French Villages destroyed during the First World War

Meuse

The First World War left doors after-effects. In particular at the time of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, nine villages of the department of the Meuse were completely destroyed by the engagements. For reasons of memory, but also because of the too important presence of not-exploded ammunition and upset grounds and polluted, six of them were never rebuilt. After the war, it was however decided not to attach them to other communes and thus to preserve their memory. They are managed by a Municipal council of three members named by the Préfet of the Meuse.

List of the destroyed and not rebuilt villages:

Beaumont-in-Verdunois (186 inhabitants in 1911, uninhabited since 1918)
Bezonvaux (149 inhabitants in 1911, uninhabited since 1918)
Cumières-the-Death-Man (for 205 inhabitants in 1911; 3 in 1921, and 1 in 1990)
Douaumont (some rebuilt houses; for 288 inhabitants in 1911; 38 in 1921 and 10 in 1990)
Fleury-in front of-Douaumont, beside the Memorial of Verdun (for 422 inhabitants in 1911; 12 in 1921 and 5 in 1990)

In order to perpetuate the memory of this destroyed commune, the commune of Fleury-on-Flowering ash in the Apple-brandy, called until there Germany, adopted its name in 1917.

Haumont-près-Samogneux (for 131 inhabitants in 1911; 5 in 1921 and 0 in 1990)
Louvemont-Coast-of-Pepper (183 inhabitants in 1911, not inhabited since)
Flowering ashes (some rebuilt houses, with for 718 inhabitants into 1911,23 into 1921,10 in 1990)

Be worth-in front of-Damloup known as Vaux shaven was rebuilt, just as of tens of others moindrement touched.

Six completely devastated communes (or almost) were never rebuilt and do not have any inhabitant: Beaumont-in-Verdunois, Bezonvaux, Cumières-the-Death-Man, Fleury-in front of-Douaumont, Haumont-près-Samogneux and Louvemont-Coast-of-Pepper. Qualified communes “died for France”, each one is managed by a municipal council of three members named by the prefect of the Meuse.

the Marne

It is a fact less known, but some villages of the Marne also were destroyed at the time of the First World War. They were not rebuilt. These communes were removed in 1950 during the creation of the military camp of Suippes and their territories attached to the common neighbors, who added the names of common disappeared to theirs.

List of the destroyed and removed communes:

Hurlus, attached to Wargemoulin-Hurlus
Mesnil-lès-Hurlus, attached to Minaucourt-le-Mesnil-lès-Hurlus
Perthes-lès-Hurlus, attached to Souain-Perthes-lès-Hurlus
Ripont, attached to Rouvroy-Ripont
Tahure, attached to Sommepy-Tahure

More in the west, in the direction of Rheims, two other destroyed villages are:

Moronvilliers, attached to Pontfaverger-Moronvilliers
Nauroy, attached to Beine-Nauroy

Meurthe-et-Moselle

Close to the Covering of Saint-Mihiel:

Regniéville was destroyed, its territory is attached to Thiaucourt-Regniéville of which it forms a exclave.
Remenauville, attached to Limey-Remenauville
the Fey-in-Hague, which was rebuilt to a few hundred meters.

And elsewhere…

In the remainder of the red zone, as in the departments of the Northern , the Pas-de-Calais or the Somme, of the cities was destroyed. With Bailleul, in North, there remained only one house upright. The commune of Based the was almost shaven. Many villages close to Arras, in the Artois, Flandres and the field have being entirely rebuilt. They often were it on the same cadrastal map, for reasons of land and buildings. The houses built in the urgency, often with bad mortar low in cement, are residences difficult to heat. Locally, of painted or the theoretically provisional bituminized wood hutments persisted until in the Années 1970 even more tardily.

Internal bonds

External bonds

Internet site on the destroyed villages
Way of memory

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