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Entrance to the Trench of the Bayonets Memorial

Entrance to the Trench of the Bayonets Memorial

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Entrance to the Trench of the Bayonets Memorial

Name: Entrance to the Trench of the Bayonets Memorial
Rating: 2

Recommended by 14 hikers

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Location: Douaumont, Verdun, Great East, France

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1. Fort de Douaumont – Fleury-devant-Douaumont loop from Douaumont

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2. Fleury-devant-Douaumont – Fort Douaumont loop from Douaumont

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3. Fort de Douaumont – Douaumont Ossuary loop from Fleury-devant-Douaumont

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Tips

🇧🇪 Herwig Aertbeliën

March 30, 2025

Site that leaves you speechless.
The year is 1916 - At Douaumont, 57 French soldiers are buried under a bombardment...

On 8 December 1920, the President of the Republic, Alexandre Millerand, inaugurated an impressive concrete monument in the Morchée forest, designed by the architect A. Ventre, which covers the graves of seven unknown French infantrymen who died in 1916. The metal door that gives access to the "trench" thus covered is the work of Edgard Brandt, an artistic ironworker, who in 1923 also created the bronze incense burner where the flame flickers on the tomb of the unknown soldier at the Arc de Triomphe.

In 1920, this site, a memorial to the veterans of the 137th RI who had fought here, was excavated by the war graves service and the civil registry service of the 6th military region and excavations were carried out. 21 Frenchmen were found, including an unknown lieutenant.

No one was standing with a weapon in their hand and the rusty rifles sticking out of the ground only served to indicate that the enemy had buried the dead in a shallow trench. The discovery of these unarmed bodies refutes the legend that the company was buried standing during the bombardment. This legend was refuted by the veterans of the 137th themselves and nevertheless still crops up regularly.

Of these 21 bodies, 14 were identified and buried in the military cemetery of Fleury. However, this cemetery was later decommissioned and the bodies were then grouped together in the national necropolis of Douaumont. The remaining 7 unknown men were reburied in the "Trench". Carcasses of rifles with broken bayonets (the original weapons had been removed during the excavations) were buried near wooden Latin crosses.

Source: cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/la-tranchee-des-baionnettes

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Nico

December 10, 2022

Massive, imposingly designed access area to this monument of remembrance and admonition

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Elevation 340 m

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Wednesday 5 November

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Max wind speed: 9.0 km/h

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Location: Douaumont, Verdun, Great East, France

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Entrance to the Trench of the Bayonets Memorial

1. Fort de Douaumont – Fleury-devant-Douaumont loop from Douaumont

2. Fleury-devant-Douaumont – Fort Douaumont loop from Douaumont

3. Fort de Douaumont – Douaumont Ossuary loop from Fleury-devant-Douaumont

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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