The Battle of Gravelotte (to the Germans) or Saint-Privat (to the French) took place on 18 August 1870, west of Metz. It paved the way for the French army’s capitulation and Napoleon III’s surrender, on 2 September 1870, at Sedan.

Musée de la Guerre 1870 et de l'Annexion - 11, rue de Metz - 57130 Gravelotte
- Tel.: +33 (0)3 87 33 69 40 - contact.musee-guerre-70@moselle.fr

The Musée des Troupes de Montagne was designed to tell the extraordinary story of this army corps specialising in mountain combat. It is one of 15 museums belonging to the French army. Founded in 1988, it was initially housed in the governor’s palace in Grenoble. Then in 2009, it was resited within the fortifications of the Grenoble Bastille. High above the city, the museum is accessible by road or cable car, nicknamed bulles, or ‘bubbles’.

On your visit, you will have the opportunity to see a whole array of objects relating to these alpine soldiers: uniforms, weapons, sports articles, radio equipment, insignia, books and photographs. A multilingual audio guide will tell you the fabulous history, from past to present, of this army corps which has taken part in many military operations. From the First World War trenches, to aiding the French Resistance, to involvement in the Algerian War and operations in Lebanon and Afghanistan: so many scenes representing the actions of the mountain troops. You are bound to be filled with admiration for the spirit, commitment and exceptional values of this army corps.

The museum is open throughout the year, except January.

Not far away stands a memorial to the members of the mountain corps killed in action since its founding. 

Sources : ©Musée des Troupes de montagne

Sources : ©Musée de la guerre de 1870 – Loigny-la-Bataille

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Nearby a monument was built in memory of Lieutenant Nissim de Camondo (1892-1917) and his observer, Lieutenant Lucien Des Essarts, who were shot down on 5 September 1917 on board their Farman 130 during a photographic mission over Leintrey. Nissim's body was first buried by the Germans at Efringen-Avricourt, then returned in 1919 to rest in the Montmartre cemetery. Devastated by the loss of his son the father, Moïse de Camondo, a rich Jewish banker whose daughter was deported to Auchwitz in 1944, donated his collection of 18th century works of art to France. The Nissim-de-Camondo museum in Paris is therefore testament to the weight of the mourning and affliction of a father overwhelmed by the loss of his son. At Domjevin, an imposing underground surgical ambulance station has been preserved. Dug out between July 1916 and January 1918 this hospital, which contained the latest equipment, was not however put to use.

The Battles of Champagne, 1914-18

The Franco-British counter-offensive on the Marne in September 1914 and the failed “Race to the Sea” signalled the end of the mobile war on the Western Front. To protect themselves from artillery fire, the belligerents dug in.

In the winter of 1915, General Joffre launched a series of attacks on the German trenches in Champagne, all of which failed. Intended to chip away at the German lines in the sectors of Souain, Perthes, Beauséjour and Massiges, these were particularly bloody operations. They yielded no results, and the front didn’t budge.

In the summer, to break the deadlock and provide support to the struggling Russians on the Eastern Front, Joffre decided to conduct a fresh offensive. Supported by another operation in Artois, the main operation took place on the vast, arid chalk plain of Champagne, on a front spanning 15 miles, from Auberive to Ville-sur-Tourbe. It was carried out by the 2nd and 4th Armies, against the Germans of the 3rd Army, who were dug into solid trenches. Further back, on the opposite slope, was a second position, hidden from aerial reconnaissance and out of range of the French guns.

After an artillery bombardment lasting three days, the attack was launched on 25 September. The French took the first lines, with the exception of the Butte du Mesnil.

On the site of this cemetery, the 28th Brigade, comprised of the 35th and 42nd Infantry Regiments, entered the fray. The men, many of whom came from Belfort, must take the Plateau des Tantes, which lay to the west of the Ferme de Navarin. There, dug into a position covered with barbed wire and machine guns, the enemy put up violent resistance. Sustaining heavy losses, on 27 September the brigade succeeded in taking a 500 metre stretch of the Tranchée des Tantes.

The eagerly awaited breakthrough appeared to be successful. But a lack of resources meant it could not be exploited. Surrounded and subjected to violent shelling, the 28th Brigade was annihilated, together with the farm at the heart of the fighting, the Ferme des Wacques.

More broadly, the momentum of the offensive was broken by the second position, which remained intact. The exhausted French troops had to go on fending off powerful counter-attacks, during which the two armies lost 138 000 men. By November, difficult weather conditions and the sheer scale of the losses forced Joffre to abandon the idea of carrying out further attacks. The front returned to relative calm.

The German offensive of July 1918 put this front once more at centre stage. But in the autumn, engaging all his forces from the Meuse to the North Sea, and with growing support from the Americans, General Foch conducted a broad manoeuvre. In the Reims area, General Gouraud’s army successively took Navarin, Tahure and Sommepy. In the Minaucourt sector, the French took Mont-Têtu and Le Mesnil and crossed the Dormoise, advancing towards the Ardennes until November 1918.

Today, the Suippes area preserves the memory of this bitter fighting, through the ruins of the villages of Perthes, Hurlus, Mesnil, Tahure and Ripont, together with 18 cemeteries. In the commune of Souain alone, there are three more military cemeteries, as well as the iconic memorial and ossuary of La Ferme de Navarin, containing the bodies of 10 000 unidentified soldiers and preserving the memory of the French, American, Polish, Russian and Czechoslovakian soldiers involved in the fighting on the Champagne front.

In the cemetery are two regimental memorials to the 44th and 60th Infantry, which sustained particularly heavy losses in the fighting. The memorials, originally erected on the battlefield, were moved in 1985, following land consolidation.

The museum tour will explain to visitors all about:

• The first royal troops created by Richelieu in 1622 intended for shipborne battle.

• The first modern sailors.

• The marines from the great war and the Ronarc'h brigade to the landing companies of the eastern front.

• The first commandos formed in England.

• The marine regiments of the Second World War.

• The engagement of the land and waterway units of the navy during the Indochina War.

• The commando and sailor operations of the AFN.

• The history of the navy school

• The navy today.

Autres informations

Site Web

Contact: musee.fusco@orange.fr

Base fusiliers marins
BP 92 222
56998 Lorient CEDEX

Sources: Website /http://musee.fusco.lorient.free.fr

Webmaster: musee.fusco@orange.fr

L’esprit de Saint-Cyr

Situé au cœur des écoles de Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan, creuset unique de formation des officiers de l’armée de terre, le musée du Souvenir retrace les évènements majeurs qui ont construit la France à travers les destins croisés des officiers qui l’ont servie. Hommes de conviction et de décision, beaucoup d’entre eux ont incarné des valeurs telles que le courage, la bravoure, le panache, l’exemplarité, la loyauté, le sens du service, du devoir et de l’honneur, l’amour de notre Patrie... Certains ont par leur seule présence pesé sur l’issue de batailles décisives, d’autres ont fait des choix condamnés par l’Histoire, d’autres encore ont rétabli l’honneur de la France et nombreux sont ceux qui ont fait le sacrifice de leur vie dans l’accomplissement de leur mission.

Un lieu de mémoire unique

S’ouvrant sur la Cour Rivoli, place d’honneur où se déroulent les cérémonies de Tradition qui rythment la scolarité des élèves officiers, le musée du Souvenir est un lieu d’enracinement et d’identité où ils se retrouvent et se ressourcent. Mais il est également un lieu de mémoire et d’histoire ouvert au grand public, un endroit privilégié d’éducation à la citoyenneté ainsi qu’un espace de partage et d’échange entre les Français et leur armée où se tisse l’indispensable lien armées-Nation.
Le visiteur est invité à parcourir un vaste mémorial, qui rappelle le sacrifice des officiers de toutes origines tombés au champ d’honneur, avant de découvrir les riches collections du musée. Présentées de façon chronologique, elles illustrent la lente maturation qui a conduit à la création d’écoles dédiées à la formation des officiers et met en exergue les grands personnages et les figures de légende qu’elles ont formés.

Un patrimoine inestimable ouvert à tous

En un siècle d’existence, les collections du Musée du Souvenir se sont enrichies de plusieurs milliers d’objets : Tableaux, bronzes, armes, uniformes, emblèmes, trophées et souvenirs émouvants évoquant un destin exceptionnel, héroïque ou tragique se répondent et plongent le visiteur dans une atmosphère unique. Par leur intérêt esthétique, leur pouvoir d’évocation historique ou par la simple « charge émotionnelle » dont ils sont porteurs, ces objets nous touchent, nous interpellent et nous instruisent.
 

Sources : ©Musée du Souvenir des écoles de Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan

The museum consists of 12 halls: the hall dedicated to World War I, the hall dedicated to post-war France, the hall dedicated to the France 1940 campaign, two halls on World War II (the Allies - the Axis), the hall devoted to the Warsaw Pact, the curiosities hall, the cannon hall, the engines hall, the contemporary hall, the models hall and the historical hall. The museum has also received monuments from the Berry-au-Bac museum, in particular those of General Estienne, the "Father of Tanks", whose name has been given to the Musée des Blindés.

The museum retraces the history of armoured vehicles and their technical development throughout the world from 1917 to the present day. There are 200 tanks on display. The museum contains almost all of the prototypes tested as well as armoured engines used by the French armed forced since 1917. Almost all of the tanks from 1940 are displayed at the museum: the AMD 178 Panhard and AMR 35 armoured cars, the FCM tank (Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée), the Renault R 35 and R 39, the Hotchkiss H 35 and H 39, the famous SOMUA tank (Société d'Outillage Militaire et d'Usinage d'Armement), which created havoc for German tanks due to its mobility and weaponry, and the B1 bis tank, which was used by part of the 4th Reserve Armoured Division of General de Gaulle in Moncornet on 17 May 1940 and later in the first counter-attack in Abbeville. All of the US tanks that played a role in the victory of 1945 are also there: the Lee-Grant, Stuart, Sherman and its different versions, the Tank-Destroyer, Chaffee, the M8 and M20 armoured cars, etc. The museum also has a display of German tanks dating from World War II to the present day: the Panzer II, III, IV, Panther, Jagdpanther, a Royal Tiger weighing 70 tonnes, a unique and fully restored model, up to the most recent examples, the Leopard I and Leopard II, not to mention numerous models developed during the war. England is also represented by numerous tanks, such as the Churchill and more recent additions to the museum's collection, the Mathilda and the Valentine. Finally, the museum contains all tanks designed in France since 1944, not to mention the "Leclerc".
- Opening hours: Spring - Summer: 9:30 to 18:30 Autumn - Winter: 10:00 to 17:00 - Prices: Adults: €5.50. Children 7 to 13 years of age: €3. Group (more than 10 people): €4. - Spacious parking area for cars and light vehicles - Souvenir shop - Large reception hall with a rest area (drinks machine) - Duration of visit - around 1h30. Open or guided tours for groups led by members of the armed forces on appointment - Map of the museum provided at the entrance; a book on the museum collection is available for €6.10