The German war cemetery of Langemark (formerly spelt 'Langemarck') is near the village of

Langemark Langemark is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders, and a subdivision of the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle. The village has about 5,000 inhabitants. Besides the village center, there are also three smaller hamlets on th ...

, part of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Langemark-Poelkapelle Langemark-Poelkapelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. Geography Other places in the municipality include Bikschote, Langemark and Poelkapelle. On January 1, 2006, Langemark-Poelkapelle had a total populati ...

, in the Belgian province of

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

. More than 44,000 soldiers are buried here. The village was the scene of the first gas attacks by the German army in the western front
see trench map
, marking the beginning of the

Second Battle of Ypres During the First World War, the Second Battle of Ypres was fought from for control of the tactically important high ground to the east and south of the Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium. The First Battle of Ypres had been fought the pr ...

in April 1915. During the

First Battle of Ypres The First Battle of Ypres (french: Première Bataille des Flandres; german: Erste Flandernschlacht – was a battle of the First World War, fought on the Western Front around Ypres, in West Flanders, Belgium. The battle was part of the Firs ...

(1914) in World War I, inexperienced German

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

suffered severe casualties when they made a futile frontal attack on allied positions near Langemark and were checked by experienced French infantry and British riflemen. Contrary to popular myth, only fifteen percent of the German soldiers involved in the Battle of Langemark were schoolboys and students. Legend has it that the German infantry sang the first stanza of what later (1919) became their national anthem " Deutschland, Deutschland über alles", as they charged. The cemetery, which evolved from a small group of graves from 1915, has seen numerous changes and extensions. It was dedicated in 1932. Today, visitors find a mass grave near the entrance. This comrades' grave contains 24,917 servicemen, including the Ace

Werner Voss Werner Voss (; 13 April 1897 – 23 September 1917) was a World War I German flying ace credited with 48 aerial victories. A dyer's son from Krefeld, he was a patriotic young man while still in school. He began his military career in Novem ...

. Between the oak trees, next to this mass grave, are another 10,143 soldiers (including 2 British soldiers killed in 1918). The 3,000 school students who were killed during the

are buried in a third part of the cemetery. At the front of the cemetery is a sculpture of four mourning figures by Professor Emil Krieger. The group was added in 1956, and is said to stand guard over the fallen. The cemetery is maintained by the

German War Graves Commission The German War Graves Commission ( in German) is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa. Its objectives are acquisition, maintenance and care of German war graves; tending to next of kin; youth ...

, the ''Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge''. Otherwise, this cemetery has two Commonwealth burials. CWGC: Langemark German Military Cemetery
/ref>

Gallery

File:Langemark mass grave marker.jpg, This wreath marks the largest mass grave. File:Langemark unknown soldier stone.jpg, Individual marker of four unknown soldiers. File:Langemark german cemetery burial key.jpg, This map is a key to World War I German soldier burial sites in Belgium, located in the entrance block. File:Langemark wall of student names.jpg, One wall listing the names of the 3,000 German students killed during the First Battle of Ypres, inside the entrance block. File:Langemark flat grave markers.jpg, Flat grave markers. File:Langemark basalt crosses ceramic poppies.jpg, For the 100th anniversary commemoration of World War I, many cemeteries and other sites have had ceramic poppies installed. File:Langemark German Cemetery memorial.jpg, A section of the memorial wall to the victims of the massacre of the Innocents.

References

External links

* * (de

* (nl) ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110812043339/http://www.wo1.be/ned/database/dbDetail.asp?TypeID=6&SubTypeID=21&ItemID=5772 Langemark at wo1.be
YouTube video made at Langemark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langemark German War Cemetery World War I cemeteries in Belgium German War Graves Commission Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Belgium