It was below Montfaucon that Count Eudes, in June, 888 or 889, aided by several nobles, including Marc de Doulcon, is said to have inflicted a bloody defeat on the Normans. The Chronicler, Abbon le Courbe, tells how, after the defeat of the Normans before Paris, Eudes, pursuing them across Champagne and the Argonne, caught them up near Montfaucon. After a terrific struggle the Normans were cut to pieces and 19,000 of them were left on the battlefield. In 1081, Godefroy de Bouillon, Duke of Basse-Lorraine, built a castle-fortress there, which, however, he dismantled before leaving for the Crusade in 1096. Another castle was subsequently erected on the same site. In 1349 the Flagellants, who as a penance marched in procession, scourging themselves publicly, passed through Montfaucon under the leadership of Gilles de Rodennack, Lord of Chassepierre. [Illustration: MONTFAUCON VILLAGE IN RUINS, WITH GERMAN OBSERVATION-POST IN FOREGROUND, ON THE RIGHT] During the Hundred Years’ War the district was frequently ravaged by bands of robbers, in consequence of which Charles V. authorised the inhabitants to build a wall round the town. In 1387 the town suffered during the war between the burgesses of Verdun and three neighbouring lords. During the religious wars the town was taken and burned (1552). In 1591, Henri IV. razed the castle, of which not a trace remains. In 1636, Montfaucon was once again ravaged by war, the enemy burning the whole town, one house only being left standing. The Parish Church of St. Laurent caught fire, and a number of the inhabitants who had taken refuge there perished in the flames. [Illustration: MONTFAUCON. OBSERVATION-POST ON ROADSIDE NEAR CHURCH _Overlooking Montfaucon Wood, Cheppy Wood, Hesse Forest, and Clermont Argonne._] On September 9, 1792, Montfaucon was occupied by Prussian troops under Kalkreuth. In 1914, after the battle of the Marne, the Crown Prince had his headquarters there for a few days, before establishing himself at Stenay. The French 40th Infantry Division, during the retreat at the end of September, forced the Bavarians to fall back on the woods of Montfaucon, but the Germans quickly consolidated their positions on the ridge, from which it was impossible to dislodge them. [Illustration: MONTFAUCON. RUINS OF MAIN STREET _The Itinerary follows I.C. 4, on the right to Cierges._] From the end of 1914 to 1918 they continued to improve the defence-works of this naturally strong position, making it the centre of their intermediate positions between the Hindenburg line and the “Kriemhildestellung,” or second line of defence. It also provided them with a splendid observation-post, from which to survey the whole of the surrounding French lines. Another observation-post had been installed in the church, from which the enemy could see Verdun, and this post played a great part during the battle. The village, frequently pounded by the French heavy batteries, was reduced to ruins.