Part 2

On the 13th, the left of the 3rd Corps arrived in front of Courcy and Brimont, where the Germans were strongly entrenched. A desperate battle took place, with the result that Courcy was taken before noon. Loivre likewise fell into the hands of the French, but the passage of the Aisne Canal was fiercely disputed. The attack on Brimont failed, in spite of the great valour of the troops, who sustained heavy losses. Meanwhile, the 1st Corps crossed Rheims, with orders to debouch at Betheny. Just outside the town they were met with violent artillery fire, which, however, did not completely check their advance. La Neuvillette, Pierquin Farm and Betheny were occupied, and the 1st Corps linked up on its left with the 3rd Corps, on the outskirts of Soulain Woods. The advance continued during the night, and Modelin Farm was reached by advance-guards. General Deligny took up his headquarters in the suburb of Vesle. The 10th Corps crossed the Vesle, engaged the enemy at St. Leonard and reached the railway.

On the 14th, the fighting greatly increased in violence. The 3rd Corps, in spite of repeated efforts, was unable to advance; on the left it failed to drive the enemy from the St. Marie Farm, while on the right it was held up before Brimont. The 1st Corps was likewise checked; the 1st Division (Gen. Gallet) attempted unsuccessfully to support General Hache in his attack on Brimont. The 10th Corps, although strongly engaged towards the Fort of La Pompelle, made but little progress. Farther away, on the right, the battle extended along the front of the 9th Army.

On the 15th, at 5.30 a.m., the 5th Army resumed a general offensive. Fierce fighting took place at St. Marie Farm, to the left of the 3rd Corps, and also further north, near Hill 100. Despite heavy sacrifices, however, the enemy held their positions; but, on the right, the 36th Infantry Regiment captured the Chateau of Brimont at day-break. General Deligny, less fortunate, was driven out of Soulains Woods, but stood firm at the Champ-de-Courses and Betheny. The 10th Corps continued to advance slowly, and at certain points reached the high-road to Suippes.

On the 16th, the 3rd Corps attacked Brimont again, but failed. At the chateau the situation became more and more critical, by reason of the retreat of the 1st Corps on the previous day. This Corps had again to face a powerful enemy counter-offensive, which, however, failed to drive it from the Modelin Farm and the "Cavaliers de Courcy."

On the 17th, the Germans counter-attacked all along the line. In the afternoon the 3rd Corps, which stood firm at Godat Farm and Loivre, was elsewhere compelled to cross to the west bank of the canal and fall back on Courcy.

After a heroic defence the isolated garrison of Brimont Castle, weakened by heavy losses, surrendered during the night, after having spent all its ammunition. The 1st Corps, the greater part of which had left for the region of Berry-au-Bac, held its positions with its last available units. The 10th Corps extended its front westwards to Betheny, while one of its regiments, the 2nd Infantry, occupied La Pompelle Fort.

On the 18th, the enemy increased their efforts against the front held by the 3rd Corps and the reserve units further west. Loivre, which had so far resisted, fell. The French withdrew to the west of the road to Laon. The situation was considered critical at this point of the front. The 10th Corps, which had been withdrawn from the east of Rheims, in favour of another sector, was stopped on the way and sent for a few days in support of the 3rd Corps.

On the 19th, one of its brigades counter-attacked Courcy Mill. On the other side, the Moroccan Division (Gen. Humbert), which had relieved the 10th Corps, continued to hold La Pompelle Fort.

Gradually the front became fixed. Desperate, indecisive fighting still took place, but finally the front stabilised on the line extending from the foot of the Berru and Nogent-l'Abbesse Hills, along the road from Rheims to Suippes, on the east, and along the western bank of the Aisne Canal on the north.

=The French Offensive of April, 1917=

The French offensive, planned by the then Commander-in-Chief, General Nivelle, and launched in April, between Soissons and Auberive, aimed at piercing the German front and disengaging Rheims.

North-west of Rheims was the 5th Army (Gen. Mazel), of which the 38th Corps (Gen. de Mondesir) held the immediate approaches to the town, followed by the 7th Corps (Gen. de Bazelaire), 32nd Corps (Gen. Passaga) astride the Aisne, and, extending beyond Craonne, the 5th Corps (Gen. de Boissoudy) and the 1st Corps (Gen. Muteau).

East of Rheims the 4th Army (Gen. Anthoine) was engaged only during the second stage of the battle.

At 6 a.m. on the 16th, in drenching rain, the 5th Army attacked all along the front, in conjunction on the left with the 6th Army (Gen. Mangin), which undertook to storm the Chemin-des-Dames. The enemy was expecting the attack, and had concentrated very large forces and powerful artillery. Despite their bravery, the French were unable to break through.

In the Rheims sector, the 32nd Corps advanced three kilometers to the north of the Aisne. The 7th Corps crossed the canal at Loivre and captured Bermericourt in the morning, but was forced to give up part of the conquered ground in the afternoon, in consequence of a powerful German counter-attack. In front of Brimont a brigade of the 38th Corps failed to pierce the enemy's positions.

On the 17th, while the army of General Mazel resisted a violent enemy counter-attack, General Anthoine attacked from the east of Rheims to Auberive with the 8th Corps (Gen. Hely d'Oissel), 17th Corps (Gen. J. B. Dumas), 12th Corps (Gen. Nourrisson). At 4.45 a.m., despite violent squalls of rain and snow, the French infantry rushed forward and carried the first German lines along a front of eleven kilometers. The 34th Division (Gen. de Lobit) carried the Mont Cornillet and Mont Blond hills, which the enemy attempted in vain to recapture.

On April 18 and 19, and May 4 and 5, the fighting was spasmodic and finally ceased. On the whole, the French offensive failed, and Rheims continued to remain under enemy gun-fire.

On the morning of May 27, 1918, the Germans commenced a powerful offensive between Vauxaillon (on the Chemin-des-Dames) and the Fort of Brimont. At the beginning of the attack, the French line passed through Betheny and along the Aisne-Marne Canal. In the evening, after the loss of the Chemin-des-Dames and the Aisne Canal, Rheims was no longer protected on the north-west, except by the St. Thierry Heights, which were soon turned. The Germans crossed the Vesle at several points, principally at Bazoches and Fismes, and advanced as far as Muizon.

On May 29, the French line passed through La Neuvillette, Chalons-sur-Vesle, Muizon and Rosnay. On the 30th, it extended from Perquin Farm to Mery-Premecy, via Champigny. On the 31st, Tinqueux and Vrigny fell.

Further to the south the Germans advanced along the valley of the Ardre towards the Chateau-Thierry--Epernay--Chalons railway, threatening Epernay (_see the Michelin Guide: "The Second Battle of the Marne"_).

However, Rheims still held out. On June 1, the Germans attacked simultaneously, without success, to the south-east of the town (between Pommery Park and La Pompelle Fort), and on the west and south-west (between La Haubette and Ormes), while the French recaptured Vrigny. On three separate occasions--in the evening of the 1st, and on June 9 and 18, the enemy's powerful and costly efforts to recapture this important position broke down. On the 18th, they delivered a fresh general attack from Vrigny to La Pompelle, gaining a footing in the Northern Cemetery of Rheims and in the north-eastern outskirts of Sillery, but everywhere else they were repulsed. On the 23rd and 29th, they rushed Bligny Hill, held by the Italians, only to lose it again shortly afterwards. Once again, Rheims had eluded the enemy's grasp.

=July 15 to August 9, 1918=

At dawn, on July 15, the Germans began a new offensive from Chateau-Thierry to La Main de Massiges. It was Ludendorf's much vaunted "Friedensturm" (peace-battle), and was expected by him to prove irresistible and decisive. Its purpose was to complete the encirclement of Rheims, carry the hills surrounding the town, crush the French 4th Army, and reach Chalons-sur-Marne (_see the Michelin Guide: "Champagne and Argonne"_). However, this time, there was no surprise, and the Allies held out victoriously.

To the west, between Dormans and Rheims, Franco-Italian forces held their ground on the Chatillon-sur-Marne--Cuchery--Marfaux--Bouilly line. To the east, from La Pompelle to the Argonne, the army of General Gouraud, after voluntarily abandoning its first line previous to the enemy's attack, checked and decimated the armies of Von Einem and Von Mudra, on its second or battle-line. On July 16, 17 and 18, the enemy, now exhausted and incapable of resuming their general attack, attempted local attempts only, especially near Beaumont-sur-Vesle, to the north of Prosnes, and in the region of Trigny and Pourcy, to the west, all of which were repulsed. Once more Rheims escaped, and was destined from now on, to be gradually freed from the enemy's grasp. The French counter-offensive began on July 18, on the Aisne (_see the Michelin Guide: "The Second Battle of the Marne"_), extending shortly afterwards to the west of Rheims. On the 22nd, the army of General Berthelot captured St. Euphraise and Bouilly, and on the 23rd reached a point between Vrigny and the Ardre. A number of German counter-attacks on July 24, 25 and 30 and August 1 failed to check its advance. On August 2, Gueux and Thillois were recaptured. On the 4th, the Vesle was reached to the east of Fismes, and the latter occupied, while a small force crossed to the north bank of the river. On the 7th, after fierce fighting, in which the French and Americans advanced foot by foot, the Vesle was crossed to the east of Bazoches and Braine. On the 9th, Fismette was taken.

=September 26 to November 11, 1918=

The disengaging of Rheims, which had begun slowly, was now rapidly accomplished. Two French offensives completely effected it in a few days--that of September 26 (_see the Michelin Guide: "Champagne and Argonne"_), under General Gouraud, and that of September 30, first by General Berthelot and then by General Guillaumat. The first of these offensives, to the east, brought about the fall of the Moronvilliers Heights, after outflanking them; the second, to the west, captured the Saint-Thierry Heights, the French troops crossing the Aisne-Marne Canal from Le Godat to La Neuvillette. This double manoeuvre forced the Germans, whose communications were threatened, to beat a hasty retreat on October 5 along a twenty-seven mile front. An important part of the old German front of 1914, and one of the most fiercely disputed, collapsed suddenly. The formidable forts of Brimont and Nogent-l'Abbesse, which had held Rheims under their guns for four years, fell. This time the deliverance of Rheims was complete and final.

=The Destruction of Rheims=

Being unable to capture Rheims, the Germans reduced it to ruins by bombardment. For four years (September 4, 1914, to October 5, 1918) they rained explosive and incendiary shells on it, almost without intermission.

On September 3, 1914, at about 11 a.m., a German aeroplane dropped bombs on the town. A few of the inhabitants left, as the enemy approached, but the majority remained. A lady-teacher, sixty years of age, Mlle. Fouriaux (afterwards decorated with the Legion d'Honneur), who had charge of Hospital No. 101 (formerly a high-school for girls), transferred the wounded to Epernay and then returned on foot to Rheims.

On September 4, at 9.30 a.m., when the enemy advance-guards were already in the town, and a German officer was making requisitions at the Town Hall, the bombardment began again. From 9.30 to 10.15 a.m., 176 large shells fell into the town, three of which tore open the great gallery of modern paintings in the Museum. Forty-nine civilians were killed and 130 wounded, several of them mortally.

The Germans, hard pressed by the French, evacuated Rheims on September 12. Two days later, at 9 a.m., they bombarded the town. Their fire was especially directed against the headquarters of General Franchet d'Esperey, near the Town Hall. On the following days, firing was resumed at the same hour. On the 17th, the first fires broke out. Many civilians were killed or wounded. The vicinity of the Cathedral, which was believed to be specially aimed at, was among the places that suffered most. To protect the Cathedral, which the Germans had fitted up on the 12th for the reception of their wounded, some seventy to eighty German wounded were accommodated on straw in the nave. The Red Cross flag was displayed on each tower, and notice given to the enemy.

On the 18th, the bombardment began again at 8.15 a.m. In addition to the Sub-Prefecture, which was almost entirely destroyed, as were also many important factories, the Cathedral, in spite of the Red Cross flag, was struck by 8-in. shells, which damaged the outside sculptures of the lower windows of the main transept, smashing the 13th and 14th century stained-glass. Splinters of stone killed a French gendarme and two wounded Germans in the lower part of the south nave.

On the 19th, the bombardment was intensified. The Town Hall, Museum, hospitals (including that of the Girls' High School), the south side of the Cathedral and the Archbishop's Palace were all hit. Towards noon, incendiary shells were rained on the centre of the town.

At about 4 p.m., a shell fired the wooden scaffolding round the north-west tower which had been under repair since 1913. The fire spread quickly to the roof, the molten lead from which set fire to the straw in the nave.

In spite of a rescue party, who risked their lives in getting out the wounded, a dozen of the German wounded perished in the flames. The conflagration spread to the Archbishop's Palace, from which it was impossible to remove the tapestries or the pre-historic Roman and Gothic collections. The Protestant Church, the Offices of the Controller of silk and woollen cloths, and the Colbert barracks along the eastern boulevards were burnt. Everywhere new centres caught fire, and nearly thirty-five acres of buildings were destroyed. On the 20th, the bombardment continued with equal violence, then after a respite of two days began again. Of the Place Royale and the Rue Colbert nothing remained but a heap of ruins.

On November 1 the number of civilians killed by shell fire had increased to 282.

From September 14, 1914, to the beginning of June, 1915, the town never remained more than four days without being shelled. Up to the end of November, 1914, the shells rarely went beyond the Cathedral and the theatre, falling mostly in the suburbs of Ceres and Laon. On November 22, the suburb of Paris was struck, and from that time onwards there was no security for the inhabitants in any quarter of the city.

As it would take too long to recount all the bombardments, only the most terrible ones are here mentioned. On November 26, 1914, the German guns fired all day, one shell alone killing twenty-three patients in the Hospital for Incurables. On the night of February 21 and on February 22, 1915, more than 1,500 shells fell in the town, killing twenty civilians, setting on fire a score of houses and piercing the vaulting of the Cathedral.

On March 8, terrifying fires broke out again. On April 29 and July 20 more than 500 shells, many of them incendiary, were counted. In April, 1916, more than 1,200 projectiles struck the different quarters of the town in one day. On August 13, whilst the town was being bombarded, seven German aeroplanes dropped incendiary bombs, which burnt the Hotel Dieu Hospital. On October 25, the Germans fired more than 600 shells into Rheims and more than 1,000 on the 27th.

On April 1, 1917, more than 2,800 shells fell in the town, and on the 4th, 2,121. According to the Official Communique, on the night of the 5th and on Good Friday, the number of shells was 7,500. Easter-Day was likewise terrible. On April 15, 19 and 24 the town received large numbers of 8-in., 12-in. and 15-in. shells. On May 3 the Town Hall and 108 houses were burnt. On the 4th the fires spread to fifteen neighbouring streets.

From April 8 to the 15th the enemy rained incendiary shells on the town without respite, and completed their work of destruction, in the course of the afternoon of the 21st, by burning the centre of the town. Hardly anybody was left in the latter, except the firemen, who, despite their prodigious activity and valour, were unable to cope with the flames.

Whole streets, often the finest, were burnt down, more than 700 houses being destroyed.

When, on October 5, the Germans retreated, the havoc caused by this continual bombardment was incalculable. Of the town's 14,000 houses, only about sixty were immediately habitable when the people came back.

In addition to the material losses, there were, unfortunately, numerous irreparable artistic and archaeological losses.

=Life in Bombarded Rheims=

Although there were short respites, it may be said that for four years Rheims led the life of a besieged town, under the fire of the German guns and howitzers. The enemy increased the calibre of their shells and varied their modes of bombardment, sometimes firing for a few hours, sometimes all day long at the rate of one shell every three minutes, or again at night. Sometimes 3-in. shells would be used, at others "Jack Johnsons" of 8-in., 12-in. and 15-in. calibre; sometimes all four at the same time. Both explosive and incendiary shells were used, while aeroplane bombs, darts and asphyxiating gas were resorted to occasionally. Public holidays were the occasion of the fiercest bombardments, in the hope of increasing the number of victims. For instance, the shelling was particularly murderous on All Saints' Day of 1914, when the eastern and southern cemeteries (generally crowded on this day) were especially aimed at. Easter Monday of 1916 and Good Friday of 1917 were similarly favoured.

After each check--at Verdun, in Champagne, on the Somme or wherever it might be--the Germans revenged themselves on Rheims. In this way the Cathedral was fired by incendiary shells after the defeat on the Marne in 1914. The awful fires of February 22 and March 8, 1915, were the German reply to their set-backs in Champagne and Argonne. The Hotel Dieu hospital was burnt down in August, 1916, the day after the Franco-British attack on the Somme. The Town Hall was reduced to ashes on May 3, 1917, after the French offensive on the Champagne hills. For the same reason the bombardments reached their maximum of intensity in April and May, 1918, _i.e._ after the enemy had lost all hope of crushing the Allies and taking Paris.

At the beginning of the siege the population took refuge in the south-western districts, which were not as yet bombarded, but on and after November 22, 1914, when the German shells reached the suburb of Paris, a large number of the inhabitants left the town.

In February, 1915, the exodus began again, but at the end of May in that year there were still some 26,000 people in the town. In February, 1917, after twenty-eight months of bombardment, there remained 17,100 people, or 100,000 fewer than in 1914. At the beginning of April in that year, the mayor and later the sub-prefect, requested all those who were not prevented by their duties to leave the town.

This invitation not having the desired effect, the military authorities, in view of the increased intensity of the bombardment and the imminence of the French offensive, announced that they could not guarantee food supplies for the town, and decided that the civil population must leave not later than April 10. The evacuation was effected by carts and motor-vehicles to Epernay, where trains awaited the people.

A part of the inhabitants returned to Rheims after the French offensive of April-May, but for a few months only, as, in February, 1918, the coming German offensive compelled the civil population again to leave the town.

During the thirty-one months, during which a considerable portion of the population persisted in staying in Rheims (September, 1914, to April, 1917), life and work went on in the bombarded city, the people adapting themselves courageously to their precarious existence and to the danger. They were supplied with helmets and gas masks, like the soldiers. Shell and bomb-proof shelters were organised, and the cellars, with which the city abounds, became the people's ordinary dwellings. The Town Council, with the exception of a few members who left on the approach of the enemy, remained at the Town Hall until it was destroyed, then installed themselves in a cellar, under the constant chairmanship of the Mayor, Dr. Langlet. The services rendered by the latter during these trying times were such that the French Premier decorated him personally in November, 1914, with the _Croix de la Legion d'Honneur_. The General Post Office had to change its quarters several times; but until the complete evacuation of the town the postmen went their rounds regularly.

The Courts of Justice were set up in the cellars of the Palais-de-Justice.