Then and Now: Dannevoux (80th Division, 26 Sept., 1918)

August 11, 2017 by Randy
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Intro:  Dannevoux was taken by the 80th Division, AEF, on 26 September.  However, the Signal Corps photographers that were part of the Griffin Group took many pictures of Dannevoux and the surrounding area.  The then and now pictures shown here are just a small, but interesting, subset of those photos.  The Webmaster intends to do another “Then and Now” with additional photos.  However, readers can also view the “then” photos on the website below:

http://www.80thdivision.com/Photos-Hazelgrove/Page1.htm

For all of photos below, the source of the “then” pictures is the Griffin Group Photographs in the National Archives.  (Record Group 120-G.)  The source of the “now” pictures is Graham Gaulke.

 

 

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Caption:  Exterior view of the church in Dannevoux.  From the front, it does not look badly damaged.  The buildings / wall through which the photo was taken do not exist any more.  Note that the design of the church was changed when it was rebuilt.

Location:  Dannevoux.

 

 

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Caption:  Interior of the Church showing the war-time damage.

Location:  Dannevoux

 

 

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Caption:  The photo caption reads:  “German Chapel with Figures Taken from the Church.”  The building could not be identified, but a look inside today’s church revealed that the figures had been returned to the restored church, as shown above.

Location:  Building not identifiable from the photo only.

 

 

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Caption:  The Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof (German Military Cemetery).  The Webmaster and photographer believe that the cross was originally located at the left rear of the cemetery, near where the shed is currently situated.  The slope of the hillside in the two photos suggests this.  A second “then” photo, not included, indicates that the crosses are similar, but not the same.

Location:  At the Y-intersection just north of town and just north of the town’s civilian cemetery.

 

 

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Caption:  The civilian cemetery at Dannevoux.  The cemetery has essentially been doubled in size, with the newer graves off to the right of the photo.  One should also note that the car in the “now” photo is on a “sunken” road and the photographers in both photos are standing on the berm on the other side of the road.  That is the only way to get the same perspective.  It was impossible to match up any graves or crosses.

Location:  On an unnamed road just north of town.

 

 

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Caption:  Finding this house rebuilt almost identically to its war-time style was the pièce de résistance of this “then and now” hunt.  Pictured is a 38cm Belagerungshaubitze M16 that was built by Skoda in Austria.  Additional details at:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/38_cm_Belagerungshaubitze_M_16.  The Webmaster does not know whether this gun was crewed by Austrians or Germans.  In Samogneux there is a memorial to the Austrian soldiers in the region, and the memorial lists several heavy artillery regiments listed.

Location:  Nr. 1, Chemin des Moulins, Dannevoux