Monument de taxi Marne description and photos - France: Paris (Topic)

Monument de taxi Marne description and photos - France: Paris. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Monument de taxi Marne.

Photo and description

The monument to the Marne taxis who saved Paris during the First World War is installed in the former suburb of Levallois, which is now within the city limits. The choice of the site for the monument was not accidental.

In September 1914, German troops, fulfilling Schlieffen's plan to encircle the French army, found themselves 40 kilometers from Paris. The commander-in-chief of the French, General Joffre, was inclined to surrender the capital and retreat across the Seine, in order to finally give a decisive battle there. The government left the city. An elderly, terminally ill military commandant Joseph Simon Gallieni remained to defend him - he demanded a blow to the flank of the attacking. On September 3, the commandant posted leaflets in the city: “I received a mandate to defend Paris from invaders. I will complete it to the end. ”

Gallieni's incredible persistence yielded results - Joffre agreed to a counterstrike. At first he was unsuccessful: the French lacked strength. The reserve Moroccan division was in Paris, but it still had to be transferred to the front. And then Gallieni decided to requisition all the Parisian taxis in order to quickly transfer parts to them.

The police looked for taxis throughout the city, dropped off passengers and directed the cars to the House of Invalids. Gallieni personally supervised the formation of the column ("At least this is original!" - he said). All night, astonishing the surrounding peasants, six hundred taxis moved north-west of Paris, to the border of the Marne River. Two flights were made, about 6,000 soldiers were transported. The German offensive collapsed.

Memorial plaques, installed along the route of the column, are dedicated to the Marne taxis. one such car is on display at the House of Invalids. Already in our century, in the municipality of Levallois, on the square named after November 11, 1918 (the date of the surrender of Germany in the First World War), a marble monument to the Renault AG-1 car was erected - it was these cars that then worked in Parisian taxis. The monument was sculpted by a young Italian sculptor Maurizio Toffoletti, famous for his virtuoso work with Carrara marble.

As for the location for the monument, it is determined by historical circumstances: at the beginning of the 20th century, it was in the suburb of Levallois that most of Parisian taxi companies were located.

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Topic: Monument de taxi Marne description and photos - France: Paris.