards midday, and finally re-conquered at nightfall by the French.

On the 7th the struggle was equally obstinate and violent. La Villeneuve was again taken and retaken. It was only on the 8th that the 42nd Division succeeded in breaking the German resistance, and advanced northwards. The principal obstacle had been a howitzer battery installed beyond the Morin, near Le Thoult (5 km. from La Villeneuve.) It rained shells on this locality and also prevented the Tenth Corps from advancing from Charleville.

This battery was marked down, thanks to the knowledge of the country possessed by the "curé" of La Villeneuve,[Pg 157] l'Abbé Laplaige. From an attic window he discovered, by means of field-glasses, the spot from which the shots were fired, and pointed it out to the officer commanding the French batteries. The Germans were soon reduced to silence, and progress became possible for the 42nd Division at La Villeneuve and the Tenth Corps at Charleville.

Near the middle of the village, take on the left, skirting the drinking-pond, the "Chemin vicinal" leading to Corfélix and Le Thoult. The windmill pump, seen in the photograph above, will soon be perceived, near a group of ruined houses. It was from the upper platform of the pump that the officer commanding the French artillery, guided by the Abbé Laplaige, directed the fire which destroyed the German battery at Le Thoult, The rising ground of the left bank of the Morin, which attains a height of 670 ft. directly north of La Villeneuve, hid the whereabouts of the German guns on the right bank on Hill 189. The elevated structure of the pump made an ideal observatory and compensated for the height of the ground on the left bank of the river.

Return by the same path to the drinking-pond and take, on the left, G. C. 47, leading to Chapton. On the right of the road are the woods of Bois-de-la-Ville, on the left those of La Braule. The troops of the 42nd Division fought desperate engagements in these woods during the alternatives of retreat and advance from September 6 to 8. Pass through Chapton (72½ km.), which marked the utmost limit of the direct German advance on Sézanne.

Shortly afterwards, on arriving at the main road (N. 51), turn to the right and descend into Sézanne, which suddenly comes into view at the foot of the hill, and makes a pretty picture. It was to attain this edge of the plateau, which commands a wide horizon, that the Germans made such desperate efforts on either side of N. 51, efforts which were, however, rendered vain by the admirable resistance of the 42nd Division.

Enter Sézanne (80 km.) by the Rue d'Épernay, then turn to the right into the Rue de la Halle leading to the Place de la République. Here is the church (view opposite). From thence we seek out the hotel where we intend to dine and sleep (see plan, p. 158).

SÉZANNE

VISIT TO THE TOWN

The most interesting sight is the church (historical monument), a view of which is given on p. 157. It dates from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. To visit the interior, enter by the little door opening on to the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, and opposite an old well enclosed within a wrought-iron railing.

The stone reredos, against the wall on the left on entering, is worthy of note. An interesting walk is to follow the line of the ancient fortifications now changed into a public promenade. The most interesting part is the "Mail des Cordeliers" to the north.

THE MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND

TOUR IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF SÉZANNE

(65 km.)

via Broyes, Allemant, Broussy, Bannes, Coizard, Congy, Champaubert, Baye, Saint-Prix, Oyes, Reuves, Mondement.

This part of the tour should be done in the morning, for the region of the marshes is devoid of hotels, even of inns, and, tourists must therefore return to Sézanne for lunch. After lunch, we set out for Fère-Champenoise, ascend the valley of the Somme, to arrive at Châlons-sur-Marne for dinner and bed.

Leaving the hotel, re-cross the Place de la République and take on the left the Rue de la Halle, continued by the Rue de Broyes. The latter turns suddenly to the left (the street which continues in the former direction is the Rue de Châlons). The road (G. C. 39) skirts the cemetery and mounts towards Broyes, through which we pass, leaving the church on the left (5½ km.). On a level with the church, take the street on the right, and 300 yards further on we encounter the old "Castle des Pucelles," seen in the photograph above.

General Humbert, commanding the Moroccan Division, established his headquarters in this castle on September 7, Mondement Castle having become uninhabitable. It was from here, when Mondement had been taken by the Germans, that he directed the counter-attacks which drove them from it. The "Castle des Pucelles" is perched on the edge of the plateau dominating almost vertically the immense plain of the Aube. Mondement is only 3½ km. distant. One can easily realise how tragic was the situation during the days of September 8 and 9, 1914, of the troops standing at bay at Broyes, and understand the savage fury with which they attacked Mondement.

Quitting the "Castle des Pucelles," continue straight along G. C. 39, leaving on the left the "Chemin vicinal" leading to Mondement (we shall follow it in the opposite direction on our return).

Traverse Allemant Woods and the village of that name, through which we pass, leaving the church (9 km.) on the right. From its steeple in 1814 Napoléon watched the battle which was raging in the plain below. After the first group of houses comes a fork in the road; the one on the right descends into the plain, that on the left goes towards the marshes of Saint-Gond.

Before taking the latter, turn to the right on the crest for a few steps in order to contemplate in its entirety the beautiful view reproduced in the panoramas on pp. 160 to 163.

The plain which stretches at our feet, as far as the eye can reach, right up to the Aube, and of which the panoramas on pages 160 to 163 give a good idea, was the stake in the battle which for five days engaged the army of Foch and those of Von Bulow and Von Hausen. The heights whose crest we have been following since leaving Sézanne assured its control. From there the Germans with their powerful artillery would have been able to destroy the French Corps which had withdrawn to the plain. They would also have been able to manœuvre freely in order to fall on the rear of the army of Espérey on the west, and that of Langle de Cary on the east. The whole plan of the battle of the Marne would have collapsed. The nature of the ground permits us to understand the particular violence of the struggle at this point: the Germans ready to sacrifice everything in order to attain the heights, the French disputing fiercely every inch of the ground.

While attacking the height on its front, from the south bank of the Marshes (see the panorama on pages 182-183), the Germans also tried to outflank it on the east.

We have seen in the general account of the battle how prodigious were their efforts to cross the Somme, which formed a covering line, and then to debouch from Fère-Champenoise. This locality is hidden behind Mont Chalmont, on the left of the panorama above. This manœuvre very nearly succeeded. During the day of September 9, the soldiers occupying the promontory, where stands the tourist, saw to the north in the direction of the Marshes, the advancing Germans arrive within firing distance of the farthest trench. If they turned their eyes eastwards, they saw the 17th Division falling back on Mont Chalmont (panorama above) and the artillery take up its position on the western slope. Further south, debouching from the screen formed by this ridge, the firing line came into view spreading towards Linthes and Pleurs. The terrible anxiety of these hours of waiting only ceased when the 42nd Division came into action.

The fine strategic movement of the 42nd (see p. 14) is easy to follow. The Division gained the plain from the plateau north of Sézanne which we traversed yesterday. The infantry descended the slopes of Broyes and Allemant. The military wagons followed the N. 34 and the railway which skirts this road. The batteries stopped on the way at Broyes, in order to take part in the bombardment of Mondement Castle. The division formed up between Linthes, Linthelles and Pleurs, and it was from this point that it began its attack. The tourist may picture to himself these red and blue columns marching eastwards under a violent artillery fire, and causing the German troops, bewildered by the arrival of these unexpected French reinforcements, to disappear again behind the ridge. The villages of Péas (panorama II) and Saint-Loup (panorama III) served as shelters for the reserves of the Ninth Corps. Much-tried companies withdrew there to reform. It was from Saint-Loup that the 77th Infantry Regiment started forth to take Mondement. Leaving their dinner which was warming, these gallant fellows stormed the slopes of Allemant and of Broyes in order to take in this action the heroic part explained on p. 117.

Rejoin G. C. 39. The long dike of the marshes of Saint-Gond becomes visible almost immediately. From this distance nothing indicates the marshes, whose reeds are lost to view among the crops; one can only distinguish the line of the Petit Morin, marked by poplar trees, which traverses the depression from one end to the other.

After passing a small group of houses, take, at the cross-roads, the road on the left descending towards the marshes. We can perceive Mont-Août first in front, then to the right. This solitary little hill played an important part in the battle. There, until September 9, the 17th Division resisted all attacks from the north and from the east.

Follow G. C. 39, and arriving at Broussy-le-Grand (16 km.), pass through it. Held first by the Moroccan Division, Broussy was carried by the Germans after a fierce struggle. The French troops were thrown back on the slopes of Allemant which we have just descended. There are still many ruined houses in Broussy.

The road now turns towards Bannes (19 km.). Across the plain which stretches south and east of Bannes, the 17th and 52nd Divisions fought desperate engagements to prevent the Germans from breaking through the marshes. On the 8th, the French front, which followed the boundary of the marshes from east to west, was pushed back with violence. The left remained in the neighbourhood of Bannes, but the centre drew back to Mont-Août, and the right to the south of this hill. On the 9th, Mont-Août fell in its turn. Between Bannes and Mont-Août, in a trench, numerous letters and telegrams and a box bearing the address of Prince Eitel, son of Wilheim II., were found.

Many new roofs are to be seen in Bannes, a proof of the violence of the bombardment.

At the cross-roads at the entrance to the village, turn to the left towards the Marshes and Coizard, to which G. C. 43 leads us.

The above photograph gives an aspect of this marshy region. The line of poplars crossing it follows the course of the Morin. The heights on the horizon are those of Toulon-la-Montagne and Vert-la-Gravelle. They were occupied on September 6 by the outposts of the 17th Division, who, however, could not hold them. The Germans then installed batteries there which swept all the south-east portion of the marshes. In spite of this fact, on the same day a battalion of the 77th Line Regiment tried to retake the heights.

We are now following the course of the attacking troops who left Bannes under a murderous fire from the heavy artillery and machine-guns. When the road became too dangerous, they entered the marshes and advanced painfully up to their waists in water. Some disappeared suddenly, swallowed up by the bogs. They succeeded eventually in reaching Coizard and, after fighting in the streets and houses, drove off the Germans, and began to assail the slopes which dominate the village. But the enemy had here a crushing superiority, and after a seven-hours' fight the French were obliged to retire across the marshes, pursued by the dropping fire of the batteries on the northern bank which raked the narrow causeways. The Germans wished to push home their advantage and take foot on the southern bank, and accordingly began to cross the marshes by the Coizard-Bannes road. Their losses were heavy, for the machine-guns and "75's" directed a cross-fire on them. They came on nevertheless and reached Bannes, but when they endeavoured to advance on Mont-Août, they were met by so fierce a fire that they were obliged to draw back into the village. Mont-Août did not fall until September 9, having been outflanked on the south.

Cross the Morin, whose bridge was destroyed at the beginning of the battle (photograph opposite), then leaving the soft ground of the marshes, cross one of the drained parts[Pg 165] whose number increases every year; thus reducing considerably the original swamp which comprised all the hollow.

On reaching Coizard, turn first to the left, then to the right in order to arrive at the church (24 km.).

The villages on the north of the marshes suffered less than those on the south, for the French bombardment was less intense than the German. A few houses were however destroyed in Coizard (view above).

Turn to the left this side of the church (the road, is visible in the above photograph) and continue to follow G. C. 43 for 1 km. as far as Joches. At the corner of the farm, of which the view below shows the interior, and which was burnt by the Germans, turn to the right towards Congy, thus leaving the marshes.

(If pressed for time, instead of turning to the right, continue on the road, along the marshes by Courjeonnet and Villevenard, thus reaching Saint-Prix. The distance by the direct road is about 6 km.; going round by Congy it is 16 km.).

In Congy (30 km.) follow the main street, turning to the right before reaching the town-hall, then to the left to cross the railway.

On September 5 and 6 the Ninth Corps, who still had outposts at Toulon and at Vert, tried to extend its line towards Congy. Blondlat's Brigade of the Moroccan Division crossed to the north bank and attempted to gain Congy by Joches and Courjeonnet. The difficulties were great, for the German artillery swept the slopes. The attack failed in the end and the brigade was obliged to re-cross the marshes. During the battle the German heavy guns on the heights commanding Congy pounded the French positions on the opposite side of the marshes.

About 2 km. beyond Congy we meet the "Route nationale" 33 and turn into it, to the left, towards Champaubert, which is 2.7 km. further on.

On the left is the column commemorating Napoléon's victory in 1814. Champaubert Farm where he slept is a grey house with red-brick facings standing opposite the column on N. 33.

On arriving at the column, turn to the left into N. 51, in the direction of Baye.

In Baye (37½ km.) on the left is to be seen the interesting thirteenth century church, which has recently been restored (photograph opposite), 900 yards further on is the castle, of which a view is given below. It was the birthplace of Marion Delorme, who there passed a tranquil childhood before becoming acquainted with the feverish life of the courtesan.

The castle is the property of the Baron de Baye, and contained many rich archæological and artistic treasures. It was inhabited by a member of the German Imperial family from September 5 to 9, and was pillaged methodically.

"Having repaired to Baye Castle, we verified the traces of the pillage which this edifice has suffered. On the first floor, a door leading to a room which adjoins the gallery where the proprietor had amassed valuable works of art had been broken in; four glass cases had been broken, another opened. According to the declarations of the caretaker, who, in her master's absence, was not able to inform us of the full extent of the damage, the principal objects stolen were Russian gems and gold medals. We noticed that tablets covered with black velvet, belonging doubtless to the glass cases, had been dismantled of part of the jewels which they formerly bore.

"The Baron of Baye's room was in a state of great disorder. Numerous objects were strewn about on the floor and in drawers which had been left open. A flat-topped secrétaire had been broken into. A Louis XVI. 'commode' and round-topped desk of the same period had been rifled. This room was doubtless occupied by a person of high rank, for on the floor still remained chalked the following inscription: 'I. K. Hoheit.' Nobody could tell us exactly who was this 'Highness,' but a general who lodged in the house of M. Houillier, one of the town councillors, told his host that the castle had sheltered the Duke of Brunswick (William II.'s son-in law) and the staff of the Tenth Corps."

N. 51 now descends into the valley of the Petit Morin. From September 5 to 9, the German reserves followed closely on each other along this road, hastening to the attack on the Plateau of Sézanne.

After having passed the little station of Talus-Saint-Prix, we arrive at the bridge over the Morin.

This bridge, forming the narrow bottle-neck in which the German attack was to be precipitated, constitutes one of the most interesting points of the battlefield. It is here that the marshes come to an end, and the Morin continues its course along a gradually narrowing valley. The view above, taken from the bridge eastwards, shows the river leaving the marshes. The tree stump in the foreground, which has now disappeared, recalls the successive bombardments, French and German, which the bridge experienced. The other view is taken westwards.

From the heights which form the background of the two photographs, the German cannon rained shells on the French positions on the southern edge of the marshes.

The heights of Saint-Prix form the northern edge of the Plateau of Sézanne, on which depended the liaison between the Fifth and Ninth French Armies. The Germans had bitten into the plateau on the west and on the north-west at Esternay, Charleville, and La Villeneuve, which we have already visited. They tried to complete their success by attacking also on the point now before us.

On the left of the road (view above) may be seen the little Chapel of Saint-Prix, below Botrait Woods. On the bare part of the summit are the remains of the trenches in which the Germans had placed machine-guns. Further to the left is the "Crête du Poirier" which was so bitterly disputed. To the right of the road (view below) appear the woods of the Grandes-Garennes which clothe the heights towards Corfélix.

On N. 51, in the Woods of Botrait and the Grandes-Garennes, attacks and counter-attacks followed each other during four days. The thickets were the scene of fierce hand-to-hand struggles. In the rare clearings the combatants sheltered themselves in hastily-dug trenches. This stubborn resistance exasperated the Germans; and after the battle witnesses found a company of Algerian sharp-shooters whose brains had been beaten out by blows from the butt-end of rifles. This fact is vouched for by the Inquiry Commission. Other corpses belonging to the same regiment had been placed in a ring round a fire which had burnt all the heads.

The battle continued until the French, after having silenced the German guns at Le Thoult and Corfélix (see p. 157), finally reached Corfélix and the Morin. Advancing along the valley (seen in the views at the foot of p. 167, and at the top of p. 168), they debouched on the flank of the enemy's troops deeply engaged in the interior of the Plateau of Sézanne.

The manœuvre of September 9 was decisive. Attacked on flank and front, and driven from the woods, the Germans re-crossed the Morin; while their rearguards fought desperate covering engagements, of which the chapel and its little cemetery (seen in the view above), the machine-gun trench (seen in the photograph at the top of p. 167), and the neighbourhood of the station of Talus-Saint-Prix were, in particular, witnesses. The retreat however continued briskly, and on September 10 the Tenth Corps, which had performed the outflanking movement, was able, setting forth from the Champaubert-Saint-Prix front, to sweep the whole of the north of the marshes.

Follow the zig-zags which N. 51 makes to climb the slope and continue towards Soizy-aux-Bois (45 km.). On this road, and in the woods which border it, the 42nd Division met with a repulse at the hands of the German troops who, on the 7th, took Soizy and even pushed on to Chapton (we passed through this village before arriving at Sézanne). On the 8th, the 162nd Line Regiment counter-attacked and carried Soizy at the point of the bayonet; and on the 9th, as we have seen above, the Germans were driven back across the Morin.

Soizy still shows the ruins of houses destroyed by bombardment or fire. After glancing at them return to the[Pg 170] entrance to the village and take (on the left looking towards Soizy) G. C. 44 in the direction of Oyes.

Almost immediately after, on the left, below the level of the road, may be seen two large graves, where the French soldiers who fell during the combats at Soizy were buried (view p. 169). The Germans were buried to the right of these graves.

Cross through the woods of Saint-Gond. Sign-posts indicate that military graves exist in the thickets, and recall the hand-to-hand struggles which took place here during the fluctuations of the battle round Soizy.

Descend again towards the marshes between the "Crête du Poirier" on the left and the heights on Montgivroux on the right. Before arriving at Oyes there appears on the left a chalky road with a quarry on its right, leading to the top of a hill.

Follow this road, on the left of which are remains of trenches. 150 yards from its commencement may be seen an interesting view, of which the photographs on pp. 170-171 give fragments.

The summit on which we now stand is connected by a little valley with the summit of the Poirier seen on panorama I. These two heights constituted on the north the advanced line of defence of the heights of Mondement. Panorama IV. shows the position of Mondement which will be visited in due course. The castle and the church may be perceived. The road in the foreground, in the centre of this panorama, is the one which we took to climb the hill.

The line of the Poirier was the object of furious combats. The "tirailleurs" of the Moroccan Division had dug trenches there in order to protect themselves against the withering fire of heavy and light artillery which the Germans directed from the north of the marshes. When the Germans had succeeded in crossing the Morin by the bridge at Saint-Prix, they penetrated into Botrait woods (panorama I.) and attacked the Poirier. They drove the sharp-shooters from the summit, and then from the southern slopes where the latter had made a stand. On September 8 a bayonet charge brought the Poirier again into the possession of the sharp-shooters, but the German artillery rendered the position untenable, and they were obliged to evacuate it and fall back on the heights of Mondement-Montgivroux. At the same time Blondlat's Brigade which held Oyes and Reuves (panorama III.), was thrown back on the Allemant Woods by superior forces which had managed to cross the marshes.

The position of Mondement had thus lost all advanced protection and so fell on the following day, but the same evening it was retaken (see pp. 176-178), and from this moment the battle was lost for the Germans. The Tenth Corps, by means of its outflanking movement described on p. 169, obliged them to re-cross the Morin at Saint-Prix (below Botrait Woods, panorama I.). The flank of the marshes was thus turned. During the night of the 9th-10th, the German troops hurriedly regained the northern edge by the causeways running from Oyes, Reuves, and Broussy (panorama III.).

Rejoin G. C. 44 and turn to the left towards Oyes (50 km.). The village still bears traces of the bombardment during its heroic defence by Blondlat's Brigade. Turn to the right, thus leaving the church on the left, and, passing through the village, turn to the left to regain the marshes, in the middle of which stands the old Priory of Saint-Gond. The entrance, seen in the photograph above, is on the right of the road (51 km.).

Saint-Gond, who gave his name to the marshes, was a seventh century hermit. Charmed by the solitude of the spot, he there founded a little monastery. Destroyed during the barbaric invasions, then rebuilt, it became an abbey and later a priory, after which its decline was rapid. All that remains to-day consists of the entrance (view above), and in the interior, a door (seen on the opposite view behind the Abbé Millard). The Abbé Millard who occupied the priory is an elderly ecclesiastic who divides his time between studies and rural tasks. In the photographs on this page he is seen in the simple apparel which he prefers. He is a distinguished historian and member of several learned societies.

The Abbé Millard, who was recovering from a long illness, reluctantly left his hermitage a little before the arrival of the Germans. The sharp-shooters had established on the road opposite his house a barricade flanked by machine-guns behind which they tried to stem the German advance; but the latter surmounted this obstacle and advanced on Oyes.

Leaving the priory, we come across the road which runs from Villevenard, on the right of the marshes, to Oyes and Reuves, on the left. This was the road taken by the Germans who attacked Oyes and Reuves for three days. They suffered heavy losses from the fire of the French artillery which swept Villevenard and the causeways, but came resolutely on and carried the two villages on September 8, in spite of the heroic defence of Blondlat's Brigade.

At the cross-roads turn to the right towards Reuves (53 km.) and traverse its length. It suffered terribly. The views on this page show the state of the church after the bombardment.

Turn to the right at the end of the village, leaving on the left the road which continues to follow the edge of the marshes in the direction of Broussy. This village fell at the same time as Oyes and Reuves, having been attacked by the German troops coming down from Joches and Coizard. Immediately on leaving the village, take, on the left, G. C. 45 and make towards Mondement.

We are following the last stage of the German advance. On the morning of September 9, the troops which had taken Oyes and Reuves, after having been reinforced during the night, assailed the Heights of Mondement and wrenched from the grasp of the few remaining Zouaves and sharp-shooters the castle, the church and the village.

The road passes before the castle (56 km.) whose fame since the war has become worldwide.

On September 6, 1914, the owners, Mme. Jacob and one of her sons, were still at Mondement. The bombardment by the German big guns on the north of the marshes began on the morning of the 7th. The inhabitants of the castle, together with the "curé" of Reuves, who had come to join them, passed many anxious hours. The cellar, in which they had taken shelter, almost fell in on them. It was useless to think of seeking refuge in the neighbourhood of the castle, for the shells fell like hail. Their motor-car had been destroyed (as may be seen in the photograph at the foot of p. 178) and the only horse in the stable had been killed.

There was nothing left for it but, at night, to set out on foot along the road to Broyes, in spite of the feeble state of M. Jacob, who was suffering from heart-disease.

They were picked up fortunately by a motor-car sent by General[Pg 175] Humbert, but M. Jacob died a few days afterwards, as a result of the shock and of the fatigues which he had experienced.

On the 7th, General Humbert established his headquarters in the castle, which made a splendid observation post. He followed the course of the battle through his field-glasses from the foot of the towers.

When the shells fell too thickly on the castle, he gained the little church near at hand (from which the panorama on pp. 182-183 is taken), and came back to the castle when the Germans began to direct their fire on the church-tower. During these comings and goings, a shell fell among his escort and killed several horsemen. As the bombardment continued to increase in violence, the headquarters were transported to the "Castle des Pucelles" at Broyes, which we have already seen (p. 159).

The road goes round the castle. The opposite photograph gives a side view of the façade. The tower at the end has been cleared of the ivy which covers it (in the photograph on p. 174), and completely restored. The ruined roof has been removed, in order to give place to a new one. In the foreground is a tree which has been felled by a shell. Shells from the '105's' and '150's' laid low many others, sometimes killing at the same time the persons who had sought shelter under them.

Take the Broyes road which passes before the principal entrance (photograph opposite). The two heraldic lions surmounting the pillars of the gateway are worthy of notice. The roofs of the buildings were destroyed by shells, and the main-building opposite the gate has a temporary zinc covering.

In the field on the other side of the Broyes road is the grave where the Zouaves and other foot soldiers, who fell during the attack on the castle, were buried (photograph opposite). After the entrance gate come the out-buildings, and then the kitchen-garden, whose wall we skirt.

The above view shows the two sides on which the French attacked on the afternoon of September 9. The trees behind the kitchen-garden are those of the park. On the right of the horizon, and separated from Mondement by a hollow, are Allemant Woods.

The castle was taken by the Germans at daybreak on the 9th, and was immediately put into a state of defence. Loop-holes were made in the walls, and machine-guns placed on the towers and at prominent windows. The 77th line Regiment which was reforming at Saint-Loup (see pp. 162-163) was directed in all haste to Mondement to counter-attack. Colonel Lestoquoi placed a battalion on either side of the Broyes Road in the woods which come to an end a few hundred yards from the south side of the kitchen-garden. The Zouaves and sharp-shooters of the Moroccan Division, also hidden among the trees, were to attack on the other side, by the principal entrance.

The artillery preparation was entrusted to the guns of the Moroccan Division, aided by the batteries of the 42nd Division, which had halted at Broyes before descending into the plain (see pp. 162-163).

The attack began at 2.30 p.m. Major de Beaufort's battalion, composed of Bretons, to whom one of their comrades, a soldier-priest, had just given the absolution, left the woods, their bugles sounding the charge. A murderous fire met them from the castle, but could not stop them. A breach had been[Pg 178] made in the wall by one of the French "75's," and towards this Major de Beaufort rushed, only to fall struck by a ball in the forehead. Officers and men succeeded him, but as soon as they appeared in the opening the fire of the machine-guns and rifles, hidden in the out-buildings (photograph above) was concentrated upon them, and they succumbed before even reaching the garden. A few, hoisting themselves on the shoulders of their fellows, gained the summit of the wall, but an entry in mass, which alone could have ensured success, was impossible.

On the other side, the attack of the Zouaves and sharp-shooters had met with equally great difficulties. Sheltering themselves behind the trees on the road and the pillars of the railings, they sniped at the occupants of the castle without being able to advance.

At the end of an hour of costly efforts, orders were given to fall back, and the troops retired into the woods from which they had set out.

Pieces of artillery were then dragged by the men to within three or four hundred yards of the castle. The breaches in the wall increased, the railing collapsed in parts, and the interior of the castle became untenable. When the French renewed the attack at nightfall, they no longer met with resistance, for the garrison had fallen back on the marshes. The retreat had become general on the front of Von Hausen's and Yon Bulow's armies.

The bombardments devastated the interior of the Castle. The views on this page show to what a state[Pg 179] were reduced the out-buildings from which came the terrible fire rendering the passage of the breach so difficult.

On September 6, 1917, the third anniversary of the Battle of the Marne was celebrated at the castle of Mondement. The President of the Republic, accompanied by the President of the Council and several ministers, as well as by Field-Marshal Joffre, General Foch, and General Pétain, stopped at Mondement on his way from Fère to Sézanne, after having visited the Plateau of Rochelle near Fère-Champenoise (see p. 188).

In the photograph at the top of p. 179 we see the group leaving the castle by the principal entrance. The walls, under their temporary roof, still show traces of shot and shell. M. Poincaré may be seen between M. Ribot, President of the Council, and M. Painlevé, War Minister. Field-Marshal Joffre is behind.

The photograph at the foot of p. 179 was also taken during the official visit of September 6, 1917. The tower on the left is the one seen on p. 174 from the exterior. On comparing the two photographs, we realise that the signs of war are fast disappearing at this point. In the middle, near the wall, the group formed by M. Poincaré, M. Ribot, M. Bourgeois, Field-Marshal Joffre and Generals Foch and Pétain, may be distinguished.

Those who took part in this pilgrimage had the good fortune to hear an account of the events of September, 1914, from the lips of General Foch. The above photograph was taken whilst, in quiet but moving terms, he described the different phases of the desperate battle fought by the Ninth Army from September 6 to 10. This extempore military lecture took place at the foot of a walnut-tree which stands in the meadow before the castle. On pp. 182-183 may be seen the view of the marshes which appeared to the eyes of the audience.

Opposite the turret seen in the photograph at the foot of p. 175 take a path leading to the church, which suffered much from the bombardments, but whose breaches have now been repaired.

In the little graveyard (photograph p. 180) which surrounds it are buried the officers who fell at Mondement; among them Major de Beaufort, who commanded the attack, and Dr. Baur, killed by a shell which at the same time split the tree against which he was leaning.

General Humbert followed the march of events from the foot of the church, on the side facing the marshes (view above), when the castle became untenable. It is from this point that the panorama on pp. 182-183 was taken, and which will now be described.

In the foreground of panorama I (pp. 182-183) may be seen the houses of Mondement, which village was carried by the Germans at the same time as the castle and church, at daybreak on September 9. The French on their victorious return the same evening, drove out the remaining occupants, firing on them as they hastened down the slopes to the Marshes.

On the right may be seen Reuves and the road connecting it with Mondement. Oyes is visible on panorama II. We can easily follow the course of the German attack. After having crossed the marshes, the Germans drove Blondlat's Brigade of the Moroccan Division from these villages on the 8th. The following day the handful of Zouaves and sharp-shooters remaining in the castle, church and village, were forced to retire into the woods near Broyes.

On panorama II, the hill-top from which the panorama on pp. 170-171 was taken may be distinguished, as also the "Crête du Poirier" which carries it to the left towards Botrait Woods. This advanced line was, as we have seen, fiercely disputed, the bombardment being terrible. In his fine work on the Marshes of Saint-Gond, in which he relates the memoirs of M. Roland, schoolmaster at Villevenard, M. Le Goffie tells us that the percentage of German shells as compared with the French, was five to one, and he cites a detail which illustrates the German character. "The great '150' shells made a noise like a siren, and drew shrieks of joy from those assembled. 'Oh, Germany,' bleated an old doctor, lifting his eyes to heaven each time that one of these steel monsters went bellowing forth."

When the Germans had taken "Le Poirier," they advanced on the Woods of Saint-Gond, in whose thickets violent combats took place. A final effort carried them on September 9 on to the plateau at Montgivroux (see p. 184), a little to the west of Mondement, which fell likewise in its turn, under the direct attack from the marshes. This important success, however, came two days too late. The Tenth Corps was menacing Mondement on the flank, and the intervention of the 42nd Division (see p. 14) destroyed the Germans' hope of taking the plateau on the Broyes-Allemant side. The counter-attack of the 77th (see p. 177-178) precipitated their retreat. Driven from the castle, the Germans re-crossed in haste during the night of September 9-10 the great dike of Saint-Gond. They left baggage and numerous wounded along the causeways. The Germans of 1914 were more fortunate than the conscripts of 1814, for whom the marshes formed a grave. In the darkness they escaped the fire which the French batteries at Mondement and Allemant would have poured on them in daylight. When the Tenth Corps began its march eastwards on September 10, starting from the Champaubert-Saint-Prix front, it was able to sweep the north of the marshes and pick up the laggards and heavy beer-drinkers, to whom the champagne had rendered bad service.

After having examined the panorama of the marshes, return to the road which leads to the church and continue it in the direction of the farm, seen in the photograph above. It suffered much from successive French and German bombardments. As may be observed, the work of reparation has begun.

The French, when driven from the farm, took shelter in the wood a few hundred yards away on the other side of the road. It was from the wood that they began the counter-attack which gave them back the farm, as well as the castle and the church.

We retrace our steps to the castle, leaving the road which continues to follow the edge of the plateau in the direction of Montgivroux, and rejoins No. 51, below Soizy. This part of the plateau was carried by the German attacks coming from the Poirier and the Woods of Saint-Gond (see p. 170). The "tirailleurs" fought heavy engagements at this point.

On returning to the castle take the Broyes road (G. C. 45) which passes before the gates, then pass through the woods in which the 77th and the troops of the Moroccan Division which took Mondement found shelter, and so on to Broyes and the Castle des Pucelles which we saw at the beginning of our excursion.

Turn to the right into G. C. 39 and cross the village. At the cross-roads beyond Broyes, turn to the left and return to Sézanne, down a long slope which offer a fine view of the plain and of the heights surrounding it. At the crossing beyond the cemetery take the Rue de Broyes. In the middle, turn to the right and regain the hotel (65 km.) for lunch, by way of the Rue de la Halle and the Place de la République.

FROM
SÉZANNE TO CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE

(106 km.)

via Connantre, Fère-Champenoise, Connantray, Sommesous, Haussimont, Vassimont, Lenharrée, Normée.

Return to the Place de la République and descend towards the lower part of the town by the Rue des Lombards; without crossing the railway turn to the left along a road planted with trees. This is N. 34, which traverses the plain in a perfectly straight line, and which is to be seen in the panorama on pp. 160-163. On the left, on the horizon the heights of Sézanne, Broyes, Allemant, and Mont-Chalmont are once more visible.

After a run of 10 km. we reach the villages of Linthes and Linthelles, from which the counter-attack of the 42nd Division started on September 9.

At that time, in the plain stretching to the left of the road, the French troops, which had been driven from the edge of the marshes and even from Mont-Août, were falling back southwards. With them, too, were those who had been pushed back from the line of the Somme on to Fère-Champenoise, Connantre, and still further beyond. These troops, although worn out by four days' fighting, and exposed to violent artillery fire from the north, east, and south, would not give in, and took every opportunity for rearguard actions.

The coming into the line of the 42nd Division braced up their forces for the supreme effort asked by Foch.

We are following the axis of the French march during this counter offensive, the first result of which was the relief of Connantre. This village may be seen from the road, on the right, before traversing the level crossing. 100 yards further on is the entrance to Connantre Castle, in which the Light Infantrymen took prisoner several hundred Guards.

The road goes straight towards Fère-Champenoise across the plain, which is dotted here and there with clumps of trees. At Fère-Champenoise (21 km.) turn to the left into the "Grand-Place" in order to reach the station, which is about 900 yards away. This was much damaged by bombardment. About 300 yards on the right, by following the railway lines, may be seen the grave in the photograph below.

We retrace our steps to the Grand-Place Square, turn to the left before the town-hall, and, passing it, take the first street on the right in the direction of Sommesous and Vitry-le-François. In this street, on the left, are the ruins of the electric power station (view above), and on the right a few burnt houses.

Fère-Champenoise fell into the hands of the Germans on September 8 when the heroic defence of the Eleventh Corps had been broken on the line of the Somme, over which we are about to travel. The reserve of the guards pillaged as a matter of course, and celebrated noisily the German victory. Near the town-hall a piano was brought into the street to accompany the dance of the soldiers, attired in all sorts of headgear, taken from the window of a neighbouring hatter. Wine flowed, and the streets were strewn with empty bottles. It was in the midst of these rejoicings that the order to retreat arrived like a thunderbolt on September 9. On the 10th, General Foch made Fère his headquarters.

On leaving the town we come across fan-shaped[Pg 187] cross-roads and take the road farthest to the left. 200 yards along this, take the lane on the right, following the edge of the hill which dominates the Vaure.

After climbing 2½ km. the summit of the hill is reached. On the right of the road stretches the plateau of Rochelle, dotted with clumps of pine and covered with graves. Leave the car at the spot indicated in the photograph at foot of p. 186 and set out on foot towards the centre of the plateau.

The third anniversary of the victory of the Marne was celebrated on the plateau on September 7, 1917. In the photograph above may be seen (from right to left) the President of the Republic, General Pétain (half hidden by M. Poincaré); M. Ribot, President of the Council; M. Painlevé, War Minister; M. Chaumet, Marine; M. Bourgeois, Public Works. Field-Marshal Joffre is in the background.

The tourist who, during the tour of the Ourcq, visited the plateau of Barcy-Chambry, will experience with even greater intensity the impression of sadness which is evoked by the calm landscape and the numerous graves, signs of the fierceness and obstinacy of the battle.

A remnant of the Eleventh Corps, which had been driven on the 8th from the woods to the west of Normée (see p. 194), made a gallant stand on the[Pg 188] summit and sides of the plateau in the pine thickets and in improvised trenches which still exist here and there.

One of the most moving incidents was the defence of the standard of the 32nd. Two hundred men belonging to the 66th and the 32nd Regiments were hemmed in a little wood near the Vaure, having with them the standard of the 32nd, whose bearer had been killed. All the officers were dead or missing, only a few adjutants and sergeants remained. These asked Sergeant-major Guerre of the 66th, a man of energy and resource, to take command. The handful of heroes then formed a square and succeeded in repulsing the attacks of the enemy, until the arrival of a field-piece rendered the position in the wood untenable. Guerre divided his remaining troops into small companies, then charged with the bayonet where the enemy was strongest. A machine-gun soon laid the brave fellow low. The other companies took advantage of this diversion to rejoin the French lines. Thirty men in all were able to do so. Private Malvau and his comrade Bourgoin brought back the standard. They lost themselves in the German lines, but were put on the right path by an officer of the guards, suffering from a bad wound which they dressed for him.

After visiting the Rochelle plateau we retrace our steps towards Fère and at the entrance to the village take, on the left, N. 34 in the direction of Sommesous.

Pass straight through Connantray (33½ km.) to arrive, after traversing a level-crossing, at Sommesous (44½ km.).

The station is on the left of the level-crossing. It changed hands several times during the desperate encounters which took place here. Graves were dug in the little station garden on the left to receive the bodies of the soldiers of the 60th (reserve) Division who fell on this spot.

Follow N. 34 for about 200 yards in Sommesous, then turn to the left into N. 77. The combats were particularly violent at the junction of these two roads. Next, take the second street on the left, seen in the photograph below, in order to reach the centre of the village. Sommesous was entirely destroyed by bombardment and by fire, but is slowly rising again from its ashes.

The church, of which the photographs on this page show the state after the bombardment, is on the right of the street, towards the end of the village. It is now being restored.

In going from Sommesous to Écury-le-Repos we traverse the line of the Somme which the Eleventh Corps and the 60th (reserve) Division defended so energetically. This line was formed by the river, and by the railway which follows it at a little distance, along the plateau of the left bank. On September 6 and 7 this position was held by the French against furious attacks by Saxons and Guards supported by artillery. On the 8th the French troops, heavily outnumbered, were obliged to withdraw to Connantray and Fère-Champenoise.

September 9 witnessed Foch's counter-attack, which reached the Somme on the 10th and crossed it, on the 11th, in pursuit of the enemy.

Naturally at the bridge-heads of Sommesous, Haussimont, Vassimont, Lenharrée, Normée, and Ecury some of the most obstinate fighting took place; thus the ruins there are numerous.

On leaving Sommesous, the road crosses the railway on the level and goes towards Haussimont, skirting the Somme, the valley of which lies to the left. At Haussimont, cross the Somme and turn to the right into G. C. 18 in order to enter and pass through the village. A few houses are still in ruins, but many have been rebuilt.

G. C. 18 continues between the Somme and the railway towards Vassimont (where we cross the river again). Turn to the left in order to traverse this locality, which was much damaged, as may be seen in the view on p. 190.

Leaving the village, take the first road on the left and cross the Somme. 500 yards further on is the hamlet of Chapelaine, with its castle of the same name (photograph p. 190). The fighting was intense at this point.

Return to G. C. 18 and turn to the left towards Lenharrée (54 km.). Arriving there, we have on the left (on the right in the view above) the road, which descends to the river. The many graves around indicate the fierce struggle for the possession of the ford.

Lenharrée formed a bridgehead on the right bank. The French held it on September 6 and 7 under a heavy fire, but on the morning of the 8th the two companies of the 225th, who, by good shooting and frequent bayonet charges, had held at a respectable distance a much superior German force, were obliged to withdraw towards Connantray. The Saxons and the Guards, holding Normée, had managed to advance down the left bank and thus threatened to take the defenders of Lenharrée in the rear. Of this small force all the officers and non-commissioned officers were lying dead or wounded around Captain de Saint-Bon, who himself fell as he gave the order to retire. "Never mind me," he said to his soldiers, who wanted to carry him away with them, "Don't be killed trying to save me."

After their withdrawal on September 8 and 9 the French returned to the neighbourhood of Lenharrée. This they reached on the 10th and entered the next day. They found in a barn 450 wounded Germans and 150 French. The terrible struggle had drenched the village with blood and reddened the waters of the river. "There are heaps of German dead everywhere," wrote a witness, "in the streets, in the cellars, in the church, and in the cemetery. One walked on them without being aware of it. Behind a hedge ten yards in length I counted twenty-two; a hole in a rock five to six metres deep was a regular charnel-house."

Graves in the courtyards of the houses recall the hand-to-hand fighting. There is one in the large ruined farm seen in the photograph on p. 191. This farm is on the right after the first group of houses at the entrance to the village, fifty yards beyond the cross-roads seen in the view at the top of p. 191.

During the German occupation an old inhabitant, M. Félix, was killed by blows from the butt-end of the rifles of the German soldiers whom he tried to prevent from pillaging his house.

Going through the village, leave the church on the right. We come to the bridge around which are the graves of the men who fell during the combats on this bitterly disputed spot (photograph p. 192).

Cross the bridge and turn to the right; 50 yards further on, take, on the left, the road leading through a cutting to Lenharrée railway station (800 yards). Numerous graves border the railway and the road, for the struggle, which began at the Somme, continued on the railway before spreading under German pressure to Fère-Champenoise, Connantray, and beyond.

Return to G. C. 18, in which turn to the left. The road commands the Somme, and here the troops of the eleventh Corps established trenches along the river bank in order to obstruct the passage. The view on p. 192, taken about 1 km. beyond Lenharrée, shows one of these trenches in which is a German grave.

On the left, the plateau of which G. C. 18 follows the edge, is dotted throughout with graves, the fighting being particularly desperate here on the 6th and 7th. Engagements also took place on the[Pg 194] plateau on the opposite bank. The 91st line Regiment, coming up from Lenharrée, particularly distinguished itself during a night attack on the guards.

We arrive at Normée (59 km.), which suffered much from bombardment (see p. 193). Shells fell so thickly that the village was evacuated on the 6th, the troops retiring to the railway line and to the woods around.

In order to visit this portion of the battlefield, turn to the left immediately after leaving Normée, into G. C. 5, which goes towards Fère-Champenoise. 2 km. further on is the level-crossing (view p. 193) which became famous after the events of September 6-8.

Leaving the car at the gate, cross the line on foot. In a clearing on the left (view below) may be seen the old French trenches and the graves which were afterwards made near by. Other trenches are to be seen in the pine woods which line the road.

The Colonel commanding the 42nd Brigade was killed whilst defending this level-crossing.

The German attacks, violent enough on the 7th, redoubled in fury on the 8th; the line of defence was pierced and the 35th Brigade, stationed in the woods adjoining the plateau of Rochelle, previously visited (see p. 187), had to fight under difficult conditions. Certain sections were surrounded, and only fought their way out with heavy loss, all the officers being killed. It was under these circumstances that the fine defence of the standard of the 32nd line Regiment, related on p. 188, took place.

Return to G. C. 18 and turn to the left in it towards Écury-le-Repos. 200 yards before arriving at the village, in a field on the right of the road overlooking the Somme, is an old trench which has been used as a grave (view above).

In Écury (67 km.) turn to the left beyond the church, then take the first street on the right towards Morains-le-Petit. A few trenches are to be seen here and there, and graves are still numerous.

Morains-le-Petit (70 km.) is rising from its ruins, as the photograph above shows. Turn to the right in the village, then to the left on leaving it, into G. C. 9 in the direction of Bergères-lès-Vertus. We are now in the theatre of operations of the 17th Division and of the 52nd (reserve) Division. The task of the troops forming the right wing of the Ninth Corps was to prevent the marshes from being outflanked on the east. They held on bravely, but were obliged to retire to Mont-Août on September 8, their right having been left exposed by the withdrawal of the Eleventh Corps.

At 100 yards from Morains is the source of the Morin, which at this point is a tiny rivulet, often dry in the summer. The ditch in which it flows was used as a trench in the battles of 1914.

The view below, taken on the left of the wood, shows this ditch bordered by a few shrubs and surrounded by graves.

The road continues towards Mont-Aimé, which we reach about 5 km. beyond Morains. This hill, 750 feet high, appears a veritable mountain as it rises solitary in the midst of the great Plain of Champagne.

Leave the car on the road and set out to climb the hill, an easy task. It is possible to climb direct, or to follow the zig-zag path which begins at the road. From the top there is a very fine view of the marshes and of the whole Plain of Champagne. The entire journey, up and down, takes about twenty-five minutes.

Return to G. C. 9 and continue to Borgères-lès-Vertus (78 km.), where we meet with N. 53, where turn to the right towards Châlons-sur-Marne.

The Germans traversed this road in both directions within six days. They advanced in all the excitement of a victorious pursuit: they returned in the gloomy disappointment of defeat.

The journey to Châlons (106 km.) presents no difficulties, it being merely necessary to follow N. 33, which passes through Chaintrix and Thibie. We enter Châlons by the Avenue de Paris, then take the Rue du Faubourg-de-la-Marne on the left. Cross the railway, then the Marne, and continue straight along the Rue de la Marne. Here cross the canal, leaving the cathedral on the right. Before arriving at the Place de Ville turn to the right into the Rue des Lombards, which leads to the Place de la République, where the hotels will be found.

III
THE PASS OF REVIGNY CHÂLONS—VITRY—BAR-LE-DUC

CHÂLONS

ORIGIN AND CHIEF HISTORICAL FACTS

Châlons is of very ancient origin and was in the third century the capital of the "Catalauni." In that part of the Plain of Champagne which surrounds it, known as "the Catalaunian Fields," numerous invasions were brought to nothing. The invasion of 1914 recalled the epoch of Attila's Huns, who were beaten here in 451 by the Roman General Actius; Merovic, King of the Franks; and Theodoric, King of the Visigoths. It is between Châlons and Troyes, rather nearer the latter town, that the most eminent authorities assume this great victory over barbarism to have taken place.

Up to the eighteenth century the bishopric of Châlons was one of the most important in France.

CHÂLONS IN 1914

The town, which had been evacuated by three-quarters of its inhabitants, received a few shells on September 4. Some of the stained glass windows of the cathedral were smashed; a part of the roof of the Hôtel-Dieu was broken in, and the children's ward, which was fortunately empty, received a 4·2 shell.

Saxon troops entered the town at 4 p.m., and the Mayor, M. Bernard, having left, M. Servas—his deputy—took over the direction of municipal affairs. The bishop, Mgr. Tissier, and the Abbé Laisnez, his chaplain, were equally heroic during these tragic times. A contribution of £1,200,000 was demanded for the Department of the Marne by the Germans. Mgr. Tissier was able to persuade them to lower it to £20,000 for Châlons.

From September 7 to 11, great numbers of German wounded came in, and were treated in the military hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu, the town-hall, and, when these overflowed, in the barracks, the college, and even in private houses. On September 11 the Saxon troops left the town hurriedly, and on the 12th the French re-took possession.

VISIT TO THE TOWN

Of great interest: the Cathedral (pp. 199-202); Notre-Dame (pp. 203-205); Notre-Dame-de-l'Épine (pp. 210-212).

Of interest: Saint Alpin (pp. 206-207); to archæologists: Saint-Jean (p. 207); pretty walk: the Jard (p. 208).

Cathedral of Saint-Stephen

The Cathedral has had a very eventful history. It dates from the Carolingian times, and was destroyed in 963, when the town was taken by Robert of Vermandois. It was rebuilt, only to be destroyed again in 1138 by a fire, caused by lightning. It was once more rebuilt and enlarged, but in 1230 a similar disaster overtook it. The rebuilding this time took many years to accomplish, for at the beginning of the fifteenth century the nave was unfinished and the western doorway not yet begun.

In 1520 there was set up in the north tower of the transept (see photo below) a wooden spire covered with lead and richly ornamented, about 310 feet in height. In 1628 the two final bays of the nave were completed and the western doorway entirely built (photo above). Unfortunately, its style jars with the Gothic of the rest of the church. In 1668 the cathedral was struck by lightning for the third time; the spire fell and drove in the vaulting and the crypt. After another restoration, the two towers of the transept were embellished with stone spires, which were reconstructed in 1821, but, later, removed. In 1850 the south front of the transept was entirely rebuilt. In 1862 all the sixteenth century chapels in the aisles off the nave were done away with. Quite recently the two towers, together with the doorways of the transept, have been restored.

On the whole the cathedral is an imposing edifice. We have seen above that the west front dates from the seventeenth century and is in the Classical style. Corinthian columns and pilasters flank a Gothic rose-window. A balcony runs along each storey, and a pediment surmounts the whole. A much damaged bas-relief above the entrance-door represents the stoning of Saint Stephen. The long nave, with its lines of elegant flying-buttresses, rejoins the transept, of which the north front (photo opposite) is the most interesting. The southern one was completely rebuilt in the nineteenth century.

The north tower of the transept is the older. The lower part of it dates back to the ancient Romanesque cathedral. The walls are pierced by round-arched bays. The south tower belongs to the thirteenth century. Its bays are Gothic in style. Three radial chapels, dating probably from the fourteenth century, open off the apse.

In the interior the nave comprises nine bays, the first two of which, starting from the west front, date from the seventeenth century; the others, and also the choir and transept, are of the thirteenth century.

As in the Cathedral of Rheims, the choir advances into the nave, of which it occupies two bays. The high altar, under a canopy (see photograph below), supported by marble pillars, belongs to the seventeenth century. In the north branch of the transept is a fine sixteenth century bas-relief representing Christ lying in His tomb (see p. 201), which is attributed to Ligier-Richier, the Lorraine master, whose masterpiece we shall see in St. Peter's Church at Bar-le-Duc (p. 245). The cathedral is paved with tombstones. The most beautiful ones are to be seen in the ambulatory, especially two adjoining the pillars of the choir.

In the sacristy, which opens off the south branch of the transept, may be seen the treasure (see p. 201). This is composed of a little thirteenth century enamelled brass shrine called Saint Rémy's, with medallions representing the apostles; and a twelfth century mitre and shoe, said to be Saint Malachy's. The mitre is of red silk embroidered in gold and silver; the shoe is of red leather inlaid with gold.

The stained glass windows of the cathedral are very remarkable, although most of them have been restored. The three upper windows at the back of the apse belong to the thirteenth century, as also the rose-window in the north arm of the transept dedicated to the childhood of Christ, and the twelve panels of the triforium representing the apostles.

Lights in the first south window

The stained glass windows of the north aisle are almost all modern, and in imitation of the style of the thirteenth century. Those of the south aisle belong to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, except the ninth window nearest the transept, which dates from the thirteenth century. Our illustration give an idea of the simple yet skilful composition of these little masterpieces, but cannot reproduce the beauty of their colouring.

Lights in the first south window

The second window on the south represents scenes from the life of the Virgin. The third and fourth are devoted to Christ; the fifth to the life and stoning of Saint Stephen; the sixth to the Virgin, and different saints and donors; the seventh to the life of Christ; the eighth to the life and miracles of Christ; the ninth to the baptism of Christ and to various saints. All this stained glass has been removed and put into a place of safety for the duration of the war.

Notre-Dame de Vaux

Like the cathedral, Notre-Dame dates back to Carolingian times. In the eleventh century it possessed no transept, but included a semi-circular apse flanked by two towers, on the site of which rise the two present ones (see p. 205), which date from the twelfth century and recall those of the cathedral. There remains of the twelfth century Romanesque church, besides almost the whole of the transept, the south door under the porch, the pillars and the aisles of the nave, as well as the ground floor of the west front.

In 1157 Notre-Dame collapsed, and was partly reconstructed. The apse was rebuilt with three radial chapels. In the nave and choir the round arches of the tribunes and arcades were replaced by pointed ones: the walls were raised in height and pierced by windows, below which was established a triforium (photo below). Gothic vaulting in the nave and transept replaced the wooden roof. The two storeys and the pinnacle of the west front, between the towers, belong also to this period.

In the fourteenth century the four towers were surmounted by wooden spires covered with lead, painted and gilded. To the fifteenth century belongs the beautiful porch in the Flamboyant style which precedes the south door of the twelfth century. The Revolution destroyed three of the four spires in order to utilise the lead, and mutilated the sculptures of the doors. Notre-Dame was completely restored about 1852. The steeple of the north tower of the west front was reconstructed, but the towers of the apse remained despoiled of the elevated pyramids which gave to Notre-Dame a very characteristic silhouette recognisable in the centre of the old engrav[Pg 204]ing reproduced on p. 198.

The south porch, visible in the opposite photograph, was built in 1469. The bay is surmounted by an angular pediment, and the gable is ornamented by graceful arcading in the Flamboyant style.

The south front of the transept (photograph opposite) which adjoins the Gothic porch, is a fine piece of work in the Romanesque style, with its round arches and its sculptured rose-windows. The little thirteenth century sun-dial on the buttress in the middle-front below the windows is worthy of note. It is one of the oldest known.

The interior of Notre-Dame is simple and dignified (see below and on p. 203). It has been completely restored. The pillars which support the arcades are those of the early Romanesque church (see photograph p. 205). Their capitals are finely sculptured. Above the lower arcades runs a gallery which opens on to the choir and nave by means of bays composed of twin lights. A little triforium separates this gallery from the higher windows (see below).

The windows of the aisles of Notre-Dame are filled with beautiful sixteenth century stained glass, which at the beginning of the war was taken down and put away for fear of damage from air-raids. We reproduce a panel from one of them, which represents the donor kneeling in prayer to Saint Martha, her patron saint, who is trampling under foot the "Tarasque," a mythical monster of Tarascon. The saint is subduing it by sprinkling it with holy water.

The principal stained-glass windows in the north aisle are: in the first window beginning at the great doorway, the battle of "las Novas de Tolosa" won by the Spaniards over the Moors in the thirteenth century; donors; patrons; the transfiguration. The next window deals with the death and coronation of the Virgin and represents the donors (the panel[Pg 205] reproduced on p. 205 belongs to this window). The third window is dedicated to the life of Saint Anne and the Virgin; the fourth represents the Adoration, the Massacre of the Innocents, the Flight into Egypt, the last Supper; the fifth, the Passion; the sixth, the Ascension, the Virgin, Christ crowned; patrons and donors. In the south aisle, the first window represents the life of Saint James, the Transfiguration, Christ appearing to his disciples; the second, scenes from the life of the Virgin; the third, the Last Supper; the fourth, the life of the Virgin and the legend of Saint James.

Church of Saint Alpin

This was at first merely a chapel dedicated to Saint Andrew. In the ninth century it was placed under the patronage of Saint Alpin, when the body of this Bishop of Châlons was transported there.

Saint Alpin, like Saint Loup at Troyes, and Saint Geneviève in Paris, went out to confront Attila, and succeeded in obtaining a promise that the town should be spared by the "Scourge of God." A sixteenth century stained-glass window (the first in the south aisle) commemorates this episode in the life of the saint (photograph below). The bishop, his mitre on his head, the cross in his hand, surrounded by clergy and laymen, is pleading the cause of the town before the King of the Huns, seated on a sumptuous throne amidst his warriors. At the foot of the throne are captives in chains.

As we have seen on p. 198, fifteen centuries later the same scene was enacted. In September, 1914, Mgr. Tissier, Saint Alpin's successor in the bishopric of Châlons, was obliged to plead for his town with the invaders.

The Church of Saint Alpin was reconstructed and enlarged in the twelfth century. From this period date the west front (see above), the nave and its side aisles. The north branch of the transept belongs to the fourteenth century, the south branch to the sixteenth.

The apse goes back to the sixteenth century, as does the tower surmounting the middle of the transept, also the chapels of the side aisles. At the same period, doors leading into each aisle were pierced on either side of the doorway of the West Front.

The church was subjected to important repairs in the nineteenth century, and statues of Saint Andrew and Saint Alpin, its two patrons, were installed in niches on either side of the central doorway.

In the interior we find a fine collection of sixteenth century stained glass in the windows of the south aisle and of the ambulatory. As in the other churches in Châlons, the war caused them to be removed to a place of safety. We reproduce two of them: Saint Alpin before Attila (see p. 206), and the life of the Virgin (photo opposite).

In the latter the top of the right hand light represents the birth of the Virgin; the lower portion of the middle light, the Presentation in the Temple. Saint Anne and Saint Joachim, bringing the sacrificial lambs and doves, lead Mary to the high priest. The upper portion of this light depicts the glorification of the Virgin. On the left of the window is Saint Martha, in a rich Renaissance costume, holding in her hand the vessel of holy water and the sprinkler which she used to subdue the "Tarasque" (see p. 205).

Mortuary stones are also to be seen here; and let into the wall of the ambulatory is a beautiful sixteenth century bas-relief of the Virgin and Child; two donors and their patrons. On one of the southern pillars of the transept is a fine "Ecce homo" on a background of gold, also of the sixteenth century.

Church of St. John

This church is the most ancient building in Châlons. The nave dates from 1050; the choir, the apse, and the transept belong to the thirteenth century; the principal front to the fourteenth. The tower of the transept was built in the seventeenth, when the side aisles were vaulted and reconstructed. The Romanesque nave with its round arches, has a seventeenth century wooden vault; but above it, the wooden framework of the interior of the roof contains some skilful fourteenth century carpentry. The capitals and the pillars are very plain and some seem to be anterior to the eleventh century; the branches of the transept are doubled by side-aisles transformed into chapels, which flank the choir. The apse terminates in a flat wall. Important restorations were carried out in this old church in the nineteenth century.

The Jard

The Jard is a very pretty park of extremely ancient origin, being mentioned in thirteenth century documents. The marshy ground was drained, raised, and planted with trees. In the eighteenth century it was laid out as it is to-day. The walks were bordered with elms which, after a century of existence, were cut down in 1870 and replaced by horse-chestnut trees. On Sundays and Thursdays concerts are given here.

The garden, which occupies the north-east portion of the Jard and reaches the banks of the Nau Canal, was made in 1861 for a horticultural exhibition. The old seventeenth century castle of Marché, now transformed into the savings bank, looks on to this canal. The photograph opposite gives an idea of its picturesque aspect.

The English garden stretches between the canal and the Marne. It was laid out in the beginning of the nineteenth century. A foot-bridge (photo below) connects it with the Jard. From the top of this bridge there is a pretty view of the canal which divides at this point to surround a wooded isle.

Other Monuments and Objects of Interest

Church of Saint Loup

This dates from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but was rebuilt in the nineteenth. The front, the tower, and the spire which rises above the transept are entirely modern, and the old seventeenth century doorway has been removed to the courtyard of the museum in the town-hall.

In the interior, in the second chapel of the right aisle, is a little sixteenth century Flemish triptych representing the "Adoration of the Wise Men." At the end of the right aisle, near the branch of the transept, is a fifteenth century wooden carving of Saint Christopher.

Hôtel de Ville

The present building replaced at the end of the eighteenth century the old Renaissance town-hall. It contains the library and the museum, the latter looking on the Place Godart. Enter by the Rue d'Orfeuil (open to[Pg 209] the public on Thursdays and Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m. and every day to visitors to the town). The museum contains interesting collections of sculpture, ancient paintings, and a natural history section.

Préfecture

This, built in the eighteenth century, was formerly the hôtel of the "Intendance de Champagne." The north wing was built in 1846. The préfecture contains a remarkably fine fifteenth century chimney-piece (photo below), on which is carved a mythological triumphal procession, flanked by figures representing faith and charity.

Sainte-Croix Gate

Here is a triumphal arch erected in 1770 for the passage of Marie-Antoinette, on her arrival in France to wed the Dauphin. It was never finished.

National School of Arts and Crafts

This institution, founded by Napoléon in 1806, is one of the five important State schools for turning out engineers and skilled foremen. The buildings are of the eighteenth century. The school possesses fine laboratories and industrial collections.

Sainte-Croix and Saint-Jean Avenues

The Military Cemetery

Rue Kellerman, in the eastern part of the town, near the cavalry quarters, is on a lower level than the old civilian cemetery. It contains the remains of several thousand soldiers who died in the hospitals of the town.

Notre-Dame de l'Épine

In order to reach Notre-Dame de l'Épine, which is eight kilometres from Châlons, leave Châlons by the Avenue de Metz, which begins at Saint-Jean Square. This avenue rejoins N. 3, in which turn to the right. It is a straight road to l'Épine. Notre-Dame comes into view suddenly at the entrance to the village, which, as the above photo shows, has suffered greatly. A large number of its houses have been destroyed by fire, but the old church had a miraculous escape. Notre-Dame, which dates from the fifteenth century, replaced an earlier edifice built on the spot where, according to legend, a heavenly light disclosed a statue of the Virgin in a bush. From the beginning of the thirteenth century, pilgrims flocked to say their prayers at the foot of the miraculous statue. Although now seven hundred years old this pilgrimage still retains its famous reputation.

The church was built by the inhabitants of the district, pious workmen coming from as far as Bar and Verdun; and the expression "aller à l'Épine," meaning to work for nothing, still exists. The church was finished in the sixteenth century. Three doorways in the fifteenth century front open on the ground floor, and are surmounted by angular pediments. The central doorway, the largest and most interesting of the three, is dedicated to Christ. A crucifix is to be seen in the centre of the pediment. In the tympanum is represented the Birth of Christ; and scenes from the Passion are carved on the lintel. A sixteenth century Virgin, holding in her arms the Infant Jesus, stands with her back to the pier which supports the tympanum and divides the entrance into two parts. The curve of the arch and the side doors of the porch were ornamented with sculptures, of which many now are missing or mutilated. A beautiful rose-window and two large windows light the front below the towers.

The spires of unequal height are of stone, and are formed of eight branches united in a crown in their middle: that on the right is a royal crown with the lilies; that on the left is an imperial one, bearing eight eagles. In 1798 Claude Chappe, the inventor of aerial telegraphy, installed an apparatus[Pg 211] on the left spire. This was destroyed, but was restored again in the nineteenth century.

Walk round the exterior of the church in order to examine the succession of gargoyles projecting from the buttresses. They have been carved in a keen, satirical spirit.

The south doorway is flanked by two turrets, each containing a stairway. All the statues which ornamented the curve of the arch, the jambs and the pier are missing. On the much-damaged lintel is a representation of the life of Saint John the Baptist. The doorway is dominated by a beautiful window. The chapels round the apse were added in the sixteenth century.

The interior of Notre-Dame de l'Épine, which has been completely restored, is very interesting. The most striking parts are the transept and the choir. In the north arm of the transept, visible in the photo opposite, the Renaissance woodwork of the organ is noteworthy. In the sculptured figures with which it is decorated, Greek divinities, Jupiter, Venus, Apollo, etc., are side by side with the apostles.

A well, with fine wrought-iron fittings, seen in the photograph, dates from the origin of[Pg 212] the edifice. It is the Virgin's Well, from which pilgrims drink and carry away the water.

The curious rood-loft at the entrance to the choir shelters the miraculous statue. One obtains access from the choir to the rood-loft by two spiral stairways. It was from the upper gallery that in former times the epistle and gospel for the day were read. The name of "Jubé" is derived from the formula by which the reader previously besought the blessing of heaven: "Jubé, Domine, benedicere."

The Virgin is in a modern gilded shrine, which may be seen under the first arch in the photograph at the foot of p. 211. The statue has been restored in modern times. The choir is surrounded by a stone cloister whose style varies from Gothic to Renaissance.

On the left side of this cloister is a beautiful Gothic edifice which contained sacred relics. It may be seen in the photograph below.

Five chapels adorn the apse. The first on the right, shut off by a stone balustrade, is used as a sacristy; the next one contains a sixteenth century stone carving representing the Entombment.

After visiting Notre-Dame de l'Épine, return to Châlons by N. 3, the road along which we came.

If it is desired to begin at once the tour of which indications are given on p. 19, turn to the right at Saint-Jean Square, taking the Rue du Général-Compère. Follow the tram-lines which cross the Place des Ursulines, and take Rue Pasteur on the left. Cross the canal, and by the Rue d'Orfeuil reach the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville. Turn to the left, then following the Rue de Marne, leave the town by the Faubourg de Marne.

VISIT TO THE FIELD OF OPERATIONS
OF THE
FOURTH FRENCH ARMY
I—FROM CHÂLONS TO VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS

(62 km.)

via Vatry, Bussy-Lettrée, Dommartin-Lettrée, Soudé, Sompuis, Humbauville, Huiron, Courdemanges, Frignicourt.

(See map inserted between pp. 212-213)

Leave Châlons by the Faubourg de Marne, taken on arrival there. At the end of the Faubourg, turn to the left into the Avenue de Paris, then to the right into N. 77 in the direction of Vatry (18 km.). In this village, leave the "route nationale" in order to take, on the left, G. C. 12 going towards Bussy-Lettrée, reached after having crossed a level-crossing. Enter the village as far as the middle; there, turn to the right, then to the left, leaving the church on the left (20½ km.). The road next leads to Dommartin-Lettrée (26 km.) and passes before the quaint church reproduced above. Its two doorways are interesting; the western one which faces the road is reproduced on p. 215; the southern one may be remarked under the porch in the general view of the church.

Continue straight on, arrive at Soudé, pass through it, turning to the right in the Square, and come out into N. 34 (30 km.). Turn to the left in it, then leave it almost immediately to take, on the right, G. C. 12, which continues as far as Sompuis (38 km.), after passing under the railway embankment. We are entering the field of operations of the extreme left of Langle de Cary's Army. Several graves have been made in the embankment; one of them, visible in the photo on p. 214, marks the place where, on September 10, the same shell killed General Barbade and Colonel Hamon, who were commanding the two Brigades of the 23rd Division, as well as their aides-de-camp. The body of General Barbade is buried in the cemetery.

On the right of the road, closing in the horizon, are the wooded heights on which the Germans had organised strong positions. They were taken from the Saxons on September 9-10 by the 21st Corps.

Cross straight through Sompuis, passing before the church, which is surrounded by a graveyard (see p. 214).

On the evening of September 6 the Germans entered the village unopposed, a fact which did not prevent them from setting fire to several houses, or from taking a number of hostages under various pretexts. One of them, M. Arnould, was taken because he had set up on the roof of his house a chimney-pot to replace one destroyed during the bombardment. Some soldiers passing at this very moment saw in this humble domestic task an attempt to signal to the French troops.

Abbé Oudin, Rector of Sompuis, aged 73 years, and his servant, aged 67 years, were also arrested, the installation of electric bells in the rectory causing suspicion. They were shut up in their cellar, where several other hostages were soon sent to join them. Here they were left without any food until the afternoon of September 8. The abbé had been taken out for a short period in the morning in order to assist at the celebration of Mass in his church, where Abbé Prince Max of Saxe officiated.

The hostages were led away towards Châlons. "It was evident," said one of them in his statement before the Commission of Enquiry, "that on account of his age and feebleness, Abbé Oudin could not walk far. We were obliged to carry him, so to speak. Near Coole (7 km. to the north of Sompuis) our escort made us halt, and two soldiers who had seen a butcher's cart standing abandoned in a field, dragged it on the road, and said: 'Get in, Curé.' The poor man was so feeble that he was unable to do so. The Germans tipped up the cart, and as the back did not open, they made the old priest sit on the edge, then raised the shafts so quickly that he fell on his back into the bottom of the cart, his feet in the air. The old servant got up beside him, and the Germans made signs to us to put ourselves between the shafts and to drag the cart. As we set out, they all threw their haversacks on the top of the Abbé and his servant, as they would have thrown them on to a bundle of hay."

The hostages thus traversed Châlons and arrived at Suippes, where, in the rain, they spent the night out of doors, in the playground of the school. "At Vouziers, during the whole of Sunday, the 13th," declared a witness, "Abbé Oudin was unceasingly ill-treated by the German officers, as well as by the soldiers, but principally by the officers. The latter came in large numbers, and each of them, in passing, spat in the Abbé's face or struck him with their riding whips. I saw officers and soldiers kick the poor man with their spurs. He was so weak that he no longer stirred, in spite of all that he must have been suffering. I saw soldiers, too, strike him with the butt-end of their rifles; but I insist that the officers were worse than the men. These atrocities only ended in the evening. Abbé Oudin passed the night lying on the ground like us; we hardly heard him once complain."

The Abbé's old servant did not escape ill-treatment either. On the Sedan Road, in Tannay Church, four soldiers seized her, threw her into a blanket of which they held the four corners, and tossed her on to the altar steps; then, laying hold of her again, they threw her into the midst of the seats, not troubling about the piercing cries which her many bruises drew from her. Sedan was Abbé Oudin's last stage; there[Pg 215] death put an end to his sufferings. His servant, after careful nursing in the hospice, recovered, but another victim, a hostage named Mougeot, aged 72, succumbed to the results of German brutality. He was brought in a hand-cart to Pafert barracks, with four ribs broken by kicks, and thrown on to a bundle of straw, where he soon expired.

While these events were in progress the battle of the Marne had been won. Sompuis was retaken amidst fierce fighting at 5 p.m. on the 10th by the 21st Corps, which freed another victim in the village itself: an old man of 70, named Jacquemin. He had been tied to his bed by a German officer and left there without food for three days. "Each time that he asked for food or water," declared his daughter-in-law, "he was struck." A shell fell on the house and killed the tormentor on the spot. The corpse of the officer was found in the house of his victim, who died two or three days after his deliverance as the result of the ill-treatment he had received.

On September 8 the heights seen on the right were gallantly defended against Saxon attacks by a detachment of Bretons.

On the 9th the latter were thrown back in disorder by the 13th Division, which had been sent as a reinforcement.

At the entrance to Humbauville (42 km.) turn to the right, then, at the church, take on the left G. C. 14 in the direction of Huiron. We are now on the battlefield of the 17th Corps. G. C. 14 formed the French position at the beginning of the battle; on the 6th the road was left behind, and the Germans driven back northwards as far as the railway line going from Sompuis to Huiron. But on the 8th the 17th Corps was repulsed in its turn, and G. C. 14 became the German line. The French troops clung to the heights to the south of the road and particularly to Certine Farm, where General Dupuis was killed. The fighting was of a desperate character. The Germans, in their fury, revenged themselves on the wounded; eight badly hurt soldiers of the 88th Infantry Regiment, whom Sub-Lieutenant Baudens had been obliged to leave behind, were afterwards found with hands tied behind their backs, their bodies riddled with bullets and bayonet wounds.

On the 9th and 10th the 17th Corps counter-attacked vigorously and, with the aid of the Goullet Division which had been attached to it, succeeded on the[Pg 216] night of the 10-11th in re-crossing the railway line.

We reach Huiron (53 km.) which was completely destroyed by the fire kindled by the Germans on September 7, after having taken the village from the 12th Corps. The interesting twelfth century church, and the ruins of the abbey buildings backing up to it, have been ravaged by the flames. The pillars of the nave have crumbled away, and in the photograph opposite fragments of broken columns may be seen scattered about. Huiron was only retaken on the night of the 10-11th.

400 yards from the church turn to the right into G. C. 2; then after about 700 yards, turn to the left in order to enter the village of Courdemanges. This has suffered much from fire and bombardment. On[Pg 217] the right of the street stood the castle, which has been completely destroyed.

Courdemanges, which was occupied on the 6th by the 12th Corps, was attacked with great violence. It was abandoned at 5 p.m., and retaken during the night. Continuously shelled by the Germans on the 7th and 8th, it fell on the latter day into their hands. The 12th Corps counter-attacked energetically, but succeeded only on the 11th in re-entering the village.

After going as far as the church, return again by the same road to G. C. 2 and cross it in order to go straight towards Frignicourt. On the right is Mont-Moret which played an important part in the fighting in this region. The batteries of the 12th Corps were installed there on September 6. After heavy shelling and infantry attacks, Mont-Moret fell on the morning of the 8th, but units of the 12th Corps, aided by the Colonial Corps, counter-attacked with determination, and in the evening obtained possession of the ridge, capturing a few machine-guns. They remained there in spite of fierce assaults, which caused heavy losses to the Germans and gave no result.

The road crosses the railway in a low-lying plain often flooded by the Marne, as seen in the photograph on p. 216; Mont-Moret can be distinguished in the background.

100 yards before arriving at Frignicourt, on the right and on the left of G. C. 14, are the graves depicted in the photos on this page. The soldiers who lie buried there are those who gallantly defended the passage of the Marne on September 6. The French troops, overwhelmed by the fire of the German artillery at Vitry, were obliged to fall back on Courdemanges and Mont-Moret. The Germans in their turn were violently shelled by the French guns, but succeeded in holding out in Frignicourt until the 11th.

After crossing the Marne, enter Frignicourt (60 km.), whose ruins are being gradually reconstructed. Turn to the left to reach Vitry-le-François (plan p. 218). Passing through the toll-gate, take the Rue du Passage-Supérieur on the left, then, after crossing the railway, turn again to the left into the Avenue du Colonel-Moll. Cross the Boulevard François I, and take the Petite-Rue de Frignicourt on the left, which leads into the Rue de Frignicourt. Along this main road turn to the right to reach the hotel (62 km.).

VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS

ORIGIN AND CHIEF HISTORICAL FACTS

Vitry-le-François dates from the sixteenth century. The town was built in 1545 by order of Francis I. in order to replace Vitry-en-Perthois, burned the year before by Charles V. The ruins of old Vitry were utilised for the construction of the new, which was named after its founder. This complete rebuilding explains the remarkable regularity of the town, plans of which were drawn up by an Italian architect, Marino. Vitry was fortified, but its ramparts were condemned and demolished in the nineteenth century.

VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS IN 1914

At the beginning of the war, Vitry was the seat of the French General Headquarters Staff. On September 5, almost the whole of the population evacuated the town, together with the civil authorities. Out of a population of 8,500, barely 500 to 600 persons remained. In the morning a rearguard action commenced to the north and east of Vitry. About 5 p.m., German shells began to fall in the suburbs, and in the evening Uhlans entered the town by the Châlons Road. In default of the mayor, the curé, M. Nottin, and his curate were at once arrested as hostages, and M. Nottin was directed to find two more. Two patriotic citizens, M. Paillard and M. Bernat, offered themselves for this onerous duty. Together with M. Foureur, the schoolmaster, they took upon their shoulders the charge of maintaining order, ensuring requisitions, the victualling of the inhabitants, and the treatment of the wounded. MM. Nottin, Paillard and Foureur, were amongst the first civilians to be mentioned in dispatches.

Up to September 10 the battle raged round Vitry. The allied and enemy shells crossed one another over the town: the German batteries established on the heights to the north replying to the French guns on Mont-Moret. The wounded came crowding in. On the third day, they numbered 2,500, of whom 200 were French. The hospital being full the church was then transformed into one, as well as all the teaching establishments and the savings bank.

On the evening of the 10th the evacuation by the Germans began. It took place in an orderly manner. The next evening the French re-entered the town.

Apart from the gas works, which suffered from the shelling, and a few burnt houses, the events of September have left few traces at Vitry. A few houses and shops were pillaged, but, thanks to the influence and activity of Abbé Nottin and his companions, the town was spared the horrors which the surrounding villages experienced.

VISIT TO THE TOWN

Leaving the hotel, follow the Rue de Frignicourt to the Place d'Armes in which is the Church of Notre-Dame, shown above. The first stone of this edifice was laid in 1629. The king gave 300,000 livres (about £12,000) towards the cost of construction, and numerous families in the neighbourhood subscribed also. They bought, by means of a heavy burial duty, the right to be buried in the church itself. The subsoil of[Pg 220] Notre-Dame became on this account a veritable ossuary.

When the high altar was moved about twenty skulls were unearthed. In 1850, when the present paving was laid, thirty-two mortuary stones were removed from the nave. The chapels were built by rich parishioners, who placed their tombs there and dedicated the altar to the patron saint of their family. The apse was constructed in 1835, and the work of building finished in 1895.

Notre-Dame recalls Saint-Sulpice in Paris, and its interior is worth visiting. The first chapel on the left has a fine eighteenth century railing. In the last chapel, off the nave on the left, the reredos above the altar should be noted. A bas-relief depicts Saint-Jerome kneeling beside a lion.

In the south branch of the transept is a fine mortuary stone in black marble, showing a knight standing with hands joined, his foot on a greyhound.

The four pillars at the intersection of the choir and of the transept are decorated with sculpture.

After having visited the church, take on the opposite side of the Square the Rue du Pont leading to the monumental gateway reproduced above, which dates from the seventeenth century and formed part of the old enclosure. Turn to the right along the side of the Marne by the Quai des Fontaines as far as the mills. Turn to the right again, take a few steps from the Place des Moulins alongside the river in order to obtain the picturesque view of the old ramparts shown in the photo below. Take the Rue des Moulins, which is continued by the Rue d'Enfer, and at the barracks turn to the right into the Rue des Minimes, then into the Rue des Sœurs. In the middle of the latter turn to the left, in order to glance at the old wooden market-buildings. Pass round them to the left and regain the Place d'Armes by the street opening on to the market on the opposite side to that by which we entered. Cross the "Place," and take the Rue Domine de Verzet which skirts Notre-Dame on the left. Opposite the town-hall (the old monastery of the Récollets, which dates from the end of the seventeenth century and contains the Library and Museum), turn to the right, into the Petite Rue de l'Hôtel de Ville, then to the left into Boulevard Carnot. Leave this in the middle of the Place Carnot in order to take the Faubourg de Saint-Dizier on the left.

II.—FROM VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS TO BAR-LE-DUC

After leaving Vitry by N. 4, crossing the Marne and a level-crossing, Marolles (3 km.) is reached. In this village an old man of 70 years, M. Mathieu Coche, was seized by German cavalrymen and led away tied to a horse, with which he was obliged to keep pace. On arriving in the neighbourhood of Vitry-en-Perthois (nearly 30 km. to the north of Marolles) the poor old fellow's strength gave out, he fell and was dragged along by the horse until death ensued. His body was then left behind, and could not be buried until after the German retreat.

N. 4 next passes through Vauclerc (6 km.). On the left of the road a great number of new roofs are to be seen, although many of the houses are still in the same state as that in which the shelling and the fire left them. During the whole of the battle this village was the objective of the Lejaille Brigade. It was only retaken, by the Colonial Corps, on September 11.

About 1,300 yards beyond Vauclerc, where graves border the road on either side, is, on the right, a road leading to Écriennes. Before taking it, follow N. 4 for 400 yards further, in order to see a burying-place of the Colonials, shown in the photo below. The view gives an idea of the immense plain, where furious encounters took place between this crack corps and the troops of the Duke of Wurtemberg.

In that part of the plain which lies to the right of the road, beyond Écriennes, near Matignicourt, there took place in 1891 the famous review of troops by President Carnot. It was the first important military demonstration since the war of 1870. It signalised the resurrection of the national spirit, and because of this fact it produced a very deep impression both in France and in foreign countries. Monuments to the memory of President Carnot have been raised on the field of the review, at Vitry; in the Carnot Square; and at Châlons in the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville.

Taking the road leading to Écriennes (10 km.) we arrive at this village, which has been completely devastated, as may be seen in the photos on this page. The church, the upper part of which is of timber-work, was blown in by shells.

Écriennes was hotly disputed from September 6 to 11. It was taken on the 6th by the Germans, in spite of an heroic defence by the 21st Colonials; then retaken only to be lost again by the French on the 8th, and retaken finally on the 11th.

After passing in front of the church, turn to the left in order to rejoin N. 4, along which turn to the right in the direction of Farémont. The road is bordered on both sides by graves, for the fighting here was very violent. On the road and to the south of it the Colonial Infantry fought doggedly, sometimes gaining, sometimes losing ground. To the north of N. 4 the Lejaille Brigade tried to push towards Vauclerc.

We enter Farémont (12½ km.), some of the houses of which have been burned. On emerging, leave N. 4 and turn to the left in order to reach Thiéblemont (13½ km.). This village was also completely devastated by shells and fire, but the church is still standing. This side of the church, turn to the left into G. C. 60 leading to Favresse. Graves may be seen along this road. On September 6, that portion of the Colonial Corps which held Favresse followed G. C. 60 in the opposite direction, falling back on Farémont, while the Lejaille Brigade came to take their place at Favresse.

Favresse (16½ km) was gallantly defended on the 7th; taken and retaken several times on the 8th, and finally remained in the possession of the Lejaille Brigade, whose chief was wounded by a shell-splinter during the afternoon.

The village, which was violently shelled, suffered heavily, but has been partly rebuilt. The beautiful little church, of which[Pg 223] the photos on this page give a general view, as well as a detailed one of the Romanesque doorway, bears traces of numerous shells. As at Écriennes, and in many little country churches in this region, the upper part of the walls of the nave is of timber work.

Turn to the right alongside the church and leaving it on the left, take G. C. 16 to Haussignémont and Blesmes.

On this ground on September 8 the Eighth German (reserve) Corps tried to break through between Favresse and Blesmes. At one time this effort seemed about to be successful, but, reinforcements having been opportunely sent to Haussignémont, the Lejaille Brigade was able to hold the position.

In Haussignémont (17½ km.), turn to the left near the church, and continue along G. C. 16 to Blesmes, which is reached after passing over a level-crossing.

In the centre of Blesmes (20 km.), turn to the left in order to pass in front of the church. Numerous houses in the village were destroyed by shells, and the roof of the church was damaged; but most of this damage has been repaired.

On leaving Blesmes, pass over a level-crossing, then under the railway. At the cross-roads immediately beyond turn to the right, then at the fork in the road, turn to the right again into G. C. 14 in the direction of Étrepy.

Half-way thither, on the right, is Sorton Farm, which was fiercely[Pg 224] disputed. As may be seen in the photo on p. 223, it was completely destroyed. The Eighth German (reserve) Corps managed to take it on September 8, but, on the following day, the troops of the Second French Corps re-took possession of the ruins and held them. Along the road in front of the farm are the graves of some of its defenders.

At Étrepy (25 km.), we pass in front of the church (see above). There are numerous ruins in this village, which was set on fire by the Germans on September 7.

Of the seventy families who remained at Étrepy during the battle, sixty-three were homeless after the incendiaries had passed by. Two old people, more than eighty years of age, M. and Mme. Miliat, were led away almost naked to a distance of 3 km. from the village and horribly ill-used. In order to quicken their pace, rendered slow by age, they were struck with the flat of swords. Mme. Miliat died four days afterwards as a result of this treatment. On leaving the village, on the right is the entrance to the castle of the Morillot family. (The son of Count Morillot, a naval lieutenant and commander of the submarine "Monge," went down with her, after having made the crew put off in their boats, rather than surrender to the enemy.) The castle, which is built at the meeting place of the Saulx and the Ornain, and is surrounded by a moat, dates from the seventeenth century. It was set on fire by the Germans.

The position of Étrepy is important, being a bridgehead on the waterway formed by the Saulx, the Ornain, and the canal from the Marne to the Rhine. The passage was defended on September 6 by the Third Division of the Second French Corps, but the bridges were forced in the evening, and at dawn on the 7th the village fell into the hands of the Germans. It was only retaken on the 11th.

After crossing in succession the Saulx, the canal, and then the Ornain, which flows through a frequently flooded plain, we arrive at Heiltz-le-Maurupt (29½ km.) and, after turning to the right, take the left towards the church.

On September 6, on the arrival of the Duke of Wurtemberg's troops, the beautiful Romanesque church was devastated by fire, at the same time as the little town. Before setting fire to the houses, the Germans pillaged them. The spoils were placed on[Pg 225] waggons under the superintendence of an officer. These removals having been effected, German soldiers were next seen, two by two, carrying buckets slung on poles and filled with inflammable liquid, which they threw on the houses. The result was a huge outburst of fire, in which the church, the town-hall, the school, and 187 houses out of 210, were destroyed.

The photos opposite show that the roof of the church has disappeared, exposing the nave. The vaults of the transept and of the apse have resisted the flames. The Romanesque apse is very interesting; the vaulting is round-arched, and on the exterior are sixteen blind windows, also round-arched, separated from each other by small pillars. The old Romanesque tower was surmounted by a spire about 100 feet high built in the sixteenth century. It collapsed in the flames. The western doorway is also in the Romanesque style (photo below). The work of restoration is in progress, as may be seen in the photo opposite.

The Germans had installed at Heiltz-le-Maurupt an important heavy battery which, during the whole of the battle, seriously tried the French troops entrusted with the defence of Pargny, Maurupt, and Sermaize.

In order to regain the line of the Ornain and the Saulx, take the street on the right a little to the east of the church. On reaching the fork, again take the right, and follow the line of telegraph posts as far as Pargny.

The road passes over the Ornain then over the canal from the Marne to the Rhine, of which the two photographs opposite and below give two views: the first to the west, the second to the east. The struggle was violent on the banks of the canal. The infantry of the Third Division was guarding the bridges, which were taken by the Germans on September 6, but the French, entrenched in Pargny (towards which the road leads the tourist), held out during the whole of the day of the 7th in spite of the terrific shell fire, which completely destroyed the little town. On the 8th, attacked on the north and east, Pargny fell. The next day, the valiant troops of the Second Corps re-took it. On the 10th it fell again into the hands of the Germans, to be definitely retaken by the French on the 11th.

Pargny church (33½ km.), in front of which we pass, had its roof pierced, and the vaulting broken in. The spire was truncated by shells.

After having[Pg 227] passed the church, we reach the principal street, in which we turn to the left. The scene is very desolate (see pp. 226-227).

Having followed the principal street, we take the first turning on the right towards the level-crossing. Immediately beyond the crossing, we turn to the right in order to reach Maurupt by G. C. 61.

Before reaching the village, the tile-field of Pargny comes into view, as seen in the photograph at the foot of this page. The fighting here assumed a particularly violent character, as the French, having lost Pargny, endeavoured to check the German advance on Maurupt. A large grave contains the remains of the brave fellows of the 72nd Line Regiment who fell on this part of the battlefield. The tile-field was for many days an important position of the French artillery which swept the line of the Saulx and the Ornain from this point.

The supplying of the tiles and bricks necessary for the reconstruction of the whole region gives occupation to these works, now reorganised.

Maurupt is separated from the tile-field by a dip in the ground, clearly visible in the panorama on p. 228. The road, bordered by telegraph poles, which traverses the region from right to left, is G. C. 61, which the tourist is following. It is thus easy to realise the importance of the tile-field as an advanced position. Whilst the French held it they were able to utilise the valley (out of sight of the enemy coming up from Pargny) for massing reserves of troops and artillery. The position once captured, Maurupt became singularly exposed.

In point of fact, Maurupt fell on September 8, the same day as the tile-field. The German attack came, not only from Pargny, but from the east; the loss of Sermaize by the[Pg 228] right of the Second Corps having made this flanking movement possible to the enemy. On the 9th, the French threw the Germans back on Pargny, but on the 10th, the tile-field and the village were lost anew. Violent hand-to-hand fighting took place in the streets of Maurupt, and in one hour the ruins were taken and retaken. The Germans were making progress to the west of Maurupt, however, and the French troops, in order to avoid being enveloped, were obliged to abandon the position and retire towards Cheminon. On the 11th Maurupt was definitely regained.

G. C. 61 comes out into Maurupt opposite the church (36½ km.); visible in the photo on p. 228. This fine Romanesque edifice, restored in the fifteenth century, is classed as an historical monument.

The spire has been smashed, the tower torn open, the roof and the barrel-vaulting have given way. The town-hall, near the church, met with the same fate (view above).

Turn to the right opposite the church, and then proceed for 800 yards towards the Hill of Le Montois.

Half-way up is to be seen the burial-place reproduced below.[Pg 230] Farther along the road other graves are visible on the left, for at this point the 128th Line Regiment put up a splendid resistance against superior German forces.

These attacks on the west, joined to those on the north and east, led as we have seen to the fall of Maurupt.

Return to the village, which is in course of reconstruction, and at the church go straight on, then turn to the right, towards Cheminon, into G. C. 16, which follows the line of telegraph posts.

On arriving in Cheminon (43 km.), turn to the left to descend the principal street, shown in the photo above. Cheminon did not experience the German invasion, and, after the desolation of the villages which we have traversed, this little township gives an impression of repose, with its picturesque houses sloping down towards the old thirteenth-sixteenth century church, which is classed as an historical monument.

We pass under the market (beware of the depression in the ground), then turn to the right towards Trois-Fontaines.

Reaching the fork in the road, go straight on. Pass through Le Fays (47½ km.). 800 yards further on, leaving the road to Saint-Dizier on the right, turn to the left to enter the village of Trois-Fontaines (49 km.). At the end of it the monumental doorway of the old abbey of Trois-Fontaines is visible, as shown in the photograph on next page.

The Germans did not get as far as Trois-Fontaines, but fighting took place to the north and to the north-east, in the forest.

This region, where the Fourth and Third French Armies linked up, was particularly important. At Trois Fontaines, the Germans would have been 9 km. from Saint-Dizier, from whence they would have been able to outflank the whole of the Army of Langle de Cary. The Second Corps' admirable resistance, and the aid given by the flank attack of the Fifteenth Corps of Sarrail's Army, brought about the German defeat.

The abbey is at the present time the property of the Count of Fontenoy. After asking permission to visit, cross the court to the left, in order to view the ruins of the church which are still standing in the corner of the park.

The major portion of the church dates back, however, a century earlier. It was sacked during the Revolution, but the ruins now covered with verdure have an impressive grandeur.

After traversing the body of the church, consisting of the central nave and two side aisles, we see enormous fragments of the arches strewn on the ground. As seen in the photographs on p. 232.[Pg 232] Nature has resumed her sway, and tall trees rise from what was the choir and the apse of the old church.

By way of the small but charmingly planned park, we arrive at the abbey buildings proper (see p. 233), which form the habitation of the proprietor. They are formed of two wings, built in the eighteenth century, and united by a charming arched gallery covered with climbing plants. These buildings were much more extensive before the Revolution, and several hundred monks devoted themselves in the calm of this remote forest-valley to a life of contemplation, interrupted only by rural tasks.

A river traverses the abbey from one end to the other, but the monks made important works in order to render it subterranean for a portion of its length. Thus it passes under the buildings and crosses the centre of the park, flowing through underground arches, so solidly constructed that the passage of centuries has left no apparent weakness.

At the end of the park, the river comes again to the surface in order to form part of a skilfully arranged decorative scheme in which water, trees, and lawns combine to make a harmonious whole.

After this short inroad into the far past, the tourist takes once more the road to Cheminon (55 km.). In this village, pass under the market again, then turn to the right into the road (visible in the photograph at the foot of p. 230) opposite the inn.

Cross the river Bruxenelle, then, on reaching the fork, turn to the left towards Sermaize. The way lies through woods into which part of the extreme right of the Second Corps retreated after abandoning Sermaize. The pursuing Germans began to creep towards Cheminon and Maurupt, and, as we have seen, succeeded in reaching the latter village, but Cheminon did not fall into their hands.

Affording a fine view of the Valley of the Saulx, the road enters Sermaize (61 km.).

The town was occupied on September 6 by the Fourth Division of the Sixth Corps. Violently attacked on the north and east, and threatened with being cut off from the rest of the French line by the German advance from the west, Sermaize, already set on fire by shells, was evacuated on the 7th by the French troops, who retired towards Maurupt and Cheminon. The Germans entered the little town and completed the work of the shells, but first they pillaged the houses. It was proved to the Enquiry Commission that "German Red-Cross nurses came with carts, in which they piled up the goods which the soldiers passed to them from the drapery and millinery establishment of M. Mathieu, a merchant serving with the colours." 505 houses were completely destroyed; only forty-four remained standing.

Numerous personal outrages were committed. About fifty hostages were taken; some, rigged out in cloaks and casques, were obliged thus to guard the bridges. Here is the declaration of the road-man of the district, Auguste Brocard: "My son and I, together with my grandson aged 5½ years, were led away on September 6 by the Germans, who shut us into the sugar factory, and kept us there under guard for four days. When they arrested us, my wife and my daughter-in-law, insane with fear, ran to drown themselves in the Saulx. I managed to run after them, and tried three times to rescue the unhappy creatures, but the Germans forced me away, and left the poor women struggling in the water. I ought to add that when we were set free four days afterwards, and went to find the corpses, the French soldiers who helped to bury them pointed out to us that both my wife and my daughter-in-law had bullet wounds in the head."

On arriving in the town, turn to the right. The street leads to the central square, which is adorned by a fountain (see below). The enormous rubbish heap which the town represented after the battle is gradually being cleared. The inhabitants have returned, and bravely set about the rebuilding of their homes. Helped by various organisations, French and foreign, and above all by bodies of Quakers known as the "Society of Friends," who have set up numerous wooden houses throughout the countryside, they are bringing this desolate region back to life.

Take the Rue Bénard, on the left of the Square, in order to visit the church, which is in the lower part of the town, near the Saulx. The photo below was taken from the right of this street. In the foreground is the doctor's house, of which only the brass plate remains; in the background is a temporary shanty run up by the chemist.

We reach the Saulx, on the opposite side of which stands the church, which was shelled and then burned by the Germans. The Romanesque porch, which stood out from it, has been destroyed; the nave is open to the sky; and the spire has collapsed. The Romanesque vaulting of the transept and of the apse has alone survived.

A fine fifteenth century wooden carving of Christ has been burned, or perhaps more probably taken away by the Germans.

Retracing our steps, we take, on the left before arriving at the Place, the Rue d'Andernay, from number 35 of which the central photograph on the following page was taken. A little further on we rejoin the road (G. C. 15, which becomes G. C. 1 on leaving the county), and[Pg 236] follow it out of the town. On the right, two kilometres further, is the "Établissement thermal," whose waters are used for drinking purposes, as well as for baths and shower-baths. Pass through Andernay (64½ km.), where a few houses were burned down. Cross over the Saulx, then, without entering Contrisson, turn to the right (66 km.) and follow the railway along the road.

Two kilometres further take the level-crossing, and then, leaving the railway, which breaks off to the right, follow G. C. 20. Continue straight along G. C. 1.

G. C. 20 follows the Valley of the Saulx, which, gradually narrowing, stretches southwards. The Germans came up the valley, driving in a wedge between the Fourth and Third French Armies. During September 9 and 10 the Fifteenth Corps was working astride this valley, trying to re-establish connection. On the evening of the 10th, the 30th Division of this Corps took Mognéville (2 km. distant along G. C. 20), and practically reached the spot where the tourist is now standing. The danger of a break through was thus averted.

G. C. 1 leads the tourist to Vassincourt (71 km.), which has been entirely destroyed by fire and shells. The photo below depicts the entrance to the village, those of p. 237 the sacked church.

On the evening of September 6 Vassincourt was the extreme left of Sarrail's Army. It was attacked furiously by the German troops which had just carried Revigny, and sought to take possession of the plateau commanding the valleys of the Saulx and the Ornain, by which they hoped to push on towards Bar-le-Duc and Saint Dizier. On the 7th, the 46th Line Regiment was clinging to the edge of the village. Colonel Malleterre, commanding this fine body of men, inspired them with his own indefatigable energy. On the 8th the 57th Brigade of the Fifteenth Corps, attacking from Mognéville tried to free the west of Vassincourt, and to drive back the Germans[Pg 237] towards Revigny. Two dashing attempts, resulting in heavy losses to two Light Infantry Battalions of the 57th Brigade, failed before the German resistance, supported by a great superiority of guns. The 46th maintained its positions from Vassincourt to the Ornain. On the 9th the attack began again at dawn, and by the evening the burning village was closely surrounded on the east and to the south by trenches which the French troops had dug hastily. In the course of this day, Colonel Malleterre, who had taken over the command of the 19th Brigade and was directing operations, was seriously wounded. It was only on the 11th that the Plateau of Vassincourt was completely cleared of the German troops who had entrenched themselves there.

Turn to the left in the middle of the village, in order to visit the church, of which the spire has been brought down and the interior laid waste, then return to the road.

After Vassincourt, G. C. 1 passes through Mussey (74 km.). Varney and Fains, further up-stream, constituted with Mussey three passages which were covered by the Fifth French Corps. The Crown Prince had given orders to the Thirteenth German Corps to make themselves masters of the bridges, but the splendid resistance of the French troops did not allow the enemy to cross this part of the waterway, which, however, had been crossed further down, at Revigny.

After leaving Mussey cross over the canal, which the road follows on a lower level, and pass Varney on the left. At Fains (79 km.) the canal has to be crossed again, turning to the right. Then turn to the left, along the canal bank. This leads to the high road to Bar-le-Duc G. C. (D. 4). Follow it, and enter the town by the Boulevard de la Banque, the Rue d'Entre-deux-Ponts, and the Boulevard de La Rochelle, where the hotel will be found (82 km.).

BAR-LE-DUC

ORIGIN AND CHIEF HISTORICAL FACTS

Bar-le-Duc is of Gallo-Roman origin. The name of Bar is very probably derived from the bar which the Ornain forms at the spot where the Notre-Dame Bridge now stands. The few dwellings erected at the edge of the river were called Barrivilla, and occupied the site of the present "faubourg" of Couchot, where the "Rue des Romains" still exists. At a later date, and on the opposite bank of the Ornain, rose a fortified township named Burgum Barri, which is to-day the district traversed by the Rue du Bourg. In the middle of the tenth century Frederick I., Count of Bar, built a castle on the hill overlooking the Ornain, to the west, and thus the upper town was created. When Frederick I. became Duke of Haute-Lorraine the name of the town was changed into Barro Ducis, whence Bar-au-Duc, then Bar-le-Duc.

In the middle ages Bar-le-Duc experienced the restless life of fortified places. In the twelfth century Henry V., Emperor of Germany, then, in the fourteenth century, the King of France, Philippe le Bel, declared their suzerainty over the Counts of Bar. In the fifteenth century Anne of Beaujeu gave up the district of Bar to the Dukes of Lorraine. During the seventeenth century Bar changed hands ten times. The most celebrated siege was that by Turenne in 1652, the lower town being taken at the end of a fortnight and the upper town succumbing two days later. In 1670 Louis XIV. caused all the fortifications, with the exception of the "Tour de l'Horloge," to be razed to the ground. In 1737 the last hereditary Duke of Lorraine, Francis II., ceded the province to Stanislas Leczinski, the dethroned King of Poland, on whose death it was to return to France. When this occurred in 1766 Bar was definitely incorporated in French territory.

The town was occupied from 1870 to 1873 by the Germans. In 1914 the Crown Prince thought he would be able to enter it without difficulty, but Sarrail's Army undeceived him very decidedly, and the battle of the Marne spent itself a few kilometres from the gates of the town. During the period of trench warfare there were numerous air raids, although Bar is an unfortified town (photo above).

VISIT TO THE TOWN

Upper Town.—See The Castle; Gilles-de-Trèves College; The Clock-Tower (tour de l'Horloge); The Esplanade; The Place and Church of Saint Pierre.

This town is famous for its celebrated red-currant jam; the pips of the fruit being removed one by one before cooking. Also "Vin gris."

THE LOWER TOWN

Notre-Dame Bridge

This was first built of wood, then towards the middle of the fourteenth century, of stone. The Chapel to the Virgin on one of the piles has been in existence since the seventeenth century. It escaped destruction in the troubled times of the Revolution in consequence, it is said, of the prudent substitution of the busts of Marat and Robespierre for the statue of the Virgin.

There is a pretty view of the Ornain from the bridge; but in order to see the bridge itself in its most picturesque aspect, take a few steps along the edge of the south bank, whence the photo below was taken.

Notre-Dame

This church may be seen from the bridge. Parts of it date from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, whilst one front and one tower belong to the eighteenth. The bas-relief of the façade representing the Assumption belongs to 1750. In the interior, in the right branch of the transept, is an interesting fifteenth century bas-relief representing the Virgin and symbolic figures.

THE UPPER TOWN

Motors can reach it easily by following the Boulevard de la Rochelle, then taking, on the right, the Rue Lapique, which passes before the town-hall and leads to the Avenue du Château.

At the top of this avenue after passing, on the left, the Romanesque entrance to the old ducal castle (reached by about twenty steps) by turning to the right one can follow on foot the Rue Gilles-de-Trèves for about one hundred yards, as far as the ancient college of the same name, which is classed as an historical monument. It has an interesting Renaissance front looking on to the courtyard.

Return to the Avenue du Château, which is continued on the left by the Rue du Baile. It is from there that the photographs on p. 242 were taken, the one looking towards the lower town, along the castle walls, the other towards Old Bar.

At the end of the Rue du Baile, on the left is the Clock Tower shown in the photograph on p. 243.

Pedestrians need not follow the above itinerary, but can gain the Clock Tower directly by taking the Rue d'Entre-deux-Ponts and the Rue Rousseau, visible in[Pg 242] the foreground of the photo on p. 241. The Rue Rousseau after skirting the Place Reggio (see page 241), crosses the Canal des Usines. In doing so, the little Church of Saint-Anthony may be seen astride the canal. It dates from the fourteenth century. Turn next to the left into the Rue Oudinot. After about 200 yards, take on the left the Rue Saint-Antoine as far as the bridge over the Canal des Usines, from whence there is a picturesque view of the old houses which throng this narrow stream of water. We retrace our steps and go beyond the Rue Rousseau in order to take the Rue de l'Horloge on the left. This street mounts to the upper town and passes at the foot of the Clock Tower. One rejoins the latter by means of a stair, the beginning of which is seen on the left in the photo at the top of page 243. The fourteenth century Clock Tower is all that remains of the fortifications of Bar, which, as we have seen on p. 238, were destroyed by order of Louis XIV. in 1670. From the top of the stair, to the left of the tower, there is a fine view of the lower town and of the valley. The photo at the foot of p. 243 was taken from this spot. If one wishes to climb the tower, the guardian must be consulted. Turn to the right on leaving the Clock Tower, in order to reach the Castle Esplanade, which is planted with ancient trees. From this point there is a view of another part of Bar-le-Duc (see photo p. 244).

To the left of the esplanade are the remains of the old ducal castle. The photo at the foot of p. 244 depicts the Romanesque doorway which is the oldest part of it. We saw this doorway from the other side when ascending the Avenue du Château. It was formerly on the level, but in 1871, when the carriage road was made, it was united to the avenue by steps.

The castle occupied formerly the whole of the plateau. It was built in 964 by Frederick I., Count of Bar, and altered in succeeding centuries. All that remains are a few sixteenth century buildings, seen in the photo at the foot of p. 244, and of which the external view is reproduced at the top of p. 242. The buildings and the chapel seen between the Clock Tower and the esplanade belong to an old Dominican convent built in the nineteenth century.

After going round the esplanade, return to the Rue du Baile and follow it towards Old Bar. Take, on the right of the Place-de-la Fontaine, Rue des Ducs de Bar, which has preserved some quaint sixteenth and seventeenth century houses. Turn to the left in this street in order to enter Place Saint-Pierre, at the extremity of which stands the church of this name, classed as an historical monument.

The Place has retained its old world aspect. Sixteenth and seventeenth century houses, of which the most beautiful, No. 21, is a museum, form a fitting frame to the old church.

The museum is open to the public on Sundays, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and at any time to strangers to the town (gratuity).

It was begun in the fourteenth century; the front, reproduced on p. 245, dates from the sixteenth century, with the exception of the quadrangular cupola surmounted by a lantern, which crowns the tower.

This portion, which jars with the transitional Gothic of the rest of the edifice, was added in the seventeenth century. The plans for the right hand tower were never executed.

In the interior, in the right branch of the transept, is the masterpiece of the great Lorraine sculptor of the sixteenth century, Ligier-Richier, pupil of[Pg 245] Michael Angelo. It is the funeral monument of René of Châlon, Prince of Orange, and is commonly known as "the Skeleton."

René de Châlon, who was killed in 1544 at the siege of Saint-Dizier, is said to have expressed the wish to be impersonated on his tomb as he would be three years after his death. It was in order to conform to his wish that his widow, Louise of Lorraine, ordered Richier to execute the strikingly realistic monument seen in the photo below. The "Skeleton" was carved in stone, then placed in a bath of oil and wax which gave it the appearance of old ivory.

Opposite the pulpit and suspended from the pillars in the nave, is a carving of Christ between the two thieves. This crucifixion-group dates from the sixteenth century and is in walnut wood, but has been repainted in modern times.

It has sometimes been attributed to Ligier-Richier. In a chapel to the left of the choir there is kept a sixteenth century bas-relief representing St.-François d'Assises, patron saint of François Brûlé, rector of Saint-Pierre, between Saint Peter and Saint Max, Abbot of Chinon.

Other secondary places of interest

Monument des Michaux, at the corner of Rue Rousseau and Rue du Bourg, was erected in 1894. The two Michaux were the carriage-builders who invented the fitting of pedals to bicycles.

The "Café des Oiseaux," in the theatre in the Rue Rousseau, the hall of which is surrounded by glass cases containing more than 50,000 natural history specimens.

The Church of Saint-Jean at the end of the Boulevard de la Rochelle was begun in 1882 in the Romanesque style.

III.—TOUR ROUND BAR-LE-DUC

Via Villers-aux-Vents, Brabant-le-Roi, Revigny, Nettancourt, Sommeilles, Laheycourt, Louppy-le-Château, Louppy-le-Petit, Génicourt, Vavincourt

Leave by the Boulevard de la Banque. Cross the Canal des Usines, then take on the right the road to Revigny or G. C. D. 4, 1,500 yards further. Cross the railway by a level-crossing and then the Marne-Rhine Canal.

The road dips down to the left in order to follow the railway, and then crosses the Ornain, of which it follows the right bank. We come to the hamlet of Venise, but continue in the direction of Laimont (12 km.). Half-way thither, on the right, may be seen the woods which constituted the ultimate line of resistance of the Fifth Corps during the violent attacks which it experienced on September 6, and in which it lost about ten kilometres. Snatched from the Tenth Division of the Sixth Corps on the night of the 6th, Laimont was only retaken on the 11th by the Fifteenth Corps. As may be seen in the above photo, the church was damaged by shells. Many houses were destroyed. When they left Laimont the Germans took away seven hostages, among them the rector.

G. C. D. 4 branches off to the left to cross through Laimont, and passes in front of the church; but instead of following it, leave the village on the left and continue straight along the road which becomes G. C. D. 15.

2 km. 4 further on, take the "Chemin vicinal" to the right leading to Villers-aux-Vents. After crossing a stream, turn to the left at the entrance to the village, following a winding road which leads to the church. Villers-aux-Vents (16 km.) was completely destroyed by the fire which the Germans kindled before leaving. It was attacked on September 6 by masses of infantry coming up from the north and north-west, and gallantly defended by the Tenth Division, which occupied the village and its neighbourhood. Violent fighting took place to the north of Villers, near the Grand-Morinval Pond, in the course of which General Roques, who was commanding the Division, was mortally wounded. Giving way under force of numbers, the Tenth Division was obliged to evacuate Villers and fall back on Laimont. As we have seen above, this village also was lost during the night, and the line of defence was taken up in the woods to the east.

The Germans took three hostages at Villers, under circumstances of which one of them, M. Vigroux, gave details before the Commission of Enquiry. He was coming out of his house when he perceived another resident, M. Minette, surrounded by soldiers. "At the same time," he[Pg 247] declared, "a Prussian came up to me, seized me, and led me away, his revolver pointed at my head, without my having threatened or gesticulated. I next saw the Prussians strike Minette with their fists and with the butt-end of their rifles; they also tore off his clothes, finally leaving him naked.

The hostages were led one kilometre from the village. Minette was separated from the group and made to kneel. He was then shot. As far as his companions were able to understand, the Germans appeared to have found in his house an old and useless revolver. After the death of Minette, the other hostages were set free.

At the other end of the village from the church, in a field on the left, is a subterranean shelter, known in the village under the name of the "Crown Prince's Dug-out," the photo at the top of this page shows the entrance to it. This shelter was dug during the German occupation, and the armchairs from the church were placed in it to make it more comfortable. According to local authority, the Crown Prince stayed for a time at Villers, and the shelter was made for his convenience.

Descend from the plateau on which the village is built, and at the foot of the hill, after having crossed the river, take on the right the "Chemin vicinal" which leads back to G. C. D. 15. It is the little road which is seen in the above photograph. G. C. D. 15, planted with trees, appears on the horizon.

At the meeting of the roads, turn to the right towards Brabant-le-Roi (20 km.). In this village, turn to the left near the church and continue straight forward to Revigny (22 km.) by G. C. 20, which crosses the picture at the foot of p. 247.

It was between Brabant and Revigny, near the railway which follows the road on the right, that the Zeppelin L.Z. 77 was brought down on February 21, 1915, at 9·15 p.m. The carcase of the great air-ship is visible in the above photo; opposite is the photo of the motor-cannon which brought it down. It was under the orders of Adjutant Gramling (on the right in the photo) and was pointed by the Chief-Pointer Pennetier (at his post of observation behind the shield).

Revigny, like Brabant-le-Roi, fell on September 6, in spite of a brilliant defence by the Fifth Corps. On September 12 it was re-occupied by the Fifteenth Corps. In Revigny, after passing a level-crossing and continuing straight on, turn to the left, in order to reach the church shown in the photograph below.

The Church of Revigny is classed as an historical monument. It is a fifteenth and sixteenth century edifice, the most interesting part of which is the apse. The gargoyles on the buttresses are curious. The steeple was destroyed by the fire lighted by the Germans; the roof fell in and the interior was ravaged by the flames.

On returning to the street by which we entered, continue towards the centre of the town, then turn to the left into the principal street, from which, over the ruined houses, the photo (below) of the church was taken. At No. 21, at the corner of the Rue du Four, is the bakery of which we give photographs, both of the interior and the exterior, at the foot of the page. Hundreds of houses are in this state or have completely disappeared.

We reach next the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville; the town-hall has been completely destroyed.

The fire was preceded by pillage. Numerous waggons were laden with articles deemed of interest, and sent down the line. The walls of the houses were then sprayed with paraffin from hand syringes. Packets of tablets made of compressed gunpowder, and sticks of inflammable matter thrown into the burning houses, stimulated the flames. During three days the fires which died out were thus relighted. Only the houses where the officers were staying were spared. As they declared to the rector, the Germans did this from no other motive but to spread terror, and they did it systematically.

1,200 yards beyond Brabant may be seen, on the left, the panoramic view of the valley of the Ornain shown in the photographs above. The river, the railway from Bar-le-Duc to Vitry-le-François, and the canal from the Marne to the Rhine pass through it, and take up the south of the depression behind Revigny. On the left beyond Brabant-le-Roi the valley narrows towards Bar-le-Duc; on the right it widens in the direction of Sermaize and meets the Valley of the Saulx. The whole constitutes what is known as the Pass of Revigny, and was the object of furious attacks by the Germans who sought to separate the Third and Fourth French Armies in this region. As early as September 6 under a violent offensive, the Fifth Corps lost Brabant and Revigny, and was thrown back on the plateau in the centre of which is Vassincourt, where the tourist has already passed. The German advance was stayed in the neighbourhood of this village, thanks to the admirable resistance of the Fifth Corps, aided by the Fifteenth.

On arriving at the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, we shall retrace our steps as far as the Church of Brabant-le-Roi, then turn to the left towards Nettancourt by C. G. D. 15.

Continue along the road and go over a level-crossing, then follow the valley of the Chée to reach Nettancourt (30 km.), and turn to the left to reach the chapel. The church is not in the village, but on a hill to the west. It dates from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and is classed as an historical monument. It has suffered from fire and from shells.

Nettancourt fell into the hands of the Germans on September 6. On leaving the village, strike off G. C. D. 15 and take on the right the Sommeilles Road or G. C. 27. Go over a level-crossing and turn immediately to the left. At Sommeilles (34 km.), turn to the left to reach the church, then to the right in order to visit the town-hall. The church is capable of restoration, but of the latter only the front remains. As for the houses, they were completely destroyed by fires lighted by the Germans under the same conditions as at Revigny—by spraying them with paraffin from hand-pumps.

It was on the 6th, when the 51st German Infantry Regiment arrived, that fires broke out in the whole of the village. The inhabitants fled before the flames, but the soldiers seized them and asked for information regarding the movements of the French troops, threatening at the same time to shoot them. Eight hostages were led as far as Brabant-le-Roi, where they were released after having been made to kneel, whilst their captors made a dumb show of firing at them.

The Germans committed still more inexcusable crimes at Sommeilles. On September 12, when the Light Infantry entered the village, the officers and the doctor found in the cellar of the Adnot family's house, seven corpses. Death had taken place under particularly atrocious conditions. The Official[Pg 252] Report gives the following details:

"We discovered the body of a man of about sixty (M. Adnot) who had been shot, he had two wounds in his chest, and his eyes were still bandaged; that of a woman of about the same age (Mme. Adnot) with no visible wounds; another of a woman of about thirty-five years, whose right fore-arm, entirely severed from the rest of her body, had been thrown at some distance. Her clothing had been torn off (this woman appeared to have been violated). Then that of a little girl of about twelve years, who seemed to have met the same fate; those of three children of from five to ten years, two of whose heads had been cut off and thrown near the bodies."

After visiting Sommeilles, we retrace our steps as far as the cross-roads, which we met on arriving at the village, and continue straight on towards Laheycourt by G. C. 35. In Laheycourt (39 km.), through which we pass, the monumental town-hall on the right, shown in the photo below, is worthy of note. It was burned by the Germans. The church opposite was turned into a hospital, and was spared for this reason. A certain number of houses were burned, or destroyed by shells.

On leaving Laheycourt, pass a level-crossing, then follow the railway for about 2 km. The railway then leaves the road and goes towards Villotte and Lisle-en-Barrois, while the road continues along the Valley of the Chée towards Louppy-le-Château.

The right wing of the Fifth Corps experienced violent fighting in this region on September 6. After having lost Sommeilles and Laheycourt, it turned to bay at Louppy-le-Château, as also at Villotte on the 8th.

Traversing Louppy-le-Château (44 km.), three-quarters destroyed by fire, the church will be noticed on the right, in a piteous condition from shelling, as shown in the photographs on p. 253. It dates from the thirteenth[Pg 253] century and was restored in the nineteenth. The steeple was destroyed and the roof has fallen in. The bell, which was recovered from amidst the ruins, has been set up on the ground, and still summons the inhabitants to the services held in the roughly repaired choir.

The Germans committed revolting acts of brutality and immorality at Louppy-le-Château during the night of September 8-9, in a cellar where women and children had taken refuge from shell-fire. Two married women of 74 and 70 years, a spinster of 71 years, and a mother of 44 years and her children were odiously misused. The mother made the following declaration before the Commission of Enquiry:

"I was in M. Raussin's cellar with my five children and other persons from the village, when three Germans, with revolvers in their hands, entered. One of them commanded me to lie down on the ground. I was obliged to obey.... Meanwhile, I received numerous blows. The Germans left the cellar, but two came back again. I made a dash for the stair and was not again mishandled, but I heard sounds of the scenes of violence to which the women who remained in the cellar were subjected. Among them were my two daughters aged thirteen years and eight years respectively. Both were violated, the latter, who was killed by a shell splinter on the following day, being unable to walk."

The brother of the little victims, a boy aged eleven, made the following declaration: "I was sleeping in M. Raussin's cellar, when two Germans woke me, and tore my trousers. I cried out: 'I am a little boy.' They gave me a sound thrashing and struck my head with their fists."

On leaving Louppy-le-Château, turn to the left into I. C. 55 in the direction.[Pg 254] of Louppy-le-Petit. Cross the Chée, then turn immediately to the right. 2½ km. further on cross a tributary of this river, and thus reach Louppy-le-Petit (49 km.). The defenders of Louppy-le-Château, subjected to a violent shell-fire, were obliged to abandon the village on September 8, and fall back on Louppy-le-Petit, which they were compelled to abandon likewise on the 9th. The line of defence was removed further east to Génicourt, which the tourist will pass after Louppy.

In Louppy, turn to the right towards the church, where the bombardment has caused much havoc. Descend towards the Chée and, cross it. Immediately afterwards, I. C. 55 turns to the left in the direction of Génicourt-sous-Condé (51½ km.).

Pass straight through Génicourt, go over a level-crossing, then over the river, and 200 yards beyond, at the entrance to Condé, turn to the right into G. C. 28 leading to Hargeville (54½ km.).

We are leaving the zone of the fighting of September. Turn to the right in Hargeville to cross the river, then to the left towards the church and continue straight on.

On leaving Hargeville, cross the railway twice by level-crossings. At Vavincourt (58 km.), turn to the right in order to pass the church, and go through the village to the far end. On leaving it, take the road on the right (I. C. 16), which branches off from G. C. 28. I. C. 16 goes through Behonne then descends into the valley of the Ornain and Bar-le-Duc. At the foot of the slope, cross the railway and the canal, then again the railway. Turn to the left immediately afterwards into the Rue des Romains; then take the Rue Couchot (3rd on right). Leave it to follow the Rue de l'Hospice on the left, which passes Notre-Dame. On arriving at the church, turn to the right towards Notre-Dame Bridge by Rue de Bar-la-Ville. After crossing the bridge take the Rue Notre-Dame which is a continuation, then Rue d'Entre-deux-Ponts on the left. On the left is the Boulevard de la Rochelle, where the hotel will be found (65 km.).

IV.—FROM BAR-LE-DUC TO VERDUN

(63 km.)

(See map inserted between pp. 212-213)

via Naives, Vavincourt, Marats, Rembercourt-aux-Pots, Vaux-Marie, Beauzée, Amblaincourt, Seraucourt, Issoncourt, Heippes, Souilly.

Leave Bar-le-Duc by the Boulevard de la Rochelle, at the east end of which, before St. John's Church, turn to the left and cross the Pont-Neuf. Then turn to the right into the Rue Ernest Bradfer; 300 yards further on, turn to the left into the Rue du Passage-Inférieur. After crossing the railway, turn to the left into the Rue de Popey. 250 yards farther on the Rue de Saint Mihiel will be found on the right, and this is continued by the G. C. S. 1 bis.

At Naives (5 km.), turn to the left and take G. C. 28, which climbs the plateau, at whose foot we have been travelling since leaving Bar-le-Duc. Pass straight through Vavincourt (8 km.) and take I. C. 16, a hilly road, leading to Marats-la-Grande (14½ km.). Descend into the village, turn to the left; and on leaving it by its western end, take, on the right, I. C. 48 leading to Rembercourt-aux-Pots (18½ km.).

We are entering the zone of action of the Sixth Corps. Rembercourt was attacked on September 7, but held out, thanks to the defences which had been strongly organised round it. It was abandoned on the 10th and retaken on the 12th.

The road passes in front of the church, which is classed as an historical monument (photo below). It is one of the most remarkable in the Department of the Meuse. It dates from the fifteenth century, but its beautiful front is Renaissance. The roof of the nave and that of the left aisle have been destroyed by German shells, but fortunately the front only suffered slightly. Take the street on the right on leaving the church; it leads out of Rembercourt by G. C. 35.

3 km. farther, turn to the left in order to pay a visit to Vaux-Marie Farm (22 km.), which was one of the most important centres of resistance in this part of the battlefield.

A few yards from the cross-roads, on the right, is a large common grave, of which the photograph is given below. Soldiers belonging to the 132nd Line Regiment and the 26th Battalion Light Infantry are buried there. The farm stands at a distance of 1,500 yards from the cross-roads. As shown in the photos on pp 256-257, its buildings have suffered badly from the violent shell-fire to which they were subjected, particularly on September 8. The attacks were fierce, but the defences which the Light Infantry had established round the farm enabled them to hold out until the 10th. The farm was abandoned at the same time as Rembercourt, and retaken on the 12th with the latter village. The whole of the plateau extending from Rembercourt to Vaux-Marie was the scene of combats which were among the most violent of the Battle of the Marne.

Continuing along the road, after leaving the farm, go over first one level-crossing, then another. The line runs between embankments, and was utilised as a line of defence. French and German graves (seen in centre of this page) were dug along the slope. On the right of the road is Hill 302, on the left Hill 293, which were comprised in the line of resistance of the Twelfth Division of the Sixth Corps on September 6, and of the 107th Brigade on September 7.

Before descending from the plateau into Beauzée, there is[Pg 257] a very fine view. The photograph at the foot of this page shows the valley of Seraucourt, which the tourist will visit after Beauzée. It was there that the 40th Division of the Sixth Corps manœuvred. The photo at the top of p. 258 was taken looking towards Beauzée, whose steeple is visible. The numerous graves on either side of the road recall the violence of the struggle on September 6, when German pressure obliged the Twelfth Division to evacuate Beauzée and fall back on Hills 302 and 293, which the tourist has just passed.

Before entering Beauzée, go over two level-crossings. Follow the principal street, and turn to the right in order to arrive at the church (27 km.).

The photographs on pp. 258-259 give some idea of the state in which the German bombardment left this fine building. The church dates from the sixteenth century, as is shown by the rich ornamentation of the west front (see at the top of p. 259). This part of it received several shells, and in the photograph the shattered fragments resulting from this may be seen strewn on the ground. The nave, the apse, and the transept suffered most of all. The tower, restored in modern times and crowned by a spire, escaped destruction. It will, perhaps, be possible to save the panellings of the stalls and confessionals, which date from the eighteenth century.

A large number of houses in the village, and particularly around the church, were destroyed by shells.

Turn to the right in front of the church, into the street shown in the photograph at the foot of p. 259. Then turn to the left towards the river and cross it. There is a very picturesque view of the village from this spot (photograph p. 260). Immediately after passing the Aire, turn to the right into I. C. 26, which goes up the valley towards Amblaincourt (29 km.).

This little village was destroyed. The view in the centre of p. 260 shows what remains of the town-hall, which was formerly a church. In Amblaincourt, turn first to the right and then to the left, without crossing the railway. I. C. 26 going to Seraucourt follows the valley which appears on the panorama on p. 257. A tributary of the Aire and the little railway from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun follow the windings of this valley.

The 40th Division of the Sixth Corps fought on the two heights which command the valley to the north and to the south. The southern one (and especially Chanet Wood, which we can see on the right) served as a place of retreat when the attacks of September 6-10, which aimed at taking the northern crest, failed. On the 10th, in spite of an heroic resistance, the 40th Division was obliged to abandon Chanet Wood and to retire for several kilometres. On the night of the 12-13th the Germans, having been completely beaten on all other points of their front, evacuated their positions, which the French re-occupied the next day.

Pass straight through Seraucourt (31½ km.). Part of its houses were destroyed by shell-fire.

From Seraucourt to Lemmes we are going over the battlefield of the reserve divisions placed at the disposal of the Third Army, in order to strengthen and prolong its right wing, and to attempt to outflank the enemy's left.

Tn the neighbourhood of Seraucourt the 65th (reserve) Division linked up with the 40th Division of the Sixth Corps.

Still following the valley, we reach Rignaucourt (33½ km.). To the north of the village, on the plateau, is Blandin Wood, which was occupied until September 10 by the 65th (reserve) Division. From there it hurled its daily attacks to the west against the flank of the enemy. On the 10th it was thrown back violently to the south-east, beyond Landlut Wood, which crowns the plateau to the south, and lies to the right of the road. The German retreat took place on the night of the 12th.

In Rignaucourt, turn to the right in order to pass in front of the church; descend towards the railway, and beyond the level-crossing go over the river, and turn at once to the left towards Issoncourt (35½ km.). At the entrance to the village, turn to the left into G. C. D. 6, which is the main road from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun. After two railway-crossings we arrive at Heippes (39½ km.). The 65th and 75th (reserve) Divisions fought desperately to the west of this road in Ahaye Wood, until September 10, endeavouring to give relief to the Sixth Corps by an attack on the German flank.

Leaving Heippes church behind, I. C. 24 leading to Saint-André comes into view on the left. This road formed the pivot of the attacks of the 75th Division, one part of which was operating to the south, with the 65th Division in Ahaye Woods; the other to the north in the Woods of Châtel and Moinville. After a fierce struggle the reserve divisions were forced to retire. Whilst the 65th Division clung for a time to Hill 342 or the Signal d'Heippes, which commands the village to the south-west beyond the railway, the 75th held out in Heippes, but on the 10th both were driven back to the east of G. C. D. 6.

After Heippes the road goes towards Souilly (43½ km.). On the heights to the left of the road the 75th (reserve) Division fought, Souilly was abandoned by it on September 10.

During the great battle of Verdun in 1916 General Pétain had his headquarters at Souilly Castle. The photograph opposite shows the victor of Verdun in company with General Joffre.

Go straight through Souilly to reach Lemmes (48 km.), after twice crossing the railway. To the west of the road is the battlefield of the 67th (reserve) Division and the mobile defences of the entrenched[Pg 261] camp of Verdun which, during the Battle of the Marne, worried the German communications by frequent raids against their flank.

G. C. D. 6 rejoins N. 3 beyond the hamlet of Moulin-Brûlé (54 km.). The railway is again traversed by two level-crossings.

This little line, which comes from Bar-le-Duc, and which we have followed from Beauzée, was at the beginning of the Battle of Verdun the only one possible for victualling the troops. The main line from Châlons to Verdun was under the fire of the German artillery, and that from Bar-le-Duc or from Toul to Verdun was occupied in its centre, at Saint-Mihiel, by the enemy. The capacity of this single branch was so small that all the heroism of the defenders would have been vain, and the Germans would have entered as conquerors into the old city, if, by a remarkable feat, motors had not been able to replace the feeble railway. The road which the tourist followed on leaving Bar-le-Duc, and which he rejoined at Issoncourt, has been known since that epoch as the "Voie Sacrée" (the Holy Way). An average of 1,700 motors transporting troops, ammunition and stores, went by each day in both directions, making one vehicle every twenty-five seconds. The view below gives an idea of this line of cars winding across the country.

At the junction with N. 3, shortly after passing the spot where the railway crosses the road, turn to the right in the direction of Verdun (63 km.). This town and its entrenched camp, whose renown has become worldwide, are the subject of a special volume.

INDEX OF NAMES AND LOCALITIES MENTIONED IN THIS WORK

The figures in heavy type indicate the pages on which there are illustrations.

PAGES

Acy-en-Multien, 99, 100, 103
Allemant, 13, 159, 161, 163, 184
Andernay, 236
Asquith, 90, 91
Barcy, 90, 93, 104, 106, 111, 113, 114
Bar-le-Duc, 10, 17, 19, 236, 238 to 255
Baron, 68
Beaufort (Commandant de), 177, 178, 181
Beauzée, 257 to 260
Brabant-le-Roi, 247, 248, 250
Broyes, 13, 159, 162, 163, 172 to 184
Chambry, 85 to 89, 92, 107, 108, 113
Châlons-sur-Marne, 17, 19, 196, 198 to 209
Champaubert, 165, 169, 184
Champfleury (Ferme de), 93 to 95, 103, 106
Chantilly, 20 to 37
Cheminon, 228, 230, 233
Coulommiers, 7, 8, 17, 115 to 126
Courdemanges, 216
Crécy-en-Brie, 18, 48, 116 to 121
Dourlent (Abbé), 46 to 48
Écury-le-Repos, 189, 190, 194
Esternay, 9, 150, 153, 168
Étrepy, 224
Étrépilly, 95, 97, 103, 105, 107, 113, 114
Favresse, 222, 223
Fère-Champenoise, 19, 162, 163, 170, 185, 189, 193, 194
Ferté-Gaucher (La), 18, 126, 148, 150
Ferté-sous-Jouarre (La), 11
Foch (Général), 7 to 16, 160, 180, 186, 189
Franchet d'Esperey (Général), 7 to 16, 161
French, 7 to 16
Frignicourt, 217
Gallieni (Général), 5, 6 to 16, 98
Grossetti (Général), 10 to 16
Guerre (Sergeant-major), 188
Haig, (Douglas) (Général), 8
Hausen (Von), 7 to 16
Hauts de Meuse, 11 to 16
Heiltz-le-Maurupt, 224, 225
Huiron, 215, 216
Humbauville, 215
Humbert (Général), 13 to 16, 159, 175, 181
Joffre, 5 to 16, 187, 260
Kluck (Von), 5 to 16
Kronprinz, 7 to 16, 237, 238, 247
Laimont, 246
Langle de Cary (Général), 7 to 16, 213, 231
Lenharrée, 191, 193, 194
Linthes, 14, 163, 185
Louppy-le-Château, 252 to 254
Louppy-le-Petit, 254
Magnard (Albéric), 68, 69
Mangin (Général), 149
Marcilly, 93, 94, 95, 104 to 107
Maunoury (Général), 5 to 16
Maurupt, 225 to 233
Meaux, 17, 18, 74 to 80, 114, 116
Mondement, 13, 14, 159, 162, 171 to 184
Mont-Août, 162 to 164, 185, 195
Monthyon, 82 to 86, 91, 106
Montgivroux, 170, 172, 182, 184
Montmirail, 11
Mont-Chalmont, 14, 162, 163
Morains, 195
Moret (Mont), 216, 217, 219
Morin (Grand), 10, 18, 117
Morin (Petit), 162 to 167
Nanteuil-le-Haudouin, 102
Neufmontiers, 80 to 83
Nogeon (Farm), 98, 104
Normée, 187, 190, 192, 194
Notre-Dame-de-l'Épine, 210 to 212
Odent (M.), 48 to 50, 66
Oudin (Abbé), 214
Oyes, 170 to 173, 181
Pargny, 226 to 229
Péguy (Ch.), 82
Penchard, 73, 82 to 86, 106
Pétain (Général), 179, 180, 187, 260
Pleurs, 14, 162, 163
Poirier (Signal du), 13, 168 to 172, 181 to 184
Provins, 7, 17, 126 to 146
Pucelles (Château des), 159, 175 to 178, 184
Puisieux, 96, 97, 104
Rembercourt-aux-Pots, 255, 256
Reuves, 172, 173
Revigny, 9, 236, 237, 248 to 251
Rochelle (Plateau de), 179, 187 to 190, 194
Saint-Gond (Bois de), 170, 182 to 184
Saint-Gond (Prieuré de), 172
Saint-Dizier, 231, 236
Saint-Mihiel, 7
Saint-Prix, 165, 167 to 169, 172, 184
Sarrail (Général), 10 to 16, 231, 236, 238
Senlis, 17, 18, 36 to 65
Sermaize, 225 to 235
Sézanne, 7, 13, 17, 18, 148, 153, 157, 158, 162, 163, 166 to 169, 184
Sommesous, 19, 188 to 190
Sommeilles, 250 to 252
Sompuis, 213 to 215
Soizy-aux-Bois, 13, 169, 170, 184
Souilly, 260
Toulon-la-Montagne, 164, 165
Trois-Fontaines, 230 to 233
Trocy, 90, 95 to 98, 104, 108 to 111
Troyon, 12
Varreddes, 86, 90, 92, 106, 111 to 118
Vassimont, 190, 191
Vassincourt, 236, 237
Vauclerc, 221, 222
Vaux-Marie (Farm), 256, 257
Verdun, 4, 7, 15, 16, 260, 261
Villeneuve-les-Charleville (La), 13, 156, 157, 168
Villers-aux-Vents, 246, 247
Villeroy, 82
Vitry-le-François, 9, 17, 218 to 226
Wurtemberg (Duc de), 7 to 16

Foreword	2
HISTORICAL PART	3 to 16
Day of September 5, 1914	7
" September 6, 1914	8
" September 7, 1914	9
" September 8, 1914	11
" September 9, 1914	12
Days of September 10 to 13, 1914	15
TOURIST'S GUIDE	17 to 261
Practical Information	18 to 19
I.—THE OURCQ	20 to 114
Chantilly	20 to 35
From Chantilly to Senlis	35
Senlis	37 to 65
From Senlis to Meaux	66 to 73
Meaux	74 to 79
Visit to the Ourcq Battle-Fields	80 to 114
II.—THE MARSHES OF St.-GOND	114 to 196
From Meaux to Coulommiers	116 to 121
Coulommiers	122 to 125
From Coulommiers to Provins	126 to 127
Provins	128 to 146
From Provins to Sézanne	147 to 157
Sézanne	158
The Marshes of St.-Gond	159 to 184
From Sézanne to Châlons-sur-Marne	185 to 196
III.—THE PASS OF REVIGNY	197 to 261
Châlons-sur-Marne	198 to 212
From Châlons to Vitry-le-François	213 to 217
Vitry-le-François	218 to 220
From Vitry-le-François to Bar-le-Duc	221 to 237
Bar-le-Duc	238 to 245
Tour round Bar-le-Duc	246 to 254
From Bar-le-Duc to Verdun	255 to 261
Index of Names and Localities mentioned in this work	262

PLANS AND MAPS

Plan of	Bar-le-Duc	(black)	239
"	Châlons	(2 colours)	between	198/199
"	Chantilly	(black)	21
"	Coulommiers	(black)	122
"	Crécy	(black)	117
"	Meaux	(2 colours)	between	74/75
"	Provins	"	128/129
"	Senlis	"	36/37
"	Sézanne	(black)	158
Map of	the Region of Senlis	(4 colours)	between	66/67
"	" the Ourcq	"	80/81
"	of the Excursion described in the part "The Marshes of St.-Gond"	(4 colours)	between	116/117
"	of the Excursion described in the part "The Pass of Revigny"	(4 colours)	between	212/213

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON

Vc—2,109-6-1925

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Invaluable to Motorists & Tourists.

FRANCE.

(Scale—1:200,000)

Published in 47 Sections.

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FERTÉ-GAUCHER (LA) (Seine-et-Marne).: du Sauvage, 25 r. de Paris. (wc) coach-house 4 19.; MICHELIN STOCK H. Bourgeois, faub. de Paris. Agt de: Charron. 12 Petrol Depôt 38.; — Liévaux, 5 r. de Strasbourg. 10 Petrol Depôt .
PROVINS (Seine-et-Marne).: de la Fontaine, 10 r. Victor-Arnoul. Central heating Shed 4 courtyard 20 10.; de la Boule-d'Or, 22 r. de la Cordonnerie. Inner shed 6 12.; Louis Pouget, 3 r. Christophe-Opoix. Agt de: Renault, de Dion, Chenard et Walcker, Darracq. 20 Petrol Depôt 1·31.; — Métivier, 38 r. Hugues-le-Grand. Petrol Depôt .; — Boucher, 19 r. Félix-Bourquelot. Agt de: Delahaye. 20 Petrol Depôt.; — Thiriot, 40 r. du Val.
SÉZANNE (Marne).: de France, 25 Grande-Rue. Central heating Ⓑ (wc) coach-house 3 shed 5 12.; A la Femme-sans-Tête, 9 et 11 r. de Broyes. Central heating Ⓑ (wc) coach-house 50 m. 4 16.; MICHELIN STOCK (Compressed Air) Victor Quinet, 29 Grande-Rue. Agt de: Corre La Licorne. 10 Petrol Depôt 9.; — Brochet Georges, 20 et 31 r. Notre-Dame. 5 Petrol Depôt.; — F. Mayet, 19 et 21 r. Notre-Dame. Agt de: Vinot-Deguingand. 6 Petrol Depôt.
CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE (Marne).: de la Haute-Mère-Dieu, 26 pl. de la République. Central heating Ⓑ (wc) Gar 6 Hôtel-Meunier 4.; du Renard, 24 pl. de la République. Central heating Ⓑ (wc) Coach-house 4 Inner courtyard 8 1·48.; MICHELIN STOCK (Compressed Air) Maurice Leblanc, 5 pl. Godard. Agt de: Berliet, de Dietrich. 15 Petrol Depôt 85.; — MICHELIN STOCK (Compressed Air) G. Jacotin, 1 r. Faubourg-de-Marne. Agt de: Delahaye. 20 Petrol Depôt 2·65.; — MICHELIN STOCK (Compressed Air) Hauser, 13 pl. de la République. Agt de: Peugeot, Delage, Darracq. 10 Petrol Depôt 2·28.; — A. Viéville, 15 r. de Vaux. 4 Petrol Depôt.; — Ch. Rouche, cycles, 36 r. de Marne.
VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS (Marne).: de la Cloche, r. de Frignicourt. Central heating (wc) Shed 6 66.; MICHELIN STOCK (Compressed Air) E. Greux, 11 Faub. St-Dizier (rte de Nancy). Agt de: Clément-Bayard, Chenard et Walcker. 30 Petrol Depôt 134.; — MICHELIN STOCK (Compressed Air) Gillet fils, Pl. de la Glendarmerie. Agt de: Charron, Darracq. 40 Petrol Depôt 138.; — Ollinger, 15 r. du Pont. Agt de: Peugot. 4 Petrol Depôt .; — Kremer, cycles, 7 r. de Frignicourt.
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SERMAIZE-LES-BAINS (Marne).: de la Source (2 km.). Ⓑ (wc) Inner coach-house 20 8.; de la Cloche, 16 r. de Vitry. (wc) Inner coach-house 2 7.
Bar-le-Duc (Meuse).: de Metz et du Commerce, 17 et 19 boul. de la Rochelle. Central heating Ⓑ (wc) Shed 10 1.10.; MICHELIN STOCK J. Petit, 44 boul. de la Rochelle. Agt de: Unic. 20 Petrol Depôt .; — MICHELIN STOCK L. Henrionnet, 126 boul. de la Rochelle. Agt de: Clément-Bayard, Chenard et Walcker. 5 Petrol Depôt 1.71.; — MICHELIN STOCK (Compressed Air) L. Antoine, 8 boul. de la Rochelle. Agt de: Darracq, Peugot. 4 Petrol Depôt 156.; — Guillemin et Muriot, 7 r. du Cygne. 6 Petrol Depôt.

The above information, dating from January 1, 1919, may possibly be no longer exact when this falls under the reader's eyes. It would be more prudent, therefore, before making the tour described in this volume, to consult the latest French edition of the 'Guide Michelin.'

1.	January.	The month of feasts. The peasant, seated at table, prepares to drink.
2.	February.	Work is at a standstill. The peasant is at the fireside.
3.	March.	Work begins again. The peasant digs.
4.	April.	With the spring the time has come to care for the trees.
5.	May.	The lord, his falcon on his wrist, goes forth to hunt.
6.	June.	The peasant mows his meadows.
7.	July.	It is the beginning of the harvest.

8.	August.	The peasant threshes the grain.
9.	September.	The peasant gathers the grapes.
10.	October.	The peasant gathers in his crops.
11.	November.	The peasant kills his pig.
12.	December.	The peasant puts cakes in the oven for the fêtes at the end of the year.

ILLUSTRATED MICHELIN GUIDES TO THE BATTLE-FIELDS. BATTLE-FIELDS OF THE MARNE 1914

FOREWORD

HISTORICAL PART

SEPTEMBER 5, 1914

SEPTEMBER 6, 1914

SEPTEMBER 7, 1914

SEPTEMBER 8, 1914

SEPTEMBER 9, 1914

SEPTEMBER 10 to 13, 1914

TOURIST SECTION

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

ITINERARY FOR MOTORISTS AND MOTOR-CYCLISTS

I., OURCQ.

II., MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND.

III., PASS OF REVIGNY (273 km.)

IMPORTANT NOTE

I. THE OURCQ

VISIT TO THE LOCALITIES in which were enacted the preliminary scenes of the BATTLE OF THE OURCQ from September 5 to 14, 1914 CHANTILLY

ORIGIN AND MAIN HISTORICAL FACTS

CHANTILLY IN 1914-1916

VISIT TO THE TOWN

SHORT HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE CASTLE

The Castle in 1914

Sylvie's House

Visit to the Castle

Visit to the Park

FROM CHANTILLY TO SENLIS

SENLIS

ORIGIN AND CHIEF HISTORICAL EVENTS

VISIT TO THE TOWN

ARTISTIC SENLIS

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame

Church of Saint-Frambourg

Church of Saint-Pierre

The Castle

The old Abbey of Saint-Vincent

The Arena

FROM SENLIS TO MEAUX (65 km.)

CHÂALIS

The Church.

Visit to the Domain of Châalis.

MEAUX

ORIGIN AND MAIN HISTORICAL EVENTS

MEAUX IN 1914

VISIT TO THE TOWN

St.-Stephen's Cathedral

The Old Chapter House

The Old Bishop's Palace

The Old Mills

VISIT to the OURCQ BATTLEFIELD (September 5 to 9, 1914)

FROM MEAUX TO MARCILLY

FROM MARCILLY TO ÉTRÉPILLY

ÉTRÉPILLY TO MEAUX

II THE MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND COULOMMIERS-PROVINS-SEZANNE

FROM MEAUX TO COULOMMIERS

FROM MEAUX TO CRÉCY-EN-BRIE

CRÉCY-EN-BRIE

La Chapelle-sur-Crécy

FROM CRÉCY-EN-BRIE TO COULOMMIERS VIA THE VALLEY OF THE GRAND MORIN

COULOMMIERS

ORIGIN AND PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL FACTS

VISIT TO THE TOWN

FROM COULOMMIERS TO PROVINS

PROVINS

ORIGIN AND PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL FACTS

VISIT TO THE TOWN

CHURCH OF SAINT AYOUL

Church of Sainte-Croix

Hôpital-Général

The Ramparts

La Grange-aux-Dîmes (Tithe Barn)

Place du Châtel

Cæsar's Tower

Saint-Quiriace Church

FROM PROVINS TO SÉZANNE

via Voulton, Augers, Montceaux, Courgiveaux, Esternay, Champguyon, Charleville, and La Villeneuve.

SÉZANNE

VISIT TO THE TOWN

THE MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND

TOUR IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF SÉZANNE

ILLUSTRATED MICHELIN GUIDES TO THE BATTLE-FIELDS.
BATTLE-FIELDS
OF
THE MARNE
1914

VISIT TO THE LOCALITIES
in which were enacted the preliminary scenes of the
BATTLE OF THE OURCQ
from September 5 to 14, 1914
CHANTILLY

VISIT
to the
OURCQ BATTLEFIELD
(September 5 to 9, 1914)

II
THE MARSHES OF SAINT-GOND COULOMMIERS-PROVINS-SEZANNE

FROM CRÉCY-EN-BRIE TO COULOMMIERS
VIA THE VALLEY OF THE GRAND MORIN

FROM
SÉZANNE TO CHÂLONS-SUR-MARNE

III
THE PASS OF REVIGNY CHÂLONS—VITRY—BAR-LE-DUC

VISIT TO THE FIELD OF OPERATIONS
OF THE
FOURTH FRENCH ARMY
I—FROM CHÂLONS TO VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS