I had a cool, rainy departure from Vitry-le-Francois, but the walk still gave me many moments of beauty and reflection.
These photos are posted at the beginning of the road that leads to a monument at the top of Mont Moret, the site of a major World War I battle that raged from September 6 through September 11. Over those four days, Mont Moret was regained and lost several times by the French and German forces. Over 20,000 bombshells were exchanged each day, and their craters are still visible in the surrounding forests. The French forces lost approximately 3,200 men, and the German forces lost 4,000 men. Ultimately, the French prevailed, which was a crucial win for France in the greater Battle of the Marne. The Battle of the Marne stopped the further advance of the German forces and prevented their capture of Paris.
The three men represented in the photos, Marc Bloch, Guillaume Apollinaire, and Otto Dix, were chosen for their work in examining and condemning the war. Bloch was a historian who wrote a memoir describing his battle experiences. Apollinaire was a poet and playwright who was wounded in World War I and who wrote extensively about the war. Dix was a German artilleryman who shelled Mont Moret and later created anti-militarist works.
Saint-Remy-en-Bouzmont
Next up: Saint-Remy-en-Bouzemont to Bailly-le-Franc and Villeret
Sidebar Note: I haven’t had WiFi the past couple of nights, so I’m working tonight with my phone as my hotspot, but that has a lot of limitations. It turns out that you really need WiFi to efficiently upload photos and videos from your phone to the cloud, and then your iPad needs WiFi to download those same photos and videos to be used in a blog. Consequently, none of my photos or videos of the past couple of days have been synched with the cloud yet.
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9 Responses
These photos are extra fine. Glad the big church survived the shelling. Is wheat a big crop in France? What else ?
We look forward to your pictures and reports. Makes my day, Hoss
Wheat is a huge crop. It goes on for miles and miles. The same with barley. Another major crop is rapeseed from which canola oil is made. That’s the one that produced the huge fields of yellow flowers in England and France. Now, I’m beginning to see pretty significant fields of sunflowers (I would love to see them later this summer), corn, and beets with some peas and potatoes. Seeing how many acres are farmed has given me a fuller appreciation of how we are all able to get all the calories we need at a relatively low cost. The scale of agriculture is immense.
Charles, thanks for your comments on the Battle of Mont Moret. I agree with Billy that the three pictures are excellent. The ‘Eyes have It.’ They personalize what must have been a horrific experience.
Charles, the photos of the partial visages of Marc Bloch, Guillaume Apollinaire, and Otto Dix peering into the void are compelling and have motivated me to look into their lives and work. I have begun by delving into Otto Dix and I’m disappointed that I’d not previously known of him or his body of work, some of the most intense anti-war art I’ve ever encountered. I would add that there are other significant themes as well and he is remarkable. The Google Maps marker for Monument Mt. Moret displays no photographs at all of these three haunting voices from the past, and at some point in the future I hope that someone (hint hint haha) will post several into the marker’s content. Cheers (and hoping for reversion to cooler weather soon) Renny Glover
It’s fascinating to me how many huge events, major characters in history, or bodies of work I know nothing about. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know. What was so intriguing to me about the photos is that the installation is at a nondescript rural intersection of a paved road and a gravel road, and there is no explanatory information posted, only the photos with their names. Your suggestion to post information about them into Google Maps is a good one. I’ll need to do a little more research first before I do, though!
I found them on the map and have submitted a place marker edit to Google Maps. I should know within a day whether or not it has been approved. If it appears I’ll post it here and you can contribute the photos and any remarks as a visitor if you’d like to.
Google Maps approved the edit. The marker doesn’t appear, however and perhaps any added content such as a review and photos will help. Here is the link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/BZMVdpHZ1XahAtXw9
I’ve been asking Google’s AI about it and this informative synopsis was provided:
The Subject: They are called the Totems de la Mémoire, representing the collective WWI memory through the gazes of French poet Guillaume Apollinaire, French historian Marc Bloch, and German painter Otto Dix [1.2]. The Creators: They were handcrafted by local vocational students from the Lycée Professionnel du Bâtiment in Vitry-le-François [1.2]. The Purpose: The project was commissioned by the regional community council (Vitry, Champagne et Der) to mark the 104th anniversary of the First Battle of the Marne [1.2]. If you want to leave a review from your perspective as a pilgrim, mentioning that you encountered them right along the Via Francigena trail would be incredibly helpful for the walking community. Here is a quick template you can use or adapt: “An incredible and poignant find while walking the Via Francigena trail near Courdemanges. Tucked along the Mont Moret path, these three striking wood and concrete totems display the gazes of Apollinaire, Bloch, and Otto Dix to mark the history of the First Battle of the Marne. Learning that they were actually handcrafted by local vocational students from Vitry-le-François makes the installation feel deeply tied to both the past and the living community. A beautiful, reflective pause for any passing pilgrim or hiker.”
That is fantastic! I’m reading this late as I’m fading fast, so I’m going to come back to it when I’m fresh, but thank you so much for this. It’s informative and moving.