Top 8 Natural Monuments in Meuse

Very beautiful place in the forest. Numerous gravel paths ranging from smooth white paths to rougher trails.

Very long front lines of trenches; today, the forest has grown back on the other side. During the war, not a single tree remained. It was very impressive how many kilometers of trenches there were in the forest, with shell holes every few meters.

A very beautiful and interesting monument.

In 1967, this granite monument was erected in honour of the sappers of the French army who played a key role in the mine warfare around Les Éparges. The seven columns symbolise the specialisations of the Génie: from sapeurs-mineurs to aérostiers. The monument commemorates their courage and technical ingenuity during one of the toughest fronts of WWI.

The Lion of Souville Symbol of resistance at the gates of Verdun; This impressive monument, unveiled on 1 October 1922, stands on the site of the former Sainte-Fine chapel and commemorates the fallen of the 130th French Infantry Division. Designed by animal sculptor and veteran René Paris, the statue depicts a dying Bavarian lion – a powerful allegory for the defeat of the German troops and the heroic French defence during the Battle of Verdun. On 23 June 1916, the German attacks reached their peak at Fort de Souville, the last obstacle to the fall of Verdun. Thanks to the courage of a small French garrison led by Lieutenant Dupuy, the fort remained in French hands. The lion marks the extreme point of the German advance – the “last gate” to Verdun remained closed.

On this route you literally walk on historical tracks. Narrow paths meander past many bomb craters. It is a landscape marked by the horrors of war.

Ten months Battle of Verdun On 21 February 1916, the Germans launched an attack north of Verdun. The heavy fighting of 1916 around this French town on the upper reaches of the Meuse was the longest battle of the war. It lasted a full ten months, from February to December. The Battle of Verdun began with the largest artillery bombardment the world had seen up to that point. The ten months of fighting around Verdun cost an enormous number of casualties: some three-quarters of a million, of whom perhaps 300,000 were dead. This makes Verdun the most deadly battle of the Great War, together with the (possibly even bloodier) Battle of the Somme, which took place around the same time. The infamous Battle of Passchendaele or Third Battle of Ypres (1917) came in a distant third with 150,000 dead... About 160,000 were French. This is the largest death toll for a single country during a single battle of the war. It is striking that 4/5 of the dead were victims of artillery bombardments (for the entire war, this ratio is more like 2/3). Due to an enormous concentration of guns, the attacking troops had to fear artillery fire much more than man-to-man fighting.

Discover a historic monument that marks the extreme advance and defeat of the German troops during the Battle of Verdun. This site commemorates the key moments of 1916: the occupation of Fort Douaumont on 25 February and Fort Vaux on 7 June, followed by the German attempt to break through the French defence line and reach Verdun. On 12 July, German troops launched an attack on Fort Souville, the last bastion of the fortified line around the city, but were driven back by a brave French garrison. This monument was unveiled on 1 October 1922 and pays tribute to the 130th Infantry Division. Created by the animal sculptor René Paris (1881-1970), a member of this unit, it evokes the heroic resistance to the enemy attacks of 23 June 1916. It symbolises the defeat of the German troops and pays tribute to the courage of the French soldiers. Come and discover this place steeped in history and emotion, a moving testimony to the courage and sacrifice of the defenders of Verdun. Source: Information panel on site Tourisme Verdun