Département Meuse
Three German military cemeteries of the First World War
1. Communal cemetery of the upper town (fortified area)
69 German war dead
18 French war dead
21 Russian war dead
2. Municipal cemetery of the lower town
329 German war dead
80 French war dead
3. German military cemetery (on the D118 road)
2464 German war dead (among them 43 dead of the Austro-Hungarian army)
4 Belgian war dead
4 British war dead
155 French war dead
36 Italian war dead
168 Russian war dead
The town and fortress of Montmédy was occupied by the Germans without a fight at the end of August 1914. The existing French military hospitals were immediately taken up by the German medical corps, as large numbers of soldiers had been wounded in the battles for the Meuse crossings at Stenay and Dun-sur-Meuse.
As the war progressed, one of the largest military hospital areas was set up in Montmédy, with numerous special departments that took over the further treatment of the severely wounded delivered by the field hospitals. The municipal cemeteries were soon no longer sufficient for those who died here - especially during the Battle of Verdun - so that today's military cemetery had to be built on the outskirts of the town. The high mortality rate during the Battle of Verdun meant that some of the dead had to be buried in communal graves.
Thus rest in
Grave no. 1, victims from 23.2. - 4.3., grave no. 2, victims from 4.3. - 4.5,
Grave No. 3, victims from 5.5. - 21.6., Grave No. 4, victims from 22.6. - 24.8,
Grave no. 5, victims from 25.8. - 14.9. and in
Grave no. 6, victims from 15.9. - 12.10.1916.
Five more common graves followed. The foreign dead were prisoners of war who, with the exception of the French, were deployed as laborers in the rear front area. The French, on the other hand, were mostly brought directly from the front to the military hospitals. Of the 155 French victims, 111 are known by name, 113 of the 168 Russians and the names of all the Italians are known. During the war, the German troops erected two memorials, which still stand today.
The French military authorities expanded the cemetery in 1928/1929 by adding the dead who had originally been buried as wounded in the military hospitals in Stenay. The German dead resting here belonged to units whose home bases were in almost all countries and provinces of the former German Reich.
The dead of the Austro-Hungarian army were members of four k.u.k. They had been deployed in the summer and fall of 1918 to support the German allies in the Verdun area. In fierce battles against the Americans and French advancing north of Verdun towards the Meuse, some Imperial and Royal regiments suffered heavy losses. Regiments suffered heavy losses.
Repair work between the wars
Initial work to improve the condition of the cemetery was carried out by the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. (German War Graves Commission) on the basis of an agreement reached with the French military authorities in 1926. However, the problem of permanently marking the graves remained unresolved due to a lack of foreign currency and the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
Final design
After the conclusion of the Franco-German War Graves Agreement of July 19, 1966, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. - with financial support from the German government - was able to undertake the final design of the German military cemeteries of the First World War in France. After a landscaping overhaul of the entire cemetery on the D 118 road, including rejuvenation of the tree population, additional planting of shrubs and perennials and renewal of the fence and hedge, the entrance area was redesigned.
in 1980, the previous temporary wooden grave markers were replaced with metal crosses with the names and dates of those who had been buried here cast into them. The corresponding 35-kilogram cross foundations, which had been transported by the German army, were moved by young volunteers from the Volksbund.
Of the 2,464 German fallen, 1,287 victims rest in individual graves and 1,177 in common graves 1-6. The foreign dead are scattered in the common graves.
For religious reasons, the six graves of the fallen of the Jewish faith
the six graves of the fallen of the Jewish faith were marked with a natural stone grave stele instead of a cross for religious reasons:
1. (above) "Here rests buried ... ."
2. (below) "May his soul be included in the circle of the living."
Care
The cemetery is constantly cared for by the Volksbund's maintenance service.
