Verdun ww2
In May of 1916, a cooking accident sparked a munitions explosion that killed nearly 700 German troops, whose bodies are still entombed in the ruins of the France, battlefield The fort was captured by the Germans at the start of the offensive through a stroke of luck and served as a base for German troops through much of the campaign until finally recaptured by the French. In addition to the citadelle, located on the outskirts of the city, other must-see sites are the giant cemetery and ossuary at the village of Douamont, as well as Fort Douamont, where much of the fighting was centered. Most of the city now dates from the 1920s and 30s when it was extensively rebuilt. The city of Verdun itself was heavily damaged in the fighting, including its landmark Gothic cathedral. The Verdun battlefield encompassed nine villages so completely devastated that they were abandoned and never rebuilt after the conflict. One hundred years later, the landscape remains visibly scarred by the thousands of overlapping shell craters, trench lines and bunkers blanketing the terrain. Some were made out of concrete, but most were simply dug into the ground. Trenches offered the only shelter from the bullets and the barrage of artillery shells. Rusty chunks of shrapnel and barbed wire also are potentially dangerous, so care should be taken if trekking through the fields off existing roads or pathways. Although most are by now inert, visitors are warned not to pick them up or even touch them. Some 11 million large-caliber artillery rounds were fired during the campaign, leaving a number of unexploded munitions - including shells, hand grenades and landmines - that still litter the fields. Remnants of the Verdun battle - including memorials, ossuaries, sections of the old French forts and trench lines - dot the hilly area that stretches about 15 miles from east to west and 10 miles north to south. Hailed after WWI as a national hero for his successful defense of Verdun, Petain later earned infamy when he led the Vichy administration, which collaborated with Nazi Germany in World War II. The approach to Verdun from the A4 Autoroute leads down the Voie Sacre - the Sacred Way - the only supply route open to the French front commander, Gen. In summer, thousands of visitors flock to this pleasant, undulating countryside. Today, the sprawling battlefield in the hills and woods overlooking the meandering Meuse River north of the ancient town of Verdun have largely been preserved and turned into a national monument to the Great War. Despite the almost incomprehensible carnage of the 10-month campaign that came to epitomize the slaughter of World War I-style trench warfare, the struggle ended with almost no territory gained or lost and with the front lines remaining essentially where they were before the start of the German offensive.