Reims and its cathedral were first bombed by the Imperial German Army on 4 September 1914. The shelling of Reims, which resulted in the destruction of the medieval cathedral, was considered an attack on French culture. Despite German protestation that the French were using the cathedral's towers as observation points, thereby making it a target of war, this incident was used in French propaganda to designate the Germans as 'barbarians'.

This fragment of red stained glass was picked up at Reims Cathedral by a British soldier, 16 October 1914. It was presented to King George V by the Duke of Marlborough, then serving as a Lieutenant-Colonel on the General Staff in France.