The Generals threw steel and people into a huge battle

1,300 special trains with 1,220 guns and 2,500,000 shells were brought to Verdun. The Generals threw steel and people into a huge battle that would last ten months. Each day, 2000 tons of munitions were sent off to the front from Paris, along the road known as The Sacred Path. Pilots flying at night, could see a snaking line of shining trucks, winding all the way from Paris, out to a huge burning wound in the landscape. When the fighting calmed down, the front had barely moved forward six miles.



The Battle of Verdun was one of the most extensive battles of the Great War. It began as began as a German offensive, and lasted from the 21st of February, to the 19th of December, 1916. The Germans tried to wear down the French soldiers that found themselves posted in the heavily fortified Verdun area. The French defended themselves obstinately under General Philippe Petain, who gained notoriety for the successful defence of the city.



Excessive Futility
The Germans had to stop the offensive in July, and a French offensive in October forced them to abandon the conquered terrain, including Forts Vaux and Douaumont. During the battle, a total of around half a million were injured, and more than a quarter million people were killed. It was the longest battle in First World War, and the bloodiest after the Battle of the Somme (1916). The battle has since become the symbol of the meaningless, outrageous and appalling way, The Great War was waged.



I parked the motorbike to get lunch in Verdun Town. Verdun is a really nice town to visit, as there are many small restaurants along to Meuse river. These days, you can then sit and watch life pass by, while waiting to be served mussels and cold white wine. When you drive along the front, you sometimes have to take a breather, because it's a hard diet, trying to digest so much negative input. Before I left the Western Front, I wanted a tour of Argonne Forest, to investigate one last thing, the story of the American lawyer Charles Whittlesey, and how he lost his battalion there.