#petain

22 Voie Sacree, Souilly France, December 2018.

Full photo gallery online here.

22 Voie Sacree

The 1916 headquarters for Field Marshal Philippe Pétain during the 1916 Battle of Verdun. Located in the village of Souilly France, 20km south of the city of Verdun. 

French Marshal Philippe Pétain and Commander in Chief Joseph Joffre at 22 Voie Sacree in 1916, photo Wikipedia

A plaque on the side of the building reads:

It was in this town hall that during the night of February 25 to 26, 1916, the Marshal Petain, then General Commandant The 2nd Army set up his headquarters and took the strength of the battle of Verdun. From May 1st, 1916 and until September 21st, 1916 the command of the 2nd army was exercised successively by Generals Nivelle Cuillaumat Hirschauer.

This same building served as the headquarters for US General John J. Pershing and the American First Army in 1918 during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

A memorial behind the building lists the citizens of Souilly that were lost in the Great War.

It was a pretty early morning when I visited the village. Some of the town folk were walking down the street towards the coffee shop and shot me a strange expression, probably wondering what this tourist was doing in their village at this early hour.

Les deux France

IMPORTANT!!!!

Pétain is not going to be honoured on saturday and it apparently never was even an option. THEN WHY - Monsieur Macon- WHY DID YOU...like why adressing this. I did not understand it yesterday, I feared they were actually thinking about doing it...yes, even though it would be an absolute shame. That’s just terrible communication like pointed out in the this interview. Did Monsieur Macron not know this???? Did he and was just trying to say something different?

Seriously, sometimes it’s soo confusing! I’m glad now that it won’t happen, but this is the same thing as with the infamous “gens qui sont rien”. Months after it happened he was asked about it again and he then explained FOR THE FIRST TIME (in my knowledge) that it was a quote and how he was tryIng to point out that this was exactly the opposite of how it should beOU and I’m like man, that’s too complicated! Not everyone can always guess what you’re thinking!

Foch, with his marshal’s baton; he would not actually receive the baton itself until the 24th.

August 6 1918, Paris--General Foch, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Armies, had survived intense criticism that arose after the German success on the Aisne in late May, and by early August had won his own first great victory, reversing most of the German gains while keeping a large enough Allied reserve to plan further attacks imminently.  For this success, Foch was promoted to Marshal of France on August 6.  This brought him to the same rank as Haig, who himself had likely been promoted in response after Joffre received his baton as compensation for being forced out by Nivelle in late 1916.  

Even the Central Powers respected Foch, with Vienna’s Arbeiter Zeitung saying on the same day:

...the Allies now possess a leader whose name arouses confidence and...they believe that, unlike his predecessors, he will not fall far short of the mature skill...possessed by Hindenburg and Ludendorff.

The next hundred days would be a test of all three leaders’ skill and perseverance.

France’s commander-in-chief, Pétain, would not be promoted to Marshal until a few days after the armistice; Lyautey, Franchet d’Esperey, Fayolle, Gallieni, and Maunoury would all receive batons in the years after the war (the last two posthumously).

Today in 1917: Battle of Marasesti Today in 1916: Italians Take Mts San Michele and Sabotino Today in 1915: Allied Landing at Suvla Bay Today in 1914: Ludendorff Breaks into Liège

Petain

In 1940 the part of France not occupied by the Germans, but still under its dominion, scrapped the previous democratic government based on “Liberté, Fraternité, Egalité” and replaced it with an authoritarian government under Premier Pétaiin. The new motto was “Work, Family, Country”. Note the Star of David in the discarded rubble of old France.