Day 14 – Fromelles, Villers Bretoneux , Rouen
We decided to have an early start this morning and checked out of the hotel without having breakfast. We fitted that in later with a mid-morning brunch. Yes, we had returned to France, but this was to be a visit unlike our many previous trips – over the next week we would explore a wide arc of regional areas, rather than concentrate on Paris as we had done many times before. Some of these are well known destinations; others are well off the beaten track and never visited by tour companies.
Taking the motorway, we headed west, then south, a journey of 25km until we reached the village of Fromelles. With a tiny population (under 1000) Fromelles isn’t a major tourist destination, but we’re there for a different reason: it’s the site of the worst 24 hours in Australian history.
In 1915 Fromelles shared a common trait with Ypres and other towns and cities: they sat in the path of Germany’s ‘Race to the Sea’. The idea was to capture territory along the way to the Belgian and French North Sea ports and thereby control both shipping and land travel. In July 1916 the Allied forces decided to conduct an offensive (the Battle of Fromelles) to draw German troops away from the Somme. The badly planned assault was a disaster: about 2,000 Australian and 500 British soldiers were killed in the first 24 hours. Another 3,000 Australians and 1,000 British were wounded. The German 6th Bavarian Reserve Division suffered about 1,800 casualties, although a 27 year-old corporal named Adolf Hitler survived his injuries after having been shot by a British soldier.
Later analysis of the debacle indicated that the British commander, General Haking had been too optimistic about the ability to rout the Germans, had not sufficiently bombarded their positions before the offensive, had failed to surprise the enemy with the attack and had not properly planned the strategy. The Australian division was also inexperienced, having recently arrived and were probably not ready for such an assault. And perhaps fittingly, Haking was accused of reckless extravagance in expenditure of life.
Many Australian soldiers were buried by the Germans in mass graves, eventually unearthed in 2007/08. The Pheasant Wood Cemetery is now their resting place, although many of the bodies could never be formally identified.
Like Ypres, these military cemeteries are peaceful and neatly kept – totally unlike the carnage that caused them to be created. We wandered around amongst the headstones, reflecting on what happened on that fateful day in 1916.
There was one more WW1 pilgrimage to make today, the town of Villers-Bretonneux and we set out on the 124km journey south. The town is 19km to the east of Amiens and the site of the world’s first tank battle (Britain vs Germany in 1918). The Germans had captured the town with the intention of using it to fire shells at the strategic city of Amiens. Over the next day Australian troops, outnumbered ten to one, drove the Germans out, losing 1,200 men in the conflict.
The saving of Villers-Bretonneux (and indirectly, Amiens) has never been forgotten by the town. Every blackboard in the local school bears the words: “N'oublions jamais l'Australie" (Let us never forget Australia). For these reasons this town has become a pilgrimage destination for many Australians.
A couple of kilometres north of the town is the Australian War Cemetery and its appearance is quite stunning. The rows of headstones and manicured lawns emulate those of the war cemeteries we’ve already seen, but this site has an enormous tower that leads to a viewing platform 32 metres up.
Australian War Memorial; Villers-Bretonneux
At the top of the hill is a tower/monument....
And here's the view from atop, looking back at the rows of graves we had just walked past.
Leaving the cemetery, we drove into the town and immediately noticed the street signs bearing Australian place names. Yes, they renamed their streets in honour of the places the soldiers came from. The streets were almost deserted today as this was a public holiday; otherwise we might have been greeted with warm welcomes in this town.
Town Hall, Villers-Bretonneux
We stopped at the school and took photos – it was built from funds raised by Australian schoolkids in my home state, just a few years before I was born.
School; Villers-Bretonneux
We continued through the Picardy region, driving west toward the city of Amiens, just 20 minutes away. Crossing the Somme River we entered the city. Its history stretches back to Roman times and it later developed into textile manufacture like so many cities in this region, in this instance specialising in velour. We parked within walking distance of the cathedral and made our way to it. This 13th century Gothic cathedral is indeed spectacular – it’s very high (the tallest completed cathedral in France) and this led to the interior space being gigantic.
It's the 19th largest church in the world.
Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens
Walking down the northern ambulatory, I took a photo of the skull of John the Baptist that resides here. It was supposedly brought to Amiens by the Knights Templar from the Fourth Crusade. Yes, but there’s a bit of competition out there: John’s skull is also claimed to be in a few other places (e.g. Jordan, Syria, Rome, Germany, Turkey and even a parish church in Kent). I’m not too sure what to make of this, other than the fact that the strangest things turn up on Ebay.
The skull of John the Baptist?
We walked back to the car and drove a short distance south to have a look at Jules Verne House. The famous science fiction/adventure author lived here and wrote most of his books inside these walls. It’s now a museum.
Jules Verne House
Jules Verne House
It was mid afternoon and we needed to keep moving. The A29 motorway swept south-east, taking us into the Normandy region, and after 120km we arrived in the medieval city of Rouen. We drove straight to the Ibis hotel we had booked the night before and located it just near the Seine River. After checking in (another great price at €65 for the night) we ventured out into the streets to explore this old city.
Rouen became the capital of Normandy in the 10th century and one of the largest and wealthiest European cities despite being ravaged by plagues, fires and conflict. The Duchy of Normandy began in 911 AD and its most famous duke was William the Conqueror who invaded England in 1066 to become King William I. And Rouen was home base until William moved it to Caen. With Rouen dubbed the ‘City of a Hundred Spires’ you can imagine that there are plenty of churches here - but none are as spectacular as Rouen Cathedral.
Rouen Cathedral
The cathedral site dates back to the 4th century although the early churches were destroyed by Vikings, fires and lightning strikes. The current cathedral is an early Gothic masterpiece, constructed in the early 1200s, although work continued for centuries. The tower on the right is known as the Butter Tower because it was financed by wealthy citizens who paid donations to be allowed to eat butter during Lent each year. If those Archbishops had been a bit more flexible with the concept of selling forgiveness they could have drawn up a lucrative list of sins you could buy exemptions for - although I suppose they’d have a few ethical problems when the Adultery Chapel got underway.
We walked past the cathedral, intending to go inside a little later. There was something further down the road we needed to see first.
To the western end of the cathedral is Rue du Gros-Horloge, a laneway that is named after, and leads to Gros-Horloge, an astronomical clock built into a Renaissance archway over the road. It’s ornate and constructed in the late 1300s – and it still works (with electric motors these days).
Rue du Gros-Horloge; Amiens
Continuing west takes you to Place du Vieux Marché where the lane opens out to a more open area. This was an ancient market square and the modern, odd-shaped building on the right is the Church of St Joan of Arc.
Church of St Joan of Arc
Walking around this building brings us to our destination: the site where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. It’s marked with a tall cross in a fenced garden.
Joan (Jeanne) was born around 1412, some 75 years after the start of the Hundred Years’ War (that should’ve been called the 117 Years’ War had it not been for rounding). The war started out when the French King Philip VI irritated King Edward III by meddling in his war with Scotland. Eddie then reasserted his claim to the French throne (he had the technical bloodline and had been excluded through a loophole cooked up by the French to avoid being ruled by an English king). In 1340 he appointed himself King of France and this was soon backed up by the cities of Bruges, Ghent and Ypres, mainly due to the fact that England was their best customer for textile sales, and their main supplier of their raw material, wool. See how all these things interconnect?
When the French navy disrupted trade across the English Channel, the English navy attacked them, destroying their fleet and restoring trade with Flanders. Edward then captured cities in France, such as Caen and Calais. France had descended into gloom due to its military losses and the Black Death plague that killed half its population by the time King Philip VI died in 1349. A succession of French kings followed and by 1419 even Rouen had been captured by the English. In 1420 the French basically gave up, signing the Treaty of Troyes which accepted that Henry V and his heirs would become king of France when Charles VI died. France was overwhelmingly under English control, and headed toward a future of red letterboxes, warm beer and bowler hats. However, in 1422 both the English and French kings died within two months of each other – and everything changed.
France’s new king was the 18 year old Charles VII and the English King, Henry VI was only a baby (England now being run by a regent). Six years later, the English (with their Burgundy allies) controlled northern France, including Paris – and they were expanding south with a siege of the city of Orleans. And then a 16 year old girl named Joan of Arc entered the equation. Joan was an illiterate farmer’s daughter who claimed to have had visions from angels telling her to support Charles VII and help restore the region to French rule. She managed to get an audience with her king who was not only impressed, but also desperate to try anything new. His advisers thought that divine visions couldn’t be ignored but she should be tested by sending her to Orleans.
Joan never led the battle, but she certainly motivated the troops. Morale soared; especially since there had been a prophecy that an armoured maiden from Lorraine would one day arrive to rescue France from English domination. And guess where Joan came from? The French surprised the English, driving them away just nine days after Joan arrived. Joan became something of a superstar and men from all directions volunteered for army service. Soon, the English armies were driven out of the Loire Valley as the French forces began their push north, toward Troyes and then Reims. It was mid-1429 when Charles VII, with Joan of Arc at his side entered Reims and the coronation was the next day.
The war was being won by the French, but not immediately. Joan continued her campaign but ten months later was captured by Burgundy troops and eventually sold to the English. Her trial in Rouen was a political exercise and nothing to do with justice. Heresy was punishable by death and the court contrived to achieve this sentence on the basis that Joan had worn male clothing during her campaigns and whilst in prison. And that’s what led Joan to this site at Place du Vieux Marché. She was tied to a post, burned alive and then thrown into the River Seine. The war continued for another 22 years before it ended with the English driven out of France. Soon after, a court overturned the guilty verdict and Joan eventually became a saint in 1920.
We made our way back to Rouen Cathedral, taking a slightly different route that passed the Palace of Justice...
Palace of Justice; Rouen
Returning to the cathedral, we went inside. Within the cathedral are a few tombs, including that of Richard the Lionheart, although only his heart is inside. Richard was king of England for a decade but he spent only about six months there, preferring the adventures of crusades in the Middle East and his beloved Normandy.
The cathedral has a chapel dedicated to Joan of Arc so we strolled over for a closer look.
Chapelle Jeanne D'Arc; Rouen Cathederal
Leaving the cathedral, we walked back to the river and halfway across the bridge for a view of the Seine. We’re 120km upstream from the sea here and Rouen is the furthest point that ocean ships can reach. A further 240 km upstream is Paris.
Seine River; Rouen
We walked back into the central area to look for a place to eat dinner, deciding on a restaurant called ‘Holy Cow’ on the corner of Rue de la République and Rue Alsace Lorraine. At €17.80 for two gourmet burgers and drinks, it hit the spot before we strolled back to our hotel.
Streets of Rouen