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The 1st Legion of the Rhône 1870 – 1871 Album SOLD

September 1870: the war against Germany is off to a bad start and the defeat at Sedan leads to the fall of the Empire and its replacement by the government of National Defence. The latter tried to continue the struggle by creating new regiments as a matter of urgency.

Thus a decree of 1 October created in the department of the Rhône a marching regiment of 3000 men with 3 battalions of infantry, called the 1st Legion of the Rhône. It is made up of single recruits and committed volunteers. Command was given to Colonel (on an interim basis) Celler. The soldiers were grouped together in the Marist Brothers’ buildings in St-Genis-Laval, where they were clothed, equipped (Chassepot rifles) and trained in emergency.

On the morning of November 10th, the Legion left St-Genis-Laval to be at Noon Place Bellecour. His flag was presented to him during a parade; the prefect Challemel-Lacour made a patriotic speech and the column left the city to stop in the evening at Limonest. The next day in Villefranche, the 2nd Battalion mutinied: 3 leaders were arrested and shot the following morning. The legion then travelled by train to Chagny to be stationed from Verdun-sur-le-Doubs to Besançon. A first skirmish with the Germans took place on the 20th near St-Jean-de-Losne. The regiment marched towards Dijon, then fell back to Beaune on 1 December, the day it was incorporated into the brigade of the young general (on a provisional basis) Crémer.

On 2 December, the Legion marched from Beaune to Bligny-sur-Ouche, which a Baden brigade of 6000 men had just left. Cdt Valentin’s advice led Crémer to place his troops by a rapid march to Châteauneuf, a position overlooking the valley where the Burgundy Canal (and now the motorway) passed. On the morning of 3 December, the artillery opened fire on the Germans bivouacking in the valley. The 1st Legion was in the front line to contain infantry counterattacks. This day was a success: the Germans withdrew, having lost 400 men and 100 prisoners. French casualties were minimal. The Crémer brigade returned to stay in Beaune.

On 10 December, the Legion took the road to Dijon and came to occupy Nuits-St-Georges. On the 18th a reconnaissance was carried out north towards Gevrey, while a division of 15,000 Germans from Dijon headed for Nuits by a more easterly route. The Legion, which was in danger of being outflanked, quickly withdrew and took up positions north-east of Nuits along the railway trench on a 3-kilometre front. There she suffered a frontal clash from the Germans: the fusillade was very violent, Colonel Celler was mortally wounded. At the same time, an artillery duel took place between the German batteries on the plain and the French artillery established on the hill of La Chaux, on the other side of Nuits. With their ammunition exhausted, the troop had to disengage, retreated to Bombed Nights and then to the plateau. The Legion suffered heavy casualties: 169 killed, 562 wounded, 120 taken prisoner. The tried Germans also withdrew the next day.

The Legion was directed to Chagny, then Chalon-sur-Saône and Beaune again until the 28th. Major Valentin was appointed colonel in Celler’s place. She was then sent by train to Besançon after 36 hours of waiting in the carriages in freezing cold.

On 1 January 1871 the 1st Legion of the Rhône was incorporated into the 24th Army Corps (CA) (General Bressoles) formed in Lyon, forming with the 15th, 18th and 20th Corps the Army of the East led by General Bourbaki. The army left Besançon on 3 January in a north-easterly direction and established itself in front of Villersexel (70). On the 9th the Germans captured the town, but were driven out by the army’s successful counter-attack. The 3rd Battalion of the Legion distinguished itself in a secondary battle.
The army resumed its march to Belfort on 13 January in bitter cold. In the battle of Arcey, the 1st Legion distinguished itself by taking the village of Chavanne.

The Germans covering Belfort fortified themselves along the course of the Lizaine between Héricourt (70) and Montbéliard (25). The army attacked on the 15th; the 24th Corps was in the centre between Héricourt and Montbéliard. The German artillery outclassed the French artillery. Despite their efforts, in the bitter cold and without supplies, the army was unable to cross the Lizaine. Montbéliard, occupied by the 15th Corps, had to be evacuated and after 3 days of fruitless efforts, Bourbaki resigned himself to retirement. In this battle of Héricourt the Legion counted about a hundred killed, wounded or missing and many sick.

The retreat of the 1st Legion passed through Arcey, l’Isle sur le Doubs, then the Lomont massif via the Col de la Ferrière on the 24th. The army was hot on the heels of the Germans. On the 26th, the troop marched for 22 hours in the snow to cover 60 km to the south, then it was Morteau and finally Pontarlier on the 29th. On the 30th they were at Mouthe, where the news of the signing of an armistice was known. The Legion fell back on Vaux north of Lake St. Point, where it ran into the Prussians, driving back the remnants of the 15th Corps before them. The retreat resumes on the Hospitals and the Swiss border. The Legion has kept its cohesion and sees for 2 days an endless column of troops in disorder. On the evening of 2 February, Colonel Valentin resigned himself to taking his troop across the border, which was disarmed.

INTERNMENT in SWITZERLAND 87,000 men of the Army of the East were transferred to Switzerland and interned. The 625 legionnaires of the Rhône (out of 3000) who arrived in Switzerland were interned in Payerne, where they were finally able to rest. But another 43 men died of illness, before the regiment was able to leave Payerne on 10 March. The legionnaires were taken by train and boat to Geneva; from there they walked to Chambéry where they were demobilised.

In 1887, a monument “To the Children of the Rhône” was inaugurated in front of the entrance to the Parc de la Tête-d’Or, in memory of the Legionnaires and also of the Mobiles du Rhône who left at the beginning of September 1870 for the siege of Belfort to try to reverse the course of the war.