Continue along N. 44. About 1 kilometre from the fort, at a bend in the road, the shattered remnants of trees of an avenue are visible on the left. Under the first fir-tree of this avenue, about 20 yards from the national road, is an armoured machine-gun shelter, almost intact.
Cross the railway (l.c.) near the entirely destroyed station of Petit-Sillery. After passing a ruined château on the left, cross the bridge over the Vesle. At the fork beyond the bridge, leave N. 44 and take G.C. 8 on the right to Sillery.
This village, renowned for its dry wine, is pleasantly situated on the banks of the Vesle. Throughout the war, it was quite close to the trenches and was frequently bombarded. In May, 1916, only some fifty of its inhabitants remained in the village, which subsequently suffered very severely, especially in 1918.
Take a turn in the village, then follow N. 44 towards Châlons (see Itinerary, p. [166]).
THE "PLACE DE LA MAIRIE" AT SILLERY (1918)
The region of Sillery-Pompelle was the scene of much fierce fighting throughout the war. After the capture of La Pompelle and the "Alger Inn" by the French 10th Corps on the night of September 17-18, 1914, the Germans increased the number of their attacks, with a view to regaining these important positions.
One of these attacks (that of December 30, 1914) was preceded by the explosion of a mine at the "Alger Inn," which made a hole 130 feet in diameter by 55 feet deep (see photo, p. [169]). After a hand-to-hand fight, the French drove back the enemy and remained masters of the crater.
In 1918, during their offensives against Rheims, the Germans attacked several times in this region. On June 1, between Pommery Park (in the south-eastern outskirts of Rheims) and the north-east of Sillery, they attacked with eight or nine battalions and fifteen tanks. The garrison of Fort Pompelle, momentarily encircled, held out until a furious counter-attack by the French Colonial Infantry relieved it and drove back the assailants. The German tanks were either captured or destroyed. On the 18th, after an hour's intense bombardment, the Germans made a fresh attack and secured a footing in the Northern Cemetery of Rheims and in the north-eastern outskirts of Sillery, but French counter-attacks drove them out almost immediately. From July 15 to 17 their attacks on Sillery were likewise repulsed.