11 January 1916: an explosion destroyed the ammunition depot of the 18 Bridges bastion. The toll was heavy: 134 dead, including 104 civilians, and nearly 400 injured, 21 factories and 738 houses destroyed. Commemorated by a monument in the rue de Maubeuge, this catastrophe marked the four "terrible years" of occupation of Lille. The people of Lille, subjected to martial law, survived in extreme conditions.
