Les Eparges

Autumn 1914 and April 1915: Maurice Genevoix and Those of 14 pay frequent visits to the village and the hill that overlooks it. The French general staff is interested in this strategic position, a very good lookout point over the Woëvre plain, over which they are fighting with the Germans. This sector is essential for control of Les Hauts de Meuse. The men always stop by the village before going to the front, in the trenches, on the hill. In the village, the soldiers hide in the houses during the day, to escape the German marksmen. Maurice Genevoix takes refuge in the town hall or the presbytery, which he shares with his friend Porchon. Each time they stay there, they see the village fall further into disrepair and the livestock being slaughtered in the surrounding fields. The most violent fighting takes place on the hill on 17 February 1915. Maurice Genevoix leads 120 men and comes back with 17 unscathed. Porchon meets with death there; his grave is at the Trottoir national necropolis at the foot of the Eparges ridge.
“The last shell that fell on shell-hole 7 hit Porchon in the head (…) Rolland tells me all about it (…): come down, mate. You’re being a fool… and he comes down. And he gets to the bottom of the tunnel, just level with the first aid post... And that’s where a 77 killed him” (Quote from the book by Maurice Genevoix, Ceux de 14, Editions Flammarion)