La Croix des Carmes Memorial

La Croix des Carmes (Carmelite Cross) is a World War I memorial located in the territory of the commune of Montauville, in the Lorraine, near Pont-à-Mousson, France. The original woodend cross was located on the site of back-and-forth fighting during the first year of the war. On 7 June 1915, French units gained control of the cross and moved it to a safe location.  A month later, the Germans recaptured the site and held it until September 1918, when it was retaken by the American 90th Division. 

A Trench and Barricade in a Devastated Bois-le-Prêtre, 1915

The Carmelite Cross  became one of the symbols of the bloody battles at Bois-le-Prêtre, or "The Priest’s Wood." The forest was the focal point of violent, constant warfare between German and French soldiers from 1914 to 1915. In some places, the trenches of each side were separated by a distance of only 20 meters.  Shortly after the war, the original wooden cross was returned to its place of origin and incorporated into a  monument commemorating the four years of fighting.  The memorial was inaugurated on 23 September 1923 by the wartime president of France, Raymond Poincaré. 

Stained Glass Commemorating the Dedication of the
Memorial in a Nearby Village Church

The monument was sculpted by Émile Just Bachelet and Victor Prouvé. It consists of a large cross, each of the transverse branches of which is supported by a Poilu, one being dressed in uniform from the beginning of the war, and the other in uniform from the end of the war. The original wooden cross is embedded in the masonry. Trenches and observation posts remain from the days of fighting.