From Les Andelys To Verdun: Journey Of A Young French Cadet Who Died For His Homeland (English Version)

By Carmen Barthet

From Les Andelys to Verdun ... is the story of a young French cadet fresh out of the Preparatory Military School of Infantry (1910-1914) who, like all his fellow students, volunteered for the duration of the war, and found himself thrown into the inferno of the gigantic, murderous battles that marked the First World War.Prior to the action on th

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gotham Books
• Release date: Dec 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887757032

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FROM LES ANDELYS

TO VERDUN

JOURNEY OF A YOUNG FRENCH CADET

WHO DIED FOR HIS HOMELAND

(English Version)

by

Carmen Barthet

Gotham Books

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© 2023 Carmen Barthet. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by Gotham Books (December 13, 2023)

ISBN: 979-8-88775-704-9 (H)

ISBN: 979-8-88775-702-5 (P)

ISBN: 979-8-88775-703-2 (E)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

This book is dedicated to my grand-parents

Philomène and Henri BARTHET

As well as to

The fellow cadets of the Lovy Class

At the Andelys Military Preparatory School of Infantry

(1910-1914)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My research endeavors about my uncle Henri, former cadet at Les Andelys Military Preparatory School of Infantry (1910-1914) until his enrolment into active combat for the duration of the war in October 1914, brought me in contact with the association of Anciens Enfants de troupe Andelys-Normandie, ( AET) whose President, Jacques Massiat gave me a kind and courteous welcome, which started between the association and myself an ongoing relationship through which I’ve been able to obtain on Henri Barthet some major documents such as data sheets I was unaware of, that is statement of military service, military records and a fact sheet from the data bank called Memory of Men (Mémoire des Hommes).

I also had the pleasure and honor to be invited at les Andelys on June 9th 2018 for a commemorative ceremony at the Military School war memorial, honoring forgotten Cadets (whose names had never been reported).

I convey my warmest thanks and sincere gratitude to the AET Andelys-Normandie and their President.

Carmen Barthet

Honorary Member

FOREWORD

As mentioned in the introduction this narration is based partly on family archives, and partly on the sequence of war operations and events as retraced and described on various Web sites appropriately referenced. One of the main historical documents has been the indispensable: History of the 68th Infantry Regiment, where Henri was incorporated, published by the printing press Berger-Levrault (Nancy-Paris-Strasbourg), digitalized by Jérôme Charraud.

These documents helped me trace Henri’s journey from his schooling years at the Military Preparatory School of Les Andelys (1910-1914), his induction into the 68th Infantry Regiment on April 28, 1915, and his death at Verdun (Cote 304/Mort Homme) on May 3rd 1916, and to follow him into the bloody fights in which he has been involved.

INTRODUCTION

The idea and wish to write this book/memoir on my uncle Henri was inspired by the centennial commemoration of World War I end, on November 11th 2018.

His younger sister, Aunt Jeanne, to whom I was very close, was in a way the custodian of the family souvenirs and papers, and she left me a collection of various documents, among which I found several letters written by my uncle Henri from the front, between 1915 and 1916. I also found Henri’s notebooks, workbooks and textbooks from his years at the Andelys Military preparatory school of infantry

After reading these historical and deeply moving documents, I felt that I could not let them disappear unnoticed in oblivion, and as the unique heiress of these precious testimonials, I had the sacred mission to make them known. Many other descendants have manifested the same wish to preserve a memory dear to their heart.

This was not easy task because I possessed only sparse, incomplete, disparate documents, yielding only bits of this short life at the military school and on the front. I had to reconstruct this story in its chronological order by cross-checking, juxtaposing texts (namely the History of the 68th Infantry Regiment which traces its movements and positions throughout the four years of the war, and notably concerning the period July 1915-May 1916).

I also came across three major historical documents, that I discovered for the first time.

A letter