#Verdun ww1 memorial full#

Vimy Ridge, 8km north of Arras, was the scene of some of the bloodiest trench warfare of WWI, with almost two full years of attacks. Just 2km northwest, the Australian Memorial Park marks the spot where, on 19 and 20 July 1916, a total of 1917 Australian soldiers were killed during a poorly planned offensive intended to divert German forces from the Battle of the Somme. The central slab is adorned with a large bronze ‘Rising Sun’, the badge worn by members of the Australian Imperial Force.Īnother moving site is the Fromelles (Phaesant Wood) Military Cemetery, 17km west of Lille, which was established in 2010 following the discovery of the mass graves of 250 Australian soldiers. The memorial comprises three curving walls clad in green granite. In its 93 minutes more than 1000 Australians and Americans were killed or wounded. It stands on the hilltop site of the Battle of Le Hamel, which was fought and won by Australian troops on 4 July 1918. Inaugurated in 2008, the Australian Corps Memorial Park is 7km northeast of Villers-Bretonneux. The Anzac Day Dawn Service is held here every 25 April at 5.30am. The names of 10,982 Australian soldiers are engraved on the base of the monument, and a viewing platform looks out over a sea of Commonwealth graves. The memorial stands near Thiepval Wood.Ībout 2km north of town, the 32m-high Australian National War Memorial, designed by the British architect Lutyens, is one of the most imposing memorials in the Somme. The five thousand Ulstermen who perished in the Battle of the Somme are commemorated nearby at the Ulster Memorial, a replica of Helen’s Tower at Clanboye in County Down, where the Ulster Division trained. The site also has a large Commonwealth cemetery and an informative visitors' centre. At a height of 45m, this is the largest British war memorial in the world, and more than 73,000 names of missing British soldiers are engraved in the stone pillars of the colossal arch. This notorious date is still known as the ‘bloodiest day of the British army’ by nightfall, more than 40,000 British soldiers had been killed, injured or taken prisoner. Designed by the colonial architect Edwin Lutyens, this arch-shaped construction was built on the site of a German stronghold that was stormed on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. One of the most famous WWI memorials in northern France is Thiepval, 160km north of Paris. Image by Jean-Bernard Carillet / Lonely Planet British and Irish cemeteries and memorials Yet fighting continued around Verdun until 1918.Canadian Memorial, Vimy. There were more than 700,000 victims – 305,000 killed and missing and 400,000 wounded (approximately), with almost identical losses on both sides. The 1916 battle ended after ten months of bitter fighting. It was empty – the Germans had already left.įrom 15 to 18 December, the French attacked again, retaking almost all the land they had lost since 21 February. On 24 October 1916, they recaptured Fort Douaumont and, a few days later, they entered Fort Vaux. In the autumn of 1916, the French counter-attacked. The Germans tried to capture the town one last time, on 11 and 12 July, but they failed again. On 1 July, the British and French launched a major offensive on the Somme, relieving some of the pressure being put on the French troops by the Germans in Verdun.

In all, some 4,000 trucks, 2,000 cars, 800 ambulances, 200 buses and numerous vans passed along it.įrom 6 March 1916, the Germans also attacked on the left bank of the River Meuse yet despite furious fighting on Le Mort-Homme in March and April they were unable to breach the French front line.Īt the end of June, having taken Fort Vaux, they launched a massive attack which failed – but only just. He increased the volume of traffic along the Bar-le-Duc to Verdun road, later known as the “Sacred Way”, the only route taking men and munitions up to the battlefield. General Pétain then took command of the troops. Despite heavy shelling, the French infantrymen (known as “ Poilus”) clung on to their positions and the Germans were unable to advance any further. The French High Command was anxious to retake the fort because of its dominant position high above the battlefield.

During the first few days, the Germans breached the French front lines and captured Fort Douaumont without a fight on 25 February 1916.

Verdun ww1 memorial