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Follow my trip across France on my bike (Friday)

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Verdun, northwest

Our air Bnb host's mother agreed to drive us on a 80 mile tour to take in some far flung sights far off the tourist path
First stop was the destroyed town of Montfaucon.  There is a large monument to the Americans. There are several partial buildings, remaining, including the church.

All of the forest areas are shell craters, from a few feet to over 30 feet deep.

Next stop was at the American cemetery in Romagne sous Montfaucon.  This piece of American soil was kept in immaculate shape.  A monument to the dead that they could not identify is on a hill overlooking, graves to those they could. In the visiter center,  was a map that confirmed my thoughts on where Luther was injured.

We then went to St Juvin to find that gully from 11 October the diary spoke of.  There is a deep gully on both sides of the road, but the front lines were on the north side of the road. So I know within a mile of the site.  Luther was trying to evacuate wounded soldiers and was waiting on an ambulance to come, when an artillery barrage found them.  

We then went to Vauquois.  Please look this one up.  The town was completely blown to bits.  a line of craters over 100 feet deep mark the town. You have to see it to believe it. Google maps shows it.

Last stop was in the forest at the Haute Chevauchee Kaisertunnel.  Here we got to walk in the trenches., and shell craters

From one side of verdun to the other, the thick forests hide shell craters.  We have seen over 100 miles of the front lines here, and the craters are everwhere a forest is.  This was farm land before the war, but there are too many unexploded ordinances to farm, so the trees take over.
As the trees grow,they pick up metal fragments.  Treasure seakers are killed when they find a shell.  Fire fighters are killed when the heat sets one off.

Seeing the front lines and what the men endured has been humbling.

Tomorrow, Paris.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Village detruit Fleury

This town was destroyed in the beginning of the Verdun battle.  The shell craters were still surprisingly large after over 100 years. They now have a maker for each building.  The city limits signs continue to mark the boundary of Fluery.

Ossuaire de Douaumont

Near Verdun. Touching tribute to the fallen.