First World War - Verdun - Fort Douaumont

Filmed at the destroyed village of Douaumont in the Verdun battlefield using a Phantom 3 drone. Shows aerial view of Fort Douaumont.

[Sorarse]

50, 000, 000 shells over 300 days works out as a shell fired just under 2 seconds, non-stop. Obviously they weren't actually fired non-stop, but it brings in to perspective how many shells were actually fired during this battle. Anyone who finds themselves in the vicinity of Verdun is recommended to visit this area. The memorial, museum and pockmarked landscape are all very thought provoking.

[ansdeconneries]

I'm French and you are doing great videos about the first world war, thank you for taking time to come in France, do researches and show others what happened in France a hundred years ago. Thank you very much sir and I hope see you someday maybe in a battle place :)

[philbrotherton]

During 2015, I followed the trenches & battlefields from Anatolian Turkey to the English Channel in Belgium.
I saw many battlefields, but the feelings that I got in the woods around Verdun was just a feeling of horror.
Before I began my journey, I was sceptical about ghosts & the paranormal, but I am now a firm believer. Those woods sent a chill through me that I can still feel three & a half years later....

[fraggzbN]

Have been in that area several times and visited Vaux, Douaumont, Froidterre, Dead Man, Fleury, The Douaumont Ossuary, The Verdun Memorial, some trenches around and some lesser known artillery posts of the Germans a few kilometers away, where one can still see beautyful paintings and drawings German soldiers put to the walls in lack of wallpapers.
In almost any place there one still can find bone fragments or shrapnel. The woods are quite dangerous, we often found piles of shells, grenades and other potentially deadly stuff and in some areas until today nothing grows - I think, it is because of buried shells that contained poison gas.

Every year farmers recover tons of metal, grenades and shells in their fields and most likely this will continue some decades, because there are so many duds and pieces of scrap metal in that area.

It is an amazing area to explore.

[nickschmitz]

Well done video sir. I had the privilege of visiting the Verdun area, specifically Forts Douaumont and Vaux as well as the Ossuary, and words cannot describe the feeling of standing on that ground. You are correct when they say it is a "Red zone" as there are countless unexploded munitions signs everywhere. I believe the journey to this area should be a pilgrimage that everyone should make to ensure that senseless wars like this never happen again.

[rafopderand]

As a 13 year old I loved to wander off a little in those woods around this fortress, following a shallow trench which was there, for as long as I could. And boy, do those woods get dark fast. There was something very eerie about the whole experience. But what will stay with me about this battlefield, was that wherever I was, whether here or around the Trench of Bayonets, were the shellholes overlapping shellholes. And everywhere. Not a single square meter of soil was untouched by the war. Sometimes the craters were huge - still huge, even in the early nineties. And the entire battlefield is like that - it's as if the French merely cleaned up the remnants of war lying on the surface and then put trees there, after 1918 - and that's it. That's what makes Verdun pretty unique. The only places that are similar to the Verdun experience, with a similar semi-intact battlefields, are in the Vosges. I would say more intact. The Hartmannsweilerkopf comes to mind. A hill which was heavily fought over in 1915. If you've never been there, Steve, you should go. You still got miles and miles of perfectly functional trenches (because the trench walls are made of rock) leading in all directions - and dugouts and everything that comes with a trench - and I never was able to walk up to where any of these trenches ended. They seemed to go on forever, all the way down to the valley. I'm surprised there's so little public attention for what I consider a completely preserved WW1 battlefield. It's like the Western Front's most dirty secret. And the French don't market it. Wow.

[johnsteninger]

We visited there just over a week ago. This perspective from the air really assists in understanding the battle. The topography can't be seen adequately from the ground. Well done, would really look forward to such a flight over Fort Vaux. Thank you for your entire series.

[kevinhaynes]

Thank you Steven. I visited Verdun many years ago and it left a lasting impression on me. The Douaumont Ossuary is particularly difficult to see for a Brit who is not used to seeing the mortal remains of one, let alone 130, 000 poor souls. Another heart rending site was the Sleeping Lion Memorial to the Germans near Fort Vaux, which to this day remains one of saddest memorials I have seen. The drone footage makes all the difference in understanding the layout of the battlefield. Thank you again for your informative and sensitive video on the Battle of Verdun.

[I_auddity_I]

Somehow, I've found your videos four years after you've made them. I'm glad I have. WWI has always been interesting to me. Dan Carlin's seven part series on the first world war is an intense listen. He talks about Verdun and thanks to you I get to see a bit of the landscape of what it is now, and what it was back then. You're videos give a visual to his descriptions. Thank you.

[elevencastle]

I’ve recently taken an interest in learning more about the 1st world war and it’s truly incredible to see how unstable and pockmarked the ground is from the shelling in each battlefield, even after over 100 years since the battles ended.

[Thermopylae]

Thank you for sharing this. Our family discovered a few years ago that my grandfather was at Verdun at the end of the war as part of the four divisions of the Austro-Hungarian army that was stationed there. This adds a great perspective to that bit of family history.

[peterquant]

I liked your sober tone: it fits the location well.

[IndelibleHD]

Incredible footage along with an education. The scope of this war is mind boggling. Liked and subscribed. Thank you.

[georgeb]

This is very interesting to me since two of my fathers relatives were killed in WWI - Leo and George Beaumont. George is listed as killed in the Fort Douamont area, possibly during a recapture event. George G. Beaumont USA

[joepalooka]

All my life I've wanted to tour the Western Front, this is the next best thing and exceptionally educational. Thank you for doing this!

[oschibaby]

Thank you Steven. A very respectful and humane look at this historic battlefield. Rest in peace, all the young men and civilians who lost their lives.

[SSHitMan]

I love these drone view videos of WWI battlefields Steven, thank you for uploading these! Really gives a perspective that old maps and ground level videos just cannot deliver.

[Mizone]

I will get there one day . Thank you so much mr upton for your videos on the first war. Your overlapping of maps and footage is one of the best available. My great great uncle was wounded and MIA for 4 days before being found. He was a sniper. Upon his return from hospital he was gassed, survived that then posted to a mavjine gun vompany. He fied in 1969 due to his war injuries. I owe it to him to see the land and places where he fought.
Again yhank you for your inspiring vidros.

[sgtsarge]

million shells
20000 shells per square meter
20% duds
200 unexploded shells per square meter... holy shit no wonder its a red zone

[georgem]

Really nice video. I found it very interesting. My late wife, my son, and I visited Verdun, including Ft. Douamont, in 1999. My son, Tom, who was almost 8 at the time thought the Ossuary was cool with all the bones. I pointed out to him that all those bones were young men who never got to go home to their own little boys. He thought for a moment and said, " I thought it was cool, Dad, but now it's just sad." I always thought that was pretty perceptive for a 7 year old.