Cirey-sur-Vezouze (, literally ''Cirey on

Vezouze The Vezouze () is a river in north-eastern France, right tributary to the river Meurthe. Its source is on Mont Donon in the Vosges ''département''. It is long. The river joins the Meurthe on the northern edge of Lunéville, France, the former ...

'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in north-eastern France.

History

During the Second World War, a Royal Canadian Air Force Lancaster Bomber was forced to crash land near Cirey-sur-Vezouze after a bombing raid on

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. Three of the crew were killed in the crash landing with a further two airmen (including Flight Sergeant Fordham) being apprehended, taken into the nearby forest and summarily executed by German forces. Three war graves lay in Cirey-sur-Vezouze's graveyard, with the shallow graves in the forest being discovered and exhumed by a team led by Major Eric Barksworth.Lewis. ''SAS Nazi Hunters: The Ultra-Secret Unit and the Hunt for Hitler's War Criminals'' (Quercus, London (2015)).

References

Cireysurvezouze Three Bishoprics {{MeurtheMoselle-geo-stub

History

See also

References