Vitry-le-François dates from the sixteenth century. The town was built in 1545 by order of Francis I. in order to replace Vitry-en-Perthois, burned the year before by Charles V. The ruins of old Vitry were utilised for the construction of the new, which was named after its founder. This complete rebuilding explains the remarkable regularity of the town, plans of which were drawn up by an Italian architect, Marino. Vitry was fortified, but its ramparts were condemned and demolished in the nineteenth century. VITRY-LE-FRANÇOIS IN 1914 At the beginning of the war, Vitry was the seat of the French General Headquarters Staff. On September 5, almost the whole of the population evacuated the town, together with the civil authorities. Out of a population of 8,500, barely 500 to 600 persons remained. In the morning a rearguard action commenced to the north and east of Vitry. About 5 p.m., German shells began to fall in the suburbs, and in the evening Uhlans entered the town by the Châlons Road. In default of the mayor, the curé, M. Nottin, and his curate were at once arrested as hostages, and M. Nottin was directed to find two more. Two patriotic citizens, M. Paillard and M. Bernat, offered themselves for this onerous duty. Together with M. Foureur, the schoolmaster, they took upon their shoulders the charge of maintaining order, ensuring requisitions, the victualling of the inhabitants, and the treatment of the wounded. MM. Nottin, Paillard and Foureur, were amongst the first civilians to be mentioned in dispatches. Up to September 10 the battle raged round Vitry. The allied and enemy shells crossed one another over the town: the German batteries established on the heights to the north replying to the French guns on Mont-Moret. The wounded came crowding in. On the third day, they numbered 2,500, of whom 200 were French. The hospital being full the church was then transformed into one, as well as all the teaching establishments and the savings bank. On the evening of the 10th the evacuation by the Germans began. It took place in an orderly manner. The next evening the French re-entered the town. Apart from the gas works, which suffered from the shelling, and a few burnt houses, the events of September have left few traces at Vitry. A few houses and shops were pillaged, but, thanks to the influence and activity of Abbé Nottin and his companions, the town was spared the horrors which the surrounding villages experienced. VISIT TO THE TOWN (See map p. 218) _Leaving the hotel, follow the Rue de Frignicourt to the Place d'Armes_ in which is the Church of Notre-Dame, shown above. The first stone of this edifice was laid in 1629. The king gave 300,000 livres (about £12,000) towards the cost of construction, and numerous families in the neighbourhood subscribed also. They bought, by means of a heavy burial duty, the right to be buried in the church itself. The subsoil of Notre-Dame became on this account a veritable ossuary.