Verdun, in the footsteps of World War I – Road Trip in France #4

After champagne tasting in Epernay, we take the road again to Verdun. Not being very sure of what we want to visit there, we go there without any reservation, except the hotel, in “come what may” mode.

Note: this travel diary is part of our blog series “4 weeks of Road Trip in France”. You can read the previous parts here: 1st part, 2nd part, 3rd part.

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

Day 3 (Continued)

Chattancourt Trenches

Being Vietnamese, I feel a little less concerned about World War I than JB. My knowledge about World War I is limited to the rather boring history classes at school. I learned more by watching Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s excellent ” Un long dimanche de fiançailles ” and by reading Ken Follett’s triology ” Le Siècle “. Jeunet’s extremely visual film succeeded in showing the pitiful living conditions and psychology of the soldiers in the trenches.

So it was with great apprehension that I chose to visit the reconstructed trenches of Chattancourt

The site is reconstructed on the exact location of a real trench that existed and was 2km long. Only 100 meters have been rebuilt by enthusiasts, with the help of photographs, documents … and it’s super well done! We aren’t in Disneyland mode either, but we aren’t buried in the mud either, with rats running everywhere. No, it’s realistic, but not too much 😀

The entrance fee is only 4.5 euros. A guided tour starts regularly. If you are in a great hurry, I think that a visit to the trenches is enough, no need to go to the memorial afterwards, because the essential information is already given during this visit.

Afterwards, one can visit the trenches alone, taking the time to read the texts put here and there (these texts are translated in addition). The attention to detail is striking: from the bed with fences to the lamps recovered we don’t know where.

Ossuary of Douaumont

The ossuary of Douaumont is a site of recollection which marks. First visually with 16,000 graves of (identified) French soldiers who died in Verdun. The site is immense, and in front of each grave there is a flowering rosebush. In the middle is a huge French flag.

But underneath the monument (with a charge for access) lie 130,000 unidentified soldiers, collected from battlefield land after the Armistice.

It is here that the famous photo was taken for the meeting between Mitterand and Chancellor Kohl in 1984, a symbol of reconciliation between the two countries. In 2016, for the Centenary of the battle, the meeting between François Hollande and Angela Merkel took place here.

To visit the monument, there is a fee (6.5 euros) but we choose to visit only the cemetery (which is free). There is a Muslim part too.

Just next door is the abandoned village of Fleury-devant-Douaumont. The whole village was razed to the ground and never rebuilt, but it hurts my heart too much to visit such a village. Instead, we go to the Verdun Memorial (by following the arrow “Verdun battlefield”, you will arrive at the Memorial as well).

Verdun Memorial

It is a very complete museum, very well done, which explains extremely well what happened during the 1st World War. I even think that itis necessary to go there first to understand, before visiting the sites in the surroundings (trenches, citadel, fort etc.).

There is a film that explains very well in 5 minutes the domino effect that provoked a world war from an assassination of which even the author was not aware of the consequences of his act. As a result, 65 million people will be mobilized around the world. However, I find that some of the stories are a bit biased. In any case, the truth always belongs to the victors…

The Germans had ultra advanced technologies from the beginning: their helmet was studied by doctors and this (slightly improved) model is still used today. While the French soldiers, with their red pants and rather decorative helmets, were spotted from miles around. Their coats were not enough to protect them from pneumonia and other illnesses, and the trenches were built to last for a few weeks because no one thought it would last that long vs. the German concrete trenches, made to last.

Verdun was chosen by the Germans as a symbol. They wanted France to concentrate all its efforts towards one place, so that the fall of this place would discourage the whole country and lead to the armistice. Thus, in spite of a blocking situation, the two countries continued for years to gain and then lose a few meters of trenches and Verdun became a symbol. Millions of shells fell for 300 days. Even today, local farmers regularly find unexploded grenades and shells.

In fact, Verdun is so well known, even internationally, that it was also considered an important battleground in a science fiction film by Tom Cruise Edge of Tomorrow. If Verdun was important because of its location on the border between France and Germany at the time, a kind of fortified city protecting Eastern France, there was no, but absolutely NO reason why Verdun was so important in the fight against aliens in Tom Cruise’s film ahahah. All this to tell you that, in the minds of Americans, a war in France is bound to take place either in Verdun or on the Somme.

In a nutshell. The memorial explains very well every aspect of life in Verdun: from the soldiers coming to get their equipment from the citadel, to the fort of Douaumont taken by surprise by the Germans, to how things are also done on the German side, how they produce everything at the front, while the French soldiers take turns & bring equipment from the rear of the country.

We dine at Romeo & Giuletta, a delicious Italian restaurant, before resting at the Hotel Saint-Paul in the city center (linkBooking). The heat wave makes us very tired, but we are happy to have been able to visit so many things in such a short time.

Day 4

Underground Citadel of Verdun

We have an appointment for a visit of the Citadelle Souterraine of Verdun. This is where the soldiers used to come to get their equipment before going to the front. It is also the officers’ headquarters.

The Citadel is one of the great constructions realized by Vauban in the 17th century. The loss of Alsace Moselle in 1871 place Verdun in the front line and the city must be further defended and fortified, with 19 forts around Verdun, and 4km of galleries under the citadel to accommodate soldiers and equipment in case of conflict

Reservations are often full so please call one or two days before your visit to make a reservation. The visit costs 9 euros per person and lasts about 30 minutes. We choose the first visit of the day at 9:06 am. It is 7 degrees inside whatever the weather outside so don’t forget to bring warm clothes. And be careful of the thermal shock when you go out!

Despite the very positive reviews on the Internet, we still don’t understand why it is rated so highly. We are on a moving car and we see 3D scenes, plunging us back into the atmosphere of the time. We don’t really see the inside of the citadel because everything is super dark, there are some reconstructions with mannequins, but there isn’t much information. The poor German tourists in front of us have to manage to listen to the translation in German while the super loud speakers send text in French. I don’t think they understood the content very well (there’s not much to remember anyway). At the end, they finish the walk and explain the choice of the unknown soldier (among the 8 unknown soldiers), the one who is currently buried under the Arc de Triomphe. This choice was reserved for the only survivor of a regiment. He chose the 6th soldier for reasons that I have forgotten (sorry).

Trenches & The work of the Falouse

It is by seeing a poster at the hotel that we are aware of the existence of this place. It was bought and renovated by enthusiasts organized in association. It is a place at the back of the battlefield, which has never been destroyed. The poilus spent some time there before being sent to the front. The place has been renovated with a lot of love, with the help of salvage, wax models… even the sound effects and sounds have been added to give more realism. They even added fake rats, and insisted on having the beds caged – to underline the very harsh conditions of the time.

There were two structures serving as cannons. The place is really very difficult to detect. On the other hand, the inside is constantly at 13 degrees, come with a vest!

The trenches outside aren’t as well done as those at Chattancourt. The access costs only 5.5 euros, I strongly advise you to visit both trenches to get a clear idea of life at the front and at the rear.

To conclude, if you are visiting Verdun, we recommend that you start with the Verdun Memorial, then the Douaumont Ossuary (with the visit, or not, of the abandoned village), then the two Trenches. All these visits can be done in a long day.

The continuation of our Road Trip in France, it’s this way

Part 2: Practical Tips

Useful links

• Hotel Saint-Paul, downtown(Booking link)
• 4 weeks Road Trip in France by car: program & detailed plans here
• These points of interest are part of the +800 tourist places in France that we recommend. To access free Google Maps of the 800 places in question, click here
• More info about our car rental at Leclerc here

Budget

• Hotel Saint-Paul, in the city center (Booking link), 50 euros for a double room, it’s very simple but clean
• Restaurant : count 20 euros per person
• Visits :
  • Slices of Chattancourt: 4 euros (credit card from 10 euros)
  • L’ouvrage de la Falouse: 5.5 euros (cash only)
  • Verdun Memorial : 12 euros
  • Ossuary of Douaumont (if you visit inside: 6,5 euros)
  • Citadelle Souterraine de Verdun : 9 euros
  • There is a pass that covers 5 places in Verdun for 28 euros (Battlefield Pass) including: the Verdun Memorial, the Fort of Douaumont, the Ossuary of Douaumont, the Underground Citadel of Verdun and the Fort of Vaux. You can buy it directly on the 5 sites in question.