Demarcation stone on the outskirts of Ypres, Belgium, marking the furthest limit of the German advance in 1918
Demarcation Stones are a series of stone monuments found along the line of the Western Front . In Belgium the stones are called “Demarcatiepalen”. In France they are named “Bornes du Front”. The idea for these stones was first introduced in 1920 by the French sculptor Paul Moreau-Vauthier. the Paris World's Fair. In 1909 he had created a monument to commemorate the first cross-Channel flight in an aeroplane piloted by the Frenchman Louis Blériot. Paul Moreau-Vauthier's proposal for a memorial to the First World War was for a series of small monuments to be located in certain places to commemorate the line of departure from which the Allies had launched their offensive against the German Army in the summer of 1918. The original idea was to place a stone monument at every kilometre along the 650 kilometre (400 mile) line of the Western Front from the Belgian coast to Pfetterhouse on the French-Swiss border. 118 Stones were put in place over seven years from 1921 to 1927; 22 in Belgium (16 funded by the Touring Club de Belgique and 6 by the Ypres League) and 96 in France (funded by the Touring Club de France). The last of these was placed on Vieil-Armand mountain in the south of the Vosges mountain range. This mountain had been named Hartmannsweilerkopf by the German Army. It had been the scene of fierce fighting between the French and Germans in 1914 and early 1915. The completion of the line of stones was never finished due to the lack of funds. Each monument is one metre high. On top there is a laurel wreath and a Belgian, British or French helmet depending on the Allied troops which had been holding the sector where it was located On the left and right sides of the monument there are two pieces of equipment used by the fighting soldier in the form of a carved water bottle and a case for a gas mask. A grenade and flame bursting out of it is carved on each of the four corners. On the monument there is usually an inscription “Ici fut repoussé l'envahisseur"
Size: 2863px × 4294px
Location: Ypres, Belgium
Photo credit: © Niall Ferguson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1914-18, 1918, army, belgium, demarcation, france, front, german, great, halted, invader, remembrance, stone, war, western
