Lonesome Memorials #27: Monument de la Lorraine à la Gloire des États-Unis

 

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As war broke out in 1914, Germany was in possession of almost a third of the historical Lorraine (including the Moselle region and Metz). As the fighting unfolded during the 1914 Battle of the Frontiers, it pushed German forces into the still-French parts of the Lorraine. Approximately, 30 percent of the territory of the Meuse and Meurthe-et-Moselle departments were occupied for almost the full-duration of the war. These areas suffered severe physical destruction, heavy military casualties, and intense civilian hardship. Residents suspected of pro-French sympathies faced thousands of prosecutions for anti-German sentiment, heavy censorship, and imprisonment or placement in preventative detention camps.

This unhappy situation ended in September 1918 when General Pershing's First Army forced a general evacuation of the French Lorraine back to approximately the borders of German-held Lorraine. Needless to say, the local citizens were extremely happy with the end of the German occupation and were most appreciative of their American liberators. A commemoration of some sort was in order. This resulted in the Monument de la Lorraine à la Gloire des États-Unis (Lorraine Monument to the Glory of the United States) in the village of Flirey, which is located just south and near the center of the American jump-off line of 12 September 1918. 

The region commissioned the well-known Nancy-born sculptor Alfred Finot to design the monument. Inauguration: The monument was officially dedicated in 1921. The memorial is structured as a large bronze high-relief sculpture full of rich allegory. It features two victorious American soldiers standing proudly under the American star-spangled banner. They stand in front of a Gallic rooster (the national symbol of France) depicted with its wings wide open, symbolizing the shared Franco-American triumph. In the background, a cathedral is etched into the stone, representing the enduring cultural heritage of the liberated region. The inscription at the base translates to: "On September 12, 1918, the first offensive of the United States Army, commanded by General Pershing, sprang from here. It liberated numerous Lorrainese communes..."

Location:  At the wartime strategic intersection of the D904 and D958 roads in Flirey. On the north side of D958 there is a monument to the 163rd French Regiment of Infantry which fought in the village during the war's early years and a Vauthier Borne Marker,  is one of a series of World War I demarcation stones erected throughout France and Belgium to map out the Allied front line as it stood on 18 July 1918.