The Belfort national cemetery

In 1914, the fortified town of Belfort was a major part of France's defence. The 14 forts controlled a gap between the Swiss border and the Vosges. During the first days of the war, a new occupation such as the ones of 1814 and 1871 was feared. That is why a state of siege was put in place by the governor. More than 20,000 women, children, elderly, sick people and foreigners were evacuated to neighbouring departments. Equipment, supplies, buildings...everything was requisitioned as part of the war effort.

However, during the entire conflict, Belfort remained untouched by the major offensives. The front was 20 kilometres away. Daily life was however marked by bombings and the flow of convoys of the wounded. As the war continued and the combats became increasingly violent, the number of wounded continued to rise. Because of such an influx, the 500-bed military hospital was quickly overwhelmed.  The health services had to adapt, and requisitioned public and private buildings. And so the Dollfus Mieg et Compagnie spinning mill, schools in the Montbéliard area and the Rue de Châteaudun as well as the Sainte-Marie secondary school were transformed into temporary hospitals. Adolphe Pégoud, the French fighter ace with six victories under his belt, was transferred to one of these structures after being shot down over Petit Croix on 31 August 1915. He was buried on 3 September in the cemetery at Brasse, where he remained before being exhumed in 1924, when he was buried at the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris.