"Verdun: myths and memories of the 'lost villages' of France" Topic

"On a heavily wooded ridge above the river Meuse, 170 miles to the east of Paris, there is a village of ghosts. The 50 houses which once stood here disappeared in a sheet of flame 90 years ago this week. Each home is now represented by a square of grass and a sign, marked with the name and trade of a villager: "Legrandidier, vigneron (wine grower)" or "Dupuis, Jean-Baptiste, maçon" (mason).

This is Douaumont, one of the "lost" villages of 1916. Four miles to the south-east is the small town of Verdun.

Ninety years ago this morning, a German shell looped high over the ridge and fell on to the town. During the following 10 months – mostly during the following four months – the Verdun ridge was hacked and ploughed by 32,000,000 shells. It is estimated that in places 10 shells fell on every square centimetre. Nine evacuated villages – and 300,000 French and German soldiers – were obliterated in an area of about 50 square miles…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Here is a link to the Zone Rouge. Places in France that were so contaminated they were deemed to be too physically and environmentally damaged by the conflict for human habitation.

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Food for thought. Almost like a PA environment.

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand