THE MEUSE ARGONNE OFFENSIVE, CONTINUED

Hotel St. Paul

Verdun, France

August 21, 2015

One of the many emotional parts of the day was when we viewed the areas of Bois de Forges, Molleville Farm, and Brabant sur Meuse. John read one of his father's letters. His father was in the 29^th Division, 116^th Regiment, Co. B. This division experienced 6000 casualties in 23 days. [Note: There are approximately 28,000 men in a division].

The Germans, realizing the need to succeed, used heavy equipment and gas to defend their position—the fighting in this area was only about 30-40 miles from the German border. The eve before this engagement, John's father wrote that he was using a gas mask as a desk, there were big guns roaring and the air was full of battle planes. He also wrote that he was sore from hiking. We moved the bus to another position of the 29^th Division and John read again, “I've had my share of fighting.” John's father wrote of the dense forest and fighting like old time Indian fighting. He said he carried his best friend off the battlefield. John's father also said that he laid in a shell hole one whole day while being shot at. His friend did not survive. [Note: I am paraphrasing and may not have done the letter justice].

John has typed all of his father's letters and compiled a history for his family that he shared with us. It is interesting to see parallel stories of the same time period.

Leaving the area of Molleville Farm and Bois de la Grande Montagne, we could see the Woevre Plain and the Rhine River behind that.

There were many other stops:

Flabas—an interesting story of how putting a POW camp on the front line results in the enemy killing their own soldiers as they fired.

The story of Lt. Col Driant—the first hero of Verdun. His unit was closest to the Germans and could hear them working in the night. The unit warned Verdun. Finally they had to withdraw. Driant gave his groom his wedding ring to give to his wife if he was killed. A few days later their position was untenable and Driant was killed.  He was buried with unknowns from his unit. 

Lt. Col. Driant's Tomb

Battle of Verdun—fought for over 300 nights and days—February 21 to December 25, the longest battle of the war. There were 378,000 French Casualties and 333,000 German casualties (casualties=dead and wounded). The greatest, but most exhausting French victory of World War I. 

Fort Douaumont—the largest fort in the world, covers much land and is three stories high. It was truly a fortification. The construction was an aggregate of cement and stones, obviously very solid. The fort was captured early by the Germans, a perfect observation post for the Verdun battlefield.

Fort Douaumont

Fort Douaumont

Fort Douaumont

Site of Fleury—one of the nine totally destroyed villages, the most famous. It is designated as a "village that died for France."  It was in the hottest zone of Verdun and the area changed hands 14 times in war. Now the village is basically nothing but shell pits. Posts mark the school, the farmhouses, the town hall, the grocery, the baker, the carpenter, the shoemaker, and more. One sign indicated that the soil retained the memory of havoc wreaked by artillery from both sides. An interesting fact that I read on a sign on the small chapel built here: Bavarians fought at this site and some Bavarian villages named streets after Fleury.

Fleury

Memorial at Fleury-devant-Douaumont

Destroyed French villages:

Beaumont-en-Verdunois

Bezonvaux

Cumieres-le-Mort-Homme

Douaumont

Fleury-devant-Douaumont

Haumont-pres-Samogneux

Louvemont-Cote-du-Poivre

Ornes

Vaux-devant-Damloup

 L'Ossuaire de Douaumont / The Ossuary of Douaumont was one of the most spiritual and meaningful stops of our whole trip. This sacred memorial contains the remains of soldiers who died on the battlefield during the Battle of Verdun in World War I. From literature at the memorial, "Approximately 230,000 men died out of a total of 700,000 casualties (dead, wounded and missing). The battle became known in German as Die Hölle von Verdun (English: The Hell of Verdun), or in French as L'Enfer de Verdun, and was conducted on a battlefield covering less than 7.7 sq miles. Both French and Germans are buried here-the remains would be indistinguishable--and some Americans too.

The tower is shaped like an artillery shell, but is cathedral-like with Christian images. When we stepped inside the building, the silence was remarkable. It was cool inside on a hot day. Thousands of names are engraved on the walls. Inside the chapel the stained glass windows depicted stunning images of battlefields with crosses. One window depicts two angels holding a nurse (red cross on  her veil) who was wounded in the war when a hospital was bombarded. Another image is of Christ cradling a soldier. The Crucifix at the Altar is Mary holding Christ upright, both have arms outstretched to form a cross, an image I have never seen.

We walked along the exterior of the memorial and did not realize that the skeletal remains of at least 130,000 unidentified combatants of both nations could be seen through small outside windows at the lower edge of the building. The largest single French military cemetery of the First World War with 16,142 graves is nearby.

We were able to see a film in English and I tried to write in the dark as we viewed it--the film was so very expressive. These are the words that I captured: 

"Mud, gas, shells, death comes. 

It is our duty to survive and hold on. 

Burnt tree stumps, wire, blood, powder, gas, corpses, shells rain down. 

Death mixes with life. The bourgeois and the worker, the chaplain and the free thinker. 

Images, not words tell the stories. 

Nine villages gone, others ravaged. 

Whispers, carnage, man destroyed by machines.

Look! Look at us! 

We are 20, we are 30, we represented France. 

We represented Germany. 

We represented life."

This memorial, L'Ossuaire de Douaumont, truly expresses the carnage of war.

After the Ossuary and after Fleury, we headed back to our hotel in Verdun.

We saw huge farms, so many rocks in the plowed fields. Woods. Hills. 

Earlier this day we were talking about engineers--maybe I asked about the 37th Engineers, the unit my Great Uncle Earl was in.  Now I wished I knew what Division they were with.  I could not find out in a search. 

From Wikipedia I did find: "The 37th Engineer Battalion was first activated on 16 January 1918, as 1st Battalion, 37th Engineer Regiment, whose primary function was electrical and mechanical engineering. During World War I, the battalion participated in the Battle of St. Mihiel and the Meuse Argonne Offensive as a member of the American Expeditionary Force. Following the war, the 37th Engineer Regiment was inactivated in March 1919."  Mike did say that the 37th worked on electrical and mechanical duties. I have a few letters that Uncle Earl wrote so I will check them. Mike also said that engineers were absolutely essential. Many were killed building or rebuilding bridges. He continued that it was the engineers who slowed everything down for the breakthrough of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

"My body to earth, my soul to God, my heart to France."

TK's Takes: He saw a hummingbird nest and reminded me about the nesting swallows just outside the 2nd floor window in our Verdun hotel. 

Bon Soir. I will add though that ferns are speaking to me everywhere--- one stood out in the bright sunlight today at the Colonel Driant memorial and a fern frond was left at a memorial in Fleury.

Near the Tomb of Lt. Col.Driant

ARCHIE'S FERN

Hotel St. Paul

Verdun, France
August 20, 2015

The weather was warmer today as we headed by bus nearby to explore the beginning of the Meuse-Argonne Sector, a 25 mile front. It is the largest battle in American history, over difficult terrain—with ridges, the Meuse River, the Argonne Forest, the Aire River, and the Moselle River. Fought between September 26 to November 11, 1918, this battle involved 1.2 million soldiers. Six hundred thousand American soldiers were involved in the opening attack.

While driving, we reviewed maps of the first assaults. We are only about 40 miles from Germany and the area was especially important to the Germans. First we stopped at a well known monument near Chattancourt, Le Mort Homme area dedicated to the 69^th French Division—the monument depicts an enrobed skeleton holding a flag staff. The inscription, “Ils n'ont pas passe,” meaning they did not pass. The French were determined to take this hill. It is said that this is a woods where birds never sing. Losses were heavy but Verdun was saved. The area was reforested because nothing else would grow there. [Note: We try mostly to stay in the same time period as we examine battle areas, but Le Mort Homme was 1916]

Back to the 1918 period, we stopped at a large American monument near Malancourt, where 600,000 soldiers were involved in the opening attack of the Meuse Argonne offensive. There were two hundred steps to the top, but I was more interested in the German observation post and trenches. An Abbe in ruins from the shelling was behind the monument, left as is.

Other areas we visited:

• The site of the Lost Battalion incident (77th Liberty Division from New York)
• A monument to Cher Ami, a carrier pigeon that was wounded but still carried a message out about where the lost battalion was

• Pennsylvania monuments---the state of Pennsylvania had more burials in France from the war than any other state. Three monuments, one especially large (2 acres, both sides of the street in Varenne), were erected by Pennsylvania. (3 PA divisions: 28th, 78th, 79th)

• Exermont near where Larry's father's 1^st Division, 18^th Regiment was.
• Sergeant York Memorial and the path where he encountered Germans who surrendered to him (he was a Corporal at the time) (Chatel-Chehery (CMOH)

• Flaysville/Clierges (check) where our Uncle Earl's 37^th Engineers Division specialized in electrical work.
• Sam Woodfill (CMOH)

As we traveled I noted the hills, the valleys, the ridges, the seemingly very old churches, newer homes that contrast with older stone abodes, the tile roofs, two and one lane roads, tight squeezes on narrow streets that weren't made for 45 passenger buses, about 30 goats crossing the road herded by a sheepdog, the neat gardens, the huge farm equipment, flower boxes, lace window curtains.

I noted the ferns growing along side the road in the forest areas—they made me think again of the dried fern that Archie either carried home or sent home. The fern. Did it distract him from the horrors all around him?  Was it a connection to home? A distraction? Why? A fern, the feathery leaves, the bright green, long since faded. Was it the rare vegetation you saw amongst the devastated ruined landscape? Why?

THE 90TH DIVISION, 357TH REGIMENT AT THE ST. MIHIEL OFFENSIVE

Hotel St. Paul

Verdun, France

August 19, 2015

Today in the Bois de Brulee we walked in German and French trenches just 80 or so feet apart. German trenches just 18 inches wide, maybe two feet. Corrugated metal, posts, cement, built to last. The French trenches were wider, wooden supports and chicken wire holding the banks back.

We found loose barbed wire and sharp metal protrusions all over the area.

We peacefully picnicked again today before we immersed in war again. This was an emotional afternoon, viewing the area where the 90^th Division, 357^th Infantry Regiment was engaged in the St. Mihiel Offensive. The scope of the scene was astounding. I could imagine the rain and the mud, hear the sound of artillery, the voice of command, but most of all I saw Americans accepting their mission and overcoming challenges. Archie was a part of this and I am proud.

According to literature the St. Mihiel Offensive held the record for the largest battle ever fought by Americans, a record that only lasted for two weeks. The American Army filled the valley, more than 550,000 Americans and 110,000 French fought in the offensive from September 12-16.

Monument dedicated to the St. Mihiel Offensive

Today there is peace in this valley, farms, trees are growing, fields of corn and hay. Cattle and sheep graze. Many villages are rebuilt. If Archie were to see land today he would feel at home in farm country, but in September 1918, I can only imagine how these men felt as they faced their first big battle.

Mike narrated the scene through each village, Monauville, Maidieres, Vieville-en-Haye, Frappelle, Fey-en-Hay, Villers sur Preny, Vilcey-en-Trey--the village captured by the 357^th. The Moselle River, the Valley of Death, miles of advancement until the fighting stopped. Archie was there, the Company Scout.

The day's final stop was the St. Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial in Thiaucourt, France. The cemetery covers 40 acres with 4,153 headstones, either a Cross or Star of David, mostly of carrera marble. Second Lt. J. Hunter Wickersham, who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his conspicuous gallantry on September 12, 1918, is buried here. We learned that about 7000 Americans lost their lives in this 3 day offensive.

Our U.S. Veterans, Tim (U.S. Navy), John (U.S. Army--not pictured), and Larry (U.S. Army) lowered the two American flags that stand proudly above the cemetery and crisply folded them while Taps was being played. That was an honor for all of us.

HEUREUX MARIAGE AND COUNTING

Hotel St. Paul
Verdun, France
August 18, 2015

Tonight we all took a break from World War I for dinner celebrating our 31st wedding anniversary, complete with a French greeting card from our wonderful companions, and rich chocolate at La Cloche D'Or at 7 p.m. Our new friends are from California, Alaska, North Carolina, the Netherlands, and Paris and Alaska. Four of us have family members who served in World War I. Mike Hanlon is making this tour an extraordinary experience by showing each of us the sites our family served at.

As I write, it is almost 11:30 p.m. and I will be brief as tomorrow is the day we study the 90th Division, Archie's division, and I want to study his letters again.

A few facts I have not mentioned before. There are 8 of us on the tour, Mike Hanlon is our guide, and Peter is driving our 49 passenger bus. The bus is a real plus because we have plenty of room and there is a restroom aboard. Peter supplies us with cold water and soda. Some days we have a boxed lunch from the hotel and other days we stop at the super marche for a sandwich.

[Note to DDIL Denise: There are Aldi's in France!!!]

We leave our hotel at 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. depending on the day's itinerary. We have lunch about 1 p.m. and return to the hotel between 5:15 and 6 p.m. We have been meeting for dinner at 6:30 or 7 p.m. Since the French dine leisurely we are  not usually finished until 10 p.m. or so. Quite a pace!!

Today's photos--

At the Hotel de Ville in Verdun we met Michel Blanchet, Chef de Protocol. We had an exquisite visit and saw the Verdun Livres D'Or, Books of Gold, and the special one that lists all American soldiers who were involved in the Verdun engagement, whether they were killed or not. Friend Kathy's grandfather was listed in the book-he was a survivor. M. Blanchet presented Kathy with a clay vial of sacred soil from the battlefield. We were all honored to be there with her.

This image is a detail from the altar at the Catholic Church of St. Gerard in Marbotte. The church, built in the 1790s, was used as a first aid station/hospital during World War I.


Near Seicheprey today we stopped at a site to learn about Larry's father who was in the 1st Division, 18th Infantry, 3rd Battalion, Co. M His unit was gassed twice. The first time 7 tons of phosgene gas was used by the Germans against them--8 men died, 77 treated. At Cantigny (sp?) the 1st Division was gassed again and 700 were treated.  His father almost never talked about the war. The First Division was Pershing's showpiece division.

MARC CHAGALL AND REIMS CATHEDRAL, A VETERAN OF THE WAR

Hotel St. Paul
Verdun, France
August 17, 2015

DRAFT
Another emotional day, but I'm going to write about highlights today. Since we are getting back to the hotel so late from convivial dinner and are spending long days "in the field," we are  tired!

First thing this morning we visited the Reims Cathedral, one of World War I's surviving veterans. Severely damaged during the war, this cathedral became a face of the war so to speak. One can still see shell shots and damaged exterior statues, but much has been repaired. I did not expect to see three fabulous stained glass windows designed by Marc Chagall, the artist I met in France in 1967 when I studied French, history, and art history in Aix en Provence for a year. The windows are exquisite and blues are especially fabulous.

Next we traveled to Suippe where one of our tour members made a connection to her great uncle who fought here for the U.S. Army 42nd Division. All of us appreciated her research and writing and how she was able to be where he was. Her great uncle did not survive the war.

After many more stops in battlefields and cemeteries, we finished with a visit to Main de Massiges where M. Pierre Labat, the town mayor, met us to describe the battle in this area in French. Another tour member lives in Paris and she graciously agreed to translate. We heard rich detail about the grounds near the Meuse River and the Argonne Forest. So many men were lost, five villages completely destroyed, and only a few metres of land gained in three years.  Mayor Labat (and Mike too) said that the Germans would take over villages and dig tunnels between all the basements/cellars of the homes/buildings. Because these villages were destroyed, adjoining towns merged and that is why we are seeing so many towns with hyphenated names. All birth, death, and marriage records were destroyed. That is why now there is a law that all records must be copied and sent elsewhere. Details one does not always see in history books! M. Labat also said that the French were still cleaning up after the war, removing metal and bombs and shells, etc. when World War II began twenty years later.

The people of this area have preserved German and French trenches. We walked four  hectares of trenches with the Mayor while it was raining, The way was slippery in the chalky clay like floors, metal sheets holding back earthen walls, barbed wire just above.

Part of the restored trenches in Main de Massiges

It is late and I must close--the Internet is sketchy and we are in this hotel for 5 nights.

We wish Brother and M Happy Anniversary today!

THE IMMERSION INTO WORLD WAR I BEGINS

Holiday Inn

Reims, France

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Sunny, 24 C

DRAFT

Today was an emotional day and we are only just starting the tour. We passed by so many French cemeteries with white crosses, German cemeteries with gray crosses, and British cemeteries, row upon row of graves. We learned that the Muslim Moroccans made a big contribution in battle. We saw the 22 km marker  near Luzarches (http://www.france-voyage.com/cities-towns/luzarches-36479.htm) that signified how close the Germans got to Paris. The marker says, "Ici s'arrete l'avance ennemie a 22 km de Paris. le 3 Septembre 1914"

We stopped at a place where 22,000 French men were lost in a single day, August 21, 1914-- Ardennes.

French Christian and Moroccan Muslim Grave

We were in Compiegne, the site of the signing of the Armistice in 1918 and where the French surrendered in 1940 to the Germans. There were two swans swimming in a pond nearby. We saw where the first  trenches were built on the Western Front near the Marne River and Chemin des Dames .

I felt like I was getting closer and closer to Archie as the journey continued today. I saw ferns along the roadway and thought of the dried fern that Archie preserved and sent home to his mother. I thought about how he saw a living plant, something that he connected with, and he wanted to save it. Was the fern a connection to home, his humble farming, a hope of being home again?

Thinking of him, I began to notice the small family garden plots, a kind of bush full of ripe deep purple berries, as high as trees—at least 15 ft high and 10 ft wide, the turnip fields, the grape vineyards, lettuce, and cabbage. Since war covered four years, families were surely growing these crops in 1914-1918.

Battle markers and pillboxes and trenches and shell craters dot the country side. Today the farmers just plant around most of them. Mike Hanlon said that the area was a hot zone and we would see more areas where there were more conflicts and we would see more monuments. 

An example of a trench today

Our longest stop was at Caverne du Dragon, a limestone quarry from the time of the 1500s that the Germans captured and used as a strategic military position. As we descended about 15 meters into the quarry, it was notably cooler (12 C). In the darkness the slight smell of earth and wet chalk, the smooth yet pitted ground, and the roughness of the stone, were striking. We could see sabers, helmets, barbed wire on spools, mortar casings, basins for well water, boots, plates, tableware, gas masks, ammo cases, a bunk area, a first aid area, and rusty canned food all indicating a life beneath the earth above. The overhead “ceiling” had 6 inch wide cracks in some places with support beams or chicken wire holding the ceiling back, where shells had struck above. We could see traces of German electrical wiring. 

There were forbidden areas because of danger of collapse. Fifteen French soldiers are still believed to be buried here. The guide told us that 2500 soldiers lived in another similar quarry. He also said that 33 tons of shells and munitions were found in France last year and 63 tons the year before. Recently near Reims two teens were severely injured by a WW I detonator they found. The French theorize that it will take 7 centuries to rid the ground of such munitions.

A memorial in the quarry consists of many flickering candle like lights at varying heights, from 1 ½ to 5 ft high, a very spiritual effect. We walked up 70 stair steps to be above ground again.

See http://www.caverne-du-dragon.com/en/decouvrir-musee/history-caverne-du-Dragon.aspx . Photos were not allowed.

Shell Crater outside the Caverne du Dragon--presumably

above where we were standing in the supported area of the quarry below

Part of the Memorial to the Senegalese soldiers who fought for France in World War I

Our final stop today was Fort de la Pompelle, a fort that defended Reims, the city where we are staying tonight. Tomorrow will be another full day. We enjoyed each others company at dinner on the boulevard in Reims. To Verdun!

From Fort de la Pompelle

Note : I'm probably not able to be succinct because this is somewhat like a field journal. This journey is about my granduncle, Russell Archie Harvey. He valiantly served in the U.S. Army's 90^th Division, 357^th Regiment during World War I, a regiment called “Tough Ombres” because most of the men were from Texas and Oklahoma. The 90^th Division experienced both trench warfare and gas warfare. Most of the U.S. Army did not. Archie's story is unique. I do know that my sons appreciate history and hopefully they understand my interest.

Note to B1 and B2: My dear granddaughters, I hope that someday you will have interests that you will want to know more about and that you somehow understand my interest in our connection to history, and in this instance World War I.

PARIS ENLIGHTENED US!

The Golden Tulip
Roissy-en-France, France
August 15, 2015
Low 70s F, cloudy till afternoon

Because of the superb advice from Thiphaine at the front desk last night we took the hotel shuttle to the CDG Airport, found Terminal 2 for the RER 3, and took the train to Paris! We hopped off the train at Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris and hopped on a Big Bus (HOHO) by 10:30 a.m. Since it has been 48 years since I was in Paris, I thought this would be a great way to acclimate us to the beautiful city and see the places we wanted to see in the one day we have. Since it was early in the morning, we were able to score front seats undercover on the top level.  I know Randy, Coleen, and B2 will understand the importance of that!

We saw the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees with Mercedes, Citroen, Toyota, and Peugeot dealership showrooms like you would expect to see a department store, the Arc de Triomphe, Les Invalides where Napoleon is buried, the Louvre, La Place de la Concorde, the Seine, the Sorbonne, and so much more.  Next time we visit Paris, we will make certain there is time to see more places in depth! The supreme art, architecture, and history of a city I love.

Eiffel Tower

L'Arc de Triomphe

Janie at Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame-note flying buttresses

We decided to have lunch at La Solita Taverne in the Latin Quarter. We enjoyed salads, pizza with ham (me), and 4 cheese penne pasta (TK).

TK at La Solita Taverne

I already found made some neat purchases for B1, B2, and Brian in the Latin Quarter. Just wait!

We retraced our steps, got back to the airport, then back to the hotel by 6:30, just in time for our Welcome Dinner with Mike Hanlon and the other people on our World War I Centennial Tour. All have a keen interest in military history, and some, like me, have family connections. Two men are honoring their fathers who were born in the late 1800s and served in World War I.

TK's Takes: He noted that Paris has more traffic lights than Erie, almost one per block. We did not see many police, but we saw more soldiers with AK 47-like weapons, especially near the Notre Dame. The city is bigger than he imagined.  Note for Brother Bill: The traffic circle at L'Arc de Triomphe had at least 13 streets feeding into it, craziness everywhere.

Friend C C: There are beautiful gardens everywhere, with flowers just like home, lavender, Russian sage, gaillardia, and more. Bon chance demain avec la presentation!