MONTDIDIER
Valiant City, martyrised by the War. After sustaining the fire of the enemy's guns for more than two years, experienced in turn the joys of deliverance and the horrors of a brutal occupation. An important position, bitterly disputed, it suffered total destruction, paying with its ruins the Victory of the Mother-land.
(Croix de Guerre.)
The town stands at the extremity of the Plateau of Santerre, halfway between Amiens and Compiègne, in the valleys of the Somme and Oise. Rising in tiers, from south to north, on the limestone cliffs, its highest point is occupied by the Palais-de-Justice.
The town probably first grew up around a farm in which, according to tradition, the monks of the Abbey of Corbie kept Didier, King of the Lombards, whose name was given to the town. The first houses sprang up in the fertile valley, whilst a castrum was built on the hill. Owing to its situation on an oft-disputed frontier, Montdidier was destined to have a stirring history. Of the fortifications which Philippe-Auguste caused to be erected there, and which were terminated in 1210, nothing remains but a few fragments of walls covered by the gardens. At various periods the town was besieged, pillaged and burnt.
Under Charles VIII and Louis XII the walls were rebuilt and the city's life began anew, only to be disturbed again by war under François I. After repulsing a band of adventurers in 1522, it was besieged in 1523 by 30,000 English and Germans, led by the Duke of Norfolk and Count de Bure. Although a breach was opened in the city's walls, the burghers refused to capitulate. The place had therefore to be carried by storm, and the enemy burnt it on October 29.
Montdidier.—The St. Médard Quarter.
Montdidier, seen from the Moreuil Road.
After the town had been rebuilt, the Reform quickly gained ground, in spite of persecutions and the burning of Pastor Michel de la Grange.
In 1636, a powerful Spanish army, under the command of Jean de Werth and Piccolomini, captured Roye and summoned Montdidier to surrender. The burghers refused and, almost unsupported, kept the enemy at bay and made a number of successful sorties. A narrow valley on the road to Breteuil has retained the name of "cut-throat", in remembrance of one of these sorties, during which 200 Spaniards were slain. After a siege lasting 34 days, the approach of the Royal Army compelled the Spaniards to retreat, and Louis XIII thanked the burghers in person for their courage and loyalty.
From that time forward the town lived in peace. Louis XIV often stayed there on his way to Flanders.
On March 19, 1814, the Cossacks, coming from Roye, entered the town.
The next day a large detachment of Cossacks and Prussian Hussars, infantry and artillery, under the Russian Baron de Geismar, took possession and exacted heavy requisitions in kind.
The Cossacks bivouacked in the streets, with their horses in full harness, and cooked their food in the open. An attack by the combined garrisons of Amiens and Beauvais on March 24 drove out the Cossacks, but the latter returned on the 27th, with the intention of plundering and burning the town. In response to a petition from the chief citizens, Baron de Geismar consented not to burn the town, but allowed his soldiers to pillage it for one hour. On the 28th, the Cossacks withdrew towards Compiègne, to join the Allies in their march on Paris.
Montdidier, photographed from an aeroplane.
On the left: The Three-Doms Stream, crossed by the road followed by the itinerary (see p. 98);
In the middle: Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville; On the right: Place Faidherbe and the Compiègne road.
Panoramic view to the West and South of Montdidier
seen from the Esplanade du Prieuré.
After Easter, the Prussians held the garrison at Montdidier and in 1815 a Prussian garrison occupied the town for three months.
On October 15, 1870, the Prussians again appeared before Montdidier, held only by a few regular troops and some National Guards.
After a short bombardment, which caused the death of several citizens, the Prussians entered the town.
Chapel built by the soldiers in the ruins of Montdidier.
Saving the town records of Montdidier.
The roads to be followed are shown by thick lines.