Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-23
HISTORIC VERDUN ON THE MEUSE


peror, addressing his soldiers
Critical besieging Verdun. said: The
war of 1870 was decided at
Aoiht' Paris. The present war
must end at Verdun.''
Verdun has been compared to Fried
land. Napoleon forced the Russian
army to battle at Friedland in 1907.
with its back to the river. with the OBJ
ject of occupying the bridges. which
would thus cut off retreat. Mackensen
would follow Napoleon's maneuver in
1907 by forcing the French army to
fight, its back to the Mouse, while
east and south simultaneously. would
occupy the bridges of Verdun.
The difference between Napoleon's
maneuver and that of Mackensen is
manifest. Ney took the bridges of
Friedland. whilS the kronprinz has not
taken the bridges of verdun. nor is
there probability that they can be
taken.
Verdun was first mentioned in the
Itinerary of Antonius" GA B.C.), un-
der the name of Verodunum. After 1870
Verdun was created first-class
IOFtTeSs, tne center vast
trenched camp, destined to bar the
Champagne road to an enemy coming
from Metz. A line of intercepting forts
connects the intrenchments of Verdun
on the Mouse with Toul on the Moselle
to the southeast.
1t was at verdun in s43 the sons of
Louis the Pious signed the treaty of
division of the Carolingian empire
Louis of Bavaria took Germania
Charles lie Chauve. France. and west
region between the Meuse and the
Rhine. The latter finally was prev TO
German and French ambitions. Louis
dOutremer took Verdun. 979: Othon
tne Great recaptured it. Verdun was
created the property of bishops in 1247.
FROM the fourteenth century French
influences prevailed in the valleys of
the Mouse and Moselle: the inhabitants
Of Verdun claimed the protection of
Philip ", the Good" son of Philin
III. King of France. and signed with
MN treaty of protection, and Philip
~ gave to Verdun a French governor
131O-133O ''0''
The annexation of Verdun to the
royal domain was one of the conse-
quences of the
Captured by the rivalry be tween
French in 1851. France cnsr n q
prepared TO invade France in 1861.
and imposed a garrison on verdun.
Henry ii. King of France. CAPTURED
Verdun. also Toui and Metz. and the
treaty of Cateau-Cambresis 1850
confirmed the possession.
In view of the present conflict rho
treaty of Cateau-Cambresis is destined
CONDITIONS should be clearly defined.
The treaty was signed the I'd of
April, 1853. between the plenipoten-
tiaries of Henry II, King of France, on
Inc one part: those of the Queen of
King of Spain, on the other part. That
peace put an end to the wars of Italy
and to the first period of rivalry of
the houses of France and of Austria
Or these conquests France retained
only Metz, Toul and Verdun, with their
territories, and Calais.
Verdun was besieged by the Prus-
slams in 1892. and was defended by
NlcolaS Joseph Beaurepaire, Iieuten-
ant colonel of volunteers of Mayenne
and Loire. Although badly supported
by an undisciplined and disaffected ma :
tional guard. Beaurepaire resisted with
energy the demand of the Duke of
Brunswick to surrender But during
the bombardment the royalists caused
part of the population to revolt, and
Beaurepaire, unable to continue his
valiant defense, blew out his brains.
and Verdun capitulated September 2.
1892.
During the Franco Prussian war
Verdun was again besieged October
IL, 1870. Notwithstand-
Siege of ing the wretched conditions.
1o1o the defense was maintained
with energy, and surren-
dered only November 8. 1870.
This country of the Meuse depart
ment. formed by part of the Cham
payne and the ancient duchy of Bar.
has its prefecture at Barbecue. 254
kilometers. or 15e miles, east of Paris.
The historic River Meuse rises in
passes through France. Belgium and
Holland, passes Verdun, Sedan. Mezi-
eres. Namur. Liege, Maastricht. Rot
terdam and falls into the sea; it is
SIS miles in length.
The country presents another intense
ly interesting side. NJ. Vidal de la
Blache says on this head: "A1l the
geographical vocabulary there is i'm
pregnated with those old Gallo names
of waters and of submits. deue, mont
couse. dun" For example. south of
Verdun there are Dieue, Somme- dieue,
Nant-le-Grand, Nant-le-Petit, Nantois-
dans-le Barrios, Cousance, Cousance-
aux-Bois, Dung unknown
or forgotten places until the war. but
destined henceforth to publicity be-
cause they have become the stage of
the drama which is still being enacted.
Dun is Celtic suffiX common 10 a
number of ancient places; Loudun, Is
soudun. Chateaudun. Sivordun. The
Latins converted dun into dunum to in
dictate a fortified castle. Verdun in the
time of the Gauls was then as now an
obstacle in the way of an enemy ap-
preaching from the Woevre.
The new names of the front" in the
valley of the Mouse show, too, how
great is the participation of the names
of men in the designation of places
places destined to have peculiar in
from afar to visit battlef1elds conse-
Grated by the blood and heroic deeds of
their soldiers.
AuguSte- dunum was fortress of
August, Bezandun, Loudun, Yverdtin,
Meudon, Lyon, Leon, are names formed
of dounos names associated with those
of persons. Douros is the name of a
fortress: Aballadouros, Izernore, a fort
ress of Jzarnos, Tonnere of Tornos. etc.
K
A great number of names of places
are composed of chatel or chateau
(castellum. fortified
Making place., thus chatel or
chateau is associated with