Barr Ferree - The Bombardment of Reims

The bombardment of Reims, and the attendant destruction of its cathedral, is an event that has particularly excited the indignation of the civilized world. The sacrifice has seemed so wanton and so unnecessary that the souls of those who have not known the great church by personal observation have cried out in indignation against the outrage, while to those who have known it, its long continued passion has aroused the feeling of an intense personal loss. No other episode of the Great War has accomplished such complete destruction of so great a work of art. Its blackened walls and broken statues are the most formidable indictment the Germans have yet raised against themselves. As an event in the War it stands unique among countless other inexcusable horrors, and it has, therefore seemed worth while to summarize briefly the dreadful doings at Reims, that the real nature of the hideous tragedy may be made apparent.

For an American, remote from the seat of war, to attempt a survey of the bombardment of Reims is a hazardous task. Yet I have ventured to do so because the continued dreadfulness of this great siege, which has lasted more than three years, is quite unknown in this country, and, even in the meagre details here set forth, not fully known in France. The bombardment of Reims has continued from September 3, 1914, without interruption, save for the few days of the German occupation in that month, and some days designated as "calm" in the daily reports. But these "calm" days form part of the history of the siege, since no one could tell at what hour the bombardment might be renewed.

Little as to the bombardment of Reims has appeared in the American papers, and not much more in the Paris papers. The official bulletins give so small space to it that they have been entirely neglected in the preparation of this chronology. More than once the papers published in Reims have complained of the silence of the Paris papers on the attacks on their beloved city, and have frequently referred to the importance attached to minor details elsewhere, while nothing at all has been said as to more important events at Reims.

The hand of the censor has at all times rested heavily on Reims, the local censor sometimes not permitting the publication of details that have appeared in the few references in Paris newspapers. At the beginning of the bombardment the papers of Reims published quite full details, giving the names and addresses of persons killed or wounded, and the location of buildings burned or otherwise injured in the bombardment. These items were speedily suppressed, and the greater part of the record in available publications is not much more detailed than is given in these pages.

But if details are wanting it is not impossible to draw an outline picture of the whole bombardment. This I have undertaken to do; and while I cannot hope, from an accurate point of view, that this work can have any value, I am not without hope that as a general review of the bombardment from the beginning, this little book may find a place in the vast literature of the war. Certainly the facts here gathered are quite unknown in America, and, in their entirety, are almost as little known in France, since no one in that besieged land as yet attempted a similar undertaking.

The present record covers the three years of the bombardment from September 3, 1914 to September 3, 1917. A siege extending over so considerable a period of time, attended as it has been, with months of ferocious assaults, with great loss of life, and the useless destruction of great works of art, may well be chronicled for that period. And this is the more the case since the details here gathered have not before been grouped together in their entirety.

It is much too soon to attempt a full history of the bombardment of Reims, but the outlines of the dreadful story may now be brought together. It should be sufficiently obvious that the bombardment of Reims is not a small episode in the war, but an event continuous from the very beginning.

The chronology here published has been compiled from the local newspapers published at Reims and at Paris. I have made use of "Le Courrier de la Champagne", published in Reims, "Le Petit Rémois", published in Paris from December 15, 1915, and the journal "Reims à Paris", also published in Paris from December, 1914. The editor of the latter paper having been called to the colours, it was merged with "La Marne" and has appeared as "Reims à Paris et la Marne" since October 4, 1916. The daily records of the bombardment, printed in "Le Courrier de la Champagne", are those compiled by its own staff. The records printed in the other papers are compiled from "Le Courrier de la Champagne" and "L'Éclaireur de l'Est", also printed in Reims. "Le Petit Rémois" has made free use of both these papers, and in addition has published the reports of its editor, M. Pierre Bienvenue, residing in Reims. Owing to the fury of the bombardment in April "Le Courrier" was forced to suspend publication for the time being, but "L'Éclaireur" was able to continue in a much reduced form.

The French Republic paid a fine tribute to this journalistic heroism when President Poincaré pinned the Cross of the Legion of Honour on the breast of M. Paul Dramas, the managing editor of "L'Éclaireur de l'Est" on June 18, 1917, when the same distinction was given to Cardinal Luçon, Archbishop of Reims, and Deputy Mayors J. de Bruignac and E. Charbonneaux, and some other heroic citizens. It is impossible to turn over the pages of these little Reims papers without a heartening sense of the courage that permitted their publication daily throughout a harrowing siege. Heroic journalism in a very true sense.

Among other sources of information special mention should be made of "Le Martyre de Reims", published anonymously in parts. It began with the admirable purpose of presenting a detailed summary of life and events in Reims during the bombardment, giving the names of persons killed or wounded, and the locality of buildings injured. The censor speedily fell afoul of this useful summary: names of persons and buildings were stricken out, as well as other details, and finally the diary came to a temporary end with Part 41.

I must mention also the "Journal d'un Rémois" by M. Henri Jadart, which appeared in "Les Champs de Bataille, Collection du Tour de France, Les Cités Meurtries", edited by M. Octave Beauchamp. M. Jadart is librarian and curator of the Museum of the City of Reims, and has kept in close touch with everything relating to his city. His "Bibliographie Rémoise", read before the Academy of Reims, of which he is the Secretary-General, at a meeting in Paris in June, 1916, is a useful record of the extensive literature produced by the bombardment. The series "Les Cités Meurtries" also includes "Reims sous les obus en 1915" by Mlle. Alice Martin, carrying the story into that year. Mention should also be made of the publication "Reims et la Marne. Almanach de la Guerre, 1914-1915", published in Paris by M. Jules Matot. This book contains no calendar of the bombardment, but a daily summary of general events at Reims, and therefore it is more particularly of local interest. The article "Trois Semaines à Reims" by General Dubois, published in "La Revue" for Oct. – Nov., 1914, contains some useful notes on the first weeks of the bombardment. Just as my chronology had been completed I obtained the new book by M. Jules Poirier "Reims (1 Août – 31 Décembre, 1914)", giving a survey of the early events of the war as they related to Reims, and summarizing the daily events in diary form. It has given me some additional facts on the first five months of the bombardment. "Sous les Bombes" by Mlle. Clotilde Jehanne Remy, of which two parts have appeared, is a personal diary of life in Reims during the bombardment.