#douaumont

Fort Douaumont, Douaumont France - December 2018

Full photo gallery online here.

Fort Douaumont

Constructed in 1885 and continually improved until 1913, Fort Douaumont was in much better condition to withstand the German Gamma howitzers that had leveled the Belgian forts at the start of the war in August of 1914. But the rapid destruction of those forts convinced the French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre to reduce the number of soldiers stationed at Douaumont and remove all weaponry possible. The ability of Fort Douaumont to defend itself had been eliminated when the German Army began their assault on Verdun on February 21 1916.

On February 24 the fort was being manned by a French maintenance crew of less than 60 soldiers and had been under artillery fire for 4 days. A German regiment of 10 combat engineers, led by Felix Kunze, approached the fort without opposition. At the fort Kunze climbed inside an unoccupied gun emplacement and opened a door for the rest of his men to enter. None joined Kunze as they feared an ambush, so Kunze began to search the fort alone. He soon found a French artillery team which he captured and locked up.

More German soldiers entered the fort and, without firing a single shot, Fort Douaumont was captured from the French. Another officer was given credit for the capture of the fort and Felix Kunze was not recognized for his bravery until the 1930’s.

The French Army, quickly recognizing their mistake, began work to recapture the fort in May of 1916. It would take until October to take the fort back from the Germans, at the cost of 100,000 lives.

The fort is an immense structure. It was difficult to see much from the surface due to the fog the day I was there, as well as the fact that most of the fort is underground. The flags of France, Germany and the European Union are a reminder of the reconciliation and cooperation since the Second World War.

Fort Douaumont early 1916, photo Wikipedia.

Fort Douaumont at the end of 1916, photo Wikipedia.

Back from my roastrip to Verdun.

Took hundreds of pictures.

Just came back from one of the most impressive trips i’ve ever been to!

Visited the Verdun Memorial, the Village Fleury-devant-Douaumont and the Douaumont Ossuary. Sadly I didn’t have enough time to see all the other places but I will return.

This photograph from 1984 showing [Helmut] Kohl holding hands with French president François Mitterrand at the Douaumont cemetery in Verdun became the defining symbol of Franco-German conciliation after decades of bloody conflict between the two countries.

The gesture was made even more poignant by the fact that Mitterrand himself had been injured at Verdun in the Second World War while Kohl had lost a brother in the same conflict.