We
have visited Meaux (pronounced Mo) on a number of occasions. It is only 40
minutes out of Paris on the urban rail network and a commuter bus ride from
Charles de Gaulle airport. It is a large and historically important town in its
own right. There is plenty to see here and as we were being visited by some
friends we chose to stay here for a few days.
When
we were back in Australia for the Christmas period last year, we stayed with
Elizabeth and Paul at their property at Horsham, Victoria. We celebrated New
Year’s Eve at a neighbouring farm and met a great group of their friends. One
couple, Mary and Ken planned a European holiday and luckily, were able to visit us while
they were in Paris. They were keen to see how we live.
We
met them at the railway station, wandered through town then returned to Matilda
for quite a long lunch. At a still respectable hour, we took them back to the
train for Paris. It was good to see them again after the celebrations of New Year.
On
the northern outskirts of Meaux, this statue is part of a memorial to the first
war. Financed mainly by America, it is quite new and very innovative in its
presentation of the history of the conflict. It is also a little biased towards
the American involvement. In a dramatic building there is a great collection of
memorabilia, including aircraft, tanks and other weapons. There are also tributes to the efforts played by others in the conflict.
This
French truck was especially designed to carry pigeons to various parts of the
battlegrounds to be used to carry messages back to headquarters.
These
two planes appeared to be authentic – even down to the tell-tale oil dribble
from the bi-plane.
Displays
of mannequins in the various uniforms of the major forces including the cavalry
horses made a dramatic display.
Although
the United States had been supplying aid to the allied powers since the
beginning of the conflict, they only entered the war in April 1916. Because of
their previous policies of neutrality, they were naive with little knowledge of
warfare of the day. Against a very seasoned enemy, their losses were high.
They
mobilised over 4,000,000 personnel of which 100,000 died. By comparison,
Australia, mobilised 330,000 soldiers (13% of the white male population) with
62,000 deaths in battle.
We
struggled to find any mention of the Australian efforts in Europe but we did find
an Australian slouch hat complete with emu plume. Attached was a small notation
to say that the Australian forces were evident in the conflict by their lack of
respect of authority. They didn’t mention that this “lack of respect of
authority” on the part of the Australians turned the war. In April 1918, the
head of the Australian forces at Villers-Bretonneux “mis-read” an order to attack the Germans in
broad daylight and attacked the night before, catching them un-aware and thus
starting the allied push that did not stop until the armistice in November.
Enough
of the history lesson.
We
had more visitors meeting us in Meaux. Sue and Alan, friends of Chris and Margo
who had spent time with us last year were joining us for a week. We met them at
the train and spent the next week wandering down the Marne River towards Paris.
Again
we were on the big rivers and the associated traffic. This gravel barge was on the Seine as we made
our way to Quai d’Austerlitz.
We
dropped Sue and Alan at Austerlitz station and Marg went with them to check all
was OK with the train. They were off to Montlucon to continue their European
experience.
We
are again by ourselves and the plan is now to wander south-ish through France to
Digoin and Roanne then to Chalon-sur-Saone and the Saone River. From there –
who knows!
There
will be more to tell so we will keep in touch.
