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Douaumont () is a former commune in the
The village was a single street lying on an east-west axis and appears to have been connected to a local industry. The population was 288 in 1911.
The village was totally destroyed during
Les fort Séré de Rivières le fort de Douaumont
GPS-Teamprojekt "Verdun - Somme - 1916"
Photos of exterior and interior of Fort Douaumont
{{authority control Former communes of Meuse (department) Buildings and structures in Meuse (department) Duchy of Bar
Douaumont () is a former commune in the Meuse
The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of .
History
From 1301, the upper ...
department in Grand Est
Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...
in north-eastern France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Douaumont-Vaux.
History
The village was a single street lying on an east-west axis and appears to have been connected to a local industry. The population was 288 in 1911.
The village was totally destroyed during World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Today the Douaumont Ossuary, which contains the remains of more than 100,000 unknown soldiers of both French and German nationalities found on the battlefield, stands high above the landscape.
Douaumont Fort
The fort was built south-east of the village. The construction work for Fort de Douaumont started in 1885 and thefort
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
was continually reinforced until 1913. The fort is situated on some of the highest ground in the area.
At the very beginning of the Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun ( ; ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in French Third Republic, France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north ...
(February 1916) and due to French unpreparedness, the fort was easily captured by a small German raiding party. Douaumont was later recaptured by the French Army in October 1916, after major casualties on both sides.
See also
* Douaumont Ossuary * Zone rouge (First World War) * List of French villages destroyed in World War I *Communes of the Meuse department
The following is a list of the 499 Communes of France, communes of the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of ...
* La Grande Illusion (film, Jean Renoir, 1937)
References
*"Douaumont.Vérité et Légende", Alain Denizot,1998,Librairie Académique Perrin,. * "Fort Douaumont" (Revised edition), Christina Holstein, 2010, Pen and Sword Books Ltd, .External links
Les fort Séré de Rivières le fort de Douaumont
GPS-Teamprojekt "Verdun - Somme - 1916"
Photos of exterior and interior of Fort Douaumont
{{authority control Former communes of Meuse (department) Buildings and structures in Meuse (department) Duchy of Bar