21/02/2016
THE BATTLE OF VERDUN February 21st - December 16th 1916.
THE BATTLE OF VERDUN February 21st - December 16th 1916.
The Battle of Verdun erupted 100 years ago today when the Germans attacked the town in an operation called Gericht - a place of ex*****on. The attack started with a truly gigantic bombardment... 2 and a half million shells were fired along the 19 mile long front on the first day alone....
The classic invasion route into France from the east crosses two rivers. First the Moselle and then the Meuse. Above the Meuse to its east is a 1,500ft high ridge and in its western shadow is Verdun. In the late seventeenth century the great French military architect Vauban included Verdun in his defensive scheme for the protection of France and in the Franco-Prussian war it was the last great fortress to fall. After that war the area between the two rivers, known as Alsace Lorraine, was ceded to Germany and Verdun thus became a French border town, leaving in every French heart the desire for revenge. Verdun developed a mystical significance for the French and its slogan became Ils ne passeront pas , They shall not pass. And they did not. The battle lasted 10 months but the city never fell. French casualties are estimated at 540,000, German at 430,000.
Verdun was the longest and most costly battle of the Great War and became known as the French meat Grinder....
26 million shells were fired around Verdun. An average of 1000 shells per square meter fell. Bodies were splattered across the barren and torn landscape and after the battle, their remains were piled up as seen in the middle picture. ..
Today Right at the heart of the Verdun battlefield, and perhaps the main focus of it as well, is the massive Ossuary located not far from the site of Fort Douaumont and the ruined village of the same name. The building of this structure took some twelve years, and it was finally inaugurated in 1932.
The Ossuary is at the heart of the Verdun battlefields
Inside the base of the building are collected the bones recovered from this battlefield - an estimated 130,000 skeletons; and walking around the building one can peer through the small windows to see these grisly reminders of the bloodshed here. Through some of the windows can be seen neatly piled long-bones; through others jumbles and scraps of bones as well as skulls.
On the slope below the Ossuary are the crosses of the French Cemetery here - a further 15,000 French soldiers are buried here, in the regular rows of graves seen in French military cemeteries.
Our page will cover this horrendus battle over the next 10 months.
Lest We Forget this terrible Battle. ..
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