Caix

This war cemetery is home to 1,264 German war dead from the First World War. Département Somme The German military cemetery at Caix was established at the end of March 1918 by the German troops when they advanced via Montdidier and Moreuil to just outside Amiens during their spring offensive - the "Great Battle of France". Until the area around Caix was retaken by the Allies in August 1918, the troops were constantly buried here. Around 30 of those buried here died as prisoners of war between 1918 and 1919. From 1922 onwards, the French military authorities expanded the cemetery by adding extensive burials from 34 other areas of the municipality. Many of the dead were only found when the battlefield was cleared and were brought to Caix from distances of up to 30 km to find their final resting place here. Those resting here belonged to the Prussian Guard as well as units that had their home garrisons in Bavaria, Hesse, Württemberg, Westphalia, Saxony, Hanover, Oldenburg, East Frisia, Posen, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg and the Rhineland. Repair work between the wars The Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. carried out the first work to improve the condition of the cemetery from 1927 onwards on the basis of an agreement with the responsible French military authorities. An entrance gate was created, the graves were planted with uniform vegetation and numerous trees and bushes were planted throughout the area. However, due to a lack of foreign currency and the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the problem of permanently marking the graves initially remained unresolved. Final design After the conclusion of the Franco-German War Graves Agreement of July 19, 1966, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. was able to begin the final design of the German military cemeteries in France from the First World War the temporary wooden grave markers were replaced by metal ones with the names and dates of the dead cast in relief. The Bundeswehr was responsible for transporting the concrete foundations required to erect the metal crosses, most of which were placed at the graves by participants in Volksbund youth camps. Six of the 1,264 people buried in individual graves remained unknown. The two graves of fallen Jews were given a stele made of natural stone instead of a cross for religious reasons. The Hebrew characters read: 1. (above) "Here rests buried .... ." 2. (below) "May his soul be interwoven into the circle of the living." A thorough landscaping overhaul was carried out, which mainly involved planting greenery on the graves and planting new trees and bushes. In addition, a high cross made of forged steel was erected as a central marker.