The 276th Infantry Regiment at Coulommiers
These soldiers fight for their land, their home...
This regiment became a legend during the operations on the Marne on 5 September 1914. Here is the story of those two days (5 and 6 September) during which it distinguished itself north of Meaux.
First of all, this reserve regiment, recruited both in Paris and on the Plateau Briard, was formed on 4 August 1914 by taking officers and non-commissioned officers from its parent unit, the 76th Infantry Regiment. The commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Lejeune, was an active-duty officer.
The regiment's strength was as follows:
- 37 officers (including Lieutenant Charles Péguy)
- 184 non-commissioned officers
- 2,002 corporals and privates..
Each company was commanded by an active-duty captain, assisted by two reserve lieutenants. For fire support, the regiment had two machine-gun sections and 111 horses and 28 carriages were available for transport and logistics. The regiment was integrated into the 110th infantry brigade of General Leguay's 55th reserve division. The regiment was transported to the right wing of the 3rd Army in the Saint-Mihiel sector. Initially kept as a reserve unit, it was engaged on the front line from 28 August. It had its baptism of fire on the 30th at l'Echelle-Saint-Aurin in the Avre valley. The 55th reserve division, which formed part of Maunoury's 6th Army, newly created by Joffre, then retreated towards Senlis.
Iverny-Monthyon, 5 September
PLeaving Vemars on the morning of the 4th, where it had been billeted the previous day, the 276th led the division's march towards Monthyon via Iverny and Villeroy.
At 11am, when the regiment arrived in sight of the village, it was ordered to move to Plessis-Lévêque, when suddenly German shells, whose fire was poorly controlled, fell on the head of the column where the 6th Battalion was located. The entire battalion took shelter as best it could in the houses, while Captain Truillet, commanding the 21st Company, was ordered to occupy the eastern horn of Tillières Wood. During the advance, which went ahead without encountering any major resistance, the officer spotted an apparently isolated German battery 500 m from the wood. He didn't hesitate for a second and launched his men into the attack. They came under heavy fire from well camouflaged German infantry. The captain was seriously wounded, but managed to pull his men back. At 5pm, faced with this failure, Lieutenant-Colonel Lejeune ordered Captain Dessat's 22nd Company to rally the survivors of the 21st Company and clear Tillières Wood of German skirmishers. Not reaching the edge of the wood until nightfall, the captain spotted a troop shouting at him: ‘Don't shoot, we're skirmishers! ' Believing they were skirmishers from the Moroccan Brigade (fighting on the right of the 55th Reserve Division), the captain rushed forward without precaution and was hit by a burst of point-blank musketry.
At the same time, the 5th Battalion deployed in the early afternoon in the Villeroy sector with artillery support. After the failure of the Moroccan brigade's offensive on Télégraphe Wood near Penchard, the battalion moved forward to Villeroy to cover the retreat of the Moroccan skirmishers. At 5pm, Captain Guérin, commanding the 19th Company, received the order to advance towards the Ru de la Sorcière, where the Germans had taken cover. On the first advance, which was made in close ranks of skirmishers, Guérin and around a hundred men were killed. Lieutenant de la Cornillière took command before falling in his turn. It was now up to Lieutenant Charles Péguy to lead the next advance. In the ranks of the company, as in the rest of the regiment, there were several men from Monthyon, Plessis-Lévêque, Saint-Soupplets or Meaux, such as Lieutenant Courtier (of the 20th company), a notary, who was wounded in the head. As Péguy prophetically wrote, these soldiers were fighting for their land, their home: ‘Blessed are those who died for their hearth and fire, and the lowly honours of their fathers' houses’. Like all the officers, Péguy led the company standing up, unconcerned about the machine-gun fire, and hurled abuse at his men, but he was soon hit in the forehead and collapsed with a sigh, letting out one last word: ‘Ah mon Dieu, mes enfants’ (‘Oh my God, my children’). The attack could not continue. Launched without any artillery preparation, it was a bloody failure. During this first day, the regiment suffered 305 killed, including 5 officers, and 152 wounded, including 2 officers.
Barcy, 6 September
Despite the appalling losses of the previous day, the regiment remained on the alert. On the morning of 6 September, it appeared that the enemy had retreated under cover of night. The 55th Reserve Division resumed its advance. At Barcy, the Germans were spotted on their new defensive line. Fighting began immediately. The 6th Battalion arrived at Marcilly to be greeted by a deluge of fire from the German artillery. The companies organised themselves inside the village. The 5th Battalion remained behind as a reserve unit. At 3pm, while the attack on the plateau between Barcy and Varreddes was underway, Lieutenant-Colonel Lejeune received orders to support the attack by the 231st (Melun) and 246th (Fontainebleau) infantry regiments. The 22nd Company and two machine gun sections were deployed, albeit too late to support the offensive; the 231st had already retreated. In the confusion of the fighting and because of the losses suffered by the two attack regiments, the 246th's flag was collected by Warrant Officer Colas and Private Chavet. At the end of the day, the 55th Reserve Division had to retreat because the 231st and 246th Infantry Regiments had been decimated. The 276th's losses were limited to 24 killed or missing and 22 wounded, including two officers. The regiment took no further part in the Battle of the Ourcq, but resumed fighting on 12 September at Soissons during the pursuit of the German army.
Near Iverny, in the 17th company of this 276th regiment, a friend of Charles Péguy fought: Lieutenant Claude Casimir-Périer, son of the former President of the Republic, Jean Casimir-Périer (1847-1907).
Claude Casimir-Périer's secretary and friend was Alain Fournier (author of Le Grand Meaulnes, published in 1913). Péguy and Fournier also knew each other and exchanged extensive correspondence before the war. In 1912, Alain Fournier accompanied Péguy on part of his pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres. Alain Fournier, aged 28, was killed on 22 September 1914, south-east of Verdun, on the Meuse front, in the woods of Saint-Rémy-la-Calonne. His body was not discovered until 2 May 1991. Claude Casimir-Périer was appointed captain of Charles Péguy's decimated company on 7 September 1914.
He died, aged 35, on 12 January 1915, on the Aisne front. He is buried in the French military cemetery in Crouy-sur-Aisne, near Soissons.
Villeroy: Puisieux well (puisieux means old well).
Situated in a depression on the edge of the village of Villeroy, this well was dug, according to legend, during the reign of French King Merovée (450-500 AD). In fact, since the 17th century, there has been a farm on this site, known as Puisieux Farm, belonging to Saint-Faron Abbey in Meaux. Before 1834, the farm was completely demolished, except for the water point, and the land was turned again into farmland, which explains this well in the middle of the field...
At around 2.30pm on the afternoon of 5 September 1914, the soldiers of the 5th Battalion of the 276th Infantry Regiment at Coulommiers reached this hollow. They took cover while the opposing forces engaged in an artillery duel. Despite the scorching heat, the soldiers were reluctant to drink the water from the well, fearing that the Germans had poisoned it. However, the Germans had not gone that far and, reassured by local soldier Alphonse Tellier, the French infantrymen finally filled their cans. It was at this well that Lieutenant Charles Péguy and the men of his 4th platoon drank their last water. The well, which has been restored several times, now belongs to the Association des Amis de Charles Péguy.