September 7, 1918 – Full diary entry:
“This town is Maisons near Toul. There are many vacant buildings here. The town is old the streets about 12 feet wide with the concrete buildings on both sides.”
I don’t have a date for these postcards:
Neuves-Maisons had been the home of a large iron and steel factory, and as a result was a key target for bombardment by the Germans. Having survived two world wars, the factory is still in business today. From French Strategic and Tactical Bombardment Forces of World War I:
Some serious operations against the Lorraine industrial center of Neuves-Maisons were recorded in the last nights of December 1917. The Germans dropped thirty bombs, then fifty more twenty-four hours later. The damage caused to the industrial establishments was almost nil, but the very powerful projectiles entirely gutted several homes.
Where was Robert today? See the timeline.