The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1917-09-21


had little less than $4,000 in
habitants. but in Gaulish times it was
already that Bibrax which julius
Caesar took in the year 81 B. c., and
where no doubt the Romans estab-
llshed themselves and maintained the
authority of Rome among the con-
quered. Many curious Gallo-Romanic
antiquities have been collected In the
neighborhood and are now in the mu-
scum. Up to the fifth century the col
lection was known as Laudunum.
During the Merovingian, the Cape
tan, and, in fact, in all periods of
French history, says Henry p. Davray
In Country Life, Laon has played an
important role. It's geographical posi-
ton caused 1t to be frequently be-
sieged. Situated on the road from
Paris and from the valley of the Seine
to the middle valley of the Mouse, ii
Is built on an isolated mount quantity
carved out In the form of a promon-
tory which can be seen from a great
distance. This mount forms a kind
OF V Of which the point Is turned to-
ward the northwest. To the northeast
the cathedral rises, and to the south
the Abbey of st. Vincent. From g
height Of 800 feet above the valley of
the Ardon 1t dominates a view which
extends far in all directions, and
there is not within a large radius a
better post Of observation. Moreover,
the steep TANKS of the hill made the
entry easily defensible against the
weapons of former times, though twice
1t has known the humiliation of capitu-
lation to German forces, in 1914 and
again on September 9, 1904 date
that many older inhabitants carry in
their hearts today. In this fortified
vantage point the early kings of
France made their residence. Here
too, the church founded a bishopric
about 500 A. D.. which was steadily
maintained until the Revolution.
OF Strategic Importance.
Laon was place that all armies
fought for with bitterness. The Eng
fish during the Hundred Years war
later the Burgundians and Charles the
the invaders of 1914, of 1915 and 1870
all regarded the town as one Of their
great strategic points. 1t was taken
rNvaged, pillaged, burned great num-
Der Of times after long and difficult
sieges. The garrison easily opposed a
resistance, which often enough beat
the besiegers.
For example, when Henry " recon
quered his kingdom from the duke of
Mayenne and the Ligue the town of
Laon held him at bay for a long time
In 1894. He took it less by force of
arms than by a diplomacy suggested
to him by his astuteness and cunning
In 1914 during that immortal cam.
lalgn of France, when more than ever
the resources of his genius were dis
played, Napoleon tried to drive out
Butcher and the Prussians. For sew
eral days he redoubled his efforts and
finally abandoned the place. These
details, which could easily be multi
piled, prove the strategic importance
Of Laon.
Apart from its geographic position
which gives 1t military value. 1t has
been the meeting place and crossing
point of the means of communication
and transportation which existed al
all these epochs. The great highways
OF the district intersect at the foot o!
the mount, and when the railways
were built In the nineteenth century
the station of Laon became the juno
ton Of the lines from Paris, from Terg
nler, from Guise. from Hirson, from
Rheims and from Liart.
Where Railway Lines Meet
The Importance Of possessing Laor
for the Germans can easily be seen
There meet the railway lines coming
from Germany by Luxembourg, Mont
medy, Sedan, Mezieres, Charleville and
Hirson the lines coming from Cologne
and from Aix-la-Chapelle, by the val
ley of the Mouse, Liege, Namur ane
Charleroi, and from Brussels, Moni