The number of military cemeteries in the Cambrai region (also called Le Cambrésis) is a reminder that during the First World War the region witnessed heavy fighting, sometimes involving men from far away countries who sacrificed their lives to defend their “mother country”. Nearly 2 million soldiers from across the world were killed and buried in France during the war. British soldiers were buried close to the spot where they lost their lives, whilst French and German soldiers were laid to rest in larger cemeteries. Although on the surface the cemeteries seem quite similar, their memorials, their locations and their architectural design help to explain what happened on this immense battlefield.
It was in 1917 that the Imperial War Graves Commission was established b Royal Charter. Its role was to maintain the graves of the Commonwealth soldiers who died during both the First and Second World Wars. The cemeteries which have been permanently granted to the Commission are laid out like English gardens and are places of contemplation. Rows of identical, (no distinction is made according to the rank of the deceased) perfectly aligned graves stones, rise up from beautifully maintained lawns. Each grave stone bears the name and coat of arms of the regiment to which the deceased belonged, their regimental number, their rank, their surname and the initial of their first name and date on which they died. Sometimes their age and an epitaph from their family are also added. The cemeteries can be identified because they include a “Cross of Sacrifice”, symbolized by a bronze sword which rises towards the sky. More important cemeteries also have a “Stone of Remembrance” on which the Robert Kipling quote “their name will live forever” is inscribed.
The Gouzeaucourt and Marcoing Cemeteries contain graves of numerous Royal navy Marines. The fact that the Commonwealth spanned the world is particularly visible on the graves at Flesquières Cemetery. Graves of Chinese soldiers can be found at the Bourlon and Orival Cemeteries. The men were part of the “Chinese Labour Unit” which was charged with clearing the battlefields. Most were killed after the Armistice either while clearing explosives or by the Spanish flu pandemic. The Louverval Monument was built in 1930 as a reminder of the sacrifices made by the 3rd Army at Battle of Cambrai. It lost nearly 20,000 men, including 7048 whose bodies have never been found. The names of these soldiers are engraved on the wall of the peristyle. Other memorial centres like “le caribou” de Masnières or the German Cemetery on the road from Solesmes to Cambrai are further testament of the terrible sacrifices made at the Battle of Cambrai.
