ykf519 Posted 24 February Share Posted 24 February i forgot to add to my other post we are also driving through verdun. can someone confirm the top “too see” things regarding world war one in that area? we have maybe 3 hours of time. i think there are abandoned towns etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 25 February Admin Share Posted 25 February You aren’t going to see much in 3 hours! Douaumont Fort and Cemetery and Fleury devant Douaumont (ruined village) would be my suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 25 February Share Posted 25 February 13 hours ago, ykf519 said: i forgot to add to my other post we are also driving through verdun. can someone confirm the top “too see” things regarding world war one in that area? we have maybe 3 hours of time. i think there are abandoned towns etc? Drive through the battlefield, that will take at least an hour without stopping. But you won't see very much. The most interesting parts are in the forests and can only be visited on foot. As for destroyed villages, there are at least 6 on the battlefield. The simplest to go to are Fleury, Douaumont, Vaux. They are all on the road and signposted. But don't think you will even scratch the surface of seeing what there is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battle of loos Posted 25 February Share Posted 25 February Good evening, I've just come back from Verdun. My wife and I spent 1 week there. On February 21st at 07:00, we were in the Bois des Caurres (exact date and time of the start of the offensive). We were in the Bois de Herbebois, where his great-grandfather was at that time with the 164th Infantry Regiment. We dedicated 1 day per sector and type of site to visit. I will make you a list of what is worth seeing (address and place to eat and where to sleep if necessary). michel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ykf519 Posted 26 February Author Share Posted 26 February 16 hours ago, Michelle Young said: You aren’t going to see much in 3 hours! Douaumont Fort and Cemetery and Fleury devant Douaumont (ruined village) would be my suggestion. thank you. where exactly is the ruined village? when i type that name in on google maps it just circles a large area of forest that is way too large to be a former village area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tootrock Posted 26 February Share Posted 26 February If you head north on the D913 towards Douaumont the village is signposted, and there is parking. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 26 February Admin Share Posted 26 February I haven’t been there for many years, I don’t even know what there is there even. I visited a couple of destroyed villages in the French Champagne region near Reims last September. In Nauroy there was a little stone at the site of each house with a map of the then village and information on who had lived there. Plus street signs in the woods. Imagine it would be similar around Verdun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 26 February Share Posted 26 February 7 hours ago, ykf519 said: thank you. where exactly is the ruined village? when i type that name in on google maps it just circles a large area of forest that is way too large to be a former village area. They are all signposted from near the Ossuary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGB Posted 26 February Share Posted 26 February How big is the Verdun area? Check out Montfaucon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 26 February Share Posted 26 February 2 hours ago, healdav said: They are all signposted from near the Ossuary. That's quite a long way, and especially impossible for someone with three hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ykf519 Posted 26 February Author Share Posted 26 February 11 hours ago, Michelle Young said: I haven’t been there for many years, I don’t even know what there is there even. I visited a couple of destroyed villages in the French Champagne region near Reims last September. In Nauroy there was a little stone at the site of each house with a map of the then village and information on who had lived there. Plus street signs in the woods. Imagine it would be similar around Verdun. which destroyed villages near reims did you visit? that is actually where we will be for two days before driving through verdun. to be exact, we are staying in epernay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 26 February Admin Share Posted 26 February Nauroy and briefly, Moronvilliers. Nauroy in photos. Most of the area is a vast military camp so a lot of the destroyed villages and memorials are inaccessible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 27 February Admin Share Posted 27 February Map image ©️ IGN France Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 27 February Admin Share Posted 27 February If you have time, a trip to the Main de Massiges is a must. Map image ©️ IGN France. You can see a lot of destroyed villages on this map, but all on military land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 27 February Share Posted 27 February 1 hour ago, Michelle Young said: You can see a lot of destroyed villages on this map, but all on military land. Around the Verdun battlefield all the villages are open to the public, so to speak - apart from those I mentioned before, there are at least 5 or 6 others; I forget exactly Across the whole St. Mihiel Salient area, there are at least 6 other villages as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loopgraaf Posted 28 February Share Posted 28 February 3 Hours in or around Verdun. You need more than that. But you can visit Mémorial de Verdun. A museum and a memorial to the Battle of Verdun (memorial-verdun.fr) From the roof of that museum you can see Ossuarium. In the museum you see a lot of stuff from the start to the end of the Verdun battle. Nearby the museum you have a the village Fleury devan Douaumont, very intresting, it is the only village still with a major. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battle of loos Posted 28 February Share Posted 28 February Hello Concerning the destroyed villages on Verdun, they all have an honorary Mayor. Regarding the time of visit, I think it takes 10 to 15 days to do it all. between the right and left banks of the Meuse. Personally, in 5 days, I only did: strong: Douaumont and Vaux Villages destroyed: fleury in front of Douaumont - Louvemont - Ornes - Vaux (there is nothing to see). site: Douaumont ossuary - Bois des Caures and Bois de Herbebois (sector of the main attack of 21 February 1916). Military cemetery where the 8 unknown soldiers who were not selected to be buried under the Arch of Tryomph are located (there are also the graves of a British bomber crew) museum: Fleury Memorial - Citadel Guardhouse (building opposite the citadel which has a superb museum with sale of materials and a very good restaurant which you have to book to eat there. Other than military: 2 antique dealers and the dragée factory (Verdun specialty) I'll make a post about my walk on Verdun michel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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