Information Board 14-18 Sambre Rouge - The Forgotten Battles of the Sambre

The Forgotten Battles of the Sambre

On 4 August 1914, the German staff launches more than 700.000 men on the assault of Belgium. The 2nd German Army, commended by General Karl von Bülow, reached Maubeuge passing through Belgium. The Aim was to invade France and to topple Paris. The 5th French army was commended by General Charles Lanrezac. The meeting of these two armies occurred from 21 tot 24 August at various locations on either side of the Sambre.

The Battle of Leernes 22 August 1914

The 3rd battalion of French soldiers of the 28th Regiment, nearly all the members of which were from the Evreux region of Normandy, occupied the Espinette plateau. On 22 August, sustained by a powerful artillery, the Germans made their way to Goutroux and Monceau-sur-Sambre. The confrontation was brief yet bloody.
Two civilians lost their lives : Evariste Bellot watching the firing behind his hedge, and Léon Gandibleu who was hit taking aid to the injured French with his cart. The civilian population organised care for the injured, creating provisional hospitals.
During the war, this location served as meeting room for the aid committees, the provisions room, etc. It was also the office of the doctor Emile Hautain as Medical Inspector of the municipal schools in 1917, and as president of the local aid committee in 1918.

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Source

• Text: Luc Van Waeyenberge
• Photos: Luc Van Waeyenberge