Voie Sacrée
Encyclopedia
The Voie Sacrée is a road that connects Bar-le-Duc
to Verdun
(Meuse
), France
. It was given its name after the end of World War I
because of the vital role it played during the Battle of Verdun
.
s worked to keep the road in good shape and order. The road had been recognized as the only reliable vehicular road that remained in existence to supply Verdun safely. All the standard gauge railway lines that could reach Verdun had already been interrupted by German forces since 1914. To compensate for this precarious situation the road had already been widened to 23 feet during 1915, so it could accommodate the continuous up and down flow of two lines of truck traffic. This preemptive roadway improvement in 1915, plus success in organizing the transport system on the road (a mission fulfilled by colonel Maurice de Barescut, the Chief of Staff of the French Second Army), is what literally saved Verdun in 1916.
A special unit responsible for controlling traffic and servicing the vehicles numbered 300 officers and 8,500 men. Thirty breakdown trucks remained on the road at all times and repair crews were stationed beside it. Any disabled vehicle was immediately moved to the roadside so as not to interrupt the flow of traffic. Automobile repair shops in Bar-le-Duc and Troyes
worked ceaselessly as did hydraulic presses that renewed the truck's solid rubber tyres.
Le Chemin de Fer Meusien, a narrow-gauge single track railway, ran parallel to the roadside and was able to move 1,800 tons of supplies per day. This included the bulk of the food for the army at Verdun - some 16,600 officers and 420,000 men, not to mention 136,000 horses - and brought back many wounded from the front. Beginning in March 1916, a standard gauge railway bypass was placed under accelerated construction: the Sommeilles-Nettancourt to Dugny line. During the summer of 1916 it would reconnect Verdun to the regional standard gauge network .
The Voie Sacrée still exists but it has been paved-over and is now an active secondary road. In 2006, the route was renumbered RD1916, a reference to the road's most critical year. The city hall in the village of Souilly
, on the Voie Sacrée, served as headquarters to Generals Philippe Pétain
and Robert Nivelle
during the Battle of Verdun. A large, well-preserved, two-story stone building fronting on the "Voie Sacree", the Souilly city hall is still in official use today. Several plaques on its facade remind the visitor of the historic role it played in 1916 during the Battle of Verdun
and, later in 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
Bar-le-Duc
Bar-le-Duc, formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the préfecture . The department is in Lorraine in north-eastern France-Geography:...
to Verdun
Verdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
(Meuse
Meuse
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.-History:Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
), France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It was given its name after the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
because of the vital role it played during the Battle of Verdun
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February – 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...
.
History
After March 1916, along the 72 km (44.7 mi) of the "Voie Sacrée" 3,900 trucks were on the move day and night, ferrying men, armaments, and supplies to the Verdun battlefield. During the initial crisis of 21 February to 22 March, 600 trucks per day had already delivered 48,000 tons of ammunition, 6,400 tons of other material and 263,000 men to the battlefield. Beginning on February 21, all horse drawn traffic and troop movements on foot had been ordered off the road leaving it open for truck and motor car traffic only. After March 1916, one truck passed every 14 seconds, submitting the road to considerable wear and tear. Quarries had to be opened nearby to supply the road with crushed stone. Over the course of ten months, 8,500 men from 16 labour battalionLabour battalion
Labour battalions have been a form of alternative service or unfree labour in various countries in lieu of or resembling regular military service...
s worked to keep the road in good shape and order. The road had been recognized as the only reliable vehicular road that remained in existence to supply Verdun safely. All the standard gauge railway lines that could reach Verdun had already been interrupted by German forces since 1914. To compensate for this precarious situation the road had already been widened to 23 feet during 1915, so it could accommodate the continuous up and down flow of two lines of truck traffic. This preemptive roadway improvement in 1915, plus success in organizing the transport system on the road (a mission fulfilled by colonel Maurice de Barescut, the Chief of Staff of the French Second Army), is what literally saved Verdun in 1916.
A special unit responsible for controlling traffic and servicing the vehicles numbered 300 officers and 8,500 men. Thirty breakdown trucks remained on the road at all times and repair crews were stationed beside it. Any disabled vehicle was immediately moved to the roadside so as not to interrupt the flow of traffic. Automobile repair shops in Bar-le-Duc and Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
worked ceaselessly as did hydraulic presses that renewed the truck's solid rubber tyres.
Le Chemin de Fer Meusien, a narrow-gauge single track railway, ran parallel to the roadside and was able to move 1,800 tons of supplies per day. This included the bulk of the food for the army at Verdun - some 16,600 officers and 420,000 men, not to mention 136,000 horses - and brought back many wounded from the front. Beginning in March 1916, a standard gauge railway bypass was placed under accelerated construction: the Sommeilles-Nettancourt to Dugny line. During the summer of 1916 it would reconnect Verdun to the regional standard gauge network .
The Voie Sacrée still exists but it has been paved-over and is now an active secondary road. In 2006, the route was renumbered RD1916, a reference to the road's most critical year. The city hall in the village of Souilly
Souilly
Souilly is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. The Town Hall at Souilly, fronting on the Voie Sacree, served as headquarters for general Petain and, later, general Nivelle during the Battle of Verdun in 1916....
, on the Voie Sacrée, served as headquarters to Generals Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
and Robert Nivelle
Robert Nivelle
Robert Georges Nivelle was a French artillery officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion, and the First World War. In May 1916, he was given command of the French Third Army in the Battle of Verdun, leading counter-offensives that rolled back the German forces in late 1916...
during the Battle of Verdun. A large, well-preserved, two-story stone building fronting on the "Voie Sacree", the Souilly city hall is still in official use today. Several plaques on its facade remind the visitor of the historic role it played in 1916 during the Battle of Verdun
Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was one of the major battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February – 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France...
and, later in 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.
See also
- Zone rouge (First World War)Zone rouge (First World War)The Zone rouge is the name given to about of land in northeastern France that was physically and environmentally destroyed during the First World War...
- Gen.Allain Bernede,"Verdun 1916:un choix strategique, une equation logistique". in : Revue historique des Armees,242,2006.