Remembering the fallen
Spicheren is not only known for its corn. On August 6, 1870, the Battle of Spicheren took place here, a decisive moment in the Franco-Prussian War. On that day, on the grass just below this scene of this photo, over 1,000 men lost their lives and around 5,000 were wounded. When the Germans later occupied Lorraine, they erected several monuments on the site of the battle, including this one from the 39th Infantry Regiment. As the village web site points out, they must have employed a French stone mason: he made several spelling errors such as Officiere instead of Offiziere.
