Langemark German war cemetery

About

The German war cemetery of Langemark (formerly spelt 'Langemarck') is near the village of Langemark, part of the municipality of Langemark-Poelkapelle, in the Belgian province of West Flanders. More than 44,000 soldiers are buried here. The village was the scene of the first poison gas attacks by the Imperial German Army in the Western Front (see trench map), marking the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915.

During the First Battle of Ypres (1914) in World War I, poorly trained and inexperienced German infantrymen suffered severe casualties when they made a futile frontal attack on allied positions near Langemark and were checked by experienced French Poilus and British Tommies. Contrary to popular belief, only fifteen percent of the German soldiers involved in the Battle of Langemark were schoolboys or students. Legend has it that the German infantry sang the first stanza of what later (1919) became the national anthem of the Weimar Republic; "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles", as they charged.

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...