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| nuthatch | profile | all galleries >> France >> Meuse-Argonne WWI Battlefields | tree view | thumbnails | slideshow |
 memorials to the soldiers of the Grande Guerre are everywhere in this area... |
 ...here, a French military cemetery near Brieulles-sur-Meuse |
 on the Grande Montagne above Sivry-sur-Meuse... |
 ...an American memorial to soldiers of the 316th Infantry of the 79th Division AEF |
 a monument erected by the state of Pennsylvania at Nantillois |
 in the distance, the American monument on the butte of Montfaucon-d'Argonne |
 the ruins of the monastery on Montfaucon; in front, a former German observation tower made from stones of the church |
 the Montfaucon monument |
 Jay next to a marker for the 29th AEF, his grandfather's division... |
 ...with notes of where they fought |
 inside the monument |
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 from the observation deck, Marla looks rather tiny |
 looking out over the church ruins... |
 ...and in the distance, the American cemetery |
 in the rebuilt village of Montfaucon, France honors its dead... |
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 ...and thanks the 'Sammies' from the US who fought there in 1918 |
 at the American military cemetery in Romagne-sous-Montfaucon |
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 more than 14 thousand soldiers are buried here... |
 ...in the largest American cemetery abroad... |
 ...including many whose identity cannot be known |
 at the top of the site, a sober memorial |
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 stained glass windows include the insignia of the divisions (the 29th is at center, second row from the bottom) |
 on an exterior wall, the names of those whose bodies were never found |
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 a map of the final engagements by division |
 just outside the village, a well-kept German military cemetery... |
 ...one of many nearby |
 we are staying in Dun-sur-Meuse, a riverside village with a 12th-c. church on the hill above |
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 the bridge in town is named for General Pershing... |
 ...and carries a remembrance of the 5th Division AEF which pushed the front forward thru here |
 at this same location, the French divisions who fought here are also remembered... |
 ...as well as the German soldiers who died here... |
 ...in a small but tidy cemetery |
 above the village of Dun-sur-Meuse, the antique church |
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 the church has an outstanding view down the Meuse river valley |
 one of many markers for the US 5th Division along the Meuse |
 with his unit, the 104th Engineers, Jay's grandfather passed thru Cumières... |
 ...which before the war had been a village of 200+ people... |
 ...but by 1917 was one of eight villages in the 'red zone' completely destroyed... |
 ...and is today memorialized by a marker made from stones of the leveled buildings |
 Marre, another village where Jay's grandfather worked... |
 ...today, a quiet place |
 Charny-sur-Meuse, another beautiful village where Jay's grandfather served |
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 on the route to Chattancourt, part of a major road-building effort by the 104th Engineers... |
 ...to support the movement of American troops and equipment to the front |
 but also the site of repeated French battles in the years before... |
 ...leaving many dead... |
 ...of all faiths |
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 outside Chattancourt, two springs were chosen as memorials to local sons killed in action near here |
 on the road to the Mort-Homme... |
 ...a hill and forest famous for trench and tunnel warfare between French and German forces |
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 the monuments today mourn the dead on both sides... |
 ...and the surrounding woods still give up artifacts of the war |
 now we are in Avocourt, where the 104th Engineers worked around the clock to repair damaged roads |
 a smaller road out of town leads to... |
 ...another French military graveyard in a quiet setting... |
 ...overlooking fields of corn and other grains |
 in the distance, the Montfaucon monument |
 here is pretty Samogneux, another important village for road-building in WWI |
 before the war, the village had lined the main riverside road... |
 ...but it was destroyed by battles in and around |
 after the war, the village was rebuilt on adjacent land |
 the next village north is Brabant-sur-Meuse, also part of the roadworks |
 several springs emerge around town now |
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 the village of Consenvoye was in the midst of late war fighting |
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 the Meuse and the Canal de l'Est slowly pass thru town |
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 here's the road between Consenvoye and Damvillers... |
 ...where the 29th Infantry saw its heaviest fighting just two weeks before the war ended |
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 here's the Bois de Consenvoye, one of three named battles |
 this road leads to... |
 ...the Molleville Farm, another named battle of the 29th AEF |
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 and here's the village of Étraye, adjacent to the woods named for another battle |
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 as everywhere in the region, sons of this village are honored for their sacrifice |
 at last we reach Damvillers |
 here is the French & German ossuary at Douaumont, holding the remains of over 200 thousand unknown Verdun dead... |
 ...and its adjacent cemetery of over 15 thousand graves |
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 we pass another destroyed village (Fleury), left to regrow as woodland and a memorial |
 Jay's grandfather passed thru Verdun twice, en route to worksites in the area |
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 here is Récicourt, another road-building site behind the front |
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 we pause in the rebuilt village of Vauquois... |
 ...site of a horrific series of battles around, in, and under the butte |
 the original village stood on this mount |
 the church and all village buildings were destroyed in a series of bomb blasts from tunnels under the streets... |
 ...which also took the lives of hundreds of men |
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 today the butte is split in two by the destruction |
 finally, we visit Haudainville... |
 ...another of the villages Jay's grandfather saw |
 here, some of the French dead are buried in the communal cemetery... |
 ...but there is also a small military cemetery across the road |
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 this scene from the war captures the period rather well... |