Viéville-sous-les-Côtes – Then and Now

The monument currently located in the cemetery offers several interesting and rather unknown aspects that have not been presented, or at least not fully, in previous accounts.

Construction of the monument in its original form began in late 1916. It was erected as a memorial for the fallen of the 33. Reserve-Division and especially of Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment 130 (130th Reserve Infantry Regiment).

Responsible for the planning was the Berlin architect Wilhelm Verhülsdonk, at the time Hauptmann (captain) d.R. in RIR 130. The inauguration took place on April 1, 1917.

According to common accounts, the imposing monument is said to have been destroyed by combat actions during the Allied St. Mihiel Offensive in September 1918. However, this was not the case. Contemporary photographs prove that the monument and cemetery were still in an undamaged condition in mid-September 1918, when Viéville was already reoccupied by French troops. Both German and French fallen soldiers were still buried there by the French.

In fact, the monument was blown up, specifically after the end of the fighting there. Whether French soldiers, inhabitants, or American servicemen were responsible cannot be said with absolute certainty. According to contemporary accounts, for example in the regimental history of the Reserve-Feldartillerie-Regiment 33 (33rd Reserve Field Artillery Regiment) (p. 301 ff.), the two existing lion figures as well as the name plaques are said to have later been taken to the USA.

Handwritten notes on a photo showing members of the 301st US Engineer Regiment inspecting the remains of the monument prove the destruction after the end of the fighting and attribute the demolition to French troops. The latter is also likely in view of various comparable incidents. For the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), on the other hand, such behavior would have been unusual during the First World War.

At any rate, it is documented that the war cemetery Viéville-sous-lès-Cotes, after lengthy negotiations in 1929, was allowed to be redesigned by the Volksbund-Deutsche-Kriegsräberfürsorge under the patronage of the Landesverbandes Bayern and other organizations.

As a replacement for the destroyed monument, the intact monument of the abandoned German military cemetery in the village of Friauville near the town of Jarny was used. In Friauville, at the beginning of the war and especially during the Battle of Verdun, fallen soldiers of the 33. Reserve-Division (33rd Reserve Division) were also buried, who were later reburied in the war cemetery Viéville-sous-les-Côtes during the dissolution of the local cemetery.