Commune in Grand Est, France
Montsec (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃sɛk] ) is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Fighting in World War I and World War II took place in and around Montsec. The Montsec American Monument was built here during the 1930s by the American Battle Monuments Commission . The monument, dedicated in 1937, commemorates the American forces who fought in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in World War I.
History
Map depicting Montsec during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel
During The Great War, also known as World War I, the village was occupied by the Germans in 1914 during the Battle of Flirey .[ 3] A hill, sharing the same name, commands a view of the Woëvre Plain, and was used by German forces as a strong point and for observation.[ 4]
During the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in 1918, the American 1st Division attacked in the area of Montsec, bypassing it.[ 5] The 1st Division was joined by the American 26th Division , attacking on the other side of Montsec, also bypassing it.[ 6] Both the 1st and 26th Divisions were able to accomplish it by a smoke screen being placed on the hill.[ 7]
Having been bypassed due to it being fortified, being cut off from the rest of the German line, it fell to the Allies .[ 4] This was accomplished by forces of the French 2nd Colonial Corps.[ 8]
Before the Battle of Nancy , the commune was liberated by the American 317th Infantry in 1944.[ 9]
Montsec American Monument
Monument to American soldiers at Montsec
The monument was designed by Egerton Swartwout , and has been described as a doric temple.[ 10] It was built during the 1930s by the American Battle Monuments Commission ;[ 11] it was dedicated in 1937.[ 12] The monument commemorates American forces involved in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel.[ 13] These included the First and Second armies.[ 14]
During World War II , German forces occupying France left the monument untouched.[ 15] As American forces advanced , and began to displace the Germans, the memorial was damaged by American artillery.[ 16] The monument was later restored.[ 16]
It has been described as being similar to the Jefferson Memorial .[ 17]
See also
References
^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies . 28 December 2023.
^ Richard Rubin (21 May 2013). The Last of the Doughboys: The Forgotten Generation and Their Forgotten World War . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 321. ISBN 0-547-84369-0 .
^ a b Frank Herbert Simmonds (1920). History of the world war . Published for the Review of reviews company by Doubleday, Page & company. pp. 223–224.
^ Richard Joseph Beamish; Francis Andrew March (1919). America's Part in the World War: A History of the Full Greatness of Our Country's Achievements; the Record of the Mobilization and Triumph of the Military, Naval, Industrial and Civilian Resources of the United States . John C. Winston Company. p. 554 .
^ John Eisenhower (14 September 2001). Yanks: The Epic Story of the American Army in World War I . Simon and Schuster. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-7432-1637-1 .
^ Walter Hines Page; Arthur Wilson Page (1919). The World's Work . Doubleday, Page & Company. p. 82.
^ James Alfred Moss; Harry Samuel Howland (1920). America in Battle: With Guide to the American Battlefields in France and Belgium . Geo. Banta Publishing Company. p. 168.
^ Dominique, Dean James (August 2003). "Chapter 3: The Moselle River Bridgehead August 23 – November 1, 1944". The Attack Will Go On: The 317th Infantry Regiment in World War II (PDF) (Masters). Louisiana State University. p. 30-31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2015 .
^ Ron Theodore Robin (14 July 2014). Enclaves of America: The Rhetoric of American Political Architecture Abroad, 1900–1965 . Princeton University Press. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-1-4008-6310-5 .
^ Intelligence and Security Command Journal . U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command. 1984. p. 4.
^ Montsec American Monument Dedication in 1937 . ABMCVIDEOS. 13 June 2015 [1937]. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2015 .
^ David Bonk (20 October 2011). St Mihiel 1918: The American Expeditionary Forces' trial by fire . Osprey Publishing. p. 93. ISBN 978-1-84908-880-0 .
^ "Montsec Monument" (PDF) . American Battle Monuments Commission. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2015 .
^ Douglas Peter Mackaman Michael Mays. World War I and the Cultures of Modernity . Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 158. ISBN 978-1-60473-712-7 .
^ a b Rubin, Richard (18 September 2014). "In France, Artifacts of America's Role in World War I" . New York Times . Retrieved 25 May 2015 .
^ Julia Hargrove (1 March 2003). Tomb of the Unknowns (ENHANCED eBook) . Lorenz Educational Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-4291-1258-1 . J. D. Ragsdale (25 March 2014). Beyond Buildings: Designed Spaces as Visual Persuasion . Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-4438-5838-0 .