Postcards to Rick Steves |
HISTORY
The Battle of Verdun was a 300-day battle between France and Germany, fought from February through December 1916. During this war, nearly 60 million shells were dropped between the two countries. About 700,000 people perished.
In the hills above a cute little town, lush forests hide what were once bloody war grounds. While the grass is green and the trees loom high above, you will notice the muddy craters and trenches that remain as they were nearly 100 years ago. Our local guide Florence gave us a tour of several key areas of the battlefield, with lunch afterward.
First we visited Fort Douaumont, the most heavily armed and important fort of the region. You will visit several key areas of the fort as you learn about the war, including the commanders station, walled cemetery, ammunition storage, chapel, observatory, and various galleries.
Next you visit the Ossuary, which overlooks the National Cemetery of Douaumont, where 15,000 identified French soldiers have been buried. Photos are not allowed, men are asked to remove their hats, and silence is expected as you pay respects to the thousands of soldiers who perished. The walls are lined with commemorations of the countries who helped build the Ossuary. The Ossuary has 22 sectors, each containing 46 graves, each representing a sector of the battlefield.
A film about this "Battle of 300 Days and Nights" followed the tour.
Perhaps the most sobering part of this visit is viewing the bones of 130,000 unidentified soldiers. We are reminded of the face of humanity that is often forgotten during war. While we may be French or German or whatever on the outside, you can't distinguish one country's bones from another.
We are all the same.
In the hills above a cute little town, lush forests hide what were once bloody war grounds. While the grass is green and the trees loom high above, you will notice the muddy craters and trenches that remain as they were nearly 100 years ago. Our local guide Florence gave us a tour of several key areas of the battlefield, with lunch afterward.
First we visited Fort Douaumont, the most heavily armed and important fort of the region. You will visit several key areas of the fort as you learn about the war, including the commanders station, walled cemetery, ammunition storage, chapel, observatory, and various galleries.
Next you visit the Ossuary, which overlooks the National Cemetery of Douaumont, where 15,000 identified French soldiers have been buried. Photos are not allowed, men are asked to remove their hats, and silence is expected as you pay respects to the thousands of soldiers who perished. The walls are lined with commemorations of the countries who helped build the Ossuary. The Ossuary has 22 sectors, each containing 46 graves, each representing a sector of the battlefield.
A film about this "Battle of 300 Days and Nights" followed the tour.
Perhaps the most sobering part of this visit is viewing the bones of 130,000 unidentified soldiers. We are reminded of the face of humanity that is often forgotten during war. While we may be French or German or whatever on the outside, you can't distinguish one country's bones from another.
We are all the same.