Battle of Verdun - Fort de Douaumont (France) - Battlefields on Waymarking.com

The apocalyptic Battle of Verdun was a turning point in the 1st World War and Fort de Douaumont was the heart of the battle. Situated at 395 m above sea level, Fort de Douaumont was in 1914 the strongest and most modern of the forts around Verdun. The given WMs coordinates marks the entrance of Fort de Douaumont.

The German invasion of Belgium in 1914 forced military planners to radically rethink the utility of fortification in war. Belgium's comparable forts were quickly destroyed by German artillery, and easily overrun. The decision was made in August 1915 to reduce the garrison at Douaumont and to strip the fort of much of its weaponry.

Unfortunately this proved unwise because in February of 1916, Germany launched the Verdun offensive; Douaumont was a key objective; even with a reduced garrison and weaponry, Douaumont presented a formidable obstacle to the German attack.

The French made many attempts to recapture the fort from May 1916, suffering heavy losses. Possibly 100 000 casualties were incurred in these efforts. The fort was an invaluable forward base for the Germans. It provided shelter for troops and served as first aid station and supply center. On the 8th May, a careless fire detonated grenades and flamethrower fuel. This in turn detonated an ammunitions cache. A firestorm ripped through the fort, killing hundreds of soldiers instantly. The exact casualties are unknown, but over 600 bodies were buried in a portion of the main corridor. This part of the fort is now rightly considered an official German military cemetery.

Douaumont was recaptured on the 24th October 1916 by Moroccan French Colonial troops after the Germans withdrew. Millions of shells had been fired at the fort since its capture by the Germans to little avail, and thousands of men had died in attempts to recapture it.

Verdun and Fort Douaumont are synonyms for the senselessness and cruelness of war...

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The Battle of Verdun 1916 - the greatest battle ever

The Battle of Verdun is considered the greatest and lengthiest in world history. Never before or since has there been such a lengthy battle, involving so many men, situated on such a tiny piece of land. The battle, which lasted from February 21, 1916 until December 19, 1916 caused over an estimated 700 000 casualties (dead, wounded and missing). The battlefield was not even a square ten kilometres. From a strategic point of view there can be no justification for these atrocious losses. The battle degenerated into a matter of prestige of two nations literally for the sake of fighting...

Name of Battle: Battle of Verdun / Bataille de Verdun Name of War: 1st World War Entrance Fee: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Parking: N 49° 12.933 W 005° 26.321 Date(s) of Battle (Beginning): 02/21/1916 Date of Battle (End): 12/18/1916

Visit Instructions:
Post a photo of you in front of a sign or marker posted at the site of the battle (or some other way to indicate you have personally visited the site.

In addition it is encouraged to take a few photos of the surrounding area and interesting features at the site.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/10/2016 lynx36 visited it 01/29/2016 Team Glandouillage visited it 12/05/2015 Lo36 visited it 12/30/2014 DD Drix visited it 08/28/2014 gemeloj visited it 08/28/2014 Ourspolaire&Gemeloj visited it 01/27/2007 L et G visited it

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