Reims 2024 - Verdun Ossuary

 The battle of Verdun lasted from lasted from the 21st February to the 18th December 1916 resulting in over  700,000 casualties of which around  300, 000 were killed. One estimate states 306,000 killed, 163,000 French and 143,000 German.

An ossuary commemorates those lost and  contains the skeletal remains of 130,000 combatants from both sides.

Douaumont Ossuary

Douaumont Ossuary

To the front of the ossuary is the Fleury-devant-Douaumont National Necropolisis. The French cemetery contains 16,142 graves, the largest single French Cemetery of World War One.

Fleury-devant-Douaumont Cemetery

Fleury-devant-Douaumont Cemetery

Fleury-devant-Douaumont Cemetery