History
After the fall of Liège and Namur the Belgian army retreats to the Antwerp stronghold, where it licks its wounds. However, events force the Belgians into action. Plans are made to attack the German flanks in order to alleviate pressure on the French and British armies.
During these two raids on 24-26 August 1914 and 9-13 September 1914 the Belgians try to stop the Germans in the north of the present-day province of Flemish Brabant. Initially, the attacks are successful and many villages are temporarily recaptured, but the German opposition proves too strong and the Belgians are pushed back. The fights destroy entire communities and claim many Belgian dead.
At first, these are buried in field graves or in the municipal graveyards of the villages where they die, but a permanent solution is mandatory. The construction of the Eppegem cemetery and the transfer of bodies take place in the 1920s, similarly to what happens all over the country. A German cemetery is located next to the Belgian one, but those bodies are transferred to the German cemetery in Wespelaar in the late 1930s. The cemetery mainly counts soldiers with the 2nd and 3rd regiments of chasseurs à pied. With more than 150 dead they make up the majority of the fallen.
Casualties
228 First World War
Description
A brick wall lined with street-side trelliswork completely encloses the rectangular 0.5-acre cemetery. The graves face the road and are bordered by hedges planted when the cemetery was created. A cross, erected in memory of the fallen, is made up of two gun barrels. The cemetery also features an obelisk with a French and a Dutch text.