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| Also Valmy |
On our journey from Brittany to Poland over the last three days we passed close to or actually drove across at least six major historical battlefields including Crecy, Valmy, Verdun, Jena, Auerstadt and Lutzen, to name the ones I got excited about in the car (a bit more excited than my wife and daughter for some inexplicable reason).
Apart from Verdun, however, there was absolutely no sign to indicate that the battlefield was located there, although Valmy did have a small motorway service station, not that that had any information board or similar to highlight the significance of its existence. The coffee and croissant weren't too bad though, and you could enjoy them as you gazed across to a rather lonely looking monument on the hill across the dual carriageway.
I was really surprised at this omission given that the French, for one, are obsessed with their local history and patrimoine. I could understand why the Germans might be reluctant to 'mention the war' but not the ones in 1806 or 1632. Meanwhile, the Poles had a whole evening of mainstream top channel TV last night to commemorate the Warsaw Uprising, including sing along patriotic songs and dressing up, a bit like Songs of Praise but with flags, medals and folk music.
It made me think about how, in the UK, we commemorate our major battlefields and local military sites. We certainly do a much better job with our castles and fortifications than most countries, thanks in the main to English Heritage, CADW and so on. We also have no shortage of significant battlefields but them so do our continental neighbours. I suppose more could be done to raise the profile of our battlefields but, by comparison, I think we're ahead of the game?
Yes it was definitely the battlefield at Valmy and the monument is clearly visible. I'm sure that if you travel off the motorway and explore locally there would be a lot more to see and plenty of information.i was surprised to hear there was nothing for passing motorists to identify the battlefield, not even a brown road sign. And yes, HMS Victory has been restored several times.
ReplyDeleteI do take your point that battlefields in general don't have the same recognition that other historical locations do, in the UK and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteThe photo you posted represents the Valmy-Orbeval service station, a petrol distributor under the Avia brand, and not the battlefield which is 2 km to the northeast. I invite you to check on Google Map.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/maps/place/51800+Valmy/@49.0754217,4.7578428,13.63z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x47ebb9b4621cc253:0x40a5fb99a3b3df0!8m2!3d49.083988!4d4.77 411!16zL20vMDFjZnFf?entry =tu
If you leave the Autoroute de l'Est, also called A4, and head towards the eastern exits of the town of Valmy, you will find the Valmy mill and the monument erected in memory of General Kellermann who, together with General Dumouriez, commanded September 20, 1792 the French armies. (Dumouriez having passed later to the enemy, it has no monument).
As a reward of this first victory of the armies of the republic, François Christophe Kellermann will be appointed in 1804 honorary marshal of the empire by Napoleon and created Duke of Valmy. His son François Etienne Kellermann, General of Cavalry and Count of Valmy, served the Emperor until Waterloo.
Regarding the HMS Victory it was never destroyed.
Withdrawn from service in 1824, she was placed in drydock on January 12, 1922. In 1941 she was damaged by a German bomb that fell between the dockside and the hull of the ship. Funding of £35 million was announced in 1922 for its refurbishment.
Merci. I'll have to go back and take a look.
DeleteIn still surprised that there was nothing to show the battlefield was there as you drive past, given its historical significance that you have highlighted.
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ReplyDeleteI made a date error. The £35m funding for the restoration of HMS Victory was announced in 2022 of course.
There are monumenst to various units, actions, individuals, etc. all over the battefields of Jena and Auerstadt - but I guess you are referring to signposts on eth roads to direct you there? Both these battlefirlds are well worth walking over as little disturbed since the day.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly at Lutzen there's a memorial, and even a chapel, to Gustavus and a museum in the castle. If you mean the 1813 battle, there's a simply enormous monument to Scharnhorst; we were driving around looking for it and I almost missed it as I wasn't looking up!
Yes, that's exactly what I was wondering about. I have no doubt there are enormous statues, obeliisks, mounds and so on plastered all over these sites, mostly erected in the 1800's. What I was curious about was the absence of any signs, literally speaking, as you drive along the motorway. Mind you, this is the same in the UK.
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