From August 19 to 31, 1944, the American army launched an offensive against the German army on the area covering the current Vexin Regional Natural Park: these fights are named "Battle of the Vexin". This was the only battle where armored vehicles from both sides clashed.
This offensive took place as soon as the American bridgehead of Mantes-La-Jolie was launched. Nearly 30,000 men clashed on the ground, causing nearly 3,000 casualties and thousands of wounded.
What happened in Vétheuil? How did the church end up in the middle of the fighting?
The church - with its position overlooking the entire village and the loop of the Seine - represented a strategic observation post for the belligerents. The cemetery (just northwest of the church) was also an important position. The fighting in Vétheuil was difficult and the inhabitants witnessed several dramatic events.
By August 21, the American headquarters had been established at Vétheuil. When a Frenchman asked the Americans why the guns were still firing, the GIs replied: "A lot of Germans up there. (Up there is the cemetery of Vétheuil, just behind the church).
On August 22, the men of the American regiment were surprised by a German attack, just as they had collected their pay from the regimental canteen. The Germans, in this surprise attack, took possession of the vehicles and spread panic. German divisions had infiltrated all over Vétheuil.
On August 24, Vétheuil found itself in no-man's-land and became the focus of armed patrols. The Germans came at night, and the Americans during the day. They took turns in the bell tower which is a strategic point for the observation of the whole loop of the Seine. The building was the object of artillery fire from both sides.
On August 25, a German regiment took over Vétheuil. Fighting groups with machine guns took up positions in the streets and ambushed behind doors and on street corners.
On August 27, while Vétheuil was still occupied by the Germans entrenched behind the cemetery, American troops were stopped in front of Les Millonnets (a hamlet in Vienne-en-Arthies) and ordered the inhabitants to evacuate in anticipation of the fighting. The results of the fighting were mixed. The Americans finally succeeded in liberating Vétheuil. But the Germans were still on the heights.
An American shell that was intended for German troops retreating to the cemetery southwest of the church hit the church through the stained glass window of the hearse chapel. The blast destroyed all the stained glass windows.
When the fighting finally stopped on August 31, the inhabitants had a first view of the damage (photo credit: T. Gardie).
The commune then took the first steps to protect the church and was able to assess the damage inside the building.
The Ministry of Reconstruction listed the following as war damage in the village of Vétheuil: the boys' school, place de la Mairie, the girls' school, rue de l'Église, the hearse chapel in the church, the drinking water reservoir, the bridge over the Chaudry stream and the overhead electrical network. Two private properties were also affected: the bakery in the rue du Château and the house of Pierre Lacroix at 32 route de la Roche-Guyon (see inventory of war damage in the Val d'Oise archives).
The shell damaged the altar of The Hearse Chapel and broke the floor. A part of the south balustrade was destroyed. The 3 photographs show that all the openings of the church were sealed - as best they could be - by boards.
On the last picture, taken from the pilgrims' staircase, we can see that part of the work has already been done (the restoration of the balustrade). The restoration of the stained glass windows required much more time.
The church has kept many "scars" of this episode: many traces of gunshot impacts on the west facade, a decapitated gargoyle on the south facade and a broken pinnacle on this same facade. The hearse chapel is still in a bad state: the altar is broken and the floor has been badly restored after the war. And the hearse is no longer in the church.
If you want to know more about the battle of the Vexin, the memorial of the liberation battles has published several books on the subject (authors: Bruno Renoult and Geneviève Havelange). The study of these works allowed us to reconstitute the events in the commune of Vétheuil.
