History of the Meuse

Prehistory

The valley of the Meuse, in France and Belgium, except glacial period, was occupied by the prehistoric men to which it offered a great high content in fish, birds and large mammalian, as well as grounds easy to cultivate. Many traces attest some, of which a part was perhaps erased by the First World War.

Modern history

The Meuse was one of the 83 departments created with the French revolution, the March 4th 1790 pursuant to the law of the December 22nd 1789, starting from the most Western part of the province of Lorraine.

This department almost did not vary within its limits since its creation. One can however quote the case of the small commune of Han-in front of-Pierrepont, which was detached from it in 1997 to be attached to the Département of Meurthe-et-Moselle.

First World War

With 1/5 of the French face, the French Département of the Meuse was the theater of extremely fatal combat at the time of the First World War.

Rebuilding (after 1914-18)

In the eight years which followed the Armistice, the cleaning of the after-effects of war required an intensive work, undertaken by the inhabitants like by a personnel engaged locally, reinforced by a labor come from another departments or immigrant, with within the framework of the forests of the markets, passed private by units of area, after a measuring intended to facilitate control.

Désobusage

The désobusage will not be finished before several centuries (600 to 700 years with the current rhythm of discovered not exploded ammunition). It was started in Meuse by a service of artillery, starting from the descriptions and indications of the foresters, while starting with the deposits of Obus and grenade S, in the priority working areas. In addition to million ammunition known as conventional " hundreds of chemical thousands of shell were left the zones of afforestation, buried or destroyed by pétardement on the spot or in the vicinity, or led in a " usine" of recovery/dismantling or on the spot in a provisional deposit before dismantling. One knows that in one of these deposits passed from 1919 to 1926 more than 200.000 German shells to pollutant gases for draining, dismantling and destruction on the spot by a private company, “concessionary” of the Ministry for the War.

In 1926, after a désobusage of surface, the half of the red zone of the department of Meuse (6618 ha, located primarily in the zone of Verdun and Morthomme) could be entrusted to the Administration of National Forestry Commission, for (Re) timbering.

Demolition of the networks

It related to in the red zone of Meuse 1.561.400 square meters, that is to say 1.561 ha. Cost: in addition to 732.000 Fr of removal of various camouflages and cleanings, 2.249.000 francs were spent (0,144 fr/m2) the 7 or 8 premièes years of work, but for lack of more important means, and quickly losing the hope which Germany would pay the forest reconstitution, the service forest meusien quickly decided to fill only part of the funnels and sliced being satisfied to restore at distances sufficient from the points of passage allowing the circulation of vehicles of a piece the other. These Terrassement S nevertheless required to move more than one million m3 of ground (1.013.000 cubic meters), for average costs of 1,45 Fr per cubic meter (for a value of the franc of 1925).

The coppices and the brambles, benefitting from the grounds dislocated by the engagements, quickly invaded the building sites, making cleaning more difficult. At the end of 1926, the essence of the work of reshaping and earthwork of the grounds nevertheless was finished. But the destruction of the accumulated, chemical ammunition in particular, was far from being completed, just like the afforestation.

New compartmental

The administration restores the limits of pieces and the ways, trying to find the old ways and preserving those created by the armies. They will be maintained on 10 m and will serve as distinct fire wall, because one always fears that a fire either causes explosions, even of toxic gas emissions.
Les the first two retimbered zones (Verdun-Douaumont and Morthomme) were divided into 17 large perimeters of approximately 800 ha each one, managed by 3 forest brigades which will timber them and transform into distinct series of exploitation, by redivisant each perimeter in coupons from 20 to 25 ha, partitioned by old ways, by thin layers sommières when it is possible, at end of methodical timbering and cut. Tailboards of 4 m the broad ones are made up to supplement the device. The communal or private relics of old wood are included in these large perimeters.

Sale of wood depreciated

In the wood subjected to the forest Mode, the Administration makes cut down wood grapeshots or patients: 219.000 cubic meters of depreciated wood were thus sold for the heating between 1919 and 1926 (which has to produce antimony and arsenic, lead vapors where wood was burned, in bakeries sometimes). Eights to ten years after the armistice the most depreciated trees are eliminated, but of wood grapeshots will be put on the market still lasting a century at least.

Recovery of wood

The wood of the huts, wood of mines and shelters, when it was not plundered as from 1919 is recovered by forest personnel for the Genius then for the Fields.

Recovery of metals

It is the operation which was most lucrative, but sometimes mortally dangerous. The metals dispersed on this only department by the war had a value of several million francs. Except the ammunition, militaria of the beams type, sheets, weaponry various, rails, tip trucks, stakes, wire of iron, tanks, etc) were initially recovered by a special military service, particularly the weapons, guns, machine-guns, rifles… Then as from 1923, the head office of the engineering services developed a strategy of markets conceded at large companies whose Jules Forget writes in 1926 qu' it should have been subjected to “ a severe control, obliging some of them to give up, in some measurement, with not very scrupulous mistakes which, too often, made it possible to compare recovery to a free-for-all ”. Many stories circulate in this area and on all the old red zone, as in Belgium or Germany on the fortunes made by certain at the time scrap merchants, and sometimes by certain families, even by children recovering copper and lead in particular.

Restoration of forests

After 1918, in this department, the first evaluations preliminary to expropriations and compensation for reason for after-effects for war, had concluded that approximately 20.000 ha were to be classified in Red zone, i.e. regarded as transforming into Forêt so much the grounds were degraded by it by the war. Then the Loi of April 24th, 1923 imposed a revision of compartmental on exproprier for has one says to encourage the return of agriculture where it would be possible. In fact the application of this law reduced approximately 5.500 ha the effort of creation of “Forêt of war” .

In the Meuse, following this law of April 24th, 1923, the red zone was thus reduced to 5 zones adding up 15.672 ha, of which only 5.700 hectares (that is to say approximately 1/3 of the surface) were wooded in 1914.

A special service of reconstitutions forest is created in 1919 which during seven years (with the expenses of the State) will supervise the clearing of the Militaria , the extraction of thousands of kilometers of barbed iron wire out them zones to be retimbered, the filling of the craters of the most dangerous shell as well as networks of Tranchée S and bowels, this in order to prepare the Sommière S and the lines of forest installation, in the public forests as in old wood private repurchased by the state.
Rem: In particular because of the needs for the rebuilding, the commercial value of the metals recovered on the red zone was higher than the cost of the reconstitution of the forests, but this activity wounded and killed out of many people in the years which followed the war.

The forest workmen recèpent the trees which can the being, and furnish with seedlings the zones deforested or devastated by the engagements, or with the zones too polluted to be returned to agriculture, as well as the grounds of certain completely destroyed villages. In timberings or private pieces, some of these tasks are left to the owners. Finally one realizes that the landscapes disaster victims and lunar are retimbered easily and even spontaneously via the natural cutting back and sowings. On the other hand certain grounds very degraded by surpiétinement, mainly where the camps and the stables were laid out require an artificial afforestation. In the same way where dense extents the graminaceous ones settled.

In 1921 and 1922, Germany, under the “services” (cf Damagees war) provided to the forest service of Verdun 153.000 seedlings of coniferous tree, 118 kg of seeds of coniferous tree, and 1,4 tons of nipples.

10 years after the armistice, the afforestation is only partially started. The forest administration, although having permanent seedbeds, misses seedlings and seeds which it must also buy in the trade, time that the flying seedbeds created on the old gardens of the red zone can provide seedlings. Subjects of low-stem are planted (3.333 plants/ha) spaced 2m on 1,5 m, parallel to seed sowings of coniferous tree in seed holes laid out all the 2 and 3 m where one will take the superabundant seedlings for refilled.

Biodiversity

Whereas in 1928 the forest restoration of the red zone beats full sound (9 coupons of 150 ha must be retimbered in the year in the sector of Verdun), of the documents of time show an interest for the diversity of the gasolines presented like “offering the greatest advantages”. The black pine is mixed with the woodland pine, the spruce and even with the fir tree of the Vosges which is installed in refilled in the grown again enlightened ones). The quoted leafy trees are birch, maple, and moindrement ash alder and poplar in the wetter funds. Jules Forget, old forestry commissioner of the Meuse estimates that it will take 20 more years of plantation and 7 or 8 franc million (of the time) to complete this work “At the sinister and desert zone of today will succeed year by year of the growing sides of green zones, color of hope, pledges of fertile resurrection and faith in the future, zones green and palpitating of life, that will dominate forever, like the symbol of our enthusiastic recognition for the sacrifice from our 400.000 died of Verdun…/. ” he in 1928 wrote.

Nearly one century after the beginning of this war, being given the duration of a forestry or forest cycle, it is still early to draw assessment from the impacts of the war on the Biodiversité. Many species quickly (re) colonized the forest, including some rare and patrimonial species which justified the classification in zone Natura 2000. Stag S, Roe-deer S and Sanglier S has (too much?) benefitted well from the massive Agrainage and the forest continuums thus reconstituted, offering an additional resource to the ONF and the local hunters. It is rather in agricultural zone, that the species very strongly seem to have regressed.

Tentative conclusion in connection with the after-effects of 1914-1918

A crucial question is that of becoming heavy metals and poisons of war which are still present per thousands of tons in the grounds of the old red zone. Will these poisons be stabilized in the grounds, or via the systems racinaires of the trees, circulating water and the worms of ground and mushrooms, they will contaminate the forest ecosystem, the agrosystèmes and via the migratory birds of the more distant zones? Did the trees accumulate toxic metals, which could when they start to die to contaminate the Environment? It seems that no study supplements is not publicly available on these subjects, in addition not evoked by the many historians of this period.

Second world war

Sources

Primary source over the period 14-18:
Bull. Soc.Lettres, Sc and Arts, Bar it Duke, Juil-DEC. 1927 ,
Article: “the forest reconstitution and the red zone in the Meuse” , pages 121 to 130.

See too

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