September 1939
Sunday, September 16, 2018 at 11:23AM
At noon on September 1, a Friday, the TSF radio, tuned into Radio Luxembourg, announced that the French government had ordered a general mobilization and declared war against Germany.
Around noon on Saturday, September 2, along with a friend, I took the train from the Denain-Mines station to Béthune, where I arrived in the evening. We’re at the same school, with fresh straw. I unpacked and found the others that I’d just left not so long ago. We caught up with the news. Mustering in, uniforms, etc. The 10th Company is still commanded by Captain Cornet, a “kind and distinguished person.”
Saturday, September 9, we left on a passenger train from the Béthune station. We flew by the Lourches station and arrived at Arleux, where we disembarked. We walked to Estrées, an agricultural community, where we were bivouacked on farms.
Tuesday, September 12, we left on foot at night and arrived at Lallaing the morning of the 13th. That afternoon, we left Lallaing for Coutiches, about 4 km away. We were housed in a school across from the town hall. We enjoyed our short stay in this very nice town.
Saturday, September 30, we left Coutiches around 10 p.m. and arrived at Hasnon the morning of October 1. We walked through a pouring rain the entire distance. We were housed in the community room. That evening, we left again, still on foot, for Aulnoy-les-Valenciennes, where we arrived the morning of Monday October 2. We enjoyed our stay because we were housed with some good people whose two sons were in the East. I did my best to thank them appropriately.