Un des sites de derniers combats de la 1ère Guerre Mondiale ( 1914-1918 )
A bridge that has now become pedestrian
A border department landlocked in Belgium, the Ardennes have always had the sad privilege of suffering the assaults of war during the various conflicts of the last two centuries. On the eve of the Armistice, on November 10 and 11, 1918, Flize was the scene of the last battles that caused human losses.
In the night of 9 TO 10 NOVEMBER 1918, the command of the 163rd DI received the order to cross the Meuse: "We must cross at all costs. The enemy hesitates to sign the armistice. He thinks he is safe behind the Meuse. We must strike the enemy's morale with an act of audacity. Cross as you can: if necessary, on the cars of your convoys, placed across the river. It is necessary, it is a question of morale."
The bridge is in the form of a large metal cage, without a floor and sectioned, moreover, at the mine in two places. The lower part of this cage plunges into the water over a length of several meters but the upper stringers, although badly warped, emerge from the waves. The problem for the men of the Engineers consists, with the help of boards and beams found in the factory, in building a roughly horizontal floor to allow the passage of the Infantry. The Meuse overflows, exceeds 70 meters wide, the temperature is around -6°C and at 80 meters, the enemy is on the lookout.
The bridge is in the form of a large metal cage, without a floor and sectioned, moreover, at the mine in two places. The lower part of this cage plunges into the water over a length of several meters but the upper stringers, although badly warped, emerge from the waves. The problem for the men of the Engineers consists, with the help of boards and beams found in the factory, in building a roughly horizontal floor to allow the passage of the Infantry. The Meuse overflows, exceeds 70 meters wide, the temperature is around -6°C and at 80 meters, the enemy is on the lookout.
Le November 10 At 8:00 a.m., the footbridge was completed. Immediately, the soldiers of the 19th and 142nd RI crossed the Meuse in complete silence but quickly found themselves under fire from German machine guns between the river and the ballast pit. Difficult fighting continued all day on November 10.
Le November 11, from 8:00 the soldiers are informed that at 11:00 the war will be over. At 10:50 the German machine guns start a heavy fire. The French respond and the din of war starts again. Suddenly, everything stops. It is the great calm. It is eleven o'clock, the eleventh day, of the eleventh month of the year. The armistice is sounded.
Le November 11, from 8:00 the soldiers are informed that at 11:00 the war will be over. At 10:50 the German machine guns start a heavy fire. The French respond and the din of war starts again. Suddenly, everything stops. It is the great calm. It is eleven o'clock, the eleventh day, of the eleventh month of the year. The armistice is sounded.
Today, this pedestrian bridge is what remains of this painful battle.
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