Narrow Gauge in the Somme Sector: Before, During & After the First World War

Introduction

In our previous book, Narrow Gauge in the Arras Sector – before, during and after the First World War (Pen & Sword Transport, 2015), we described the history of railways of less than standard gauge in the Arras sector of the Western Front. These were put into the context of the existing and new standard gauge lines. In addition, the narrow gauge history of that area was followed from the beginnings, through the First World War, and then on into their subsequent use, up to final closure of the last lines in 1958. In this book we have addressed this subject for the Somme sector of the Western Front.

Many in France regard the term ‘narrow gauge’ as not including the metre gauge but only gauges less than this. This was also the view of the British Army in the First World War, to whom the metre gauge was coupled with the standard gauge as ‘Broad Gauge Railways’. ‘Light Railways’ were, with very few exceptions, of 60 cm gauge. However, we have concentrated here on all railways of less than standard gauge in the Somme sector. There is also some information on standard gauge railways to set the scene for this.

Those who have read our previous book will realise that there are parts of this book which are the same, starting with the immediately following outline history of the First World War. We have done this so that this book can stand alone, and new readers are not disadvantaged. All the photographs except one (8.1, Chapter Eight) are new, and all the figures with the exception of Figure 0.1, which has been modified to correct some inaccuracies, and for the dates to fit better with the key events in the Somme sector.

Throughout this book the term ‘British Army’ means the British and British Empire (now Commonwealth) Army units which were under the command of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) General Headquarters (GHQ). This included important Armies from the Dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, and from India.

The British sectors and approximate Army positions from 1914 are shown in Figure 0.1. From October 1914, the Belgian Army held the front line from north of Ypres (now Ieper), in Belgium, to the sea. After the formation of the British First and Second Armies at the end of December 1914, the British Army held the front line from Ypres south to around La Bassée in France, in the east of the département of Pas-de-Calais north of Lens. The French held it from La Bassée south. The British Second Army were responsible for the line in Belgium from Ypres south, and in France in the Nord département, down as far as the Armentières area. The British First Army extended south in the Pas-de-Calais département as far as just north of Lens, until the Battle of Loos in September 1915. From March 1916, the British Army took over the responsibility for the front from Ypres down to the river Somme. The British First Army now took over the front almost to the Scarpe valley just north of Arras; and the British Third Army from there south to Hébuterne, at the north end of the 1916 Somme battlefield but still in the Pas-de-Calais département. From there south was the British Fourth Army, and later also the Fifth, to the beginning of the French Sixth Army almost on the Somme river. The Fifth Army held some of the front line around Bapaume, in the south of the Pas-de-Calais département in 1917, until this was taken over again by the Third Army from 1 June, 1917.

The British front line from March 1916 until Summer 1918 falls easily into three sectors, which are from north to south:

The Ypres sector, held by the Second Army, from Ypres in Belgium to north of Armentières in the Nord département in France. This corresponds with the ancient territory of Flanders (Flandres in French, Vlaanderen in Flemish) in Belgium and the northern part of the Nord département in France.

The Arras sector, held by the First Army (and from April 1918 also partly by the Fifth Army) south from Armentières to Arras, and by the Third Army in Arras and south to the area of the Somme département border; this corresponds roughly with the eastern part of the Pas-de-Calais département (the Pas-de-Calais département being the historical Comté, or County, of Artois), and parts of the adjacent southern part of the Nord département.

The Somme sector, held at times by part of the Third Army, by the Fourth Army, and later also the Fifth Army until April 1918. This corresponds in 1916 with the part of the Somme département to just north of the Somme river, but later extended south of the river. There was also considerable French involvement. For the (first) Battle of the Somme, which began on 1 July 1916, the French Sixth Army held the line and took part in the battle from Maricourt south. The maximum extent of the British Army commitment to the south was between January and 21 March 1918, when the Fifth Army was responsible for the front line down to Barisis, east of Noyon.

Figure 0.1

The Somme sector is therefore in the ancient region of Picardie (Picardy in English), comprising the départements of Somme, Oise and Aisne. There is a grey area at the north end of the ‘Somme sector’ and the south end of the ‘Arras sector’ as we have defined them. This overlap is identified in Figure 0.1. In the Summer of 1916 the Third Army extended south to Hébuterne, in the south of the Pas-de-Calais département. This was at the north end of the 1916 Somme battlefield, and is properly considered with the Somme sector. However, the area east of there, around Bapaume, formed the starting points for the Fifth Army Bullecourt attacks in 1917. These are very much part of the story of the Arras sector. The Battle of Cambrai in Autumn 1917 (Third Army) also mainly concerns the Arras sector, but some railway units at the north end of the Somme sector became involved. Some material about the Battle of Cambrai is therefore included in this book (see Chapter Six).

It was during the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916 that grave deficiencies in the supply lines became most apparent. As part of general mobilisation at the beginning of the war, the French government had placed all railways in the country under military control, although the railways generally continued to be run by the regular personnel. In 1916, Sir Eric Geddes, an experienced railway manager who had previously worked in London with Lloyd-George when the latter was Secretary of State for War, was appointed Director General for Transportation, France, and given the rank of Lt Colonel in the Engineering and Railway Staff Corps. He was given responsibility for standard gauge and ‘light’ railways, roads, and canals, but not ‘mechanical transport’ (presumably motor road vehicles).

This recognised the importance of transport, and especially railway transport, in the effort to win the war. In 1915, it was agreed that the British Army could operate on French standard gauge lines, and in December 1916 there was a further agreement for the British Army to import wagons and engines for these lines. The British Army Railway Operating Division (ROD) operated extensively on the standard and metre gauge railways in Belgium and the north of France from 1915. The agreement also led to the building and operating in Belgium, Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Somme of military standard gauge railways exclusive to the British Army, which we have called ‘British Army lines’. An increase in the rate of railway building and upgrading followed, culminating in an enormous effort in 1917 and 1918.

The railway infrastructure before the First World War was key to the developments during the war. After the war, these railways played a major part in the recovery and reconstruction. However, the war had a major effect on the later development of railways in these parts of France. If the war had not occurred, railways, particularly secondary lines (those of Intérêt Local), might have been more extensive, and might have been in a much better position to compete against road transport. The war, and financial problems afterwards, impaired infrastructure investment, including in particular electrification.

It was the French (and in the Ypres Sector the Belgians) who had been fighting on their own territory and had to live with the major consequences. The British and Dominion Armies, and the American Army, and others, came and ‘did the business’. They then contributed to clearing up, for a very few years, and mainly their own material, and went home.

In the Somme Sector before the First World War there was an extensive network of metre gauge lines. The 60cm gauge lines were short and industrial. During the war, the metre gauge lines played a significant part, but the major military developments, first French and then British, were standard and 60 cm gauge lines. After the war both the narrow gauges continued, but as in the Arras sector, the 60cm gauge survived the longest, serving the sugar beet industry.

In Chapter One, we provide an introduction to some of the relevant history, geography, and industrial and railway development of this area. Chapters Two and Three cover the history of the metre gauge railways of this area before the First World War. Chapter Four deals with the general history of railways, and particularly British and Dominion Armies’ light railways, during the First World War.

Chapters Five to Eight address the detailed First World War narrow gauge history of this sector. In our previous book, Narrow Gauge in the Arras Sector, we described the railways area by area. In the Somme sector, there were distinct chronological phases, fought over a considerable depth of territory west to east. The chapters divide the story into these chronological phases. The demarcation points are, firstly, the end of the retreat of the German Army to the Hindenburg Line in March 1917; secondly, the start of the German offensive and advance in the Somme sector on 21 March, 1918; and thirdly, the start of the Allied offensive in the Somme sector, and of the final advance east, on 8 August, 1918. The titles of Chapters Five to Eight describe the period covered in each, and a background history of the war and of battles in the Somme sector for that period is given at the beginning of each chapter.

After this we describe the post-war history of these railways, and finally, in Chapter Twelve, summarise what can be seen now, including some walks.

We have made all the translations from French. We have followed the British convention for the configuration of wheels on locomotives. The French convention is only to count the wheels on one side of the locomotive and not to use hyphens, so that a locomotive that is to the British a 2-6-0 is to the French a 130.

French local government

In 1790, during the French revolution, the country was re-organised into administrative units called départements (departments), roughly equivalent to counties in the UK. The old counties and regions were swept aside. Each département has a Préfet (Prefect) who is appointed from Paris to run the services of the State and is accountable to central government. Each département also has an elected assembly, the Conseil Général, with a President, to run local services. The Préfet and the Conseil Général run the département from the main administrative town or city, the préfecture. Outside the largest conurbations, départements are divided into sous-préfectures: these in turn are each composed of a number of cantons, which are themselves composed of communes. In the countryside each village is a commune, with its own Maire (Mayor). The reintroduction of régions in 1982, between the central government and the départements, is irrelevant to this book.

Times and timetables

In summary timetables all times have been given in the 24-hour clock. All these tables are abstracted from the originals. All of the original timetables are in the 24-hour clock, except for some in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries which are in the 12-hour clock, with the trains marked matin (morning) or soir (evening) over the departure from the station of origin. In the text we have given times related to timetables in the 24-hour clock, and other times in the 12-hour clock with am or pm. In France, the timetables were published by the Librairie Chaix, of Paris, often referred to simply as the Chaix.

Units of measurement

Length and distance

1 metre = 100 centimetres (cm) = 1,000 millimetres (mm) = 3.28ft = 3ft 3⅜ inches

1 kilometre (km) = 1,000 metres = 0.62 miles = approx. ⅝ mile

1 mile = 1.609 kilometres

Weight

1 kilogram (kg) = 1,000 grams (gm) = 2.2046 pounds (lb)

1 tonne (metric ton) = 1,000 kilograms = 2,204.6 pounds

1 ton (Imperial ton) = 2,240 pounds

In this book most units are metric, except where the originals are in Imperial units, as in most British Army documents from the First World War. Some important distances and heights are given in both.

Chapter One

Introducing the Somme sector and its railways

The Somme sector as we have defined it includes all the major battlefields of Picardie (Picardy in the English spelling) in the First World War from 1915 to 1918. The ancient region of Picardie was reformed after the French revolution into the modern départements of Somme ( Préfecture , or administrative centre, Amiens), Oise ( Préfecture Beauvais) and Aisne ( Préfecture Laon). Some of the battlefields, especially those of the 1916 (First) Battle of the Somme, included a strip along the south of the Pas-de-Calais département ( Préfecture Arras).

Geography

Outside the main towns, the countryside is mainly one of chalk plateaux, many with rich alluvial soils over the chalk, rising between mostly gentle river valleys. Some of the valley sides inland are steeper, and the hills rise to more than 150m (500ft). The majority of the land is farmed, but there are woods and forests, especially in the south-east. The chief crops are grains, oil plants (rape and flax), potatoes, beans, peas, and fruit; and of course, sugar beet (see below).

The coastline on the English Channel is short, squeezed between the Authie estuary in the north (boundary with the Pas-de-Calais département) and the Bresle river in the south, which reaches the sea at Eu-Le-Tréport, (boundary of the Seine-Maritime département, Normandy). The largest river is the Somme, which gives its name to the département, and to the main First World War battles of this sector. The port of St-Valéry-sur-Somme lies on its extensive estuary. This port played some part towards the end of the First World War but is better known as the final departure point of William the Conqueror for England in 1066.

In the north-west of the region, the rivers run from south-east to north-west. Furthest north is the Authie, which is for most of its course the boundary between départements of Pas-de-Calais and Somme, and therefore historically the division between Artois and Picardie. The Somme flows into Amiens from the east, then turns north-west to the sea.. Further east, between St-Quentin and Péronne, it loops down to the south around Ham. The Somme is notable for its broad flood plain, with lakes and swampy areas, making it difficult to cross. The second largest river of the Region, the Oise, flows south-west just over the plateau east of St-Quentin, then past Noyon to Compiègne to join the Seine just west of Paris. The Aisne, which gives its name to the eastern département of Picardie, flows west from the Argonne Forest past Soissons to join the Oise at Compiègne, and is therefore south of our area.

There is an extensive network of canals. The Somme is navigable in its lower reaches, and further up is accompanied by a lateral canal, through Péronne and Ham. East of Ham it meets the St-Quentin Canal. This runs northeast from Noyon on the Oise, crosses from the Oise to the Somme north from Tergnier, and then runs north through St-Quentin all the way to Cambrai and into the northern industrial area. The Souterrain (tunnel) de Riqueval which takes the St-Quentin canal north into the valley of the Escaut past Marcoing and Cambrai was important in the closing stages of the First World War in 1918.

From Tergnier the Canal de la Sambre à l’Oise (the Sambre Canal) follows the Oise valley northeast. The Canal du Nord runs north from the lateral canal of the Oise at Pont l’Évèque (Noyon). It has a common section with the Somme canal between Ham and Péronne, then follows the Tortille valley north and on into the industrial area west of Cambrai, to meet the La Sensée canal at Arleux (Nord département). Construction did not begin until 1908 and the canal was incomplete at the start of the First World War, during which the works were extensively damaged. Works did not recommence until 1960 and the canal was opened in 1965. There are tunnels at Ruyaulcourt and Panneterie (east of Roye and north of Noyon).

This is not a major industrial region. Industries include cement (from the chalk), sugar beet processing, and a large glass factory at St-Gobain.

Sugar beet

Sugar beet is widely grown in northern France and in 2013 France was still the second largest producer of beet sugar in the world (after Russia). Picardie is the largest producer of beet sugar in France, with a production of more than one third of the French total.

To produce sugar, the sugar beet is washed and then shredded, and the sugar extracted with hot water. The raw juice is purified and condensed down and the sugar is then crystallised from the concentrated syrup. After extraction, the beet strips are pressed to remove water and remaining sugar, and the waste (pulpe, pulp) can be used as animal feed. Frequently the whole process is carried out in one factory (sucrerie). In some areas, the initial extraction was carried out in a râperie, and the juice was then transferred to a central factory for final sugar production. Sugar beet can also be used to produce alcohol, in which case the factory is often called a distillerie. Sugar refineries used to use railways and particularly narrow gauge lines extensively.

History

The area which forms the background to this book has for centuries been much fought over. Examples to start with, close to English hearts, were Edward III’s and Henry V’s successes at Crécy and Agincourt. The relevance to this book lies not in the battles but in their routes, which were through our area. Edward III crossed to France in 1346, landing at St.Vaast on the Cherbourg Peninsula. He took Caen and Lisieux before crossing the Seine and reaching the Somme. He tried to cross at Picquigny and Pont-Remy but was forced to turn towards the sea. At Mons-en-Vimeux his scouts picked up a French peasant who was willing to do a deal – freedom and gold in return for information about a river crossing. He led them to Blanchetaque, a crossing clearly named after the white tracks made by horses and wagons. The army crossed after waiting for the tide to ebb and rested for four days in the Forest of Crécy. They chose a site for battle near the village of Crécy-en-Ponthieu and the battle took place late on 26 August. It was a great victory with the English slaughtering 10,000 Frenchmen. However, a mere 69 years later, the French suffered a repeat performance.

Henry V invaded France in 1415, landing at Harfleur, where he lost 3,000 men (20 per cent of his force), and valuable time, besieging and finally capturing the port. Against his counsellors’ advice he opted to march to Calais, 144 miles away. He failed to emulate his predecessor Edward, who quickly crossed the Somme, and he was forced to track upstream tailed by the French on the other bank. He skirted Abbeville and Amiens and he, also, is now entering our area. The French were closing in from south and east but a solution was at hand. Where the Somme loops to the North, he was able to outdistance the French by cutting the corner. He was able to cross the river at Voyennes and Berthancourt by improvising bridges with planks torn from nearby houses. While the English rested, the French occupied Péronne. Henry, however, was able to keep ahead of them through Forceville, Acheux and Lucheux before skirting Doullens and heading north. At some point heralds came to his camp from the French leaders seeking to ‘inform you that ere you come to Calais they will meet you and fight you’. He finally faced the French at Agincourt, beat them soundly and became heir to the French throne, as the king’s son-in-law.

Turning now from English invaders to other struggles that the French had to face. France had for centuries been aware of its vulnerability in the north. In the thirteenth century, steps were taken to absorb the territory of warring magnates into France. In the fourteenth century, the problem to the north was Burgundy, which had grown from a duchy, given by the French king to a younger brother in 1356, to a major European power. It stretched across the area which we know as Belgium and Holland into a large part of what is now northern France. Not only was Burgundy now encroaching on France, but it was becoming powerful and aggressive. It was in these areas that towns that feature in this book are sited. They have therefore for many centuries been frontier towns. Louis XIV in the seventeenth century employed that master of military architecture, Vauban, to build for him a chain of fortresses in the north-east for this very reason. Finally, moving on to the nineteenth century, a new enemy arrived, Germany, newly on the scene as a military power and anxious to prove it. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the German state acquired Alsace and parts of Lorraine. When Germany invaded France in 1914, it was yet again through this area and the towns we have highlighted below were once again ‘frontier towns’. The histories of a selection of such towns will make the point.

St-Quentin

St. Quentin began life as a Roman fortified town, Augusta Viromanduorum, built to guard a ford over the Somme. Towns in this region, due to their position found themselves on the frontline many times through the centuries. Thus, in 1465, the last Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, joined a revolt of French nobles against the Crown. Charles was one of seven Dukes and his main purpose was to recover the towns which his father had ceded to France. One of these was St. Quentin, which he took before joining the revolt. In 1471, in a surprise attack, Louis XI retook the town. Charles was killed by the Swiss at Nancy in 1476 leaving an only daughter, Mary, as his heir. This valuable heiress eventually married Maximillian Hapsburg, Holy Roman Emperor from 1508, and had a son Phillip who, by marriage, became King of Spain. Thus, Spain became the main power that France had to contend with in this area. In 1557, St. Quentin was under siege by the Spaniards. When it fell it was looted and virtually destroyed. The population fled and it was deserted for two years. The Spaniards then won a battle against the French nearby and their king, Phillip II, as homage to St Lawrence, whose name-day it was, vowed to build a great palace. This was the Escorial near Madrid, which took the form of a grid-iron representing St Lawrence’s martyrdom. The French retook it in 1559, and strengthened its fortifications, demolishing two districts to do so. By the middle of the seventeenth century, although it escaped siege, the town was surrounded by the fighting in Picardy. By the end of the seventeenth century the military successes of Louis XVI had pushed the French border further North and St. Quentin was no longer on the front line. However, come the Napoleonic Wars, in 1814, the town was occupied by the Russians, who left without causing much damage. In January 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War the citizens managed to repel the Prussians, and they congratulated themselves by erecting a statue, which still stands. They were, however a little premature since a second attack was soon successful. For their bravery during this war, the town was awarded the Legion d’Honneur. At the outset of war in 1914, St. Quentin was taken by the Germans. The occupation was harsh and in 1916 the population was expelled and the town was fortified as part of the Hindenburg Line. By the end of the war, 80 per cent of the town was damaged including the Basilica.

1.1 The west end of the basilica at St-Quentin, taken from up the hill along the path of the former metre gauge railway from St-Quentin to Caudry, May 2016. (Authors)

1.2 Remains of the Hindenburg Line in the western suburbs of St-Quentin, May 2016 (see Walk 5 in Chapter Twelve). (Authors)

Noyon

Another town that can serve as an example of being on this frontier is Noyon. This city was also founded by the Romans and clearly, they saw it in this light too. They fortified it strongly and remains of these fortifications can still be seen. These fortifications have been cited as one reason why Bishop Medardus, in 531, moved the see here from Vermand. Another possible reason has been suggested that he thought the wine was better! Be that as it may, in 859, the Vikings attacked, occupied the town and killed the bishop. In the following centuries, Noyon suffered a similar fate to St. Quentin in the power struggle between France and Burgundy. It was taken and ravaged in 1552 by Charles V but ‘sold’ back to France seven years later. However, France, in the second half of the sixteenth century, had a civil war on its hands as the king Henry IV, a Protestant was challenged by the Catholic League. Noyon appeared centre-stage when, in 1591, Henry captured it from the League after a two week siege. Its importance lay in its position on the route from Spanish controlled Flanders to Paris and the Spanish were set on invading France in pursuit of their Catholic European Empire. In both world wars, Noyon was occupied by the Germans and suffered great damage. Although the cathedral was hit, it survived. However, the Germans cut down the organ pipes and used them for shell cases.

Péronne

This town could be said to be our third frontier town. French historians consider it to have suffered more damage over the centuries than any other French town. The ramparts were built in the ninth century. The only part remaining is the imposing Porte de Bretagne. It was besieged and occupied by the Normans in the eleventh century. The town figured prominently in the long-drawn-out contest between France and Burgundy. Its fortress was used to house notable prisoners. The most notable of these was Louis XI. His struggle with Charles the Bold raged for many years over our area. In 1468, with Charles as a newly empowered ruler, the two were embroiled in a rebellion in Liège. The rebels had hoped for help from France to free themselves from Burgundy. Louis agreed to meet Charles at Péronne. Historians have wondered what made Louis put himself at the mercy of Charles. The only answer seems to be that he relished the contest and believed he could outsmart him. His nickname was, after all, ‘The Spider King’. Louis arrived at Péronne with a small company of fifty lords and attendants to be met by Charles with two hundred ‘knights and squires in glittering array’. Although he was offered the finest lodgings available, he insisted on moving into the castle, which although in a bad state of repair, was secure. After several days of tricky negotiations, things deteriorated with news of assaults against Burgundian prelates in Liège. Charles flew into a rage, blaming Louis for the attacks, and that he had only come to Péronne to distract Charles from the plots in Liège. Louis found the city gates closed against him. One particularly alarming thought was that in 927 a Count of Vermandois had imprisoned his ancestor, Charles the Simple, in this castle until he died. Several sleepless nights followed, until thanks to the calming influence of Phillipe de Commynes, Charles agreed to consider a more peaceful way forward. A treaty was to be signed and Louis would accompany him to Liège. De Commynes served Charles for ten years until one night in 1472 he secretly left for Louis’ camp to become his close adviser. The struggle in Péronne continued and in 1536, Spanish Burgundy besieged the town. This siege became famous for the courage of a woman, Catherine de Poix, who rallied the citizens and is reported to have thrown Spaniards off the battlements. The Spaniards finally took the town and razed it to the ground. In the nineteenth century, during the Franco-Prussian War it was occupied and flattened again. Péronne suffered badly in 1917 and was then fire bombed in May 1940 by the Germans. For this the town received two Croix de Guerre and a Légion d’Honneur.

The damage suffered in the First World War by these medieval towns represented a new departure in warfare. This was the deliberate targeting of medieval landmarks along the Western Front. It began in the city of Rheims where the Germans, having been forced from the city centre, fired deliberately on the cathedral. From then on, the cathedrals of Northern France, notably St. Quentin and Noyon, became war targets. It was recognised that destruction of such glorious medieval landmarks was a potent psychological weapon. They were symbols of past glory, independence and prosperity. The buildings represented the community’s historic identity.

Albert

This is yet another Roman foundation, this one from 54BC. It was later called Ancre, after its river. The name was changed after it was given to Charles d’Albert, Duc de Luynes by Louis XIII in 1617. Its main claim to fame, nowadays, comes from events in the First World War. In 1915 and 1916, it was very near the front line, on the British side, hence it was often bombarded. The Basilica, a popular pilgrimage site, had been rebuilt between 1885 and 1895. Surmounting the tower was a gold Virgin and Child by a local artist, Albert Roze. On 15 January 1915, the tower was struck and the statue slumped to one side. The statue now became a potent symbol to the troops of both sides. The British came to believe that whoever caused the statue to fall would lose the war. The Germans believed the opposite. They took Albert in March 1918 and following bombardment by the British the Basilica was destroyed. The statue was never found. The rebuilt Basilica is an exact copy of the nineteenth century one by the son of the original architect.

1.3 The basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebières at Albert before 1914. (Authors’ collection).

Ham

Our next town is Ham, a pleasant town on the Canal de la Somme. Its main claim to fame is its fortress. The date of its foundation is not clear, but it is mentioned in a charter of 1052. By the thirteenth century, it had acquired its characteristic shape, a polygon with numerous cylindrical towers. It was besieged by Phillip of Spain in 1557, on the same campaign that saw him attack St. Quentin. It was remodelled for Louis XIV by Vauban and by the nineteenth century it had become a prison for holding political opponents. The most famous prisoner was Louis Napoleon, the nephew of the Emperor. He had, in 1839, from exile in England, attempted an ‘invasion’ of France to coincide with the arrival of his uncle’s body in Paris. With 56 bemused soldiers, who had been told this was a ‘pleasure cruise’, he landed at Wimereux near Boulogne. He marched into Boulogne, fully expecting that the population would welcome him and the soldiers rush to his cause. There was no support and he was soon captured and sent to Paris for trial. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the fortress of Ham. The fortress was dark and dank from the mists generated by the nearby Somme canal. Louis Napoleon spent just over five years as a prisoner in Ham. He had books and a suite of rooms. He was allowed to take a mistress and he chose Eleanora Vergeot, who worked in the prison as an ironer. With her he had two sons. When he escaped he was 38 years old and it had been a formative experience. He escaped dressed as a workman, with staining to hide his white face, and a plank over his shoulder. His beloved dog Ham went with him.

1.4 The basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebières at Albert in 1917. After the bombardment in 1916, the golden statue of the Virgin is leaning in a precarious position. (Authors’ collection)

1.5 The town hall at Doullens in April 2015. Posters of Field-Marshal Sir Douglas (later Earl) Haig and Marshal Foch advertise an exhibition of the meeting the Army Commanders held there on 26 March 1918. (Authors)

Doullens

This town began life as a Roman settlement, Dulcinum. In 1225, France, worried about the defence of its northern borders, took control of the area from the ruling Counts of Vermandois. In 1475, Louis XI burned it to the ground for supporting Burgundy. In 1523, it was given the name Doullens-le-Hardi in acknowledgement of its fierce defence against the Anglo-Burgundian armies. In 1593, the Spaniards besieged, then captured the town, massacring all the inhabitants. It was returned to France in 1598 by the Peace of Vervins. Vauban built another of his citadels here which failed to impress Victor Hugo on a visit in 1837 who remarked ‘I don’t like citadels’. On 26 March 1918 Doullens town hall was the site of the meeting of Allied Army Commanders at which Marshal Foch became supreme allied commander.

Amiens

We turn now to the largest and most spectacular place in the area covered by this book, Amiens. It was founded by a Gallic tribe who named it Samerobriva, simply Somme Bridge. The modern name comes from the Romans who named it Ambianum, after the local tribe, the Ambiani. In the following centuries it was much fought over but became French in 1185. It suffered the same fate as the ‘frontier towns’ described above, taken by the Burgundians in 1435 but bought back in 1463 by Louis XI. It was captured by the Spaniards in 1597. They gained entry to the hungry city disguised as peasants selling, oddly enough, walnuts and apples! The French king, Henry IV, retook the city after a siege. Later peaceful times allowed the city to become rich from manufacturing velour cloth which they dyed with woad which had long been an Amiénois skill. The cathedral, which is the largest in France, was built between 1220 and 1288. The cathedral survived both world wars which was fortunate, since Amiens was seen as a crucial prize by both sides due to its importance as a railway centre. Railways arrived in 1846 with the Gare du Nord serving the Paris line. As other lines were developed, the city began to turn away from the Somme to such an extent that City Hall moved its entrance from the riverside to face the station. In 1914, it was the Advanced Base for the British Expeditionary Force but was taken by the Germans in August. Its importance as a railway centre led its recapture to become a high priority and it was taken by the French in September 1914. It remained in Allied hands, never far behind the front line, throughout the war. As a result, the local people had a difficult time and showed their feelings with strikes. There were 25 in 1918!

In the Second World War, it fell to the Germans in May 1940. In 1944, after the Normandy landings, 200 RAF bombers flew in to destroy those railways that had made Amiens a target for a hundred years. They were aiming especially for the important junction south-east of the city, Longueau. In this attack of 12 and 13 June, much damage was inflicted on the city.

Development of railways in the Somme sector

The main networks of standard and metre gauge lines in the Somme sector, as they were in spring 1914, are shown in Figure 1.1. This includes all the major battlefield areas of the First World War in this sector, but not some of the supply lines further west. It also extends south to the village of Barisis, in the forest of St-Gobain due east of Noyon. This was the southernmost part of the front that the British Army held in the War, but they only held it from January to March 1918.

The definitions of lines of Intérêt Général and those of Intérêt Local were codified in the Loi Migneret of 1865. Lines of Intérêt Général were those of sufficient length, importance, or strategic worth to be at least partially a charge on the State and were administered by the Ministry of Public Works in Paris. Those of Intérêt Local were administered by the département concerned and were (and are still) a responsibility of the Préfet (Prefect). The Chief Engineer of Ponts et Chaussées (bridges and highways) for the département reported to the Préfet and was also responsible