Var: my grandfather was a poilu in 14

At the front from the start of the conflict

My grandfather was doing his military service at Mont Faron in Toulon when war was declared. Transferred in August 1914 to the 8th Infantry Regiment of the Eastern Army, he left for the Dardanelles, where he spent three years of the war, returning from this nameless butchery seriously wounded.

Croix de guerre with citation.

An article dated January 02, 1916 in the "Petit Var"the newspaper of the day, informed the people of Roquebrun that he had been awarded the Croix de Guerre with commendation for his courage in the face of the enemy."It is with a real sense of pride that the people of Roquebrun have just learned of the following commendation, with Croix de Guerre, awarded to our young compatriot Mr. Boyer Stanislas. An elite soldier of unflagging devotion and zeal, he never ceased to show the greatest enthusiasm and an absolute disregard for death in liaising between front-line units and the corps commander, and in bringing grenades back to the front line on his return from mission. Our warmest congratulations to this brave three-haired man who is a great credit to his hometown."

(Brave à trois poils: Expression used by Molière in "Les précieuses ridicules" in 1659: Un brave à trois poils est un homme très courageux)

The wound

On March 22, 1917, while working as a bicycle liaison officer, a shrapnel wound took his left calf in Monastir, Bosnia-Herzegovina (now Bitola), while he was relaying orders from the rear to the front.
He was cited in the regimental order and a bronze star was added to his Croix de Guerre.I've always loved history, and as a child I often asked him to tell me about the war, but he never wanted to.He just told me once that he was still haunted by the image of a disemboweled young German soldier crying as he held up his intestines, ending his tale with: "Ah it's not pretty what I saw!"My grandfather died in 1982 at the age of 89...Claude Boyer 

Photo: Boyer family/culture et patrimoine

Source : https://passadoc.fr/grand-pere-poilu-front-conflit-toulon-guerre-dardanelles-blesse-bosnie-herzegovine/

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