Langemark German war cemetery

The Langemark German war cemetery, located near the village of Langemark in West Flanders, Belgium, contains the remains of more than 44,000 soldiers. The site is associated with the first poison gas attacks on the Western Front, which began the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915. During the First Battle of Ypres in 1914, inexperienced German infantry, including many schoolboys and students as young as 15, suffered heavy casualties in a failed frontal assault. A mass grave near the entrance holds 24,917 servicemen, among them flying ace Werner Voss. Another section contains 10,143 soldiers, including two British soldiers killed in 1918, while a third part buries the 3,000 school students killed in the 1914 battle. A sculpture of four mourning figures by Emil Krieger, added in 1956, stands at the front. The cemetery is maintained by the German War Graves Commission.