The War memorials (Oise) or Monuments aux Morts of Oise are French war memorials commemorating those men of the region who died in World War I.
Background to the involvement of the Oise region in the 1914–18 war
The north eastern part of the Oise region, known as "Little Switzerland", was directly involved in World War I . From October 1914 to March 1917 the front had stabilised along a line passing through Lassigny, Tracy-le-Val and Bailly and during two years of occupation the German army lived in the towns and villages of the Noyon area. In March 1917, in a tactical move, the Germans left the region as they moved north to the Hindenburg Line but they left much destruction in their wake. The areas which they vacated were then occupied by the Allied armies. 1918 saw the German "Spring Offensive" when the German army retook the area they had vacated and advanced even further. There were battles fought at Noyon and Mont Renaud in March and April 1918 and at Matz in June 1918, during the Third Battle of the Aisne. Further ferocious battles were fought until August 1918 when Montdidier and the Thiescourt were liberated. All of these efforts helped to stop the German advance on Paris and assisted the Allied success in pushing the Germans back to the Hindenburg Line in the summer and autumn. Apart from the usual trench based skirmishes, the area around the front line suffered much damage and loss of life from constant artillery bombardment and bombing by Zeppelin airships and German aeroplanes. Great devastation was wrought in villages directly on the front line. Ribecourt, Tracy-le-Val, Bailly, Chiry-Ourscamp, and Dreslincourt were almost totally destroyed. Compiègne and Noyon suffered much damage. One German long-range gun in particular, stationed in the forest at Coucy-le-Chateau, caused much devastation. The bombing reached as far as Beauvais where in June 1918, 36 soldiers and civilians were killed. Breteuil, Crèvecœur-le-Grand and Crépy-en-Valois were all hit by bombs. Finally, the Armistice was signed at Rethondes on 11 November 1918LES BATAILLES DE L'AISNE ET DE L'OISE 1914-1918. Retrieved 23 September 2012"1914-1918, l'Oise au cœur de la Grande guerre" by Jean-Yves Bonnard.Beauvais : Archives départementales de l'Oise : Conseil général de l'Oise, c2008. and 2860600256Access information on the Oise in the 1914-1918 war le CDDP de l'Oise avec le concours de l'inspection académique, de l'office national des anciens combattants, du Conseil général de l'Oise, du comité départemental du tourisme de l'Oise. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
Some of the Monument aux Morts in the Oise
Below are details of just some of the many monuments aux morts in the Oise region.
WorkImageLocationDate(s)Subject, notes and referencesMonument aux Morts at Antheuil-PortesAntheuil-Portes. Oise1925A montage of photographs of the Antheuil-Portes monument aux morts is shown here. This is one of Établissements Rombaux-Roland's editions, one that can be seen throughout France. The Antheuil-Portes monument aux morts dates from 1925 and the inauguration took place on 17 May 1925. A grieving young woman sits before a soldier's grave. A discarded helmet lies on the ground.Monument aux Morts of Antheuil-Portes Les Monuments aux Mort sculptes en France:Oise. Alain Choubard 2007-2012.Retrieved 22 September 2012.Monument aux Morts at Appilly AppillyThe monument aux morts at Appilly features a sculpture by Marius-Léon Cladel (1883–1948). Cladel's composition features a widow and her daughter standing before the grave of her husband. The monument dates from 1929 and the inauguration took place on 6 October 1929.Monument aux Morts of Appilly Les Monuments aux Mort sculptes en France: Oise. Alain Choubard 2007-2012.Retrieved 22 September 2012.Monument aux Morts at AuneuilAuneuil1920The war memorial in Auneuil which features a work by the Italian sculptor Pierre Lorenzi is a memorial made and marketed by Fonderie d'art du Val d'Osne. The work features the bronze bust of a French World War I infantryman and this particular work can be seen throughout France, sometimes with the French flag draped to the rear of the bust. The Auneuil monument was inaugurated on 22 June 1920.Monument aux Morts at Auneuil Les Monuments aux Mort sculptes en France:Oise. Alain Choubard 2007-2012.Retrieved 22 September 2012.Monument aux Morts at BaronBaron1921The 1921 war memorial in Baron is the work of the sculptor Albert Jouanneault, who served in the French army and was taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans. He executed other memorials, such as the war memorial at Stenay in the Meuse, a memorial to Dupetit-Thouars in Saumur and a bust of Jean Jaurès in L'Hay les Roses, in Val de Marne. The inauguration of the Baron monument took place on 24 July 1921.The Monument aux Morts at Beaumont-sur-OiseBeaumont-sur-OiseThis Monument aux Morts shows the horror of war with a soldier slumped against a large field gun and carrying the National flag.The Monument aux Morts at Beaumont-sur-Oise Patrimoine de France. Retrieved 23 September 2012Monument aux Morts at BeauvaisBeauvais1924Beauvais, the capital of the Oise region, is the site of a war memorial by Henri Gréber. The monument was inaugurated on 6 July 1924.Beauvais 2001 www.culture.gouv.fr. retrieved 22 September 2012 Gréber was seemingly inspired by the mémoires of a Lieutenant Péricard who wrote that during an attack on the Yser in 1914 he had imagined that he had seen dead soldiers rise up to give assistance.Monument aux Morts at CarlepontCarlepont1921The commune of Carlepont, just south of Noyon, holds a 1921 war memorial by the sculptor Joseph André who was based in Noyon. The Carlepont monument was inaugurated on 16 August 1921. Although born in Belgium, André was responsible for several war memorials in the Oise region and in Grandru, Porquericourt and Ville.Monuments aux Morts at Carlepont Les Monuments aux Mort sculptes en France:Oise. Alain Choubard 2007-2012.Retrieved 23 September 2012.Monument aux Morts at Champagne-sur-OiseChampagne-sur-OiseJean Bozzi's composition at Champagne-sur-Oise depicts a soldier who is using his bayonet to carve the names of the four great battles of the war on part of the monument: The Marne, The Yser, Verdun and the Somme. The Italian-born Bozzi had studied at the School of Beaux-arts in Naples and became naturalised as a French citizen in 1890. He had served and fought in the French Army.The Monument aux Morts at Champagne-sur-Oise Patrimoine des communes de France. Retrieved 23 September 2012Monument aux Morts at ChantillyChantilly1922The Chantilly war memorial features a bronze work by Laurent Marqueste which is an allegory of "Victory". The same image can be seen on the monument at Blamont in Meurthe-et-Moselle. The Chantilly monument dates from 1922 and was inaugurated on 12 November 1922.The Monument aux Morts at Chantilly Les Monuments aux Mort sculptes en France:Oise. Alain Choubard 2007-2012.Retrieved 23 September 2012.Monument aux Morts at CompiègneCompiègne1922The Compiègne war memorial features a work by Maxime Real del Sarte (1888–1953). It was inaugurated on 11 November 1922 and the work was reputedly inspired by Jean-François Millet's painting "L'Angelus".The Monument aux Morts at Compiègne Patrimoine de la Grande Guerre.com.Retrieved 23 September 2012Monument aux Morts at CrielCriel1926The Criel war memorial, meant to represent "Peace", was executed by Georges Armand Verez, winner of a competition to select Creil's monument. The monument is classed as one of the "pacifistes" memorials and was completed in 1925.Monument aux Morts of Criel Les Monuments aux Mort sculptes en France:Oise. Alain Choubard 2007-2012.Retrieved 23 September 2012.Monument aux Morts at Crépy-en-ValoisCrépy-en-Valois1925Crépy-en-Valois's war memorial by Albert Bartholomé features a woman weeping over the corpse of a dead soldier, a replica of the "le soldat gisant" statue commissioned in 1918 by Marie Henriette Bernard de Sassenay, for the tomb of her son, Jacques Benoist de Laumont. Albert Bartholomé completed the Crépy-en-Valois sculpture for free in memory of his deceased wife who had been born in the nearby village of Bouillant. It was inaugurated on 11 November 1925.The Monument aux Morts at Crépy-en-Valois Les Monuments aux Mort sculptes en France:Oise. Alain Choubard 2007-2012.Retrieved 23 September 2012. It was Albert Bartholomé who was responsible for the famous Monument aux Morts in the Pere Lachaise cemetery. See detail from this Monument aux Morts below. There is also a notable Bartholomé sculpture in nearby Bouillant this being for the grave of his wife.Bouillant Church website.Retrieved 23 September 2012
Albert Bartholomé, the Crépy-en-Valois Monument aux Morts and other works
WorkImageLocationDate(s)Subject, notes and referencesMonument aux Morts at DoméliersDoméliers1923The war memorial at Doméliers features a bronze relief medallion, the work of Léon Hernot and seen on many war memorials in France albeit with slight variations. Sometimes just the medallion is featured or it is superimposed on a vertical palm or is coupled with laurel branches. This memorial dates from 1923 and the inauguration took place on 28 October 1923.Monument aux Morts at Doméliers Les Monuments aux Mort sculptes en France:Oise. Alain Choubard 2007-2012.Retrieved 23 September 2012.Monument aux Morts at FormerieFormerie. Oise1921This war memorial entitled "Coq modele D" features a gallic cock, a bronze marketed by Société Antoine Durenne throughout France beginning in 1921. There were two variations; the cock is either standing on a flat platform as in the Formerie memorial, or standing on a globe. The Formerie monument was inaugurated on 25 September 1921.The Monument aux Morts at Formerie Les Monuments aux Mort sculptes en France:Oise. Alain Choubard 2007-2012.Retrieved 23 September 2012.Monument aux Morts at GrandvilliersGrandvilliers1920Albert-Dominique Roze who lived in the Oise region was the sculptor of the war memorial in Grandvilliers. The Grandvilliers war memorial features a standing soldier (poilu). This particular Roze work is duplicated in Allery, Quend and Valines in the Somme. It is also found at Ribemont-sur-Ancre, although in this case the rifle was held in the left hand and not the right. The Grandvilliers memorial was made in 1920 and inaugurated on 11 November 1920.The Monument aux Morts at Grandvilliers Les Monuments aux Mort sculptes en France:Oise. Alain Choubard 2007-2012.Retrieved 23 September 2012.Monument aux Morts at MarquégliseMarquéglise1924The Marquéglise war memorial by Marcel Pierre de Bréal includes high-reliefs around the pedestal that show various stages in the life and death of a soldier. At the top of the pedestal is an allegory of France topped by a helmet bound by laurel. "France" holds a crown of laurel in each hand. The work was executed in 1924. Over time the high-reliefs have become worn due to exposure to the elements.The Monument aux Morts at Marquéglise Patrimonie de la Grane Guerre. Retrieved 23 September 2012
The following are photographs of the four high-reliefs: