Name: Life in the fort
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France

Great East

Verdun

Douaumont

Life in the fort

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France

Great East

Verdun

Douaumont

Life in the fort

Recommended by 13 hikers

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Location: Douaumont, Verdun, Great East, France

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Best Hikes to Life in the fort

4.7

(27)

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

8.49km

02:19

130m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

4.6

(16)

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

14.6km

04:01

250m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

4.5

(18)

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

13.8km

03:44

200m

Intermediate hike. Good fitness required. Easily-accessible paths. Suitable for all skill levels.

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Intermediate

Tips

Nico

December 10, 2022

Dark and harrowing impressions of life in the fort

Translated by Google •

🇧🇪 Herwig Aertbeliën

April 1, 2025

On 21 February 1916 at 07:15 (German time was 1 hour later) 1225 guns poured their fire over the French lines in front of Verdun. The gunfire was so intense that a subterranean rumbling and booming could be heard and felt up to 170 kilometres around Verdun. As far away as Trier, Saarbrücken and Paris the air vibrated and windows rattled. French pilots who flew over Verdun during the bombardment reported seeing gigantic columns of flames and smoke and that the front looked like a smoking industrial city. This is consistent with the comment of General Petain, who estimated that a million shells were fired on that first day alone.

The bombardment lasted for almost 5 hours, until 12:00. Then a short pause in firing was called. The idea was to tempt the survivors to come out of their shelters to recover from the horrors of the drumfire. They would then be destroyed after 10 minutes by even heavier cannon fire. After the pause, the bombardment continued until about 16:30. Then it stopped.

Then the infantry attack began. The German soldiers climbed out of the assault trenches and began to cross the bombed terrain. Nothing happened for the first few hundred meters. The cannon fire had completely destroyed the first French lines. But at the second defense line things were different. It turned out that there were still survivors, who were defending themselves furiously. The bombardment had not only killed and stunned the French. It had also filled the survivors with a rage and fury that made them fight to the end.

At the end of the first day, the Germans had gained about two kilometers of ground. Yet they had encountered more resistance than they had expected. And the losses were also higher than originally thought. A tiny sign of what was to come.

Triggered? Want to know more? Click through to cirkwi.com/fr/point-interet/1269507-monument-sommieres-paul

Translated by Google •

Monts&Forts

October 9, 2024

interesting to see here

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Details

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Elevation 390 m

Weather

Tuesday 23 September

11°C

9°C

40 %

If you start your activity now...

Max wind speed: 16.0 km/h

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Location: Douaumont, Verdun, Great East, France

Life in the fort

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

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

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

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