Fort de Douaumont

Largest WWI fort at Verdun, captured by Germany in 1916

Address Douaumont, 55100 Verdun

The largest and highest of the ring of 19 forts built to defend Verdun, Fort de Douaumont was captured by the Germans early in the 1916 battle and became a symbol of the struggle. It changed hands by stealth, not assault: when it was retaken in October 1916 by Moroccan troops, a key chapter of the battle was closed.

The fort can be explored on a self-guided visit. Its dark, damp corridors, gun turrets, and casemates convey the claustrophobic conditions of trench warfare better than any museum. The 155mm gun turret still works mechanically. A memorial wall lists the names of the 679 German soldiers killed in a single ammunition explosion inside the fort in May 1916. Allow an hour and a half.

things to do landmark fortress
A story
On 25 February 1916, four days into the battle, a single German pioneer sergeant and a small group walked into the fort almost unopposed — the French garrison had been reduced to a skeleton crew. Its loss was a national humiliation; the recapture of the fort the following October became the defining symbol of French perseverance at Verdun.

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