The Fields of Verdun
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17 December 2020
The 20th century brought a lot of destruction as well as a lot of growth to humanity. Since the last major world pandemic spread from the trenches of World War I and I can't travel much because of this one I thought I might share something of my trip to said trenches this time last year. France is surprisingly mild in December, and I took a side trip to Verdun while visiting Champagne to run a race. The earthworks there are something to behold. The geology is limestone, and somewhat like Middle Tennessee with rolling hills among farms and woods. It's a beautiful country and it's hard to imagine such a peaceful place transformed into a no man's land where millions lost their lives in the span of a few years. The land around the earthworks is still pockmarked with craters. The pillboxes and tunnels are slowly being reclaimed by Nature, and warnings tell one of the danger in entering but this historian of course could not resist. I share a number of pictures in my album from the trip. If you ever find yourself driving across northern France on the A4 it's well worth making a detour, if even for just an hour or two.
