LORRAINE - Avricourt - Leintrey - Reillon - Domèvre - Parux
- by Pierre Grande Guerre
- •
- 18 Sept, 2019
- •
Year of visit: 2010
... a huge jump northward to our point of departure at Avricourt, on the border of Alsace - Lorraine.
This bas-relief above a door in the Rue de la Gare reminds us of the time that the border of Alsace - Lorraine ran through the village of Avricourt (German: "Elfringen").
At the east of the village we visit first the Avricourt Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof.
In the south-east corner there is a forgotten, French plot of 6 French graves and 3 Russian graves.
The grave of Lt. Michel Giaccobi of the 54e R.I., fallen at 21 August 1914.
For an explanation about the presence of Russian troops on the Western Front, visit my Champagne Photo Impression about St. Hilaire-le-Grand.
From Alsace we enter Lorraine. From Avricourt we drive south-westward via Amenoncourt to Leintrey.
In the centre of the village of Leintrey, in a private garden, behind a fence, stood this German observation bunker. Unfortunately the landowners demolished the bunker a few years after out visit!
September 1914 - German Retreat
The 1st
Bavarian
Landwehr
Division was
formed as a
two-brigade
square
division,
and
received a
third brigade in
September 1914. The order of
battle of
the
division was:
13. Bayerische
Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade
consisting of
the
Kgl. Bayer.
Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 8
and
Kgl. Bayer.
Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 10. 14.
Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade
consisting of
Kgl.
Württemb.
Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 122
and
Kgl. Bayer.
Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 15. 60.
Landwehr-Infanterie-Brigade
composed of
the
Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 60
and
the
Thüringisches
Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 71.
Other units:
Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung/2.Garde-Ulanen-Regiment,
1.
Landwehr-Eskadron/II.
Bayerisches Armeekorps, Ersatz-Abteilung/2.
Westfälisches
Feldartillerie-Regiment
Nr. 22, Ersatz-Abteilung/Straßburger
Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 84,
Kgl. Bayerische
Landsturm-Batterie Landau,
and
the 1.
Landwehr-Pionier-Kompanie/II.
Bayerisches Armeekorps.
In 1915 and 1916 units of the 1. Bayerische Landwehr Division were positioned along the front of Lorraine.
The 71e D.I. was stationed more to the south at Badonviller and at the Col de Chapelotte, covering the right flank of the 74e D.I., but it often assisted the 74e D.I. deploying artillery support or infantry actions.
Parroy - Leintrey - Reillon
From Leintrey we follow the D19 - Leintrey-Vého road southward, crossing the former No Man's Land into the French lines ...
The mine explosions of 11 July 1916
On both sides of the front line the troops were tunnelling, mining and countermining. The power of these explosions was relatively limited compared to the mine explosions of 1 July 1916.
The 162e R.I.
After a nightly bombardment, which stopped around 1.30 hrs, the Germans exploded in the early morning of 11 July 1916 four mines at once. The explosions destroyed the first French line of the 6th and 3rd Company, 4 machine-guns, and killed at least half of the 3rd Company.
The company commander, Lt. Chotin, immediately organised his section at the southern side of the craters to halt any German progress. The 6th Company occupied the craters together with 2 sections of the 11th. They started to deploy shell hole defence positions.
All day long the Germans would go on to bombard the French positions in the craters. Rather remarkable: though the 6th Company counted many losses, they managed to finish at midnight their fortifications of the craters and the reconstruction of the trench. The next day the 6th handed over this sector to the first Battalion, which continued to hold this position.
At the rear side: a plaque with the names of 71 missing soldiers, whose human remains are left, scattered in these craters.
At the crater lip of this most northern crater stands a small Memorial Stone, commemorating. Lt. de Camondo.
Lt. Nissim de Camondo - Observer and pilot - Escadrille MF 33 - F 33 - AR 33
Nissim de Camondo was born 23 August 1892 in Boulogne-sur-Seine. He was the son of the prominent and wealthy banker, Moïse de Camondo. As the only son of two children, Nissim de Camondo was expected to take over the family business. However, immediately upon the outbreak of the war, he enlisted again to join the French Army.
De Camondo – Cavalrist
On 11
October 1911 de
Camondo
enlisted
and was
assigned
to
the 2ème Régiment de
Hussards, as a
cavalrist of
the 2nd class. On 13
February 1912, he was
appointed Brigadier. On 16 September
he was
assigned
to
the 3ème Régiment de
Hussards.
On 4 November 1913,
after
having
completed his tour, he was
placed in
the reserve. On 3 August 1914 he was
recalled
to serve in
the 3ème Régiment de
Hussards.
On 13
March 1915 he was
appointed
Lieutenant of
the Reserve.
At
the start of 1915 part of
the
cavalry
troops
were
transformed
into
infantry. On 15
September 1915 de
Camondo is
assigned
to
the squadron of 21ème
Régiment de Dragons.
De Camondo – Observer and Pilot
After an attack of appendicitis on 8 November 1915 de Camondo was transported to a hospital for operation. He was forced to stay for a long period in a convalescence centre at Deauville. Frustrated by being no part of the fighting action, de Camondo volunteered on 15 January 1916. He was assigned as an observer to the Escadrille FM 33 (“Squadron”). He participated in the Battles of Verdun and of the Somme. On 23 May 1916 de Camondo is appointed to the rank of Lieutenant. On 16 November 1916 he obtained his military pilot’s license, No. 5300. He switched directly to the squadron of Farman F 40 airplanes. Next he did spend his time as a pilot in the Escadrille AR 33.
Killed in action
From the Leintrey Mine Craters we continue southward, passing through Vého, along the D 162 to Reillon and Gondrexon.
In September 1920 the French authorities created near Reillon a German and a French military cemetery, sharing together the same grounds: the “Nécropole Nationale Reillon”, and the “Reillon Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof”. These cemeteries lie in the former French first line.
We start at the
French Reillon
cemetery.
The eastern "Ossuaire", or communal grave, contains...
... we continue with the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Reillon.
At the German section, the “Reillon Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof” there are 969 soldiers buried in individual graves. 1.873 Soldiers, of whom 752 are known by name, are buried in two communal graves. The German dead were reburied at first from field graves nearby Reillon, and later from smaller closed down cemeteries from Amenoncourt, Badonviller, Baccarat, Blamont, Bionville and Leintrey.
After 1945, a larger number of German victims of the Second World War are reburied at Reillon, in a special section. These soldiers were buried before on smaller cemeteries in the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle.
We leave via the French cemetery for...
... this panorama view outside the terrain at Côte 303, Height 303, also locally known as Bras de Chemises.
The Battle for Côte 303 - 19-20 June 1915
In answer to the stubborn Bavarian attacks and breaches in the new French positions the French organised a series of 3 counterattacks. Though the French were sometimes forced to withdraw, the 3rd counterattack in the late afternoon of the reinforcements of Commandant (Major) Villemin’s 127th Battalion was successful. At 17.45 hrs. a battalion of the 230e R.I. detected the Bavarian withdrawal at Gondrexon, which represented the definite conquest of Point 293,7. During these two days the Bavarians counted many losses, but the 217e R.I. had many casualties too: 41 men killed, 61 men missing in action, and 185 men wounded. At least 31 French soldiers were taken prisoner.
But the fighting for Bois Zeppelin and Gondrexon was not over. The fighting would continue until the end of July 1915.
Here we find some relics of German bunkers.
From Gondrexon we return to the Bras de Chemise memorial to continue from there south-eastward to Domèvre-sur-Vezouze.
Along the N4, a few hundred meters before entering the village of Domèvre, stands this after-war demarcation stone.
From Domèvre we continue over a nameless road southwest to the hamlet of le Hameau. From now on we will stay on the German side of the front line. We will visit the landscapes and the relics of German bunkers.
Along the D 20b we arrive at the west edge of the Bois des Chiens.
This wood has a muddy soil, and it is densely vegetated with thicket. I explore the edge at the south side of the road.
In the bush I immediately discover a machine-gun bunker, facing north-westward.
This large bunker lies more to the east, some 50 m. away from the D 20b.
From the Bois des Chiens we continue south-eastward via the D 20 to Montreux.
In the village of Montreux stands this memorial for it's 5 military en 2 civilian war victims.
... of the D 20, stand three bunkers next to each other.
These bunkers belong to a "Stützpunkt", a support position, of the first German line.
In June 2011 we walked this "Circuit du Front Allemand 14-18". On the next photo page you will find a Photo Impression of the Montreux German Front Walk .
The location
of this
machine-gun bunker offers ...
Panorama view south-westward. The D 20 left.
From Montreux we continue westward to Parux, to the Bois du Chêne Fourchu, "Forked Oak Wood".
In the wood we visit 6 bunkers near to each other. This location, some 2 km. behind the front line, served as an artillery base.
This first bunker is large enough to have possibly served...
... as a communication post, a "Blinkstelle", for a light signalling system.
This is the same, second bunker, but outside, which might have served as an ammunition bunker.
.. I would not dare to comment or to draw any "possible" conclusions.
... we have to prematurely abort our explorations in the wood with this last view at the first bunker.
From the Bois du Chêne Fourchu near Parux we return to Montreux to do the Montreux German Front Walk.
Continue to the next chapter: "The Montreux German Front Walk"
Inleiding: Franz Von Papen & Werner Horn; schaker en pion
Onlangs stuitte ik in een oud boek (1) van 1919 op een opmerkelijk verhaal over een Duitse Luitenant, die in begin februari 1915 een half geslaagde bomaanslag pleegt op een spoorbrug over een grensrivier tussen de Verenigde Staten en Canada. Ook al staat de bekentenis van de dader, Werner Horn, deels in het boek te lezen, de naam van zijn opdrachtgever zal Horn blijven verzwijgen. Na wat verder zoeken vond ik ook de naam van Horn’s opdrachtgever, Franz von Papen, een van de aangeklaagden van het latere Neurenberg Proces in 1946.
In een Grote Oorlog als de Eerste Wereldoorlog is Horn’s aanslag op de brug uiteraard slechts een bescheiden wapenfeit. Toch vermoed ik dat dit relatief onbekende verhaal, dat de geschiedenis is ingegaan als de “ Vanceboro International Bridge Bombing ”, nog interessante kanten kent. Het is onder andere een spionageverhaal over hoe in een groter plan een sluwe schaker zijn naïeve pion offert.
Beknopte situatieschets Canada en de Verenigde Staten in 1915
This trip we start at the Léomont near Vitrimont and we will with some exceptions concentrate on the Battle of Lorraine of August-September 1914 in the area, called, the “Trouée de Charmes”, the Gap of Charmes.
After the Léomont battlefield we continue our explorations to Friscati hill and its Nécropole Nationale. Next we pay a visit to the battlefield of la Tombe to go on to the Château de Lunéville. There we cross the Vezouze to move on southward to the Bayon Nécropole Nationale. At Bayon we cross the Moselle to pass Charmes for the panorama over the battlefield from the Haut du Mont. North-west of Charmes we will visit the British Military Cemetery containing 1918 war victims. From Charmes we go northward to the battlefield of the First French Victory of the Great War, the Battle of Rozelieures of 25 August 1914. North of Rozelieures we will visit the village of Gerbéviller. From there we make a jump northward to visit the ruins of Fort de Manonviller to finish with an interesting French Dressing Station bunker, west of Domjevin.
During this visit, we try to focus on the day that the momentum of the battle switched from the French side to the advantage of the Bavarian side: the day of 20 August 1914, when the Bavarians rapidly re-conquered the territory around Morhange , being also the day of the start of their rather successful “Schlacht in Lothringen”.
We will visit beautiful landscapes of the "Parc Naturel Régional de Lorraine", memorials, ossuaries, and cemeteries. Sometimes we will divert to other periods of the Great War, honouring Russian and Romanian soldiers, who died in this sector. We start our route at the border village of Manhoué, and via Frémery, Oron, Chicourt, Morhange, Riche, Conthil, Lidrezing, Dieuze, Vergaville, Bidestroff, Cutting, Bisping we will finish in Nomeny and Mailly-sur-Seille, where the Germans halted their advance on 20 August 1914, and where they constructed from 1915 some interesting bunkers.
