![]() We parked up at a quiet spot where there were a few picnic benches and through the dense undergrowth we spotted the remains of a large (sealed) railway tunnel and another brick structure close by. There are the remains of destroyed villages, numerous forts, bunkers, trenches, railway tunnels, observation posts, and buildings amongst the trees. Once we had ascended the steep incline to reach the 'top' there is so much to see and the entire area is covered now in trees with clearings made for cemeteries, monuments, shrines and museums. There are deep valleys which were called 'ravines of death' which claimed entire units of men. As we made our way up 'the sacred road' - (signposted Voie Sacree)-the vital supply route during the battle- we noticed the steepness and length of this route and thought of the tired men who could hear the terrible roar and pounding of the enormous cannons on the high ground where they were heading. The 10 month battle of Verdun in 1916 is accountable for over 1 million deaths. There is a road leading to the site which came to be known as 'the sacred road' and this is where the thousands upon thousands of soldiers, equipment, cannons, horses, vehicles etc trudged the long way to the top and then were faced with the worst horrors imaginable of warfare. Verdun has the highest density of dead per square yard. The site is up high on a vast plateau which is now forestry and is a designated battlefield resting place for soldiers killed there. ![]() I have visited most Great War sites in France and Belgium and found them all to be moving beyond words and very fascinating but Verdun is quite simply epic in it's size. This place is a must see and is an eye-opener of death and destruction on a massive scale that happened here in the recent past. The battle fought around Verdun during WW1 is vast and I was not prepared for the sheer scale of this area.
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