The martyrdom of the hostages

Varreddes was at the heart of the fighting during the Battle of the Marne.
The episode of the hostages has remained engraved in the memories of the villagers.

Varreddes, under German control, was at the heart of the fighting during the Battle of the Marne. The episode of the hostages has remained engraved in the memories of this martyred village.
On 7 September 1914, the Germans arrested 18 men, most of them elderly, and held them hostage. The hostages were then gathered in the courtyard of a farmhouse (now 9 rue de l'église), where they spent the night. They were then taken to Germany. The village priest, Abbé Fossin, unjustly accused by the Germans of having sent signals to the French army from the church tower, was detained in the village town hall. He was probably shot in a barn.