VOSGES - Senones - La Roche Mère Henry

  • by Pierre Grande Guerre
  • •
  • 15 Aug, 2019
  • •

Year of visit: 2009

From Ban de Sapt along the D 49 northward to Senones for a visit to the French and German War Cemeteries at la Poterosse, to some German bunkers at the slopes of the Côte de Senones, like Les Quatres Bancs, and a few panorama views,  photographed from the Roche Mère Henry.
A view at the height of "Côte de Senones", close to the former frontlines.

Along a road on the western outskirts of Senones we detect this after war demarcation stone.

"FROM HERE THE INVADER WAS FORCED BACK "
At the foot of the Height of Senones...

... lie the French and German War Cemeteries next to each other. The inhabitants of Senones call this location "La Poterosse", after the hamlet at the western outskirts of Senones.

We start our visit with the western, German cemetery.

The German War Cemetery or Kriegsgräberstatte Senones contains 1.528 German burials. Of the 1.528 soldiers 784 are buried in a grave, and 22 individual soldiers of them are unknown. The mass grave contains the remains of 744 killed soldiers, only 348 of them are known by their name.

The "Schlacht in Lothringen" or the "Battle of Lorraine" from 25 to 28 August 1914, the defensive fighting in the winter 1914-1915, the trench warfare of 1915, and the war in late 1918 increased the number of dead in this front sector. After 1915 The army units were here “at rest”. After 1915 there were no great battles anymore, but the artillery bombardments and skirmishes continued. Soldiers, buried here, came from garrisons in Bavaria, Baden, Hessen, Hanover, Brunswick, Ostfriesland, Wurttemberg, Westphalia, Thuringia, Brandenburg, Silesia and the Rhineland.

Some samples of the graves to be found on this cemetery.

"Georg Baumbach 31 L(andwehr) I(nfanterie) B(rigade) Eisenach, died for the Fatherland, 4 July 1917." - (31 L.I.B. was a unit of the 1. Bayerische Landwehr Division.)

Two graves of 1914. The Hebrew words on the grave of the Jewish Emil Siegel mean above the name: "Here rests", and below the name: "May his soul stay interwoven to the circle of the living."

Instead of their traditional duties, doing construction works or guarding prisoners, even the often more older soldiers of the Bavarian Landsturm, ...

... attached to Bavarian Landwehr and Ersatz units, also had to actively fight in the positional war of the Vosges, and of course could also get killed.

In the middle lies the grave of a Wehrman, Karl Bohn, fallen on 20 September 1914.

The other two graves contain each the mortal remains of a civilian worker.

Ernst Israel was a war volunteer. ("Kriegsfreiwilliger")
"ARMIERUNGSSOLDAT": a soldier constructing (concrete) bunkers.
On the northern edge of the cemetery lies the mass grave:
"IN A COMMUNAL GRAVE REST HERE 744 GERMAN SOLDIERS 396 STAY UNKNOWN"
A long list of names, inscripted in 14 bronze plaques.

View from the mass grave north-eastward to the Côte de Senones.

Senones August - November 1914
Before 1914 Senones used to be a French border town near the 1871-1918 border. Traditionally Senones was the garrison town of the 1e Bataillon Chasseurs à Pied. Early in the war, in August 1914, the 1e B.C.P. left Senones to fight in the area on and around the Col de la Chipelotte. Senones was left without any defence.
The German opponents - 30. Bayerische Reserve-Division
On 25 August 1914 the Germans entered Senones on their march on St. Dié des Vosges. After the Battle at la Chipotte, at 12 September 1914, units of the 30th Bavarian Reserve Division (30. Bayerische Reserve-Division) withdrawed passing the defenceless town of Senones, to return in the evening to occupy the town.

From 18 August 1914, the 30. Bayerische Reserve-Division consisted of:

10. bayerische Reserve-Infanterie-Brigade , Kgl. Bayerisches 11. Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment , 14.Radfahrer-Abteilung, Festungs-MG-Kompanie Nr. 2, Reserve-MG-Abteilung Nr. 3, 5. bayerische Ersatz-Brigade, Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 5 (mob.Ers.Btl./Kgl. Bay. 23.Inf.Regt.), Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 6 (mob.Ers.Btl./Kgl. Bay. 18.Inf.Regt. Prinz Ludwig Ferdinand), Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 7 (mob.Ers.Btl./Kgl. Bay. 5.Inf.Regt. Großherzog Ernst Ludwig von Hessen), Bayerisches Brigade-Ersatz-Bataillon Nr. 8 (mob.Ers.Btl./Kgl. Bay. 8.Inf.Regt. Großherzog Friedrich II. von Baden), Kavallerie-Ersatz-Abteilung Landau/II. Bayerisches Armeekorps (⅓ Eskadron), Kgl. Bayerisches 2. Feldartillerie-Regiment, 1. Ersatz-Batterie/Kgl. Bayerisches 12. Feldartillerie-Regiment, Ersatz-Abteilung/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 80, 1.Ersatz-Batterie/Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 84, 3.Batterie/Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 14. 

On 26 December 1916 the Division was renamed the 30th Royal Bavarian Reserve Division. It spent it's time during the whole war in positional warfare in the Vosges mountains and the Alsace-Lorraine region.

The French opponents - 363e R.I. and the 37e Régiment d'Infanterie Coloniale

From my collection of period post cards: an artist impression of a soldier of the Infanterie Coloniale. Notice: blue trousers instead of the red trousers of the regular R.I.'s.
From 19 September 1914 the French 363e R.I. under command of Lt. Colonel D.H. Chan and the 37e Régiment d'Infanterie Coloniale under command of Lt. Colonel P.J.A. Couzineau occupied the lines west of Senones. Both units belonged to the 152e Infantry Brigade of the 41st Division.
In October 1914 the Bavarians already started to construct fortifications and masonry bunkers, of course permanently observed by the worried French. Begin November the 152nd Infantry Brigade was already planning an operation at the German positions at the Height of Senones and the area around the Roche Mère Henry.

19 November 1914 - Attack at Côte 675
On 19 November the 363e R.I. attacked Height 675, west and some few hundred metres away from the rock Mère Henry.

The target of the attack was to capture the German Bunker at Height 675. Advanced troops of the Génie blew a breach in the barbed wire entanglements of the Bavarians. The infantry followed and jumped off from the trench, south of Les Quatres Sapins; in the centre of the sketch below.

The 363e. R.I. succeeded to capture the "Blockhaus" or bunker on Height 675 in the evening. The 363e R.I. had to count or rather "estimate" that day 42 casualties; 17 soldiers dead, 23 injured, and 2 "disappeared".
The 363e R.I. and the 37e R.I.C. would occupy the height until 10 December 1914, when they blew up the masonry bunker and withdrawed to the lines of 20 November, projected on this sketch. These lines would form the front line west of Senones until the end of the war.

We now pay a visit to the French Nécropole Nationale de Senones.

The Nécropole Nationale de Senones contains the graves of 795 French Soldiers, including colonial soldiers. 372 Of these soldiers are buried in 2 ossuaries. Quite remarkable; there also buried 6 Poles, 11 Rumanians and 6 Russians.

The human remains are collected from battlefields in the area around, like Bois du Palon, Bois "Y", la Scierie de Malfosse, la Chapelle de la Halte, the nearby Mère Henry, the Haute-Forain, etc.

Later we will detect memorials and graves, reminding us of the former presence of the 363e. R.I. and the 37e R.I.C.

Some graves of soldiers from Indo China, nowadays Vietnam, of the 7e Bataillon Indochienois, fallen in 1917 and 1918.

One of the two ossuaries containing the human remains of 186 soldiers.

The list of units on the plaque gives us an impression of the other French units, which were active in this front sector.

Three Russian graves tell us more about the deployment of units of foreign troops here at the end of the war.
After October 1917 these Russian soldiers "Died for France". 
(I explain the presence of Russian soldiers along the Western Front in my photo impression about the Russian Cemetery at St. Hilaire le Grand , Champagne.)

Michael Maximow died for France and belonged to the "18e Bataillon de Travailleurs Russes" or 18th Batallion of Russian Workers.

The second ossuary contains also 186 persons.

The same text on this plaque as on the first one, which tells us a little about how hopeless the identification procedures must have been. Besides the presence of regular infantry regiments, the plaque tells us also about the former presence of other Colonial Regiments, and Battalions of Chasseurs Alpins.

Two of the Rumanian graves of soldiers of the 54e R.I. Roumain.

Two graves of Polish soldiers. Left : the grave of Second Lieutenant Mille Roman of the 3e Régiment des Chasseurs Polonais. Right: a soldier, named Francize Davotak, of the 1e Régiment des Chasseurs Polonais.

(I explain the presence of Poles at the Western Front in my photo impression about La Targette.)

On 18 June 1915, on a rather quiet day at the front, even the Commander of the 37e R.I.C., Lt. Colonel Paul Cozineau, ...

... "was killed by a bullet in the forehead".
Army death certificate Colonel Couzineau
A modest memorial to commemorate the 363e R.I.:
"TO OUR GLORIOUS COMRADES 363"

We leave the cemeteries of la Poterosse to continue our exploration.

From the cemeteries of la Poterosse, we follow a route, north of Senones, climbing along the eastern slopes of the Côte de Senones to the Roche Mère Henry ("Mother Henry Rock "), in the former German lines to search for relics. I do realise that this impression gives not a complete image, because there are more relics on the Côte des Senones to explore, than we could cover during this trip.

On the west side of the nameless, meandering road to a location, called "Les Quatres Bancs", stands this Bavarian bunker.

Inside the small bunker the relics of a stove.
Probably it has been used as a guard post.
Only one rifle hole is guarding the narrow road.

Some few hundred metres more northward we detect two "twin" bunkers next to each other.

As always I have to enter the left bunker.

The interior with at the rear the entrance of a filled in tunnel, running inside the height.

There is only one hooked entrance and one window.
The bunker next to it is of the same sizes as the left one.

This one has also an entrance to a filled in tunnel, possibly leading to other tunnels and dug-out caves.

We leave the Bavarian twin bunkers ...

... and again some few hundred metres further on we spot another shelter bunker with a rather large window and a tunnel entrance inside.

Just before the hair pin curve we spot another tunnel entrance with concrete and steel beams.

At an open spot in the wood, at a junction of different paths, is the location of Les Quatres Bancs. From here we continue on foot.

Near and below this tree with the sign stands a rather large bunker.

Masonry, a mix of natural stones and concrete bricks.
The interior with windows overlooking two directions.
In the south-eastern corner a tunnel entrance.
In the north-western corner another tunnel entrance.
We leave this bunker at les Quatres Bancs ...
... passing this sculpted sign, ...
...  to climb our way up to the Roche Mère Henry.
Higher up there is another masonry bunker...
... fortified with steel H-bars ...
... and a collapsed top construction.

Perhaps nature and in particular this fallen tree damaged the roof?

We continue to follow the meandering path upward.
Near the summit there are more bigger rocks.
We approach the rock from north-east, at "the rear side".
Some 8 metres under the summit of the rock, la Roche Mère Henry ...
Just under the foot of the left one of the twin rocks ...
... the Bavarians dug out a bunker in the foot of the northern rock, ...

... and fortified the outside walls, only there where necessary, with masonry stones.

The soldiers had still some 3 or 4 metres of rock ...
 ... above their heads to protect them.
Rifle holes northward and eastward.

This bigger window served possibly as an observation post south-eastward.

I move around the foot of the rock to follow ...
 ...the outlines of the bunker.
View at the Roche Mère Henry from the foot of the southern rock.
La Roche Mère Henry
Since 1871 the twin rocks of the Roche Mère Henry attracted already French tourists. To have a perhaps better view of the overwhelming panorama on top of the rocks, the inhabitants of Senones constructed at the end of the 19th century a wobbly, steel bridge between the two rocks.

On top of the eastern rock I have to rest, ...

.. and I try on the spot to reconstruct for you this panorama with map and compass.

A view to the north over the top of the northern rock.
Standing on the uncomfortable, wobbly steel plate bridge, looking eastward.

Panorama north-eastward and east from the more stable, southern rock.

Again: a look closer in two steps from left to right.

Of course the town in the foreground is Senones.
View from the northern to the southern rock.
My late wife Chris van der Neut (+08-05-2018), co-founder of this website
A closer bird's eye view of Senones.
Teleview at the centre of the town.
Panorama view east and south-east.
Again from left to right in three steps...

The third panorama detail offers a view at Ban de Sapt - la Fontenelle.

We continue our explorations to other sites in the Northern Vosges.

Continue to: "Cols de la Chipotte - Chapelotte - Col du Donon"

AISNE - Chemin des Dames

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 29 Nov, 2019

De Vanceboro Bridge Bomaanslag

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 14 Nov, 2019

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

ALSACE-LORRAINE - The Gap of Charmes - La Trouée de Charmes

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 01 Oct, 2019

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.

LORRAINE - Avricourt - Leintrey - Reillon - Domèvre - Parux

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 18 Sept, 2019
Though we depart from Badonviller in the Northern Vosges , we make a jump northward to the east of Lunéville and Manonviller. We start at Avricourt on the border of Alsace and Lorraine. From the Avricourt Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof we explore the southern Lorraine battlefields ; the mine craters of Leintrey , the Franco- German war cemetery and Côte 303 at Reillon , and some German bunkers near Gondrexon , Montreux , and Parux.

LORRAINE - Montreux - German Front Walk 

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 13 Sept, 2019
We depart from Raon-l’Etape to drive northward via Badonviller to Montreux to visit the  "Circuit du Front Allemand 14-18", the  Montreux German Front Walk 14-18,  with its trenches , breastworks , and at least twenty bunkers.

LORRAINE - The Battle of Morhange - 1914

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 08 Sept, 2019
North-east of Nancy, east of Pont-à-Mousson, and south-east of Metz we visit the battlefields of the Battle of Morhange of 14 until 20 August 1914. We follow mainly topographically the route of the French advance eastward over the Franco-German border of 1871-1918.
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.

LORRAINE - Lanfroicourt – Nomeny - Monument du Grand Couronné 

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 05 Sept, 2019
South of Manhoué we start this trip at Lanfroicourt along the French side of the Franco-German 1871-1918 border, marked by the meandering Seille river. We visit some French bunkers  in Lanfroicourt, near Array-et-Han and in Moivrons. From there we go northward to the outskirts of Nomeny and the hamlet of Brionne to visit the ( second ) memorial, commemorating the events in Nomeny of 20 August 1914. We continue westward to finish at the Monument du Grand Couronné at the Côte de Géneviève, a former French artillery base, which offers several panoramic views over the battlefield.

LORRAINE - Bouxières-sous-Froidmont - Verny - Feste Wagner

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 28 Aug, 2019
North of Pont-à-Mousson and south of Metz, we explore the relics of German bunkers and fortifications along the Franco-German 1871-1918 border. We start at Bouxières-sous-Froidmont to visit the nearby height of the Froidmont on the front line. This time we will show only a part of the Froidmont, focusing on its military significance.  From the Froidmont we continue via Longeville-lès-Cheminot and Sillegny to the “Forêt Domaniale de Sillegny” to explore some artillery ammunition bunkers. Next we continue to Marieulles for its three interesting bunkers and to Vezon for its line of ammunition depot bunkers. From Vezon we continue to the “Deutscher Kriegsgräberstätte Fey – Buch”. From Fey we go eastward, passing 6 bunkers near Coin-lès-Cuvry to finish our trip at the top construction of the “Feste Wagner” or “Fort Verny”, north of Verny.

VOSGES - Mutzig - Fort de Mutzig - Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 25 Aug, 2019

From Badonviller or the Col du Donon we continue north-eastward for a visit to an extraordinarily well restored sample of German fortifications:  the Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II, or Fort de Mutzig,  lying on a height, some 8 km. away from the 1871-1918 Franco-German Border.

VOSGES - Ste. Marie-aux-Mines - Tête du Violu / Bernhardstein

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 23 Aug, 2019
We concentrate on the German side of the front around "Markirch", Sainte Marie-aux-Mines, the so-called "Leber" front sector . We first pay a visit to the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof, and next to the southern side of the Col de Ste. Marie for the many interesting bunkers of the German positions at the Bernhardstein, at the north-eastern slopes of the Tête du Violu. On the next photo page about the Haut de Faîte we will continue with a visit to the northern side of the pass and the "Leber" sector.
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