Rear area postal service

In order to conduct a study of the German rear-area postal service in the occupied territories, it is essential to understand the zones of occupation assigned to each Army and the inevitable changes that took place over the four years of occupation.

Regarding the VALENCIENNES district, war was declared on 3 August, and on 23 August, the first elements of German troops advanced from Belgium into the Département du Nord in the CONDÉ-SUR-L'ESCAUT sector.

Border skirmishes ensued, and troops from General von KLUCK's 1st German Army entered VALENCIENNES on 25 August.

From 25 August to 16 September 1914, the 1st Army occupied the area. Following the Battle of the Marne, and in preparation for the "Race to the Sea"—during which the belligerents sought to outflank each other northwards—the 7th Army arrived in the district via Belgium. This army remained in the VALENCIENNES area until mid-October 1914.

Postal traces left by these two armies during this period are scarce, both in terms of the area postal service and the Feldpost. It remains unclear whether a military post office of the 1st Army was ever established in VALENCIENNES. However, records from the Postmaster of the 7th Army (Armee-Postdirektor 7) indicate that from 16 to 24 September, the Lines of Communication of the 7th Army were set up in VALENCIENNES, along with its post office (Feldpoststation 76). Furthermore, it is known that on 24 September, Feldpoststation no. 77 was also established in VALENCIENNES.

The 7th Army was subsequently replaced by the 6th Army, which, having advanced through NAMUR (Belgium) and the Aisne, was tasked with occupying a large part of the Nord from October 1914. The 6th Army's Lines of Communication Inspectorate moved into the VALENCIENNES town hall on 8 November 1914, en route from CAMBRAI.

Following the Battle of the Somme in July 1916 and the establishment of a new 1st German Army, there was a further reorganisation of the rear areas. The Lines of Communication Inspectorate of the 1st Army replaced that of the 6th Army in VALENCIENNES on 1st October 1916. However, the 6th Army retained control over part of the district, particularly the cantons of ST AMAND-LES-EAUX and CONDÉ-SUR-L'ESCAUT.

From the end of 1916, the German Supreme Command had considered shortening its front by withdrawing to the Scarpe and Aisne rivers and establishing a fortified position—the HINDENBURG Line (referred to by the Germans as the SIEGFRIED Line). The advantage of this strategy was to reduce the area that needed to be defended, thereby allowing the deployment of fewer troops.

Operation "ALBERICH", carried out between 9 February and 15 March 1917, was designed to prepare for the withdrawal by destroying anything that could be of use to the enemy and relocating the local population. Around 900 trains were required to evacuate the inhabitants, salvageable goods, and military equipment. The SIEGFRIED movement, executed between 16 and 20 March, involved the withdrawal of German troops to the fortified line.

Allied offensives in the ARRAS and Chemin des Dames sectors prompted the German Command to reorganise its battle strategy, leading to the decision on 12 April to dissolve the 1st Army's headquarters. The troops of the former 1st Army were integrated into the 6th Army (Gruppe ARRAS) and the 2nd Army (Gruppe CAMBRAI, Gruppe CAUDRY).

The 2nd Army assumed control over a significant portion of the former 1st Army’s rear areas.

A notice issued by the 2nd Army's Inspector of Staging, Lieutenant-General FRANKE, announced that from 19 April 1917, the districts under the Kommandantur of CAMBRAI, VALENCIENNES, ARTRES, SOLESMES, LE QUESNOY, and BAVAY were to be incorporated into the 2nd Army’s rear area. Etappeninspektion 2 relocated to No. 8 Rue de Mons in VALENCIENNES on 21 April 1917.

The VALENCIENNES district underwent one final change in its rear area status, which can be dated to the end of September 1918. At that time, the 17th Army assumed control over the entire district, which rapidly transitioned from a staging area to an operational zone as the fighting approached. The 17th Army had already occupied a significant portion of the district as early as February 1918.

In October, the Germans hoped to establish a defensive line stretching from GAND to the Argonne, with VALENCIENNES as a key stronghold—the HERMANN Line (HERMANN Stellung). However, this line failed to hold. The first communes in the Arrondissement were liberated on 18 October, and VALENCIENNES was freed on 2 November.