Gravelotte (; german: Gravelotte) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

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, ...

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...

in north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 11 km west of

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

. It is part of the functional area (''aire d'attraction'') of Metz. Its population is 827 (2019). From 1871 until the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1918, it was the westernmost city of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

Gravelotte is located between

and the former French-German frontier, as it was between 1870 and 1918. It was famous as the scene of the battle of 18 August 1870 between the Germans under King William of Prussia and the French under

Marshal Bazaine Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

. The battlefield extends from the woods which border the

above Metz to

Roncourt Roncourt (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Moselle department of France. The communes coopera ...

, near the river

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Saint-Privat,

Amanvillers Amanvillers (german: Amanweiler) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Moselle department o ...

and Sainte-Marie-aux-Chênes, all lying to the north of Gravelotte. During WW1, the village was spared from the fighting. After the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

of 1918 and the signing of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

in June 1919, the village of Gravelotte became French again. Between 1940 and 1944, as in the rest of the annexed Moselle, many young people, who were forcibly enlisted into the German army, were sent to the Eastern Front, some of them never returned. The commune was liberated by

General Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

's troops in 1944, during the

battle of Metz The Battle of Metz was a battle fought during World War II at the city of Metz, France, from late September 1944 through mid-December as part of the Lorraine Campaign between the U.S. Third Army commanded by Lieutenant General George Patton and ...

Sights

Military sites and buildings

* Military cemetery: nearly 8,000 people are buried there. * Musée de la Guerre de 1870 et de l'Annexion : a museum dedicated to the Franco-Prussian War and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine.

References

External links

pictures of 1870 war monuments
Communes of Moselle (department) {{Metz-geo-stub