Douaumont

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GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION		CLOSEST TOWNS
Town	Douaumont	Fleury-devant-Douaumont at 3.3 km (4 min)
Insee code	55164	Bras-sur-Meuse at 6.3 km (7 min)
Postcode	55100	Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre at 7.5 km (9 min)
Latitude	49.2208333	Charny-sur-Meuse at 7.7 km (9 min)
Longitude	5.4322222	Vaux-devant-Damloup at 7.9 km (8 min)
Altitude	From 240 to 395 meters	Vacherauville at 8.4 km (9 min)
Surface	6.14 km²	Belleville-sur-Meuse at 8.8 km (10 min)
Population	7 inhabitants	Thierville-sur-Meuse at 9.2 km (11 min)
Density	1 inhabitants/km²	Damloup at 9.4 km (10 min)
Chief town	Bar-le-Duc (at 64 km, 73 min)	Dieppe-sous-Douaumont at 10.8 km (12 min)
Department	Meuse	Bezonvaux at 11.3 km (12 min)
Region	Lorraine	Search another town

LOCATION

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TOWN PRESENTATION

7 km east of Charny - 11 km northeast of Verdun.

Created in the Gallo-Roman village has Douaumont, until 1884, had a simple and peaceful country life on the heights overlooking both the plain of Woëvre to the east and the valley of the Meuse West.

From 1885, its 192 inhabitants suddenly go to 576 with the arrival of large numbers of workers moving, mostly Italians, who built the Fort of Douaumont. This influx of people will allow the development of many small businesses that will contribute to real prosperity of the village.

On the eve of the war of 14-18, it still has 288 people including many military personnel.

During 1915, the French staff no longer believes in the effectiveness of the protection Forts deal with the arrival of new types of ammunition as the shell-torpedo that has proven effective at the beginning of the war Forts against Belgian and decides to disarm part of its Armed with that of Douaumont.

When the great German offensive of February 1916, Fort Douaumont seriously and remains a symbol for the German General Staff who seizes on February 25 without having to actually fight.

In contrast, the village of Douaumont itself undergoes a powerful bombing and lethal attacks from late February until 2 March 1916 and fell along with numerous hairy and French officers.

It was during this battle that Captain Charles de Gaulle, a company commander of the 33rd RI, was wounded and taken prisoner in Germany until the end of the war.

On March 4, 1916, the entire village of Douaumont in ruins, and its Fort, are found in German hands and face, now, the constant bombing of the French guns.

The Fort, occupied by many Germans know, May 8, 1916, a violent explosion of a deposit with grenades and flamethrowers, hit by a shell. The explosion killed more than 800 German soldiers. But can not all bury near the Fort, the German command decided to wall up 679 bodies in a gallery of the Fort, which even today remains the only German cemetery in Verdun.

October 24, 1916, the French army launched a major offensive under General Mangin, manages to recapture the village and the ruins of Fort thanks to Morocco's colonial troops engaged in this sector will remain Douaumont French until the end of war.

In 1919, Douaumont is part of the list of nine villages destroyed and the famous "red zone" where any reconstruction is prohibited.

However, the territory of the municipality of Douaumont will be chosen to host, between the wars, not only the memorial chapel in 1926 and free-Saint-Hilaire, inaugurated in 1932, but especially the great national cemetery, established in 1925 and above which will be built and inaugurated on 18 September 1927, the impressive Ossuary Douaumont, initiated by Bishop Ginisty, Bishop of Verdun, who want to make a more dignified resting place for remains of soldiers gathered on the field of Battle of Verdun.

Douaumont ossuary and became a symbolic place where even stronger, September 22, 1984, MM. Kohl and Mitterrand, hand in hand, came to mark in front of the ossuary, the reality of the Franco-German reconciliation.

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