spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 'Now and then' photos don't get much better than this!! Similar large photographs hang from each alcove and the sense of pride mixed with a feeling of loss is evident in all their faces. Inside the long central gallery there are 46 stone 'coffins' set in the alcoves. Each alcove commemorates a particular sector of the battlefield and any human remains found in that sector are placed in the corresponding vault on the lower floor, which can be viewed through small windows at the back of the Ossuary. The engraved plaques on the walls and ceilings commemorate individual soldiers or units that served at Verdun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 From the top of the Ossuary tower, but sadly the windows were locked, hence the quality. You can see the Islamic Memorial in the background, and also the Muslim Headstones within the cemetery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 As you can see from this shot, work is in progress to replace the grass. 15,000 men are buried within the National Cemetery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 As mentioned earlier, each window corresponds with the alcove above. Each vault holds the remains found in that sector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 From the moment that I started this thread, this photograph was never far from my mind. For those of you that may never get the chance to visit Douaumont and its Ossuary, the remains of those who fell at Verdun are still being recovered and these vaults are their last resting place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 The Islamic memorial was inaugurated by President Chirac in June 2006, to commemorate all the Muslim soldiers that died for France in the First World War. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickM99 Posted 7 November , 2012 Share Posted 7 November , 2012 Thanks Sean, yes I am enjoying the thread immensely. The removal of the grass around the graves doesn't detract from the size of the graveyard - and puts into perspective the scale of the fatalities. Having only been to a small part of the Somme, visiting Verdun was one of the places I never got around to doing. Thank you for being the next best thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 A view from the Islamic memorial, looking back at the cemetery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 The Soldat du Droit. This statue represents Second Lieutenant Andre Thome, who as a member of the French parliament, was mobilized in the dragoons but seconded at his own request to the Infantry. He was killed at Mort-Homme on the 10th March 1916, aged 36. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trenchtrotter Posted 7 November , 2012 Share Posted 7 November , 2012 Super images. When I last went for a walk in the forests it always meant one would find items on the surface, water bottles, helnet fragments, gas mask filters, mess tins, stick grenades, cups, ammo boxes plus lots more. All left in situ. I wonder what its like now...all scavenged? Thanks for images. Must, must return!!!!! TT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 7 November , 2012 Share Posted 7 November , 2012 More excellent photos; I've never visited the new Muslim memorial and will try to do so next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 Thanks TT. I was keeping an eye on the ground, but as a few million people had been there before me, I came away empty handed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 More excellent photos; I've never visited the new Muslim memorial and will try to do so next year. Thanks Steve, just make sure that the face-lift is complete before you return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 We now leave the French National cemetery on our way to Fort Douaumont. On the approach road, we pass the Boyau de Londres. After the French recaptured the fort, the 'London Trench' was used for supplies and troops in and out of the sector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 Fort Douaumont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 As with Fort Vaux, Douaumont had undergone a massive redevelopment programme since its construction in the 1880's. Covered in a huge layer of concrete, which was laid on a buffer of sand to reduce the impact of modern artillery, the advancing German Army feared that the fort was capable of resisting everything that they had to throw at it. Little did they know at the time, the French High Command had decided that, as in the German advance through Belgium, fixed fortifications no longer served any useful purpose. As a result, Douaumont had been stripped of its movable armaments and supplies and had been left in the care of an elderly warrant officer and a small group of territiorials. When it came, the German advance was rapid. On the 24th February 1916, the leading German units were barely 2 kilometres from the fort. The following day, after the bombardment lifted, the 24th Brandenburg Infantry Regiment jumped off with orders to stop some 800 metres short of the fort itself. With very little French resistance, they were to advance well beyond their objective, and within hours the fort was taken. This picture shows the mechanism for the 155mm gun turret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 7 November , 2012 Share Posted 7 November , 2012 .. On the approach road, we pass the Boyau de Londres. After the French recaptured of the fort, the 'London Trench' was used for supplies and troops in and out of the sector. It extended all the way back to beyond the Ouvrage de Froideterre and almost to Verdun itself near Belleville (quite some distance really - a single trench some 4 miles or so long). It was extended to this point in the weeks after the recapture of the fort (after being originally only extended to the Thiaumont ouvrage and then again just before the October attack) and was soon to be renamed to 'Boyau de Loumede' which is the name it had until the end of the war (or at least until August 1918 anyway (the date of my latest dated trenchmap for here). The concrete is a post-war addition. It was 'Boyau Nr.1' (or at least part of it was), 'Boyau de Londres' and 'Boyau de Loumede' at different points throughout the war... I wonder why the 'Londres' guise is the one that has stuck? Excellent shots, by the way. Glad you enjoyed it. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 Thanks Dave. Certainly was a great trip, the wife even showed an interest on couple of occasions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 If only we had a mobile phone...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spconnolly007 Posted 7 November , 2012 Author Share Posted 7 November , 2012 If only we had loft insulation..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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