Day 3 and we start with a visit to Fort Douaumont, which fell on the 25th February after a tremendous artillery bombardment, but in slightly farcical circumstances.  There was almost no garrison in the fort which was captured by a small number of Germans.

The French side of the fort at Douaumont.  The troops would have entered at a lower level out of picture in the angle between the two paths in the photo. 

One of the smaller retractable gun turrets on Douaumont showing the view to the north, from which the Germans would have approached. Most of the guns were removed before the attack and used elsewhere.

Another part of the French side of the fort

Inside the fort is very large, a mass of corridors and rooms, this one is a dormitory.

From Douaumont to the Ossuary. A French memorial to all who died, this contains the bones of some 130,000 French and German soldiers who died in the battle. It is an eerie place, the monument is a gaunt and forbidding structure, and at ground level from outside there are windows through which you can see the mass of bones. Different.

The Ossuary. There is a similar wing the other side of the tower, and a smaller one at right angles coming off the back of the tower.

The Ossuary at Douaumont is a very sombre monument, it is very hard not to be moved by it and what it contains.  I feel that black and white is a more fitting medium than colour.

Just one section of the very large cemetery at Douaumont.

Close to Douaumont and the Ossuary is the fort Ouvrage de Froidterre, like the rest of the area it was subjected to an incredible artillery bombardment, and the land still bears the scars.

The view standing on the front edge of Froidterre. In the foreground are all the shell craters and in amongst them are hundreds of the original French spikes for holding the barbed wire. The woods on the far ridge line are the Mort Homme.

East of Douaumont was Fort Vaux which fell on the 7th June.  The photo below shows the thickness of the mounting ring of one of the gun cupolas which was blown clean off by German artillery.

Both photos from Fort Vaux, the one on the right showing one of the guns in the fort.  75mm ?

The village of Fleury-devant-Douaumont is one of several that were totally obliterated and were not rebuilt.  This village has a number of memorial stones to show what dwelling or building had been there previously. This stone marks the site of the school.

The French were kept supplied via the ‘Sacred Way’, the Voie Sacre, and this is a detail from the monument overlooking the current road, still only one carriage-way in each direction.  The panel depicts different modes of transport using the road.