Across the road is a memorial marking the site of an ancient chapel. The agonised look on the face of the wounded lion is clearly to be seen. First reached is the Lion of Souville monument. Travelling south-east from the Ossuary, and passing the memorial museum at Fleury, the D913 in this direction leads to a number of sites of interest. The line of crosses, and a close up view of one of themĪklso within the site is a memorial to the 137th Infantry Regiment, and the land near by is still cratered. The crosses of the Unknown French soldiers lined up within the covered area are perhaps one of the iconic sights of Verdun. A long low concrete structure has been built to cover the site.Īn ornate green bronze gate, decorated with a sword entwined by vine leaves leads into the site. ![]() Located a little way along a small road leading north from the Ossuary (the D913) is the famous Trench of Bayonets. The French Infantry Regiments that were involved are listed, and the inscirption goes on to commemorate the actions of the 24th of October 1916, when the 4th Regiment retook Thiaumont. A little further towards the Ossuary is another much smaller memorial in a similar style, commemorating that in June to October 1916 there was bitter combat at the Thiaumont Redoubt. On the opposite side of the Ossuary is the Memorial to Israelites in the form of a large wall with red script upon it. Until recently, this column (now housed in a larger structure) alone formed the memorial This was originally a small monolith, but in recent years this relatively small monument has been relocated and placed inside a much grander structure, which was inaugurated on the 25th of June 2006 by Jacques Chirac. There is the Memorial to Muslim soldiers, overlooking the cemetery below the Ossuary. Near the Ossuary are several other sites of interest. The views from the cemetery demonstate the height of this areaīeyond the cemetery sloping away from the Ossuary is Abri Caverne 320, where several chimneys rise from the cratered ground, and there are again excellent views across the valley beyond. There is a chapel straight ahead of the entrance way, and to the right of this stairs lead down to a shop and then out to the car-park at the rear. Names are also inscribed on panels on the walls and the roof. Along the hall are alcoves (with the names of areas of the battlefields inscribed above them), and mock tombs inscribed with the names of cities in France. Their flickering flames glow amidst the dim orange light that permeates the interior. There are two main arms of the building leading off left and right from the entrance, with candles at each end. Inside the Ossuary itself, the atmosphere is similar to that of a cathedral - voices are hushed and the smallest sounds echo along the halls. ![]() The sloping lawns of the cemetery are kept in immaculate condition, and the gardeners cut the grass on some of the steeper slopes by pulling lawnmowers up and down them with ropes tied to the handles.ĭecorating the exterior walls of the Ossuary are the shields of many towns and cities across France and further afield - there is one for Londres (London). General Ernest Anselin is buried in a grave alone, covered by lw foliage, by the wall at the front of the cemetery, near where the steps lead down to it. 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. Through some of the windows can be seen neatly piled long-bones through others jumbles and scraps of bones as well as skulls. ![]() 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. The Ossuary is at the heart of the Verdun battlefields The building of this structure took some twelve years, and it was finally inaugurated in 1932. 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. Many of these are well known, and should be part of any visitors itinerary. There are quite a number of sites in reasonably close proximity here. This page covers what might be termed the 'main battlefield sites' associated with Verdun that is, the area in the forests just to the north-east of Verdun itself. ![]() Some pages such as this one remain in the original format pending update. The updated pages can be found at Updated World War One Battlefields. The World War One Battlefields site is undergoing a major update, with pages being converted to a new, user-friendly mobile format.
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