Point de vue de la Croix Piot

In 887, this Carolingian residence was given by Emperor Charles the Fat to the Abbey of Saint Médard de Soissons, which founded a priory there. Close to the triple confluence of the Meuse, the Bar and the Vrigne, Donchery controlled an important thoroughfare and was at the foot of the strategic massif from the Marfée to the Croix Piot. The war of 1870 was the one that caused the least suffering to the town that remained on the fringes of the battle of Sedan, although the 5th and 11th Prussian Corps crossed the Meuse on 1 September to take part in the encirclement of the Army of Chalons. It was at the Croix Piot that the King of Prussia settled on 31 August, but the next morning he went down with his staff to the place known as "les petits arbres" to better follow the battle. On 2 September, the town of Donchery was the scene of the preliminary meetings of the capitulation at the mayor's house of Amour and at the Weaver's house, leading to the signing of the capitulation by Napoleon III at Bellevue Castle. 1914 was the most terrible year for the town of Donchery, 98% destroyed at the end of August! The general retreat of the French forces towards the Meuse led the 4th Army to defend the Sedan-Donchery sector on 25 August. The next day, the Germans bombed the town for several hours and set it on fire, a fire that lasted 4 days. The next day, the Germans bombarded the town for several hours and set it on fire, a fire that lasted 4 days. The enemy tried to cross the Meuse on two wooden bridges, but was stopped all morning by French artillery firing from the Croix Piot. On August 27th, the general withdrawal order issued by Joffre forced our troops to withdraw fighting all the way to the Marne. The Germans then terrorized the population by their exactions and shot several inhabitants ... On 10 May 1940, not only was the fortification system of Montmedy - Sedan in a deplorable state of unpreparedness, but also a gap existed between the two neighbouring armies, the disputed IInd commanded by General Huntziger, responsible for the defence of Sedan - Donchery, and the IXth commanded by General Corap. Two days after having violated Belgian neutrality, the Panzer Division of General Guderian's XIX Armoured Corps reached the Meuse on May 12 in the late afternoon, entering Floing and Sedan.

DATAtourisme France