This 52-heactare (130-acre) cemetery was established on 14 October, 1918, by the US Army on land taken by the 32^nd Infantry Division. This land was ceded to the United States in perpetuity by the French Government to establish a permanent, tax-free burial site.

This cemetery contains the remains of 14,246 soldiers, most of whom fell during the US First Army’s operations of 26 September to 11 November, 1918. In 1922, the bodies buried in temporary cemeteries around the region, but also in the Vosges and in Occupied Germany, were brought here to their final resting place. Many of those who died at Arkhangelsk, Russia, were also buried in this cemetery. Among the tombs, 486 hold the remains of unidentified soldiers.

The Memorial, a typical example of Romanesque architecture, faces north at the top of a hill that slopes down to the tombs. It comprises a chapel flanked by two loggias, inside which is the Wall of the Missing. The outside walls and the columns are in Euville Coquillier stone, while the interior walls are in Salamandre Travertine.

The names of the 954 missing soldiers who gave their lives for their country and whose bodies were never found or identified are engraved on the Wall of the Missing. This necropolis was built by the architects York and Sawyer of New York. The infrastructures, as we can see them today, were completed in 1932. The cemetery was inaugurated on Memorial Day, 1937, for the twentieth anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War One.

This monument rises nearly 60 metres above the ruins of the former village of Montfaucon, built at the top of a hill overlooking the surrounding countryside. Before it was taken by the US 37^th and 79^th Divisions on 27 September, 1918, this site provided the German troops with a remarkable observation point.

The monument commemorates the victory of the US First Army in the Meuse - Argonne offensive of 26 September to 11 November, 1918, and honours the heroism of the French Army on the front before this period.

American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC)

This US government agency operates 24 American cemeteries and 25 commemorative monuments, war monuments and other memorials in 15 countries. The Commission works to fulfil the vision of its first chairman, General of the Armies John J. Pershing. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I, promised that “time will not dim the glory of their deeds”.

Meuse - Argonne American Cemetery

55110 Romagne sous Montfaucon - France

Tel.: 03 29 85 14 18

Fax: 03 29 58 13 96

e-mail: meuse-argonne@abmc.gov

American Battle Monuments Commission

68 rue du 19 Janvier BP 50 92380 Garches

Tel.: 01 47 01 37

American Battle Monuments Commission

Located some twenty kilometres southwest of St. Mihiel Cemetery in Thiaucourt (Meurthe-et-Moselle department) and some fifteen kilometres from the town of St. Mihiel, the Montsec American Monument, built on a 270-metre hill, overlooks Madine Lake.

Produced by sculptor Egerton Swarthout, the monument, built with Euville limestone in 1930, commemorates the attacks carried out by the American Army from 12 to 14 September 1918 and from 9 to 11 November 1918 to take the St. Mihiel salient.

A large walkway leads to an open-air colonnade made up of fluted Doric columns supporting an entablature bearing the names of the towns, alternating with laurel wreaths.

At the centre of the colonnade is a bronze map illustrating the location of the St. Mihiel salient fronts. Damaged during fighting in 1944, the structure was restored four years later. Access to the monument is free.

Montsec American Monument Head toward Saint-Mihiel.

At Loupmont, continue toward Apremont-la-Forêt and then "Massif Fortifié de Liouville".

Montsec Town Hall

8 rue de l'Eglise - 55300 Montsec

Tel.: +33 (0)3 29 90 42 83

Troyon fort was built between 1878 and 1879, as part of the defence line between Nancy and Verdun that General Séré de Rivières had devised. This "central massif" or "low battery" fort stands between Troyon and Lacroix sur Meuse, and had two advantages: it was neither armour-clad nor concrete. Dimensions: 320 m wide, 270 m long, spanning 5 ha Garrison: 800 men (450 in 1914) Weapons: Trench protection: six canons, twelve breeches Six Hotchkiss 40-mm revolver canons Shooting platforms: twelve 90-mm canons (three batteries x four canons) Four 120L canons Indirect fire: Two 15-cm bronze "Louis-Philippe" mortars This fort also had two 1907 "Saint Etienne" machine-gun sections and three periscope observation posts. It did not have an armoured dome (as Loncin had), but it had 18 open-air double (two-gun) platforms.

German forces tried to surround Verdun very early on in the Great War. They moved 20 km into French terrain, from Bois le Prêtre to Eparges through Saint Mihiel, in September 1914. They held that pocket - Saillant de Saint Mihiel - despite France's deadly yet persistent attempts to take it, until American troops freed it in September 1918. Troyon Fort played a pivotal role in the September 1914 fighting that led to the Saillant de Saint-Mihiel.
The bombing started on 8 September 1914, and the troops there were ordered to ward off assaults for at least 48 hours - lest German troops surround Verdun (Troyon is south of Verdun). Major Neuhoff, a 10th Division German Army Staff Officer, ordered the fort's troops to surrender on 9 September 1914. But 166th Infantry Regiment Captain Heym, the man in charge of the fort, dismissed him. German forces pounded the fort with shell fire shortly afterwards. The pummelling ceased on 10 September 1914. The fort had held on and its heroic resistance changed the course of the war. Had it fallen, German forces would have crossed the Meuse river and enveloped Verdun.
Association Ceux de Troyon Association "Ceux de Troyon" BP 32 55300 Saint-Mihiel Tél. : 06.83.07.32.12 Fax : 03.29.84.35.99 Open 1.30 pm to 6.00 pm Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. Getting there: you will find signs to Fort de Troyon leaving Troyon and Lacroix Group visits (for 10 or more people) poss. weekdays by appointment. Comité Départemental du Tourisme (Departmental Tourist Authority) Tel: +33 (0) 329 45 78 40 Conseil Général de la Meuse (Meuse Department General Council) Hôtel du Département Place Pierre-François Gossin 55012 Bar-le-Duc cedex Tel: +33 (0) 329 45 77 55

The small Séré de Rivières fort was built between 1881 and 1884 and extended after 1888 with concreted barracks, communication vaults for the caponnieres and vaults at the entrance way. The fort was demilitarized in 1915. The Fort de Vaux saw the removal of its garrison and the disarmament of its two "Casemates de Bourges" (or concrete bunkers). According to the general staff, the forts would have become useless, since torpedo shells could put holes in their armour. But they were useful as ramparts, helping to stop the enemy progress... something the general staff didn't realize until it was already too late. In 1916, the fort came under attack. Petain's dissolving of the RFV (fortified Verdun) led to the establishment of a fixed garrison which, under the orders of Major Raynal, resisted the 50th German division between 2 and 7 June 1916. Dying of thirst and having lost all hope of reinforcements arriving, the garrison finally surrendered. From that point on, the French artillery bombarded the fort. They took it back on 3 November 1916, and an entirely rearmed Fort de Vaux went on to play an important role in battle until November 1918.

Fort de Vaux Directions From Verdun, take the D913a for 3km, turn right at the crossroads in the direction of the "Memorial" and take the D913 for 2.5km Opening hours January Annual closing February-March Daily: 10am-noon / 1pm-5pm April-May-June Daily: 9am-6pm July-August Daily: 9am-6.30pm September Daily 9am-noon / 1pm-6pm October-November Daily 9am-noon / 1pm-6pm December Daily 10am-noon / 1pm-5pm Tarifs Adults 3€/person Adult groups 2,50€/person Children 1,50€/person Military (in uniform) free Military 2.5€/person Family (2 adults + 2 children) 8€ Guided tour in French 50€ Guided tour in English or German 60€

The Argonne region was at the heart of the Great War's battles. Straddling the Meuse, the Marne and the Ardennes, this massif felt the echo of battles at Marne and Verdun, witnessed violent confrontations on its own soil, and served as a rearguard base for many soldiers. The Vaux-Marie, the Butte de Vauquois, the Haute-Chevauchée...several Argonne names are famous, for less than felicitious reasons... The General Staff felt that the butte de Vauquois, which dominates the entire eastern region of the Argonne, was an excellent observatory and a key strategic site. On 24 September 1914, the Germans took the butte and transformed it into a veritable fortress. On 4 March 1915, after several unsuccessful attempts, the French began to make a comeback. The fight for space had begun. The soldiers went underground to dig several kilometres of tunnels and combat gullies so that they could infiltrate the enemy camp, set off tonnes of explosives, and decimate enemy numbers as much as possible, The Butte de Vauquois became something akin to a termite colony, made up of multi-level underground construction (more than 17km of wells, tunnels and gullies). It served as a major site in the Mine War (519 reported explosions, of which 199 are German and 320 French), and was liberated by the Americans on 26 September 1918. As a still-intact Great War site, the Butte de Vauquois is a classified Historic Monument.

Association des Amis de Vauquois 1, rue d'Orléans - 55270 VAUQUOIS Tel.: 0033 (0)3 29 80 73 15 Answering machine. We will return your call as soon as possible. E-mail: amis.vauquois@wanadoo.fr Daily free, self-guided visits of the above-ground site (follow the arrows). Guided tours of the German and French underground installations by Association guides: [list]the first Sunday of the month at 9.30am [list]1 and 8 May (from 10am to 6pm) annually [list]September on national "journées du patrimoine" annually [list]on appointment for groups (minimum 10 people) A free map of all the 14-18 sites open to the public is available at all the sites and at Meuse tourist information offices.

Camp Marguerre, Loison Camp Marguerre, (also known as the negro village) is just a few kilometres from the site and is well worth the detour. This village, in the middle of the woods behind the German front, was a centre for the study and the production of reinforced concrete. A marked path and information panels make it easy to safely discover these many perfectly conserved homes and buildings. Visiting this site throws light on the daily life of a German soldier before and during the Battle of Verdun. Its surprising setting lends itself to a remarkable architectural ambiance.

Duzey Battery For a long time, Duzey was thought to be the site of the "Big Bertha canon." Actually, though, it's the home of "Max," a 20 tonne, very long range navy cannon. A visit to the camp reveals its imposing stature, the special arrangements that had to be made to house it, the ingenious methods use to conceal it, and the impact its shooting had on the Battle of Verdun.
To be discovered... The Camp "de la Côte de Romagne at Azannes", on the "Vieux Métiers d'Azannessite". (Open to the public on Ascension Day, Thursdays in May and certain Fridays in July and August)
Pays d'Accueil Touristique de Damvillers-Etain-Spincourt 14 rue de l'Hôtel de Ville BP 6 55230 Spincourt Tel: 0033 (0)3.29.87.87.50 Fax: 0033 (0)3.29.87.87.56 Email: pays-accueil-tourisme@wanadoo.fr Directions For forest sites, follow the signs to Loison Free, self-guided tours (except for the Camp de la Côte de Romagne) Group services: guided tours in French, English and German From March to October, reservations essential Tarif: 2€30 per person per site A free map of all the 14-18 sites open to the public is available at all the sites and at Meuse tourist information offices. Tel: 00 33 (0)3 29 86 14 18 Regional Tourist Board Tel: 00 33 (0)3 29 45 78 40

On 8 December 1920, Alexandre Millerand, the President of the Republic, unveiled an imposing concrete monument in the forest at Morchée. Designed by the architect A. Ventre, it houses the graves of seven unknown French infantrymen who died in 1916. The metallic door into this covered "trench" is the work of wrought-iron craftsman Edgard Brandt, who went on to create the bronze burner for the flame on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in 1923. Throughout the 1920s, the Registrar of War Graves and Births, Deaths and Marriages of the sixth military region dug up and exhumed this site, a locus of remembrance for the former members of the 137th Infantry Regiment who fought here. 21 Frenchmen were found, amongst them an unknown lieutenant. Not one of them was standing, rifle in hand, and the rusty guns on the ground served only to indicate the dead buried by the enemy in a shallow alleyway. The discovery of these disarmed bodies lying on the ground invalidated the myth of a still standing regiment buried alive by an aerial attack, a myth that several former soldiers from the 137th had themselves denied, but which somehow lives on, even to this day. 14 of these 21 bodies were identified and buried in the military cemetery at Fleury, and when that site became disused were buried together in the national necropolis at Douaumont. The seven remaining bodies were re-interred in the "trench," and, since their original arms had been taken during a raid, rifle carcasses and bayonets with broken blades were placed next to wooden Latin crosses.

Regional Tourist Board Tel: 0033 (0)3.29.45.78.40 Service des Nécropoles Nationales de Verdun 13, rue du 19ème BCP 55100 Verdun Tel: 0033 (0)3.29.86.02.96 Fax: 0033 (0)3.29.86.33.06 e-mail: mailto:diracmetz@wanadoo.fr

The battles of the Twentieth Century changed the shape of the world, but how many tears... ravaged countries... bereaved, mourning, defeated, sacrificed, seriously damaged nations.... Some of the Great War's Battles took place in la Meuse between 1914 and 1918. Our "sad souls" here are Verdun, the Argonne, Les Éparges, and the Saillant de St Mihiel... taking the time to discover them and understand them means that the memory of all the men that died here will live on.

As the years pass, the duty to remember becomes a duty to tell the story of what happened. The Germans had wanted to take the fortified town of Verdun from the very beginning of the war. So in September 1914 they advance more than 20km into French territory, moving from Bois-le-Prêtre to Les Eparges, via St Mihiel. This corner of France (the St Mihiel Salient) remains under German control until the Americans come in 1918, despite several bloody French effensives in the intermittent years. After September 1914, the main French goal will be to try to get back the terrain taken by the Germans, and reduce the surface area of the Salient. The Bois d'Ailly and the Tranchée de la Soif (Trench of Thirst) bear witness to the suffering of Commander André's men, forced to surrender to the Germans in May 1915 because they had neither food nor water. Marbotte Church became a makeshift hospital, providing shelter for so many injured and dying soldiers that its floor was stained red with blood. The Bois Brûlé (The Burned Forest) is one of the places that best represents battles above ground: it also reveals the proximity of the French and German troops. It is also here that Sergeant Péricard commanded, "Debout les morts!" ("Dead men, Rise!") on 8th April 1915. In the Bavarois and Roffignac trenches, you can follow the soldiers' footsteps, climb the firing banks, and look through the openings. This is no ordinary place: it's a battlefield, and deserves your respect.
Association Nationale Le Saillant de St Mihiel 71, rue du Dr Vuillaume 55300 St Mihiel Tél. : 03 29 90 90 07 Regional Tourist Board Tel: 00 33 (0)3 29 45 78 40 b]Conseil Général de la Meuse[/b] Hôtel du Département Place Pierre-François Gossin 55012 Bar-le-Duc cedex Tel: 00 33 (0)3 29 45 77 55 Contact Office de Tourisme de Saint-Mihiel Rue du Palais de Justice 55300 Saint-Mihiel Tel./Fax : 00 33 (0)3 29 89 06 47 Email: otsi.saint-mihiel@wanadoo.fr Information Four memorial platforms indicate remnants from the Great War. The boards and milestones located in car parks and in the forest (30 min. per platform, follow the arrows) also provide you with information. You can visit at any time, and entry is free. Guided Tours upon reservation. A free map of all the 14-18 sites open to the public is available at all the sites and at Meuse tourist information offices.

Le Mémorial de Verdun, créé par les anciens combattants sous l’égide de Maurice Genevoix, est au cœur du Champ de bataille de Verdun. Entièrement rénové en 2016, ce musée propose une immersion dans la bataille. Grâce à une collection unique et des dispositifs audiovisuels exceptionnels, ce lieu historique permet aux visiteurs d’approcher l’expérience vécue par les soldats, français comme allemands, sur le Champ de bataille de Verdun. Le Mémorial de Verdun est le musée le plus moderne dédié à la Grande Guerre, fréquenté par plus de 140 000 visiteurs chaque année.

Memory traces La Meuse was no stranger to the battles of the First World War. Our "sad souls" are Verdun, the Argonne, Les Eparges, the St Mihiel Salient... taking the time to discover them and understand them means that the memory of all the men that died here will live on. As the years pass, this duty to remember has become a duty to recount what happened. The Saint-Mihiel Salient forms in September 1914, and the French try to shrink its size in the years that follow. Violent battles, originally above ground but then in the mines, take place in Les Eparges, the ridge that marked the northwest border of the Salient. The French lead an assault on Les Eparges on 17th February 1915, hoping to reduce the size of the St Mihiel Salient. German counter-attacks follow immediately afterwards, and the Germans take back the land. Bitter battles follow, both above ground and, more often, in the mines. On 9th and 10th April 1915, a battalion of the Eighth Infantry Regiment takes the eastern spur of Les Epargnes (Point X). But the battles have only just begun: on 24th April 1915, von Stanz launches an attack on Les Epargnes from the Calonne trench. To the west of the battlefield, the village remains French. But it comes under the fire of the enemy's top marksmen, and little by little it falls.The ridge itself is destroyed by mines; the craters stretch from point C to point X, and both are marked with a monument. The battles continue in the months that follow, and are sometimes more intense, sometimes less so. Les Eparges is not liberated until September 1918, when the first American troops to arrive take back the Salient for the French. By 14 September 1918, the Americans have reached Fresnes-en-Woëvre : Les Eparges is no longer in German hands.

Trottoir National Necropolis Stretching below the celebrated mound, this necropolis extends against a background of fir trees. It holds 2108 tombs, including ten Muslim steles, and an ossuary housing 852 bodies. The cemetery, which was built during the war, the remains of the soldiers killed in the forest and at Marquanterre. It was entirely renovated in 1958.
106th Infantry Regiment Monument If the visitor follows the path to the top of the hill, he or she will come across a monument at the top of the stairs, set against the trees. This work, by sculptor Maxime Real Del Sarte, was built to commemorate the glory of the "Ghosts of the 106th Infantry Regiment." It looks like an irregular pyramid topped with a human head. Severed hands, skulls and crosses evoke the suffering of all those who fought on these bloody slopes. A bronze bas-relief on the front shows a woman wearing a helmet, in a pose reminiscient of the classical Pieta.
Engineers' Memorial Right at the top, the visitor will find a monument to the memory of the military engineers who suffered great losses during the mine war. A semi-circular double wall stretches behind seven concrete sheet piles. On one side is the dedication, on the other the symbol of engineering.
Monument at Point X At the far eastern of the ridge, where it dominates the Woëvre plain for more than 100m, is a monument placed at the end of a short esplanade. The wall surfaces that form it slope sharply, and it is topped with a triangular fronton. A cross above an altar is engraved on one face; on the other is a bas-relief in which a bare-headed officer leads his men into battle. This fine piece, by the sculptor Fischer, is dedicated "à ceux qui n'ont pas de tombe" (to those without a grave). Signs and benches add the finishing touches.
302nd Infantry Regiment Monument Next to the Monument at Point X, on the cusp of a crater, is a little stone wall bearing a plaque adorned with a croix de guerre and a plaque that reads: "302e R.I. 20 Septembre 1914, 21 Mars 1915. Les Anciens des 302e et 102e R.I." (302nd Infantry Regiment 20 September 1914, 20 March 1915. Veterans of the 302nd and 102nd Infantry Regiments).
Les Eparges is always open, and entrance is free. Informative panels help you better understand the site's history, and there is a marked pathway managed by the ONF and Association Nationale du Souvenir de la Bataille de Verdun et de ses Hauts-Lieux. Following this pathway allows you to walk in the footsteps of the soldiers who fought here. Groups and tours available upon reservation. Contact Pays d'Accueil Touristique des Côtes de Meuse Place Taylord 55210 Vigneulles-les-Hattonchatel Tel-fax: 03 29 90 08 55 Tel-fax: 03 29 90 04 29 Tourist Office Tel: 00 33 (0)3 29 86 14 18 Regional Tourism Board Tel: 00 33 (0)3 29 45 78 40