Travel Guide Flirey

Flirey was the departure point for General Pershing's American troops, who cleared the Thiaucourt and Saint-Mihiel sectors during the 1914-1918 war. Many men fell here, and many of their descendants make pilgrimages to the French military cemetery, which contains 4,500 graves. During the Great War, a regiment from Nice came to fight the enemy. As a result, one of Nice's streets was named after Flirey. The village was largely destroyed by bombing, before being rebuilt from the ruins by a renowned architect from Nancy. The remains of the old church can still be seen next to the cemetery. The new church, an exact copy of the one in Gap, was partly financed by donations from Nice families. The fountain, which remains from the old village, has been converted into a picnic area. The Flirey spring is located here. Three war memorials bear witness to the ravages of war, notably the "Lorraine reconnaissante" monument, erected in recognition of the United States Army and the liberation of France on September 12, 1918. The bronze depicts two victorious American soldiers under their country's star-spangled emblem. To commemorate this past, and as part of an essential duty of remembrance, a number of impressive sites bearing witness to the ravages of war have been set up by military history enthusiasts. These can be accessed just outside Flirey, in the direction of Essey and Maizerais.