MONT BLANC 



5500 



MONTE CARUO 



Mont Blanc. Ridge of France, 

 in the dept. of Marne. It is about 

 1 m. N. of Somme Py and 10 m. N. 

 of Suippes. It came into promin- 

 ence in the later stages of the Great 

 War, and was notable for its cap- 

 ture by U.S. troops in Oct., 1918. 



After a heavy barrage the 

 Americans assaulted the ridge 

 early in the morning of Oct. 3, 

 1918. One body advanced through 

 the woods on the N. W. and another 

 on the N.E., but both were held up. 

 Reorganized, the Americans pushed 

 forward in desperate hand-to-hand 

 fighting and carried the ridge. The 

 Germans counter-attacked, but 

 were unable to dislodge the Ameri- 

 cans. For the next three days the 

 struggle continued, but in the end 

 the Americans were in possession 

 of all their objectives on Oct. 6, 

 after an advance of about 6 m. 



Montbrison. Town of France, 

 in the dept. of Loire. It lies on the 

 Vizezy, at the foot of the Mts. du 

 Forez, 21 m. by rly. S.W. of St. 

 Etienne. It manufactures iron- 

 mongery and has local trade in 

 cereals. The Gothic church of 

 Notre Dame de 1'Esperance, built in 

 the 13th-15th centuries, has a 14th 

 century chapter house. Pop. 7,100. 

 Montcalm de St. Veran, Louis 

 JOSEPH, MARQUIS DE (1712-59). 

 French soldier. Born near Nimes, 

 I Feb. 29, 1712, 

 he joined the 

 army when 

 I quite young, 

 I and after see- 

 ing much ser- 

 vice in Italy 

 j and Germany 

 ! was appointed 

 in 1756 to the 

 command of 

 the French 

 forces in Canada. In 1757 he took 

 Fort William Henry from the 

 British, and in 1758 successfully 

 defended Fort Ticonderoga against 

 a superior British army. Then the 

 tide turned. The French lost Louis- 

 burg and Fort Duquesne, and Mont- 

 calm was forced to retire to Quebec, 

 and prepared to defend it against 

 the British under Gen. Wolfe. The 

 latter succeeded in leading an army 

 of 5,000 men up to the Plains of 

 Abraham, where on Sept. 13, 1759, 

 the French joined battle and were 

 defeated. Wolfe was killed during 

 the engagement and Montcalm was 

 mortally wounded. See France and 

 England in N. America, vol. 7, 

 Montcalm and Wolfe, F. Parkman, 

 new ed. 1906. "> 



Montceau-les-Mines. Town cf 

 France, in the dept. of Saone-et- 

 Ixsire. It lies in the busy industrial 

 valley of the Bourbince, 14^ m. by 

 rly. S. of Le Creusot, on a branch 

 line from the Montchanin junction, 



and is on the Canal du Centre. It 

 has extensive coal mines and some 

 granite quarries. Pop. 27,300. 



Mont Cervin. Alternative name 

 for the peak more commonly known 

 as the Matterhorn (q.v. ). 



Montclair. Town of New Jer- 

 sey, U.S.A., in Essex co. It stands 

 on the Morris Canal. 5 m. N.N.W. 

 of Newark, and is served by the 

 Erie and the Lackawanna rlys. It 

 is a residential district of New 

 York and a summer resort. It 

 manufactures paper and hosiery. 

 At one time part of Newark and 

 later of Bloomfield. Montclair was 

 incorporated in 1868. Pop. 28,800. 



Mont-de-Marsan. Town of 

 France, capital of the dept. of 

 Landes. It lies at the meeting of 

 the rivers Midou and Douze, which 

 form the Midouze, 40 m. by rly. 

 N.E. of Dax, and is a rly. junction 

 of note. Its chief industries are in 

 oils, quarrying, and cork-making, 

 and there is trade in resin, timber, 

 and wines. There are ruins of a 

 14th century castle. Pop. 12,100. 



Mont de Pi6te. French na- 

 tional pawnbroking establishment. 

 Founded in Paris, 1777, by royal 

 ordinance, the original mont de 

 piete started with a monopoly, 

 and made large profits until its 

 privileges were abolished at the 

 Revolution. Reopened in 1797 

 as a private concern, its monopoly 

 was renewed by Napoleon I. The 

 mont de piete differs from the 

 English pawnshop in that it is a 

 state undertaking which retains 

 traces of its Italian origin, part of 

 the profits going to the support of 

 the poor. In Italy monti di pieta 

 were established for the benefit of 

 the poor in the middle of the 15th 

 century, and thence spread over 

 the continent of Europe. See 

 Pawnbroker. 



Mont des Cats OR MONT DES 

 CHATS. Hill of France, in the dept. 

 of Nord. It is 518 ft. in height and 

 lies about midway between Poper- 

 inghe and Hazebrouck. During 

 the Great War this height was of 

 tactical importance as dominating 

 the rly. between these towns vital 

 for the British communications in 

 the Ypres salient. It was taken by 

 the British 2nd cavalry div. Oct. 

 13, 1914, and held against strong 

 German counter - attacks. The 

 modern Trappist monastery on the 

 summit was much damaged by bom- 

 bardment. See Ypres, Battles of. 



Montdidier. Town of France. 

 In the dept. of Somme, it stands 

 on a hill near the river Don, 

 23 m. from Compiegne. Its build- 

 ings, which were almost destroyed 

 during the Great War, include the 

 church of S. Pierre, a 15th century 

 building, the church of the Holy 

 Sepulchre, a little more recent, and 



the palais de justice. An important 

 rly. junction, its industries in- | 

 eluded tanning, printing, distilling, 

 and the making of candles. The 

 town existed in the time of the 

 Prankish kings, and in the Middle 

 Ages had its own counts. A fortified 

 place, it was captured by the 

 English in 1523. In 1814 it was 

 occupied by the Cossacks, and in 

 1870 by the Prussians. 



Montdidier was captured by the 

 Germans in their offensive in the 

 St. Quentin sector, March, 1918. 

 After a stubborn resistance by the 

 Allies, the Germans fought their 

 way into the town on March 27. 

 On June 9 they launched an offensive 

 on the Montdidier- Noyon line which 

 was defeated by the French. 



The recapture of Montdidier by 

 the French took place on Aug. 10, 

 1918. After Haig's great victory 

 of Aug. 8, which threatened the 

 envelopment of the place from the 

 N., Humbert, with the 3rd French 

 army, suddenly attacked on 

 Aug. 9, from the S. and S.E. The 

 Germans precipitately began to 

 withdraw, but part of their force 

 in Montdidier was cut off and cap- 

 tured. See Somme, Battles of the. 



Mont-Dor e-les-Bains. Town 

 of France, in the dept. of Puy-de- 

 Dome. At an alt. of over 3,400 ft. 

 among the Monts Dore, on the 

 river Dordogne, 48 m. by rly. S.W. 

 of Clermont-Ferrand, it is on a 

 branch line from Laqueuille. It is 

 famed for its twelve mineral 

 springs, which in summer attract 

 large numbers of sufferers from 

 pulmonary affections, rheumatism, 

 etc. There are numerous hotels, a 

 small casino, and a funicular rly. 

 ascending the neighbouring Salon 

 du Capucin, 4,085 ft. Pop. 1,200. 



Mont d'Or Tunnel. Rly. tun- 

 nel on the Paris-Milan route. It 

 shortens the journey between 

 Frasne and Pontarlier by piercing 

 Mont d'Or in the Jura range. It is 

 4 m. in length and contains a 

 double track. Begun in 1910, the 

 tunnel was opened in May, 1915. 



Montebello. Town of Italy. In 

 the prov. of Vicenza, it is 10 m. by 

 rly. from its capital of the same 

 name. In the vicinity the Aus- 

 trians were twice defeated by the 

 French in 1796. 



Montebello. Village of Italy, 

 in the prov. of Pavia. It is 5 m. by 

 steam tramway E. of Voghera. It 

 is famed for two battles, June 9, 

 1800, and May 20, 1859, in which 

 the Austrians were defeated by the 

 French and the Franco-Sardinians 

 respectively. Pop. 2,200. 



Monte Carlo. Town of the 

 principality of Monaco. It lies on 

 the N. shore of the Bay of Monaco, 

 adjoining the town of Monaco it- 

 self, and 150 m. by rly. E.N.E. of 



