Battlefields -- France -- Guidebooks; France -- Guidebooks; Marne, 1st Battle of the, France, 1914
At last, on September 9, the Germans having begun their retreating
movement, Zouaves, Moroccans, and foot-soldiers hustled their
rearguards and descended in pursuit of them into the hollow of
Varreddes.
[Illustration: GRAVES ON THE CHAMBRY PLATEAU]
_Continuing along the same road the tourist comes to a fork. Here he
turns to the left towards Barcy and soon comes to a group of poplars,
whence the panorama_ B _(below) was taken_.
This +PANORAMA+ shows the objective of the French right during the days
of September 7, 8, and 9. This was the little ridge which runs between
Étrépilly and Varreddes, followed by a road bordered here and there
with poplars. This road was filled with trenches and machine guns which
easily swept the uncovered ground that had to be crossed before they
could be reached.
The supporting artillery was in the middle distance, on the Trocy
Plateau and the sides of the Varreddes hollow.
[Illustration:
Plateau north of Étrépilly
Ridge from Étrépilly to Varreddes
Torcy
Ridge from Étrépilly to Varreddes
Varreddes Road
Heights of Varreddes
B. +PANORAMA OF THE ÉTRÉPILLY-VARREDDES LINE+]
The 55th (Reserve) Division, the 45th Algerian Division, and the
Moroccan Brigade hurled themselves against this redoubtable position
for three days, while the 56th (Reserve) Division attacked Étrépilly
and the plateau which stretches to the north. The line fell on the 9th,
but over the whole surface of this plain (which has been called "the
Calvary of the Reserve Divisions") lay numbers of dead who were buried,
some where they fell, others in common graves. These graves, with their
flags waving in the wind, give a veritable grandeur to this landscape
of gentle undulations.
In the view below, taken in front of one of these common graves on the
plateau, appears the then English premier, Mr. Asquith, who was anxious
to make the Ourcq pilgrimage during one of his visits to Paris. He
is seen standing on the right of the road, near the spot from where
panorama B was taken.
_Arriving at_ =Barcy= (26 km.) the tourist will see the site of the
great commemorative monument which is to be raised by subscription
after the war. _At the cross-roads near the entrance to the village,
take the middle road which goes through Barcy and leads to the church._
It was in the little square, opening out in front of the belfry and the
town-hall, that the second photograph (_reproduced on the following
page_) was taken, showing Mr. Asquith interrogating a little village
girl come to fetch water from the fountain.
[Illustration: MR. ASQUITH VISITING THE BATTLEFIELD]
Behind the fountain stands Colonel Hankey, secretary of the Allies' War
Council; beside him is the French officer who directed and expounded
the visit; Mr. Asquith is in the middle; to the right his son-in-law,
and on the extreme right Mr. O'Brien, Sir Edward Grey's colleague.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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