Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Part 25

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

_A road leading to Sillery leaves Beine in a south-westerly direction, but owing to its bad condition it is impossible to use it for returning to Rheims._ The trenches and sh.e.l.l holes have barely been filled in, and the temporary bridges over the wider trenches would probably break down under a fairly heavy car. On the other hand, the huge craters made by the Germans in the course of their retreat, have only been summarily repaired and are not practicable for motor-cars. _Tourists should therefore return to Nogent l'Abbesse by the road they came by._

[Ill.u.s.tration: BERRU CHURCH]

_Enter the village by the main street, which follow as far as_ the church, whose belfry has been destroyed.

_After the church, take the first street on the right, then the second road on the left (G.C. 64), which leads to_ =Berru=. _In front of the village, turn to the left and cross straight through._ The 12th century Church of St. Martin, which suffered only slightly from the bombardments, _is in the middle of the village, on the left (photo above)_.

_On leaving Berru, the tourist comes again to the crossing mentioned on p. 163. Turn to the right and return to Witry-les-Reims by the road previously followed._

_At Witry-les-Reims, take N. 51 on the left, pa.s.sing by the_ ruined works of Linguet (_photo below_).

_Rheims is reached by the Faubourg Ceres. Keep straight on to the Place Royale, via the Rue du Faubourg Ceres and the Rue Ceres._

[Ill.u.s.tration: RUINS OF THE LINGUET WORKS]

SECOND DAY

AFTERNOON

=LA POMPELLE FORT-SILLERY=

(_See complete Itinerary, p. 121._)

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

_This Itinerary will take the tourist through two regions of entirely different characters._

_The first part is devoted to visiting the battlefield south-east of Rheims_, which was the scene of much desperate fighting throughout the war, but especially in 1918. This region formed the pivot of the French right wing, and remained firm despite the repeated powerful attacks of the enemy.

_The second part of the Itinerary leaves the battlefield proper, and conducts the tourist across_ the most reputed vine-growing centres of Champagne (Verzenay, Mailly-Champagne and Ludes), through lovely, picturesque country, which, although it has somewhat suffered from the bombardments, has nevertheless retained its pre-war aspect.

_Leave Rheims by the Avenue de Chalons, continued by N. 44 (see the plan of Rheims between pp. 32 and 33, F. 6 and H. 7)._

The Avenue de Chalons was well within the first-line defences.

Two communicating trenches run along the footpaths on either side of the Avenue.

_Skirt_ Pommery Park, _on the left_, completely ravaged by the bombardment and the network of trenches which cross it.

_As soon as the last houses of the town have been left behind, the tourist finds himself_ in the midst of the battlefield.

The sector, known as "=La b.u.t.te-de-Tir=," situated on the left, below Cernay and beyond the railway, was the scene of furious fighting throughout the German occupation of 1914 to 1918 (_photo below_).

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE "b.u.t.tE-DE-TIR" SECTOR _Listening-post in front of Cernay village._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: COMMUNICATING TRENCH AT JOUISSANCE FARM (1915)]

_The road crosses the Chalons Railway (l.c.), and goes thence direct to the_ =Fort of La Pompelle=, pa.s.sing through an inextricable network of trenches and barbed wire entanglements. The country hereabouts was completely ravaged by the terrific bombardments, and recalls the devastated regions around Verdun, near Vaux and Douaumont (_see the Michelin Ill.u.s.trated Guide: Verdun, and the Battles for its Possession_).

=La Jouissance Farm= is next pa.s.sed. Nothing remains either of it or of the road, _which started from this point towards Cernay, on the left_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LA POMPELLE FORT (1918)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE MOATS OF LA POMPELLE FORT (1918)]

The =Fort of La Pompelle=, _which is next reached_, is now a mere heap of ruins. The road which led to the fort no longer exists. _To visit the ruins of the fort, tourists will have to follow on foot the narrow-gauge railway which starts from the road (photo above)_.

Tradition has it that St. Timothy came from Asia to convert Rheims, suffered martyrdom, together with St. Apollinaris and several companions, on the hill known as _La Pompelle_, so-called perhaps from the procession (_pompa_ or _pompella_) which, in the Middle Ages, used to visit the place of martyrdom of the saints.

This hill, which rises close to the crossing of the Rheims-St.-Hilaire-le-Grand and Rheims-Chalons Roads, was fortified after 1870, to flank the position of Berru on the south.

The road from Rheims to Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand (_G.C. 7_), which used to start from the "Alger Inn," at the cross-roads mentioned above, no longer exists. Like the inn, it was obliterated by the sh.e.l.ling. A huge crater now occupies the site of the Alger Inn (_photo below_).

[Ill.u.s.tration: CRATER, WHERE USED TO STAND THE "ALGER INN"]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE IMMEDIATE VICINITY OF WHAT WAS THE "ALGER INN"

(1918)]

_Continue along N. 44. About 1 kilometre from the fort, at a bend in the road_, the shattered remnants of trees of an avenue are visible on the left. Under the first fir-tree of this avenue, about 20 yards from the national road, is an armoured machine-gun shelter, almost intact.

_Cross the railway (l.c.) near the entirely destroyed station of Pet.i.t-Sillery. After pa.s.sing a ruined chateau on the left, cross the bridge over the Vesle. At the fork beyond the bridge, leave N. 44 and take G.C. 8 on the right to_ =Sillery=.

This village, renowned for its dry wine, is pleasantly situated on the banks of the Vesle. Throughout the war, it was quite close to the trenches and was frequently bombarded. In May, 1916, only some fifty of its inhabitants remained in the village, which subsequently suffered very severely, especially in 1918.

_Take a turn in the village, then follow N. 44 towards Chalons (see Itinerary, p. 166)._

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE "PLACE DE LA MAIRIE" AT SILLERY (1918)]

The region of =Sillery-Pompelle= was the scene of much fierce fighting throughout the war. After the capture of =La Pompelle= and the "=Alger Inn=" by the French 10th Corps on the night of September 17-18, 1914, the Germans increased the number of their attacks, with a view to regaining these important positions.

One of these attacks (that of December 30, 1914) was preceded by the explosion of a mine at the "Alger Inn," which made a hole 130 feet in diameter by 55 feet deep (_see photo, p. 169_). After a hand-to-hand fight, the French drove back the enemy and remained masters of the crater.

In 1918, during their offensives against Rheims, the Germans attacked several times in this region. On June 1, between =Pommery Park= (in the south-eastern outskirts of Rheims) and the north-east of Sillery, they attacked with eight or nine battalions and fifteen tanks. The garrison of Fort Pompelle, momentarily encircled, held out until a furious counter-attack by the French Colonial Infantry relieved it and drove back the a.s.sailants. The German tanks were either captured or destroyed.

On the 18th, after an hour's intense bombardment, the Germans made a fresh attack and secured a footing in the Northern Cemetery of Rheims and in the north-eastern outskirts of Sillery, but French counter-attacks drove them out almost immediately. From July 15 to 17 their attacks on Sillery were likewise repulsed.

_Continue along N. 44 to the_ destroyed Esperance Farm _(about 2 kilometres distant), then turn to the right_. Numerous military works were made by the French in the embankments of the Aisne-Marne ca.n.a.l along the left side of the road.

_The road rises towards the "Mountain of Rheims."_ A white tower, dominating the whole plain, _is seen on the left (photo below)_.

=Verzenay= _is next reached by the Rue de Sillery._

[Ill.u.s.tration: VERZENAY, SEEN FROM THE VERZENAY--MAILLY--CHAMPAGNE ROAD]