Etrépilly National Military Cemetery
La nécropole nationale d’Etrépilly. © ECPAD
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Etrépilly National Military Cemetery contains the remains of soldiers who died for France during the Battle of the Ourcq in September 1914. Created in the aftermath of the fighting, this military cemetery was expanded between 1919 and 1924 to take the bodies exhumed from isolated graves or temporary military cemeteries throughout the area. This cemetery now contains the bodies of 667 French soldiers, 534 of them in two ossuaries. Etrépilly cemetery is typical of military cemeteries from the start of the First World War, and of the way the dead were dealt with by the French and German military authorities. The use of mass graves continued until 1915, when the practice of providing individual graves was quickly adopted on a large scale by both armies.
At the entrance to the cemetery, local builders aided by the local council of Etrépilly erected a monument, which was unveiled on 12 September 1915 at the spot where the most intense fighting had taken place. It bears a quotation from Victor Hugo, "Glory to our eternal France, Glory to those who died for her", and commemorates soldiers from the units engaged in these battles, particularly those from the 2nd Zouave infantry regiment.
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Etrepilly
Au nord de Meaux, D 140
Visites libres toute l’année
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Comité Départemental du Tourisme de l'Aisne
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