_Follow this road for about 1 km._, when the top will be reached, from which there is a fine panoramic view of the valley of the Somme, Péronne and Mont-Saint-Quentin _(photo, pp. 110-111)_. _Take on foot the path which starts from there, and leads_ to the ruins of La Maisonnette Château, _about 250 yards from the road_. La Maisonnette The estate of La Maisonnette occupied the summit of a limestone eminence which dominates the battlefield south of the Somme (highest point, 320 feet). [Illustration: THE BATTLEFIELD AT LA MAISONNETTE.] [Illustration: THE VALLEY OF THE SOMME. PÉRONNE AND MONT-ST.-QUENTIN SEEN FROM LA MAISONNETTE.] In 1870, the German batteries shelled Péronne from this hill. In 1916, they were determined to hold it at all costs, knowing by experience that the town would soon be untenable with French artillery posted there. The fighting which took place for the possession of La Maisonnette was of the bloodiest, and made the ruins of the place famous. The estate comprised a modern château and a park, a second residence close by, about a dozen houses in the vicinity, and some fine trees and orchards. All the houses, thickets and woods--including Blaise Wood, to the north--had been strongly fortified. A maze of entrenchments covered the whole park. A second continuous line of trenches ran round the castle. Loop-holes had been made in the ivy-covered walls of the château. At the corners, and at intervals, in the foundations of the castle, machine-guns were posted. The outbuildings of the estate were similarly fortified. The cellars, some 50 feet deep, were turned into armoured shelters, capable of successfully withstanding the most violent bombardments, and connected with one another and with the defence-works of Blaise Wood by a subterranean passage, which enabled the Germans either to fall back unseen towards the canal or approach for counter-attacks. However, this did not prevent a French Colonial Regiment from carrying the whole position in an hour and a half on July 9. The cellars were cleared out with grenades, and the Germans, unable to withstand the impetuous charge of the "Marsouins," surrendered in large numbers. The fiercest fighting took place at Blaise Wood, the defence works of which connected La Maisonnette with Biaches. At this point a German detachment in serried ranks raised their rifles in sign of surrender. As the French advanced to disarm them, the German ranks opened, a hidden machine-gun fired on the French, killing two officers and about fifty soldiers. The French retired, but the lost ground was won back the same day. On July 15, the Germans counter-attacked furiously, and attempted by means of liquid fire and asphyxiating grenades to slip into La Maisonnette through Blaise Wood. They succeeded in gaining a footing in the northern part of the wood, but were driven out the next day.