General Ernest Barbot

The battle for Arras opened at the beginning of October 1914. From the north to the south in front of Arras were the Corps of General d'Urbal and the 10th Corps under General Desforges.

Forming part of d'Urbal's Corps was the 77th Division of Chasseurs and Alpine Corps of General Barbot.

On the morning of 2 October 1914 General von Arnim's 4th Corps was approaching the French lines from the direction of Cambrai. It would have taken von Arnim little effort to take the town of Arras if it had not been for the fact that Barbot and his men dug themselves into the small plateau of Feuchy to the north-east of the town.

Barbot had lost touch with General Fayolle's 70th Division on his left, an attack directed at the Germans advancing down the Cambrai Road had met with disaster near Monchy-le-Preux, and the recently arrived 10th Corps had run straight into the Germans new lines at Monchy.

Barbot was cited in Army Orders on 10 October 1914.

In the combat of 2 October this General, by his energy and fine conduct under fire, held his troops under violent fire and restored the situation under difficult circumstances.

The next two days brought more French reverses as the Germans occupied Lens and pushed ever closer to the southern outskirts of Arras. Still fighting it out at Feuchy, Barbot realised that he was in real danger of being encircled and withdrew into the streets of the suburbs.

To the north of him General Fayolle's men were beaten back village by village - Vimy, Givenchy, Thélus, Souchez all fell to the advancing Bavarians.

Barbot's Army Commander: General de Maud'huy had already started to issue the orders to abandon Arras when General Foch arrived at de Maud'huy's headquarters.

Foch had been given the task of stopping the rot, by any means. This was the time of The race to the sea and there was a real necessity for the French to hang on.

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I only know of three ways to fight: Attack, Defend, Piss Off

General Foch

The saviour of Arras

Readying his men for a hard battle Barbot had already made up his mind to ignore any orders to retire.

Whilst I am alive we do not retreat. So, Gentlemen of the Staff lets get to it. Raise your hearts! Repeat everywhere: we are holding well and that we will not let Arras go!

Temporarily halted by the French stubbornness in refusing to give the town up, the Germans waited for their heavy artillery. On the streets of Arras the French prepared for the coming storm and waited.

On the afternoon of 20 October the storm broke. 210 and 280 mm shells crashed into the city. By the following day the town centre was in ruins.

On the 22nd the Germans attacked the eastern suburb of St Laurent, held by Barbot's Alpine Chasseurs. They fought until exhausted, before being relieved by Senegalese troops whom Barbot threw into a counter-attack supported by his Zouaves and Chasseurs.

Their bravado and spirit carried the day. The Germans were halted in front of the town.

Barbot and his Division had saved Arras.

Mortally wounded at Souchez

As the German line continued to encircle Arras to the north, Barbot and his Division found themselves transferred to the area in front of Souchez. There they took part in the great offensive on 9 May 1915.

The first days of the 2nd Battle of Artois saw remarkable achievements by the 33rd Corps commanded by General Pétain.

On its right the Moroccan Division had stormed across the plain and taken Vimy Ridge, four kilometres away, in a single rush. In the centre General Barbot's men had made gains with the Alpine Brigade getting as far as Hill 119, Givenchy and the outskirts of Souchez.

Hill 119 became known as The Pimple to the Canadians in 1917 and is the steep hill immediately opposite the site of Barbot's monument.

Unfortunately the speed of their advance proved to be the 77th Division's undoing and under violent bombardment they were forced to retire from Givenchy, back as far as Cabaret Rouge on the hill above Souchez.

It was there that at about 11:00 hours on 10 May 1915 that Barbot was wounded. He died whilst in an ambulance en route to Villiers-Châtel.

The Germans would hold out in Souchez for another couple of months until 26 September when Barbot's men would finally take control of the mud and wasteland that had been the village.

Souchez saw such terrible fighting that it was completely obliterated. The Germans had made use of the local Château de Carleul and the Sugar Mill (Sucrerie) and turned them into fortresses. By changing the water system they had also managed to partially flood the valley - now called Zouave Valley.

The French writer Henri Barbusse served as a stretcher bearer here during the battle and described that whilst Carency had at least a few outlines of buildings, Souchez seemed to have disappeared.

Another description calls it: a trickling purée of wood, stone and bones ground and kneaded into the mud.

The Monument

The statue is not only dedicated to General Barbot himself, as commander of the 77th DI [Infantry Division], but also to his men who fell in Artois between 1 October 1914 and 20 February 1916. Work began on the monument in 1935 under a commitee headed by General Pétain.

The General stands as he often did with a hand in between two button of his greatcoat (like Napoleon). Behind him you will see soldiers wearing the famous beret of the Chasseurs climbing up out of their trenches.

On either side of the monument are two commemorative plaques. One is to General Plessier who had preceded Barbot as commander of the 77th and was the first General killed in action (19 August 1914), the other to General Stirn who took over at Barbot's death but was himself killed two days later.

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Ernest Jacques Barbot was born on 19 August 1855 at Toulouse. He graduated as a Second Lieutenant on 1 October 1877 slowly climbing the ranks to reach Colonel in September 1912 and Brigadier General on 8 September 1914. He posthumously received the Legion of Honour.

His fatal injuries occurred near Cabaret Rouge only a couple of hundred metres away from where his statue stands today.

If you visit the cemetery at Notre Dame de Lorette you will find his grave is the first on the left, next to the main entrance of the cemetery.

2nd Battle of Artois
Notre Dame de Lorette