French occupation septembre 1914 (≈ 1914)
The French troops took the hill.
décembre 1914
German mine explosion
German mine explosion décembre 1914 (≈ 1914)
The burial of a company of Zouaves.
1942
Fusillade hostages
Fusillade hostages 1942 (≈ 1942)
Six German hostages executed.
2 avril 2002
Registration for Historic Monuments
Registration for Historic Monuments 2 avril 2002 (≈ 2002)
Official protection of the memorial site.
6 avril 2023
Confirmation of registration
Confirmation of registration 6 avril 2023 (≈ 2023)
Final decision of the Administrative Court.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
La butte (Box A 31): registration by order of 2 April 2002
Key figures
Information non disponible - No character named in the sources
The records cited do not specify any names.
Origin and history
The Zouaves hill, located in Moulin-sous-Touvent in Oise, is a place full of history linked to the two world wars. Occupied by French troops as early as September 1914, it was on the front line between Tracy-le-Val and the Red House farm. In December 1914, an entire company of Zouaves was buried there by the explosion of a German mine, lastingly marking this site as a symbol of the sacrifices of the First World War.
During World War II, the hill again became a tragic place: in 1942, six hostages were shot by the Germans. These events, combined with his role in the French Resistance, reinforced his memory dimension. The site was added to the additional inventory of the Historic Monuments on April 2, 2002, recognizing its heritage and symbolic importance.
Since 2010, the Zouaves hill has been the subject of a legal challenge concerning its scope of protection. A neighbouring company, Gurdebeke, requested a reduction of this perimeter from 500 to 150 metres, arguing for local historians' work questioning the authenticity of the place. After several conflicting appeals and decisions (including the cancellation of the registration by the Amiens Administrative Court in 2019, and its final confirmation by the Douai Administrative Court of Appeal in 2023), the site remains protected because of its attachment to the memories of the two world conflicts.
The hill thus illustrates the tensions between heritage preservation and contemporary economic issues, while embodying a painful legacy shared by successive generations. Its current status as a historical monument, despite the controversy, bears witness to its anchoring in national collective memory.
