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The national necropolis of Rougemont

La nécropole nationale de Rougemont. © ECPAD

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The national necropolis of Rougemont contains, in individual graves, 2,169 bodies of soldiers from the 1st French Army who died during fighting in the Vosges in 1944. The cemetery was redesigned between 1951 and 1958 to bring together bodies exhumed from temporary cemeteries in the Doubs, Côte d’Or, Haute-Saône and Vosges. The site was selected for historical reasons because this was where, in 1944, General de Lattre de Tassigny, commander of the 1st French Army, based his headquarters. From here he directed the autumn 1944 Vosges campaign, which was one of the most gruelling for the men that he led.

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Rougemont
À l’est de Montbéliard, D 486

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Eléments remarquables

Tombe du général Diego Brosset, mort pour la France le 20 novembre 1944

The Morvillars national cemetery

La nécropole nationale de Morvillars. © ECPAD

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The Morvillars national cemetery brings together the bodies of soldiers who died for France during the fighting on the Alsation front and those who died in the two temporary hospitals opened in the the Louis Veillard castle and the 54B evacuation hospital opened in 1917. Developed in 1924, this cemetery was extended in 1979 in order to welcome the bodies exhumed from the B de Morvillars military cemetery and the Chavannes-les-Grands communal cemetery. Today, this cemetery holds the bodies of 160 soldiers buried in individual graves. Among them are the remains of Thomas Robertson, a Scottish soldier who died in February 1919, and four soldiers who died during the Second World War.

Within the walls of the national cemetery is a memorial lantern, which serves as the commune's war memorial. In 1921, after having granted - in November 1920 - the principle of a permanent plot for the soldiers of the commune who had died for France, the Morvillars municipal council decided to erect the commune's war memorial within the walls of the military cemetery. This memorial, in the form of an 8 metre lantern, was inaugurated in 1923. Crowned by a Greek cross, this monument therefore carries the names of the 32 natives of Morvillars who died in 1914-1918 and those of the five who died in 1939-1945. Twelve graves of soldiers originating from Morvillars surround this monument, arranged in a semi-circle.

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Morvillars
Au sud-est de Belfort, N 19

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Eléments remarquables

Monument-lanterne aux morts 1914-1918 et 1939-1945

Altkirch National Cemetery

Nécropole nationale d’Altkirch. © Guillaume Pichard

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Altkirch National Cemetery holds the remains of soldiers who died for France during the Alsace offensive in August 1914 and during the Campaign for France in June 1940. Established in 1920 for the graves of soldiers who had been buried throughout the Belfort-Altkirch region and southeast of Mulhouse, it was developed until 1935. Covering 5,153 sqm, the cemetery holds the mortal remains of 1,734 French soldiers, including 139 in two ossuaries, together with 15 Russian soldiers from the First World War. 36 French soldiers killed in 1940 also lie at rest here.

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Altkirch

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The Mulhouse National Cemetery "Tiefengraben" "Les Vallons"

La nécropole nationale de Mulhouse. © ECPAD

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Located in an area called Tiefengraben – Les Vallons, the Mulhouse national cemetery holds the remains of soldiers mainly killed in the Battle of Alsace (1944-1945). Further developed from 1949 onwards, this cemetery holds the bodies of French soldiers, prisoners of war and conscripts of the compulsory work service (STO) killed in Germany and Austria. Today, it holds the bodies of 1,675 French and foreign soldiers, including Jeannine Bancaud (plot A2, grave 44). 265 French soldiers killed in the Great War, including 107 whose identities are unknown, are buried in an ossuary here. 35 Romanians and 7 Russians who died while imprisoned in German camps are buried alongside them. Several monuments and plaques honour the memory of these soldiers.

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Mulhouse
À la sortie de Mulhouse, en direction de Altkirch, suivre l'itinéraire "Les Vallons"

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Summary

Accès :

Eléments remarquables

Monument aux morts du 35e Régiment d'Infanterie tombés au combat de Dornach le 19 août 1914 - Stèle aux sous-officiers morts pour la France - Plaque commémorative aux morts de la 9e DIC, 1944-45

The Cernay national cemetery

La nécropole nationale de Cernay. © ECPAD

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The Cernay national cemetery holds the bodies of soldiers who were killed during the battles of Vieil-Armand and Steinbach during the summer of 1914. Created in 1920, this site was developed up until 1936 in order to welcome the bodies exhumed from temporary military cemeteries located in the Hartmannswillerkopf, to the south of Thann and to the north of Mulhouse.

In 1932 it was chosen to hold the bodies of Czech soldiers exhumed from the cemeteries of Choloy (54) and the Vosges.

After the Second World War, this cemetery was reorganised in order to bring together the bodies of 1,045 French soldiers and prisoners-of-war from the Haut-Rhin, Germany and Austria who died for France between 1940 and 1945. The bodies of 2,238 Frenchmen including 1,300 in individual graves, 45 Czechs, 19 Russians, one Briton and one Serbian lie here. Two ossuaries contain the mortal remains of 938 soldiers. During the First World War, nearly 25,000 French soldiers died on the slopes of the Hartmannswillerkopf, also known as the "Mangeur d'hommes" (Man-eater) or "Montagne de la Mort" (Mountain of Death).

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Cernay
À 10 km à l'ouest de Mulhouse. À la sortie de Cernay, en direction de la route des Crêtes et de Vieil-Armand

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Summary

Eléments remarquables

Monument aux morts tchécoslovaques, 1914-1918

The Sondernach national cemetery

La nécropole nationale de Sondernach. © Guillaume Pichard

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Situated at the Bois de Maettle, the Sondernach national cemetery holds the bodies of soldiers killed during the fighting in the Vosges during the First World War. It brings together 374 Frenchmen in individual graves, including a "maquisard" (member of the Resistance) killed in November 1944. Created in 1920, it was developed between 1924 and 1929 in order to hold mortal remains that were initially buried on the battlefield or in small temporary military cemeteries in the area. Today, the stained-glass windows of the church at Emm are a reminder of these violent combats. Built by Father Martin Béhé, this church is a memorial to those who fell for the liberation of the Alsace region in 1914. A stained-glass window and two plaques honour the memory of the 152th infantry regiment (RI) and the 28th and 68th "chasseur alpins" (mountain infantrymen) battalions (BCA) who fell in the Munster valley or in the Vosges mountains.

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Sondernach
À 30 km au sud-ouest de Colmar. À la sortie du village, vers la route des crêtes (balise indicatrice)

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Colmar National Cemetery

La nécropole nationale de Colmar. © Guillaume Pichard

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Colmar National Cemetery contains the graves of French soldiers killed in combat in June 1940 and in 1944/1945. Built in 1958 and further developed up until 1960, this site is a cemetery that groups together in the same location the remains of soldiers initially buried in the makeshift military cemeteries located in the Moselle, Meuse, Vosges, Bas-Rhin and Belfort regions of France. Today, the cemetery contains the bodies of 2,278 soldiers, 1,768 of whom were killed between 1940 and 1945, as well as the bodies of 8 French deportees, 17 forced labourers and 65 prisoners of war, including 11 Poles. The bodies of 510 French soldiers killed at battles in the Vosges region during the First World War have been transferred to this cemetery. Close to this cemetery is a German cemetery, where the bodies of 868 soldiers killed from 1914-1918 are buried.

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Colmar
Rue Ladhof (vers la sortie de Colmar, en direction de Strasbourg)

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Sigolsheim National Cemetery

La nécropole nationale de Sigolsheim. © ECPAD

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Located in one of the deadliest areas of the Alsace front, Sigolsheim National Cemetery is home to soldiers who died for France during the Battle of the Colmar Pocket (5 December 1944 – 9 February 1945). It was Marshall Lattre de Tassigny, former Commander of the First French Army, who wanted this military cemetery built. Construction work took place from 1962 to 1965 and the cemetery was inaugurated on 2 May 1965 by the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Madame de Lattre de Tassigny. The cemetery houses the bodies of soldiers exhumed from communal cemeteries in Haut Rhin, Vosges and Territoire de Belfort.

It also contains the bodies of 1,589 French soldiers buried in individual graves, including 792 graves of North African soldiers and 15 Jewish soldiers’ graves.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the liberation of Colmar and to symbolise the fighters’ sacrifice, the military authorities decided that soldiers who helped to liberate the city would also be buried in the same cemetery. The village of Sigolsheim, which lay at the heart of the battle, and hotly disputed right up to the final hours of fighting, was chosen as the site for the cemetery, on the slopes of the hill that was known to the enemy as Blutberg or “Blood Hill”.

Construction was entrusted to the architect Michel Porte. Located 358 metres above sea level, this military cemetery is arranged into twelve rounded terraces, and designed to be seen from the Kaysersberg valley, as well as from Colmar and all the surrounding areas.

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Sigolsheim
À 10 km au nord de Colmar. Sur la colline surplombant la ville, suivre le fléchage

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Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines National Cemetery

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In this region of France, position warfare raged and was tailored to the lie of the land. The soldiers dug out bunkers and built specific transport networks (funicular, cable cars, railways) as well as telephone and telegraph communications networks. Unable to dislodge the enemy, each soldier resorted to mine warfare, which lasted throughout the war.

Located on Hajus Hill, Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines National Cemetery contains the bodies of 248 French soldiers, including 122 unknown soldiers buried in two ossuaries (45 and 77 soldiers respectively), and two Russian prisoners (graves 109 and 110). Most of these men were killed during the offensives of August to October 1914. In 1935, the graves of soldiers buried in the municipal cemeteries of Aubure and Lièpvre were moved to this site.

Four bodies of people killed during the Second World War are buried here. Three of them are soldiers killed in June 1940 and the other is a member of the resistance movement, François Artz (grave 46), who was shot dead by occupying troops in November 1944.

Close by is a German cemetery, which was built in December 1916, and which contains the graves of 1,036 people who were killed during the Great War and 136 during the Second World War.

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Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines

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Plaine French national war cemetery

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The national war cemetery of Plaine contains the bodies of soldiers who died for France during the fighting that took place during the summer of 1914, in vallée de la Bruche and during the liberation of the Colmar Pocket (1944-1945).

Begun in 1919 then extended in 1924 to bring together the temporary cemeteries of Schirmeck, la Broque and Colroy-la-Roche, this war cemetery contains the bodies of 1,487 French soldiers, 214 of which were placed in individual graves. Among these men, 54 British soldiers and 33 Russians are buried, 17 of which in a common grave. The remains of 1,273 servicemen were placed in three ossuaries.

In 1954, the bodies of 138 soldiers who died during the Battle of France in 1940 or the liberation of Plaine 1944-1945 were brought there.

In 1923, an equestrian statue of Joan of Arc was erected in the centre of the cemetery. Under the Nazi occupation, to avoid it being destroyed, this monument was buried in the cemetery and then reinstalled to its original location after the Liberation.

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Plaine

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Summary

Eléments remarquables

Monument équestre de Jeanne d'Arc commémorant le sacrifice des morts de la Grande Guerre

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