Behind this wall is a bricked up gallery containing the remains of a Bavarian unit, approx 6-800 men who died in an accidental explosion of grenades and ammunition.
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Other memorials line the inside of the fort as a testament of the fighting both outside and inside.pseudo-expertComment
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The Bonehouse
Many of the fallen French lie now just down the ridge from the fort either in the Bonehouse cemetary or in the Bonehouse itself. The Bonehouse is said to hold the remains of 180,000 unidentified dead that have been found on the battlefield over the years. When placed there they are put in sections according to where they are found on the battlefield, theorectically being reunited with their comrades (and also foes).pseudo-expertComment
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Rows of crosses tell the tale. This ridge was hotly contested. There are even a muslim and jewish memorial at opposite ends of the cemetary.pseudo-expertComment
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Yet right off the manicured grounds you can see the tortured earth.
More tomorrow.pseudo-expertComment
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Wonderful photos Don
The whole area has this strange mystical feel about it. Unlike any other ground of conflict. Cant wait for more.
EricComment
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Don,
Another superb presentation. I also am looking forward to more.
ChetZinc stinks!Comment
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very nice photos, it remembers me when I visited this place in 1988.
A view days before my visit was a heavy wind storm going on and some trees where falling down, I was amazed what big size bomb shells surfaced out in the tree holes ...Comment
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Great thread. I look forward to more photos.
SteveComment
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Thanks for this, looking forward to seeing the rest. I was there in 1999. A surreal place.Comment
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Thanks guys. I'm attaching a map so you can see the rather short distances covered (by today's standards) and to orient you to the battle. We talked about 1, Douaumont and 2. the Bonrhouse. Continuing on from Douaumont and the bone house the next phase saw the Germans advancing south towards 6. the village of Fleury and 5. Fort Vaux. To do this they had to advance under heavy fire down the slope from Douaumont and then up slope towards these objectives.
One particularly murderous choke point was 3. the dam on the Vaux village pond which is surrounded by swamp.pseudo-expertComment
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This dam was not just the dead place for numerous German soldiers but also of a French pilot who crashed here after being shot up.pseudo-expertComment
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On the upward slope towards the village of Fleury (4) the evidence of fighting remains.pseudo-expertComment
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Remains of field gear, bullets and shell casings, shrapnel balls and shell splinters are visibile on the ground if one knows what to look for.pseudo-expertComment
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They seem to have been very careless with their grenades. You can see them everywhere.pseudo-expertComment
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