Douaumont

Douaumont is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.

The village was destroyed during World War I. Today the Douaumont ossuary, which contains the remains of more than 100,000 unknown soldiers of both French and German nationalities found on the battlefield, stands high above the landscape.

Douaumont Fort
The construction work for Fort de Douaumont started in 1885 and the fort was continually reinforced until 1913. The fort is situated on some of the highest ground in the area. At the very beginning of the Battle of Verdun (February 1916) and due to French unpreparedness, the fort was easily captured by a small German raiding party. Douaumont was later recaptured by the French army in October 1916, after major casualties on both sides.