After an evening in Reims we set out for the battleground around Verdun, with our first stop at the Butte de Vauquois, about 5 Km outside Varennes en-Argonne where we would later be having lunch.

The Butte de Vauquois is reputed to be one of (if not ‘the’) most heavily mined areas on earth, it left a deep impression on all of us. Before the war there had been a village, Vauquois, on top of this hill but it was completely obliterated by the mines which were dug under the hill, and then exploded, as well as from artillery bombardment.  When you stand on the top of the hill you can see the reason it was fought over as it has a commanding view of the whole area.

Memorial on the Butte de Vauquois

Commanding view, with mine crater in the foreground.

The top of the hill where the village once stood, now totally destroyed by the mines whose craters you can see in this photo.

A German trench and tunnel entrance on one side of the Butte.  These are actual trench remains, not reconstructions.

One of the many tunnels from both the French and German side of the hill.  This has steps cut going upwards.

Photo shows the entrance to one of the French tunnels with a ‘railway’ to allow them to remove the spoil from the diggings.

After lunch in a restaurant in Varennes we went to the northern sector of the battlefield, to the Bois des Caures and the command post of Colonel Driant, one of the heroes of Verdun, killed close to this spot. From here he met the first wave of the German attack on the 21st February.

The photo shows the back or French side of Driant’s Command Post.  The left hand side shows damage from the German artillery.  The whole area is a mass of shell craters.

Richard explaining a point at Driant’s Command Post. Susi, my wife, makes a rare appearance in one of my photos.