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Bois de Herbebois (Verdun)


Todd

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Hello!

I am hoping that someone here could help me locate two specific monuments in the area Herbebois. I will be traveling to Verdun later this year and being very fascinated by monuments, both restored/taken care off and those which seems forgotten, I think they both tell a very different story from one and other. I found these two online (pictures further down) and I think I located the one for IR 24 (see the map). From what I can translate both of them should be located not too far from each other but I am having a hard time locating the second one and does anyone know where it is possible to park the car close by? They are both in the area which is closed during exercises on the shooting range but I will work around that. 

 

The second question, do anyone know of any other monuments around the area of Verdun which are in a bad state and haven't seen any restoration work recently? I want to use them to illustrate a point in pictures for a project (non profit/hobby project), so any pointers would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thomas

 

988217210_monumentsherbebois.png.9e6e49739f28d505bf98b5b4dc5029e7.png

 

 

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Edited by Todd
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Hello Thomas.

 

Welcome to the forum.

What's your main source on the two pictures??

the monument to I.R. 24 is in Azannes-et-Soumazanne so the map is correct.

There should be two private graves not far off that monument. Maybe that's the second picture ???

 

M.

 

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Hey!

Thanks for the reply.

I should have posted the source in the original post, but things are forgotten when you write a post in the middle of the night :)

The source is here

I loosely translated it using google, and it seems to focus on the events of 1916, which in itself is very interesting, but the site has no information other than "somewhere in Herbebois" as far as I can tell. He also posted pictures of one grave in area indeed, all of it would be very interesting to go see.

Access seems to be from the road by the lake (north) as the other road through the forest seem to be off-limits, marked with a gate (outside the view on the map I posted)

 

Edit, thanks for the link, I will check it out!

Edited by Todd
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ah oui.... c'est en français.

the location for the engineer's monument indeed translates to "in the forest of Herbebois", so finding it might be tricky... patience needed !!

I've walked around in that area a bit last time I was there (already 6 years ago... time flies...) but found nothing in my pictures resembling it.

 

M.

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Thank you for the confirmation, at least we know it is the right forest! I will keep researching and see if anyone else on this forum might now. I check the book Walking Verdun, by Christina Holstein to see if there was any mention of it but the area is not covered, but with patience and perseverance we will find it.

Thanks again for your help :)

 

Thomas

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5 minutes ago, Todd said:

Thank you for the confirmation, at least we know it is the right forest! I will keep researching and see if anyone else on this forum might now. I check the book Walking Verdun, by Christina Holstein to see if there was any mention of it but the area is not covered, but with patience and perseverance we will find it.

Thanks again for your help :)

 

Thomas

From what I can see on the IGN maps, the 'road' marked on down your map as going to the monument is actually, a dirt track (which can mean anything). and I doubt that you can drive; it may only be a footpath). You would need to park down at Azannes, and walk, probably via St Donat.

On my IGN map the monument you show is shown, but there is a second one before you get there, just on the edge of the pond towards St Donat. Might these be the two you mean?

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25 minutes ago, healdav said:

From what I can see on the IGN maps, the 'road' marked on down your map as going to the monument is actually, a dirt track (which can mean anything). and I doubt that you can drive; it may only be a footpath). You would need to park down at Azannes, and walk, probably via St Donat.

On my IGN map the monument you show is shown, but there is a second one before you get there, just on the edge of the pond towards St Donat. Might these be the two you mean?

Thank you for the input! I looked at google earth and it is indeed a dirt road, so parking has to happen in Azannes and walk to the monument of IR 24.

The monument on the road, by the lake I believe is this one:

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Taken from http://www.verdunschlacht.net/

 

 

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I have been there in 2005 (with DFFV) and remember that the monument was not that far into the woods (whether my memory is correct is of course another matter). I haven't marked the exact spot on my Verdun map unfortunately.

 

Jan

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2 hours ago, AOK4 said:

I have been there in 2005 (with DFFV) and remember that the monument was not that far into the woods (whether my memory is correct is of course another matter). I haven't marked the exact spot on my Verdun map unfortunately.

 

Jan

 

Thanks a lot! That clears it up a bit and I will trust your memory and spend some time looking for it when I go to Verdun. Might be a bit overgrown as Im going in late May but I will see if I can locate it. Thanks

 

Thomas

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2 hours ago, Todd said:

Thank you for the input! I looked at google earth and it is indeed a dirt road, so parking has to happen in Azannes and walk to the monument of IR 24.

The monument on the road, by the lake I believe is this one:

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Taken from http://www.verdunschlacht.net/

 

 

Yes, that's probably the one by the lake. The other on is not too far away, but deep in the forest. It's shown as a monument not as a tomb (which most individual graves, but not all,  are.

 

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23 hours ago, healdav said:

Yes, that's probably the one by the lake. The other on is not too far away, but deep in the forest. It's shown as a monument not as a tomb (which most individual graves, but not all,  are.

 

Thanks for the clarification! I had no more luck finding the exact location of the monument, but I think we are as close as we will get and all that is left is to spend some time trying to locate it once I am on the ground.

 

Thanks for the input everyone! Greatly appreciated! :D

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Todd,

 

Sorry not to have seen this before today.

The first of your two Herbebois memorials is to the 24th Infantry Regiment. Coordinates here: 49°16.482ˈN 005°26.622ˈE

The second memorial is to the 3. Rheinisches Pionier-Bataillon Nr.30. Coordinates here:  49°16.492ˈN 05°26.738ˈE

It stands about 130 metres to the left of the 24th IR memorial at the top of the bank and is rather hidden in bushes, as Herbebois is more overgrown than it was some years ago. It is pretty frost-damaged and there is no plan to try to restore it.  You can't get a car anywhere near either of them and you either have to walk up from Azannes or from Ornes. This isn't a plug for my new book 'Walking in the Footsteps of the Fallen-Verdun 1916' but as it happens you'll find a walking tour around these and other sites in Herbebois in it. It's a circular tour starting and ending in Azannes.

 

Christina

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Hi Todd

 

You may already have seen this but this posting in a parallel thread may be of interest when you are in the area. Nigel's picture looking across the Meuse is spectacular, it's so rare to get such good sight lines on the battlefield.

 

Pete.

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