the somme in the first world war

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The Sommein the First

World War

www.somme-battlefields.com



The Sommein the First

World War



Preambles

The First World War, includedin the curriculum of the Frenchyear 1O students, is particularlysignicant to our department andits inhabitants.

On the eve of the centenary of the beginning of thismajor conict, the Rectorat d’Amiens and the ConseilGeneral de la Somme considered it important to teachthe young inhabitants of the Somme the importanceof this chapter of our history and the consequencesthat it had on the world and future generations.

This booklet has two specic objectives. It is toencourage the precise knowledge of the history ofevents that unravelled in the Somme and also enable

high school students to make a connection with thepast and its memory, which has, for the last century,continued to forge the identity of the Department ofthe Somme and its inhabitants.

This booklet is the gateway to the collective memory,which must not be lost or diluted but well conservedand carried through time because this is our history.

It is this history, which is both distant and yet recent,which the young generations must always learn moreabout to better understand the world of today andbuild that of tomorrow.

Christian MANABLE President of the Conseil General de la Somme

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Picardy and the departments thatit is composed of, one of whichis the Somme, were profoundlymarked by the First World War.Even today, its traces can still befound, both within the collective

memory and on the landscape. As we mark thebeginning of the centenary of this war, it is importantthat students be able to make a strong connection tothe history and remembrance of their land. Schoolswill have an essential role to play in this: through theteaching of a subject such as history, and conveyingthe importance of remembrance; a remembrance that,still today, feeds a certain number of our values.

It is crucial to teach and commemorate the First World

War to ensure that we are not only aware of the realityof the conict but can also render homage to thoseindividuals who came from ve different continents.They contributed to the peace and freedom thattoday’s young generations still benet from.

This booklet, which is the result of a successfulpartnership between the Conseil General de la Sommeand the Rectorat d’Amiens, associates documents and

the work of historians and, completed by websites,will make a precious tool for everyone, both studentsand the personnel of the education system. It willenable us all to better transmit the memory of thewar. To commemorate is to collectively remember andunderstand, its legacy will enable us to continue tobuild together.

Bernard BEIGNIER Rector of the Academy of Amiens

University Chancellor

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Contents page

5

• p.6

uerre

• p.7 • p.7

• p.8

me

• p.10

• p.11

• p.13

• p.14

The Civilians

• p.15

• p.16

• p.17

guerre

• p.18

• p.19

• p.20

stoire• p.21

• p.22

• p.23

• p.24

• p.25

Annexes

• p.26

• p.27 • p.27 • p.27

Map • p.4

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Introduction

The Outbreak of War

1.1 • Before the War: Amiens a Garrison Town1.2 • July 1914: Tensions Mount1.3 • August 1914: Mobilisation, the Itinerary of Charles Fétré, a Soldier from the Somme

Fighting in the Somme

2.1 • 1914: The Race to the Sea and the Stabilisation of the Frontline2.2 • 1916: The Battle of the Somme (1st July – 18th November)2.3 • 1918: The German Spring Offensive and the Allied Counter Attack2.4 • Otto Dix

The Civilians

3.1 • Péronne and the Occupied Areas3.2 • Amiens3.3 • Abbeville and Maritime Picardy: Behind the Lines

Emerging from War

4.1 • Demobilisation and the Return of Physically or Mentally Wounded Soldiers4.2 • The Return of the Refugees4.3 • Reconstruction

From Memory to History5.1 • Ceremonies and Homage to the French Dead5.2 • Ceremonies and Homage to the Allied and German Dead5.3 • “Remembrance Tourism” Today: How do we View the War in the Present Day?5.4 • Historial, Museum of the Great War5.5 • The Centenary in the Somme: It’s Up to Us to Mark its Importance!

Annexes • Timeline• Bibliography• Filmography• Webography



Introduction

The First World War has long held an important place in

history lessons, from primary school to college. This is due

to the nature of the event, how it has been impressed

on the collective memory and its proximity with our own

lifetime. The tremendous historical research that has been

carried out has led to a rethink of how the subject should

be taught, focusing, especially at a high school level, on

the violence suffered by soldiers and civilians.

The Department of the Somme was heavily scarred by

this episode and provides many examples and focal points

that illustrate the subject for students. From 1914, the

Somme was written into the chronology of war, and today

enables the different periods to be understood; the Battle

of the Somme illustrates the violence suffered by soldiers,

a theme that the French National Curriculum suggests

is studied using the example of Verdun; and nally, the

works by Otto Dix were inspired by his military career in

the Somme and can be studied in history of art.

This booklet has been designed for students and teachers

and will be essential, both in the classroom and out, for

learning about this turning point of 20 th century global

history.

Jérôme DamblantNathalie HerrFrançois Sirel

Academic Inspectors Regional Education Inspectors

The Singularity of the Sommein the First World War

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1. The Outbreak of War

In 1874, the Second Army Corps took up residence in Amiens,and the city became an important army garrison; several hundredsoldiers and ofcers came to live in the capital of Picardy andneeded to be lodged, fed and clothed, etc. From an economicpoint of view, this was good news for Amiens and new facilities toaccommodate the troops were built.

The Friand and Gribeauval barracks were constructed to the southand the citadel was reopened in the north of the city. Otherstructures belonging to the city were also handed over to themilitary: the barracks of Cerisy, and the Commander in Chief of the

Second Army Corps’ mansion, located on the Rue l’Amiral Courbet,in the centre of Amiens. Many houses and apartments were rentedout to ofcers and their families, while soldiers were billeted inbarracks.

During their military service, soldiers divided their time withmilitary exercises, living life within a community and outings to the

city. Military music was frequently played and parades and otherevents were occasions for the army to be present and afrm itsimportance in pre-1914 society.

From 1889, the obligatory military service became most important.Without exception, every twenty year old man had to pass beforea “Conseil de Révision” (review board) and be declared apt ornot for military service. This is referred to as “classe d’âge”: thoseborn in 1894 made up the “Class of 1914”, for example. Militaryservice played an important social role: many young men living inan agricultural environment discovered another way of living in anurban setting. As many spoke local languages or dialects, Frenchwas an integral part of the training received in the army, which alsoincluded lessons in hygiene. It is possible that military service alsohelped foster feelings of revenge for the lost provinces of Alsace

and Moselle, taken by Germany in 1870-1871.

There was a far greater number of military “classes” in Germanyat this time, and consequently, on 7th August 1913, the Frenchgovernment decided to increase military service from two years tothree, keeping more young men within the army ranks for longer.The threat of war against the German Empire was tangible.

1.1 Before the War: Amiens a Garrison Town

Military Parade on the Boulevarddu Mail. Picardy Antiques Societyphotograph archives. On loan to theSomme Departmental Archives, 14 FI 81/1.

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There have been great changes in Europe during the last threeyears and on more than one occasion we have been on the brinkof a general conagration”. “Europe is going through a particularlytragic time. At each instant, we are expecting extreme resolutionsand irreparable damage”. Both of these quotations were takenfrom the Le Progrès de la Somme newspaper, on 1 st and 23 rd July1914, and show how tensions were mounting.

From the end of the 19 th century, discord rocked the Europeanstates: the French defeat in 1870-1871, the loss of the provincesAlsace and Moselle to Germany, the quest for colonial superiomounting nationalism, and national tensions between the citizof the Balkans in the south-east of Europe. For this reason, milexpenditures and personnel increased signicantly. From 1890s, European states agreed to come to one another’s aid andefensive alliances were established. In 1914, two systems alliance existed in Europe, the Triple-Entente: France, BritainRussia, and the Triple-Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary an

1.2 July 1914: Tensions Mount

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Th e F r i a n t Ba r r a c k s bef or e t he Fi r s t Wor l d War , whi ch hous ed

par t of t he 72ème Régi ment d’ I nf ant er i e. Col l ect i on bel ongi ng

t o Somme Depar t ment al Ar chi ves , 8 FI 884.

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During the summer of 1914, 880 000 soldiers were carrying outtheir military service in France (the classes of 1911 to 1913). Withthe threat of war against Germany imminent, France called up itsreserve soldiers: 2.2 million men born between 1890 and 1900(the classes of 1900 to 1910), and 700 000 territorial soldiersborn between 1866 and 1879 (the classes 1886 to 1899). Onthe 1st August 1914, the Order for General Mobilisation wasdisplayed throughout France, obliging the men concerned to

join their regiments from the following day. In total, over 3.7million Frenchmen went to war - nearly 10% of the population. Inaddition to these men were:

Foreigners already enrolled in the French Foreign Legion; Volunteers from other countries who decided to ght because

of their love of France, including many artists like the youngAmerican poet Alan Seeger;Soldiers from the French colonies, forming colonial troopssuch as the Tirailleurs Sénégalais.

1.3 August 1914: Mobilisation, the Itinerary of Charles Fétré, a Soldierfrom the Somme

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On the 28th June, Franz Ferdinand, heirto the Austro-Hungarian throne, wasassassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, whichwas under Austro-Hungarian rule atthe time. The assassins were Bosniannationalists who wanted independence fortheir country, supported by the Serbians.

At the beginning of July, European publicopinion believed the consequences ofthe attack in Sarajevo could be resolveddiplomatically and Raymond Poincaré,President of the French Republic, metwith Tsar Nicholas II in Russia from the15th to 23rd July. In reality, tensions weremounting: the Austrians, having beenpromised the support of Germany on the5th July, issued an ultimatum to Serbia onthe 17th July pronouncing the Kingdom of

Serbia responsible for the assassination ofFranz Ferdinand.

The ultimatum failed; Austria-Hungarydeclared war on Serbia on the 28th July andRussia offered its support to Serbia. Thesystem of alliances had come in to playand the conict rapidly began to spread.Russia mobilised its troops on 30th Julyas did Germany on 1st August, declaringwar on Russia; France followed suit on the3rd August and Great Britain declared waron Germany on the 4th. Italy decided toremain neutral.

Ultimatum : a nal demand orstatement of terms, the rejection ofwhich will result in retaliation or abreakdown in relations.

F O C U S

The Outbreak of War 1

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The front page of the Excelsior newspaper, 29th June 1914: theassassination of Archduke FranzFerdinand, heir to the throne of theAustrian-Hungary Empire Collectionsbelonging to Historial de la GrandeGuerre, n oINVPHYS: 049887-A.

An Order for General Mobilisation was displayed inall the towns and villages of France. The alert wassounded from churches and belfries. Collectionsbelonging to Somme Departmental Archives, 1 FI 529.

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The Outbreak of War 1

Customs: created in 1791 in France; their roleis to control the French land and sea borders. Inthe case of invasion they became a signicantresource for military defence (as in 1870 and1914).

F O C U S

The mi l i t ar y j our nal of Yvon Ennuyer , a f i sherman from Bri e. The mobi l i sat i on document (i n bl ue) cont ai ned t he necessary i nst ruct i ons for rej oi ni ng hi s regi ment i n t he case of war. Col l ect i ons bel ongi ng t o Hi st ori al de l a Grande Guerre, noINVPHYS: 046195.

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Information was contained in each soldier’s military manualindicating how to go about re-joining his regiment in the case ofmobilisation. Charles Fétré, who was born in the coastal town ofLanchères in 1888, lived in the Somme and carried out his militaryservice with the 51RI (Regiment d’Infantrie) at Beauvais from 1908to 1910. From the 1st October 1912, he joined the Customs Ofce atCalais, and later, on 1st June 1913, the Customs Brigade at Boulogne-sur-Mer. He lived at Brutelles, a village close to Lanchères, with hiswife and young daughter; when war broke out Charles was calledup, just like so many others. As a customs ofcer, he was given the

job of protecting the borders and assuring the defence of strategicpositions.

An extract from Charles Fétré’s jounal Collections belonging to Historial de la Grande Guerre, n

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INVPHYS:069362, rights reserved.

“ 2nd August 1914 • […] Mobilisation of the Bataillon deDouaniers de Boulogne-sur-Mer. Continuing services as inpeace times, remaining available until the call from the militaryauthorities. Germany is on the verge of war.”

“ 3rd August 1914 • Distribution of weapons and campingequipment to the Bataillon de Douaniers (Customs Battalion)”

“ 23rd August 1914 • The Bataillon de Douaniers is called into

action, two companies created.”

“ 1st December 1914 • By military decision, part of thebattalion has left Boulogne-sur-Mer and will enable thecustoms posts of the maritime front [coastline] to bereinforced. Their surveillance will mainly be applied to thecoastline [to look out for] signals of any nature: preventsubmarines from being supplied; search and destroy secretwireless telegraphy positions; report on naval movements;alert of any passing enemy airships; and finally, police onland and arrest suspicious individuals. Between Béthune

and Lens, we took the Chateau of Vermelles. In Alsace, ourtroops took Aspach-le-Haut and Aspach-le-Bas. Attacks wererepelled in Ypres.”

“ 28th February 1915 • […] I have been advised that I will bepart of a unit going to Ault (Somme).”

“ 2nd March 1915 • […] Surveillance is carried out on thecoastline, watching for naval movements at sea and policing theland. The customs post is located in Rue du Hamel.”

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June 1915 • Daytime observation duty at the Centre andnight-time ambush at Bois de Cise”.

“ 8th July 1915 • By military and ministerial decision, it hasbeen decided to incorporate the customs ofcers with the classesof 1902 to 1910 in their original regiments.”

“ 14 July 1915 • I have received my orders to join de depotof the 128 Regiment d’Infanterie, stationed at Landernea(Finistère).”

Like othercustoms ofcers, Charles Fétré was sent to thefrontline, mainly to make up numbers in the depleted Frencharmy. Following the path of millions of others, he became asoldier in the trenches. In August 1915, he left for the Meuseand then onto Champagne where he was injured. Reinstated inDecember 1915, he joined the 328 RI in the Meuse and foughtin the sector of Verdun from March 1916 and in the Somme from

July. Injured for a second time in September, he was treated andsent back to the 128 RI in April 1917 where he fought in theMarne and the Meuse. In 1918, he helped push back the enemyat Meurthe-et-Moselle, and later in the Nord, the Somme and theAisne. Charles was in Belgium when the Armistice was signed onthe 11th November. After the ceasere, Charles Fétré and othersoldiers of his company were sent to Germany in December 1918to secure the area. He returned to the customs ofces at Lille inFebruary 1919 and was demobilised on the 31st July 1919.

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Fighting in the Somme Department

In August 1914, the German Empire followed through a planto invade France via Belgium with the intention of taking Paris.Despite the resistance shown by the Belgian, French and BritishArmies, Germany managed to take Belgium and Lorraine in

just three short weeks. The battle-front crept closer to Picardy,obliging the French and the British Allies to withdraw to the eastof the Somme on 25th August.

The situation rapidly became critical. On 28th August, the GermanArmy took the towns of Roisel, Péronne and Combles andcontinued its progress towards Thiepval. On the 29th, the Army

crossed the Somme taking the villages located between Bray-sur-Somme and Corbie.

In the face of this rapid advance, the French Army withdrew,abandoning Amiens to the Germans. The city was occupiedfrom 31st August to 12th September 1914, but Amiens was notthe enemy’s priority – Paris was their nal objective. The Allies,however, managed to stop the German advance during the FirstBattle of the Marne (from 6th to 12th September) making thisobjective unsuccessful.

From that moment on, each side had only one objective: theGerman army wanted to sidestep the Allies, take them from therear and march into Paris; the Allied troops wanted to stop them.

This episode of the Race to the Sea (end of September to 12th

October) established the front line from the Oise to the North Seaand the war of movement was replaced by positional warfare.The British Army took the Belgian front in order to defend theircoastline.

In the Somme, the French and German Armies opposed eachother in the east of the department, from Tilloloy to Beaumont-Hamel. The stabilisation of the front line enabled them toimprove their positions by digging trenches and constructingshelters. During the ghting, the villages situated close to the

front line were largely destroyed, especially the church spireswhich were ideal for observing the enemy: “The Boches broughtdown the church spire of Frise with their canon re. They red noless than 122 shells. The church was condemned anyway as theGermans were destroying the villages with incendiary bombs”(Blaise Cendrars, Lice).

During the summer of 1915, the British Army relieved the Frenchin the Somme from Beaumont-Hamel to Maricourt. The frontline hardly moved within the department until the 1st July, thebeginning of the Battle of the Somme.

2.1 1914: The Race to the Sea and the Stabilisation of the Frontline

View of the inside of Tilloloy Church after theshelling of 17 December 1914. Collections belonging toDepartmental Archives of the Somme, 8 FI 3515.

A trench dug into the middle of a road in the villageof Lihons, at the beginning of the war. Collectionsbelonging to Departmental Archives of the Somme, 8 FI 5894.

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2.2 1916: The Battle of the Somme (1 st July – 18th November)

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Trones Wood, Longueval, shredded by shell fire in1916. Collections belonging to Departmental Archivesof the Somme, 5 FI 95.

The Battle of the Somme, an Allied Franco-British offensive, was

the largest battle of the First World War. It was both industrialand international and caused more than one million losses(killed, wounded, lost) in four and a half months.

The Human ResourcesThe Somme was chosen for its position as junction point betweenthe French and British Armies. In February 1916, the Germanslaunched an attack on Verdun; because of this extra pressureon French forces, the attack in the Somme became a mainlyBritish affair. With no military service in Great Britain, the BritishArmy was composed of volunteers only - between August 1914

and January 1916, nearly two and a half million inexperiencedmen joined the ranks, sometimes in a collective manner creatingwhat were known as “Pals’ Battalions”.

Preparations for BattleThis included the construction of new roads, the installationof 191 kilometres of railway lines and 80 000 kilometres ofcommunication wire. The Battle of the Somme began withan intense bombardment; during the week that preceded theattack, 1437 eld guns red 1 508 652 shells.

The Beginning of the OffensiveOn the 1st July at 7.28am, a series of mines were exploded alonga front from Gommecourt (Pas-de-Calais) to Soyécourt (Somme).The Germans survived due to the protection of deep shelters andwere able to organise their defence. The 1st July 1916 was theworst day in British military history. In just a few hours 19 000

men had been killed and 40 000 wounded. John Harris wrote

these memorable words about his Shefeld City Battalion “Twoyears in the making. Ten minutes in the destroying. That wasour history.»

From then on, the offensive, which was supposed to have beendecisive, turned into a battle of attrition: siege warfare on aat terrain where the attacker tries to capture his adversary’sdefensive positions. Following this unsuccessful British advance,the French reorientated themselves to the south of the Somme.The lack of coordination between the Allies had always beena problem and the battle degenerated into a succession of

uncoordinated, weak French or British attacks. Losses were huge;for example, 2,400 South African soldiers out of the 3,200 thathad gone to ght in Delville Wood (14th to 20th July 1916) werekilled or injured; the Australians lost 23,000 men during thesix weeks they fought to capture and hold Pozières. It was theinvolvement of these Imperial troops that made the Battle of theSomme an international battle. From the rst day of the battle,the French had sent forth their colonial troops and the Britishfollowed suit, sending their imperial troops into the re one unitafter another.

The Second Phase of Fightinghe 15th September 1916 is an important date in military historybecause it marks the use of a new weapon: for the rst timetanks (British) would be used. Even if this weapon was notshown to be decisive in 1914-1918, it did announce a radicalchange in ghting tactics.

Explosion of a mine at Hawthorn Ridge, Beaumont-Hamel.Theexplosions could cause columns of earth to rise to one kilometrein height. Collections belonging to Departmental Archives of theSomme, 5 FI 37.

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Fighting in the Somme Department 2

The Battle of the Somme ended quite literally because of a lackof ghters: the Allies had no more troops available to keep up theght. Despite an average of 100,000 shells red daily (numbersfor the French front), operations were reduced and the gainsinsufcient. The British fought a nal battle in the blizzard of 17th November. The front had been pushed forward by a maximum of10 km but the Germans had always had time to build new linesof defence behind those captured. For the soldiers, the end of thebattle changed little to the conditions: they were to stay in the mudof a very wet year.

The Numbers

Estimated losses are considerable on both sides: 420,000 British,420,000 Germans and 190,000 French. The number of killed,wounded or reported missing per day amounted to 3,100 Germans,2,976 British and 1,400 French. In comparison, at Verdun, theGermans lost 1,100 men per day and the French 1,200.

The Battle of the Somme is also important by the way it isremembered. The “Sommekämpfer” (Warrior of the Somme)becomes, as described by Ernst Jünger, author of Storm of Steel,“the inhabitant of a new but hard world”. For the British dominions(South Africa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand…) the Somme is thesymbolic birth place of these young nations, the blood spent createda new national sentiment. For the British, the Somme embodiesthe Great War by the sacrice of volunteers for their nation.

Lithography by James P Beadle, official artistfor the British Army, of the 36 th Ulster Divisionattacking Thiepval Ridge. Collections belongingto Historial de la Grande Guerre. Published with kindpermission from the Belfast City Council.

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Return of the Worn-out Troops, Battle of theSomme, part of the Der Kreig series by Otto Dix. Collections belonging to Historial de la Grande

Guerre, 4 FI 538.

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Time line of the main events of the Battle of the Somme

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In the spring of 1917, the German Army carried out a strategicwithdrawal to the “Hindenburg Line” (see map p. 4) to shortenthe length of the front line and economise on human andmaterial resources in view of a large battle. The German troopsevacuated the Department of the Somme, devastating the area byimplementing a “scorched earth” policy as they went. The localpopulation was able to return to their homes, now situated onrecently freed land, where they tried to take up a semblance ofnormal life despite the destruction.

On 21st March 1918, the German commanders launched “TheKaiser’s Battle” from Saint-Quentin. Their three objectives were todivide the Allied armies, take Amiens and then the Amiens-Parisrailway line to cut off Allied supply routes.

This strong offensive temporarily put an end to trench warfare.The overwhelmed French and British troops were pushed backby 60 km. Towns fell one after another: Roisel, Ham, Péronne,Albert, Mondidier… and Amiens came under threat. In view ofthe situation, the Allied civilian and military leaders met at theDoullens Town Hall on 26th March and appointed General FochSupreme Commander of the Allied Armies. The German troopswere running out of steam and with the mobilisation of Frenchand British troops the offensive was brought to an end amidstvicious ghting. The Allies, notably the Australians, won a majorvictory on 25th April by stopping the Germans at Villers-Bretonneux.Amiens was not taken.

The new frontline was stabilised from the west of Albert, Moreuiland Mondidier and new trenches were dug. The battles takingplace in the Somme held global impact and have becomesymbolic; for example, the rst American victory at Cantigny on31st May and the Battle of Le Hamel on the 4th July. During thisbattle the Australian general Monash tested an innovative strategyby employing aviation, ammunition drops, artillery and infantrysimultaneously. It was the birth of modern warfare and a greatsuccess for the Allies. The battle was over within 93 minutes andfew losses were suffered.

With their morale restored from these victories, the Allies wishedto permanently cut through the enemy’s defence positions. Acounter attack was launched on 8th August in the region of Moreuiland within 24 hours a progress of 10 kilometres had been made.For General Ludendorff, this was “the black day of the GermanArmy”. It constituted the starting point of the great offensivewhich ended with a denite recapture of the occupied French andBelgian territories and concluded with the signing of the Armisticeon 11th November 1918.

2.3 1918: The German Spring Offensive and the Allied Counter Attack

“The Red Baron”: Manfred von Richtofen, a German ghterpilot, is the most renowned of the whole war. An Ace of Acesand true legend, he brought down more enemy aircraft than anyother pilot and owed his nick-name to the colour of his plane.He was killed when ying over Australian lines close to Corbieon 21st April 1918.

F O C U S

Hall of the Unified Command, at Doullens Town Hall, inwhich Foch was named Supreme Commander on the Western Frontand was entrusted with commanding and coordinating theAllied troops. Collections belonging to Departmental Archivesof the Somme, 8 FI 3801.

Cantigny battlefield in May 1918. The ground is litteredwith dead men and horses. Collections belonging toDepartmental Archives of the Somme, 5 FI 17.

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2.4 Otto Dix

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During his four years of war, Otto Dix fought on everyfront (he was in the Somme in 1916), was made a non-commissioned ofcer and was awarded the Iron Cross (2ndClass). But confronted with the violence and horror of war,his initial exaltation was replaced by disillusionment.

After the war, like many artist-soldiers such as MauriceGenevoix, Otto Dix felt the need to speak out about hisexperiences on the front line.

In 1924 he created the series entitledDer Kreig (The War),composed of 50 etchings: “I studied war very closely. […]I chose to report it truly, to show the devastated land,the suffering, the injuries […] I had to be there at anycost. One must have seen man in this deranged stateto know him a little…”.Der Kreig showed the terribledamage caused both to the body and to the land (DyingSoldier, The Ruins of Langemark, Skull…), by opting to usea technique susceptible of reinforcing the nature of thecontents. Etching is a process of engraving using strongacid: a plaque of copper or zinc is attacked, bitten, cutthrough, by the acid; ink is then applied to the plate beforeit is pressed. The Historial, Museum of the Great War isone of the rare places in possession of the completeDerKreig series. It can be seen during a visit to the museum.

WithDer Kreig , Otto Dix wished to denounce the horrorand absurdity of war so that such a disaster could notoccur again. This open pacism placed Otto Dix alongsideother enlisted artists. When the Nazis came into power,he was classed as a degenerate artist, as were otherexpressionist artists and writers, and much of his workwas conscated or destroyed.

In 1914, the young German artist Otto Dix was 23 years old. Like many of hiscontemporaries, he welcomed the war with enthusiasm and joined the artillery:

I am a realist who must see for himself to conrm that something happens as it does. I must experiment all the abysses of life.

That is why I volunteered for the army.

Dance of the Dead, year 1917, (The Dead Man), part of theDer Kreig series by Otto Dix. The bodies of soldiers arecaught up in barbed wire. Collections belonging to Historialde la Grande Guerre, 4 FI 536.

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A Unit Mounting an Assault under Gas, part of the Der

Kreig series by Otto Dix. Gas was used in combat forthe first time during the First World War making thewarfare both modern and chemical. Soldiers had to protectthemselves using gas-masks. Collections belonging toHistorial de la Grande Guerre, 4 FI 529.

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The east of the Somme Department was occupied by theGermans from 1914 to 1917. Being the largest of the occupiedtowns, the number of German military present in Péronne wasconsiderable: 7,000 men were billeted there in November 1914.The journalist Henri Douchet published a chronicle about occupiedPéronne under the alias Fasol; he mentions that in November1914 “To the chagrin of the locals, German occupation stretchedfarther and farther through the town, which enlarged each day,commandeered by the Kommandantur.” Concerts were organisedin town squares to highlight the occupiers’ presence and postersdisplayed during the rst few weeks of occupation spelt out the

terror the occupier wished to inict in the locals: “Any weaponsor ammunition found in the hands of the inhabitants must beamassed in front of the town hall […]. Those who are found withweapons at a later date will be shot. If, during the German troops’stay here, hostile acts [are carried out] especially shots red, thetown will be incinerated”.

Cut off from free France, the inhabitants felt even more isolated asthey could not even visit neighbouring villages without a specialpass. They were subjected to persecution, such as having to saluteofcers, and work was imposed on all, even women and children

who were mainly given agricultural work. Much of the food wasrequisitioned by the German Army, thus causing shortages for thecivilians, especially in 1915 before supplies issued by the UnitedStates of America, a neutral country at this time, started to arrive.

Occasionally, hostility was shown towards the occupier through theconduct of the local inhabitants. For example, infringing the ban ondisplaying the three national colours, three young girls allegedlywalked through the streets of the town on 14th July 1915, one wasdressed in blue, another in white and the last in red.

Gradually the inhabitants grew accustomed to the Germanpresence, some relaxation occurred, friendly and even amorousrelationships were formed - seen as scandalous to some. Thisfraternisation was often used in German propaganda; for example,German soldiers were photographed with French children.

At the beginning of 1917, the Germans withdrew to the HindenburgLine, causing great destruction as they left but allowing the townof Péronne and its surroundings to be liberated. This enabled thereconstruction of the town to be commenced although this wasquickly thwarted due to the German Spring Offensive of March1918 and a new German occupation.

The Civilians

3.1 Péronne and the Occupied Areas

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German soldiers and French children posing together for a photograph takenin front of a school at Péronne. This post card, possibly propaganda, showsthe good relations between the occupying troops and local population. Private collection.

German troops at the main square ofPéronne, leaving for the trenches atthe beginning of war. They can beidentified as German notably by theirspiked helmets. Private collection.

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The history of Amiens during the First World War can be dividedinto three phases: the brief German occupation (1914), the citylocated just behind the front (end 1914 - beginning 1918) and theevacuation of the city (1918).

With the French military defeats of August, the Germans sweptinto Amiens on the 31st of the same month. They demanded thepayment of a contribution to war and took twelve hostages asguarantee. Undoubtedly prepared to occupy the city, they wereforced to leave two weeks later, on 12th September, following theAllied victory on the Marne.

Its close proximity to the Somme’s frontline battleelds placedAmiens in a key position. It was frequently targeted bybombardments and protective measures were required for boththe inhabitants and the various monuments; for example, sandbags were used to protect the facades of the cathedral. Amiensopened its gates to many victims of the war, such as civilianrefugees and wounded soldiers. As there was not enough roomin the hospitals of Amiens to accommodate all of the wounded,temporary hospitals were installed in schools, colleges, the courthouse and the cloister that today houses the Departmental

Archives. Billets were provided for numerous French and foreignsoldiers and British authorities chose to allow men who couldn’treturn home on leave to stay in Amiens. Tradesmen from Amienspublished advertisements in English and football matches sawlocal teams compete against Allied soldiers, making football apopular sport in Amiens, even today.

The German Spring Offensive of March 1918 brought thebattle lines closer to Amiens; the city was subjected to heavybombardments causing great devastation until summer. Theinhabitants were forced to evacuate but, after the success of the

Allied counter-offensive launched on 8th August, were able toreturn in the autumn; enabling them to celebrate the Armistice ofthe 11th November 1918 in the streets on their own city.

The Civilians

3.2 Amiens

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Scottish and English troops posing withcivilians in Amiens at the beginning ofthe war. Private collection.

Pass dating from 10 th September 1914.The occupation of Amiens by theGerman Army prevented civilians fromcirculating freely. The passes wereissued jointly by the town hall ofAmiens and the German Army. Collections belonging to Historial de laGrande Guerre, ECO 11_1.Mass organised inside Amiens Cathedral in honour

of the Australian soldiers, 8 th September 1918. Thechoir stalls and pillars were protected by sand bags.

Collections belonging to Departmental Archives of theSomme, 8 FI 2042.

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During the war, Picardy Maritime, like the rest of the country, livedto the rhythm of the war. Although well behind the frontlines, itwas still affected by the hostilities and women had to replacemen who had been called up to ght, notably to work the farmland.

From August 1914, refugees eeing the ghting from Belgium,France or the east of the department, ooded into MaritimePicardy where they remained when the frontline stabilised. Manyhospitals were also being established throughout the area at thistime; including, the General Hospital, Hotel-Dieu, various religiousbuildings, the girls’ school and large private houses in Abbeville;the former seminary of Saint Riquier; the Hotel de la Plage in LeCrotoy; and at Cayeaux-sur-Mer and Fort Mahon.

A British military base and hospitals were established in Abbeville

for the Imperial troops (British, Canadian, South-African, etc.). Inless than three months, tents and wooden temporary structureswere erected over three hectares, each having its own speciality.A military hospital could have a staff of 29 ofcers and doctors,190 porters, 38 nurses and 1,500 beds for the sick and wounded.When the patients were well enough, they were sent to convalescefarther behind the lines, to places such as Cayeux-sur-Mer, closeto the Pointe du Hourdel. A veterinary hospital and stables, wherea huge number of army horses were kept, were also erected atThuison, a suburb of Abbeville.

In 1916, the British Army invested itself heavily in Maritime Picardybecause of its geographical importance; it could be accessed fromBritish ports via the Channel and it was located close to the frontwhere the troops were ghting. Saint-Valery-sur-Somme thus

became a supply port. The supplies - mainly ammunition - thatarrived there were driven to Saigneville to one of the largestammunition depots of the British Army. Lacking man power tomanage the logistics of the war, the British Army used Germanprisoners before calling upon the South African Native LabourCorps and nally the Chinese Labour Corps. These were housed inwork-camps along the Channel, the largest of which was locatedat Noyelles-sur-Mer. A great number of Chinese labourers werehit by illness (cholera or Spanish u, for example) and are buriedin the largest Chinese cemetery of Europe, at Noyelles-sur-Mer.It was built in 1920 and counts 841 graves plus the names of

41 missing men, which are inscribed on the memorial inside thecemetery.

The Civilians 3

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A military hospital installed in the Hotel-Dieu at Abbeville, at thebeginning of the war.Collections belonging toAbbeville Municipal Archives.

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Portrait of a Chinese labourer and two Indians, working for the British Army behind the lines inthe Somme. Collections belonging to Historial de laGrande Guerre, n0INVPHYS 006128.

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3.3 Abbeville and Maritime Picardy: Behind the Lines

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The end of ghting on 11th November 1918 did not signify peaceand soldiers remained present and mobilised on the variousfronts. In fact, the demobilisation of soldiers was progressive andonly came to an end in 1920. Among these men were many withthe horror of war still etched into their souls or apparent on theiresh. The huge number of killed or missing in France amounted to1.3 million; the number of wounded to 2.8 million, half of whomhad been wounded twice and over 100,000 wounded three orfour times. The number of amputees is unknown, but can beestimated at 300,000. Those with facial injuries, known in Franceas “Geules Cassées” (Broken Faces), received particular attention.A delegation of Geules Cassées at the signing of the Treaty ofVersailles and a few days later at the Victory Parade of the 14th

July 1919, alongside more than a thousand other physically injuredveterans, was very symbolic.

In Amiens, a city situated just behind the frontlines, as in the restof the department, buildings that had been requisitioned duringthe war for caring for the wounded and for housing medicalpersonnel were handed back to civilians, returning thousands ofwounded soldiers to their communities. There are few memoirsfrom the amputees and physically mutilated; their history hasstayed deeply buried, especially in regard to their private lifeand return to their families, how they readapted to normal life,accepted their traumatism and were accepted by others…

For many, suffering was only prolonged after the war, as LucienFroidure’s example shows us: he received a bullet wound to theleft leg on 10th October, in the Somme at Sailly-Saillsel, just a fewkilometres from his home. This injury would affect him for the restof his life because after several amputations the leg was nallytaken off at the hip. The injury had still not completely healedon the date of his medical examination by a Disabled ReformCommission, in 1924. In the days following the operation, he still

felt pain in the lost limb, a condition known as “phantom limb”.The disability prevented him from resuming his former career as amechanic, and instead he became a clockmaker. Until his death inMay 1967, he would feel intense pain that lasted for two to vedays every single month. It was in isolation, or more precisely inthe garage, that he had to live through “his outbursts”. The painwas totally denied by his wife and trivialised by his children, whocame to see it as normal.

Others returned from the war with gassed lungs, like Antonin,another inhabitant of the Somme. He became a victim of gason 5th November 1918, just a few days before the Armistice;however, the damage inicted to the lungs was not recognisedas an injury of war until 1983. Like many veterans, ashbacks ofscenes of death haunted their sleep until the end of their lives.

And there were those, like the mentally wounded interned afterthe war in psychiatric wards, such as in the Philippe Pinel Hospitalat Dury, near Amiens, who never went home - incapable ofliving with such horric images. They were among the torturedthousands who carried the stigmatisms of war forever in theirbody and soul.

Emerging from War

4.1 Demobilisation and the Return of Physically or Mentally Wounded Soldiers

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French amputee, who had lost hissight and both forearms duringthe war. Collections belongingto Historial de la Grande Guerre,n0INVPHYS: 013853.

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Prosthetic hand and forearm made of wood, metal andleather, which enabled amputees to grasp objects. Afterthe war numerous prosthetics were available, varyingto the needs of the amputee. Collections belonging toHistorial de la Grande Guerre, n 0INVPHYS: 036824-AL.

Prosthetic nose and eye (metaland glass), mounted on a pair

of glasses for disfigured “GeuleCassées”. Collections belongingto Historial de la Grande Guerre,n0INVPHYS: 012178 and 012179.

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Drawings by Adrien Barrère showing men with facial injuries. Collections belonging to Service des Santé des Armées Museum.

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Emerging from War

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The different phases of the war had caused a mass exodus of thepopulation of the Somme. Among them were: The evacuated, sent to interior regions by the authorities; Refugees, who were eeing the invasion of their own accord

in 1914 or during the German offensive of March 1918; The repatriated, the French who had lived in occupied

territories and had been released by the German authoritiesto free France, mainly so that they would no longer have toprovide provisions for them.

The refugees who arrived in the interior regions were not alwaysas well received as they had hoped. Some were called “Bochesdu Nord” (Bosches of the North) and this hostility was one ofthe reasons why the refugees wanted to return to their homes inthe north as quickly as possible. As soon as areas were liberated,during the summer of 1918, populations returned en mass, andthis increased after 11th November. Following the Armistice, thepopulation to be found in the liberated zones had already reached68,217 inhabitants. From 163,869 on 1st January 1919, it reached178,322 on 1st January 1920, 226,458 on 1st January 1921, 230,267on 1st January 1922 and 240,422 on 1st January 1923.

Nevertheless, living conditions were difcult. In the zones touchedby war, the ground was riddled with trenches, strewn with wireand pot-marked with shell holes. Unexploded shells threatenedcivilian security and roads, canals and railway lines were oftenunusable. Many farms and villages had been completely destroyed,to the point where exact positions of the former buildings couldno longer be pinpointed. The Service des Travaux de PremièreUrgence (Emergency Works Service) was in charge of clearingaway the unexploded ammunition and erecting temporaryaccommodation in which many inhabitants of the Somme wouldlive. Reconstruction would be long and hard and required extrawork forces from outside of the department to be called in tohelp.

4.2 The Return of the Refugees

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Daily allowance granted toMarie Oswald by the AmiensRefugee Service, dating from1st January 1920. Collectionsbelonging to Historial de la GrandeGuerre, n 0INVPHYS 011372.

Drawings by Adrien Barrère of the field hospitals during the Battle of the Somme (1916), where numerous and varied medicalprocedures were carried out. Collections belonging to Service de Santé des Armées Museum.

Field Hospital (H.O.E. 15 - Gailly-Cerisy) Mobile surgery – preparing a patient “Gueule cassée“

Bandaging after a lobotomyRadiography

Canal-boat hospital on the Somme

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Emerging from War

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The manner in which the destroyed towns and villages were tobe rebuilt was being considered right from 1915 through booksand exhibitions such as “La Cité Reconstituée” (The ReconstitutedCity), inaugurated in Paris in 1916. In 1917, the government createdthe Ministère du Blocus et des Régions Libérées (Ministry of theBlockade and the Liberated Regions) and the law voted on 17th April1919 enabled victims to receive a sum of money for “war damages”in compensation of material losses. Various types of loans were alsoproposed to the French population to nance the reconstruction, andFrench or foreign towns “adopted” devastated towns and villagesto provide nance for the reconstruction; the Norwegian town of

Bergen adopted the village of Bouchavesnes in the Somme, forexample.

The scale of devastation meant that the construction proved amammoth task. The Somme was one of the worst hit departments,with 381 ruined villages (104 were completed erased, 184 sufferedover 50% damages, and 93 were only hit), 11,000 public structureswere damaged, as were 700,000 houses (of which 280,000 werecompletely destroyed), without forgetting the agricultural eldsand woods that were annihilated. The towns of Albert, Amiens andMontdidier were also severely damaged by the bombardments.

Certain areas were considered too damaged to be recovered – RedZones that could not be rebuilt upon. In the Somme, this zoneconcerned over 28,000 hectares of land. The inhabitants, however,sought to return to their homes and put pressure on the Frenchgovernment to do so; eventually the zone was reduced to just over400 hectares in the Somme.

The reconstruction was organised in three stages. Until 1920, thepriority was given to the levelling of the ground and the restoringof farm land, repairing important infrastructures, such as main roadsand rail lines in order to carry materials and supply the industries.

The returning population had to live in temporary accommodation,lightweight, precarious structures, with few home comforts: woodenhuts or Nissen huts built with corrugated iron - some still exist today,in the east of the department. From 1920 to 1924, to meet basiclocal needs, work was focused on secondary infrastructure, such asroads, canals, and local railway lines, public buildings and farms. From1924, the general reconstruction of the area took place, including,houses, town halls, schools and churches. Although not everythingwas rebuilt: the Somme lost many of its chateaus during the ghtingand, because of the cost, many of these were never rebuilt.

Initially, architects wanted to restore and rebuild all that had beenlost, but later devised an architecture freely inspired by Gothic,classic or regional styles. The references to traditional Picardystyle architecture are thus numerous with the use of brick, gablewalls, high roofs, canopy roofs and porches. The town halls of

Chaulnes, Roisel and Nesle are very good examples of this. Thepublic authorities also decided to adopt all of the new amenities,in particular running water, electricity, garages, shops, and cinemas,and new agricultural and industrial materials. The Santerre saw itselfequipped with a modern drinking-water syndicate, which still existstoday. The facades and interiors of the rebuilt village houses wererevolutionary through their use of brick and a new outlay of rooms,highlighted by separate kitchens and a central corridor to separatethe living rooms from the bedrooms.

The reconstruction either followed the former lines of the town or

village, or completely changed the face of them. This was the caseof Albert, which adopted a development and extension plan, whichincluded a brand new embellishment of the town: a new streetfor shops and public activities, a change in location for the stationand the creation of the rst agro-industrial zone nearby, encouragingfactories to leave the town centre.

At the end of the 1920s, the extent of constructions to be built ina difcult economic climate prompted architects to invent a new,rational architectural design with simple forms, easy to produce andusing materials such as concrete - the decorative revelation - which

could adorn numerous buildings. The post ofce of Péronne has beenexuberantly decorated, combining elements of mosaic, brick andplaster, and the architect Maurice Pico was inspired by this artisticow when decorating the interior of the town hall of Montdidier. Forreligious buildings, other than the Basilica, only churches listed as“Monuments Historiques”, such as Tilloloy Church, were rebuilt moreor less identically to their former selves. The new churches werebuilt following the new architectural styles, using much concrete, likethe bell tower door of Saint Pierre of Roye, which at 64 metres inheight, dominates the Santerre plane. The interior decoration of thechurches includes ornamental art with frescos, altars, mosaics and

stained-glass windows.

The reconstruction of the Somme took many years - it had barelynished when the Second World War broke out.

4.3 Reconstruction

Temporary church in corrugatediron and bricks in the villageof Bouchavesnes. Collectionsbelonging to Historial de laGrande Guerre, n0INVPHYS 016435(4).

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Council chambers of thetown hall of Montdidier.Designed by Maurice Picoin the Art Deco style.

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From Memory to History

A great desire arose at the end of the war to render homage to the 1.3 million Frenchsoldiers and 9 million foreign soldiers who had died or were reported as missing. Thishomage was to be made without distinction and varied depending on the country,regardless of the fact that some soldiers’ remains would never be found or identied.

The end of the war enabled the French government to deal with theremains of soldiers who had not been claimed by their families andrebury them in cemeteries that had been especially created for thispurpose. As the example of the cemetery of Etinehem shows us, eachcemetery had identical features: very sober, dominated by the Frenchag, and with aligned headstones. The grave markers consist mainlyof crosses, but Jewish, Muslim and atheist headstones can be foundamong them. The name, regiment, age and date of death, if these areknown, are written on the plaques afxed to the headstones.

Sometimes soldiers’ bones are found but are unidentiable. Thesebones are buried together in ossuaries located inside some of thecemeteries, like at the cemetery of Lihons, for example. Despite thelack of an individual grave, the missing soldier is remembered by theinscription of his name on walls of commemoration. Homage is paidto all soldiers who died during the Great War.

To render homage to the French soldiers, memorials were erected innearly every town and village.

The village war memorials have become the natural place to hold

ceremonies, which include l’appel aux Morts (calling out the namesof the dead), a minute’s silence and the placing of a wreath. Thisceremony takes on a funerary, civic, secular and republican character.War memorials were built from 1919 by the municipalities (towncouncil and inhabitants’ committees) and were nanced by thegovernment, the municipal budget, donations, public subscriptionsand war damage grants. A true market for the sale and manufactureof memorials was created and sales catalogues were published; likethe catalogue issued by the Marbreries Gourdon, Paris, in which thetriumphal arch and memorial of a French soldier given to the villageof Proyart gured. Relatively well-known sculptors designed some of

the memorials; for example, Louis Leclabart and Albert Roze designedsome twenty memorials in villages including Corbie, Friville-Escarbotinand Amiens, although many more were created by local masons andmarble-workers.

The most frequently found memorial isthe inexpensive and simple memorial stone,inscribed with the sombre words “A nos enfants morts pour laFrance” (To our children who died for France), it is without allegoricalemblems except for the Croix de Guerre (War Cross) and laurels. Manyother memorials, like at Gamaches, glorify the heroism of the dead,combining words such as “To our heroes’ or “Glory to our children”,and feature statues of triumphant French soldiers or diverse nationalsymbols (French Cockerel standing on a German helmet, ag, etc.).Others represent dead or dying soldiers and evoke the mourning feltby families. For example, at Friville-Escarbotin, a wife is shown cryingwith her son over a dead soldier. Some monuments combine thesetwo patriotic and funerary dimensions: a dying soldier, for example,demonstrates the consent of sacrice. At Corbie, a mother shows herson the sacrice of his father by pointing out names written on acurved memorial wall. Certain memorials are unclassiable, like thatof Péronne, which evokes both the suffering of the civilians, revengeand anti-German sentiments. Symbols are sometimes added to givelocal character to this universal trend: sailors in Maritime Picardy andagricultural and industrial tools in Vimeu, symbolising recovery andrenewal.

5.1 Ceremonies and Homage to the French Dead

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The death toll during the First World War was published in theLe Miroir newspaper, calling to the League of Nations, thepredecessor of the UN, to make sure it would never happen again.

Collections belonging to Historial de la Grande Guerre, n 0INVPHYS: 028041.

Marble funeral plaque from aparent to his son who had diedduring the war. Collectionsbelonging to Historial de la GrandeGuerre, n 0INVPHYS : 062323. ©

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“Poilus”: nick-namegiven to French soldiersof the First World War. F

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The war memorial is usually located in a public area, on a squareor crossroads, close to the town hall or church, where it is welllooked after and protected; otherwise it can often be found in thecemetery. The rst and last names of the children of the village whodied for France are inscribed in alphabetical order or in chronologicalorder of their deaths. Military rank is rarely included. Men whowere shot at dawn are not remembered on the war memorials.Deserters, criminals or shell-shocked soldiers were condemned byan often speedy military justice.Today, a national commission isconsidering pardoning these men.

On 11th November a ceremony isorganised in each French villagein remembrance of the soldiers ofthe First World War. At the Chapelof Remembrance of Rancourt, inthe Somme, mass is celebrated

on the second Sunday of September, in the presence of military andcivilian leaders to commemorate the military casualties of the Battleof the Somme.

When the war was over, in France and in Belgium, the remains ofGerman soldiers were buried in cemeteries established close tothe battleelds. Being the vanquished, German cemeteries werealways placed next to secondary roads in the Somme and, likeat Morisel, are quite discreet, hardly visible on the landscape. Allfollowed the same design, and were planted with many treesand bushes but few owers. The grave-markers, often crosses,are made of stone or metal and the names of several soldiersare written on each. The mass graves usually take the form ofvast plaques of stone and are very sombre. The Somme counts 13German cemeteries of the First World War, the largest of which islocated at Vermandovillers. The families and individuals who cometo visit the German graves often leave wreaths of pinecones, orplace stones on the Jewish graves.

The French granted free gifts of land for the British cemeteries,and many of the men from the British or Imperial forces areburied close to where they died. Today, the Somme counts 410Commonwealth cemeteries of varying sizes, all follow certainfundamental landscape rules, including, identical headstones, aRemembrance Stone and Cross of Sacrice, but they also havetheir own personal features, as the Pozières Cemetery with itscolumns, and the Chinese Cemetery at Noyelles-sur-Mer with itscharacteristic Chinese features, such as its lettering on the graves,the entrance, and species of trees, show us.

5.2 Ceremonies and Homage to the Allied and German Dead

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The 11 th November in a few dates: 1919: Victory Parade on the Champs-Elysées

1920: An unknown French soldier is reburied under the Arcdu Triomphe: he represents all French soldiers killed during theFirst World War.

1922: The 11th November becomes a public holiday in France,ceremonies are held in each town and village.

1923: A ame is lit under the Arc du Triomphe, which hasnever been allowed to die.

2012: The 11th November becomes a day to commemorate all

French men who died for France during all conicts.

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Detail of the memorial at Proyart showingthe soldier surrounded by his family. Thevine symbolises renewal.

Entrance feature at the ChineseCemetery of Noyelles-sur-Mer.

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Newfoundland Memorial Park.Commemorations ofthe Battle of the Somme, 1 st July 2013, in front

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Australian NationalMemorial at Villers-Bretonneux, ANZACDay, 25th April.


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To honour the soldiers’ memories, the countries of the Commonwealtherected national memorials or memorials to remember individualunits; for example, the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing; the UlsterTower at Thiepval; the Welsh Dragon Memorial at Mametz; theNew Zealand Memorial and the South African National Memorial atLongueval; The Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux;other Australian memorials at Le Hamel, and Pozières, etc.; theNewfoundland Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel; and the Canadianmemorials at Le Quesnel and Courcelette. The United States ofAmerica also erected memorials to their men at Cantigny.

From the 1920s, the British and Dominions also remembered theirdead with different ceremonies that are held each year.

ANZAC Day, 25th April, is one of these such dates. It is commemoratedat Villers-Bretonneux, in the Somme, in remembrance of theAustralian soldiers, and at Longueval to remember the NewZealanders. The ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps)landed at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915 and units formed from it foughton the Somme from 1916. From Albert to Péronne, at the varioussites of remembrance concerned, ceremonies are held on 1st Julyin commemoration of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme.A ceremony is organised on the third Sunday of July at Longuevalin remembrance of the men who fought here. The 11th Novemberalso sees many British and other members of the Commonwealth inattendance at the various ceremonies.

The diversity of nations that fought here has made the Somme thedepartment counting the most foreign memorials. This has foundeda type of tourism known to the French as “Remembrance Tourism”;it is still very active today.

“Remembrance tourism” started in the Somme during the 1920s,with veterans or families of men who had died during the warwishing to visit the graves of their close family members. Thewar, however, also interested others, a more varied public situatedbehind the lines during the war who wanted to see the conictas it is best represented: as a battleeld. This increase in touristswas aided when Michelin published battleeld guides from 1920,proposing tour itineraries of the devastated landscapes where itwas still possible to see the history of the military events. Witha brand new publicity campaign, the Compagnie des Chemins deFer du Nord (Northern Railway Company) scheduled a train eachSunday to bring passengers to the battleelds.

Although interest in visiting the battleelds declined from the1930s, visits by veterans and families, especially British, continueduntil the 1970s. The 1980s heralded a change in the area with ageneral desire to protect, enhance and create a tourist destinationof the battleelds and memorials of the Somme.

Improvements for accommodating visitors really began in 1992with the creation of the Historial, Museum of the Great War, in thetown of Péronne. During the same year other places of visit werealso developed and enhanced, like the Somme 1916 Museum, inAlbert, which recounts the lives of soldiers in the trenches duringthe offensive of 1st July; today it has been completed by a gallerydedicated to nine heroes of the Great War. Other countries (withthe help of the department) began to open visitor centres closeto the memorials and progressively, a “Remembrance Trail” wasmapped out from Albert to Péronne. This trail links a great numberof memorials, cemeteries, battleeld remains and interpretationcentres. New projects are underway at present with the AustralianRemembrance Trail, for example, which will link some of the mostimportant Australian battle sites of the Great War, including fourthat are in the Somme: Villers-Bretonneux, Mont Saint-Quentin,Pozières and Le Hamel.

5.3 “Remembrance Tourism” Today:How do we View the War in thePresent Day?

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Commonwealth: Association uniting 54 countries most of which issued fromthe former British Empire.

Dominion: Until 1948, dominions were autonomous states of the British Empire,and included Newfoundland, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand...

Flowers of remembrance: After 1918, in remembrance of the soldiers andvictims of war, the French and British adopted owers which grew on the battleeldsas their symbols of remembrance. The cornower was chosen in France, payingtribute to the horizon blue uniform worn by soldiers from 1915 and the rst colour ofthe national ag. The British chose the poppy, in reference to the poem In Flanders’Fields by John McCrae, and the blood that was shed. Today, these owers are wornthroughout the world on days of remembrance and during commemorations.

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Ceremony of 1st July at the Thiepval Memorialto the Missing.

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Today, a century after these events occurred, nearly 200,000visitors, mainly originating from the Commonwealth countries,come each year to discover and learn about this dramatic chapterof our history. 50,000 visitors were counted per year in the1980s. This interest can be partly explained by visitors coming toremember the war and the men who fought here, but for somethere is also a sense of coming in search of their personal or evennational identity.

60% of visitors have a known ancestor who fought in the war andhave come to learn about their family history and to visit theirrelatives’ graves in the military cemeteries. 75% of them are fromoutside of France, among which 60% come from Great Britain, 18%from Australia and 7% from the Netherlands.

We are seeing more and more tourists visiting the Somme whohave no direct link to the men who fell during the Battles of theSomme but who are interested in history and take time to visit battlesites and memorials. Groups, especially school parties, are comingin greater numbers to the sites of remembrance to learn about thischapter of international history and its consequences. Whatever theirreason for visiting, each visitor is seized by the still tangible emotionthat haunts the area.

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It is estimated that Remembrance Tourism in the Sommegenerates some 23 million Euros per year.

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Twenty-ve! That’s the number of nations engaged on the battleeldsof the Somme during 1916 alone following the Allied offensive; thedepartment was a crossroads where soldiers from all over the worldcame to ght. The Somme is thus synonymous with the notion of“world war”.

This is the reason why, when a museum that would look at thehistory of the First World War was rst thought about for Péronne,it was obvious that this international aspect would we found withinit. The Historial of the Great War – the name combines history andmemorial – opened its doors on 1st August 1992. Designed by thearchitect Henri Ciriani who attached it to the mediaeval castle, theresolutely modern museum symbolises “a journey from war topeace”.

The historical narrative of the museum was elaborated by historiansof the International Research Centre, who originate from differentcountries. They have proposed fundamental concepts for a uniquemuseum layout which encourages understanding and emotionby placing the visitor in close proximity to the artefacts, as theunprotected uniforms presented in “pits” show.

5.4 Historial, Museum of the Great War

Cover of the Michelin guide for British visitors,called The Somme, The First Battle of the Somme (1916-1917) – Albert, Bapaume, Péronne. Collections belongingto Bibliothèque de l’Evêché d’Amiens, n 0BIB DA 2027. On loanto Somme Departmental Archives.

Advertisement for tourism to Amiens. “Remembrance Tourism” wasbooming in the 1920s, as this advertisement for Amiens shows. Collections belonging to Historial de la Grande Guerre, n 0INVPHYS:

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Visitors in close proximity to the artefacts,as the unprotected uniforms presented in“pits” show.

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The Somme Remembrance Trail in numbers (2012)

200 000 visitors per year

144 279 visitors to the Thiepval Visitor Centre

110 994 visitors to the Newfoundland Memorial Park at Beaumont-Hamel

20 898 visitors to the South African Memorial and Museum at Longueval

69 043 visitors to the Historial, Museum of the Great War at Péronne

51 504 visitors to the Somme 1916 Museum at Albert

12 337 visiteurs au Musée franco-australien de Villers-Bretonneux

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The path through the Historial is laid out chronologically, evoking adying world and the birth of a new one. Visitors are presented with alarge collection of authentic artefacts, which are not solely connedto the military aspect but also to aspects relating to economic,cultural and artistic aspects of the era. Displayed in the centre ofthe rooms are uniforms, weapons and everyday objects used bysoldiers, while around the rooms, in glass cabinets, everyday lifefrom behind the lines is presented.

The speciality of the Historial is its approach to war in a culturaldimension using artefacts from the three main nations that fought inthe Somme: Germany, France and Great Britain. The visitor can thusperceive the reality of daily life for all who were involved (soldiers,women, and children…) in this turning point of the 20th century.

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Taking an active role in the ofcial, national and local initiativesto render homage to the soldiers who fell on our land, duringthe centenary the Somme Department wishes to convey amessage of peace, reconciliation and hope forthe future. Written into the memories of theinhabitants, engraved forever in the landscapes,inscribed on the grave stones and memorials,the First World War constitutes a signicant andimportant chapter of our history.

During the months and years of the conict, theSomme received the youth of ve continents.It is this youth and universality that we wish to celebrate duringthe coming ve years. This can be achieved by transmitting ourhistorical knowledge and by involving the younger generationsin the commemorations; by modernising remembrance tourismand strengthening the attractiveness of our region. It holdsan unequalled natural and historical heritage and a legacy ofremembrance, which is essential for understanding the Great Warand the Somme of yesterday and today.

Today, it is with a common desire that the Somme and itsinhabitants unite to make the centenary of the Great War in ourdepartment both a time of commemorations but also a momentto create a uniting, international project across the generations.

In this way, many projects are being prepared and will emergethroughout the commemorations. The Conseil General de laSomme with the Historial, Museum of the Great War, the Somme

Departmental Archives, the Somme Departmental Library, SommeTourisme and also the sites of remembrance (Thiepval, Beaumont-Hamel…) will be involved in the centenary, commemorating the

period and proposing important events throughoutthe whole of the department of the Somme duringthe 2014-2018 period.

With the involvement of all: the State, localauthorities, associations, inhabitants, etc. thecommemoration of the centenary of the First WorldWar in the Somme will be a most important timeduring which all the projects that we will share and

carry out together will talk of our history but also of our future:a future we endeavour to make open to youth, the world, andto peace.

Programmed for 2014: Until 16th November:Exhibition “Hearing the War” at the

Historial, Musuem of the Great War. 15-18 May: First edition of the “International Gatherings”,

uniting high-school children from the Somme and from all overthe world in art and sporting activities.

2 july:Inauguration of a symbolic landscape creation dedicatedto the ve continents at the Cam Pond at Péronne, created byGilles Clément.

12-14 September:Air Show, presentations, ights and eventsthemed on the aviation of yesterday and today.

5.5 The Centenary in the Somme: It’s Up to Us to Mark its Importance!

View of the Historial, Museum of theGreat War from the Cam Pond.

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Timeline

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1914 28 June: Assassination of the Austro-Hungarian ArchdukeFranz Ferdinand at Sarajevo

23 July: Serbia refuses the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum 28 July: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia 1 August:

• General mobilisation in France • Germany declares war on Russia

3 August: Germany declares war on France and Serbia 4 August:Belgium is invaded and Great Britain declares waron Germany

August: Fighting begins in the Somme 31 August – 10 September: Amiens is occupied 17 September – 17 December: Race to the Sea andstabilisation of the frontline, from the North Sea to the SwissBorder

1915 August:The British Army takes over more frontline from theFrench, from the north of France to Maricourt (Somme)April 1915 – July 1916: Armenian genocide in the Ottoman

Empire

1916 21 February:Offensive of Verdun 24 June: Beginning of the intensive artillery bombardmentby the Allies on German positions in the north-east of theSomme

Beginning of July:The Battle of the Somme begins 15 September: First use of Tanks on the battleelds (betweenCourcelette and Combles)

18 November: The Battle of the Somme comes to an end

1917 March-April: The German Army withdraws to the HindenburgLine (Aisne)

6 April: The United States declares war on Germany 16 April: The Battle of the Chemin des Dames, in the Aisne, islaunched

Spring: First mutinies in the French Army, in the Aisne Beginning of the reconstruction in the liberated regions October: Russian revolution, a Bolshevik regime is established

1918 3 March: Signing of the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty betweenthe German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and theBolshevik Republic. End of the conict in Eastern Europe.

21 March: The German Spring Offensive is launched 26 March: Marechal Foch is given the Unied command ofthe Allied Armies, at Doullens

Beginning April:The German Offensive is stopped to thewest of Montdider, Moreuil and Le Hamel

21 April: The Red Baron is shot down close to Corbie 25 April: Villers-Bretonneux is retaken by the Allies 4 July: First modern battle won by the Allies at Le Hamel 8 August:The nal Allied offensive of the region is launchedin the region of Moreuil

2 September: Péronne is captured from the Germans 11 November: The Armistice is signed at Rethondes nearCompiegne (Oise), bringing an end to ghting

1919 28 June:Signing of the Versailles Peace Treaty, the end ofthe war

1920 10 January: Creation of the League of Nations (LN),predecessor of the United Nations (UN)

11 November: First ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, inParis, in honour of the French Unknown Soldier

Until 1939Reconstruction



Filmography

Charlie Chaplin,Shoulder Arms ; 1918 François Dupeyron,The Ofcers’ Ward , 2000

Jean-Pierre Jeunet, A Very Long Engagement , 2004Stanley Kubrick,Paths of Glory , 1957David Lean; Lawrence of Arabia ; 1962

Lewis Mileston, All Quiet on the Western Front , 1930 Jean Renoir,La grande illusion , 1937

Steven Spielberg,War Horse , 2012Bertrand Tavernier,Life and Nothing But , 1988Bertrand Tavernier,Captain Conan , 1996Christian Carion, Joyeux Noël , 2005

Oliver Woodward,Beneath Hill 60 , 2010 Philip Martin,Birdsong , 2012 Andy de Emmony,Wipers Times , 2013

Webography

To learn more about the First World War: Académie de Rouen (animated maps of the Western Front): http://hist-geo.spip.ac-rouen.fr/spip.php?article5119 Website of the Centenary in the Somme: www.somme-battleelds.com

Australian Government: www.ww1westernfront.gov.au New Zealand Government: http://ww100.govt.nz/ Veterans’ Affairs Canada: http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/rst-world-war Conseil General de la Somme – educational website:

www.education.somme.fr

Museums: Historial, Museum of the Great War:

www.historial.org

Imperial War Museum:www.iwm.org.uk

Musée de l’armée: www.musee-armee.fr Somme 1916 Museum: www.musee-somme-1916.eu

For research purposes: Somme Departmental Archives: http://archives.somme.fr Commonwealth War Graves Commission: www.cwgc.org

French Ministry of Defence:www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr

Bibliography

Books and magazines: Martin Middlebrook,First Day of the Somme , 2006 Peter Barton,The Battleelds of the First World War , 2013 Pen & Sword,The Battleground Europe series Jay Winder & Blaine Baggett,1914-18: Great War and the Shaping of the

20 th Century , 1996

Lyn MacDonald, Somme , 2013 Richard Holmes,Tommy the British Soldier on the Western Front , 2005 Julian Thompson,1916: Verdun and the Somme , 2006 John Horne, A Companion to World War 1 , 1983 A.J.P. Taylor,The First World War: An Illustrated History , 1963 Frédérick Hadley,The British Army in the Great War , 2011

Memoirs and novels: Henri Barbusse & Robin Buss,Under Fire , 1916 Blaise Cendrars,Lice , 1974 Roland Dorgelès,Wooden Crosses , 1921 E.P.F. Lynch;Somme Mud , 2006

Richard Van Emden, The Soldier’s War: The Great War through Veterans’Eyes , 2008 Ernst Jünger,Storm of Steel , 1920 Erich Maria Remarque,All Quiet on the Western Front , 1929 Edmund Blunden,Undertones of War , 1928 Robert Graves,Goodbye to All That , 1929 Siegfried Sassoon,Memoirs of an Infantry Ofcer: The Memoirs of

George Sherston , 1930 Sebastian Faulks,Birdsong , 1994

Comic books: Joe Sacco,The Great War , 2013 Pat Mills,Charley’s War , 1979 Mark Bryant,World War 1 in Cartoons , 2006

Guidebooks: Major & Mrs Holt’s,Battleeld Guide to the Somme , 2008

Martin & Mary Middlebrook, The Middlebrooks guide to the SommeBattleelds , 2007

Rose E.B. Coombes,Before Endeavours Fade , 2010 Somme Tourisme, Conseil général de la Somme;Sites of the First World

War, the Guide ; 2012

Resources



Editorial Directors: Bernard Beigner, Recteur de l’Académie d’Amiens etChristian Manable, Président du Conseil général de laSomme

Editor: Marc Pellan (Conseil général de la Somme)

Coordination:

Florie Dournel (Conseil général de la Somme) etAmandine Gourguechon (Conseil général de la Somme)

Writers and Contributors: Éric Berriahi (Archives municipales d’Abbeville), Jean-François Birebent (Service éducatif de l’Historialde la Grande Guerre), Julien Cahon (Association desProfesseurs d’Histoire et de Géographie de Picardie),Aude Carrier (Somme Tourisme), Jérôme Damblant(Académie d’Amiens), Sophie Delaporte (Université dePicardie Jules Verne), Olivia Deroint (Conseil général dela Somme), Florie Dournel (Conseil général de laSomme), Caroline Fontaine (Centre international derecherche de l’Historial de la Grande Guerre), FrédérickHadley (Historial de la Grande Guerre), Nathalie Herr(Académie d’Amiens), Christian Laude (Association desProfesseurs d’Histoire et de Géographie de Picardie),Philippe Nivet (Université de Picardie Jules Verne),Thérèze Rauwel (CAUE80), François Sirel (Académied’Amiens), Christophe Thomas (Service éducatif del’Historial de la Grande Guerre), Emmanuel Veziat(Académie d’Amiens), Romain Zechser (Ville d’Abbeville)

Translation: Catherine Carnel (Conseil général de la Somme)

Photographers: Chenu, service communication du rectorat - Photographesdu Conseil général de la Somme : Florie Dournel, YazidMedmoun, Stéphanie Rannou, Philippe Sergeant.

Cover photograph credits: Philippe Guillaume (Vues d’ici), Collection Historial,Yazid Medmoun (Conseil général de la Somme), VincentThellier (Balloide photo), Droits réservés.

With the kind participation of the Belfast City Council, the

Picardy Society of Antiquaries, the Somme DepartmentalArchives and the Historial, Museum of the Great War.

Cartography: Émilie Gallet-Moron (Université de Picardie Jules Verne)

Graphic Design: Elsa Defaux (Imprimerie départementale)

Printing: Imprimerie Leclerc (Abbeville)

Contacts: Académie d’Amiens 20 boulevard d’Alsace-Lorraine80063 Amiens cedex 9 Tel: +33 3 22 82 38 [email protected]

Archives départementales de la Somme 61 rue Saint-Fuscien80000 AmiensTel: 03 60 03 49 50 Fax: 03 60 03 49 [email protected]

Bibliothèque départementale de la Somme 10 Chemin du Thil 80000 Amiens Tel: 03 22 71 97 00 [email protected]

Conseil général de la Somme 43 rue de la RépubliqueCS 3261580026 Amiens cedex 1Tel: 03 22 71 80 [email protected]

Historial de la Grande GuerreChâteau de PéronneBP 2006380201 PERONNE cedexTel: (+33) 3 22 83 14 18 [email protected]

Somme Tourisme 21 rue Ernest Cauvin 80000 Amiens

Tel: 03 22 71 22 71 [email protected]

the somme in the first world war

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