Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Part 24

SECOND DAY

MORNING

=FRESNES FORT--WITRY-LES-REIMS--BERRU--NOGENT L'ABBESSE--BEINE=

(_See complete Itineraries, p. 121, and map on p. 154._)

[Ill.u.s.tration (Map)]

_This Itinerary will lead the tourist through the region of the_ Forts to the north-east of Rheims, which formed the rear of the German lines during the stabilisation period of 1914-1918.

It was this line of forts that, in the German hands, held the French in check after the first Battle of the Marne. Practically the whole of these works were but little damaged by the relatively light bombardments, and have retained traces of the German organisation.

_Leave Rheims by the Avenue de Laon_ (_which begins at_ Les Pomenades, _opposite Mars Gate_), _and the Rue de Neufchatel (second street on the right), Sortie No. IX. of the Michelin Tourist Guide (see coloured plan, pp. 32-33)._

[Ill.u.s.tration: RUINS OF THE CHURCH AT BOURGOGNE]

_Follow in the contrary direction the route described in the preceding Itinerary (p. 134 to p. 159) as far as the crossing in the Bermericourt-Bourgogne road, where stood_ Landau Farm, now entirely in ruins. _At this crossing take G.C. 30 on the right._ German camouflaging is still visible on the right-hand side of the road.

=Bourgogne--Fresnes=

_The village of_ Bourgogne, entirely in ruins, _is soon reached_.

The village is of very ancient origin. Formerly it was protected by a belt of moats, now partly filled in, and by earthen ramparts, almost everywhere levelled. The lines of these moats, planted with rows of elm-trees, are clearly distinguishable. There is a very extensive view from this original site.

A portion of the village was burnt by the Germans who, in 1916, destroyed the belfry of the church with dynamite.

This church (dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul), with its fine Romanesque tower, was remarkable.

The greater part of it dated from the 12th and 13th centuries. It is now in ruins (_photo above_).

_Cross straight through the village._ Numerous German signs _are still to be seen. At the cross-roads just outside the village, follow the railway, then cross it near the destroyed railway station of Fresnes.

The village of_ Fresnes _is reached shortly afterwards._

_Turn to the right at the first crossing met with._ The church _stands about 100 yards away, on the left._

Norman in style, the Church of Fresnes comprises a central nave with aisles and a tower without transept. It dates back to the 12th century, but was several times extensively altered and restored both in the 18th century and in recent times.

A small porch of limestone added to the northern aisle, is reached by a round Norman bay of stone. In the corner of the porch, to the left on entering, is incrusted a fragment of a small funerary monument of the 16th century.

[Ill.u.s.tration: RUINED CHURCH OF WITRY-LES-REIMS]

This church was almost entirely destroyed.

_After turning to the right at the crossing mentioned above, keep straight on._

About 2 kilometres from Fresnes the road from that village to Witry-les-Reims crosses an old Roman causeway, at the side of which, slightly to the south of Hill 118, the Fort of Fresnes was built in 1878. This fort was blown up by the Germans during their retreat in 1918. Its ruins are impressive. In the moats of the fort are German trenches and shelters extending right up to the walls of the fort.

_The village of Witry-les-Reims is next reached._ It suffered severely from the numerous bombardments, which its situation near the first lines rendered inevitable.

=Witry-les-Reims=

_After crossing the railway (l.c.) at the entrance to the village, keep straight on._ The ruined church _is on the left, near the entrance to the village_.

Except for one tower, which dates from the 12th century, the church is modern. The spire was destroyed by the Germans. The belfry, used by the enemy as an observation-post, was struck by French sh.e.l.ls.

Like many of the villages around Rheims, Witry-les-Reims is of Gallo-Roman origin. More than two hundred Gallic sepulchres and cinerary urns have been brought to light. The objects thus discovered, including a large number of vases, now form the _Bourin_ pre-historic collection.

_After visiting the church keep straight on. At the Mairie_, of which only the front remains standing, _turn to the right into the Rue Boucton-Fayreaux. Follow this street to the Place Gambetta (about 200 yards distant), where turn to the left._ The entrance to "Pommern Tunnel," which connected up the German rear and front lines (_photo, p.

163_), is in this square.

The German inscriptions in the tunnel have been taken down, and the entrance blocked up, on account of the roof and walls giving way.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ENTRANCE TO "POMMERN TUNNEL" AT WITRY-LES-REIMS]

_Leaving the Place Gambetta, take the Rheims-Rethel road (N. 51) on the left, then the first street on the right to the_ =Fort of Witry=.

_Just outside the village the road crosses_ the old Roman causeway from Rheims to Treves, _and a little further on pa.s.ses to the left of the_ =Fort of Witry=.

The =Fort of Witry= suffered but little from the bombardments.

_The road climbs the northern slopes of the_ Berru Hill, across numerous German trenches. _At the bottom of a short run-down, opposite the village of Berru, is a crossing of four ways. The road leading to the fort is the one straight ahead._

_On the right, among the_ numerous defences, is a German cemetery containing a monument to the dead, ornamented with somewhat rudimentary carving and bearing an epitaph dedicated to the memory of the German soldiers who fell in the battles around Rheims.

_The road continues up the slopes of Berru Hill, to the right of the way leading to the_ auxiliary battery of the fort of =Vigie de Berru=. _The top of the hill is soon reached_, on which the fort, known as the "Vigie de Berru," stands. This fort was little bombarded, and is practically intact.

=Berru Hill=, on account of its height, its sulphurous and ferruginous waters, flint quarries, and fertile soil, was inhabited in pre-historic times. At the summit, a _campignien_ workshop, and farther down, above the springs which supply the village with water, a neolithic station have been discovered. Thousands of knives, arrow-heads, sc.r.a.pers, saws, and other primitive tools have been unearthed. In the Gallo-Roman times the village must have been fairly important, judging by the vestiges of the ancient buildings discovered at the foot of the hill. It was near Berru that the _Gaulish helmet_, now in the National Museum of St.

Germain, was found. Towards the end of the 16th century (about 1575), during the Leaguers' struggles around Rheims, the village was fortified, to protect it from pillaging by the soldiers. The moats and glacis which surrounded it are still visible to the south, where, covered with trees, they adjoin the gardens. Subterranean places of refuge, the entrance to which is no longer known, formerly existed underneath the village.

_From the fort, the road, winds down the opposite slopes of the hill. At the bottom of the latter, leave on the right the road to the_ =Fort of Nogent l'Abbesse,= _seen on the high ground to the right._

[Ill.u.s.tration: ENTRANCE TO BEINE VILLAGE BY THE ROAD TO NOGENT L'ABBESSE]

=Nogent l'Abbesse--Beine--Berru=

(_See Itinerary, p. 160, and summary of the Military Operations, p 154._)

_The village of_ =Nogent l'Abbesse= _is next reached, at the entrance to which the road divides into three branches. Take the middle one (G.C.

64), which leads to the_ ruined village of =Beine=. _During the run-down to the village, there is a_ fine view of the Champagne Hills in front (Mont Cornillet and Mont Haut).

The village of =Beine= was one of the oldest demesnes belonging to the Abbey of St. Remi-de-Reims. It was made into a _commune_ at the end of the 12th century.

The church of St. Laurent, situated in the centre of the village, was an excellent specimen of the transition style of the 12th century (_photo below_).