Billy-sous-les-Côtes – Then and Now

The small village of Billy-sous-les-Côtes at the foot of the Côtes de Lorraine lay, following the advance of Prussian troops beginning in September 1914, only about 6 kilometers behind the foremost German lines for the entire duration of the war. A large number of units were quartered in Billy and also in the neighboring villages at the foot of the Meuse Heights. A lively military life developed, which included facilities such as military hospitals, bath and delousing establishments, field bookstores, restaurants, and cinemas. Billy-sous-les-Côtes was, alongside other units, the quartering location of the Königlich-Preußisches 1. Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 20 (Royal Prussian 20th Field Artillery Regiment) from September 1914 to October 1916 over two years of war, a highly respected unit rich in tradition. Soldier life in the village is impressively described in a contribution in the regimental history from the year 1932.

During this time, an inconspicuous French village café in Billy became the subsequently widely known soldiers’ restaurant “Krug zum grünen Kranze” with the neighboring soldiers’ cinema “Flimmer-Stollen”. Responsible for the management of the restaurant was the then Vizewachtmeister (first sergeant) Ernst Hartwig Kantorowicz, grandson of Hartwig Kantorowicz, the founder of the well-known liqueur and spirits manufacturer Hartwig Kantorowicz Actien-Gesellschaft from Posen in present-day Poland. The history of the young soldier as well as the company is reported in a separate contribution.