Monument ossuaire de la Sablière

The Sablière monument commemorates the fighting of October 11, 1870 at the gates of Orléans. It is the very first of many monuments erected in tribute to the soldiers of the French army killed during the Franco-German war of 1870-1871. On October 10, General Von der Tann's troops, with 40,000 men and 150 cannons, marched on Orléans, whose position was strategic. General de la Motte-Rouge's Loire Army, composed of 20 to 25,000 men, tried to resist this progression: after violent battles in Artenay and Chevilly, General de la Motte-Rouge's army retreated on the morning of the 11th, leaving only a few rearguard troops to contain the enemy. These last defenders will fight foot by foot, house by house.