Lonesome Memorials: #12 The Great Frieze at the National World War One Museum and Memorial, Kansas City, MO.

These Have Dared Bear the Torches of Sacrifice and Service: Their Bodies Return to Dust But Their Work Liveth for Evermore * Let Us Strive on To Do All Which May Achieve and Cherish a Just and Lasting Peace Among Ourselves and With All Nations

Click on These Images to Enlarge Them

This is the first of our Lonesome Memorials series that is located here in the States.  Despite the fact that I have visited the National WWI Museum five times, it is also one of the few in the series I have not personally viewed. It's a poor excuse, but the memorial is on the functional backside of the large complex, away from normal pedestrian traffic. Anyway, in this article I'll try to make amends for my omission.  MH

Located on the North Wall of the National WWI Museum and Memorial, the Great Frieze measures 148 feet by 18 feet and represents the progression of mankind and the nation from war to peace. Sculpted in 1935 by Great War veteran Edmond Amateis, each collected figure or grouping of figures is rich in symbolism.

At each end of the frieze is a sword with the Stars and Stripes representing the defense of our country. The story of the frieze depicts the end of the war and the creation of an era of greater peace and amity.

Similar to the new National World War One Memorial in Washington, DC, the frieze tells a story moving left to right with  five groupings of sculpted figures.

 

American Soldiers of the War—
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The Wounded and Maimed—The Family of the Fallen

Armistice

Welcoming the Returning Warriors

Home: Protected by Justice—Prospects for a Peaceful Future

The Great Frieze has a number of inscriptions carved into it. The quote at the top of this page serves as a heading for the unified piece. Here are a few samples used in other positions.

• Behold a Pale Horse and His Name That Sat on Him Was Death and Hell Followed with Him.

• Violence Shall No More Be Heard in they Land Wasting Nor Destruction Within Thy Borders.

• What Doth the Lord Require of Thee But To Do Justly and To Love Mercy and To Walk Humbly with Thy God.

• Then Shall the Earth Yield Her Increase ; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.

Directions to the National World War One Museum and Memorial can be found HERE.

Lonesome Memorials #6: La Vaux-Marie

If you knew what went on at this site in September 1914, the humble marker shown above might seem utterly out of proportion to the history made here. On the night of 9/10 September, one of the critical episodes of the Battle of the Marne took place. This action may have saved the day—and the war—for France.  

Holding the little plateau known as Vaux-Marie were forces of General Maurice Sarrail's Third Army.  Facing them were units of Crown Prince Wilhelm's Fifth Army.  Possibly unknown to the Poilus at Vaux-Marie, Wilhelm's staff had come up with a plan that—if successful—could have undermined the entire strategy of General Joffre, who was hoping to reverse France's fortunes in a single decisive action. Fifth Army had detached one of its corps 12 miles to the east with the mission of forcing a crossing of the Meuse River and getting behind the main French formations which were pushing North. This effort, however, was held up by the small French screening force along the Meuse and the mighty efforts of the small but perfectly located Fort Troyon. Nevertheless, had the Fifth Army forces at Vaux-Marie broken through, they were well positioned to attack the French units along the Meuse from the rear, thus insuring the success of the river crossing.  

Vaux-Marie Battlefield
On this plateau thousands of French soldiers fought heroically and a large number of them died for France!. . .
this monument pays tribute to their valor.

France's moment had come. Under a stormy rain and in almost total darkness, following a brutal artillery barrage, the German infantry began their assault at 2 a.m. Author Maurice Genevoix later wrote about the scene: " Black silhouettes appeared on the crest of the hill nearby, barely visible against a sky without light. They were barely 30 meters away when I recognized the tops of the helmets. Then, shouting at the top of my voice, I ordered continuous fire. . ."

Kiosk at Site

What ensued was one of the finest moments of the war for the French 75. Almost as soon as they advanced, French artillerymen spotted their movement and opened fire. A whirlwind of shells crashed into the German ranks, bowling over men by the score and leaving the track of the German columns littered with the broken and dying. Confusion reigned in the darkness as the men groped hopelessly forward. When the 38th Reserve Infantry Regiment blundered into a body of troops to their front, they opened fire, inadvertently sending a steady fire into the rear of their stalled and terrified comrades. The battle was fierce and the losses heavy on both sides.

Leaderless men wandered in terror as entire companies evaporated. A French counterattack swept through the German ranks, ushering in a scene of savage bloodletting as men shouted, struggled, and killed in the darkness. By daybreak, it was apparent that the attack had been a disaster. Thousands lay dead or dying. Not a single French gun had been silenced. Lt. Erwin Rommel who fought in this battle would write "the French artillery kissed us goodnight by firing enormous quantities of ammunition."

How To Get There

1. From Verdun, take the Voie Sacrée/D1916  south to D902 in Chaumont-sur-Aire. (31km)

2. At D35 turn right at sign for La Vaux-Marie

3. Follow "Champ de Bataille de la Vaux-Marie" signage to destination (2km)

Sources:  Lorraine Tourism; French Wikipedia

Click HERE To See Our Other Lonesome Memorials

Lonesome Memorials #15: Memorial to McCrae's Battalion, Somme Battlefield

 

The newest of our Lonesome Memorials was installed in November 2004 at the village of Contalmaison on the Somme battlefield. It's a 10-ft-high cairn (def: pile of stones, used as a marker or a memorial) that commemorates the remarkable battalion of Lt. Col. Sir George McCrae, the 16th Royal Scots, who captured the village on 1 July 1916.

The 16th (Service) Battalion (2nd Edinburgh) of the Royal Scots was raised in Edinburgh in November 1914 by Lieutenant-Colonel Sir George McCrae, a respected Liberal Member of Parliament for East Edinburgh and a volunteer soldier. 

While the battalion featured a strong contingent of volunteers from Heart of Midlothian Football Club, there were also professionals from clubs such as Falkirk, Hibernian, Raith Rovers, Dunfermline, East Fife, and St Bernard’s. In total, it is believed around 75 football clubs provided volunteers.

Sir George McCrae

Theb moved to France in January 1916 and, still under the command of Sir George, were committed into their first major battle at Contalmaison, on the Somme, on 1 July, where, fighting alongside their sister battalion, 15th Royal Scots, they were the only units in the 34th Division to achieve their initial objective—but at a terrible cost of 472 killed, wounded, or missing over only three days.

The battalion continued fighting in the Battles of the Bazentin Ridge and Pozières Ridge at the Somme,  as well as during the 1917 Arras Offensive and Third Battle of Ypres. The unit absorbed such heavy casualties in these battles that it was disbanded in 1918 before the Armistice.

The cairn features four plaques, with its main relief incorporating the cap badge of the Royal Scots, the coat of arms of Edinburgh, the emblem of the 34th Division, a cartoon by D.M. Sutherland, and finally, an image of Sir George McCrae himself. The first supporting plaque is dedicated to Heart of Midlothian, while the second is in memory of the 16th Royal Scots’ sister, the 15th Royal Scots. Finally there is an expression of gratitude to the local French population on its reverse.

Directions:

From Albert take the Menin Road (D929) to the LaBoisselle turn to D20 and proceed about 2 miles to Contalmaison. The memorial is close to the main crossroads of the village.

Lonesome Memorials #7: The Demmler Monument at Tête des Faux

Died for France July 6, 1916: Capitaine Demmler, Doctor Espange,  J. Francois Bouvier, and J. Marie Renaud of the 62 Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins
_________________

In Memory of the Officers and Chasseurs Alpins Killed at the Tête des Faux, 1914–1918

Dedicated in 1921, this two segment stone marker is in honor of several French soldiers who fell here in a 1916 action and in memory of all the Chasseurs Alpins who fell around the mountain Tête des Faux throughout the war. In most sources, it is referred to as the "Demmler Monument" after the first French officer listed. In our series of Lonesome Memorials, this selection might be the most difficult to get to.

The Mountain is 1 KM from the village of Bonhomme

The mountain Tête des Faux (Head of the Scythe) was the site of a short but deadly battle  in December 1914 and subsequently became a case study in the horrors of mountaintop trench warfare. It is located 12 miles northwest of Colmar in the Vosges Mountains of Alsace at 1,220 meters altitude. A strategic observation point, Tête des Faux  allows views east to the Rhine River and an almost 360-degree view of the key peaks and passes of the Vosges. It was a very valuable piece of wartime property. 

Chasseur Alpins in the Vosges

In August 1914, German observers quickly settled there and directed artillery fire at French forces just across the border.  By the end of November, they had successfully destroyed a French army camp. In early December, French Chasseurs Alpins were ordered to occupy the summit and gained control of it. The famous German counterattack of 1914 began on Christmas night with French Chasseurs Alpins facing off against German Jaeger troops for control of the summit. The Chasseurs held the summit that night earning the nickname "Blue Devils." A subsequent German counterattack failed, but regained a  piece of the summit which they would share with their adversaries for most of the remaining war. What percentage each side held for the duration is unclear in the sources I've found.

The View from Tête des Faux Toward the Rhine

By one estimate the fighting at  Tête des Faux and nearby Le Linge (a similar position) cost France 10,000 men killed and Germany 7,000 in 1914 and 1915 alone. For the rest of the war, the area settled into attritional trench warfare with the positions frozen just a few meters apart. The casualty rates were lower, but thousands more were added to the death toll. Over the next three years, the troops industriously enhanced their positions, so surrounding the memorial  today are numerous bunkers, barbed wire entanglements, shelters, and old trenches as well as both a French and German cemetery. Both cemeteries are UNESCO World Heritage sites. There are also remnants of the cable car system the German army built to supply its forces. Incidentally, men of the U.S. 5th Division were deployed in this sector during the summer of 1918.

The Beautiful German Cemetery Has Been Decommissioned

Getting There

A visit to Tête des Faux sites should only be attempted by experienced mountaineers AND who are experienced in driving on very narrow mountain roads as the final approach would require.

Map 1: Drive from Colmar 

(Click to Enlarge)

The memorial is approximately at  coordinates 48.153983, 7.114621. The route shown on Map 1 is for an auto from  (1) Colmar to (2) the Hôtel Résidence De L'etang Du Devin. This is apparently as far as you can approach via auto. The drive from central Colmar to the hotel is 33 minutes under normal traffic.

Map 2: at Tête des Faux 

(Click to Enlarge)

From (2), the Hôtel Résidence De L'etang Du Devin, the  sites shown on Map 2 must  be approached by trail: (3) German Cemetery, (4) the memorial) and (5) the French Cemetery. Round trip to the hotel is about 6 km as the crow flies but it is over rough terrain and up and down a mountain peak. Note: This is a highly simplified route. There should be more detailed maps available from the local tourism board HERE.

The Summit of Tête des Faux Today

Sources: Discovering la Tete des Faux by Gwyneth M. Roberts; Pierre's Western Front

Lonesome Memorials: #1 The U.S. 4th Division, Meuse-Argonne Monument, Brieulles-sur-Meuse

4th Division Monument with "Ivy" Division Insignia

With this article, I'm beginning a new series on Roads to the Great War.  In my travels to the war's battlefields, I've frequently come across out-of-the-way monuments and memorials that are sometimes very substantial but have only the barest inscriptions and few or no details about what happened in this location that was worthy of memorialization. It's also often evident that there have been few visitors to the site. In this series, I'm going to try tell the stories of some of the little-visited, little-remembered memorials.

Today we begin with the monument to the AEF's 4th Division for its service in the Meuse-Argonne Campaign.  The division went into action in the opening attack on 26 September 1918 and advanced approximately 5.35 miles to the point shown above—with the Hindenburg Line then positioned in the elevations visible in the photo just behind the memorial—before being relieved on 19 October 1918.  

The 4th Division in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

4th Division Artillery Firing During the Battle

The 4th Division was assigned to III Corps of the First Army for the opening attack. It was charged with protecting the right flank of the 79th Division, which was given the job of taking the most important first-day objective of the assault, the German defensive bastion and observation post on Montfaucon. It was expected to advance a little over five miles by the end of the first day of the attack, 26 September. It would actually take the division all 24 of its days in the line to reach that point.

After jumping off at 0530 hours, the division seized highly-defended Cuisy and Septsarges villages—a most successful advance. The advance might have been greater the first day absent a five-hour pause ordered to allow the 79th division to secure Montfaucon to the west, which it did not accomplish until the following day. The attack was continued on 27 September with only slight gains as German reinforcements began arriving in the sector. Part of Bois de Brieulles was captured on the 28th and the remainder on the 29th.

No attacks were made during the period, 30 Sept–3 Oct as Pershing's First Army regrouped. Afterward, the principal attacks were made on the west side of the division’s frontage. On 4 October, the leading troops advanced to to the Brieulles-Cunel road but were driven back to Bois de Fays. From 5 to 8 October, the division held its position in Bois de Fays against counterattacks. Minor gains to the north were made over the next several days culminating in the capture of the western portion of Bois de Foret. No attacks were made on 12 October.

4th Division Casualties Being Evacuated

Troops in the Bois de Foret were relieved by the 3rd Division early in the morning of 13 October; the remainder of the division, less the artillery, was relieved on the night of 18-19 October. These were the last major operations of the division during the war. They were preparing for a joint French-American offensive in the Lorraine when the Armistice occurred. The division suffered 5,785 casualties during the 24 days on the line, including about 1,400 killed.

To Get There:  

The monument is located on the north side of Road D164, about one mile southwest of  Brieulles-sur-Meuse.  Similar monuments for the 4th Division are located just west of Fismes for the Second Battle of the Marne and at Manheulles for the St. Mihiel Offensive.

Lonesome Memorials #24 The Remember Flanders Memorials, Ottawa and Guelph, Canada

 

The Remember Flanders memorials in Ottawa and Guelph, Canada, were designed by Canadian sculptor Ruth Abernethy. The bronze features John McCrae, author of the immortal poem "In Flanders Fields." The memorial commemorates the centennials of the Second Battle of Ypres, the Saint Julien Gas Attacks, and the writing of "In Flanders Fields." These statues were erected by the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Medical Service and with support from the government of Flanders. There are two identical versions of the memorial, one in Ottawa and a second in McCrae's hometown of Guelph, Ontario. The first was unveiled on 3 May 2015 and the second on 25 June 2015. 

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae was the Canadian soldier, a doctor and teacher, who wrote "In Flanders Fields" during the First World War. Born in Guelph, Ontario, in 1872, he served with an artillery battery in the South African War and had a successful civilian medical career. When the First World War broke out in 1914, the patriotic 41-year-old enlisted again and would be appointed as a medical officer with the First Brigade of the Canadian Field Artillery. Sadly, Lieutenant-Colonel McCrae would not survive the conflict, dying of illness in January 1918. He is buried in the CWGC Wimereux Communal Cemetery in Pas de Calais, France

Locations

Ontario

92 Sussex Drive

Guelph

52 Norfolk Street

Lonesome Memorial #26: The Lone Tree of Loos

The Lone Tree of Loos Today

The Lone Tree of Loos was a solitary cherry tree in no-man's-land that served as a key topographical marker and grim memorial during the September 1915 Battle of Loos. Located north of Loos between the villages of Hulluch and Vermelles, it acted as a vital reference point on British trench maps and a devastatingly accurate target for German artillery. Its name inspired the series "Lonesome Memorials" for Roads to the Great War.

The 1995 Dedication Plaque

The tree was a prominent feature of Lone Tree Ridge, the site of a tragic assault by the Northamptonshire Regiment during the British Army's first use of poison gas in the war. Heavily shot to pieces by artillery, the tree was mostly cut down by  souvenir hunters. The solitary tree became a profound symbol of resilience and loss, eventually regrowing after 1918 and officially replanted in 1995 to commemorate the battle. A surrounding concentration of more conspicuous memorials, such as Dud Corner Cemetery and Loos Memorial, also honor the 60,000 casualties suffered in this area.

Souvenir Section from the Original Tree

Location:

The Lone Tree is located south of the Vermelles–Hulluch Road (Rue Jules Guesde), on an off-shoot named Chemin du Pont, at coordinates: 50.478250, 2.782073.  It is hard to see from a distance.

Outline of 1915–17 Loos Battlefield with Lone Tree Location

Lonesome Memorials #22: An Unusual and Evocative War Memorial in Vácrátót, Hungary

 

By James Patton

In a manner of speaking, Hungary was the junior partner of the junior partner to Germany and Austria in the Central Powers alliance. However, she played an outsized role in the fighting. Estimates of ethnic Hungarians killed or died run as high as 1.2 million, out of a total population of 9 to 10 million, one of the highest such ratios among all of the combatant countries.

At the village of Vácrátót, about 25 miles NNE of Budapest, there is a war memorial, shown above, created in the genre of Emil Krieger’s 1956 Four Mourners (at the Langemark German Cemetery in Belgium) as well as the 1932 Käthe Kollwitz sculpture The Grieving Parents (now at Vladslo Gerrman Cemetery, also in Belgium), each of which emphasizes the tragedy of loss rather than sacrifice for victory. The Vácrátót memorial is located on the outskirts the 200-year-old National Botanical Gardens.

The Vácrátót statue depicts a family, all in traditional Hungarian folk dress except for the father, who one can tell is wearing a Honved (Reservist) uniform, even though he is actually a cutout silhouette—forever gone but never forgotten. The wife is trying to wrap her arm around the husband’s missing shoulder, the infant boy is trying to sit on daddy’s knee and the young daughter is attempting to cuddle up to the void. These little actions emphasize the horrific impact of two catastrophic wars on many thousands of Hungarian families. The emphasis is that loss is forever.

The Vácrátót memorial is by the Hungarian sculptor István Horváth Böjte (b. 1972) who specializes in public statuary, in both classical and modern styles. Below the sculpture is a stone plaque inscribed with the names of the 31 local soldiers who died in WWI and the 22 who died in WWII. On the reverse side is another plaque listing the names of seven residents who died while performing forced labor during WWII.  

The National Botanical Garden of Hungary

Directions Driving from Budapest

• Get on MO Expressway in Budapest, north direction, which becomes M2
• Take Vácrátót Exit 
• Follow Signage to National Botanical Garden ( (Nemzeti Botanikus Kert)
• Before the main entrance to the Garden, turn right on  Petőfi tér 
• The monument will be 150 yards farther on the left side.

Address: Vácrátót, Petőfi tér 7, 2163 Hungary

Driving distance: 46 km

Est. driving time: 43 min

Needless to say, there are other war memorials all around in Hungary.

In Budapest’s Heroes Square (Hősök tere) there is a magnificent monument, the Millennium Memorial (Millenáriumi Emlékmű). Built between 1896 and 1900, it commemorates the foundation of the Duchy of Hungary by the Magyars in 896 CE. In 1929 the cenotaph called the Memorial Stone of Heroes (Hősök emlékköve), was added to the site, dedicated "To the memory of the heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of our people and our national independence." 

A major one stands to the left of St. Mary’s Cathedral (one of only four cathedrals in the country) in Kalocsa, which styles itself as “The Paprika City.” Located 85 miles downriver from Budapest, the Kalocsa monument is a grandiose bronze statuary surmounted by a defiant, flag-waving warrior, while at his feet sits a grieving widow. The emphasis is making a heroic stand in defense of the mother country.

Moving over to Tiszadob, about 125 miles NE of Budapest, we see a simpler statue, a soldier standing guard above the honor roll, which is disturbingly long. The design is virtually identical to the most common northern Civil War memorial in America. I used to live in Dexter, Michigan (pop. 6,696), which still has one of these standing in the center of town. The emphasis of this memorial is on faithful service.

Recommended Article:

War For The Unconscious – The Memory of World War I In Hungarian Villages

Lonesome Memorials: #11 Monument to the Sons of the State of Missouri, Who Fell for France, Varennes-Cheppy Road, Argonne

By James Gallen and the Editors

This monument was erected by the state of Missouri, USA, in memory of her sons who died in France for humanity during the great war 1917–1918. Fighting in this area was conducted by the 35th National Guard Division of the AEF.  On 26 September 1918, the first day of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the division broke through enemy lines between Cheppy and Variennes where they faced Prussian soldiers and heavy machine gun fire. Two members of the 35th, Pvt. Nels Wold and Capt. Alex Skinker, were awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery on the 26th, during which they were both killed. George S. Patton, leading the Tank Corps support for the attack was seriously wounded nearby the same day.

The Monument in the 1920s

The 35th division was composed primarily of men from the states of Missouri and Kansas, and units from both states fought around the monument site. This monument, however, is exclusive to Missouri.  There is no equivalent monument in France for Kansas, or one representing the 35th Division as a unit.

The Site Today

The monument, named Victory, was sculpted by Nancy Coonsman Hahn of St. Louis in 1922. Atop a granite pedestal is a bronze statue of a woman staring at the sky, holding an olive branch in her left hand and raising up a laurel victory wreath with her right.

Doughboys Near the Site, Probably Postwar

On the front of the granite pedestal is a French inscription (see below) with the corresponding English translation, "Erected by the state of Missouri USA in memory of her sons who died in France for humanity during the great war 1917–1918" on the back. The base of the monument is decorated with the Missouri state seal that reads "United we stand divided we fall."

The memorial has been in the news recently because it had fallen into disrepair, but there is good news. The 102nd Missouri General Assembly has appropriated $30,000 to fund repairs to the monument. 

To Get There:

A visit to this area should also include a stop at the similarly themed Pennsylvania Memorial at nearby historic Varennes. From there just follow the signs eastward along road D19  about 1.5 miles to the village of Cheppy.

Sources: American War Memorials Overseas; Harry S. Truman Library, 35th Division Pictorial History

Lonesome Memorial #8 Notre Dame de la Marne

This monument to Our Lady of the Marne is located just east of the village of Barcy on the west end of the massive battlefield of the First Battle of the Marne.  It the stopping point of the initial German invasion of 1914. It also commemorates Saint Genevieve (patron saint of Paris and also of Barcy). According to legend, in 451, she saved Paris from the invasion of the Huns, the invader from the East.

The bronze statue, the work of the sculptor Louis Maubert (1875–1949), presents the Virgin and Child. The monument was built by a subscription committee, and by the Marbeau family, in particular Edouard Marbeau, executor of the will of his brother, the late bishop of Meaux, Monsignor Emmanuel Marbeau (1844–1921). The memorial is tribute to the wish expressed by the bishop on 8 September 1914, in the cathedral of Meaux, to build a monument of recognition, if victory prevailed. The memorial replaced an immense wooden cross, erected just after the battle, on the initiative of Monsignor Marbeau, who also acquired a plot of this land for the construction of the future monument. It was dedicated on 9 June 1924, before nearly 4,000 people.

Because of its explicitly religious character, secular French officials reportedly do not hold regular ceremonies here as they do at countless military sites around the county. Surrounded by farm fields, The Virgin and Her Child receive only a few visitors each day and, so, qualifies as one of our "Lonesome Memorials."

The principal inscriptions on the monument:

SEPTEMBER 1914

AT NOTRE-DAME DE LA MARNE

WISH OF SG MGR EMMANUEL MARBEAU BISHOP OF MEAUX

Bishop Marbeau later chose a second himself:

YOU WILL NOT GO FURTHER

Unfortunately, Bishop Marbeau was never able to see his project completed; he died on 31 1921.

How to get there:  Located 3 miles north of the Great War Museum at Meaux on Road D97, .25 miles west of the village of Barcy

Lonesome Memorial #9: Samogneux's Verdun Poilu

Tiny Samogneux, France, located below the heights of the Verdun battlefield and close to the Meuse River, was captured early in the 1916 fighting after French defenders in the area had been decimated by friendly fire. It subsequently became a strong defensive position for the German Army and was not liberated until the French counteroffensive of 1917.  

Samogneux gained literary fame and considerable sympathy in the last years of the war with the Paris publication of  the plight of an imaginary character created in 1917 by Henri Frémont, editor-in-chief of the Bulletin meusien. Père Barnabé was a peasant from Samogneux, forced to leave his village in February 1916. He would become the symbol of all French refugees driven from their homes during the Great War. The 30 serialized adventures of Père Barnabé were eventually collected in a best-selling French volume titled Réfugiés Meusiens, which was later translated into English and sold in America as Refugees of the Meuse.

The Original Père Barnabé Statue and the
Work That Made Him Famous

The American sales enabled a benefactress, Mrs. Jane Matthews Gray of Cincinnati, who had served in France with the Red Cross, to raise 230,000 francs for the rebuilding of the commune's roads and bridge, its church, and war memorials. The last category included a statue depicting the fictional Père Barnabé (since supplemented with a second rendition) and a beautifully executed French Poilu.

Mrs. Gray

The Poilu sculpture is our "Lonesome Memorial" since it is very difficult to see from the adjacent road. I've driven past it at least 30 times and only recently learned of its existence.  He was sculpted by Gaston Broquet (1880–1947)  and is shown pulling on a gas mask during an attack. Broquet trained at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and served 32 months as a stretcher-bearer at the front in WW1. During the interwar period, he produced a number of remarkable war memorials including the well-known Andre Maginot sculpture near Fort Souville at Verdun.

Getting There

Samogneux is located 13.5 km north of Verdun on highway D964. The older version of Père Barnabé  (shown above) is at the main crossroad of the village. The newer version is on the road about 200 feet farther north, and the Poilu is about 50 feet up the slope from there at the site of the former village cemetery. This stop is at coordinates: 49.25629, 5.33742. Note:  Parking on the D964 is somewhat precarious.  If visiting, find a parking place on a side road or in the village.

Lonesome Memorials #5: Audenarde, Belgium, American Monument

Click on Image to Enlarge

This relatively small monument to the AEF's effort in the last days of the war in helping King Albert's army push the occupying forces out of his country with the interesting address of 6 General Pershing Straat was among the hardest for me to locate during my very first visit to the European battlefields. Worse, it was the only one where I had difficulty finding a parking place. Years later, when I had a group tour there, I had to send the bus driver on a tour of the countryside while we got a look at the monument. Nevertheless, it is well worth a visit, especially combined with a visit to the nearby Flanders Field American Cemetery in Waregem, 10 miles to the west, and the 37th Ohio Bridge across the Scheldt River, one to the north. Frankly, all these sites are forgotten by most Americans and deserve more visits from our countrymen.

91st Division Troops in the Sector, 1918

Background

The Allies attacked Germany’s last major defensive line in Belgium in late October 1918. Led by the King of Belgium, Allied forces launched a campaign to drive the Germans beyond the Scheldt River. The U.S. 37th and 91st divisions redeployed from the Meuse-Argonne Offensive to reinforce the French Army on the Flanders front. East of Waregem, the 91st Division turned the enemy out of the densely wooded Spitaals Bosschen before advancing east. On 2 November 1918, the 91st Division captured Audenarde. 

1937 Dedication and Unveiling

After the war, ABMC constructed this monument to honor the American divisions that fought in this area. It is also the only monument constructed by ABMC that also honors a military unit smaller than a division—the 53rd Field Artillery Brigade. This brigade, made up of soldiers from Pennsylvania, fought with the 91st Division. After the war the State of Pennsylvania intended to construct a memorial dedicated to the 53rd but instead worked with ABMC to ensure that the unit would be honored on the ABMC memorial.

Striking American Eagle Detail

How to Get There 

Audenarde American Monument is located in the town of Oudenaarde (Audenarde), Belgium, 18 miles south of Gent (Gand), 45 miles west of Brussels, and 183 miles north of Paris. The Audenarde Monument is in a park at General Pershing Straat in the center of Audenarde. Its map coordinates are  50.846858299679106, 3.6023223970598774.

Sources:  Google Maps and the American Battle Monuments Commission's website and World War I Battlefield Companion, to which your editor was a humble contributor.