Gravelotte (; ) is a commune in the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) 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 joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

in north-eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, 11 km west of

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. 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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1918, it was the westernmost city of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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. The battlefield extends from the woods which border the

above Metz to Roncourt, near the river

Orne Orne (; 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 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 t ...

of 1918 and the signing of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

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's troops in 1944, during the

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

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 The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine.

References

External links

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

History

Sights

Military sites and buildings

See also

References

External links