The Unknown Soldier of France & the Silent Cities of Verdun | History Traveler Episode 318

When people visit Verdun, the cemetery that they are most likely to visit is the one at Douaumont. But one cemetery can't hold all of the dead that Verdun claimed. In this episode, we're looking at some of the other silent cities around Verdun and also at the story behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe.

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[honker]

An outstanding series, even by your high standards ! "Trauma" is the right word--even the smallest French villages have memorials with depressingly long lists of names, often with the same surname repeated more than once.

[SMTraz]

This series is never going to end! Keep the videos rolling.

[guillaumepetin]

Thank you for such an amazing series on the First World War. Both of my grand fathers served for France. One on the western front, the other in the Dardanelles. Both survived. The one on the western front was gassed. I just got back from visiting some of my relatives in France, and while I was there, I had the opportunity to visit typical French villages. Without exceptions, they all had memorials to their fallen in the First World War. My parents always said that their childhood memories at family gatherings always ended up with conversations about the war. It fundamentally changed Europe for ever.

[BiGDukeActual]

JD - your last episode was utterly enthralling - the vignette-shots you took through the bottom ports of the Douaumont Ossuary served as a chilling underscore to the overall magnitude of 'The War to End all Wars"... Keep up the great work. Thank you.

[davidwillis]

You should drop the mic right now. I gained a greater appreciation of WWI and the Verdun area. Visited Verdun as a green Lieutenant in 1990 for a development program. This series multiplied my understanding! Well done JD.

[thelocalmaladroit]

No words of mine can express the gratitude I have for this series.
I never knew anything about WWI and still have a lot to learn, but nothing will compare to Verdun..

[bradbalderson]

A fitting end to this series JD, I have really enjoyed this trip to France and discovery of the Great War.

[petercummings]

An utterly superb series. You said before that WW1 was not your best subject knowledge and you wanted to do something... And did you do just that!

Informative, easy to follow, personal and emotional.

Thanks!

[emilygardner]

I can't thank you enough for this series! Understand I'm still sucked down this WWII rabbit-hole that you introduced me to.. but this has been some of your best work yet. That teaser trailer from a while back? 100% on target. The thrills and all of the feels, you portrayed them with dignity and honor. You should be really, really proud.

[glynhornback]

Thank you so much for this series. I've only heard and seen small snippets about Verdun. With this series I have learned so much more. I had no clue there were so many lives lost for France. You my friend did a spectacular job and I give you many many thanks. Be safe in you travels and God bless you.

[sandramosley]

This series is an astonishing accomplishment. Thank you for all the insights we would not have otherwise had.

[cyndiebill]

A beautiful and thoughtful series JD. Thank you for telling their stories both soldiers and civilians. 👍🙂

[-jk-]

Thank you so much for the series! Visited Verdun a year ago, and this brought some good memories although it might be the saddest battlefield I’ve ever visited. You gave so much new information of those places I didn’t know before. Please keep ’em coming, your videos are awesome!

[wildcolonialman]

Fabulous effort, fabulously informative, and should be RUN on National TV. World Wide. RIP Men.

[rockstarJDP]

This was an amazing series JD, such a poignant and respectful conclussion beautifully directed and narrated. Well done ❤

[markb.]

JD yet another OUTSTANDING series brought to a close, I have to agree with you, there could be no more fitting place to end the series than at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Thank you again for bringing us yet another series on the war history of France during WWI.

[marylynnmazzocco]

Sound was good all the way through. Very well done. No over sentimentalism. Just straight forward to ponder and remember.

[julienporisse]

I would like to thank you JD for showing me the Verdun battlefields, where my grandfather and his brother were both sent to hold out. They were volunteers in 1915, a year after the war had begun… protected by a wealthy textile family from Roubaix, they felt uneasy seeing their friends conscripted while they kept away… they both joined up in early 1915. My grandmother told me many accounts of the rows in his family home in Roubaix about their “final decision” to do their duty for France. In late October 1916 Julien Porisse went missing from a return with food and water supplies from the back lines. Six months later they found his body, the leg bones sticking out of a mound of earth and on his puteys his name was sown on them. He’s buried at Roubaix cemetery. My grandfather Raphael Porisse was a tough kind of personality, he didn’t speak much, he was very nice with me and my brothers and sisters. Very kind hearted but underneath there was a different kind of person. He had lost his right eye in WW1, was taken prisoner with Charles de Gaulle at Verdun, managed to escape and returned to the front lines. He eventually was injured and sent back to a hospital in Paris. Your videos showed the forts, the concrete, the bomb craters and the whole atmosphere. My grandmother talked to me a lot about WW1 and WW2, she said that my grandfather and his brother were bored of being at home, safe. They really wanted to volunteer and get to see action. I wonder how reality compared to their impressions… just the fact that my grandfather survived although injured is almost miraculous. Thank you very much. Merci

[bethann]

Thank you so much for bringing this story to us. Before this video series I just thought of Verdun as a battle, perhaps a day or two, that took place in France. Now I know the sacrifice that these soldiers made, thanks to you.

[MamaDee_]

Excellent series of Verdun. A very fitting ending indeed. JD, I have been with your channel since the very beginning and I must commend you on the excellence of your videos. Keep our history alive.