Verdun

Although Verdun is a town in its own right, most people know the name because of the Battle of Verdun, the longest-lasting, of the First World War. It raged from 21 February – 18 December 1916 (9 months, 3 weeks and 6 days). An estimate in 2000 found a total of 714,231 casualties, 377,231 French and 337,000 German, for an average of 70,000 casualties a month; other recent estimates increase the number of casualties to 976,000, during the battle, with 1,250,000 suffered at Verdun during the war. The Douamont Ossuary is nearby, a memorial containing the remains of both French and German soldiers who died on the Verdun battlefield. Through small outside windows, the skeletal remains of at least 130,000 unidentified combatants of both nations can be seen filling up alcoves at the lower edge of the building. In front of the monument, and sloping downhill, lies the largest single French military cemetery of the First World War with 16,142 graves. It was initiated in 1923 by Verdun veteran André Maginot, who would later create the Maginot Line.

Instead of showing you the thousands of crosses and graves, I looked right across the road from the cemetery and saw this: you can still see the trenches after 100 years.  War must end.