Day 14 - Day of Days

When planning this journey, we expected to see 4 significant monuments: the Verdun Necropolis, Thiepval, Vimy Ridge and the Menin Gate. Cresting a shallow rise, we caught a glimpse of the Verdun Necropolis towering above the surrounding trees, a stark contrast to the surrounding shell blasted landscape through which we were walking. Emotionally, though Verdun was only 400km in, it had always felt a key point in our journey; that milestone, which once passed meant that reaching Ypres (and Nieuwpoort) was a real possibility.

The night before we had discussed with Chantal (our host), through Google Translate, the best way to reach the Verdun battlefield. On her recommendation, we decided not to follow the WFW route, but approach via Fort du Moulanville. Although Moulanville was never taken by the Germans in 1916, it formed part of the extensive fortifications built post the 1870/71 Franco/Prussian War to defend Verdun. As we climbed up to the fort, we began to see ever more evidence of the intense fighting that took place here; trenches (presumably French) and hundreds of shell craters.

Over the next few hours, we walked through the battlefield. Past Fort du Tavannes, which less for the outer wall, was completely flattened and onto Fort de Souville. Souville, which overlooks the town of Verdun, traded hands between July and August 1916, with the French ultimately retaining this tactically important piece of ground. In 1914, 4-500m Northwest of Souville lay the village of Fluery that was wiped off the map in 1916, and is now marked by simple plaques representing the location of former houses and farms.

The impressive Memorial Museum to Verdun, which lies between Souville and Fleury, provided us with a brief respite from the wind and a very well timed ‘pit stop’, as our sole breakfast croissant seemed a long time ago, and energy levels were running low…

Finally, climbing the last few metres up to what in 1916 was Fort Douaument, we reached the Necropolis. 16,000 French soldiers are buried in this cemetery, with the remains of a further 130,000 unnamed combatants interned in the Ossuary. Over 230,000 men, from both sides were killed at Verdun, in the space of 10 months. “Meat Grinder” is a phrase that springs to mind. Standing on the remains of Fort Douaument, with the wind howling through the trees, it was not hard to imagine the scream of artillery shells or the cries of the wounded. For those of us that have had the misfortune to witness and/or participate in combat, the scale of the misery and suffering is beyond comprehension. It is no wonder the Germans termed Verdun ‘Die Hölle von Verdun’ (the Hell of Verdun).

The area covered by this vast battleground is now a nature reserve; endless blast craters filled with water and reeds providing watering holes for the local wildlife, and trenches overtaken by trees. The contrast between the horrors of then, and the normality of now further increased as we descended from the battlefield through muddy fields and then along the towpath into Verdun itself. Passing a primary school at pick-up time, the innocent chattering of children’s voices and laughter made us hope that the men who gave their lives just a few kilometres away, and across The Western Front would feel that their ultimate sacrifice had not been in vain.

Ultimately, the German plan to destroy the French Army in a battle of attrition at Verdun failed, primarily as a result of the sheer tenacity and bravery of the French soldiers. The French were assisted by the British offensive on the Somme in July 1916, which relieved the immense pressure they were under, by drawing German division away from the French sector. Often considered to be a tactical failure the Somme was actually a strategic success, as it helped save the French Army at Verdum.

Our muddy arrival at the Jardin du Mess (the old Officers’ Mess) on the bank of The Meuse at 4.30pm, ended our Verdun experience and the completion of Stage 5 of the WFW, marking the time for a well-earned beer (or two) and 36 hrs of most welcome rest.