Verdun
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Verdun | |
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Subprefecture and commune | |
Coordinates: 49°09′43″N 5°23′15″E / 49.162°N 5.3876°E | |
Country | France |
Region | Grand Est |
Department | Meuse |
Arrondissement | Verdun |
Canton | Verdun-1 and 2 |
Intercommunality | CA Grand Verdun |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | Samuel Hazard[1] |
Area 1 | 31.03 km2 (11.98 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[2] | 16,689 |
• Density | 540/km2 (1,400/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 55545 /55100 |
Elevation | 194–330 m (636–1,083 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Imperial City of Verdun | |||||||
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? – 1648 | |||||||
Status | France | 1648 | |||||
1648 | |||||||
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Today part of | France |
Verdun (/vɜːrˈdʌn/,[3] also UK: /ˈvɛərdʌn/,[4] US: /vɛərˈdʌn/,[5] French: [vɛʁdœ̃] ⓘ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department.
Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is Bar-le-Duc, which is slightly smaller than Verdun. It is well known for giving its name to a major battle of the First World War.
Geography
Verdun is situated on both banks of the river Meuse, in the northern part of the Meuse department. It is connected by rail to Jarny. The A4 autoroute Paris–Metz–Strasbourg passes south of the town.
History
Verdun (Verodunum, a latinisation of a place name meaning "strong fort" in Gaulish) was founded by the Gauls.[citation needed] It has been the seat of the bishop of Verdun since the 4th century, with interruptions.[6] In 486, following the decisive Frankish victory at the Battle of Soissons, the city (amongst several other nearby cities) refused to yield to the Franks and was thus besieged by King Clovis I.[7] The 843 Treaty of Verdun divided Charlemagne's empire among his three surviving grandsons.
Around this time a city called Verdun was the centre of the thriving European trade in young boys, who were sold to the Islamic
Since 1200 Verdun has been famous for its Dragées or sugared almonds; they were distributed at the baptism of French princes.[6]
Verdun was part of the middle kingdom of
From 1624 to 1636 a large
In the Franco-Prussian War Verdun was the last French fortress to surrender in 1870. Shortly afterwards a new system of fortification was begun.[11] This consisted of a mutually supporting ring of 22 polygonal forts up to 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the city and an inner ring of 6 forts.[12]
Battle of Verdun (1792)
Despite the extensive fortifications, in the Battle of Verdun in 1792 the fortress was captured by the Prussians during the War of the First Coalition. The battle was fought on 20 August 1792 between French Revolutionary forces and the Prussian army. The Prussian victory opened the path to Paris for the invading armies. However the Prussians were unable to press their success and abandoned Verdun following the Battle of Valmy.[13]
Battle of Verdun (First World War)
Verdun was the site of a major battle, the longest-lasting of the First World War.[14] One of the costliest battles in military history, Verdun exemplified the policy of a war of attrition pursued by both sides, which led to an enormous loss of life and very long casualty lists.[15]
Following the failure of the
Recent scholarship by Holger Afflerbach and others, however, has questioned the veracity of the Christmas memo. No copy has ever surfaced and the only account of it appeared in Falkenhayn's post-war memoir.[20] His army commanders at Verdun, including the German Crown Prince, denied any knowledge of an attrition strategy. It is possible that Falkenhayn did not specifically design the battle to bleed the French army but used this supposed motive after the fact in an attempt to justify the Verdun offensive, despite its failure.
Verdun was the strongest point in pre-war France, ringed by a string of powerful forts, including Douaumont and Fort Vaux. By 1916, the salient at Verdun jutted into the German lines and lay vulnerable to attack from three sides. The historic city of Verdun had been an oppidum of the Gauls before Roman times and later a key asset in wars against Prussia, and Falkenhayn suspected that the French would throw as many men as necessary into its defence. Ironically, France had substantially weakened Verdun's defences after the outbreak of the war, an oversight that would contribute to the removal of Joseph Joffre from supreme command at the end of 1916. The attack was slated to begin on 12 February, then 16 February, but the snow forced repeated postponements.
Falkenhayn massed over 1000 artillery pieces[21] to the north and east of Verdun to precede the infantry advance with intensive artillery bombardment. His attack would hit the French positions on the right bank of the Meuse. Although French intelligence had warned of his plans, these warnings were ignored by the French Command and troop levels in the area remained low. Consequently, Verdun was utterly unprepared for the initial bombardment on the morning of 21 February 1916. German infantry attacks followed that afternoon and met tenacious but ultimately inadequate resistance for the first four days.
On 25 February, the Germans occupied Douaumont. French reinforcements—now under the leadership of General Philippe Pétain—began to arrive and were instantly thrown into "the furnace" (as the battle was called) to slow the German advance, no matter what the cost. Over the next several days, the stubborn defense managed to slow the German advance with a series of bloody counter-attacks. In March, Falkenhayn decided to target the French positions on the left bank of the Meuse as well, broadening the offensive front twofold. Throughout March and April, Cumières-le-Mort-Homme and Hill 304 were under continuous heavy bombardment and relentless infantry attacks. Meanwhile, Pétain organised repeated, small-scale counter-attacks to slow the German advance. He also ensured that the sole supply road from Bar-le-Duc into Verdun remained open. It became known as the Voie Sacrée "Sacred Way" because it continued to carry vital supplies and reinforcements into the Verdun front despite constant artillery fire.
German gains continued in June, but slowly and only after increasingly heavy losses on their side. On 7 June, following almost a week of bitter resistance, Fort Vaux fell to the Germans after a murderous hand-to-hand fight inside the fort itself. On 23 June, the Germans reached what would become the furthest point of their advance. The line was just in front of Fort Souville, the last stronghold before Verdun itself. Pétain was making plans to evacuate the right bank of the Meuse when the combined Anglo-French offensive on the Somme River was launched on 1 July, partly to relieve pressure on the French, although the first day was the bloodiest in the British Army's history. The Germans could no longer afford to continue their offensive at Verdun when they were needed so desperately on the Somme. At a cost of some 400,000 German casualties and a similar number of French, the attack was finally called off. The estimated death toll on both sides were 143,000 dead Germans and 162,440 French soldiers.[21] Falkenhayn's plan to bleed France to death – if indeed that had been his intention – had failed.
The battle continued, however, from October to the end of the year. French offensives, employing new tactics devised by General Robert Nivelle, regained the forts and territory they had lost earlier. This was the only gleam of hope in an otherwise abysmal landscape.
Overall, the battle lasted 11 months. Falkenhayn was replaced by Paul von Hindenburg as Chief of General Staff. General Nivelle was promoted over the head of General Pétain to replace Generalissimo Joseph Joffre as French supreme commander, although he was to hold the post for less than six months.
Population
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Source: EHESS[22] and INSEE (1968-2017)[23] |
Panoramic views
Cemetery and memorials
There are many French and German cemeteries throughout the battlefield. The largest is the French National Cemetery and Douaumont Ossuary near Fort Douaumont. Thirteen thousand crosses adorn the field in front of the ossuary, which holds roughly 130,000 unidentified remains brought in from the battlefield. Every year yields more remains, which are often placed inside the ossuary's vaults.
Among many revered memorials on the battlefield is the "Bayonet Trench", which marks the location where some dozen bayonets lined up in a row were discovered projecting out of the ground after the war; below each rifle was the body of a French soldier. It has been assumed that these belonged to a group of soldiers who had rested their rifles against the parapet of the trench they were occupying when they were killed during a bombardment, and the men were buried where they lay in the trench and the rifles left untouched. However, this is probably not historically accurate: experts agree that the bayonets were probably affixed to the rifles after the attack and installed by survivors to memorialize the spot.[24]
Nearby, the World War I Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial is located at
On 12 September 1916
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Charlemagne at the summit of Verdun's Victory Monument
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A portion of the battlefield today
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World War I memorial at Douaumont
Landmarks
- The Châtel Gate is the only remaining part of the medieval city walls. It leads onto La Roche Square.
- La Citadelle was built in the 17th century. It is still in military hands but the underlying tunnels can be visited.
- Verdun Cathedral (Notre-Dame de Verdun) was consecrated in 1147 but was built on the site of an earlier church. The 12th-century Lion Door on the north side has a lavishly decorated tympanum. The whole building was heavily restored in the 18th century.
- The Episcopal Palace was built in the 18th century by Robert de Cotte and has a fine façade. Part of the building is occupied by the World Peace Centre.
- The Princerie Museum is located in the former residence of the Primicier (the highest-ranking public servant) of Verdun. It contains historic work of art from the region.
- The "Subterrean Citadel" is situated at the entrance of Verdun. It holds 4 km (2 mi) of shafts that used to accommodate soldiers during the war.
- The former Abbey of St Paul houses the palais de justice and the headquarters of the sub-prefecture of Meuse.
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Verdun town hall
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Verdun Cathedral
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Verdun episcopal palace
Notable people
- Nicholas of Verdun (1130–1205), goldsmith
- Nicolas Psaume (1518–1575), prince-bishop
- Giovanni Veneroni (1642–1708), linguist
- François de Chevert (1695–1769), army general
- Henry Madin (1698–1748), composer
- Jean-Nicolas Desandrouins (1729–1792), army general
- Jean-Nicolas Pache (1746–1823), politician
- Moyse Alcan (1817–1869), poet and publisher
- Philippe Bunau-Varilla (1859–1940), engineer
- René Dufaure de Montmirail (1876-1917), football manager
- Élisabeth Brasseur (1896–1972), choral conductor
- Francine Larrimore (1898–1975), U.S. actress
- Danielle Mitterrand (1924–2011), First Lady of France
- Sophie Body-Gendrot (1942–2018), political scientist
- Hervé Revelli (b. 1946), footballer
- Mark Meadows(b. 1959), U.S. politician
- Pierre Delval (b. 1960), criminologist and forensic scientist
- Isabelle Nanty (b. 1962), actress, screen and theatre director, screenwriter
See also
References
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Verdun, Battle of". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022.
- ^ "Verdun". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ "Verdun". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
- ^ a b A History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, Blackwell Publishing 1992, p.567
- ISBN 9780816657001.
- OCLC 30141458.
- ISBN 978-0-7156-3129-4.
- ^ doi:10.4000/mefrm.2408. Archived from the originalon 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
- ^ "Fortified Places > Fortresses > Verdun". Fortified-places.com. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "Place Forte de Verdun - Camp retranché de Verdun - 1916". fortiffsere.fr. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-521-73806-4.
- ^ "What caused Verdun to be the longest battle of WW1?". BBC Guides. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "The Battle of Verdun - History Learning Site". Historyleaningsite.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "BBC - Standard Grade Bitesize History - The Schlieffen Plan : Revision, Page 3". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "German Defence of the Western Front, September-October 1915". Defenceindepth.co. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ Robert T. Foley. "A New Form of Warfare? : Erich von Falkenhayn's Plan for Victory in 1916" (PDF). Kclpure.kcl.ac.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ "GHDI - Document". Germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ISBN 9783110443486. Retrieved 16 September 2017 – via Google Books.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4654-7001-0.
- ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Verdun, EHESS (in French).
- ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ Prost, Antoine. Republican Identities in War and Peace: Representations of France in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Edited by Jay Winter. Oxford, New York: Berg, 2002. p.54
- ISBN 9780902633742, page 221
- ^ Bernardino, Luís Manuel Brás (May 2016). "A Batalha de Verdun: possíveis consequências e ensinamentos para Portugal" [The Battle of Verdun: possible consequences and teachings for Portugal]. Revista Militar (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Europress. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
Further reading
- Michelin (April 2000). Illustrated Michelin Guide to the battlefields "Verdun and the Battles for its Possessions". Naval & Military Press. ISBN 9781843420668.
- Horne, Alistair (1993). "The Price of Glory" Verdun 1916. Penguin Publishing. ISBN 9780140170412.
- Holstein, Christina (January 2009). Walking Verdun. Casemate Publishers. ISBN 978-1844158676.
- Buckingham, William F. (2007). Battlefield Guide VERDUN 1916. Tempus. ISBN 9780752441481.
External links
- Official web site Verdun
- Tourist Office of Verdun
- The Battle of Verdun Archived 10 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- La place forte de Verdun 1870–1918, well documented website on the extensive fortification system around Verdun
- GPS-Teamproject "Verdun - Somme - 1916"
- "My visits to the battlefields of Verdun". Archived from the original on 28 April 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
- "Forum Eerste Wereldoorlog, Dutch/Flemish Forum".
- "World War I Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial". American Battle Monuments Commission. Archived from the original on 11 February 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2006.
- "Photo album of old and modern Verdun area". Archived from the original on 10 May 2007.
- "Verdun — A Battle of the Great war".
- "The old fortifications of Verdun".
- The subterranean citadel underneath Verdun