List of World War I memorials and cemeteries in the area of the Saint-Mihiel salient, in the present day Meuse department of the Lorraine region, located in northeastern France.
In this region the monuments and cemeteries are divided into: those linked to the efforts of the French to regain the ridge at Les Éparges, from 1915 to 1918; and those linked to the American offensive of the St Mihiel salient, the Battle of St Mihiel in September 1918.
War Memorials and Cemeteries: Saint-Mihiel and the area of the St Mihiel salient
After the Battle of the Marne and on 13 September 1914, the 5th German Army went into retreat and retrenched east of Verdun on the Woëvre plain and at the foot of the "Heights of the Meuse" (the Hauts de Meuse). From here they intended to relaunch their offensive and reach the Meuse river. From 20 September, the Germans attacked on a line from Étain to Pont-à-Mousson and in several days had effectively created a bulge in the French line reaching as far as Saint-Mihiel, where they were halted by General Taverna's 16th Army Corps. What was to be known as the "St Mihiel Salient" was formed.
Part of the area taken by the Germans was the ridge or "Crête" at Les Éparges. This ridge was of great strategic importance because of the views in gave over the Woëvre plain and the French knew that they would never be able to retake the plain without first taking Hauts de Meuse and in particular the ridge at Les Éparges .
In the 1914-1918 war, the ridge at Les Éparges at 346 meters high was to serve as a counterpoint to the Butte de Vauquois. Both these areas of high ground served as eastern and western ends to the Verdun sector of the Western Front. Both were fought over fiercely and both were the scene of intensive mine warfare after head to head encounters produced no noticeable break through for either side.
The Crête des Éparges and its memorials and monuments The main French attempts to take the ridge were launched by General Joffre in 1915 and that year saw a series of French attacks, all fought with fierce intensity and resulting in much loss of life. The encounters embraced the Tranchée de Calonne, the woods of Chavalier and the wood at Brûlée. The ridge itself saw many bitter encounters and the terrain was soon changed for ever by the detonation of mines the digging of tunnels and constant artillery shelling.
From 5 to 14 April 1915, the 1st French Army under General Roques engaged the Germans on the ridge and the Woëvre plain but they were unable to take the ridge. At one point they advanced as far as "Point X", the furthest point east on the ridge and that giving the best views over the plain but they were soon forced back. The ridge was divided by the French into various areas gauged in their distance from the original French front line. Thus "Point A" was the nearest to the French trenches and "Point X" the furthest away. These attacks absorbed the attention of the entire French 1st Army and they lost the equivalent of an entire division – almost 18,000 men. It was no accident that Maurice Genevoix, the French novelist, was to call his narrative of the battle, "La Morte"- Death.
The trench fighting was not restricted to the Les Éparges ridge and south of St Mihiel there were encounters in the Ailly wood and that at Brûlée. Here the fighting involved General Bourges' 8th Army Corps.
Once the many encounters of 1915 had produced no major breakthrough for either side, the fighting on the surface was less intense and fighting moved underground and over the years of the war the ridge continued to be mined comprehensively from Point C to Point X. Now the fighting was to go underground to an even greater extent, with a war of tunnels and mines and in this period, 46 German mines and 32 French mines were detonated but still without producing any change in the front line.
In 1916, the waging of the Battle of Verdun saw the French withdraw voluntarily from the Woëvre plain area from 22 to 26 February and the French took up their main defensive position around the Fort at Moulainville which was bombarded by the German 420mm guns.
There was no great change to the front line in 1917 and it was only when the Americans attacked on 12 September 1918 that the salient was to again hear the roar of the guns and be finally freed from German occupation.
Today one can see many reminders of these encounters in the ridge's terrain and there are several monuments and memorials to mark the contributions of those who fought here and this list will identify and describe some of them
Monument to the 106th French Regiment of Infantry
Monument to the 106th French Regiment of InfantryThis monument, entitled "Les Revenants du 106e. R.I" ( a "revenant" could be translated as one who has gone missing) and dating to 1935, remembers the actions of the 106th French Infantry here at Les Éparges between September 1914 and April 1915. The monument carries the words or "I believe".
It takes the form of a pyramid with a death mask at the top looking towards heaven and below and from a pile of skulls and bones, skeletal hands claw upwards towards the death mask. Given that many of those who died would have been buried alive in the many explosions and artillery bombardments, the sculptor creates a macabre suggestion of a corpse trying to escape from an enforced and unwanted tomb.
One attack here was made by the 106th on 17 February 1915, following the detonation of a huge mine. The Bavarian defenders withdrew from their first trench line when the attack began and then their artillery, knowing the exact coordinates of their old trench line, poured shellfire on to the French. The result was carnage and this bombardment, and a series of German counterattacks over the next few days, destroyed the regiment – the 106th lost 300 men killed, 300 men went missing and their bodies were never found and over 1,000 men were wounded. The misery was not over however and the regiment would be given reinforcements and sent to take part in the attempts to take Point X in March and April 1915. This monument is the work of the great French sculptor Maxime Real Del Sarte and at the base there is a bronze bas-relief by him which depicts a helmeted woman cradling a soldier in her arms, the work reminiscent of an ancient "Pieta". It will however be the death mask, the skulls and the upward reaching skeletal hands that will linger long in the mind.
The monument was erected in 1935 and on the left hand side there is a quotation taken from the writings of Maurice Genevoix
Monument to the 106th and the 132nd French Regiment of Infantry Retrieved 8 February 2013Monument to the 106th and the 132nd French Regiment of Infantry Patrimoine de France. Retrieved 8 February 2013 Memorial Verdun. Retrieved 8 February 2013
The Monument du Coq at Point C The Monument du Coq at Point CThis monument is dedicated to the Reims-based 12th Division. It is the work of the Reims sculptor Lefèvre Klein.
There are various plaques attached to the monument including the "Ordre du Corps d'Armee No.68" from General Herr. This finished with the stirring words
There is also a plaque with the words of Army Order 147, this from General Roques.
The main inscription reads
The monument itself is an obelisk and is decorated with various bronze embellishments. These include a coq, the head of a soldier, a palm and grenades. The Monument du Coq Patrimoine de France. Retrieved 8 February 2013
Monument to the Engineers at Éparges Monument to the Engineers at Éparges This monument carries as its main inscription the words and it is dedicated to all those French mining engineers who served in the 1914-1918 war. It is modern in design and the inscription on the left hand side of the wall reads and on the right is the emblem of the engineers.
The monument comprises a low semi-circular wall with the inscription at one end and the engineer's emblem at the other and in front of the wall are 7 granite columns each one representing an arm of the engineering fraternity; pontonniers, télégraphistes, électromécaniciens, sapeurs-mineurs, chemin de fer, artificiers and aérostiers. The designer of the monument was E.Fagnoni and it was erected in 1963, completion having been interrupted by the Second World War.
The inauguration took place on 20 October 1963, and the ceremony was led by Mr. Messmer, Minister of the Armed Forces, General Massu, the military governor of Metz, Mr.Sainteny, the Veterans Minister and Mr.Chazal, the Préfet of the Meuse.. A La Gloire du Genie Patrimoine-de-France. Retrieved 7 February 2013Monument to the Engineers at Éparges Verdun-Meuse official website. Retrieved 7 February 2013
The Monument du Point X- Monument to the Missing The monument du Point XThe "Allée de la Comtesse de Cugnac" leads one to the Monument at "Point X". On one side are the words This translates as "to those who have no grave" and on one side there is a bas-relief which depicts an officer leading his men into battle and on the other side a cross above an altar. This was the work of the sculptor Fischer. The monument was commissioned by the Comtesse de Cugnac in honour of her fiancé and is dedicated to those men who have no known grave; the Missing. The monument situated at "Point X" looks out over the plain of Woëvre. Next to this monument there is a large map of the area laid on to a semi-circular pedestal. The Contessa de Cugnac and given funds to pay for the construction of the monument and the avenue leading to it. Point X was the furthest point to the east on the ridge and it was held by the Germans until taken by the U.S. Vth Division in September 1918. Le monument du Point X Memorial de Verdun. Retrieved 8 February.
Memorial to the 302nd French Infantry Just by the Monument at Point X there is a small memorial to the soldiers of the 302nd who died fighting here from 20 September 1914 to 21 March 1915. It also covers the actions of the 102nd. The inscription reads Memorial to the 302nd French Infantry Les Eparges 14-18. Retrieved 8 February 2013
Croix des Carmes Croix des CarmesLa Croix des Carmes was a wooden cross located near Bois-le-Prêtre, a village which had seen fighting in 1914 and 1915. In 1923, it was decided to erect a monument to those who had lain down their lives at Bois-le-Prêtre, this to replace the old cross. The monument was sculpted by Emile Just Bachelet and comprised a large cross raised up by two soldiers. One soldier wore the standard uniform of 1914 and the other the uniform of 1918. The inauguration took place on 23 September 1923, attended by Raymond Poincaré who had been the French president during the war. Croix des Carmes La Croix des Carmes 1 (Bois le Prêtre) Retrieved 3 February 2013
Cemeteries in the Éparges Cemeteries in the ÉpargesThe French National Cemetery of Le Trottoir is located at the foot of the Éparges Ridge and holds the graves of 2,108 soldiers and an ossuary containing the remains of 852 men. It was created in 1915 following the fighting on the Hauts de Meuse. There are many other French cemeteries in the area.
There is a German cemetery at Saint-Maurice-sous-les-Côtes containing 1,387 graves and the remains of 402 soldiers laid to rest in an ossuary, another at Viéville-sous-les-Côtes, this holding 1,044 graves with 135 men laid to rest in an ossuary and at Troyon-Vaux-les-Palameix which holds 2,655 graves and an ossuary holding the remains of 135 men.Cemeteries in Les Eparges Memorial de Verdun. Retrieved 8 February 2013
Memorial to Alain Fornier and companions Memorial to Alain Fornier and companionsOn 22 September 1914, the young author Alain Fournier – the writer of the novel "Le Grand Meaulnes" – and twenty comrades of the 288th French Infantry disappeared. Fournier had been a tutor to T. S. Eliot and friend to Charles Peguy, another young French writer who would die in September 1914.