Voie Sacrée

The road that kept Verdun alive in 1916 begins here

The Voie Sacrée — the road from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun — was the lifeline of one of the deadliest battles in history. When the German offensive at Verdun began in February 1916, Bar-le-Duc became the rear base of the French defensive effort. The single road northward was kept open by an extraordinary logistical operation, with road repair crews working continuously to keep the surface passable under the weight of constant truck traffic.

Today the road is marked at regular intervals with milestone-shaped markers topped by a soldier's helmet, designating it a historic route. The starting point in Bar-le-Duc is commemorated with a monument and explanatory panels. The town's local museum has documentation of the wartime period and the town's role in the effort.

From Bar-le-Duc it is also straightforward to visit the Verdun battlefield and memorials — one of the most significant war sites in Europe — about 55 kilometres to the northeast.

things to do sight
A story
During the Battle of Verdun in 1916 — the longest battle of World War I — the only supply route to the French lines not under German fire was a narrow road from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun. French General Pétain organised a relay of trucks running 24 hours a day, a truck every 14 seconds at the peak. The journalist Maurice Barrès called it the Voie Sacrée (Sacred Way). Over the course of the battle, more than 12,000 trucks carried approximately 12,000 tonnes of supplies per week along its 72 kilometres.