Germans occupy Valenciennes

On 25 August 1914 German troops entered Valenciennes, a town on the Scheldt in northern France, a few kilometres from the Belgian border. An occupation began that was to last more than four years.

An abandoned town

Valenciennes lay in the path of the right wing of the German army. After the Battle of Mons the British Expeditionary Force was retreating southwards, followed by the columns of the 1st Army of General Alexander von Kluck, which crossed the French border in the area of Condé-sur-l’Escaut.

For the inhabitants 24 August was a day full of anxiety. In the afternoon the last train carrying senior state officials left the town. During the night of 24–25 August the last officers left the town hall and the last French troops marched out of the town. In the morning the inhabitants read a proclamation by the municipal authorities, drawn up during the night. It began with the words that, contrary to all hopes, the enemy was invading France and might occupy the town. Shortly afterwards a patrol of German uhlans rode across the square.

Under occupation

Valenciennes found itself behind the front, in the German army’s rear (Etappen) zone. Transports of troops, ammunition and supplies passed through the town. The inhabitants, cut off from the rest of France, lived under the rule of the occupier. Hundreds of decrees were posted on the walls, beginning with the word “Befehl” (order) and ending with the amount of the fine or the number of days in prison for disobedience. The Germans requisitioned food and raw materials, and the population was forced to work.

In the autumn of 1918, as the front approached the town, the Germans evacuated most of the inhabitants deeper into Belgium. Valenciennes was liberated by the Canadians at the beginning of November 1918, after fighting for the nearby hill of Mont Houy. The date usually given is 2 November, although some sources give 1 or 3 November. A few days later the war came to an end.