Memorial Cemetery Porcheresse

Porcheresse cemetery contains a memorial to the martyrs of August 22, 1914:
BRESMAL Jean-Baptiste - 44 years
BRESMAL Joseph - 41 years
DAVREUX Alphonse - 28 years
DAVREUX Narcisse - 50 years
DEOM Joseph - 50 years
ROISEUX Louis - 47 years
LEMAIRE Jean - 22 years

There is also a small plaque commemorating the French soldier Louis BOISSY, from Fontenay-le-Comte in the Vendée, who died in the fire on August 22, 1914.

An information board tells what exactly happened:
"In the night of August 22 to 23, 1914, the village of Porcheresse is the setting for a battle between German and French soldiers.
The Germans are brutal to the civilians and traumatize the population of the village.
In the evening of August 22, part of the 4th German army moves from Wellin to Bièvre.
At that moment, soldiers of the 4th French Army prepare to evacuate Porcheresse.
Around 9.30 pm the Germans reach Porcheresse via the road from Daverdisse. They encounter French barricades, defended by machine gun and rifle shots.
The aim of the French is to protect the retreat of their artillery battery.
New German troops show up via the Gembes road opposite the Daverdisse road. When the French slip out, the Germans shoot each other through carelessness.
Around midnight the last French leave the village, about 10 Frenchmen are dead, the Germans lose 200 soldiers.
The Germans mistakenly believed that they had been attacked by the inhabitants and burned the village in retaliation. About 100 houses were destroyed, three quarters of the population no longer has a roof over their heads. Seven civilians are murdered. Almost the entire herd is burned alive.
On August 24, 23 fugitive men from Porcheresse were arrested by the Germans in Graide and locked up in a barn for 17 days."

Source: information board at the cemetery