The Village of Vauquois - an example of World War I Fighting

After we shifted our base from Reims to Sainte Menehould, checked into our hotel, and had a bit of lunch, we headed off for a preliminary look at the area where Anna's grandfather fought.  The beginning of his Regiment's attack on German positions occurred adjacent to the Butte de Vauquois.

We parked in a small lot in the 'new' village of Vauquois and followed a trail up the butte.  Even after 100 years and reforestation, trenches, craters, and tunnels are visible everywhere.  At the top of hill is a memorial to the original village along with massive mine craters.

Barbed wire still in place around opening to a dugout

Opening to another dugout on Vauquois Butte

Parking lot with 'new' village to left out of picture and memorial in center 

Vauquois Butte from Memorial

In 1914, Vauquois was a small village of 168 inhabitants at the top of the Butte de Vauquois that found itself caught up and destroyed in all the horrors of war along the western front.  At one point, the village was occupied by the Germans who shot both the Mayor and his 8-year old son along with other civilians.  The French re-took the village, and the front line shifted so that the French held the top of the butte or small hill, and the Germans the other side.

The village of Vauquois was destroyed in February 1915 following harsh battles that radically transformed its landscape. Up until 1917, French and German forces dug miles of underground tunnels in order to inflict the greatest possible damage on the enemy’s network using tons of explosives.

Top of Vauquois Butte with photo of old village in front of cratered original location

Explanation of crater formed by German mine in 1916

 

Vauquois Memorial at top of Butte with mine craters in foreground

After the war, the village was rebuilt at the foot of the butte.

Today, visitors are able to see for themselves the changed face of Vauquois Butte overlooking the formidable craters caused by the detonation of mines, along with examples of restored trenches from both the French and German sides. A tour guide is on hand in the local association’s exhibition space and at the visitor reception point in the village, charging €5 for a tour of the area above ground.

Guided tours of the underground “living quarters” are by prior appointment only, in return for a small charge in aid of the association. The number of tours is limited in the interests of safety and site preservation.  Because of time constraints and the fact our main purpose was to retrace the movements of Anna's grandfather, we did not take any guided tours.  We spent the afternoon looking around Vauquois Butte and finding areas in the vicinity where the 364th Infantry Regiment had been and fought.  See Post "Into Action with the 364th Infantry Regiment of the 91st Division".

Into Action with the 364th Infantry of the 91st Division

This post should have been completed in 2016, but we had misplaced the photos and finally got around to finding them and completing the post.

Anna’s maternal grandfather, Grover Franklin Thomas, volunteered to serve after America entered The Great War, or World War I.  He was part of Company B, 1st Battalion, 364^th Infantry Regiment, 182^nd Brigade of the 91^st Division, also known as the “Wild West” Division, of the 1^st American Army under General Pershing.  The division was made up mostly of young men from the western part of the United States – and mostly from California.  They are described in the book With the 364^th Infantry in America, France, and Belgium, written by the Chaplain and Intelligence Officer of the Regiment, as being a “motley throng of men” when they arrived at Camp Lewis, Washington for basic training in September 1917.  According to the book, they came from all walks of life – everything from business men and professional men in tailored suits to sunburned ranchers and cowboys in chaps.  All of them had volunteered “in answer to the world’s emergency” and almost all had no Army experience.  Within a year they were in the thick of things.

They arrived in France in late July, 1918 and by September 12, 1918 the Division was in reserve during the beginning of the St Mihiel offensive.  It was determined that they were not needed in this sector, so the Division traveled, mostly on foot, to the nearby Meuse-Argonne sector where they formed a part of a huge American effort to break through this heavily fortified sector. 

Historic Photo Showing the 91st Division Leaving a French Village During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Almost since the beginning of our sojourns in France, we had been talking about visiting an area where Grover had fought.  His Division fought in the Argonne region of France, and then in Belgium.  Looking at the map, Lyon is considerably closer to the Argonne than to Belgium, plus he had been wounded in the Argonne offensive, so that was the area we chose.

We studied the above book carefully with its maps, along with contemporary maps.  We spent a good deal of time reading, making timelines, and marking the Regiment’s, and in some cases, Company B’s movements from September 26 to October 4, 1918.  We found that with a good deal of note-taking and cross referencing we were able to follow the movements of the Regiment closely. 

The Regiment arrived September 25 at their designated headquarters between the Mont des Allieux and Cigalerie Butte, two small hills near the Butte de Vauquois which had been fought over for years.   At 2:30AM, the next day, artillery began shelling the German positions.  The Brigade was on the left side of the Division front as the infantry moved out at 5:30AM on the road between the two small hills.

Sign on building spelling out 'Cigalerie'

Area Where the Regiment Formed up to Attack - Sept 25, 1918

Note that by using historic and contemporary maps, we were able to accurately locate the area where Grover’s Regiment had formed up to launch their attack.  It was a bit spooky to stand almost exactly where Grover had stood 98 years previously and know that we were at the spot where he and his comrades were about to go into action against the Germans.

Map of Area Where Regiment Began their Attack

They were briefly held up by German machine guns, but the Battalion advanced into Cheppy Woods, capturing German positions, including a ‘canteen’ with beer and cigarettes which were, of course, liberated. 

A day later, the 27^th, the 1^st Battalion was in reserve as the Regiment continued to advance, liberating several small villages in the two days of the advance.   The advance that day totaled 1-1/2 miles, a very significant distance in this time of trench warfare.

Anna by sign for village of Very, liberated by the Regiment

Anna by sign for village of Eclisfontaine, also liberated by Regiment

 

The next day, the 28^th, the Regiment suffered heavy casualties, with the attack beginning at 9AM, with the 1^st Battalion on the left.  The advance began opposite Exmorieux Farm as German machine gunners in farm buildings held them up for a time.  The next day, at 1:30PM,  they captured the farm taking a number of prisoners.  They were fired upon by German snipers in Epinettes Woods and attacked by Diphosgene gas from German artillery.  By nightfall, the Regiment occupied a ridge north of Baulny Woods and Transol Farm.  At this point the attack shifted to another part of the line so the Regiment spent the next few days, until October 4^th, holding their positions, under shell, sniper, and machine gun fire.  Shortly thereafter, the 91^st Division was pulled out of the area and sent to the Front in Belgium.

American Monument at Vauquois Butte

Battle Explanation at Monument

91st Division in Stone at Monument
 

 

Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial

The post below is from our trip to the north of France in 2016.  The post is delayed because we had mislaid the photos

The action of the Meuse-Argonne, September-November 1918, was the largest American battle in history, involving 1.2 million American men.  More ammuniton was expended in the three hours bombardment before the attack than both sides used in the four years of the American Civil War.

Very close by the Meuse-Argonne battlefield, where Anna's Grandfather fought with the 91st Division, is the largest American military cemetery in Europe. It is maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commision.  Most of the 14,426 men buried there lost their lives during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. The cemetery consists of eight sections behind a large central reflection pool. Beyond the grave sections is a chapel which is decorated with stained glass windows depicting American units' insignias. Along the walls of the chapel area are the tablets of the missing which include the names of those soldiers who fought in the region and in northern Russia, but have no known grave.

We were surprised at its size as we had assumed that the largest American cemetery would be near the Normandy D-Day landing beaches.  We had discovered that a distant relative of Anna's had been killed in France and so decided to visit the cemetery to see if he was buried there.

The cemetery is near the village of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon, about which more later, and is quite impressive.

Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery

As it was not tourist season, there were few people around when we visited the office.  We were met by the American Superintendent of the Cemetery, a retired US Arny officer.  He discussed at length with us the role of the 91st Divison, pulling some books and records from the shelves.  He informed us that the 91st was considered one of the more competent divisions in what was at the time a very inexperienced American Army.  He also researched Anna's distant relative for us and discovered that he was buried at an American cemetery near Saint-Mihiel, the site of another famous American battle.

Also at the cemetery is the American Monument at Montfaucon, which we visited.  The 91st Division is memorialized at this monument - see the Post about Grover's unit.

American Monument at Montfaucon

The town of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon contains a very interesting little museum.  It is run by a Belgian man who used to vacation in the area as a child with his parents.  He would wander the area exploring bunkers and trenches and picking up artifacts.  He is apparently authorized by the French Government to continue this activity.  He and his wife have assembled a fascinating small museum, and run an adjacent snack bar where one can get a carafe of wine and a plate of charcuterie for lunch.  He has an intimate knowledge of World War I actions in the vicinity and leads personalized tours of the area.  We talked with him at some length, although we did not have time to take a tour.  He encouraged us to return at a later date and he would give us a tour specific to the actions of Anna's grandfather's unit.

Interior of the museum

Exterior of the museum building

Visit to Verdun – Iconic WW I Battleground

The post below is from our trip to the north of France in 2016.  The post is delayed because we had mislaid the photos.

After visiting Reims and the battlefields where Anna’s grandfather fought in the First World War, we planned to visit the battlefield of Verdun in northeast France on our way home.  The small city of Verdun is only about 30-40 kilometers from Sainte Ménehould where we had been staying.

Verdun has a mythic quality for France.  The Great War, or World War I 1914-1918, killed almost 1,000,000 young French men in four years, and devastated the north of France. 

As the war became stalemated in great trench lines, the German Army tried to break the stalemate by selcting a point that they believed the French would have to defend.  They then organized an offensive that the Germnans believed would bleed the French Army to death.  It did almost do that, but the French Army held on, and the result was that the German Army itself suffered massive casualties.

The battle of Verdun between the French Army and the Germans unfolded over about 300 days between February and December 1916.  It was marked by enormous artillery duels and great numbers of battles, large and small.  Casualty figures vary, but the consensus seems to be something between 600,000 and 1,000,000 men on both sides, killed, wounded, or missing.  The French had a number of relatively sophisticated, mostly underground fortifications around Verdun, but most of the men fought and lived from trenches and dugouts.  The front lines in the area did not move more than a few of kilometers in any direction during the course of ten months.  The tonnage of high-explosive and poison gas shells fired by both sides during the struggle was enormous. 

We visited Fort de Douamont, one of the key points during the battle.  The fort was part of the system of fortifications around Verdun.  Most of the fort is deep underground.  The surrounding area has been completely reforested by the French, but the trenches and shell craters are still quite visible in the area.



Fort de Douamont at the end of the battle

 



Fort de Douamont today

 

 

75mm Gun Turret, Fort de Douamont

Note Right-Hand Gun

The right-hand gun above shows a shell fragment that had enterred the muzzle from outside!

The Germans had effectively cut all the lines of replenishment to the area either by occupation or because the roads and railroads, except one, were all under heavy shellfire. In response, the French rapidly built trucks and developed a system of continuous night-and-day convoys into Verdun to keep everyone fed and supplied.  At its height 6000 vehicles were continuously in motion along the route, transporting 50,000 men and 90,000 tons of material per week - one vehicle every 14 seconds on average.  This achievement was absolutely unprecedented as motor transport at the time was very new and truck production, along with truck purchases, had to be rapidly built up from a very low base.  The ability of the French to organize and operate this system contributed almost as much as the courage and fortitude of the soldiers to the ultimate defeat of the Germans in this area.

For more information about the specifics of the Battle, there is a very informative Wikipedia article about the Battle.

The route used by the convoys was baptized after the war as the ‘Voie Sacrée’ or ‘Sacred Way’.  It is now a scenic two-lane highway from the railhead at Bar-le-Duc to Verdun, that we drove along as we headed back to Lyon.  It is marked by ‘bornes’ or kilometer posts along its length topped with replicas of a French Poilu’s helmet.

Voie Sacrée Borne

 

 

A Performance of “Kurt Weill: De Berlin Á Broadway”

Our “new” landlords, Nathalie and Stepháne, are a delightful couple with two charming teenage girls, Lucie and Fanny.  They have actually been our landlords for three years now, and we have enjoyed meals at their home and in “our” apartment and also enjoyed jazz performances with Stepháne both in the audience with us and performing.  So, we were quite pleased when Nathalie invited us to a show Lucie and Fanny were in.  (Quite the talented family!)  The show was an adaptation of the musical, Kurt Weill:  Berlin to Broadway, a short musical synopsis of Weill’s journey from Nazi Germany to Paris to New York.

Originally, we were to take the train and have Nathalie pick us up.  But, since the train workers are en grêve and train service is a bit sketchy right now, we rented a car and drove to their home.  The girls were at the theater getting ready for the show, and Stepháne was still at work, so Nathalie prepared a “simple” repast for the three of us – a tart of tuna, fresh tomatoes, and cheese accompanied by green salad, fresh baguette, and a desert of sliced strawberries and kiwi. Delicious!   Our contribution was the rosé to go with dinner.  Then we hopped into our cars and were off. 

Theater in Villefontaine

We followed Nathalie to Villefontaine and the theater, La Salle Daniel Balavoine, and soon found ourselves at a row of seats where Stepháne’s parents and a few family friends were already seated.  La Salle Balavoine is a small, intimate theater, and the rows of seats are graduated so there are no “bad seats” in the house.  The show itself was quite impressive!  There was quite a large troop of performers (all teenagers) accompanied by a four-piece band.  The band leader would occasionally cue a song, but for the most part, the performers sang, danced, moved, and spoke without direction.  Each of the performers had a least one speaking part, and a few had multiple, lengthy speeches.  These kids were great! 

The transformation of the teenage girls, in particular, was stunning.  For the most part, their costumes for consisted simply of shorts, tops, fishnet stockings, and heels.  (Nathalie told us about buying her girls their first pairs of heels so they could wear them in the performance.)  Add in the heavy stage makeup, and suddenly they seemed to have morphed into young women.  Stepháne nodded towards Lucie after the performance and told David, “You can imagine how I feel.”

Both Lucie and Fanny were excited after the show and greeted us and the rest of their ‘personal audience’ enthusiastically.  They had both performed beautifully and had already told Nathalie they were looking forward to next year’s production (tba).  Hopefully, we’ll be in Lyon and able to be in the audience for that one, too.  It’s a pleasure to watch those two charming girls grow and thrive!

Back in Lyon - April 18, 2018

We are back in Lyon, and the weather is lovely.  Blue skies, sunshine, slight breeze – ahhh!

Our trip got off to an interesting start, though.  Because the train workers are on strike (not every day, and not every train, but ours on the day we arrived), we were unable to catch our normal TGV which takes us from the airport to Lyon in ~ 2 hours.  Our other choices were (a) going into Paris and catching a different train for Lyon (hoping that one would be operating), (b) finding a bus going to Lyon, or, (c) as Nathalie, our landlady suggested, renting a car.  David checked into all the options and found renting a car to be the way to go.  We were relieved to find how easy it was to find the car rental office and the very pleasant agent who also gave us directions, and soon we were on our way. 

The agent’s directions sounded super easy – just two well-marked highways to the A6 and off to Lyon.  BUT, we found that it’s very important to turn the correct way onto the second highway.  After a scenic detour of about 1 ½ hours that had us touring several of the charming suburbs of Paris, we were on the A6 and on our way to Lyon and the apartment at 154 rue Moncey. 

Lovely Lyon!

David dropped Anna and our luggage off at the apartment and was off to buy gas and return the car.  Little did he know his adventure was not over!  Not only is there no signage to direct people trying to return cars, but the street name changed.  After circling the block a number of times, he somehow found the right building/car park, and a kind Security Guard directed him to the return area.  A nice walk back to the apartment, and he was “home.”  At this point he had been up for about 24 hours.

Time to bring up a few boxes of things stored in the basement, have a glass of wine, and collapse.


Lunch with the DelCano group

There are a lot of Brits in Lyon – in fact they are one of the biggest groups of expats here.  We are fortunate to have been adopted by members of the local Del Cano unit, a group of British with ties to the Royal Air Force.  (In case you are wondering - Juan Sebastián Del Cano was the officer in command when Magellan’s crew actually completed circumnavigating the globe.  Magellan had died in the Philippines part way through the voyage.)  The DelCano group is made up of Brits living in Lyon – either as retirees or employed here.  (And, a good many of them are pursuing French Citizenship due to Brexit, but that’s another story.)  Anyway, they have generously welcomed us colonials to their monthly lunches.

Some of the members chatting before the meeting. 
 (In the very rustic room.)

We typically meet for lunch at a restaurant in Vieux Lyon in a small room that is rumored to once have been a Roman cistern.  Very rustic and cosy.  The owner of the restaurant is quite pleasant and was once an exchange student in the US.  He enjoys chatting with Anna in American English about the US and often makes a special effort to be sure Anna totally understands the menu options.  (David says she must remind him of his American exchange “mother.”) 

Our menu:  David had the Terrine of Pâté, Anna had the beet soup (with a dollop of crème fraîche on top), and both enjoyed the Parmentier (Shepherd’s Pie), and crème brulée.

There were sixteen of us for lunch on Thursday – a good turnout for the group and just the right size for our meeting room.  Our speaker, a member of the group, told us about sailing around the Caribbean with his wife on their catamaran.  He has been sailing all his life and comes from a long line of sailors.  He told us that an ancestor was among those who volunteered their boats to defend against the Spaniards when the Spanish Armada was sailing in to attack.  His ancestor was recognized by Elizabeth I as a “Freeman” (a person who is given special rights as an honor), and the title has been passed down to the eldest son through the generations.   So, sailing is definitely in his blood!

Attached are the maps he used to illustrate his voyage:

It was quite the adventure!  He and his wife met some very interesting other sailors in various ports; they are still in contact with one couple that is sailing around the world.  He told us about returning to a safe harbor just in time to miss a major storm.  And, he mentioned the joys of sailing in the Caribbean – for example, starting the day off with a nice dip off the stern and into the water, and sailing along accompanied by dolphins that actually swam between the two hulls of the catamaran.  He and his wife are already planning sailing trips to take as soon as she retires. 

 

It’s easy to see why we are happy to join the Del Cano folks for lunch when we are in Lyon.  Interesting conversations and interesting fellow diners as well as fascinating speakers!