When you visit military cemeteries it makes you think how many are unaccounted for and still remain buried in the battlefield and no one with the exception of the descendents of those who fell will never know that these men, these human beings ever existed. All in all J.D. another well done video.
On Tyne cot cemetery near Ypres in Flanders, Belgium, lie about 12000 men. Approximately 80% there is unknown. In the back is a wall to the missing, which contains 35000 names. It's an addition to the Menin gate in Ypres, where 55000 names of missing soldiers, or who have no known grave, are etched in the walls
If not losing these men was not bad enough, the fact that so many men remain missing to this day is heartbreaking. Some of the British cemeteries have so many headstones with the epitaph, An Unknown British Soldier, Known Only Unto God.
@@timvanacker5129 The Menin Gate and Tyne Cot are well known, but many dont realise there are also memorials to the missing at La Ferte Sous Jouarre, Ploegsteert, Le Touret, Cambrai and Arras, these being just France and Belgium, this is not counting the memorials outside Europe, I think there are still over a quarter of a million men missing from the First World War.
After reading "The Price of Glory" while in college, I went to Verdun in 1984 when I was stationed in Europe with the US Army. Myself, and a small group of my fellow Soldiers, visited on a warm, spring, sunny day. While it was perfect weather to walk the battlefield, something felt off. Then it struck us. It was absolutely silent. No birds chirping, no leaves rustling, no man-made sounds in the distance. Solemn is an understatement. That feeling has remained with me to this day. Lest we ever forgot the horrors of war.
I visited Verdun some years ago while I was in the military. I studied about the Ossuary and each of those windows looks into a separate vault. They divided the Verdun battlefield into zones and the bones found in a particular zone are deposited into the vault designated for that zone. Up inside the Ossuary, there are markers above each vault that described the zone and where on the battlefield it is located. The bones of both French and Germans are interred together if they cannot be recognized as belonging to one side or the other. Bones are still found regularly by visitors and farmers. An occasional farmer and EOD tech gets killed by the unexploded ordinance still out there. The Verdun battlefield is kind of a haunted place to visit.
I visited there several times while stationed over in Kaiserslautern Germany which is an easy drive away. I recall while I was there the Ramstein American High School had a field trip to this site. Several students had picked up and removed live munitions and took them home. This caused a real panic within the Air Force community who lived and worked on the base.
The more pointed, and poignant, reason for the creation of the ossuary by the French was so that family members of those killed in action whose body was never returned to them could visit the ossuary and know that they were visiting the tomb of their loved one. It gave them a specific place to commune and to grieve. My grandfather's brother Thomas Murphy died for France on October 8, 1918. His body was found, and he is buried in a small British cemetery near St. Quentin. On the tombstone it reads "A loving son, a soldier brave. A mother's heart lies in his grave."
The other aspect is that if you found bones in some locations it was impossible to know if they were French or German, so you need a “neutral” resting place.
Like many who have commented, I visited Verdun in the late 80’s while serving as an Army officer in what was then West Germany. Your comment that it is a ‘heavy place’ is a masterpiece of understatement. The Ossuary left an impression that is with me to this day. Great video, thank you for making it.
You should visit the Somme JD. More than three million men fought in the battle, of whom one million were either wounded or killed, making it one of the deadliest battles in all of human history
Sometimes I go over to the ossuary in the middle of the night, the silence then is deafening then. And I try to imagine the hell the men who where there went true. It’s a humble experience.
I don’t know what compelled you to visit the ossuary at night. I’ve never been to continental Europe before, only the UK. This much I will say: Having spent many a pitch-black night on the Chickamauga National Battlefield thinking of what it must have been like for those Union and Confederate soldiers (with some 125,000 men engaged Chickamauga was the second largest battle of the entire war after Gettysburg and also had the second highest number of casualties too, also after Gettysburg.) The battlefield was littered with the dead for months afterwards before they were finally picked up and buried. Interestingly Chickamauga and Le Mort Homme both share a similar, but grim name. Chickamauga (Creek) is an old Cherokee Indian name that loosely translates to “river of death” and was avoided by them as it was associated with smallpox long before the war. Le Mort Homme, of course has been so named since long before World War 1 as well. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by the grim horrors of war, but we also have to force ourselves to remember just why we fight sometimes, too. Because it is better to die free than to live a slave, always.
This one brought tears to my eyes. The lives that were taken in the name of peace only to have it started all over again 20 years later is so sad. Thank you for this. I think the cost of what really happens in War needs to be shown. ♥️😢
This one was a gut punch at the end. As somber and overwhelming as the cemetaries are, seeing the bones laid bare and jumbled together is jarring on a different level. Your compassion and respect for these men and these places is palpable. Thanks for taking us along.
When i visited Douaumont in about 1987 as a kid, the limestone of the memorial was still like white everywhere. Here is also the place the that time French president Mitterand and West German chancellor Kohl deepened the French-German friendship after the centuries of wars between both sides.
Morning JD. I have a guess as to why there are 2 soliders in one grave. Foxholes/Artillery. You have 2 people manning a position, it gets hit by an artillery round. You knew who was in the position, but now they are gone and it is impossible to determine which soldier is who. They trained, lived, fought, and died together, now they will go to "fiddler's green" together.
Your video allows us to understand the state of mind of the French people and their army that the Anglo-Saxons like to portray as cowards, during the battle of 1940. During the 20 years which separated the two wars, the French lived in the memory of 14/18. Each town, each village has its war memorial with the names of young men killed during the war and its military square in the municipal cemetery. The Verdun memorial, the commemorations of November 11, the veterans' associations, all this made it ring in the ears of the French that they no longer wanted such a massacre and that they were tired of counting and pronouncing the name of the 1,4 millions men “morts pour la France”
I had to go back and play that again. The bones of 130,000 unidentified soldiers 😢 Unfathomable, I can see why H.G. Wells called it "The war that will end war". Too bad that didn't stick.
Been there twice. Looking into the small windows near ground level at all those bones is very strange. They put more bones in every year many dug up from the farm fields. Edit: the sword 'stuck in the ground' is the center piece of the British cemetery's.
The Ossuary is easily the grimmest memorial I’ve ever seen. Seeing those bones was a powerful reminder of just how fleeting life really is, and the horrible cost of war. Thanks for sharing.
JD, your treatment of war cemeteries is unparalleled. This one affected me more than the many that you have done in the past. The sheer scale of the dead and I'm sure it was the peak of those bones that made me gasp (so many! 😢). Your reverence and empathy come through. ❤❤❤
Thank you for sharing this experience. My great grandfather was awarded the DSC for his actions in Argonne, Oct, 1918. I spent a few days on the Western Front in the Fall of 2022, and this was one of our stops. The entire area lends a deeply sorrowful feeling, but it’s magnified at the ossuary. The lack of visitors to the area usually means you’re either alone or with just a handful of other people. When we visited the American cemetery in Argonne, there were a total of three people, which included my wife and I.
The multiple names are indeed commingled. Mostly skeletonized bodies would sometimes be washed by rains into low areas. They had ID tags, but were in a jumble. So they are buried together.
JD, thanks! It will forever be on my mind what happened to the dead. I paid a visit to the US Army Mortuary Affairs 3 decades ago when I was escorting a recently deceased US Soldier from our unit. Many are lost to the fields where they fell. I grew up a short drive from where General Mad Anthony Wayne defeated the Indians in 1794 at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. There is no cemetery to visit for as significant that battle was. In Europe, there are perhaps 100s of thousands missing, still lying where they perished between World War I and II. Many are found today by relic hunters armed with metal detectors. Those videos are all over RU-vid.
True. As a French, I recently heard a French historian saying that from Belgium down to Eastern France, there are over 300,000 missing soldiers who lie underground where they died.
WOW, if the rows and rows of markers doesn't bring home the cost of war, the Ossuary certainly does, once again you have captured a piece of history and brought it to us in your own unique way, thank you for doing what you do.
Being that you are in the neighborhood I hope you cover Meuse Argonne. My great uncle was KIA 4 Oct 1918 & is in American Cemetery. I visited in 2017 - had been number 1 on bucket list forever. Stunningly beautiful cemetery.
I live near a Historic National Cemetery. There is a field surrounded by head stones marked "UNKNOWN US SOLDIER". There are estimates of up to 10,000 soldiers burried in trenches, including 1 Medal Of Honor recipient.
06:30 and 07:50 when bodies where buried together on the battlefied and marked or known of it was sometimes not possible to determine who was who due to damage or decomposition so knowing who was there they would rebury the remains together. This way the family and comrades knew where their loved ones lay. The other option is unidentified graves or mass burial.
These videos you make of cemeteries for the fallen for the wars have me speechless each time, they’re all so beautifully built by their respectful governments. I can’t wait for the day I get to pay my respect in person one day. Thank you for making these videos for us.
Do you mean to say _respective_ governments? Because I don't think there was ever much respect from the governments towards the soldiers. Only mock respect later on for propagandistic and jingoistic reasons.
I was at the Cemetary of Notre Dame De Lorette (near Vimy)... Again, such a huge Cemetary (40,000 ish???) It's Truly Overwhelming, when you try to wrap your head around the Massive Loss of Life... RIP 💔💔💔
JD, can’t remember where I read this, but the reason sometimes two or three soldiers were laid together was often because of artillery shells falling on multiple men. Their comrades probably remembered who was standing there but if there wasn’t much left of them, they collected what they could and placed them together under one headstone. it was considered better to lay them to rest together rather than marking them as unknown. Given the amount of artillery in WW1, you can imagine how often this situation would occur.
you are obviously moved by what you have learned in visiting Verdun. it was good of you to go on this voyage for we people, who may never get to experience the full impact of this truly awesome, in the original sense of that word, place.
@@kidmohair8151 - To me, it’s one of the pillars of WWI. I’ve wanted to walk that battlefield for years. Definitely walked away with a greater appreciation for the French army.
Was there in Nov 2023 with a WW1 tour. You showed more than we had time to see. It was amazing and frightening to see how many young men died in WW1. Thanks, JD!
Thank you for showcasing the cemeteries, and the graves of the unknown. Some are unable to visit where their family members are buried, or the family lines have died out, or like you showed, too many are unknown and tend to get forgotten.
Wow! What a beautiful place. The layout is great. Where i live there are exploded ordinance as well. Thanks for sharing ❤. May the fallen rest in peace 🙏
It's good we have these beautiful, and stunning reminders of all who died in WWI. The remains of the 130,000 on display in the ossuary was shocking and the scarred battlefields shown in this series should grab hold of everyone as a reminder that even mother nature cannot reclaim the natural beauty of the land- even after 110 years. It's even better that we can see the beautiful cemeteries and remnants of the horrific concentration camps and sunken Warships that sank in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in WWII. All in testimony to the 40+ million soldiers who died in that war. I wonder though, who will be around to construct and maintain the cemeteries and remnants of the battles of the next World War, and will there even be anyone left to do so? Thanks for the powerful and poignant reminders JD! Your work and your passion is admired and greatly appreciated!
To me, looking into the crypts under the Ossuary was truly life changing... the scale of it, and the number of men entombed within would be unimaginable has I not seen it in person... a tragic loss of life at a grand scale. Had those men continued to live and prosper, what kind of world might we be living in today?
Ive been all through the Verdun area and was waiting for this episode. As you try to tell others about the amount of carnage, the sheer numbers (shells, casualties etc) people simply do not believe you. They think you are making it up. When I get back over there, I intend to explore more deeply the American involvement in WW1. Just west of Verdun, is Mont Facon, where US troops started there final push and took there most casualties. Young Patton actually had his first tank battle there, and just north of that the Sgt York site is being developed. All worth going to.
You might want to look at American agricultural machinery, with so many men away to the war, French farmers started importing US made farm equipment long before the first doughboy made it across the pond.
A bit of trivia. They replaced those crosses in last couple years and a bit copied crosses from American war cemeteries in France(and Europe) now they have rounded upper corners like crosses on American cemeteries. Before they had sharp 90° corners, was worn out and those sharp corners was prone to moss and lichens growth.
Most of the crosses back then were cast in concrete. Francis economy was smashed from the war. Concrete was the most economical way to make their markers....
@@marieriendeau8261 Yes, I remember when first saw Douaumont cemetery crosses was concrete and with 90 degrees corners. It's good thing that did it this way, rain better shed from rounded corners
When I was a West Point Cadet ages ago, my Father and I visited the Douaumont Ossuary. It was close to his Brigade Command across the border in Germany and an easy day trip. We could have spent weeks there. This place left a profound impact on me that lasts to this day. As a retired Armor Officer this place left me with one of many important "commandments" and that was maneuver and striking centers of gravity save lives when we have to do these things. I know that combat and war as a means of national power are more complex. But, when you have to do this, maneuver and precision fires are critical to success and preserving blood and treasure.
JD,……YOU are a PROFESSIONAL, you did a OUTSTANDING in this series on Verdun and this video just lays out the cost of war. I’ll raise a few 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺in your honor!
I can’t add any more to the comments as they are well said. Thank you to you JD and to those sharing their comments of loved ones and visits to these hallowed grounds.
7:51 this reminds me of a story i read about. A few years back, a visitor at one of the villages that were destroyed discovered human remains under a tree that had fallen after a storm. Eventually, it was discovered that these were the remains of men who were in a french aid station in the basement of a house. The house took a hit and they died there. I don't think all of the bodies were identified, but i'm confident they would have been reburied together. A local artist sculpted the torso of a french soldier out of the tree that grew where they layed.
Very Humbling Video JD. The Bells at the beginning and end of your video was very touching, and gets to me just as much as TAPS! The Bones seen through the dark windows are like an explanation point on the effects of war! and to your information. Very well done sir, very well done!
The Germans were affected also by the indescribable violence of the fightings during WW1 and during the occupation of France from 1940 to 1945, they have respected all the war memorials. The flame of the unknown soldier under the Arc de triomphe in Paris has never been extinguished.
American WW1 cemeteries in Europe was also not touched during WW2, not even headstones with Star of David. There was some intentions of destroying bud allgedly Hitler himself ordered war dead to be respected and cemeteries not touched. Germans only removed Australian monument depicting Australian soldier stabing German eagle with bayonet upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Australian_2nd_Division_Memorial_at_Mont_St_Quentin%2C_France_in_August_1925.jpg
Yes, I imagine that being a WWI veteran, Hitler would have ordered his troops not to vandalise French WWI memorials. But his orders, if he gave such orders, were not always respected by the individual German units and many war memorials were damaged or even blown to pieces, all across France. Many have been rebuilt in the '50s and '60s but some were still being replaced as recently as the 21st century... @@32dras
Sir , your series on the Verdon portion if WWI is an exceptional , educational Masterpiece !!! I have loved every single episode and find myself impatiently waiting for the next one !!! I really just want to say thank you for shedding light on the completely under reported on World War that we really need to understand and remember!!! WWII gets all of the coverage (maybe understandably so) but WWI is just as (if not more so) important because it's ending truly was one of the main reasons for WWII !!! Great job !!!
I visited Verdun in 1981 and Found It Moving Fascinating, La Voie Sacre, Le Tranchee de la Bayonets, Firts Vaux and Douamont, and Of Course Le Ossuary!!!! For many years I had a Company of Biffins who portrayed Poilus of the 151sr RI in Living History, even in a Hollywood Film!!!! It is still going strong today!!!! On Les Aura!!! On Ne Passé Pas!!!! Vive le France!!!!🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹
The 2 dead in the same grave are because their bodies were found (battlefield burial) together and when it was possible to give them a respectful burial it was impossible to separate them. In Luxembourg there is a ww2 German graveyard in Sandweiler which has in at least 1 case 14 people in the same grave.
@@elchapito4580 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandweiler_German_war_cemetery#/media/File:Sandweiler_KSG_1726_pK.jpg this grave has 6, I can’t find photos of the others with 14
I was there in 2019, sobering. As you drive up seeing all the shell holes that still exist 100 years later. Looking at all the crosses is 1 thing but looking into the Ossuary windows and seeing 1,000s of bones and skulls.
Great job on this entire series JD, I learned so much about the Battle of Verdun. Of course my favorite part was the museum showing the unexploded ordnance. 😎Those views from the tower of the ossuary were amazing but looking into the windows at the end were so humbling. Thank you very much for this series JD.
That view from the tower is shockingly breathtaking. A feeling like no other. Honestly JD, this is the best history channel on RU-vid. These videos really are something special and show the true cost of war. Humans really are the most brutal beings on this planet.
It is said that the ultimate sacrifice in war is for one to give their life for their country. Then, seeing the "unknown" graves, I thought the ultimate sacrifice in war is for one to give their life for their country and for others to bury them with no name because they don't know the name of the dead. Then, seeing the bones through the dark window, I thought this is the ultimate sacrifice in war, to give one's life for their country and to be unknown and unburied.
I toured that area a few years back and I always tell people about the ossuary. I was stunned at the sheer number of dead. Your brain has a hard time wrapping itself around that scene.
You should read Wilfred Owens’ poetry on his experiences in WWI. He died the day before the war ended. Probably the best poet on war time. An incredible writer and incredible loss.
The ossuary tower was designed to represent an artillery shell, I have visited the memorial and it was the most emotional gut wrenching sight I have ever seen.
I'm born in Verdun. As a youth I played in all the forts. Brought my Canadian girlfriend to this site at sunrise in a dense fog. We followed the raised boardwalks through the forests occasionally reading plaques describing how entire villages where they were erected had been wiped off the planet without survivors...Stepping off the boardwalk and surviving was highly doubtful. I guided her downstairs to the museum below ground level. The morning sun during the hour we were down there dissipated the fog. I took her hand firmly to climb the steps up to ground level. Upon seeing all the crosses..,she fainted. She had no words and could not speak.All she could do was cry..I remember well my words to her.. " This is the cost of freedom. " Few words-if any were shared on our walk back.
You would think that after thousands of years we would have figured out how to live together in peace, God bless all the men and woman who have died attempting to bring us a lasting peace. Maybe someday.
Visited Verdun in 1974. I took several photos. The artillery chew up the bodies of KIA’s especially in “no man’s lands.” Nothing left to pick up. Artillery was an especially feared weapon in WWI because of the massed barrages. The Soviets used those types of barrages to great effect during WWII.
A deeply moving video, handled exceptionally well….next year (2025) my wife and I are going on a battlefield tour, Verdun being part of that tour. These videos are invaluable for reference and although a forewarning if you will, of what to expect, from your moments of shock and unease, I have no doubt it will hit hard….thank you for doing such an outstanding job….Lest We Forget……
