War Cemetery Ghent Wester Cemetery

The Western Cemetery contains a war cemetery for a number of nationalities:

French war graves from the First World War.
On October 7, 1914, 2 brigades of French marines left Paris under the command of Admiral Ronarc'h. Via Dunkirk and Torhout they sped towards Antwerp to reinforce the Belgian troops there. Many of these navy soldiers, mostly Breton, were very young. Some still had to celebrate their 17th birthday. That is why the other soldiers scornfully called them "les demoiselles au pompons rouge," after the round sailor cap they wore with a red pompom on top.
When they reached Ghent on October 8, the fortress belt that defended Antwerp was crumbling. Plans were changed and the French were billeted in the Leopold Barracks in Ghent. The next day they would protect the Belgian armed forces in Melle, which were withdrawing towards the Yser.
Part of the second regiment, under the command of Commander Varney, took a position between Kwatrecht and Gontrode. The battle started around 11 am. Until 6 p.m. the firing was almost continuous and the soldiers managed to hold back the German advance briefly. The firing started again around 9 pm.
Commander Varney decided not to have his men slaughtered needlessly and withdrew behind the railway verge in Melle.
The battle was over on 11 October, the Germans marched into Ghent a day later.
The fallen French soldiers were given their final resting place in the Wester cemetery.

24 Italian graves, close to the Russian and British courts of honor.
In front is a plate:
"L'Italia ai suoi caduti
1915 - 18 "

Italy was originally an ally of Austria-Hungary and Germany. It took a neutral position when the war broke out.

On May 23, 1915, the country declared war on Austria-Hungary, and in August 1916 also on Germany. In the period 1915-1917 the Italians fought heavy battles.

The Battle of Caporetto, which took place from October 24 to November 9, 1917, was a black page in Italian history (battle for South Tyrol). Some 11,000 Italian soldiers were killed in the heavy fighting and more than 20,000 wounded. Massive numbers of soldiers surrendered. In this way about 275,000 Italians were taken prisoner.

They were taken by the Germans as workers to the occupied areas. That is how things ended up in Belgium. In West Flanders they had to do heavy work on the railway line Gent-Tielt-Diksmuide. In Ghent, some of them had to help build the road to St. Denijs-Westem airport.

A number of them found their final resting place here.

The Russian prisoners of war stayed in Ghent from mid-1917 to mid-1918.
They were employed, among other things, in the development of the Drongen-Mariakerke airfield.

The fate of the Russian prisoners of war was unenviable. Malnourished and scruffy they had to do the toughest jobs.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks and Germany signed the Brest-Litovsk peace on March 3, 1917, ceding Belarus to the still German-occupied Poland.

The Russian prisoners of war were allowed to return to their homeland. The Belarusians remained in Ghent as requisitioned workers and were handed over to the Belgian authorities. Many of them succumbed to the harsh working conditions.
After the war, the new Poland, of which Belarus was a part at the time, did not guarantee the repatriation of the deceased (Belarus) Russians, so that they remained in Ghent.

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Source

• Text: Fedor de Vries + Marie-Christine Vinck
• Photos: Marie-Christine Vinck
• brochure Stad Gent : "Westerbegraafplaats – Themawandeling : Eerste Wereldoorlog "