Romagne-sous-Montfaucon Travel Guide

 mtncorg Says:  Unlike the other Allied powers, Americans were inclined to bring their war dead home with 40% of the dead being buried here in France or Belgium. French, German and Commonwealth soldiers were buried to a large degree near where they fell in action. Here, at Romagne, firmly... 

 mtncorg Says:  There are 1,412 burials set amongst the tall fir trees here on the west side of Romagne – the American cemetery is on the east side of town. One guidebook infers that with one-tenth of the number of burials of the American cemetery, the Germans must have been doing something... 

 mtncorg Says:  Set high on le Haut Chene – known in American hearts as La Grande Montagne – above Sivry-sur-Meuse is the monument dedicated to the US 316th Regiment of the 79th Division which overlooks much of the battlefield of the Meuse-Argonne to the west. The Germans had sited many... 

 mtncorg Says:  The US 1st Division – the Big Red One – was a favorite of Pershing’s because of its commander, Charles Summerall, a West Point artilleryman, who drove his men relentlessly. “He may be a son-of-a-***, but he’s our son-of-a-***.” is the description of one of Summerall’s 1st... 

 mtncorg Says:  The main German lines were not the ones the Americans overran in the first days of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. These lines – the Kriemhilde Stellung – were set back some eight miles to the rear. Fighting against these positions stopped the offensive cold and was only... 

 mtncorg Says:  At the same time the Americans were pushing their way north through the Meuse-Argonne region, the French 4th Army was attacking in the Champagne and along the western edge of the Argonne Forest. Here, just north of Binarville, is a monument devoted to the memory of the 9th... 

 mtncorg Says:  The US 93rd Division was made up of Black Americans. America was a very segregated country at the time of the First World War. To say the idea of race has changed in the US since then is to probably put it mildly especially with the election of a President who is part... 

 mtncorg Says:  On 3 October 1918, Major Charles Whittlesey pushed a detachment of 550 men deep into the Argonne Forest. The men were a part of the US 77th Division – New York’s Own – which had been slowly slogging through the forest since the beginning of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive 26... 

 mtncorg Says:  Now, we come to the first of the two largest stories coming out of the American experiences of WWI. Both stories have been made larger than life by embellishing journalists in the post war years. Sergeant Alvin York on 8 October 1918 – he was still a corporal at this time –... 

 mtncorg Says:  Atop the ruins of an old blockhouse is a Franco-American memorial remembering six companies of the 69th RI who vanished defending the villages of Haucourt and Malancourt during the initial German assaults on Cote 304 of early April 1916. The area was retaken by men of the US... 

 mtncorg Says:  The chapel features huge doors with figures representing Grief and Remembrance above. The Allied flags are arrayed in a semi-circle around the altar. On the walls are nearly 1,000 names of Americans who went missing during the battles here. Outside, there is a list of those... 

 mtncorg Says:  In the forests and countryside about 15 km northwest of Verdun is the village of Montfaucon - Mountain of Falcons. High on the hill lies the old ruined village - the newer town rebuilt below and to the west. Towering 200 feet above the ruins is a tall Doric column topped...