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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Montmedy French/German Grave


healdav

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I was at Montmedy a wekk or so ago and found the old town cemetery just outside the fortress. To my surprise there is a mass WW1 grave there (there is a German cemetery on the other side of the town). What really surprised me was that it said that both German and French soldiers are buried together (and listed the French).

I wonder how common that was?

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I think it was fairly common in the early days of the war. There's another at Longuyon. I seem to remember others in the Verdun/Argonne/St. Mihiel area but can't put a name to one at the moment.

Christina

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Hello,

I can confirm Christina Holstein's reply: in those early days it was indeed common to bury Germans and French together.

The "spirit" was different then...

I'd like to add by suggesting further visits to 1914 Franco-German cemeteries in the Belgian Ardennes, which really are worth a visit.

They are quite different in layout and contain special monuments (sometimes big ones)... : Musson-Baranzy, Bellefontaine, Maissin, Virton-Bellevue, Neufchâteau, Rossignol, Anloy-Bruyères and Bertrix.

This is quite a forgotten period (dynamic 1914 warfare) and area.

regards,

Wim Degrande

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Another from 1914 can be found in the Citadel at Dinant.

French/German burials were pretty much the norm during the war of 1870-71 (as a drive over the plateau near Ferme du Moscou near Gravelotte will confirm), so I'd presume that in 1914, this method just continued.

Dave.

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French/German burials were pretty much the norm during the war of 1870-71 (as a drive over the plateau near Ferme du Moscou near Gravelotte will confirm), so I'd presume that in 1914, this method just continued.

Just to illustrate...

This is the French and German mass grave in the Soldatenfriedhof at Gravelotte itself...

post-19-1084718190.jpg

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...and this is on the plateau near Moscow Farm. All the white crosses mark the site of an "Ossuaire Francais-Allemand 1870-71".

Dave.

post-19-1084718307.jpg

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