I have cycled so many times in France that I rarely pause to look at the inevitable monument in just about every town to ‘the fallen’ ( be it first or Second World War).

God forgive me.

Today I stopped at a monument in the middle of the countryside (but strategically positioned at the Rhine):

It reminded me not just of the perfectly maintained cemeteries in Normandy – but also of a Russian cemetery I came across on a previous trip (Gdańsk through Kaliningrad, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to Helsinki). The cemetery was not well-kept. But the headstones made me stop: Boris 18, Ivan 19, Gregory 18 – and on it went. Boys. Pawns in the bigger game.

The monument admonishes us to remember – without these sacrifices – as it proclaims – LEUR SACRIFICE FUT LE PRIX DE TA LIBERTE