Monument aux morts

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

The war memorial of Vichy stands in the middle of the square of General Leclerc, in the heart of the thermal district, closest to the grand hotels. It consists of a block of granite in the form of a podium, which serves as a support for two bronze sculptures: a pyramidal bas-relief set against the vertical face of the stone structure and a giant statue that crowns the central step. The bas-relief depicts an assault bringing together in a vast frieze a wide sample of units and soldiers who took part in the fighting. All surge forward under the protection of a Victory with outstretched wings, who displays a triumphant nudity emerging from the folds of her chlamys. With a vehement gaze, she utters a war cry and guides the soldiers into combat with the point of her raised sword, in an attitude reminiscent of that of the Victory of the Departure of the Volunteers by Rude adorning the Arc de Triomphe. The Vichy allegory is crowned with a Phrygian bonnet and the fine leather straps attached to her bust and waist form a baldric and belt designed to hold the floating scabbard behind her. The assault that is led under her aegis reads from right to left. A bugler and a signaller carrying a cage from which homing pigeons escape advance under the protection of a heavy Saint-Chamond tank, which propels its mass of riveted metal sheets moved by tracks onto a mound. In the foreground, a wounded man pleads for help, lying beside an overturned crate of grenades. In front of him, a group of men advances. Among them, one can identify two machine-gun crews with their ammunition boxes, a representative of colonial troops, bareheaded, wearing boots, sabre, tunic and overcoat, a chaplain-dog handler with his animal, a crouching marksman behind a trench protected by sandbags. Above them, a mounted lancer charges at the enemy, in support of a last group advancing toward the line of fire, Lebel rifle in hand. Their uniforms are varied, identifiable by their headgear. One distinguishes Adrian helmets of infantrymen, kepis, a Saint-Cyr casoar, an alpine chasseur beret, caps (naval rifleman officer?). The details of the equipment carried by the soldiers or lying on the ground are reproduced with great precision. One recognises spades, boots, puttees, Poiret overcoats, Rosalie bayonets, M1877 two-spout water bottles, packs (nicknamed Barda). In this epic frieze, the sculptor clearly wanted to bring together the army in all its components, both human and material, with the idea of the gathering of all in service of the homeland. The scene is realistic in its details and the composition full of momentum. Crowning the monument, a full-round statue shows a youthful soldier, dressed in the antique manner in an exomis (short Greek tunic cinched at the waist by a belt and leaving one shoulder bare). He holds a sword in his right hand and rests the other on a shield emblazoned with the arms of the city. He symbolises the warrior defending the homeland. This allegorical statue greatly displeased the war veterans, who would have preferred to see a poilu in its place.

Description

On 24 July 1919, the principle of a public subscription is announced and the square of Nations (current square of General Leclerc) is chosen as the site for the future monument by a resolution of the municipal council. On 13 January 1920, mayor Louis Lasteyras brings together the local societies and announces the formation under his presidency of a committee to erect the monument. On 15 March 1920, it is confirmed that it will be placed in the place of Nations. On 20 March 1920, a subscription begins. The city subscribes 25,000 F at the head of the subscription. A competition is launched on 5 February 1922. The winner is Paul Roussel, sculptor in Paris, major first Prize of Rome. Very quickly, he requests exemptions from the conditions of the competition which the city refuses. A lawsuit ensues. In 1925, Roussel finally begins his work, which should have been entirely finished by 15 August 1923, with a penalty of 200 F per day of delay, which will never be paid. Two unsuccessful competitors soon request the cancellation of the competition. The committee reaches an agreement with Roussel who abandons the project and the municipality its delay compensation. On 23 July 1927, a new sculptor is appointed: Charles Plas, sculptor-artist in Paris, who is supposed to finish the work by 1928. He presents a modified maquette. On 22 November 1928, the residents of the place of Nations petition against the intended location of the monument. After various negotiations, the location is maintained. A first installation is delivered in 1931. In March 1932 the "Poilu of the Allier" worries about financial irregularities. A first maquette of the monument is installed in May 1932 on the square of Nations. A year later, on 21 May 1933, President Albert Lebrun on an official visit to Vichy bows and lays a wreath of flowers before the monument which is not finished. A large curtain partly hides it, to shield the worksite from the view of the officials. From this date on, it is considered that the monument is officially opened to the public. The bill appears exorbitant. The sculptor would have received 715,000 F whereas the contract provided for 500,000 F and defects appear. The official inauguration takes place on 11 November 1935, which gave rise to four separate processions, due to a tense political climate. It was the time of the Croix de Feu, of the Cagoule and we were on the eve of the Popular Front. The monument was never completely finished because it was planned to affix on the back another bas-relief or a large palm of laurel. The monument belonged to the committee until 1937, before the city recovered its ownership.