ARISTOTELES LEVALLOIS´HEROIC WORLD WAR TAXIS

THE GREAT WORLD WAR I TAXI STORY

Can taxi drivers be heroes? I think this story proves they can.

When one learns about the hardships endured during the fighting of World War I, the trench warfare, brutal winter extremes, poor rations, insufficient clothing and primitive medical care, the stories of courage and heroism begin to emerge. How could you win a war, fought under such challenging conditions, if the human spirit was not able to conjure up tremendous acts of courage and endurance?

On September 6th, 1914, the French Army’s 7th Division had arrived by train, to join up with the 6th Army, in defense of the capital against the invading Germans. The commanding officer of the disembarking French troops, soon learned that there was no means available to transport his men from the train station, to the sides of their fellow soldiers of the 6th, who were already engaged in the Battle of the Marne, proving to be a pivotal point in the fight to protect Paris.

In a flash of brilliance, the commander-in-chief requested the enlistment of every available taxi and driver, to aid in the movement of his troops to the front. Thus it happened that a convoy of 600 Paris taxis transported approximately 6,000 men into combat, where the French Army was able, with the help of other Allied Troops, to drive the Germans into retreat.