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On June 23, during the lightning German advance, the assault waves crossed Fleury and reached the Froidterre fortification. Along the way, they encountered fierce pockets of resistance. On the southern slope of the Ravin des Vignes, 400 Poilus (French infantrymen) dug in a vaulted gallery, buried 12 meters underground, recognizable from afar by its four ventilation shafts. In the stifling, overcrowded June days, the survivors, wounded or not, struggled to breathe, watching for the moment when they might be buried, gassed, or burned alive by flamethrowers. Their salvation came on June 23, when the 114th Battalion of Alpine Chasseurs heroically cleared the entrances, bayonets fixed.

This is absolutely amazing!

On June 23, during the lightning German advance, the assault waves crossed Fleury and reached the Froidterre fortification. Along the way, they encountered fierce pockets of resistance. On the southern slope of the Ravin des Vignes, 400 Poilus (French infantrymen) dug in a vaulted gallery, buried 12 meters underground, recognizable from afar by its four ventilation shafts. In the stifling, overcrowded June days, the survivors, wounded or not, struggled to breathe, watching for the moment when they might be buried, gassed, or burned alive by flamethrowers. Their salvation came on June 23, when the 114th Battalion of Alpine Chasseurs heroically cleared the entrances, bayonets fixed.

Beautiful view over Verdun and the Meuse valley. On the nearby main road it is wonderful to drive downhill, but uphill is only recommended to a limited extent due to the busy traffic.

The Meuse at Verdun plays a crucial role in both the landscape and the history of the region. Cutting deeply through the hilly terrain, it has provided a natural defensive advantage—something that became painfully clear during the Battle of Verdun in 1916, one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the First World War. In addition to its strategic importance, the Meuse also has a more peaceful face: it flows peacefully along the banks of the city of Verdun, connecting the past with the present in a landscape that breathes history.

The Ossuary of Douaumont is an impressive memorial that holds the remains of more than 130,000 unknown French and German soldiers who died during the Battle of Verdun (1916). The bones are visible through small windows in the base – a confronting reminder of the horrors of war. In front of the ossuary is the Nécropole nationale de Douaumont, the largest French military cemetery of the First World War, with 16,142 graves, including a Muslim and Jewish plot. The complex was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023.

The Meuse is a 950-kilometre-long river in Western Europe. The Meuse rises in France and then flows through Belgium and the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, the Meuse is the southernmost of the major rivers and flows into the North Sea via the Dutch river delta. Source: Wikipedia

Beautiful square with a lot of history: a memorial for the fallen soldiers is right next door, the old city gate with the pretty old town on the other bank of the Meuse