The Americans in the Great War; v. 3. The Meuse-Argonne Battlefields: (Montfaucon, Romagne, Saint-Menehould)
History
The Americans in the Great War; v. 3. The Meuse-Argonne Battlefields: (Montfaucon, Romagne, Saint-Menehould)
Argonne, Battle of the, France, 1918; France -- Guidebooks
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.
[Illustration: CHAMPIGNEULLE. RUINED MILL NEAR RIVER AGRON, AT END OF
VILLAGE]
[Illustration: CHAMPIGNEULLE VILLAGE AND CHURCH, SEEN FROM I.C. 20,
BEFORE ENTERING THE VILLAGE]
_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.
[Illustration: CHAMPIGNEULLE CHURCH, SOUTH FRONT]
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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account