THE BATTLE OF BUZENVAL
JANUARY 19TH, 1871 – THE BATTLE OF BUZENVAL
On the day after the proclamation made by Wilhelm II, the Emperor of Germany, in the gallery of mirrors at the château of Versailles, a last attempt was made by the French troops to break the siege of Paris. The troops, who were under siege in Paris under the orders of General Louis Jules Trochu, attempted to break out of the city in the direction of Versailles.
Mr. Régis Quennouelle, a member of our golf club, tells the story:
“Many of us have seen our little white ball fly over the stretch of wall between the 2nd and the 5th on the Green Course, or the wall which marks the course boundary along the 15th fairway. Almost 118 years ago, different kinds of bullets, of a lethal nature, were being exchanged on both sides.
The Battle of Buzenval, between the Prussians and the French, took place on January 19th, 1871. In September 1870, Sedan capitulated, Napoleon III abdicated, and the Republic was proclaimed. Any hope of an armistice was lost due to the enemy’s demands. The vice was tightening on a heavily bombed Paris. Under public pressure, a military operation was initiated. One of the objectives was to take the Garches plateau, in order to then threaten Versailles, where the Prussian headquarters were established. On January 18th, 1871, Wilhelm I, the King of Prussia, was proclaimed the Emperor of Germany as the French troops were gathering on the slopes of Mount Valérien. The Prussian troops were quartered on the high ground between Versailles and Sèvres. The wooded parkland of the chateau of Buzenval – which currently encompasses the colleges of Passy-Buzenval & Danielou and a large part of the golf course – was surrounded by a solid crenelated wall which represented an ideal line of defence at the highest point (the greens of the 1st & 17th holes on the Green Course are at the 155-meter mark).
Mr. Régis Quennouelle, a member of our golf club, tells the story:
“Many of us have seen our little white ball fly over the stretch of wall between the 2nd and the 5th on the Green Course, or the wall which marks the course boundary along the 15th fairway. Almost 118 years ago, different kinds of bullets, of a lethal nature, were being exchanged on both sides.
The Battle of Buzenval, between the Prussians and the French, took place on January 19th, 1871. In September 1870, Sedan capitulated, Napoleon III abdicated, and the Republic was proclaimed. Any hope of an armistice was lost due to the enemy’s demands. The vice was tightening on a heavily bombed Paris. Under public pressure, a military operation was initiated. One of the objectives was to take the Garches plateau, in order to then threaten Versailles, where the Prussian headquarters were established. On January 18th, 1871, Wilhelm I, the King of Prussia, was proclaimed the Emperor of Germany as the French troops were gathering on the slopes of Mount Valérien. The Prussian troops were quartered on the high ground between Versailles and Sèvres. The wooded parkland of the chateau of Buzenval – which currently encompasses the colleges of Passy-Buzenval & Danielou and a large part of the golf course – was surrounded by a solid crenelated wall which represented an ideal line of defence at the highest point (the greens of the 1st & 17th holes on the Green Course are at the 155-meter mark).
