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Remembered Today:

WW1 sites S and SW of Longwy


SteveMarsdin

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Hello All,

After reading Jean-Claude Delhez's book"Le jour de deuil de l'armée française"I decided to visit the battlefield south and south-west of Longwy, where the French 3rd Army and particularly Sarrail's 6th Corps, were involved. As it was still a war of movement, little remains today, apart from the terrain and the cemeteries. The cemeteries are full of the dead of 1914 and, in the German ones, 1916 (those who died in the hospitals treating the wounded of Verdun) and after, indeed the only year with only a hanfdul of casualties across all the cemeteries was 1915.

First stop Longuyon:

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And looking upwards to the nearby German cemetery

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The CWGC grave is a WW2 airman:

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The French dead are mainly from the bitter fighting of 23-24 August 1914, as the Germans advanced following their victories of the previous day

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At the other side of the road the beautiful German cemetery contains individual graves as well as several ossuaries, some of which also include French soldiers.

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The individual* graves mainly relate to 1916 as Longuyon is, and was, an important railway junction and there were several military hospitals in the area

* German "individual graves often contain 2 to 6 bodies, in the case of the latter, 3 names are inscribed on one side and 3 on the other

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The older memorials, including the central cross, refer to 1914

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I then moved on to Pierrepont where again there are two separate cemeteries that hold the bodies of those who died fighting on the plateau to the east in 1914. As in Longuyon the German one also holds many graves from 1916 and, I understand, some from accidents at Rohr's stormptroop training facility which was established nearby (in the vicinity of Beuveille, Doncourt, Praucourt).

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As in Longuyon, many bodies are in mass graves.

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As well as the more modern crosses, some of the older memorials that they replaced, have been moved to the side

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Before moving on to the French cemetery, here are some more views of the German one.

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Excellent, Steve, I will follows this thread with great interest. Keep the pix coming

cheers Martin B

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Thanks Martin,

Next stop, the French cemetery at Pierrepont.

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The French graves, both individual and mass, are mainly from 1914.

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The central beacon memorial towers above the site.

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As well as the French graves there are hundreds of Russians (some from WW2), many Belgians and other nationalities buried here.

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Other nationalities continued.

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As well as the ossuaries, some of the individual markers indicate multiple burials.

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There are also two WW1 CWGC graves, side by side, in the cemetery.

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After Pierrepont I then left the main road and climbed the valley north-eastward to Baslieux and the French ossuary on the top of the plateau.

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Looking back across the plateau where the 800 died, to the ossuary.

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The fighting between Doncourt and Baslieux was one of the few locations where the Germans suffered higher casualties than the French. In the middle of the plateau is an old French memorial.

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The village in the background is Doncourt.

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My camera doesn't have the depth of focus necessary for good landscape photos but I've posted this panorama, taken from the ossuary, to illustrate the history of the location.

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The village is Doncourt-Cités. Between here and the village is where those French lost their lives.

The large forest on the horizon, right of centre is the Bois de Latiremont (Zuber calls it Lauromont). Within its bounds is the Fort de Latiremont, part of the WW2 Maginot Line. It covers a site of over an hectare with various tunnels, shafts etc. It is of a similar size to the Fort de Fermont, 5kms to its west but whereas Fermont has been developed for visitors (there's a museum, you can ride on the underground service railway, you can see the turrets working etc), Latiremont hasn't been.

Back to WW1. The area in front of you and towards the Fort de Fermont (off camera north of Beuveilles) was where Rohr established his stormtroop training facility. The officers were quartered at the chateau in Cons-la=Grandville and they also used the farm at Praucourt, which is just over the horizon where the sapling is in the centre.

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From Baslieux I went south off that plateau and climbed on to that where Fillieres sits. this plateau is surrounded by steep hills to the north and south, with a more gentle approach from the west or east. There is a French cemetery at Fillieres.

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Blimey Steve, I think you've earned an Orval after all of that! Do you visit the ground on your own? Great photos.

Roger

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I then descended via the Moulin de Bernawe, passing through Nouillonpont and headed towards Mangiennes and the area where there was an encounter on 10 August 1914.

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Although I visited further cemeteries they contained only a few graves from 10 August, indeed there was liitle in the area to suggest that one of the earliest encounters of the war in France had taken place here. I was also distracted by Gros Max, see this thread http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=178274&pid=1736047&st=0entry1736047 before I headed off to Bazeilles and another ossuary, another war !

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Blimey Steve, I think you've earned an Orval after all of that! Do you visit the ground on your own? Great photos.

Roger

The Orval will have to wait until Sunday !

On this occasion I was alone, my wife and in-laws were visiting garden centres so I took the opportunity to visit an area I didn't think they'd be interested in. I can't complain, my wife likes shopping in Verdun and my mother-in-law likes looking around concrete fortifications etc. (I was in trouble though for not taking her to Gros Max !)

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There was fighting at Mangiennes on 10 August 1914. The action, known as "l'Affaire de Mangiennes" was the first action in the area in 1914. For the last few years a remembrance ceremony has been held there each year. Here's a link to a discussion about it on the French forum:

http://pages14-18.mesdiscussions.net/pages1418/forum-pages-histoire/aout-1914-mangiennes-sujet_6225_1.htm

There are a few French WWI graves in the civil cemetery at Mangiennes and until a few years ago there was an old wooden shed which, according to old people in the area who were still around at the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Verdun, functioned as a German payshed during the war. Unfortunately, it fell down a few years ago. It stood on the right among bushes when you come uphill into Mangiennes from Pillon, having crossed the stream. It used to be one of my markers on journeys to Verdun from Luxembourg.

Christina

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Steve,

If you've been in the Nouillonpont area, have you any idea what this is? It stands on the left in a field as you drive from Rouvrois sur Othain to Nouillonpont on the N18. It's marked on the IGN maps. As there were observation ballons in the area for the Duzey gun, I always wondered if it was for tethering a balloon but having climbed all over it, I'm not sure. In fact, I've not yet found anyone who can suggest a reason for it.

Christina

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Steve,

If you've been in the Nouillonpont area, have you any idea what this is? It stands on the left in a field as you drive from Rouvrois sur Othain to Nouillonpont on the N18.

Christina

Hi Christina,

I didn't pass by it and won't have chance to revisit the area until the summer. Looking on GoogleEarth it's bigger than I first thought from your photo, actually wider than the nearby main road. Its symmetrical "three-pointed" structure suggest some form of base or support for a tall structure mounted on it (or, as you suggest, mooring point for a ballooon, although perhaps bigger than would be necessary for that specific purpose ?)

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