Sainte-Marie-à-Py played an important role during the First World War, particularly during the Champagne Offensives, when French troops attempted to push back the German lines. The region was badly affected by the fighting, and today the Navarin Monument commemorates the soldiers who fought and died here. The village also has a war memorial in memory of the inhabitants who died in both world wars. The traces of the destruction are still visible in the landscape, a silent witness to the fierce fighting that took place here.