Chapter II: Part 2

Consenvoye, on the left bank of the Meuse, was connected with the right bank by a fine bridge, which the French blew up after the retreat from Charleroi. After the victory of the Marne, all efforts to dislodge the Germans from the village were unavailing, and until the German offensive of February 21, 1916, Consenvoye marked the limit of the advance on both sides. It was over this bridge that supplies were brought up for the sector on the left bank of the Meuse during the 1916 offensive. The village was retaken in the course of a brilliant combined action by the French and Americans during the offensive of October 7, 1918.

_The Church and N. 64._]

Consenvoye suffered less than the other villages previously mentioned. Around the church, which was not severely damaged, are some soldiers’ graves.

_Keep along past the church as far as N. 64, into which turn to the left. Follow the valley of the Meuse to_ =Sivry= (_4 km. from Consenvoye_).

_N. 64 crosses the_ partly destroyed village, _then runs alongside the canal and the Meuse to a fork in the road, 2 km. 500 from Sivry_. _Here leave N. 64_

_117th American Engineers_ (_42nd Inf. Div._)

_Arrival of the Field Kitchen._]

_and take the Vilosnes road on the left, which continues alongside the Meuse. Part of_ =Vilosnes= (_3 km. 500 from Sivry_) was destroyed, but the church, _which stands on a height_, was not seriously damaged.

OF THE CHURCH IN THE UPPER TOWN]

_Near the church, take the road on the left across the canal and the Meuse, then beyond the level-crossing at Vilosnes Station turn into I.C. 49 on the right. Follow the railway, which is on the left bank of the Meuse._

_Three kilometres from Vilosnes Station, on the right, between the road and Châillon Wood, there is_ an American monument commemorating the crossing of the Meuse on November 1, 1918 (_photo, p. 39_). _Further on, at the entry to_ =Brieulles=, _opposite the station, stands_ another similar monument.

The outskirts of Brieulles were stubbornly defended by the Germans during the American offensive of September, 1918. On September 29, during the first stage of the offensive, the American 3rd Corps reached the southern outskirts of the village, but were unable to enter it. It was not until October 9 that the American troops, after a fierce struggle, captured it.

_At the station, turn to the left along the road through Brieulles (4 km. 500 from Vilosnes). Pass near the church, leaving the Nantillois road on the left. Cross the village, in which_ a number of the houses are in ruins. _The rising road leads to the_ cemetery (numerous German graves), _then descends to the I.C. 64, which runs beside the railway and the Meuse to_ =Cléry-le-Petit= (_3 km. 500 from Brieulles_). _Before entering the village_, a third American monument _is seen on the left_.

Cléry-le-Petit was slightly damaged. On November 4, 1918, the Americans reached the Meuse between Brieulles and Villefranche. On September 5, they crossed the river at Brieulles and Cléry, on foot-bridges built by the American engineers, in spite of the stubborn resistance of the Germans established on the right bank. It was the American 5th Division which first effected the crossing of the river and established solid bridgeheads at Cléry and Brieulles, which resisted every attack. _Keep straight on, leaving the church on the right, and the Cléry-le-Grand road on the left._ _After crossing the little River Andon, Dun-sur-Meuse on the top of the opposite hill comes into view._ _The G.C._ 2 _bis near Doulcon is reached, which take to the right as far as_ =Dun-sur-Meuse= (_3 km. from Cléry-le-Petit_).

(_G.C._ 2 _bis._)]

_The town is reached after crossing first the railway (l.c.) near the station, then the canal and the Meuse (photos, pp. 42-43). Motor-cars can climb as far as the church. Turn to the left beyond the last bridge in the lower town, then take the first street on the right, which by a wide bend and a steep ascent leads to the upper town and to the terrace, where stands the church._ There is a fine view over the lower town and the valley of the Meuse (_photo, pp._ 40-41) from here.

_Return to and recross the bridges; keep straight on to_ =Doulcon=, _leaving the Cléry road on the left_.

_At the fork in the road beyond Doulcon_ (in ruins), _take G.C. 2 bis on the left, as far as_ =Romagne= (_9 km. from Doulcon_), _passing through_ =Aincreville= (severely damaged) and =Banthéville= (completely ruined).

(_On the left: I.C. 4, leading to Sommerance._)]

_Before entering_ Romagne, _on the right, there is_ a large German cemetery and some American graves.

Most of the houses in Romagne were destroyed. _Near the church_ (in ruins), _take on the left the Cunel road and cross the bridge. 300 yards from the village_ there suddenly comes into view on the side of the hill =a very large American cemetery containing some 28,000 graves= (_photo, pp. 14 and 15_). _Return by the same road to Romagne Church, and take the Sommerance road_ (_photo, p. 44_) _on the left_.

_Pass the other side of the German cemetery_ (_photo above_), _then go through_ =Romagne Wood=, in which are numerous German dug-outs and gun-emplacements. _Next cross a large plateau_ (Hill 247); _7 km. 400 beyond Romagne_, =Sommerance= (damaged houses) _is reached_ (_photo below_). _In the village,_

_beyond the public washing place near the church, take the street_ (_I.C. 4_) _which ascends on the right. 1 km. beyond Sommerance, on the right of I.C. 4_, there is another American monument (1st Division, October 11, 1918) (_photo above_).

_3 km. 200 beyond Sommerance_, =Landres= village (severely damaged) is reached. During the American offensive of October 14, 1918, the approach to Landres was fiercely contested. The American 5th Corps reached the outskirts of the village on October 14, but it was only on the 18th, after three days’ heavy fighting, that Landres was taken. The church was partially destroyed. _Turn to the right beyond the church and then to the left. After crossing the stream, turn to the right again, and 100 yards further on, to the left._

_One kilometer beyond the village, at the fork in the road, take I.C. 15 on the left across a plateau, and through the_ pretty little village of =Landreville= _in the Valley of the Agron. At the entrance to this village, on the left, there is_ an interesting château with turrets, one of which was destroyed (_photo, p. 47_), =Bayonville=, _5 km. beyond Landres, is next reached_.

Several houses in Bayonville were destroyed, the village having been frequently bombed by the Allied airmen during the Franco-American offensive of September-October, 1918. The badly damaged church dates from the 16th century, but has been frequently restored.

_After passing in front of the church, the road turns first to the left, then to the right. At the end of the village take I.C. 12, which climbs_ =Hill 290=, _called Bellevue. Looking back there is a fine view over_ Bayonville, and the district of Romagne-Banthéville. _3 km. 300 from Bayonville, at the fork, take the left-hand road_; picturesque run down to =Buzancy= (_4 km. 400 from Bayonville_).

_At the cross-ways on I.C. 12, near the first houses, keep straight on along Rue du Général Chanzy to the Place Chanzy._. The statue of Chanzy (born at Nouart, in this district), which stood in this square, was carried away by the Germans.

Buzancy

Buzancy was formerly a fortified town. In 1650, Turenne, after his defeat at Somme-Py, retreated on Vouziers and thence to Buzancy. On September 12, 1792, the town was occupied by the Austrian troops under Clerfayt, on their march to Croix-aux-Bois. In October, after Valmy, the rearguard of the retreating army was attacked by Valence near Buzancy, the Republicans capturing a standard of the 6th Division of the Lifeguards from the Emigrés. This standard was taken to Dumouriez’s headquarters and hung in the window of the Vouziers Château. Offered some days later to the Convention, the latter decided that this symbol of rebellion should be burned by the public executioner.

On August 27, 1870, a reconnoitring party of two squadrons of the 12th Chasseurs of the French 5th (Active) Corps, having passed through the town, was climbing the opposite hill when they were attacked by Saxon Dragoons debouching from La Folie Wood. The Saxons, greatly superior in numbers, forced back the French to the entrance of the village; but a third squadron coming to the rescue, the French attacked, and after a sharp fight, lasting half an hour, forced the Saxon Dragoons to retreat up Sivry Hill. Pursued by the French, the latter were finally stopped by the sudden unmasking of enemy batteries.

From 1914 to 1918 Buzancy was occupied by the Germans who, at the end of October, 1918, hotly defended its approaches against the American First Army. The village was, however, taken and passed on November 2.

Several houses in the Rue Charles Coffin were burned down. Most of the church is late 13th century.

_Take Rue du Château on the left of the Place Chanzy._

The Château de la Cour is supposed to have been built on the site of a house occupied by St. Remi, Archbishop of Rheims. Two very large sculptured lions, presented by Louis XV. to King Stanislas and brought from the Château of Lunéville, ornament the entrance. Of the 17th-18th century château, only the outbuildings are left.

_The Itinerary follows Rue du Gen. Chanzy opposite._]

The Mosque of Mahommed is a fragment of a very old square building. According to tradition it was built by a Noble Jean d’Anglure, a crusader who, captured by the Mohammedans, regained his liberty by promising to build a mosque. It seems more probable that this building is the remains of a lodge attached to the Château de la Cour.

_Take I.C. 6, a continuation of the Rue du Château, as far as_ =Thénorgues= (_3 km. 200 from Buzancy_).

_Before entering Thénorgues_, a German burial ground _is seen on the right in the communal cemetery_. _In front of the church take I.C. 20 on the left, which, 2 km. 700 further on, reaches_ =Verpel.= _Beyond the church of Verpel turn to the left, and immediately afterwards to the right. Outside the village, the I.C. 20 divides; keep straight on._ Picturesque run down into the Agron Valley.

_Cross the Agron near a mill, reaching_ =Champigneulle=, which stands on a hill, _4 km. 200 from Verpel_. Numerous houses are in ruins. The road passes in front of the very curious church, the nave of which has fallen in (_photo below_). _On leaving the village, the road again descends into the valley, recrosses the Agron, then rises on the left up_ =Hill 182=, on which stands the village of =St. Juvin= (_2 km. from Champigneulle_). _At the entrance to the latter there is a_ large German cemetery.

St. Juvin

On September 15, 1792, a strong Prussian detachment, under the command of Hohenlohe, drove a small body of French troops from the village, forcing them back on Senuc. Eighty foot-soldiers were taken prisoners and sent to the headquarters at Landres. Among them were several Alsatians whom the Prince of Prussia addressed in German, offering to enrol them in his regiment, but only one of them agreed to serve against France.

In October, 1918, along the St. Juvin--Landres--St. Georges line, the Americans delivered a long series of fierce assaults upon the “Brunehilde” position, or second line of defence which the Germans had prepared in this district. On October 11, 1918, at the time when the Americans approached St. Juvin, the village was in flames. Its recapture proved difficult. On October 14, the Americans outflanked it on the north, and, on the 15th, regardless of their heavy losses, they succeeded in taking it inch by inch, and in gaining the positions of St. Georges and Landres-St. Georges. On the 16th they were fighting in Champigneulle on the west of St. Georges, and holding the Châtillon Hill on the south of Landres. By the 18th they had occupied both these villages.

St. Juvin is dominated by its church--one of the most interesting of the fortified churches in this district--which, in the distance, looks like a fortress. Its high thick walls, with narrow windows and occasional loopholes at the top, form a parallelogram, flanked at each corner by a round tower with corbels.

In the interior of the church there is a well and an oven. Dating from the early part of the 17th century, it was rebuilt between 1615 and 1623 on the site of the old church destroyed under the League about 1552. Some of the relics of the patron-saint of the Parish, St. Juvin, were preserved in a shrine of gilded bronze.

The Fountain of St. Juvin, situated between the Woods of Marcq and Cornay, is frequented by peasant pilgrims who invoke the Saint to cure their sick pigs. Failing a visit to the well, the peasants touch the shrine in the church with a piece of bread, which is afterwards given to the animals. The church contains a statue of St. Juvin, depicted with a stick in his hand and two pigs at his feet. There is a legend that St. Juvin was the disciple of St. Oricle, the Martyr of Senuc. One day when he was walking with Oricle and his sisters (Oricule and Basilique), they had to cross the Aisne near Senuc at the “Ford of Madame Anciaux.” Oricle’s sisters had lifted their skirts before entering the water, and Juvin, who was behind them, exclaimed: “Oricle, Oricle, what fine legs your sisters have.” Oricle, in anger, reprimanded Juvin severely, and condemned him to keep pigs for the rest of his life, which is why Juvin, up to his death, kept pigs in the heart of the forest, round the well which to this day bears his name.

_On the right: The ruined Church. In the foreground: The River Aire._]

_After visiting the church keep straight on, leaving the St. Georges road on the left, and on the right, that leading to Grandpré. After a rather steep descent, turn to the left along N. 46, at the end of the village._

_Follow the Valley of the Aire to_ =Fléville= (_4 km. 200 from St. Juvin_), _which escaped practically unscathed_. _4 km. further on N. 46 passes close to Apremont, then over a ridge, from the top of which_ =Vauquois Hill=, now quite bare, comes into view on the right. _From here, a rather steep descent brings the tourist to_ =Varennes= (_1 km. from Fléville_).

Varennes

This little town, made famous by the arrest of Louis XVI. (p. 74), was almost completely destroyed.

In September, 1914, it was occupied by the Germans, who converted it into a fortress. On September 26, 1918, the first day of the Franco-American offensive, it was retaken by the American First Army in a single charge.

The River Aire divides the town into two parts: the upper town on the left bank, and the lower on the right bank. The visit to the upper town will be made on the second day (_see p._ 74).

_N. 46 coming from Fléville, passes the church_ (_hist. mon.--photos above and below_).

The three-sided apse of this church, with its fine windows, dates from the 14th or 15th century; the façade and the tower from the 18th.

The Hôtel du Grand Cerf, near the church, contains carved presses and pretty Argonne earthenware.

The bridge over the Aire, from which there is a pretty view of the river, connects the upper and lower town.

_Before crossing the bridge, take G.C. 38 to the left, 1 km. 800 from Varennes; leave the Cheppy road on the left, and keep on in the direction of_ =Vauquois=, the bare crest of which is seen _on the right_.

_3 km. 500 from Varennes, on the right, is a sheet of water, behind which rises_ =Vauquois Hill.= _One hundred yards further on, at a small wood, leave the car and take on foot the (bad) road on the right for about 400 yards_, to a square constructed in cement and stone. This was a German Command-Post (_photo, p._ 54). _On the left of this building, follow a small winding path up to_ =Vauquois Crest.=

(The visit on foot to Vauquois Crest takes an hour.)

Vauquois

Vauquois is one of the famous spots of the Argonne battlefield. The Germans took it in September, 1914, during a strong attack on the French 3rd Army, in their efforts to encircle Verdun. The ridge concealed their operations to the north of Varennes, covered the re-victualling of the Argonne front by the Four-de-Paris road, and above all furnished their artillery with an excellent observation-post. The importance of the position caused the Germans to convert it into a veritable fortress. Caves were made in the rock and connected by underground passages. The streets of the village were excavated, so that the vent-holes of the cellars formed loop-holes on a level with a man’s head. The walls of the houses and gardens were battlemented, and trenches were dug in the slopes in front of the village. The position was supported and flanked by the guns in the Woods of Cheppy, Montfaucon and Argonne. Approach was the more difficult, in that the position was surrounded on all sides by ravines and _glacis_, which provided admirable firing positions for the machine-guns.

This formidable position, which earlier in the war, before the improvement in the French artillery, would have been considered impregnable, was taken by the French 10th Infantry Division after heroic sacrifices. The first assaults especially, made without artillery preparation or support, cost the splendid French Infantry heavy losses.

The first attack was made on October 28, 1914, by two battalions of the 46th Regiment of the line. The French front lines were then on the _Mamelon Blanc_, facing Vauquois. Two companies debouching from Noir Wood attacked the western slopes of Vauquois, the sections deployed in skirmishing order, without artillery preparation, and without a single big French gun being fired on the village. As the men dashed forward up the slopes they were shot down by the carefully concealed German riflemen, but continued nevertheless to advance, in spite of the rain of bullets, till an avalanche of big German shells overwhelmed and scattered them. At the end of half an hour almost all of them were out of action.

The second assault was made on the following day (the 29th), after a very short artillery preparation, during which only a few shells were fired, most of which failed to burst. Fresh companies attacked further to the right, near the Cigalerie. The men charged with the bayonet, but as on the previous day, were mown down by the German machine-guns and rifles, and failed, after heavy losses. At night, an attempt to rescue the wounded left on the field was unsuccessful, the enemy firing pitilessly on the stretcher-bearers, in spite of the Red Cross lantern.

The third assault was carried out on February 17, 1915, by the 76th, 31st and 46th Infantry Regiments. This time the operation, which almost succeeded, was better prepared. The French artillery had improved its equipment and methods, being now better adapted to stationary warfare. The artillery preparation with guns of 75, 95, 150, 155 and 270 m.m. lasted more than twelve hours. The 31st Regiment of the line charged into Vauquois, and reached the ruins of the church, but, caught by the fire of the Argonne and Montfaucon batteries, and that of the machine-guns of Cheppy, it was forced, after heavy losses, to fall back. Abandoning the plateau, this regiment held on half-way down the hill.

The fourth assault was made on February 28, under further improved conditions. A plan of the village, of which only the ruins were left, was issued to the troops. Each company had its precise objectives assigned to it, and the men were armed, for the first time, with the new hand-grenades, charged with melinite. The bombardment began at dawn. Big guns shattered the shelters, and 75’s, hoisted to the top of the _Mamelon Blanc_, fed by infantry, who carried up the shells on their backs, fired directly on the village. When the attack began, the band of the 46th Regiment of the line, stationed at the bottom of the ravine, played the “Marseillaise.” Within a few minutes a number of the bandsmen fell killed or wounded, but the survivors sounded the charge, and the storming waves of the 89th, 76th and 46th Regiments

dashed forward. Bullets and shells soon silenced the music; of fifteen bandsmen only five escaped unwounded, but the companies leading the charge were by this time climbing the slopes of Vauquois. At the divisional observation-post, General Valdant, who was following the attack, turning with great emotion to his officers, raised his _képi_, and said: “Gentlemen, salute!” The fight was stubborn; twice the troops, dashing from one shell-hole to another, reached the plateau, the second time standing firm. The houses were taken one by one, and the church reached. The village had been wiped out--only shell-holes, heaps of stones, bits of walls and shattered cellars remained. Throughout the next day the Germans shelled the defenders, who were armed only with rifles. Outflanked, the French were slowly forced back from shell-hole to shell-hole, fighting all the time, but their line of defence, organised under fire on the edge of the plateau, brought the enemy to a standstill. At 2 p.m. the French infantry, for the fifth time, stormed the village, carried the German trenches, entered the ruins, and within half an hour drove back the enemy at the point of the bayonet. At 3, 4, 5 and 5.30 p.m., the Germans counter-attacked; but although troops of fourteen different units were successively launched, they could not dislodge the French from the main street. Twice during the night they tried, in vain, to take the church. For four days and nights, under an incessant pounding by high-explosive shells and a rain of bullets, the French troops held on without supplies, dependent for their food on the rations taken from the dead. The Colonial Infantry, who for a short time relieved the attacking troops, were decimated in a few days. The Germans were already making use of a powerful _minenwerfer_, to which the French could only reply with hastily-devised mortars roughly made out of 77 m.m. shell-cases, and which carried only 100-150 yards. It was an unequal contest. The Germans attacked almost every night, but were repulsed with hand-grenades and rifle fire, sometimes with the bayonet. The position became untenable and the French had either to retreat or advance. Once more they attacked. On the afternoon of March 4, the 76th regiment of the line took the German trenches west of the church, reaching the wall of the cemetery, in spite of enemy grenades and mines. On the 5th a German counter-attack was repulsed and the capture of Vauquois by the French was definitive. During the night of the 15th-16th, a fresh German attack was easily repulsed. On the 16th, at the Cigalerie, which during the attacks of February and March had served as a dressing station, Standard-bearer Collignon, of the 46th Regiment of the line, Councillor of State, and former Secretary-General to the Presidency of the Republic, who had voluntarily enlisted at the age of fifty-eight, was killed by the explosion of a shell while trying to rescue a wounded man belonging to the 76th Regiment of the line. Ever since, at Regimental roll-calls, his name follows that of La Tour d’Auvergne, and the reply is made: “Died on the field of honour.”

(_Seen from the crest of Vauquois Ridge.) In the background: Argonne Forest._] Cazeneuve of the _Opera Comique_, Adjutant of the 46th Regiment of the line, who had volunteered at the age of fifty-four, was also killed at Vauquois by a bomb which shattered his dug-out.

Vauquois for long remained a particularly dangerous sector, the scene of frequent hand-to-hand struggles, of mining and counter-mining, and of continuous bombardment. The Germans were not reconciled to the loss of this position, which gave the French an outlook over Varennes and the road which formed a continuation of the light railway which they had built between

Montfaucon and Spincourt. On March 22, 1915, near the ruins of the church, they attacked a trench with liquid fire. Mines were exploded almost every month, followed by fighting for possession of the craters. Engagements of this nature took place on April 5, July 26, August 3, September 4, November 18 and 21, and December 16, 1915, and on January 13 and 16, February 3, and March 24, 1916.

The Battle of Verdun was followed by a period of comparative calm in this sector, both sides practically abandoning mine warfare. In 1917 there was hardly anything but hand-to-hand fighting, and a few more or less important raids. Three times during the first three months of 1918, the French carried out important raids in this region. On March 17 especially, along a front of 1,400 yards, they advanced to a depth of 800 yards into the enemy lines, and brought back about a hundred prisoners. On September 26, 1918, the first day of the Franco-American offensive, the outskirts to the north of Vauquois were completely cleared, while Boureuilles was taken by the Americans.

The ridge, which rose 390 feet above the Valley of the Aire, and more than 250 feet above that of the Buanthe, is no longer recognisable, the bombardments and mine-explosions have shattered, and, so to speak, decapitated it. The sight is impressive; mine craters have swallowed up the village; trenches, shelters, barbed-wire are all that remain (_photos, p._ 58).

The view extends as far as Clermont-en-Argonne.

_After visiting Vauquois, return to and follow G.C. 38._ The original front lines are soon crossed. Cheppy Wood on the left and Hesse Forest on the right were cut to pieces by the shells. The ground is covered with defence-works. _6 km. 500 beyond Varennes the road divides on the edge of Hesse Forest, G.C. 38 running to the left, towards Avocourt. Take the right-hand road (I.C. 60), which enters the forest._ Numerous French military works, and some gun emplacements, may be seen along the road. _The road to Récicourt, on the left, is soon passed._

_Coming out of the forest I.C. 60 crosses a plateau, then reaches_ =Aubréville= (_14 km. from Varennes_).

_Cross the railway (l.c.) near the station, then the Couzance River, and enter the_ ruins of Aubréville (_photo, p. 59_). _At the end of the village the road forks; keep straight along I.C. 60, which crosses first the Aire, then the railway (l.c.)._ The =Ridge of Clermont-en-Argonne= _soon comes into view_.

_The road joins that leading to Neuvilly; cross the bridge over the railway and enter_ =Clermont=, _coming out at the Place de la Mairie_.

Clermont-en-Argonne

The history of this picturesque little town, which was the capital of the old Comté of Clermont, has been a troubled one. In 719, Charles-Martel gave it and its dependencies to the Bishop of Verdun. In 1094 it was taken by an adventurer named Odon, and recaptured from him by the Bishop of Verdun. In 1110, Dudon, Count of Clermont, having insulted the Bishop of Verdun, the town was besieged by the Emperor. In the subsequent struggles between the Bishops of Verdun and the Counts of Bar for the possession of the town, it was several times besieged and burnt. The Counts of Bar, who finally gained the upper hand, on the condition that they would pay homage to the Bishops of Verdun, strongly fortified it. A fortress, added by Henri II., Count of Bar, in the 13th century, was built on the St. Anne Plateau. Letters of enfranchisement were given to the inhabitants of the fortress by Count Tiébault II. in 1246, and to the people of the town by the Duke Henri IV. in 1339. In 1354, Yolande of Flanders, Countess of Longueville, Bar, and Cassel, had a mint at Clermont. In 1539, Clermont became a feudatory state of the Empire. Ceded to France in 1634 by the Treaty of Liverdun (confirmed by the Treaty of the Pyrénees in 1659) it was definitely incorporated in France by the Treaty of Paris on March 29, 1641. In 1648, Louis XIII. settled it on the Great Condé, whose family held it until the Revolution. During the _Fronde_, Clermont took part in the war of the rebel princes; in 1654, the town was besieged by the royal troops, the siege being conducted by Vauban, who had himself fortified the place in 1652. On November 8, 1654, the Marquis de Riberpray took the fortress and church by assault, and on the 22nd, after a siege lasting one month, the town surrendered. The upper town and the fortress were entirely destroyed, while the peasants of the surrounding district were made to pull down the fortress. Clermont and its dependencies were added to the national domain in 1790. In 1792, Clermont was occupied by the Austrian and Hessian troops under Hohenlohe. On September 11, enemy hussars surprised and captured some French troops near Clermont, who, while foraging, had lost their way in the fog; they also surrounded a company of infantry in the gardens of the town. On September 20, the French, who were holding the pass of Les Islettes, took their revenge on the Hessians. The latter, held up by the fire of the French artillery, were forced to retreat, and the sharpshooters, under Marceau, drove them back to the gardens of Clermont.

In 1914, Clermont was occupied by German troops of the Crown Prince’s Army. The town was almost deserted, with the exception of the old men’s asylum, in which the pensioners remained under the care of Sister Gabrielle. During the night of September 4, the 121st and 122nd Wurtemberg Regiments broke in the doors of the houses with the butt-ends of their rifles and pillaged the town. At the asylum, after smashing the doors, officers entered with revolvers in their hands, but Sister Gabrielle, surrounded by her nuns and the inmates, received the invaders, and by her firm demeanour won their respect. In the rest of the town the pillaging went on throughout the day. About noon 3 German soldier started an incendiary fire; everything was burned or destroyed, with the exception of the asylum, which owed its escape to Sister Gabrielle.

_At the Place de la Mairie turn to the right into the Grand Rue._

To visit the interesting church of St. Didier (_hist. mon._) _climb the rather steep Rue Casimar-Bonjour (accessible to motor-cars), to the terrace on which stands the church_. Very fine view.

The Church of St. Didier dates from the 16th century. The date of the choir (1530) is carved on the keystone of the vaulting. The three naves and main portal were added in 1596. However, the building as a whole is pointed-flamboyant in style, the ogive being preserved in the arches, vaultings and transept. The Renaissance style appears only in the decoration of the capitals, the consoles in the interior, and the doors. The western façade is late Renaissance, and must have been completed about the beginning of the 17th century. Its two arched portals retain their old wooden folding-doors ornamented with rose-headed nails. Above, in a niche surmounted by a fine rose-window is a modern statue. On the south an ancient corner turret was rebuilt in 1728. The façade bears the escutcheon and crowned monogram of Henri de Lorraine, Duke of Bar.

The interior of the choir is imposing. The apse is six-sided--rather an uncommon arrangement.

In the “Chapelle des Morts,” which opens off the northern nave, near the transept, there is a Renaissance tomb with a remarkable bas-relief; below is depicted a nude body lying in a grave, being devoured by worms; above, three successive panels represent the Weighing of Souls, the Mirror of Death, and Purgatory. Each subject is accompanied by an inscription in French verse carved in fine black Gothic characters. There are few sculptural representations of Purgatory earlier than the 16th century, and this is one of the earliest examples to be found.

=The Presbytery.=--The Presbytery, standing in a narrow street which runs along the south side of the church, is an old wooden building, the interior of which is in a perfect state of preservation. In it is kept an earthenware model dating from 1530, which was brought from the Chapel of St. Anne. This model, attributed to Ligier Richier, represents the Virgin receiving the body of Christ after it had been taken down from the Cross. It has been imperfectly restored and painted.

=Chapel of St. Anne.=--Above the church, on the top of the St. Anne Plateau, where the fortress used to stand, there now remains only an unpretending chapel, much frequented by pilgrims. The building has a wooden front, surmounted by a small steeple, and a stone choir with pointed vaulting, the flamboyant ornament being in the same style as that of the St. Didier Church. Four ancient elms give shade to the parvis and rise high above the steeple. Inside is a sepulchre with six almost life-size statues, acquired in 1829 when the Church of the Minimes of Verdun was pulled down. Three only of these statues, the three Maries, all painted, are late 16th century. The finest, which is in the centre, is attributed by some to Ligier Richier, but this appreciation is open to question. Near by there is a hermitage, which at the beginning of the 17th century belonged to the Benedictines, and later to the Franciscans. In 1845, the town of Clermont acquired the whole plateau, the promenade, hermitage, and the chapel. From the plateau--the highest point in the Argonne--there is a fine and very extensive view over the Forest of Argonne on the left, and the Forest of Hesse on the right, while the Vauquois-Montfaucon ridge appears in the distance.

_Return to and follow the Grand Rue which, outside the town, becomes N. 3 and runs alongside the railway to_ =Les Islettes= (_5 km. 800_).

This large market town marks the centre of the valley. In 1789, Arthur Young, in his “Travels in France,” described it as a “heap of mud and manure.” Since then it has been drained and embellished. Thatched roofs are still common there. Its glass-making industry, which formerly flourished, has greatly declined.

On September 17-20, 1792, while the Prussian Army was advancing towards the Châlons road and fighting at Valmy, the Austro-Hessians of the Landgrave of Hesse and of Hohenlohe Kirchberg made two demonstrations against Les Islettes, but were promptly checked by the French. During the action of September 20, a bullet killed a gunner near the Landgrave, who was himself unhorsed.

In 1914, the tunnel of Les Islettes, though mined, was intact on September 3 when the Germans took the village. A fortnight later the Germans, driven northwards by the French, evacuated the village. The Crown Prince, unable to resign himself to the loss of this capital position on the Châlons-Verdun road and railway, for a whole year (until the French offensive of September, 1915, in Champagne) made strenuous efforts to retake Les Islettes, in order to cut this important railway and turn Verdun. However, his numerous attempts to crush in the French line all failed. Only once (June 29, 1915) did his troops seriously threaten the position. On that occasion they got within 8 km. of the station, but a formidable barrage by the 75’s held them, and French reserves hurriedly brought up soon drove them back beyond the Four-de-Paris. Throughout the war the town was an important military centre, General Headquarters, and food, clothing, and munitions depôts being established there.

The town, which was somewhat damaged by the bombardments, contains a very large French military cemetery.

_Outside the town, the road climbs a steep slope and enters the forest._ Pretty view of Les Islettes and the Forest of Argonne (_on the left_).

_N. 3 next reaches_ =Grange-aux-Bois= (_5 km. beyond Les Islettes_), which takes its name from a house and grange, formerly the den of a gang of cutthroats who were wiped out in 1514.

The church is of no particular architectural interest, although it contains some curious statues, notably that of St. Nicolas (18th century) over the altar in the right aisle.

=St. Menehould= _is next reached_ (_3-1/2 km._), after a pleasant run down the shady Avenue Victor Hugo, _which crosses the Aisne_.

Sainte-Menehould

The origin of this town is uncertain, and its history prior to the Merovingian epoch obscure. Judging by the Gallo-Roman relics and graves discovered in the neighbourhood, it seems probable that at an early date a Pagan temple or Gallo-Roman _castrum_ stood on the rock encircled by the two arms of the Aisne. Houses gradually arose about the fortress--an important stronghold prior to the 5th century. During that century, Count Sygmar held assizes in the château. Sygmar and his seven daughters were Christians. One of the latter, Manechildis or Manehildis, being of a religious turn of mind, devoted herself to the care of the sick and poor, and was greatly beloved in consequence. After her death she was honoured by the people as a saint, and the town then took her name St. Menehould.

During the wars of Chilpéric against Sigebert the town was partly destroyed. More than a hundred years later, towards the end of the 7th century, Drogon, Duke of Champagne, son of Pépin of Héristal, rebuilt the castle and surrounded the rock with ramparts. St. Menehould was frequently besieged. In the 11th century it was attacked by troops of the Duke of Lorraine and the Bishop of Verdun. In the 12th century the castle fell into the hands of a robber-chief, Albert or Aubert, who plundered the Bishoprics of Verdun and Châlons. At the end of the 12th century St. Menehould was finally included in the County of Champagne. It became French in the 13th century, after the union of Champagne with France. In 1398, Charles VI. built a wall round the town proper. In 1423, the English took the town, but the Constable of Richemont recaptured it in 1435. In 1545, Marini, an Italian engineer, built a new line of ramparts with moats and four gates. Several years later the town, ravaged by plague, was attacked by Antoine de Cory, the Calvinist, who, however, failed to take it. Under the League, the Governor, Mondreville, sided with the Guises, but could not shake the allegiance of the burgesses to Henri III. On May 1, 1589, Antoine de Saint-Paul, a leader of the League, pursued the royal troops as far as the gates of the town, but the burgesses forced them to retreat after a battle lasting two hours. In 1590 the Duke of Lorraine tried in vain to reduce the town by force. In March, 1603, Henri IV., after renouncing the Protestant faith, visited the faithful city, accompanied by Marie de Médicis. In 1613, the Prince of Condé and the Duke of Nevers took the castle by surprise and forced the burgesses to lay down their arms. In 1630, Marillac was imprisoned in the castle for several months. In December, 1631, and January, 1632, Louis XIII. stayed in the town. In 1634, the King ordered the castle to be pulled down; by mistake the walls of the town were also razed, and in 1635 they had to be rebuilt. In October, 1652, during the Fronde, the Great Condé, with an army of 15,000 to 16,000 men and two guns, laid siege to the town, which eventually capitulated, with the honours of war, after thirteen days of trench warfare and three assaults. In October of the following year the royal troops besieged the town in their turn and forced the garrison to surrender. This siege of 1653 was the last to which the town was subjected. In 1712, St. Menehould had to pay a war-levy to the Dutch robber-chief Growenstein. On the night of August 7, 1719, the town was almost entirely destroyed by fire. It was at St. Menehould in 1791 that Louis XVI., while attempting to escape from France, was recognised by Drouet, son of the postmaster of Varennes. On September 3, 1792, the body of Beaurepaire, Military Commander of Verdun, who committed suicide rather than surrender to the Prussians, was buried in the town cemetery. It was before St. Menehould that Dumouriez established himself while awaiting the arrival of Kellermann, who defeated the Prussians at Valmy in September 20, 1792.

In 1914, the town was for a long time occupied by the enemy. Early in August of that year, the first refugees from the neighbourhood of Longwy, Longuyon, Audun-le-Roman, and the region of the Meuse reached St. Menehould. On Monday, August 24, the guns in the north-east of the Argonne were heard in the town. On the 31st the sound of the cannonade drew nearer, and refugees from the Ardennes flocked in, terrifying the inhabitants with stories of German pillage and atrocities. On September 1, the horizon towards Monthois was lit up by the incendiary fires, and the next day the people were advised to leave the town. The banks closed, and many of the inhabitants left the city, the trains in the evening being literally taken by storm. The last train left at about ten o’clock on the morning of the 3rd. Early in the morning of the 4th, the last French troops marched through the town on their way to Verrières. At 8.30 companies of a Prussian Reserve Corps, preceded by Uhlans, entered St. Menehould by the Moiremont road and destroyed the telegraphic and telephonic apparatus at the post-office and the station. The Germans, exasperated by the evacuation of the inhabitants, hastened to pillage the deserted houses and shops. The tobacco warehouse, the Caïffa stores, and the cellars of Quesnel the wine-merchant were emptied and the contents sent away on army waggons.

Of the population only eighty-two men had remained, twelve of whom were obliged to present themselves each morning at six o’clock before the Kommandantur, as surety for the order and peace of the town. Six men by day and six by night were kept as hostages by the German sentries, first at the Maison Viard, where the Kommandantur was housed, and then at the Hôtel-de-Metz. The Mayor was kept busy by the German requisitions. From Nettancourt, where the Crown Prince was reported to be, came an officer to demand champagne, fine wines, and liqueurs. On the Mayor’s declaring that there was nothing left the officer lost his temper and threatened to have him shot. General von Schaeffendorf, commanding the VIth Artillery Corps, took up his residence at the Château de la Mignonnerie. Headquarters were established in the Maison Géraudel, Rue de la Force, where the Duke of Wurtemberg was erroneously reported to have been housed. The able-bodied men of the town were commandeered for fatigue-duty and for the cleaning of the streets. A day or two before evacuating the town, the Germans requisitioned 6,000 bottles of claret, but left them behind in the hurry of their departure.

On September 13, a cannonade was heard from the south. On the 14th, there was great excitement in the German garrison, regimental baggage-trains passed through the town northwards and the Staff prepared to leave. In the morning the enemy troops streamed along the Verrières and Daucourt roads, soon followed by the garrison and waggon-loads of stolen furniture. The Municipal Buildings, Savings Banks, and Post-office were full of German sick and wounded, only part of whom could be evacuated through lack of ambulances. There was a speeding up of the retreat, resulting in great confusion, the bridge, Faubourg de Verrières and Rue de Vitry being encumbered with German troops on the way to Moiremont and Chaudefontaine. Shortly afterwards an enemy battery of 77’s, which had taken up a position on the Verrières road, withdrew at a gallop through the town, while the last German troops fled along the Rue de Prés towards the Pont des Maures. Almost immediately afterwards the French artillery occupied the ridge of Bel-Air and opened fire on the retreating enemy columns. At about 5.30 p.m. the French advance-guards, cyclists and light cavalry entered St. Menehould. A Prussian laggard was shot in the Avenue Kellermann on his refusal to surrender. At 7 p.m. General Cordonnier arrived in the town, which was occupied by the 51st Regiment of the line, and a continuous stream of French troops passed through, following up the pursuit in the direction of Ville-sur-Tourbe, Vienne-la-Ville and Florent.

While the trench warfare lasted the headquarters, supply-depôts and hospitals for the Argonne front were centred in St. Menehould, and for four years it was entirely given over to military activities. Frequently bombarded, the first shells were fired at the station at 4.30 a.m. on April 26, 1915, when some houses were struck and two civilians killed. On July 20 of the same year another bombardment was directed by aeroplanes. At 1.30 a.m. on August 28, an aeroplane dropped a few bombs. On September 14, a heavy bombardment set fire to the evacuation hospital, killing two civilians, one of whom, M. Bocquillon, the Deputy Mayor (acting for the Mayor, who was ill), was struck on his way to the Hôtel-de-Ville.

During 1918 the town was frequently bombed by enemy aeroplanes.

A VISIT TO THE TOWN

_On arriving by the Avenue Victor Hugo, after crossing the bridge over the Aisne_, the Gendarmerie, _at No. 8 on the right_, should be noticed. It is the old post-house where Louis XVI. was recognised during his flight in 1791. Over a door which opens into the Rue de la Porte-des-Bois, the word “Poste” carved in the stone may still be seen.

The royal carriage stopped near this post-house in broad daylight, arousing the curiosity of the bystanders by its imposing appearance and by the respect paid to the traveller and his family by the members of his suite. The postmaster, Drouet, thought he recognised Louis XVI., whom he had seen at Versailles, and he was confirmed in his belief by an _assignat_ (paper money) with the king’s head stamped upon it, which had just been given him.

After the departure of the carriage, Drouet followed it to Varennes, where he caught it up and had the royal family arrested.

_The Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville is next reached with the_ Hôtel-de-Ville, an 18th century building, _on the right_ (_photo above_).

_Cross the “Place,” keeping to the left, via the Rue Chanzy, which is the main street. On the right, at No. 33, is the_ Hôtel-de-Metz, an old inn on the road from Metz to Paris, formerly well known, the original kitchen of which has preserved its ample dimensions and innumerable copper utensils.

_The Rue Chanzy ends on the bank of the Aisne at the Place d’Austerlitz. At the sharp turning on the left, before crossing this “place,” take the Rue de la Côte-du-Château, then the Rue des Ormes, which leads to_ the church.[2]

[2] The church is reached by a flight of steps; the entrance is close to No. 72, Rue Chanzy.

The church, surrounded by a graveyard, stands on a rock in the centre of the old town, of which nothing is left but fragments of the castle and some ruined walls to the south and south-west. The church was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. Its exterior is massive; the main doorway is hidden by a modern porch. Beyond the Chapel of the Virgin, on the right of the choir, a low sacristy was added at the end of the 17th or beginning of the 18th century. Some fine fragments of earlier sculpture (five panels depicting scenes from the Passion, and three richly decorated canopies) have been incrusted in the outside walls. Tombstones have been built into the walls on either side of the doorway in the left transept, at the entrance to the church.

The interior consists of five naves with low vaulting. In the left arm of the transept, under a tri-cusped pointed arcade, the group “The Death of the Virgin,” represents the Virgin recumbent, with children reading and clinging to her hands and feet, and eight weeping women carrying books. In the chapel on the left of the choir there is a 17th century picture--a view of St. Menehould, with three figures, one of which is the Patron-Saint of the town; the other two are supposed to be Louis XIII. and Richelieu. Behind this chapel, which was formerly used for the ceremonies of the town-guilds, is a recess called the Treasury, a small vaulted 15th century room opening on the choir. The polygonal choir presents a fine appearance with its five slightly pointed windows, framed by two archivolts, supported on little columns with Romanesque capitals. All around is an elegant 13th century arcade, screened with rather heavy woodwork. The last nave on the right consists of three separate 14th century chapels. The capitals of the aisles represent human heads. The chapel of the Virgin contains a curious capital representing an oak laden with acorns, towards which a peasant is driving three pigs. This Chapel was founded in 1552 by the Lord de Saulx, and was used from the end of the 16th century onward by the Guild of Vine-dressers, who had the vaulting painted with frescoes. It is also known as the Chapel of our Lady of the Vines. Formerly it contained a number of tombstones, since removed. There is still to be seen, in one of the chapels off the right aisle, a large and very fine 15th century tombstone with effigies of Jean Toignel and his wife under a handsomely carved Renaissance pediment.

_Take the Rue du Cimetière, which passes behind the church, then the Rue Basse-du-Château, which leads to a path skirting the old walls of the castle. From this path there is_ a fine view over the town, the Valleys of the Aisne and the Auve, and the surrounding hills. _Go round the cliffs and return to the steps which lead down to the Rue Chanzy._

SECOND DAY: Sainte-Menehould, Varennes, Montfaucon, Grandpré, Vienne-le-Château, La Gruerie Wood, Le Four-de-Paris, La Haute-Chevauchée and La Chalade.

Distance: 130 km.

_From St. Menehould to Clermont-en-Argonne (15 km.) take the same road as the first day (see pp. 31-70)._

_On reaching the Place de la Mairie at Clermont, turn to the left, cross the railway, leave I.C. 60 on the right, and keep straight on. G.C.D. 2 runs straight from Clermont to_ =Neuvilly= (_6 km. 500_).

During the trench warfare of 1914 to 1918, this road was often swept by the German artillery. At the beginning of September, 1914, Neuvilly was taken by the enemy, but a fortnight later it was recaptured by the French.

Until the end of the war it was in close proximity to the front lines, and was frequently shelled.

_Opposite the church of Neuvilly the road joins N. 46, which take to the left._

_3 km. 500 further on_, the original front lines are crossed. =Boureuilles= _lies 1-1/2 km. beyond_.

The village of Boureuilles-on-the-Aire has completely disappeared. As early as November, 1914, it had been reduced to a mere heap of stones and rubbish.

After being rushed by the French on January 4, 1915, it was retaken by the Germans, who held it until the Franco-American offensive of September 26, 1918.

_2 km. 500 beyond Boureuilles the tourist comes to_ =Varennes.=

(_N. 46 crosses the bridge._)]

_On June 21, 1791, Louis XVI. and his suite, in their flight from Paris, halted here late at night to enquire the way._]

Varennes

_Enter the upper town by the Rue des Religieuses (or Rue de l’Hôtel-de-Ville). The first house on the right is the_ Maison de Préfontaine (_photo above_), which is still as it was when, on June 21, 1791, at 11 o’clock at night, Louis XVI. and his suite, in their flight from Paris, knocked at the door to ask their way.

_On the other side of the street is the Place du Château, where there are_ some German soldiers’ graves.

_The Rue de la Basse-Cour--a continuation of the Rue des Religieuses--crosses the Place du Marché (photo below) in which stands, on the left_, the ruined house of Sauce, the grocer, Procureur of the Commune, in which Louis XVI. passed the night. This house, formerly No. 28, had, until the war, remained much as it was in 1791.

_Ruins of house where Louis XVI. was arrested._]

_N. 46 crosses the bridge._]

Drouet, who recognised the King at St. Menehould (_p. 68_) reached Varennes before him, by a short-cut. The whole town, aroused by the tocsin, assembled, and compelled the carriage of the king to stop.

The arrest of Louis XVI. was made at the Bras d’Or Inn, the site of which was afterwards occupied by three houses, one of which was No. 340 (_the bottom photograph_ on p. 74 shows the ruins of these houses).

The king and his family stayed at Sauce’s house until the morning, when they were taken back to Paris.

At the Mairie the authentic official report of the arrest of Louis XVI. may be seen.

_Keep along the Rue de la Basse-Cour, then cross the Aire which divides the upper from the lower town (visited on the first day, p. 52)._

_Seen from N. 46, coming from Neuvilly. At back: Ruined Church._]

_The ruined village is on the top of the hillside._]

_Beyond the bridge, take G.C._ 38 _to the right for_ 1 _km_. 800, _then G.C._ 19 _on the left,_ 2 _km. beyond Varennes, after crossing the Buanthe_, =Cheppy= _is reached_.

This village, with its interesting church, remained within the German lines from 1914 to 1918, being retaken by the Americans on September 26, 1918. Frequently bombarded by aeroplanes and artillery, especially during the Battle of Verdun, it was completely wiped out.

_The Itinerary follows the left-hand road, at fork, to Montfaucon._]