We stopped at British, French and German as well as American cemeteries. I hadn't expected to see a German cemetery. The styles of the cemeteries are different for each nation. The American cemeteries are the biggest (and fewest) in the region, they are meticulously maintained and, often, have a massive memorial/chapel.
The French cemeteries are nowhere near as well maintained and the stones are less attractive. The British seem to like many small cemeteries spread around. They're well maintained, but not quite as perfect as the American cemeteries. And, the German cemetery I saw was much more haphazard - rows were very ragged - and had a much greater percentage of unknown soldiers.
{I took some pictures, posted here. My photos from the British cemeteries didn't come out.}
One thing that I really wanted to know was how did the cemeteries fare during World War II. Reims was the center for a lot of fighting during that conflict. All those graves and the big memorials at the American cemeteries look like they could have been destroyed during the Second World War.
I was particularly curious about the monument at Chateau Thierry, which is absolutely huge. I can't believe that it wasn't blown up during the German occupation. And, I can't believe that the Nazis didn't take issue with those Germans buried in the German cemetery - never mind those in the American cemetery - under the Star of David. The Germans were buried very densely, usually four per cross, but Jewish soldiers were buried singly under rounded stones featuring a Star of David.
