Fort De Vaux ,WWI Battle of Verdun 1916

Great photo @Geoffxx have you been here ?

Hi Andy, Have done a load of the WWI Western Front over the years. Verdun is probably more moving than the Somme. The memorials and the carnage of 300 constant days of battle was the longest single battle of World War One. The battle, which lasted from 21 February 1916 until 19 December 1916 caused over an estimated 700,000 casualties (dead, wounded and missing). The battlefield was not even ten square kilometres. The signs of this battle are still there, unexploded shells are still found, areas out of bounds, barbed wire, forts and many artifacts from those terrible times. Human remains both French and German that are found to this day are placed in the great ossuary at the French National Memorial at Douaumont, estimated at 130,000 men. On the bank in front of this are the graves of 15,000 French soldiers.

Thanks for that information geoffxx
I hope to go there one of these days

If you do go plan your tour. I recommend that you start at Ypres (Excellent War Museum) go south Vimy Ridge onto Newfoundland Park on the Somme, Albert, St Quintin, Rheims.
Before you get to Rheims divert off to a place called Vailly where the battle of the Marne took place.
Then on down to Verdun. Coming back go via Sedan (WWII Battle of the Bulge) passing where the American Army took big losses in 1918. A must stop is a place called Orval in Belgium in is famous for it's trapist beer,
Then onto Mons where WWI kicked off and where the last casualty of the war was killed at 10.58 on 11th November 1918. A cemetery there has the first and the last British and Commonwealth fatalities of the Great War.
By then you will need a rest from War graves battlefields and beer, wine and hopefully sunshine and you will be glad to be heading home via Ypres to hear the buglers at the Menin gate, every evening without fail.Plan your tour and accommodation and remember the French go to bed early so if you expect a late night session forget it.
A very old but excellent book on the Western Front is called Before Endeavours Fade by Rose E Coombes it has non of the new motorways in it (if updated it might have now) and shows where every war cemetery and monument is situated and has maps for all of the Western Front
Hardback
ISBN 0 900913 26 6
Paperback
ISBN 0 900913 27 4

Geoffxx

That's great info mate, I too would like to go and visit however at the moment work commitments are taking precedence.