A VISIT TO PRÊTRE WOOD
A.—From Pont-à-Mousson to the Croix des Carmes, via Montauville, returning to Pont-à-Mousson
The Fighting in Prêtre Wood
Prêtre Wood dominates all the southern part of the Plain of Woëvre (altitude: 1,200 feet).
From October, 1914, to May, 1915, it was the scene of a continual struggle, at the end of which the wood remained in the hands of the French.
It was in September, 1914, that the Germans installed themselves in Prêtre Wood, which they at once fortified with barbed wire, chevaux-de-frise, etc.
On September 30, 1914, the French obtained a footing in the south-western edges of the forest. A month later (October 29) they captured a German post in the south-eastern salient. Their efforts were next concentrated on Père Hilarion Ravine, which they gradually occupied after many fights in the rain and snow of November and December.
Their troops advanced by short rushes as far as the principal line, which had to be taken by a direct attack. First, artillery was brought up by night to prepare the attack. Sappers, by long and patient sapping, blew up the minor defences and penetrated the blockhouses. The adversaries were at times less than a hundred yards apart.
PRÊTRE WOOD. SHELTERS IN CARRIÈRES RAVINE
From January, 1915, the French operations were directed against the western portion, towards Quart-en-Réserve and Croix des Carmes Hill. Four lines of trenches bristling with machine-guns and defences held up the attack. The ground had to be taken bit by bit, and often a counter-attack would win back in the evening the gains of several days’ hard fighting. The first line was carried on January 17, and the second on February 16. At this point aerial torpedoes and hand grenades caused progress to slow down. The third line was captured on March 30. Attacks and counter-attacks followed. Fighting with hand grenades took place in the communicating trenches, behind barrages, and the artillery on both sides covered this narrow strip of ground with projectiles, breaking down the parapets and destroying the communicating trenches. The Germans, who lost heavily, brought up endless reinforcements—in all about sixteen battalions—thus showing the importance which they attached to this position.
CEMETERY IN PRÊTRE WOOD
The final attack was launched on May 12. The French carried the blockhouses and the northern slopes beyond the crest, but the enemy still clung to the eastern and western slopes. However, the wood was won, and the splendid observation-post which the hill afforded was thenceforth in the hands of the French.
In the little cemetery on the hillside hundreds of heroes sleep their last sleep.
The slopes near the road throughout this district are one vast cemetery, while the wood proper hides beneath its soil hundreds of dead entombed by the explosion of mines or the falling-in of trenches.
This wood of tragic memories was called by the Germans “The Wood of Death,” or “The Widows’ Wood.”
Leave Pont-à-Mousson by Avenue Carnot, cross the railway (l.c.), leaving N.57 on the left (which follows the railway towards Nancy) and continue along N.58 to Montauville, 2 km. from Pont-à-Mousson.
This village did not suffer much. On entering, there are several large concrete machine-gun blockhouses on the right.
The nearest dressing station was at Montauville, in the cellar of a ruined house. First aid was given in the trenches or in the little hut near the big oak tree. From Montauville the wounded were taken in motors to Pont-à-Mousson. There was a constant procession of ambulances, stretcher-bearers and hospital attendants on the road.
ENTRANCE TO PRÊTRE WOOD
Motors stop at the fork. The road to the left leads to Fey-en-Haye, Tourists should take the one to the right leading to the Père Hilarion Fountain and the Croix des Carmes.
Beyond a knoll opposite the church of Montauville, take on the right a downhill road which turns sharply and leads to the village cemetery. Here the road forks. Take the road on the left, which first dips and then a little further on rises in the direction of Prêtre Wood. This road is in bad condition, but in dry weather motors can go as far as the entrance to the wood.
FRENCH AND AMERICAN GRAVES ON THE ROAD TO THE PÈRE HILARION FOUNTAIN
About 800 yards from the cemetery the road branches, that on the left going to Fey-en-Haye. Take the road on the right, which soon leads to Prêtre Wood.
On the right, at the roadside, about 1,200 yards from the fork, are two graves: one of an American, the other of a French soldier.
Three hundred yards further on, in a ravine to the right of the road, are the fountain and house of Father Hilarion. All around are numerous trenches, shelters and military works of all kinds.
Père Hilarion fountain remained for some time between the opposing lines. Germans and French alike came there every day to draw water, and by a tacit understanding each side came at the definite hour. During this respite no shot was fired from the trenches.
THE PÈRE HILARION FOUNTAIN AND HOUSE
Follow the road (leaving on the right a steep uphill road, 150 yards from the fountain) which for 800 yards, down a gentle slope, crosses the part of the wood called the “Mouchoir” and “Croix des Carmes” Sector. This formed the first Franco-German lines.
THE HOUSE OF FATHER HILARION IN PRÊTRE WOOD
The sight is a moving one: destroyed trees, the ground torn up by shells, trenches fallen in and battered shelters.
When the road reaches the crest, look back. The sight is more tragic still. In the distance is seen Mousson Crest, which stands out above the trees of Prêtre Wood and, to the right, on a small hill, 100 yards from the road, the site of the famous “Croix des Carmes.”
GERMAN TRENCHES IN “MOUCHOIR” SECTOR, PRÊTRE WOOD, NEAR PÈRE HILARION FOUNTAIN
PRÊTRE WOOD, THE “PELLEMENT” TRENCHES IN “MOUCHOIR” SECTOR
When the position was taken by the French, sappers of the Engineers Corps piously removed the cross from its place and carried it to the cemetery in the valley where the heroes of these battles lie buried. There they erected it, and surrounded it with some of the barbed wire from the late German trenches.
Return to Montauville, then to Pont-à-Mousson by the same road.
PRÊTRE WOOD. “MOUCHOIR” SECTOR Gen. Le Bocq in a Trench, twenty yards from the enemy lines.
Road Through the forest to Montauville
Road to Norroy
Mousson Crest
PRÊTRE WOOD. CROIX DES CARMES SECTOR
Hill 372
Mousson Crest
Père Hilarion Fountain
Site of the Croix des Carmes
PRÊTRE WOOD. BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND GERMAN LINES
Seen from near the Croix des Carmes, on the road to Montauville (in the foreground).
SECOND DAY (continued)
B.—From Pont-à-Mousson to Metz
BARRICADE ON THE ROAD FROM PONT-À-MOUSSON TO NORROY
SECOND DAY (continued)
B.—PONT-À-MOUSSON TO METZ
From Pont-à-Mousson to Norroy and Hill 372
At Pont-à-Mousson, on returning from Montauville, cross the railway (l.c.), take Avenue Carnot, then Rue Victor Hugo to Place Duroc. Turn to the left into Rue St. Laurent, which leads to N. 52 bis.
NORROY AND THE MOSELLE VALLEY, SEEN FROM HILL 372 TO THE S. W. OF NORROY, ON THE NORROY-FEY ROAD
Follow the latter 3 km. to a narrow road on the left leading to Norroy. Cross the village to the Place de l’Eglise. Leave the church on the right and keep along the road which rises sharply towards the crest of Hill 372. The entrance to Prêtre Wood, on the German side, is here.
On this crest several fortified quarries served as shelters for the guns. In the wood are a number of concrete shelters, trenches and observation-posts, one of which, cupola-shaped, is well worth a visit.
Return to Norroy, then, in front of the church, take on the left the road towards Villers-sous-Prény, which winds round Hill 372.
GERMAN OBSERVATION-POST ON THE TOP OF HILL 372. ENTRANCE TO PRÊTRE WOOD (coming from Norroy)
On leaving Norroy, the road rises sharply, then zigzags down the side of Hill 372. One kilometre from Norroy, and 100 yards to the left of the road, is a veritable village of concrete and stone, built in a quarry by the Germans, with shelters in the rock more than thirty feet deep. It served as a Post of Commandment, and was fitted with a telephone exchange which directed the artillery-fire in the Prêtre Wood sector.
The road continues to descend to Villers-sous-Prény (2 km.). There is a German cemetery on the left, before entering the village, many houses of which are in ruins.
At Villers take I. C. 13 on the right to Vandières (3 km.), where N. 52 bis is joined. Take same on the left to Metz.
This road, which runs alongside the Moselle, is picturesque, but in bad condition, especially between Arnaville and Metz. (N. 57 from Pont-à-Mousson to Metz, on the right bank of the Moselle, is in much better condition, but less picturesque.)
The road passes through Pagny-sur-Moselle (see p. [109]).
The valley of the Moselle becomes prettier and prettier; varied scenery, picturesque landscapes and villages nestling in the sides of the hills. The road turns to the left and crosses the Rupt-de-Mad stream at Arnaville—the last village on the frontier since 1870, and the boundary of the old “département” of the Meuse.
It next passes through Novéant, where for a long time the German customhouse was installed. The village contains a château; in the church there is a carved ivory figure of Christ.
GERMAN POST OF COMMANDMENT BELOW HILL 372
(1 km. from Norroy on the left of Norroy-Villers road.)
After passing through Dornot and Ancy, the tourist soon reaches Ars-sur-Moselle.
The name “Ars” (Arches) is derived from the arcades of the Roman aqueduct, the imposing remains of which are still to be seen. Known locally as the “Devil’s Bridge,” it extended as far as the village of Jouy on the right bank of the Moselle, and served to bring water to the baths and swimming-pool of the amphitheatre of the ancient Divodurum (Metz). It was 3,240 feet long, and 50 feet high. The church, burned down in 1807, was rebuilt in 1816 on the site of an ancient Roman fortress. Ars contains important ironworks and a paper factory.
Moulins and Longville are next passed, after which Metz is entered by France Gate. Take the Rue de Paris, Ponts des Morts, Rue du Pont des Morts, Pont Moyen, Rue St. Marie, Rue du Faisan, Place de Chambre, then Rue d’Estrées on the right, to Place d’Armes, in which stands the Cathedral.
METZ SEEN FROM THE FORT OF ST. QUENTIN
METZ
ORIGIN AND CHIEF HISTORICAL FACTS
The origin of Metz dates back to the Celtic epoch, when it was the capital of the Mediomatrici. The Romans fortified it, to defend the frontiers of the empire against the barbarians. Metz then became the centre of six great Roman roads leading to distant provinces: two from Metz to Rheims, two from Metz to Trèves (one on the right, the other on the left bank of the Moselle), one from Metz to Strasburg, and one from Metz to Mainz.
A very rich and populous town, it was embellished by numerous Roman buildings, of which excavations have laid bare important remains: an amphitheatre, near Porte Mazelle, and above all Gorze Aqueduct (4th century), more than thirteen miles in length, which brought water from Gorze to Metz. Some fine remains of the aqueduct may still be seen at Jouy-aux-Arches.
The Roman Emperors who visited Metz stayed at the Governors’ Palace, which stood in Place St. Croix.
Metz was taken and laid waste by the Huns in 451.
Half a century later it was rebuilt and, on the death of Clovis (511), became the capital of Austrasia and the cradle of the Carolingian dynasty. Louis-le-Débonnaire was buried in the Abbey of St. Arnoul. The Treaty of Verdun (843) gave it to Lothaire, who made it the capital of his kingdom Lotharingia (afterwards Lorraine). Thirty years later the Treaty of Mersen (870) handed it over to Louis the Germanic.
It was governed, in the name of the emperor, first by the counts and later by the bishops. In 1220, on the death of Count Thiébaut, the town became a sort of republic under the title of “Free Imperial Town,” and was governed by the sheriffs until 1552.
Under Henri II. the French, led by Montmorency, occupied the town, after a treaty concluded with Maurice of Saxony. The Duke of Guise, appointed Governor, energetically defended Metz, besieged by Emperor Charles-Quint (October 19, 1552). On January 1, 1553, Charles-Quint raised the siege, after having lost 30,000 men. For a long time the kings of France bore the title of “Protector.” Henri III. was the first to call himself “Sovereign Ruler.” The Parliament of Metz, created in 1633, completed the ruin of its municipal independence, and the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) definitely incorporated it with France. It was the capital of the “Three Bishoprics” formed by the union of Metz, Toul and Verdun.
Until the Revolution (1789) Metz, while escaping the horrors of war, constantly felt its effects. Troops were continually passing through it, and its barracks became a mustering-ground. Turenne, Villars, the Marquis de Créquy, and Marshal de Villeroy camped within its walls, and it was at Metz that in August, 1744, Louis XV. was taken seriously ill, on which occasion the whole of France prayed and fasted for their “well-beloved” King.
In 1790, Metz became the chief town of the new “Département” of Moselle. Two sieges, in 1814 and 1815, were victoriously resisted.
1870 was a black year in the annals of the town—till then known as “Virgin Metz.”[A] The battles of Borny (August 14), Rézonville (August 15), St. Privat (August 18), forced Marshal Bazaine to retire under the walls of the town. He resisted feebly, contenting himself with awaiting events, and did not even attempt to cut his way through, which would have saved the honour of the armies under his command. On October 28 he signed the capitulation, and on the following day surrendered with 173,000 men, 60 generals, 6,000 officers, 58 standards, 622 field-guns, 876 siege-guns, 72 machine-guns, 260,000 rifles and huge quantities of stores and munitions. Six months later (May 10, 1871), by the Treaty of Frankfort, Metz and part of the “département” of Moselle were ceded to Germany. Metz thus became the capital of German Lorraine.
[A] Its coat of arms consists of an escutcheon argent and sable surmounted by a maiden crowned by towers and holding a palm in her left hand. It was, in fact, the proudest claim of Metz, until 1870, that it had never been taken since it had become a fortified city. In 1815 the armies of the “Holy Alliance” were refused permission to march through, when they evacuated French territory, and were obliged to cross the Moselle over a bridge which the people of Metz erected at the very foot of the ramparts, just outside the town.
It was from Metz that La Fayette set out in 1775 on his immortal expedition to help America win her freedom and independence. In grateful remembrance of that glorious event the “Knights of Columbus” recently decided to erect a statue of La Fayette in Metz (to be inaugurated in 1920).
GENERAL POST OFFICE AND RAILWAY STATION