The Dix-Huit Ponts disaster

On 11 January 1916, at around 03:30 hours, the munitions store known as the "Dix-Huit Ponts" exploded, blowing up a large area of the Lille-Moulins district and killing some one hundred civilians. The blast, its effect intensified by the concrete blocks thrown out by the explosion, destroyed hundreds of houses and the factories in the district. The factory buildings protected the rest of the town from even worse devastation.
The causes of the explosion are unknown. The German military investigation did not establish the existence of an act of sabotage. It is very likely that it was the result of an accident, given the instability of the explosives stored there in large quantity.
On 15 January, the funerals were held in the church of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, attended by the German military authorities, the French civilian authorities and Bishop Charost of Lille. The civilian victims were buried in the south cemetery in a designated plot.