Another Grim Reminder

When we left Reims and were driving to Cochem in the Mosel valley, the autoroute we were on took us by Verdun.  As it is another of those very well known places where there was horrible fighting and trench warfare during WWI, we thought we should stop.  Actually, I have been there twice before and, believe me, it does not get any easier.  

Verdun's battlefields are marked by museums and memorials, such as the Douaumont Ossuary, with the remains of more than 100,000 soldiers. As you drive through the woods and winding road to the imposing Ossuary or Ossuaire with an immense cemetery in front of it, you can still see trenches, bomb craters, and "abris" (shelters) as you go along the road.  There are also two "villages destruits" you can visit - villages that were destroyed in the battles.  I have not visited them.  Along the base of the Ossuary, there are small windows and you can still see some of the bones that were collected from the battleground and stored there.  It is awful!

The Battle of Verdun in 1916 was the most murderous frontal assault in history. This struggle for annihilation through an artillery duel, without precedent, symbolizes and summarizes the whole war.  The battle lasted for 303 days, the longest and one of the most costly in history.  It has been calculated that the French suffered 377,231 casualties and the Germans 337,000 for a total loss of 714,231 lives, an average of 70,000 a month.  Some estimates are higher estimating 976,000 casualties in 1916 and 1,250,000 suffered around the city during the war.  In France, the battle came to symbolize the determination of the French Army and the destructiveness of the war.

This battlefield constitutes a heritage unique in the world. This vast area situated in the "Red Zone", proposed for UNESCO listing, bears the striking scars of the bitter combats of 1916.  More details of the battle can be found online and it sickens me to try to write about them here.  

I found this photo on the Internet,  It is Abri 320.  It is about 8 meters deep into a hill
close to the Ossuary.  The Abri could house up to 300 men.

We also stopped at the Trench of Bayonets.  The history of this is tragic.  In June, 1916, this part of the battlefield was a location the Germans desperately wanted. On June 12, Germans unleashed a hailstorm of iron and lead upon French positions. The attack caught the French by surprise.  The French regiment there was annihilated almost to a man.  Years after the war, French teams exploring the battle field uncovered the clues to the horrific fate of this regiment.  One of the trenches was discovered completely filled in with only a neat line of bayonets sticking out of the ground.  The bayonets were still fixed to the rifles.  A bout was found next to each one.  The regiment had been buried alive when the ground beneath them collapsed due to all the rain and underground tunnels.  At the entrance to the memorial there, The sign basically says "they died with their rifles in their hands".  It doesn't get much more grim than that!

Following the visit to the memorial, we continued heading east with the Mosel Valley being our destination, the last one for our trip.  More about that - and a much more upbeat topic - next.