Slaughter of The Innocents - Langemark German Cemetery
The German war cemetery of Langemark is situated in the Belgian province of West Flanders. More than 44,000 soldiers are buried here. The village was the scene of the first gas attacks by the German army in the western front, and marked the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915.
During the First Battle of Ypres (1914) in World War I, inexperienced German infantry, many of them student volunteers from a number of reserve corps, suffered severe casualties when they made a futile frontal attack on allied positions near Langemark and were checked by experienced French infantry and British riflemen - more than 3,000 of these student volunteers found their last resting place here in a separate section - the "Studentenfriedhof" (Student Cemetery)
The cemetery, which evolved from a small group of graves from 1915, has seen numerous changes and extensions. It was dedicated in 1932. Today, visitors find a mass grave near the entrance. This comrades' grave contains 24,917 servicemen. Between the oak trees, next to this mass grave, are another 10,143 soldiers (including 2 British soldiers killed in 1918).
Slaughter of The Innocents - Langemark German Cemetery
The German war cemetery of Langemark is situated in the Belgian province of West Flanders. More than 44,000 soldiers are buried here. The village was the scene of the first gas attacks by the German army in the western front, and marked the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915.
During the First Battle of Ypres (1914) in World War I, inexperienced German infantry, many of them student volunteers from a number of reserve corps, suffered severe casualties when they made a futile frontal attack on allied positions near Langemark and were checked by experienced French infantry and British riflemen - more than 3,000 of these student volunteers found their last resting place here in a separate section - the "Studentenfriedhof" (Student Cemetery)
The cemetery, which evolved from a small group of graves from 1915, has seen numerous changes and extensions. It was dedicated in 1932. Today, visitors find a mass grave near the entrance. This comrades' grave contains 24,917 servicemen. Between the oak trees, next to this mass grave, are another 10,143 soldiers (including 2 British soldiers killed in 1918).