On an open wall of the citadel.

A rectangular metal plaque containing a commemoration message inscribe in French and English in white and incised lettering. Depicted images on the top of the plaque are the Bitche Coat of Arms, crossed flags of France and America, and the 100^th Infantry Division insignia. This plaque remembers the nearly 3,000 soldiers of the Division who were killed, wounded, missing, or captured in the three-month battle for the Bitche region in 1944-45. The plaque was dedicated in September 1984.

Bitche is near the Maginot Line, into which the citadel was integrated. Alsace-Lorraine returned to Germany after the French Campaign in the summer of 1940 and remained under German occupation. The training ground at Bitche was utilized by the German Army to form new divisions, for example, the 65th Infantry Division formed at Bitche in July 1942. Bitche was liberated in December 1944 by Allied troops but was relinquished in the withdrawal forced by the German counteroffensive. In March 1945 the U.S. 100th Infantry Division broke through the Maginot Line in the Bitche area and liberated the town for good. The attack was a part of Operation Undertone.

Source of images and information: dispatchfrommetz.blogspot.com, www.marshallfoundation.org, en.wikipedia.org

CETTE PLAQUE EST DEDIEE PAR LA VILLE DE BITCHE ET LA 100EME DIVISION D'INFANTERIE DES ETATS-UNIS AUX 3000 SOLDATS DE LA DIVISION TUES, BLESSES, PORTES DISPARUS OU CAPTURES DURANT LA BATAILLE POUR LA PRISE DU SECTEUR DE LA LIGNE MAGINOT-APPELLE ENSEMBLE DE BITCHE- DU 3 DECEMBRE 1944 AU 17 MARS 1945. CETTE PLAQUE EST EGALEMENT DEDIEE AUX 34 CITOYENS DE BITCHE TUES ET AUX 119 BLESSES DURANT LES COMBATS AINSI QU'AUX 41 MEMBRES DE LA RESISTANCE DEFORTES EN ALLEMAGNE PENDANT LA SECONDE GUERRE MONDIALE.

THIS PLAQUE IS DEDICATED BY THE CITY OF BITCHE AND THE 100TH INFANTRY DIVISION TO THE NEARLY 3000 SOLDIERS OF THE DIVISION WHO WERE KILLED, WOUNDED, MISSING OR CAPTURED DURING THE BATTLE FOR THE  MAGINOT SECTOR KNOWN AS THE ENSEMBLE DE BITCHE BETWEEN DECEMBER 3, 1944 AND MARCH 17, 1945. THE PLAQUE IS ALSO DEDICATED TO THE 34 CITIZENS OF BITCHE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DURING THE BATTLE AND THE 119 PERSONS WHO WERE INJURED AS WELL AS THE 41 MEMBERS OF THE RESISTANCE WHO WERE DEPORTED TO GERMANY DURING THE WAR.