VILLAGE DÉTRUIT DE FLEURY DEVANT DOUAUMONT

The village of Fleury devant Douaumont, situated on wooded heights, often avoided capture during the successive invasions that followed the French Revolution of 1789, notably those of 1792, 1814 and 1870. But with the construction of the line of Séré de Rivières model forts on the Meuse coast after the 1870-71 war, its fate was soon to tip into tragedy, as its central location between, notably, Douaumont, Souville, Vaux and the Froideterre fort was to become less than enviable during the great German offensive of 1916. Initially, however, the construction of the surrounding Forts brought a degree of prosperity, thanks to a new influx of workers and then soldiers. By 1913, the population had risen to 422, enabling small shops, inns and craftsmen to develop alongside the traditional rural agricultural activities. In September 1914, the Battle of the Marne set the Front several kilometers to the north of Fleury, and its inhabitants once again thought they could escape this new German invasion? In fact, in 1915, the area was still completely intact and teeming with fighting and logistical troops preparing to go to the front or resting there after their relief? On February 21, 1916, as soon as the massive German offensive began, the French military authorities ordered the evacuation of the inhabitants to Bras-sur-Meuse and Verdun. On February 24, 1916, the fall of Douaumont Fort to the north, and the advance of German troops and heavy artillery, triggered the beginning of the bombardment and gradual destruction of the village. But it was not until the fall of Fort de Vaux to the east on June 7, 1916, that the stranglehold rapidly tightened on the village, which found itself on the front line. From then on, the German bombardment became incessant, enabling its infantry to approach and enter the village for the first time on June 23, 1916. But with fighting raging on both sides, the ruins were retaken the very next day, June 24, by the Poilus? but this recovery was short-lived? Between June 23 and August 18, 1916, when the Moroccan Colonial Infantry Regiment finally took possession of the village, there were a total of 16 alternations. Among the wartime events that took place in the commune was the capture by the Germans of La Poudrière on July 11, 1916, a shelter under 10 m of rock, where Colonel Coquelin de Lisle, commander of the 255th brigade, died in battle. In October and November 1916, its ruins served as a base for offensives led by General Mangin, which recaptured the Douaumont and Vaux Forts from the enemy and restored relative calm to the village, which had been tormented uninterruptedly for six months, until the end of the war. Classified as a "red zone" and declared "Dead for France" in 1918, it was given the unique status of a destroyed village in 1919. Unable to rebuild their lives there, its inhabitants erected a chapel in 1934 on the site of their church, which had been completely razed to the ground. In 1979, the statue of Notre Dame de l?Europe was symbolically placed on the front of the church to mark the ongoing reality of the European Union in peace. Twelve years earlier, on September 17, 1967, the Verdun Memorial was inaugurated, built on the site of the former Fleury station in front of Douaumont on the initiative and in the presence of Maurice Genevoix, founding president of the Comité National du Souvenir de Verdun. Thanks to the presence of the Memorial and the many remembrance projects that have since been carried out on its territory, the commune of Fleury-devant-Douaumont has rightly become the most visited destroyed village of all. What to see - Notre-Dame de l?Europe chapel (fresco of a piéta by Mr. Lantier in 1934, stained-glass windows dedicated to the infantryman by Gruber in 1934); - The war memorial; - The Verdun Memorial (Museum of the Battle of Verdun) - Alleys and markers marking the streets and houses of the destroyed village. - La Poudrière discovery trail (remains of the old guardhouse and vineyard ravine) - 650 m botanical trail between the Memorial and the destroyed village.