I am updating this older post for you and me, It is an essential part of the history of France, and to know it, understand it, will help you know more of the French psyche, This is my hommage to all these wonderful fallen heroes of France and abroad. I know the area very well sometimes I think too well. This is my family wife’s side area ,and family still in the area , one brother and three sisters! Did I say know it well. I like to tell you a bit about this part of France, the Seine et Marne dept 77 and the area around the historic city of Meaux (see posts), Of course, this will be in my black and white series, no pictures, Therefore, here is my take on the Seine et Marne 77 memorials to the Fallen !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The city of Meaux is at less than 50 km from Paris by car, the easiest me think is to get from Paris the autoroute A4 direction Metz-Nancy. After get off the A4 at the Meaux exit on road autoroute A140 direction Nanteuil-Meaux , and later to Meaux Centre. It is done in less than one hour. This is also near Disneyland Paris and a very inexpensive option when visiting the park. You can stay in more affordable hotels in Meaux… just saying…Or by car is only 25 minutes ! However, the main thing here other than the Cathedral and Bossuet Museum (see posts) ,there are the cemeteries and memorials to the fallen of WWI or Great War.
My first encounter was the the Monument Americain de Meaux , (this American Monument on American soil ! ) is next to the Great War museum, (see post) ,it is on the Route de Vareddes just outside of Meaux. “Here are still heard the silent voices of the heroic sons of France. They braved everything, given everything in the long days full of pitfalls, while waiting for death. They stopped the tide of an imminent disaster and their supreme devotion made the world tremble”. As told by Maréchal Joffre. This gigantic monument is 26 meters high . In the United States, the victory of the Marne enthused the many supporters of France. However, it took 14 years before the project could succeed and it was not until September 1932 that the American Monument was inaugurated. The sculptor Frederick Mac Monnies symbolized the 1914 drama in a form reminiscent of the purest creations of antiquity. France, a central figure, seems at the same time a Spartan mother, ready for the sacrifice of her sons for the safety of her country, and a painful and upset mother. She stands heroically, bleeding heart. Her face is only a long cry of anguish, a heartbreaking cry, launched over the panic of armies, the cry of alarm of a nation that must gather all its energies. That’s why the monument was given the title of “Weeping Freedom” .I past by it many times too as well as stop by on my way to my family visits.
The local Meaux-Marne-Ourcq tourist office on the American monument: https://www.meaux-marne-ourcq.com/en/discover/must-see-places/great-war-museum/4673215_monument-americain/
The National Necropolis in the village of Chambry (where my mother in law lives and a bus from Meaux takes you here if not by car) created in 1920, it is place at the same spot where the individual tombs were carved along the Meaux countryside after the first Battle of the Marne in WWI. Nearly 990 soldiers killed in 1914 are grouped here. 940 of them are still unknown. They have been grouped into 4 ossuaries. The 341 individual graves are half those of the French soldiers killed between June and July 1918 during the second battle of the Marne in the north of the Seine et Marne (dept 77). The majority of the men buried in ossuaries are soldiers and officers of the infantry troops, Zouaves regiments as well as regiments of Moroccan and Algerian riflemen engaged in the first battle of the Marne. The metropolitan (hexagone) soldiers who took part in the Battle of the Marne, like the men of the regiment of Charles Peguy, the 276th Infantry Regiment, are, for many of them, from the region.
The local Meaux Marne Ourcq tourist office on the National Necroplis of Chambry: https://www.meaux-marne-ourcq.com/decouvrir/4673696_necropole-nationale/
The Monument Notre Dame de la Marne at Barcy (you will need a car for this one) After the 1st Battle of the Marne, Monseigneur Marbeau, Bishop of Meaux, made a wish that the town of Meaux be spared and decided to build a memorial at the very place where the German advance was stopped. This monument, religious and patriotic, was inaugurated in 1924 and the site was the subject of many pilgrimages to celebrate the “Miracle of the Marne”. The building is in granite and cast iron and represents the Virgin Mary with the inscription “You will not go further”.
The local Meaux Marne Ourq tourist office on the Notre Dame de la Marne: https://www.meaux-marne-ourcq.com/en/discover/in-the-footsteps-of-the-wwi-french-soldiers/places-of-remembrance/4672718_notre-dame-de-la-marne-monument/
The Monument aux morts or monument to the Fallen (this one you can walk in Meaux at Place Doumer) This column wearing a winged victory initially pays homage to the children of the city of Meaux fallen during this conflict. At its base, a lion watches, eyes fixed on the east and the blue line of the Vosges. It recalls the work of the sculptor Bartholdi,(statue of liberty fame and others) as well as the resistance of Belfort under the command of Colonel Denfert-Rochereau vis-a-vis the Prussian armies. After the Great War (WWI) , the monument is enlarged. On the other faces of the pedestal are the dead of the wars of the 19C. In 1923-1924, Meaux built the wall surrounding his monument, with the Adrian helmet on the pillars of the grid.
The local Meaux Marne Ourcq tourist office on the monument to the fallen: https://www.meaux-marne-ourcq.com/en/discover/in-the-footsteps-of-the-wwi-french-soldiers/places-of-remembrance/4676066_war-memorial/
A bit away on the road D129 in the town of Villeroy (birthplace of my dear late wife Martine’s mother
Yvette) Here you find the Mémorial de Charles Peguy. The story goes that around 16h30 in an oppressive heat, the 276th Infantry Regiment to which he belongs rushes towards the hill of Monthyon, to cover the retreat of Moroccan skirmishers struggling with the Germans. Discovered, in a field not offering the least shelter, the men felled one after the other under the fire of German machine guns. This stele pays tribute to this monument of French literature, fallen on the field of honor in the first moments of the battle. At the base of the cross, a few verses recall the work of this great author and his patriotic feelings. I cite them here in my best translation: “Blessed are those who died for the carnal earth, but as long as it was in a fair war. Happy are those who died for four corners of earth. Happy are those who died of a solemn death. Happy are those who died in the great battles, lying on the ground in the face of God. Happy are those who died for their hearth and their fire, and the poor honors of the paternal houses. Happy are those who died because they returned in the first clay and the first earth. Happy are those who died in a just war. Happy are the ears of corn and the harvested wheats”. Charles Péguy – Eve (1913) – Extracts.
The Seine et Marne dept 77 tourist office on the Charles Péguy memorial : https://www.seineetmarnevivreengrand.fr/explorer/memorial-de-charles-peguy-4699190/
The Communal Cemetery of Chambry. They dig loopholes in its thick walls to try to repel, in vain, the counter-attack of the French army. Early in the morning, the French officers send the Moroccans to attack Chambry. At 10h the Moroccans attack the cemetery, where the Germans retreat. The reports mention that the Moroccans seize the cemetery in the afternoon, but that, crushed under the fire of German guns, they must withdraw almost immediately … On September 7, it is the Zouaves who permanently remove the village from German hands around 16h, but they also pay a very heavy price in this attack. The German loopholes, witnesses of the very violent fighting of September 1914, are still very visible nowadays.
The local Meaux Marne Ourcq tourist office on the communal cemetery of Chambry ; https://www.meaux-marne-ourcq.com/en/discover/in-the-footsteps-of-the-wwi-french-soldiers/places-of-remembrance/4673717_communal-cemetery-chambry/
The German military cemetery of Chambry .Inaugurated in 1924, this cemetery gathers nearly 1030 bodies in a perimeter however small. It is that 998 of these soldiers (985 of whom are still not identified) are buried in a mass grave. In addition, under each of the crosses that mark this cemetery, lie between two and four German soldiers. Indeed, military cemeteries are national territories. It was therefore, in the aftermath of the Great War ‘(WWI) , not to give too much space to the Germans.
The local Meaux Marne Ourcq tourist office on the German cemetery: https://www.meaux-marne-ourcq.com/en/discover/in-the-footsteps-of-the-wwi-french-soldiers/places-of-remembrance/4673650_german-military-cemetery/
The Great Tomb of Chauconin-Neufmontiers. (the town where wife’s sister lives today but same bus as Chambry stops here) It is on the plain between Chauconin Neufmontiers and Villeroy that the lieutenant Charles Péguy rushes at the head of his men in order to rescue their Moroccan comrades struggling with the Germans not far away. The fighting is violent and many men are killed. Many of them are now buried in the “Great Tomb”, not far from where they fell. After the war, the bodies are not repatriated to military cemeteries. The Great Tomb is thus one of the last collective graves in France, in which soldiers and officers are buried.
The local Meaux Marne Ourcq tourist office on the Great Tomb: https://www.meaux-marne-ourcq.com/en/discover/in-the-footsteps-of-the-wwi-french-soldiers/places-of-remembrance/4673650_german-military-cemetery/
On the road D27 in the town of Iverny (you need car here) you will find the grave of Adolphe Withcomb, a lieutenant at the French General Staff of Mainbray’s brigade, was ordered to carry an urgent message. Galloping on horseback, at the exit of the village, he felled, killed by a shell. The order will arrive much later …
The Seine et Marne dept 77 tourist office on the grave of Adolphe Withcomb : https://www.seineetmarnevivreengrand.fr/explorer/la-tombe-d-adolphe-whitcomb-5328262/
The main city is Meaux, about 25 min from the Gare de l’Est on the line P to train station in Meaux I took this line several times for a period , as was the line my dear late wife Martine took to come to work in Paris 10éme arrondissement. From the center of Paris you can take the train RER A and get off at the station gare de Marne-la-Vallée Chessy (the same for Disneyland Paris) Here take bus 19 that in about 30 minutes will have you at the train station of Meaux, Also, from train station in Meaux take bus 69E to Val d’Europe shopping center near Disneyland, From the train station of Meaux you can take further bus 6 or 10 to the museum of the Great War WWI museum/ .For the anecdote, the first time I came to see my later wife and family told me to take the bus from Roissy CDG airport so from the RER B at Roissypole I took bus 20 to the train station in Meaux where she picked me up! That was back in Sept. 1990. Memories forever !!!
The official transilien line P : https://www.transilien.com/lignes/rer-trains/ligne-P
The official IDF France mobilité on bus 19 schedule: https://me-deplacer.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/fiches-horaires/bus/line%3AIDFM%3AC00914?date=2024-02-06T16%3A00&direction=1
The official IDF France mobilité on bus 20 schedule : https://me-deplacer.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/fiches-horaires/bus/line%3AIDFM%3AC00661?direction=-1&line&transporter
And more, in this terrible war ,1.4 million French military personnel lost their lives in the Great War. Their condecoration are understood to be under the words , “Deaths for France” identified by the French Ministry of the Armed Forces. Created in 1915, this reference is attributed to soldiers killed in combat or died as a result of their injuries. Soldiers who are reformed, shot, died of illnesses or victims of accidents are excluded. On September 25, 1915, with a double offensive in Artois and Champagne, was the
deadliest day of the war for the French Army, with more than 25 000 deaths. More than a quarter of the soldiers killed are before their 23 years. The Battle of Verdun, which began on February 21, 1916, The
comparison with the Battle of the Somme, which begins on July 1, 1916, is thus revealing. The deadly clash of the Chemin des Dames or Ladies ‘ Way, which was to be the last major offensive of
the war, marks the year 1917 until the end of October. The War of Motion resumed in 1918, with several German offensives in Picardy, and Champagne. The Germans wanted to win the victory fast before the
Americans, who had just entered the war. The death of these young men has profoundly marked the French society, reversing the order of generations and disturbing the birth rate. More than a million births
were never caught up, so that in 1939 France became the oldest country in the world, notes François Heran of the National Institute for Population Studies (INED) in an April 2014 publication. Me in Fr : Je remercie tous ces hommes et ces femmes et leurs pays respectifs pour leurs efforts et leur sacrifice
dans cette grande guerre au nom de ma famille, et le peuple français. Me in Eng, I thank all these respective men and women for their efforts and their sacrifice in this Great War on behalf of my family,
and the French people. Me in Esp, Agradezco a todos estos respectivos hombres y mujeres por sus esfuerzos y su sacrificio en esta gran guerra en nombre de mi familia y el pueblo francés. Me in Port,
Agradeço a todos esses respectivos homens e mulheres por seus esforços e seu sacrifício nesta grande guerra em nome da minha família e do povo francês.
The roads of memory on WWI: https://www.cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/en/la-premiere-guerre-mondiale-1914-1918
There you go folks , a detail of the memorable places of the today peaceful Marne thanks to some great men of the First World War or Great War around the countryside of the city of Meaux. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Seine et Marne 77 memorials to the fallen as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 