Verdun Memorial

#hellohalloween #verdunmemorial In 1916, the Battle of Verdun epitomized the horror of the Great War. From February 21 to December 18, Germans and French clashed in a war of attrition, orchestrated by Falkenhayn to "bleed France white." Verdun, symbolic, held firm: "They shall not pass!" Pétain declared. Artillery roared, gas choked, trenches ran red. Forts Douaumont and Vaux fell, then were retaken amid mud and fire. The toll: 714,000 casualties, including 163,000 French and 143,000 German deaths. A million shells daily scarred 10 km², creating the "Red Zone," a barren wasteland haunted by 100,000 missing. Memorials enshrine the memory. Douaumont Ossuary holds 130,000 unidentified remains under a stark tower. The Verdun Memorial (1967) at Fleury overlooks craters and ghost villages—Beaumont, Bezonvaux, Cumières—six hamlets erased, preserved as eternal cemeteries. In 1984, Mitterrand and Kohl clasped hands here, symbolizing Franco-German reconciliation. Today, these silent sites echo the madness of war. Verdun: a cry for peace in the Meuse winds.