first to Fall

"The First to Fall" - Peugeot and Mayer,

2nd August 1914

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Caporal Jules Andre Peugeot, 1893 - 1914

Born at Etupes (Doubs) on 11th June 1893, Jules always wanted to be a teacher. After studying hard and passing the necessary exams at his teacher-training establishment at Bescancon, he finally succeeded in his dreams and was offered a position at a school at Villers le Lac in October 1912.

Etupes circa 1900

On November 26th 1913, however, Jules’ dreams had to be put on hold as he was called up for his compulsory military service. After presenting himself at his military district headquarters at Belfort, he was assigned to the 2^e Bataillon of the 44^e Régiment d’Infanterie (27^th Infantry Brigade, 14^th Infantry Division) at Montbéliard to begin his service. To a man with Jules’education and background, military life didn’t appear to be too much trouble and, on 1st April 1914, he was promoted to Corporal and placed in command of a section. By the end of July 1914, he was also under consideration to become an élève officier (officer cadet) and had already passed exams that would have enabled him to undertake this role when he would have passed into the reserve (1916, if war had not broken out).

44^e Régiment d’Infanterie grouping circa 1914

Based at Lons-le-Saunier for much of his service, a move to the depot at Montbéliard was made in July 1914 in preparation to be put on a ‘war footing’ prior to moving to positions on the German border in Alsace. Following the order to withdraw to a point about 10km from the border, the 44^e RI found itself located at Delle, Grandvillers and , by 3am on 2^nd August, Joncherey with Jules Peugeot’s section (part of the 6^e companie) manning a point just to the east of this latterly mentioned village. Jules’ billet for the remainder of the night and for the 2^nd August 1914 was to be the house of Monsieur Docourt…

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Leutnant Albert Otto Walter Mayer , 1892 – 1914

Born at Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt on 24^th April 1892, Albert’s family had moved to the area of Mulhouse, Alsace (less than 30 miles from the home town of Jules Andre Peugeot) while he was a boy. Enlisting into the German army in 1912, he was, by 1914, a Leutnant in his local cavalry unit - the Jäger Regt-zu-Pferd Nr.5 – which, as part of the 29^th Cavalry Brigade of the 29^th Infantry Division, was garrisoned in Mulhouse.

Magdeburg and Mulhouse circa 1900

On August 1^st 1914, following the French General Mobilisation Order, the 29^th Division was ordered to the French-German border between Thann and Switzerland . The 29^th Cavalry Brigade (3.Badisches Dragoner-Regiment ‘Prinz Karl’ Nr. 22 and Albert’s Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 5) was ordered to conduct armed reconnaissance patrols in this area. Noting the lack of French military presence in the immediate border area, orders were given to push these patrols slightly further over the border in order to gain further information the following day.

Jägers zu Pferde on patrol, 1914

At least eleven German patrols entered French territory in the vicinity of Belfort on the morning of 2^nd August (other incursions also occurred around Longwy and Luneville). Lt.Albert Mayer ,by now of the 3^rd Squadron, was in command of just one of these patrols.

Leaving Sepois-le-Bas in the early morning of 2^nd August, Mayer’s patrol (consisting of himself and 7 Jaegers – Heinze , Grigio, Platt, Peters, Martin, Hillbring and one other) crossed the French border to the east of Courtelevant and cautiously advanced towards Faverois. Here, the patrol dismounted at the small stream to the west of the village in order to water their horses …

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Sunday, 2^nd August 1914

At approximately 6am on this beautiful summer’s morning, German troops – many transported in motor-cars - entered the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg crossing the River Moselle at two points, over the bridges of Remich and Wasserbillig. Shortly afterwards German armoured trains packed with troops entered the country at Wasserbillig. The invasion had begun (12 hours previously, however, German troops had moved into Luxembourg near Troisvierges where they had torn up the railway line and destroyed some telegraph cables before being ordered back into Germany…apparently, they hadn’t yet received the order to delay the invasion until the following day!)

Though the Luxembourg invasion was, at this point, a relatively quiet affair (and quite comical in some instances…such as the case of the German officer threatening to shoot a customs official if he didn’t stop shouting and the group of Germans asking a gendarme for directions to France!), a couple of hours later (approx. 8:50am) the first shot on what was to become the Western Front was fired by a party of Germans near the French frontier village of Petit Croix (east of Belfort).

This German group was located just inside German territory, at the edge of a little wood called "Le Breuleux” near the Belfort-Mulhouse railway line and their target was three armed French Customs officers who were on duty on the railway inside their own frontier. When the Germans suddenly began shooting at them - firing about 15 shots in all - the Frenchmen withdrew without replying. After turning out the other seven members of the customs staff on duty in the vicinity, they moved forward towards the frontier, coming under fire once more. Capitaine Dentz, who was in command of the Customs House of Petit Croix, returned fire (becoming the first Frenchman to fire a shot in anger during the Great War) The French customs officers fired a total of nineteen shots before Germans then withdrew. In total, about 49 rounds had been expended in this engagement. None hit their targets.

Six miles to the south as this was happening, Cpl.Peugeot’s squad of the 6^e Companie, 2^e Bataillon of the 44^e Régiment d’Infanterie was preparing for duty (under instruction to keep watch over the Joncherey – Faverois road, Peugeot’s command post was located in the Docourt Farm (approx 500m east of the village) with an advanced sentry position being set up some 50m further eastwards towards Faverois). A short while before 10am, just as Cpl. Peugeot was washing his hands before settling down for breakfast, Docourt’s 9 year old daughter , Nicolet, rushed in shouting that ‘The Prussians’ had been seen near Faverois fetching water for their horses.

By the time the alarm had been raised, Albert Mayer’s patrol had moved up the road from Faverois and was approaching the advanced sentry position. The sentry on duty, upon seeing the approaching Germans immediately sounded the alarm, calling the remainder of the section ‘to arms’. Peugeot and the section arriving just in time to witness the sentry being cut down by a sabre stroke delivered by Mayer (luckily for the sentry, the sabre just cut into his coat and equipment, leaving him relatively uninjured).

An attempt was made to arrest the patrol but, following Peugeot’s warning shouts of ‘Halte-là!’, Mayer drew his revolver and fired three shots. The first and third bullets missed their mark, but the second bullet hit Peugeot in the left shoulder and exitted near his right shoulder blade. Peugeot managed to loose off one shot in response, but it would seem that this missed. Fire being immediately returned by Peugeot’s comrades, Mayer was hit in the stomach before receiving the shot to the head that was immediately fatal. The remainder of the patrol scattered under the gunfire before a patrol of 11^th Dragoons (also billeted in Joncherey and alerted by the sound of gunfire) could reach the action. The time was now 09:59am.

Along with Mayer, two horses were killed (plus one injured) and one rider (Peters) was severely wounded (as a point of interest, Peters hid in the nearby woods for a couple of days before realising how severely injured he actually was and giving himself up on the 4^th August…then revelled in his ‘quasi-celebrity’ status while a PoW in hospital!). Grigio and Platt – who had lost their horses in the action -were also taken prisoner (one by the villagers of Joncherey and the other by the 11^th Dragoons) later in the day. Martin disappeared without trace but Heinze and Hillbring, using the cover afforded by the terrain in the area (and their local knowledge) made it safely back to Germany (Heinze later publishing a very whimsical account of his escapades following this event!).

Meanwhile, Jules Andre Peugeot, though mortally injured was not quite dead. After attempting to stand and stagger a few paces, he was helped back to the Docourt house where, at 10:37am on 2^nd August 1914, he died on the steps of the house where he had been billeted. It was to be another 30 hours before war was to be officially declared between the major powers of Germany and France, but the blood of their children was already being spilt.

The bodies of Peugeot and Mayer were brought to the barn of the Docourt farm and laid out next to each other in the straw. After being claimed by his family on 3^rd August, Peugeot was returned home and buried, with full military honours in the cemetery at Etupes at 2pm the following day. Mayer was also buried with full military honours (and at the expense of the officers of the 44^th RI) in Joncherey on 3^rd August. His body was later moved to the German military cemetery at Illfurth near Mulhouse where he lies today in a specially marked grave commemorating ‘1st German Casualty of the World War 1914-18'.

Peugeot is commemorated on war memorials at Etupes, Joncherey, Villers le Lac and at les Invalides, Paris. There are also special monuments to him at Joncherey (site of Docourt house), along with a separate plaque nearby. Several streets (and a small square in Paris) throughout France are also named after him. Mayer is commemorated on a regimental memorial at Mulheim and his helmet, picked up off the site of the action on 2^nd August 1914, is in the Army Museum in Paris.

On December 3, 1915, Corporal Peugeot was regimentally cited and granted a posthumous, retrospective Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star, followed in 1920, with the award of a posthumous Medaille Militaire.

Casualty card for Cpl.Peugeot

Witness statement (note the signature of Docourt also)

2^e Bn. 44^e R.I.War Diary extract, 2^nd August 1914:

General Translation:

“At 3am in the morning, the 3 companies received the order to cover the line Grandvillars-Jonchery-Delle for the defence of those localities.

6^th company – Joncherey

7^th Company – the farm to the north east of Granvillars

8^th company – at Delle

The mission of the companies is to man the barricades and guard the approaches from the east in these localities.

Just before 10 o’clock in the morning, four men of the 6th Company under command of Corporal Peugeot set up a post along the route from Joncherey to Faverois. At about 800 m. east from this location the unit was attacked by a German patrol of Jäger-Regiment zu Pferde Nr. 5 from Mulhouse, consisting of one Second Lieutenant (Second Lieutenant Mayer) and 7 men.

Corporal Peugeot was killed by a revolver shot by the patrol leader, upon whom he fired, but missed. The (men of the) post and also the neighbouring post heard the rifle shots, and started to shoot at the horsemen, who attempted to disperse, kilingl the Lieutenant and 2 horses. One horseman was wounded and two others were made prisoner. The post, which was set up at a barricade at the east exit of the village of Joncherey along the route to Faverois, alarmed by the rifle shots at this post, also opened fire at the enemy patrol, which disappeared….

44RI (HQ) War Diary for 2^nd August 1914 and notes attached

New York Times Article 16^th March 1916

Peugeot's Morts Pour la France, Tableau d'Honneur (1921) entry...