Burying the dead on the Western Front

Richard Merry will discuss the clearing of French battlefields in the immediate aftermath of the First World War.

One hundred years ago, on 11 November 1918, the guns on the Western Front fell silent. In the cold winter that followed, the French government faced the challenge of clearing the battlefields, rehousing returning villagers and burying the millions of dead from all sides of the conflict.

Richard's talk will focus on the Argonne Forest area. It was here that France and Germany had fought themselves to a bloody standstill in 1914-15. It was also here that in 1918 the Americans had fought the deadliest battle in their history - the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.

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