St Mihiel Maps

[danny]

Hi All

I am going to visit the St Mihiel area in the next few weeks and wonder if anyone could tell me which IGN Blue Series maps cover the areas around Apremont and, slightly further north, Les Esparges. If anyone wants to reveal any must see sights I would be very grateful. Also if anyone wants any photographs please let me know.

Cheers in advance

Danny

[healdav]

Well, it all depends what you mean by the salient and how long you are spending.

The area from Verdun down to St Mihiel is covered by two maps - called Cotes et vale de Meuse - Nord et Sud. They are pretty good with walks marked, and so on. They don't have numbers and are not IGN, so you will probably have to buy them at St. Mihiel. I got them in the Tourist Office.

The IGN maps that cover the entire salient fromnorth east of verrdun across to the Moselle and down are 3314O, 3314E, 3312E, 3312O, 3311O, 3211O, 3211E, 3212E, 3212O, 3214E, 3214O, 3313E, 3313O.

The area north of Verdun (and including Verrdun) and west to Montfaucon is covered by 3112ET.

Oof.

If you need to buy these I suggest you do NOT rely on getting when you arrive. It has taken me a long time to get my collection in bookshops various in the area. You can buy them on-line from IGN.

The area is enormous and comletely covered with remains that are often difficult to find on the ground, and you could spend weeks there.

If you are interested, I do guided tours across the salient (I have a standard route). If interested, get in touch back channel.

[Christina Holstein]

Hi Danny,

Above Apremont there are some very well preserved sites that are easily accessible - look for Bois Brulé. the Tranchées Bavaroises et de Ruffignac, the German hospital and Staubwasser memorial. You should also go into the German cemetery in Gobessart wood. Les Eparges has a number of memorials on it and is a wonderfully striking site. It's freezing up there at the moment and there's still snow on the N. slope. There are plenty of trench remains and monuments on the Tranchée de Calonne, which is to the west on the main ridge of the Cotes de Meuse. If you go right along the T de C to Hattonchatel, there is is fountain paid for by the 'godmother' of Apremont, Miss Belle Skinner, who also paid for the restoration of the chateau there. The views over the Salient from up there are just superb.

There are loads of other good sites in the area - Montsec for one, which you can see from Hattonchatel. However, I have to disagree with David on maps - I wouldn't bother with the Cote and Val de Meuse maps which I think are too general. Go for the Blue Series IGNs. You should be able to get them in Verdun or St. Mihiel, although the far east side of the St. Mihiel salient, where it reaches the Moselle, may not be available. They are easily obtained from the IGN website if you've got time.

Christina

[healdav]

Much, much better to get them from the website. unless you like making a tour of bookshops and searching the map racks!

[Guest tony noyes]

Hi Danny

I thought I'd add my threepenny worth, having walked these fields for many years.

The four maps you will need are IGN 1/25000, 3213E & O and 3214E & O.

For a first visit on 3213E

try the forts of Genicourt & Troyon, east of D964. Take a very large torch. Genicourt used to be used by the French Army for training but this appears to have stopped & Troyon is open after easter for a fee. They are can both dangerous on your own if you get lost inside them.

For 3213E, visit Les Eparges, take all day & follow all the signs.

For 3214E, Visit the German cemetery, & the blockhouse (hospital) by the entrance on the D907 & carefully follow the signs South of that road into Bois Brule. Take a compass and take all day. Montsec is on the RH side of this map.

For 3214O, study St M as a town, note the dotted outlines within the town boundary, & visit.

The Fort, Camp du Romains, is to the South on D964. Worth a visit, access is painful & the fort is in absolute ruin. Be careful.

This is a VERY brief shopping list, & you could walk the salient for weeks. Come back if you've got any questions.

I absolutely endorse all Christina's comments since we both regularly take walking tours to the Salient, know it well & believe that there is more Great War memory here than in much of the W Front. If anybody's interested in the Salient, please contact me.

Beware of falling masonry, Good hunting.

[paul guthrie]

Good to see you are on the forum Tony! You will be a great addition.

[Christina Holstein]

Hi Danny,

Re Genicourt Fort, it is regularly patrolled by the gendarmarie, so bear that in mind if you do go up there. Having said that, the area is used by dog walkers a great deal, so it's not as if traffic up the road to the fort is prohibited.

Something I forgot last night on the road from St. Mihiel to Apremont (D 907). A few miles out of St. Mihiel on this road you'll see a motobike scramble site (motocross) on the left. Just beyond that there is a German blockhouse on the right of the road, pretty much at ground level. It's just before the crown of the hill and easy to miss. It's marked 'blockh.' on my IGN blue series map. It is a former German first aid post and easy to explore. However, much more interesting is a very well preserved MG post which is 100 yds or so away in the forest immediately behind the aid post. You should push your way into the forest behind the first aid post and go straight for 50 or so yards. You should then be able to see out outline of a trench in front of you. If you imagine the first aid post behind you as being the centre of the clock face, the MG post is in the trench at 2 o'clock. If you go towards the trench and follow it back towards the road, you shouldn't miss it. It's a wonderful site.

From Apremont, you must go in the memorial church at Marbotte, which is 5 km or so to the west on the D 12. From there you can drive up to the Tranchée de la Soif in the Bois d'Ailly, which is signposted in any case from the D 907 as you leave St. Mihiel. There are several monuments to be seen on either side of the track but be warned, it is pretty rough and muddy. The track is marked as a white road leaving the D 12 on the north side of the road, right at the western end of Marbotte village (right beside the last house at the western end).

As regards maps, the IGN website is fine and quick but you have to be able to manage it in French. It didn't have an English page the last time I used it (last July). I bought all my St. Mihiel salient maps in one go in the bookshop on the main shopping street at Verdun. That is, there was one missing on that occasion but I got that in Verdun without any trouble last year.

Christina

Christina

[Christina Holstein]

Good to see you are on the forum Tony! You will be a great addition.

[Christina Holstein]

Good to see you are on the forum Tony! You will be a great addition.

Many thanks, Paul, I appreciate your words.

[danny]

Hi All

Sorry for not getting back to you all sooner. Thanks ever so much for the help. I will only be around Apremont / Eparges for 4 days and it sounds as if I will be very busy. This is very much a taster visit and I am sure I will have to return. I absolutely cannot wait - 11 more sleeps Thank you all and I'll post some pictures on my return!

Danny