Chapter 10

DOMPIERRE. THE SUGAR REFINERY IN 1916.

Pass throughFay, 2 km. 500 farther on.

In the neighbouring sector of Dompierre, mine explosions succeeded one another almost incessantly at Fay, during the trench warfare period, especially in 1915-1916; the official communiqués often mentioned this fighting as being extremely violent.

The French and German trenches ran along the western outskirts of the village and were protected by very powerful defence-works, difficult to approach in the open. Recourse was, therefore, to mines.

The Somme offensive put an end to these sanguinary engagements, which had brought about no great change in the French or German positions. Fay, completely razed, was carried on July 1.

Among the ruins, the road turns at right-angles to the left (leave the Estrées road to the right). 3 km. beyond Fay,Assevillers, built on a hilland entirely destroyed,is reached.

DOMPIERRE. THE SUGAR REFINERY IN 1919.On the left: Road to Faucancourt; On the right: Road to Chuignes.

DOMPIERRE. THE SUGAR REFINERY IN 1919.

On the left: Road to Faucancourt; On the right: Road to Chuignes.

Pass through Assevillers, turning to the right, on entering. On leaving, take the road toBelloy-en-Santerre, on the right.

Before reaching Belloy, the road descends into a hollow (see defence-works and shelters), and skirtsBelloy Wood, the trees of which were cut to pieces by shell-fire. The wood lies on an eminence, from the top of which are seen the ruins of a castle. Fine view towards Biaches.

Debouching from Assevillers (carried on July 3, 1916) and progressing north of Estrées, a number of French units reached the outskirts of Belloy-en-Santerre on July 4; this village was powerfully fortified and formed an important strong-point in the German second line defences.

FAY VILLAGE, AS THE WAR LEFT IT, SEEN FROM THE ASSEVILLERS ROAD(Itinerary).On the left: Road to Estrées; In front: Road from Dompierre.

FAY VILLAGE, AS THE WAR LEFT IT, SEEN FROM THE ASSEVILLERS ROAD(Itinerary).

On the left: Road to Estrées; In front: Road from Dompierre.

That famous regiment, the Foreign Legion, whose flag is decorated with theLegion d'Honneur, and whose innumerable exploits have won for it many mentions in the Orders of the Army, was ordered on July 4, at 6 p.m., to carry the position immediately at the point of the bayonet.

Deployed in battle formation, they charged across a flat meadow 900 yards broad. When 300 yards from their objective, machine-guns hidden in the path from Estrées to Belloy were suddenly unmasked, and a deadly fire mowed down the French ranks. The 9th and 11th Companies sustained particularly heavy losses, all the officers falling. One of these companies reached theobjective under the command of the mess corporal. Belloy was captured and 750 Germans were taken prisoners.

BELLOY-EN-SANTERRE, SEEN FROM THE SITE OF THE CHURCH.In the middle: Road from Assevillers; At the back: Belloy Wood.

BELLOY-EN-SANTERRE, SEEN FROM THE SITE OF THE CHURCH.

In the middle: Road from Assevillers; At the back: Belloy Wood.

The enemy immediately launched counter-attack upon counter-attack. Terrible fighting went on throughout the night. In the early morning, the Germans regained a footing in Belloy, and entered the park of the Castle, where three sections of the Legion were surrounded.

A second-lieutenant received orders to restore the situation with the remnants of a company. Posting his men along the Belloy-Barleux road (G.C. 79), he cut the line of retreat of the Germans, who had entered the park. The latter endeavoured to break through, with a detachment of disarmed prisoners in their midst.

The lieutenant shouted to the prisoners to lie down, then ordered his men to fire on the standing Germans. The latter surrendered, with the exception of a handful who attempted to carry away a wounded French officer. The newly-released prisoners, although unarmed, dashed to the rescue of the commander and brought him back in triumph.

Belloy was almost entirely reconquered, and when in the evening a new counter-attack was launched, their assaulting waves were literally mowed down.

The terrific bombardments which took place before and after the capture of Belloy-en-Santerre entirely annihilated the village.

The road at Belloy passes by a large French cemetery and, a little further on, the ruins of the church.Take a newly-made road leading to the Amiens-St. Quentin road. Turn to the right, towards Estrées (3 km.)and pass(on the right), a British then a large French cemetery.Estréesis next reached.

MILITARY CEMETERY TO THE EAST OF ESTRÉES.

This village was built along the wide road (an old Roman causeway) which runs from Amiens to Vermand, and thence to Saint-Quentin (G.C. 201). This absolutely straight road formed the separation line between the Chaulnes sector and the Somme battlefield properly so-called, where the Franco-British attack began on July 1, 1916, and which extended along both banks of the Somme, as far as the small river Ancre.

Estrées was one of the points where the fighting, begun on July 1, was most violent.

The French, whose first-lines at the time ran east of Foucourt, carried the advance trenches which covered Estrées, along the Amiens—St.-Quentin road, after most desperate fighting, and finally gained a footing in the village.

The photograph opposite shows the condition of the road after its capture by the French; the causeway had disappeared and, on the shell-torn ground there were hardly any traces left of the German trenches which had everywhere fallen in.

ESTRÉES. SITE OF THE CEMETERY IN AUGUST, 1916.

Estrées village had to be captured house by house. On the evening of July 4, after three days' fighting, the Germans held only the eastern part of the village. For the next twenty days, about 200 of them hung on desperately to it, holding back the assailants with machine-guns posted in the cellars, which fired through the narrow vent-holes. To overcome this resistance, which prevented all advance north or south, it was necessary to sacrifice these houses, and for six consecutive hours 9-in., 11-in., and 15-in. shellspounded this small area. Only fifteen survivors were found in the ruined foundations; the rest of the German garrison had been wiped out.

THE AMIENS ST. QUENTIN ROAD IN SATYRES WOOD, WEST OF ESTRÉES (1916).

This terrible struggle utterly destroyed the village. Its site and the surrounding land form a chaotic waste; all traces of the former landmarks have disappeared.

Keep along G.C. 201, towards Amiens.The remains ofSatyres Woodare in a hollow of the road, about 1 km. beyond Estrées.

The remains of this once fine wood extend from this point of the road to the village of Fay, 1,500 yards to the right. From 1914 to 1916 it formed part of the German first-line defence-works, and was covered with entrenchments of all kinds.

On July 1, 1916, the French carried the whole wood, promptly re-organised the defence-works, and used them against their former occupants.

A CORNER OF SATYRES WOOD.

SATYRES WOOD.The German Post of Commandment seen in the photograph below, is under this road.

SATYRES WOOD.

The German Post of Commandment seen in the photograph below, is under this road.

Numerous cottages and shelters hidden by the trees were used as billets by the enemy troops in this sector. The officers occupied a special quarter. A large signboard with the inscription, "Durchgang nur für Offiziere," interdicted its access to the common soldiers. All the shelters were spacious and comfortably furnished with beds, tables, armchairs, hangings, chandeliers, and even pianos—all taken from the neighbouring villages. Some of the cottages were decorated outside, and sometimes bore inscriptions like the following, carved on the door of a post of commandment:—

"Macht Joffre auch ein böses GesichtHier treffen uns seine Granaten nicht."(Joffre may roll his eyes: his shells cannot reach us here.)

"Macht Joffre auch ein böses GesichtHier treffen uns seine Granaten nicht."

(Joffre may roll his eyes: his shells cannot reach us here.)

Tho French soldiers called this wood "Satyres Wood," as they found women's clothing in various places.

SATYRES WOOD. GERMAN POST OF COMMANDMENT UNDER THE ROAD(see above).

DENIÉCOURT WOOD AT SUNSET.

Return to the entrance to Estrées, and take the road on the right toDeniécourt. On entering the village, take on foot the small road on the right tothe ruins of Deniécourt Château, situated in a devastated park.

Deniécourt village lies about 2 km. (by road) east ofSoyécourt. Across the fields, the distance is shorter, and it was covered in a single rush on the day Soyécourt was captured, after which the advance was stayed. The second German line ran through Deniécourt, which was fortified accordingly. The most important defence-works were those around the château, which latter formed the key of the whole position. Deep shelters had been made under the château itself and also in the surrounding park. The whole formed an inextricable maze of trenches, fortified works, machine-gun posts, traps and barbed-wire entanglements, which had to be reduced by shell-fire. The castle was razed to the ground, the defences in the park destroyed and the ground levelled.

On the day of attack, the fighting was none the less desperate in the neighbourhood, and afterwards inside the village. The French advance was several times held by furious counter-attacks, and it was only on September 18 that the whole position could be surrounded and carried, after several days of bitter fighting. Of Deniécourt village, château and park, not a stone or a tree remained.

Return to the car and take the road already followed (G.C. 164) back to the fork (300 yards north of the village), then the road toSoyécourt(G.C. 79),on the left.At the entrance to Soyécourt the ruins of a château—of which only the base of one tower remains—will be seen on the left.

SOYÉCOURT CHURCH IN 1916.

For nearly two years the French first lines ran close to the western outskirts of this village, which lies at the bottom of a ravine. On several occasions the communiqués mentioned sharp fighting around here, which was, however, merely of local importance.

It was only on September 4, 1916, that decisive fighting took place here, when the French, after a long and terrific bombardment, carried the village in a single rush, and progressed beyond it in the direction of Deniécourt.

Leaving Soyécourt, keep along G.C. 79 toVermandovillers(2 km.).

On September 4, 1916, the village was attacked from the east and north. Progress was slow, and marked by fierce fighting from house to house. Vermandovillers was only captured in its entirety on September 17.

At the fork in the village, take the left-hand road (G.C. 143) toChaulnes.

VERMANDOVILLERS.

CHAULNES WOOD. GERMAN BLOCKHOUSE.

Chaulnes Woodis crossed 1 km. this side of Chaulnes. Violent attacks were delivered by the French in the vicinity of this wood. The large number of soldiers' graves along both sides of the road form an impressive sight.

Several hundred yards beyond the fork formed in the road by the junction with G.C. 206 coming from Lihons, turn to the left, and enterChaulnesin front of the ruins of the large eighteenth century church. A few fragments of crumbling walls are all that remain(photos, p.130).

Chaulnes, the chief town of one of the "cantons" in the "Département" of the Somme, was situated at the junction of several railroads. In 1914, the Germans turned the place into a fortress, and made it the chief strong-point of their system of defence-works south of the Somme. Traces of the powerful fortifications—the first lines of which were only carried in 1916—may still be seen along and near G.C. 206, amidst the churned-up ground.

CHAULNES WOOD. FRENCH MILITARY GRAVES.

CHAULNES CHURCH.

The village was flanked on the north and north-west by dense woods, which were entirely destroyed by the bombardments. These woods were full of fortified works, trenches and posts for machine-guns, protected by wire entanglements.

On September 4, 1916, the French reached the outskirts of these woods, but failed in their attempts to carry them entirely. The Germans maintained themselves there till March, 1917, on positions sufficiently strong to allow them to hold Chaulnes, this village being outflanked everywhere else.

Chaulnes was occupied only when the Germans fell back upon the Hindenburg Line. The British having relieved the French troops during the winter of 1916, from the Somme to the Avre, entered the place almost without striking a blow on March 18, 1917.

CHAULNES. GENERAL VIEW OF THE TOWN.

The Germans recaptured Chaulnes in March, 1918. On August 8 of the same year—their front having been pierced before Amiens—they were forcedto evacuate the Montdidier "pocket" and to retreat to the outskirts of Chaulnes. They reoccupied their positions of the trench warfare period, and the remains of their ancient defence-works were still strong enough to enable them to hold up the British pursuit. The town was only carried on August 28, after being surrounded.

CHAULNES. THE CHÂTEAU.

Chaulnes was razed to the ground. The low brick-and-rubble houses which lined the wide straight streets sheltered a population of about 1,250 inhabitants. Very few of them escaped total destruction.

Return along the same road by which Chaulnes was entered and follow it to the junction of G.C. 143 with G.C. 206, at the exit of the town.The ruins of thechâteauare seen on the left, near the fork.

This sumptuous château was built in the seventeenth century by the de Luynes family, for whose benefit Chaulnes was raised to the rank of a duchy-peerage in 1621. Madame de Sévigné stayed there in 1689, and extolled its magnificence and grandeur. It was surrounded by a vast park, which she compared to that of Versailles.

CHAULNES. THE CHÂTEAU PARK.In the foreground: Fragment of the entrance gate between the graves of two German officers.

CHAULNES. THE CHÂTEAU PARK.

In the foreground: Fragment of the entrance gate between the graves of two German officers.

The outbuildings were still standing when the late war broke out; to-day they form a shapeless accumulation ofdébris. The park was entirely cut up with German entrenchments, of which only a few concrete machine-gun posts and underground shelters with concrete entrances remain. The fine old trees of the park were reduced by the shells to mutilated stumps.

Near the entrance-gate of the château is a powerful system of defence-works, consisting of a machine-gun blockhouse and inter-communicating underground shelters, the entrances to which may be seen near the side of the road.

After visiting the château, keep along G.C. 206, towards Lihons.

Skirt the southern end of Chaulnes Wood, near which, on either side of the road, are two powerful concrete blockhouses and other German defence-works.

ENTRANCE TO GERMAN SHELTER AND BLOCKHOUSE IN THE CHÂTEAU PARK.

Lihons(3 km. beyond Chaulnes) is next reached.

Lying at an important junction of several roads, Lihons was already in enemy hands when the front-line trenches were made.

Starting from Rosières-en-Santerre at the end of October, 1914, the French first reached and carried Lihons after a series of fierce engagements, then progressed beyond it, in the direction of Chaulnes (only 3 km. distant). For more than a month the Germans counter-attacked almost daily, in an endeavour to reconquer the lost trenches, but were each time repulsed.

Exasperated by their failure, they then bombarded the town without respite, and when the Allied Offensive of 1916 began this shelling was further intensified.

Lihons, a small country town, the streets of which—bordered with low houses—ran in all directions from a large, central square, was quickly reduced to ruins. The houses fell down one after the other, and the church suffered irreparable damage.

The church was one of considerable interest. The choir, transept and lower part of the tower, built at the intersection of the transept, were finely proportioned and dated from the thirteenth century. The other parts of the building were fifteenth century.

In July, 1916, the church had already lost its tower, roof and vaulting, but the outside walls, the pillars separating the three naves and the three gables of the main façade were still standing. Three months later nothing was left but fragments of broken walls, amidst a shapeless accumulation ofdébris (photos, p.133).

LIHONS CHURCH BEFORE THE WAR.LIHONS CHURCH IN 1916.LIHONS CHURCH IN 1919.On the left: The road to Vermandovillers.

LIHONS CHURCH BEFORE THE WAR.

LIHONS CHURCH IN 1916.

LIHONS CHURCH IN 1919.On the left: The road to Vermandovillers.

LIHONS CHURCH IN 1919.

On the left: The road to Vermandovillers.

Further fighting took place in the ruins of Lihons in 1918. On August 8, British troops, starting from the region of Villers-Bretonneux—Hangard, reached Lihons on the 10th. Preceded by light tanks, armoured cars and cavalry patrols, the Australians immediately entered the village, drove out the enemy and captured a complete Divisional staff. It was in vain that the Germans launched numerous counter-attacks in an endeavour to recapture the village and clear the approaches to Chaulnes, where they attempted to establish their lines of resistance. They could only delay the British advance for a few days.

At Lihons, leave the Vermandovillers road (G.C. 79) on the right and take that on the left. Turn to the right, in the village, leave the church on the right, and take the Vauvillers road (G.C. 206) on the left.

At the fork, about 500 yards beyond Lihons, leave the left-hand road to Rosières, and take that on the right (still G.C. 206).This road skirts a small wood, on the right, in which are many graves and gun-emplacements.The village ofRosières-en-Santerrecomes into view, on the left.

At the crossing of several roads, 3 km. beyond Lihons, take the newly-made road on the right to Herleville.The large French "Camp des Chasseurs" cemetery(photo below) is on the left, about 1 km. this side of the village ofHerleville(completely devastated),which is next reached.

At the entrance to the village, a "calvary" is passed, of which nothing remains but the stumps of four large trees.Keep straight on through the ruined village to the G.C. 201(main road from Amiens to Péronne),1 km. beyond it. Turn to the left and return direct to Amiens viaLamotte-en-SanterreandVillers-Bretonneux, both of which villages were badly damaged during the fighting of 1918.

A short distance before Longueau, G.C. 201 joins N. 35, which take to the right. Amiens is entered by the Chaussée Périgord.

THE CAMP DES CHASSEURS CEMETERY.

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