Private tour of the battlefields of Verdun from Paris in Van (2/7 travelers)

Memorial de la Voie Sacre

This stone monument is the work of the sculptor Barrois and the architect Schmitt. It pays tribute to all those who worked for the functioning of the Sacred Way between Bar-le-Duc and Verdun, a strategic axis, essential for the supply of troops with food and ammunition as well as for the evacuation of the wounded. Today helmeted markers mark out every kilometer of this road, baptized at the end of the war by Maurice Barrès, "Sacred Way" The monument consists of two parts: a wall in the shape of an arc of circle on which is represented a frieze representing in bas-relief the soldiers of the Sacred Way, associating the rail and the road. The frieze represents soldiers and transportations of the Sacred Way. We recognize: the noria of trucks (including Berliet CBA), the railway (with the Corpet-Louvet locomotive), horse-drawn convoys, transport of soldiers and ammunition, traffic regulators, the return of soldiers from the front, track maintenance.

L'Ossuaire de Douaumont

The Douamont ossuary is a memorial containing the remains of French and German soldiers who died on the battlefield of Verdun. Through small exterior windows, you can see the skeletal remains of at least 130,000 unidentified fighters from two nations filling alcoves at the bottom edge of the building. Inside the ossuary, the ceiling and walls are partially covered with plaques bearing the names of French soldiers who died during the Battle of Verdun. It was built on the initiative of Charles Ginisty, bishop of Verdun. It has been designated "national necropolis", or "national cemetery". In front of the ossuary, the national necropolis of Douaumont brings together 16,142 graves of French soldiers, mainly Catholics, including a square of 592 stelae of Muslim soldiers. The military cemetery also contains two memorials respectively dedicated to soldiers of the Jewish and Muslim faiths.

Fort Douaumont

The Fort de Douaumont was the largest and tallest fort on a crown of 19 large defensive works that had been built to protect the city of Verdun since the 1890s. In 1915, the French general staff concluded that even the best protected forts in Verdun could not withstand the bombardment of German gamma-ray guns of 420 mm. The fort, occupied by sixty French soldiers, was taken without a fight by the Germans on February 25, 1916, four days after the start of the Battle of Verdun. It will be occupied for 8 months by the German army, which will make it a shelter for its troops and an essential support point on the right bank of the Meuse to continue its offensive. The fort was not taken over until October 24, 1916 by French colonial troops. French General Pétain said it cost the lives of 100,000 French soldiers to retake Fort Douamont!

Fleury-Devant-Douaumont

The village was destroyed in 1916 during the battle of Verdun and was not rebuilt. Since then, the town site has become an uninhabited place of remembrance. From June to August 1916, the German command launched several offensives on this part of the front. In two months, the village was taken and taken over 16 times by French and Germans. From July 13 to August 5, 1916, intense fighting took place around the ruined village. On the night of August 17-18, 1916, the colonial infantry regiment of Morocco launched an assault and definitively took over the village. Located in the Verdun sector, the village disappears completely due to the relentless shelling of French and German shells. In 1918, the village was declared "dead for France". It is one of the nine villages destroyed during the Battle of Verdun. The tormented relief of the ground of the commune still testifies to the enormous quantity of shells received.

Your driver guide will drop you off at the foot of Verdun Cathedral. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it was built from 990 according to the Romanesque-Rhenish plan. It is therefore the oldest in Lorraine and one of the oldest in Europe. It suffered several ravages in the 11th and 12th centuries, leading to the reconstruction of certain parts and the addition of others. From the 14th to the 16th century, the building was modified according to the Gothic style. After a fire in 1755 which caused it to lose two of its four bell towers, the cathedral was redesigned in baroque and rockery styles. Severely damaged by bombing during the First World War, it is again restored.

Monument de la Victoire

Built in downtown Verdun, this monument was inaugurated in 1929. The 73 steps of the staircase lead to a crypt which houses the repertoires of the names of the soldiers holding the Verdun medal. At the top of the 30 meter high tower stands a warrior, leaning on his sword and looking east. A ceremony takes place every year on November 1 at the Victory Monument to welcome the Sacred Flame that burns under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Porte Chaussee

Built in 1380 along the Meuse, it was one of the three monumental gates of the Grand Rempart de Verdun. Redesigned in 1690, it served as a military prison for the State from 1755 to 1860 before being bought by the city in 1889. It has been classified as a historic monument since March 21, 1881.

Tranchee des Baionnettes

The bayonet trench is a monument commemorating the Battle of Verdun in 1916. The site was classified as a historic monument in 1922 and recognized as a center of national memory in March 2014. The most common account of the bayonet trench is that, in June 1916, soldiers preparing for the offensive were covered by waves of earth from the impact of shells falling all around their trench. Bayonet rifles protruding from the ground testify to this event, their owners having been buried with weapons in hand. In December 1920, the President of the Republic, Alexandre Millerand, went to Bois Morchée, on the territory of the commune of Douaumont (Meuse), to inaugurate the memorial of what will henceforth be called the "Bayonet Trench" .

Le Memorial de Verdun

To end this very moving day, you will visit the "Memorial Museum of Verdun" in Fleury-devant-Douaumont. The route of the new Memorial places the visitor at the heart of the battlefield. The ground floor is dedicated to the experience of combatants on the front line and on the first floor, visitors enter the environment of battle and the contexts of countries at war. The new Memorial was reborn in February 2016. The work carried out for more than two years brought new strength to the original building, while opening it outwards with: The installation of an additional floor of more than 600 m² covering the building. It houses an interactive space, a 175 m² temporary exhibition hall, the documentation center, the educational room, a relaxation area and two belvedere terraces on the battlefield.