July
MASSIGES
Days at Rest: 13
Days in Trenches: 15
Travel and Training REF: 3
Total Casualties (KIA): 8
1st July
Jules and other members of the 315e are still at Mourmelon following his training and work with the REF. Below is a photo of the REF in Mourmelon during this period in early July.
Nous avons fait ici en tout à peine ½ heure de théorie et de pratique
Jules confirms that he will be leaving Mourmelon today by train and they have around 30km to travel.
Once back with his battalion he is uncertain if he will need to go straight back into the trenches as his compagnie is close to finishing their tour. The weather at least has been fine, but the whole trip has been rather tiring and has caused some stomach issues … as he has not been eating for a number of days.
Jules reflects on this time at Mourmelon and concludes that his trip has been a waste of time, as he mentions “they did about half an hour of theory and practice”, which means he has travelled a long way for very little reward or gain, but the silver lining in his mind is that he has missed the majority of the 4e Battalion tour of the Massignes trenches.
Letter – end of his time with REF
2nd July
7e DI JMO day review: Active day for artillery on both sides.
Postcard from the 2nd July, where Jules comments that he did indeed go straight back into the trenches with his new compagnie at Massiges. The new sector is very different from the old sector in Tourbe, as the shelters are not big enough to sleep in, therefore they have to sleep in the trenches. This is a downgrade on the previous sector in Tourbe and to compound matters since arriving the German artillery has become very active.
This evening he starts his duty time at 18h00 and he promises to write a long letter later (which he does not).
3rd July
7e DI JMO day review: Quiet day apart from enemy artillery activity in the afternoon and evening.
Casualties: 1 killed in Sape 20 (2e classe Gilbert Eugene Xavier)
4th July
7e DI JMO day review: Quiet day for the 315e. 102e suffer a training accident when a SLT Cabaret of the 12e compagnie is wounded by a grenade and dies after arriving in hospital.
Jules talks about favourable events that could lead to peace soon (Somme offensive), which is either wishful thinking or at the time soldiers through the tide of the war was changing.
One area that Jules has noticed significant differences from the 16e compagnie is the postal service. Jules comments that the postal service is not what it was, as his new compagnie process for sending and receiving letter is poorly organised and managed, which could explain the gap in letters.
After an upbeat start to his letter around the great hope of the war ending, by the end the boredom of it all has set in. The one positive he mentions is that it seems that the Germans are in the same mindset of doing nothing, or it could be due to the poor weather.
Tomorrow is their last day in the trenches before another period of rest.
Letter – Post issue and war ending soon?
Casualties: 1 Sergent and Caporal wounded by a grenade
5th July
7e DI JMO day review: 315e relieved by the 102e without incident
« Le 05 juillet, le régiment est relevé par le 102eRI dans la soirée. Cantonnements: EM, CM4 et CM5, CHR, 4e et 5e Bat. à COURTEMONT. 6e bat. et CM6 à la cote 180 à l’exception de la 22e Cie détachée au PONT JACQUIN »
The whole Regiment is relieved by the 102e RI in the evening, the 4e (Jules) and 5e batailons, go to Courtemont, which is 10km to the south for their rest period, whilst the 6e go to Pont Jacquin (unknown location)
Jules sends a quick postcard in the afternoon before leaving the trenches, where he mentions that they are waiting to be relieved by the incoming 102e. The 14e compagnie is waiting impatiently to leave, as they know they have a 4 to 5 hours of walking ahead of them. As Jules comments, they will have sore shoulders in the morning.
Casualties: 2 wounded
6th July
Jules and the 4e battalion have now arrived in Courtemont, but as we can see in the below letter, moral is starting to drain, whilst criticism of the compagnie organisation is starting to increase
Jules is happy to have received a moral boosting card from Jeanne, which he mentions is very much needed at the moment to forget the misery around him.
Earlier he asked the “Chef” about leave and he has been told that he will have to wait at least another 5 weeks, because his “leave plan” has to be integrated into the 14e compagnie rota.
Last night they were relieved by the 102e and walked to Courtmont, was along uneven paths, which made for a terrible walk.
All this could be made better by a nice rest village….. but Courtmont is a depressing place…. as Jules says, what the point in walking so far to come to a place where we lack basic facilities, this does not help moral. In addition the men are all tired after their walk and many want a day off to rest. However many are waiting till getting their leave dates validated, before pulling a “sicky” to get some quality rest. Jules comments that he will do the same, as he says ” others have been doing it, so can I”.
Letter – still no leaving and planning sick leave
8th July
Postcard today, to mention there is nothing new, apart from doing review after review of soldiers and sections. Jules hopes that tomorrow being Sunday, they (the officers) will finally leave everybody in peace.
9th July
The day starts with good news from Jules, that the postal system that has been problematic since moving compagnies has started to improve and he is now receiving letters regularly. However when posting letters from the front, there are still some delays, but this is due to the new sector being a lot more active and less accessible than previous sector. Unfortunately it means that the postman (vaguemestre) visits are dictated by German activity, which means pick ups of post have been very irregular, which means the vaguemestre struggles with the amount of post to pick up.
Finally today is Sunday and they had a concert by the 102e musicians and singers.
Letter – Challenges with the post
It is worth noting that during its peak La Poste was handling 320,000 packages and 4 million letters (La Poste pendant la Guerre, Laurent Albaret) a day destined to soldiers loved ones or the frontlines. This enormous volumes was handled by a small army of postal workers, with the Vaguemestre (frontline postman) having the most dangerous job. There were at any one time around 1,500 Vaguemestre on the frontline, but it is unknown the number that were killed or wounded during their daily rounds during the war. However their role was one of the most important cogs in the war machine, as no post, meant unhappy and quickly demoralised soldiers.
10th July
Jules has just received Jeanne letter from the 8th July (day and half to get to the front). He comments that the rest is doing him some good and his moral and energy levels are back to normal after all the change and challenges of late June.
New rumours have started to circulate that they will be moving sector again and this time the rumour has it, that they will be going to Auberive, as reserves to the REF. The rumours of moving is greeted positively from Jules as the 102e compagnie that replaced them on the line in Massiges, have taken a number of casualties in their recent tour.
Today they are going out again on a training exercise and Jules has a review of his section this evening
Letter – rumours of a change of location
The 102e regiment that replaced them on the line since 6th July have had 4 KIA and 8+ wounded in 4 days
315e Casualties: (2e classe Andre Victor Huard) died from his wounds
11th July
Postcard from the 11th July that mentions they will be going back to the trenches in Massiges on the 13th July, whilst the news on leave is disappointing. A new limit has been put in place, that only 5 soldiers (previously 6) every 8 days are allowed to go on leave, which means an addition 1-2 weeks extra wait for Jules (leave now estimated for end of August)
Fellow 14e compagnie soldier Herve Lambert also writes a today, to his parents to describe his long trip (4 days of travelling from South of France) back from leave and the reception his figs got.
Dear Parents
As promised, I would provide you with an update of my news and my long journey back from leave. As you know I left on the 5th July in the evening and arrived at Lyon Station at 6h00 on the 6th July. I then had to spend the whole day in Lyon waiting for a train at 0h56 on the 7th. Therefore I decide to sleep in the departures hall, but unfortunately I over slept and woke up at 05h00 and the train was long gone!
Therefore I needed to catch up my train and I set off at 8h40 for St Dizier via Isle sur Tille, however I only arrived at St Dizier on the 8th July at 07h00. Arriving at St Dizier I asked to get my pass stamped and then had to wait until 17h00 for my next train. My next leg was to Troyes as my regiment had changed to a new sector (massiges), which meant another change of plan, but I finally arrived at Troyes at 02h00 on the 9th July. Then during the day I travelled to Chalons sur Marne and onto Valmy Gare, where the final leg of 13km was done by Truck/car to the front.
I was well received by my colleagues and we celebrated with the bottle of Rum I bought with me. In regards to the figs I came with, many of my fellow soldiers had never heard of this fruit, but they found them to be excellent.
On the 13th July we will be going back into the frontlines for 8 days in a sector that is well know: Massiges. Apparently its not a very nice sector, but hey we are no longer “bleuets” new recruits and we will just have to get on with it.
Nothing else to say other than the cafard (depression or apathy) has disappeared and the regiment leave is back up and running again.
Herve Lambert – Long trip back to the front
12th July
Toujours la même chose et la meme vie ici
Ce repos est plutôt moche pour moi
letter 12th july
Letter from the 10th July has arrived from Jeanne to encourage him, which he needs as this rest period has been challenging, due to it being very monotonous. Tomorrow they are due to move back into the trenches, but Jules has been told they will start in the reserve trenches, rather than the frontlines.
Life in his new compagnie is starting to come together. His new section of men are young but good as he comments “j’ai affaire à de bons garçons”.
However the sleeping arrangements very poor compared to the 16e compagnie, as sous officiers have to sleep in the same quarters as the men. Currently in their shelter/accommodation, Jules thinks there are roughly 150 men, which means that sleep is at a premium before 1am due to all the singing and arguments….. All this leaves him longing for the good old days in the 16e compagnie, where the sous officiers all roomed together and where they were “bien tranquilles”
Letter – rest period – life with his new compagnie
13th July
7e DI JMO day review: 315e back into the Mont Tetu sector taking over from the 102e. Bombardments within the sector, but did not affect the handover.
« le régiment relève le 102e dans le secteur du MONT-TETU: Sous-secteur de la VERRUE (4e Bat.) »
Regimental diary indicates the 4 bat rest period is now over (which was confirmed in Jules letter from the 12th July) and they are back to the Verrue Sector of the Mont-Tetu.
Tonight they will be leaving for another tour, this time for 9 days, which he hopes will not be too hard. Jules hopes the 4e will have 9 days rest afterwards, before a final tour of 8/9 days before his leave. As he concedes this is dependant on them staying in this sector, which is potentially unlikely with all the recent rumours.
Tomorrow he will write a longer letter from the trenches
Letter – before return to the trenches
Fellow 4e bat soldier Herve Lambert also decides to write today before their tour of Massiges
Dear Parents
Before going back to the trenches, I thought it would be a moment to put pen to paper. My health is still good, but the same cannot be said about the weather, which has been rather wet and grey since arriving back from leave.
I believe I mentioned in the last letter that we are now in a different sector called Massiges, but we do not know for how long. In the last couple of days there has been some patrols that have taken some Germans prisoners from there frontlines, which apparently were lightly garrisoned with men.
Since my arrival back, there is been one excellent change: we have plenty of food and it is not too bad. This is due to our new rest town, which also has plenty of places to wash clothes, so there has been some progress in our wellbeing.
Nothing else to say, so I will end the letter here
Herve Lambert – Food and for once its good
14th July (Bastille Day)
7e DI JMO day review: Couple volleys of rifle fire, grenades and mortars in the evening around sapes 20 and 21
nous avons des officiers qui sont rudement rasoirs
letter 14th july
As promised, Jules writes today and confirms that the handover with the 102e went well and the weather and the Germans did not interrupt them. However the day in general was quite lengthy, as Jules recalls that they had to walk (with full pack 20 to 40kg) 15km on uneven roads and paths and then 5 kms in trenches (picture of a Massiges communication trench above) …. which meant it was a good job they arrived when they did, because they were “à bout quand on arrive”. Jules then goes on to confirm that they are still in the same sector as previous tour and in reserve trenches currently, but they are on work duty.
Jules does comment that the officers are rather “rasoirs” annoying and nit-picky, which means he is often having to listen to remarks and criticisms, about how things are not being done to a good enough standard. Despite this, all is quiet apart from a couple of mortar and artillery shells from time to time.
Plus today is Bastille day in the trenches, which did not stop Jules and his fellow 14e compagnie sergents from celebrating with some ham, peas, tuiles biscuits and champagne between them.
Letter – Day 1 of new tour, annoying officers and 14th July food
15th July
7e DI JMO day review: Lot of work done on defences in the “Margot reseaux” where the compagnie soldiers were fired upon by the Germans. Heavy bombardment in the evening of Mont Tetu sector in the Verrue area with 150+ shells of 105 and 150 calibre.
Quick note to thank Jeanne for her photograph that he sent. The weather has changed in the sector and it has been raining all night. However one area has not changed from one compagnies to another, there is a lack of fresh water and with the mud and the dust in the trenches, everybody is desperately in need of water for a wash.
Casualties: 2 wounded (1 14e compagnie and Sgt Meuriot (shot) 13e compagnie)
16th July
7e DI JMO day review: Around 19h00 a motar fell on a machine gun shelter near the 18 sape, killing Sgt Lemoine CM6 and Leloup 22e compagnie and 5 wounded
Jules sends a quick note on the 16th to say that all is well, but they have had a heavy bombardment yesterday evening and today.
Whilst Jules is writing a quick note, fellow 4e bat soldier Herve Lambert decides that it is also a good time to write home to his parents to report on conditions in Massiges:
Dear Parents
A couple of lines to give you some details about our new sector. Its quiet at times in our new area, apart from the 150′ and mortars that shower the area regularly. Luckily we have very good shelters in the area, which are 8 to 10 metres underground.
Yesterday at 11h00 they decided to shower the sector with shells and a 150′ shell exploded in front of our shelter. We were all laying down in the shelters, but we quickly had to evacuate, because the shells black smoke filled the room and the soil that made up the parapet in front of our shelter, disintegrated and was now blocking our entrance.
Last night mortars fell on our shelter all night, but the only damage done was to our sleep.
My health is still good, but the weather in this region is so depressing, but hopefully it will all be over soon with the English advance in the Somme.
Herve Lambert – description of the Massgies sector
Interesting optimism from Herve over the Somme offensive, which is still in its first phase on the 16th July. Herve believes (we assume others) that this continued offensive will lead to peace and the end of the war. Interest side note that he calls the offensive the “English offensive”, despite the 11 French division attacking on 1st July
Casualties: 2 (Sgt Robert Fernand Lemoine – Desire Victor Leloup) and 5 wounded
17th July
7e DI JMO day review: Couple of mortars and 40+ shells near the Gazan trench.
C’est de la soif que nous souffrons le plus
letter 17th july
Day 5 in the trenches and over half of the tour has been completed and they are on the final couple of days, which are always the hardest. Plus its has been raining all day to test Jules spirit.
Despite all the rain there is one important resource they are missing, ironically it is water, and the water they do have is of poor quality. They cannot even top up their water supply with wine as there is none aswell, which Jules remarks was not the case with the 16e compagnie.
In addition Jules informs us that letters for the last 4 days are not getting through to the front, which is a source of misgivings for him, as since the transition to the 14e, the postal situation has been rather poor.
Jules informs us, that currently the battalion is spending a lot of time in their shelters 10m underground, as the Germans are often launching mortars and shells at them.
Letter – Day 5 – lack of water, post blocked?
Quand boche nous balance ses torpilles tout tremble encore
letter 17th july
Casualties: 1 KIA 13e compagnie – shot in the head a sape 22
18th July
7e DI JMO day review: Sporadic shelling and rifle fire with some hand to hand fighting near sape 20. French artillery required to change range as a 75 shell fell on French trenches
Postcard that confirms he is in good health and the weather still just as bad. Fatigue is the biggest challenge that Jules and his section now faces. As he concludes after days, weeks and months of doing night shifts and early morning “we are all starting to get tired of this sorry life”
Casualties: 1 (2e Classe Julien Pierre Adrien Bregand 18e compagnie) shell burst
19th July
7e DI JMO day review: lot of work being done in the trenches to repair them after multiple days of heavy shelling. Further heavy shelling in the afternoon of the Gazan and Dumouriez trenches around Mt Tetu. A machine gun post was destroyed during a heavy bombardment between 16h00 and 17h30, with an addition dozen shells falling after 23h00 in the Ravin de l’Index area
Nous avons des officiers qui sont presque nuls
Letter 19th July
Nearing the end of his tour in the trenches and leave is still on Jules mind, but its seems unlikely that Jules will get his before the end of August, therefore he will not get to see his brother that is due to go on leave on the 1st August.
Still three more days to go, but tonight they will be some “grabuge” noise to Jules left, as he mentions there is a planned attack, but even if the Germans artillery respond, he believes they are safe enough in their shelters, but their sleep will suffer.
The question of leave is raised again and Jules provides us with a blunt assessment of why his leave has still not been confirmed. In his opinion it is due to the officers, who he describes as “nearly useless” due to a lack of organisation and transparency around the leave process within the new compagnie.… the situation is exacerbated by the Postal system that is also proving to be un reliable.
Letter – day 7 of tour – tensions caused by leave issues and postal problems
Confirmed Casualties: 2 wounded by mortar (adj Chapuy) and 1 wounded by accident in the 14e compangie
Casualties: 1 KIA (Sgt Adolphe Julien Boudinot)
Quite the mystery here … correctly named as 315e RI, but his location of death is a mystery being at Froidterre, which is 50km away from where the 315e RI are currently based.
After some analysis and help, it appears that Adolphe was wounded in September 1915 at Auberive and came back to service in 1916, but with the 115e RI, who were at Froidterre (Verdun) in July 1916. This is a common occurrence with many 315e and 115e soldiers.
20th July
7e DI JMO day review: Lots of repair work following multiple days of bombardments. The new PC at Ravin de l’Index is now completed. Some rifle fire in the Mont Tetu area, with a heavy bombardment of Verrue between 10h45 and 13h10
Today the weather has improved, but with the German activity they have to stay in their shelters and Jules is getting tired of being stuck underground for days, weeks and months with just his thoughts, which as he states “this endless cycle is starting to get him down”.
Jules then goes on to describe the current situation: The German shelling from the previous day has left its mark, with a couple of soldiers wounded, plus the increased intensity, is now creating heavy material damage in the trenches, along with an increase in the number of wounded.
He is looking forward to leaving the line, before the action and intensity gets too hot. Only two more days left till rest and that all important shower; as the terrain has become very dusty, plus with the increased shelling it is creating huge amounts of dust, which Jules compares to being in fog.
Letter – Day 8 of tour …. fog of war, but with dust
22nd July
RI information for the 22nd July where the 315e will be relieved in the evening by the 102e
« relève dans la nuit par le 102e. Cantonnement à COURTEMONT pour l’EM, CHR, 4e et 6e Bat »
Confirmation that tomorrow he will be leaving the trenches for 9 days of rest, which Jules hopes will improve the postal situation, but he doubts it as he believes it the compagnie fault that letters are not being picked up on time.
He hopes that once they are relieved during the night, they will get much needed rest, along with wine, which he hopes is in plentiful supply at Courtmont.
In the early morning of the 22nd July they are alerted to an attack at 2h00 on their left, but it only lasted for 30 minutes and the 4e batalion were not called upon. However they were showered with shells and mortars during the night, with some damage, but no harm was done.
Finally summer has arrived, but this is an issue whilst in the trenches as Jules points out: “With the hot weather, the trenches get really hot, because here we have 2m high trenches and only 80cm wide, which means we are suffocated with the heat and the dust”
Jules hopes to be out the trenches and back at Courtmont around 4h00 tomorrow morning and confirms he will send a quick letter tomorrow once he has arrived
Letter – day 10 of tour, artillery, dust and heat
Nearing the end of their tour of the frontlines at Massiges, Herve Lambert also decides to write home to his parents to report on life in the trenches:
Dear Parents
Couple of lines will be enough enough to give you an update on my news. We are now day 9 of our time in the trenches and we have managed to get through unharmed despite the mortars and daily shelling.
A word that comes to mind is the “vieux Vauquois” as we have very good shelters in this sector. On the 20th a 250′ shell exploded near our shelters door and collapsed a wall of our shelter, luckily nobody was injured. After the smoke and dust had cleared in the evening, we had to pick up our shovels and go and clear out and repair our “Chalet” (term used due to the amount of wood used in the shelter interior).
Plus we have been eating hot meals 3 times a day, which is a massive improvement in organisation from the compagnie, maybe things are going to improve?
Tomorrow our 8 days will be finished and we have 9 days rest and I hope that we come back to this sector, because there are rumours circulating that we are going to Verdun or Somme
Herve Lambert – Final days in Massiges and improvement in food?
Casualties: 1 (Caporal Arthur Alphonse AGUILE)
23rd July
Ce serait rudement fâcheux de repartir demain
Letter 23rd July
As promised, Jules is writing after arriving back from another long route march back to Courtmont. Jules first mission was to see the Leave Controller, who informed him that he is 28th in the queue, which means leave should be in about a months time.
However as he writes there are new rumours circulating that their rest period has been cut short, but nothing is for sure and they are only rumours at this stage. Despite this, Jules is worried, as many past rumours have come true. In his opinion it would upset many soldiers, but many would accept it, as the regiment they would be covering for is going to either Verdun or the Somme and nobody wants to go there!
Jules mentions he has had no news recently from Barbier, but he it not too worried as he knows he often forgets to write.
Letter – rumours their rest period has been cancelled
24th July
Regiment update for the 24th after the announcement of “ordre general 292”, the 315e are taking over the line at “Cratere” to “l’abre aux vaches” areas
“Le régiment reçoit l’ordre d’occuper dans l’ancien secteur de VIRGINY, le sous-secteur actuellement dit du MONT TETU et comprenant les positions du “cratère” et de “l’arbre aux vaches” où il remplace le 101e RI“
The below images is an overlay of Jan 1917 map on a 2021 image, where we can clearly see where the Main de Massiges association museum is located on Le Cratere, which is where the 315e will be positioned in late July and early August.
« Le régiment reçoit l’ordre d’occuper dans l’ancien secteur de VIRGINY, le sous-secteur actuellement dit du MONT TETU et comprenant les positions du “cratère” et de “l’arbre aux vaches” où il remplace le 101e RI »
Below is a basic drawing of the area from 7e DI JMO with both locations highlighted
Quick Postcard on the 24th July from Jules to confirm that leave have been cancelled and tonight they will be going back to the front to replace the 101e on the line. He has been told its similar to where they were previously and that they will start this tour in the reserve lines, but after just 24 hours of rest nobody is that thrilled about going back.
Fellow 4e battalion soldier Herve Lambert also gives his thoughts on the situation to his parents:
Dear Parents
I write to you very quickly, before going back to the trenches
We are not happy as we only arrived back yesterday evening at our rest town and now today we are told we have to go back to Massiges. I have only had the satisfaction of cleaning myself and my clothes and that is now our rest finished in 24 hours rather than the scheduled 8 days.
Nothing much more to say….
Dear Lulu (sister)
In regards to your question about my Caporal friend, I will write to you later, as he is now a Sergent and will no longer need a “Godmother” to write to him, as he is now earning 17franc every 10 days.
Herve Lambert – Rest cancelled
“Godmother” “marraine” “filleul” all these terms used, are in regards to women either young or old that would like to write to soldiers to give them extra “courage”.
Often soldiers who had no family or friends would look to ask fellow soldiers if they had an older relative or sister that would like to write to them to encourage them and sometime these created long lasting bonds and even marriage.
25th July
7e DI JMO day review: Quiet enough day, with some shelling of the Arbre aux Vaches area
Nous sommes dans un grand abri, toute la compagnie c’est a dire plus de 200 hommes
letter 25th july
Jules today provides us with insight into the new sector, with a nice bit of humour to start:
Yesterday Jules and his section moved into their new accommodation in the reserve lines and as he mentions “it did not cost them anything to move out from their old accommodation”
Jules comments that they arrived at their new location around 01h00 in the morning, after another 4 hour route march. For the first part of the tour they will be behind the frontline, in the reserve trenches, which he believe should be quiet, because he cant see many fresh shell holes.
In the reserve lines they are in a huge shelter that can take the whole compagnie, 200 men in bunk beds. Unfortunately the bad news for all the sous officiers is that the shelter is one big room for everybody, so officers and rank and file, all sleep together in this rather dark, dusty and humid shelter. How long will they be here? well Jules tells us that nobody knows, because there are no orders to tell them …. as Jules puts it “when will all the indecision and change stop …. its one hell of a weird job that we have”
One positive is that his health is good, but still tired due to the lack of a rest period and the situation is exasperated by the hot weather and the work they are during during the day in a ravine (likely to have been Ravin de l’Annulaire digging trenches).
In regards to previsions, Jules is worried they are going to run out soon, as normally whilst in reserve, soldiers on work duty would go back to the rest area to pick up material and also some previsions at the same time. However the Lieutenant (assumption Chenal) has decided on purpose, to not send any soldiers or working parties back to rest towns (reason why the LTN has taken this decision is unknown, but also an example of senior officers not caring about men’s moral)
Letter – First day of new tour
Un nouveau logis cela ne nous coute pas beaucoup de déménager
26th July
7e DI JMO day review: Quiet day with some activity centred around Arbre aux Vaches with 20+ 77′ near PP de la Caponniere and a dozen large calbre shells around Redan PC
Interesting side note below, during the morning there was an aerial combat around 5h30, where 2 French planes from the N38 squadron and one German plane from the 17 Squadron crash landed 500m from point 180 (assumption its a point linked to contour heights, but cant find marked on a map).
All three aviators died and division asked a team to come and see to the dead airmen and planes. Despite a speedy response, by the time the team arrived on site, the planes had been stripped. No word on the aviators.
Postcard today to lament their lack of luck, as the weather is now beautiful, but they are stuck on work duty. Jules now has confirmation from a sous lieutenant, that they will be 8 days in reserve lines and then 8 days on the frontline. Time to get ready for “another long tour in this hot dust bowl of a sector”.
28th July
7e DI JMO day review: Calm day, small engagement with grenades and rifle fire in the evening around 22h30 in the Verrue sector whilst French soldiers were working on defences.
Quick postcard of a couple of lines from Jules to say its hot and the days are long, so they are playing quite a few games of cards. Fellow 14e compagnie soldier Herve Lambert decides he needs to write to his sister, as it has been over a month, since he give her any news:
Dear Sister
I will make the most of the moment of “oisivete” idleness that I have, to write to you about my ex caporal.
After my leave, I arrived back to a very changed compagnie. Our battalion, the 4e had 4 compagnies, but whilst I was on leave they have dissolved one (16e which was Jules compagnie) to reinforce the other three (13e, 14e, 15e). A grenadier company was created, which included my old caporal and other good friends and they have been replaced by soldiers from the 16e compagnie.
My Caporal friend has now done two days training and he has been promoted to Sergent and earning himself a golden strip and a bigger pay cheque. You see sister, as a Sergent he will now have a quieter life and he will earn 17f80c every 10 days, so does not need a “marraine” to provide parcels and money. Now he will eat and sleep with the sous officiers and will do very comfortably (not in the Massiges sector has Jules has pointed out).
For the moment in my section, I don’t know of anybody that has no family and needs somebody to write too them. However if Misses Court desires to have a “filleul” godson, she can write to the 8e compagnie, because I know of a couple there.
Herve Lambert – Pay of a Sergent and finding pen pals
29th July
7e DI JMO day review: Calm day, a certain number of grenades were thrown toward the Arbre aux Vaches around 23h00. During the day around 70, 105′ shells fell around Arbre aux Vaches
Rien de nouveau il fait toujours beau temps mais un peu chaud, nous ne travaillons pas beaucoup nous sommes aussi bien qu’au patelin ou nous étions
Short letter 29th july
30th July
7e DI JMO day review: Calm day, enemy more active with around 60+ shells on le cratere
Below is a map of the Massiges area with all the different regiments in the line and in reserve: dated 30th July 1916
Je garde un magasin de vivres qui est très bien, je n’ai absolument rien à faire
card 28th july
Two days of hot work in the trenches, which means the days seem like they go on forever, but Jules now is sure that he will soon be on leave.
Another three days in the reserve lines, before they go to the frontline trenches. Jules has been put on guard duty, which is a nice change of pace for Jules as he is guarding a “magasin de vivres” depot, so life quiet and relaxed.
Letter – Day 4 – Guard duty
Casualties: 2 wounded
31st July
7e DI JMO day review: Active day, with rifle fire and grenade exchanges around Arbre aux Vaches with around 40+ shells falling on the area.
Quick postcard from Jules to mention that he has heard rumours that leave is going to get suspended in a couple of days time, which is not good news for his leave. As Jules righly points out these rumours are often false, as there is also talk that they will be moving to the Somme area, which he thinks is unlikely.
Today Herve Lambert also get his pen out to provide a surprisingly upbeat view of the Massiges sector to his parents:
Dear Parents
Time has come for me to write to you, and just this instance the tailor has delivered me my uniform, with my new 1er Classe strip. I am hoping that this will be the first strip of many, which I believe to be highly likely.
I have not spoken about our living conditions during this tour. We have large underground shelters, which are up to 13 metres deep and 30 metres long. The shelters are two banks of beds, which are bunk beds with a wire frame and “mattress”, which are slung above the ground to avoid the moisture from the floor. The lighting comes from the Moulin de Massiges (picture below), where there is a river with a sheltered wash house and toilets that have been set up, so we can wash every morning. In addition we have a compagnie kitchen nearby that provide us with 2 hot meals (quality of which is not given).
This sector is an improvement over our last sector (the bar was set very low) as the compagnie has also set up a “cooperative” where we can go everyday at 18h00 to get a glass of wine for 18 sous, plus they have tinned food and chocolate available. Finally there is a prison for the “soulards” drunks, police poste, shoemakers, tailor and a hairdresser.
I have nothing else to say or to add, unless peace has been announced…..
Herve Lambert – Massiges facilities
Interesting final paragraph from Herve about the Co-operative that has been set up with multiple different services. This has not been mentioned yet by Jules, therefore it maybe a recent addition. We will find out next month if Jules mentions these changes.
Casaulties: 2 wounded (SLT Quillet 18e and a Sergent)
Next Month: August
