_The_ BOMBARDMENT _of_ REIMS _By_ BARR FERREE New York Leonard Scott Publication Company 1917 Copyright, 1917, By Barr Ferree. All rights reserved. [Illustration: _From "La Cathédrale de Reims," Libraire Centrale des Beaux-Arts, Paris._ THE WEST FRONT OF THE CATHEDRAL OF REIMS] CONTENTS THE BOMBARDMENT OF REIMS 7 CHRONOLOGY OF THE BOMBARDMENT: 1914 21 1915 33 1916 59 1917 87 POSTSCRIPT 111 THE BUILDINGS OF REIMS 113 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE BUILDINGS OF REIMS 122 ILLUSTRATIONS THE WEST FRONT OF THE CATHEDRAL OF REIMS _Frontispiece_ From "La Cathédrale de Reims," Libraire Centrale des Beaux-Arts, Paris THE FRONT AT REIMS IN MAY, 1917 19 THE WEST PORTALS 64 From "La Cathédrale de Reims," Libraire Centrale des Beaux-Arts, Paris THE CATHEDRAL AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT OF APRIL, 1917: THE APSE AND SOUTH TRANSEPT 96 From "L'Illustration" THE HÔTEL DE VILLE 112 The Bombardment of Reims The bombardment of Reims, and the attendant destruction of its cathedral, is an event that has particularly excited the indignation of the civilized world. The sacrifice has seemed so wanton and so unnecessary that the souls of those who have not known the great church by personal observation have cried out in indignation against the outrage, while to those who have known it, its long continued passion has aroused the feeling of an intense personal loss. No other episode of the Great War has accomplished such complete destruction of so great a work of art. Its blackened walls and broken statues are the most formidable indictment the Germans have yet raised against themselves. As an event in the War it stands unique among countless other inexcusable horrors, and it has, therefore seemed worth while to summarize briefly the dreadful doings at Reims, that the real nature of the hideous tragedy may be made apparent. For an American, remote from the seat of war, to attempt a survey of the bombardment of Reims is a hazardous task. Yet I have ventured to do so because the continued dreadfulness of this great siege, which has lasted more than three years, is quite unknown in this country, and, even in the meagre details here set forth, not fully known in France. The bombardment of Reims has continued from September 3, 1914, without interruption, save for the few days of the German occupation in that month, and some days designated as "calm" in the daily reports. But these "calm" days form part of the history of the siege, since no one could tell at what hour the bombardment might be renewed.