3 - The River Meuse

The River Meuse

After two generic posts as background for this series, I had to think a bit about which individual river to start with – whether to go for one close to home or particularly well known to me; whether to one completely unknown to me with the incentive to learn about it; or whether to go straight for one of the behemoths…. Amazon, Nile, Mississippi etc. I chose the Meuse as it has something of all of these. OK, so at 575 miles it’s hardly a behemoth, even by European standards (Danube and Volga three times longer), but it a major waterway, rich in history and political significance. It has personal relevance for me after multiple visits to Belgium and eastern France, often pursuing events there during two world wars.

The Bones

The name derives from the French version of a latin word Mosa, arising in turn from the celtic name Mosā, possibly the origin of our word ‘maze’ describing the river’s twists and turns through the Ardennes.

The river follows a northerly course, arising in peaceful country of the Langres plateau in central France. Low mountain ranges and uplands provide a watershed for the widening river’s course through Neufchateau and onwards to Verdun.

From there it continues through Sedan (see below) and enters Belgium at the border town of Givet cutting a dramatic swathe through the Ardennes region towards the sea. As it reaches Namur there is confluence with its largest tributary the Sambre. Turning east it reaches the city of Liege, whence it broadens out and turns north again to reach Maastricht, which sits at the borders of Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Continuing north the river is now the Maas and for some distance is the physical border between Netherlands and Germany. Then, parting company with the border, it spreads out in the flatlands and merges with distributaries from the Rhine in a complex delta system serving both Rotterdam and Antwerp before it reaches the North Sea via two main estuaries – the Hollands Diep and the Haringvliet.

Having arisen in idyllic and bucolic surroundings, the Meuse (maas) terminates in one of the world’s most manged waterway systems, developed and protected by numerous locks, dams and flood barriers.

History and Politics

(i) Lotharingia

When Charlemagne dominated Europe in the 8th century, he united most of central and western Europe. He died in 814, and the challenges of controlling such diverse regions of Frankish, Germanic and Lombardic peoples fell to lesser mortals. His son Louis the Pious (!) held things together, but determined that each of his three sons should inherit a proportion of the empire. By the Treaty of Verdun in 843, came the creation of Western and Eastern Francia, separated by a central region of middle Francia, soon known as Lotharingia after its ruler King Lothar. This unstable buffer zone between the larger kingdoms of West and East Francia was never going to withstand the tensions between despotic leaders. For centuries, from the time of Charlemagne, through the Middle Ages, to the later era of the Holy Roman Empire , the Meuse (along with its larger easterly neighbour the Rhine) frequently was the natural border between different kingdoms and aspiring empires. Huge strongholds such as Verdun, Sedan and Namur consistently featured as key strategic control targets, notably in the Spanish Succession and Napoleonic wars.

(ii) Sedan

It may feature in common parlance as a type of motor car, or a ridiculous type of chair, but the town’s association with the River Meuse and European military events is much more significant.

In 1870, during the early stages of a potentially titanic struggle between France’s Second Empire and Bismarck’s Prussian dominated Germany, the war was decided abruptly at Sedan. The Meuse was a key defensive line for the French, with an enormous medieval fort dominating Sedan as a focal point that seemed impregnable. The strength became a fatal weakness as the Prussian army, led by von Moltke, launched a huge encirclement of Sedan, utilising key crossing points on the river, and seizing high ground to the west of the town. The French Emperor Napoleon 3rd and his army were now trapped against the river and were soon forced to surrender, leading to the rapid demise of the Second Empire, national humiliation and the loss of Alsace Lorraine,

Seventy years later in May 1940 the French were caught out again at Sedan as German blitzkrieg tactics bypassed France’s Maginot line by attacking through the Ardennes. This ‘Manstein Plan’ had German Panzer divisions  - led by Generals Rommel and Guderian  amongst others – crossing the Meuse at Sedan and soon breaking through to the open country of eastern France. The Battle of France was lost by the hosts. Yet four years later, as Europe was being liberated, Sedan and the Meuse were again involved as the scene for stopping and reversing the final German counter-attack in the Battle of the Bulge.

Finally……

I’ve barely mentioned Verdun, whose status as an icon of French resilience is attested to by actions on left and right banks of the Meuse over the centuries.

Eight years ago on one of my trips to Verdun, I stayed at the impressive Chateau des Monthairons, just off the Voie Sacrée and a few miles south of Verdun itself. The Chateau is right on the river, which at the time of my visit in early spring was swollen almost to bursting. The presence and power of the river were remarkable. And within a couple of days all the water would be lost in the North Sea!