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49-580: Pache was born in Verdun , but grew up in Paris, of Swiss parentage, the son of the concièrge of the hotel of Marshal de Castries. He became tutor to the marshal's children, and subsequently first secretary at the ministry of marine, head of supplies ( munitionnaire général des vivres ), and comptroller of the king's household. After spending several years in Switzerland with his family, he returned to France at

98-460: A bombardment, and the men were buried where they lay in the trench and the rifles left untouched. However, this is probably not historically accurate: experts agree that the bayonets were probably affixed to the rifles after the attack and installed by survivors to memorialize the spot. Nearby, the World War I Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery and Memorial is located at Romagne-sous-Montfaucon to

147-426: A heavy blow to the department, and by 1921, only 207,309 inhabitants were recorded. Many residents had fled, and entire villages that were on or near the front line in 1916 were destroyed. Meuse thus has several uninhabited communes because the villages were never rebuilt, and in fact are known as "Morts pour la France" ("Died for France"); the number of displaced persons from the villages varies from 131 to 718. Since

196-496: A march on the Convention on Insurrection of 31 May-2 June 1793 . The convention was ultimately forced to hand over the 22 in order to appease the threatening crowd, reinforced with National Guard troops and François Hanriot who had arrived on the Convention floor. Pache turned his attention to the matter of the constitution. He wrote to the departments calling for them to give the people what they had fought for time and again:

245-545: A massive but limited attack on a French position 'for the retention of which the French Command would be compelled to throw in every man they have'. Once the French army had bled to death, Britain could be brought down by Germany's submarine blockade and superior military strength. The logic of initiating a battle not to gain territory or a strategic position but simply to create a self-sustaining killing ground—to bleed

294-511: A week of bitter resistance, Fort Vaux fell to the Germans after a murderous hand-to-hand fight inside the fort itself. On 23 June, the Germans reached what would become the furthest point of their advance. The line was just in front of Fort Souville, the last stronghold before Verdun itself. Pétain was making plans to evacuate the right bank of the Meuse when the combined Anglo-French offensive on

343-489: Is 2,408 sq mi (6,237 km ). The total land area of the department is 1,539,700 acres (623,100 ha), and of this, 830,000 acres (340,000 ha) are cultivated for arable crops, 120,000 acres (49,000 ha) are grassland, 440,000 acres (180,000 ha) are woods and forests and 35,000 acres (14,000 ha) are cultivated for the production of grapes. The principal crops grown are wheat, barley and oats, potatoes, oilseed rape, vegetables and fruit. Livestock

392-591: Is a city in the Meuse department in Grand Est , northeastern France . It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is Bar-le-Duc , which is slightly smaller than Verdun. It is well known for giving its name to the longest battle in modern history in the First World War . Verdun is situated on both banks of the river Meuse , in

441-609: Is also possible that Liutprand was referring to Verona . Since 1200 Verdun has been famous for its Dragées or sugared almonds; they were distributed at the baptism of French princes. Verdun was part of the middle kingdom of Lotharingia and in 1374 it became a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire . The Bishopric of Verdun formed together with Tull ( Toul ) and Metz the Three Bishoprics , which were annexed by France in 1552 (recognized in 1648 by

490-503: Is an important resting area for migratory birds. Among the different habitats it includes a stretch of coast, the plain of Woëvre , the Lac de Madine , the Meuse valley and the Hague plateau. The total area of the park is 205,000 hectares (510,000 acres). It has a very short border with Belgium. Since the mid-nineteenth century, the exodus of the countryside inhabitants to the cities has caused

539-601: Is possible that Falkenhayn did not specifically design the battle to bleed the French army but used this supposed motive after the fact in an attempt to justify the Verdun offensive, despite its failure. Verdun was the strongest point in pre-war France, ringed by a string of powerful forts, including Douaumont and Fort Vaux . By 1916, the salient at Verdun jutted into the German lines and lay vulnerable to attack from three sides. The historic city of Verdun had been an oppidum of

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588-612: Is raised and timber is extracted from the forests. The main industries are brewing and the manufacture of glass and tiles. Lace-making is a traditional craft in the department. Part of the department is in the Lorraine Regional Natural Park , a stretch of pastoral countryside stretching eastward from Metz and Nancy and spanning three departments. The park has many natural habitats including calcareous grassland, forested valleys, wet meadows , ponds and streams. There are many Natura 2000 protected areas and it

637-661: The Battle of Soissons , the city (amongst several other nearby cities) refused to yield to the Franks and was thus besieged by King Clovis I . The 843 Treaty of Verdun divided Charlemagne 's empire among his three surviving grandsons. Around this time a city called Verdun was the centre of the thriving European trade in young boys, who were sold to the Islamic emirates of Iberia , where they were enslaved as eunuchs . The Italian ambassador Liutprand of Cremona , as one example in

686-500: The Gauls before Roman times and later a key asset in wars against Prussia , and Falkenhayn suspected that the French would throw as many men as necessary into its defence. Ironically, France had substantially weakened Verdun's defences after the outbreak of the war, an oversight that would contribute to the removal of Joseph Joffre from supreme command at the end of 1916. The attack was slated to begin on 12 February, then 16 February, but

735-531: The Girondin , but his determination played an important role. Pache was a key player in changing the political scene in Paris in this time. Pache also helped to truly give power to the people of Paris. The people of Paris had successfully humiliated the Convention in forcing it to do their bidding and the convention would not recover this lost power until the Thermidorian Reaction shattered

784-603: The National Constituent Assembly . The new departments were to be uniformly administered and approximately equal to one another in size and population. The department was created from the former provinces of Barrois (area of Bar-le-Duc ) and Three Bishoprics (area of Verdun ). From about 500 AD, the Franks controlled this part of northeastern France, and the Carolingian Empire was

833-647: The Peace of Westphalia ). From 1624 to 1636 a large bastioned citadel was constructed on the site of the Abbey of Saint Vanne. In 1670 Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban visited Verdun and drew up an ambitious scheme to fortify the whole city. Although much of his plan was carried out in the following decades, some of the elements were not completed until after the Napoleonic Wars . During the Napoleonic War

882-509: The 10th century, presented a gift of four eunuchs to Emperor Constantine VII . The identity of the "Verdun" mentioned in sources is disputed because there are many cities called Verdun in Europe (such as Verdun-sur-Garonne in Occitania and Verdun-sur-le-Doubs ). While many still identify it as Verdun on the Meuse, some argue that Verdun-sur-le-Doubs is a more feasible identification. It

931-622: The 1980s. Because of its low population density Meuse is considered to fall within the empty diagonal . The most populous commune is Verdun ; the prefecture, Bar-le-Duc , is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 4,000 inhabitants: The president of the Departmental Council is Jérôme Dumont, elected in July 2021. The European Beer Museum (Musée Européen de la bière) in Stenay , founded in 1986,

980-589: The French army to death—pointed to the grimness of military vision in 1916. Recent scholarship by Holger Afflerbach and others, however, has questioned the veracity of the Christmas memo. No copy has ever surfaced and the only account of it appeared in Falkenhayn's post-war memoir. His army commanders at Verdun, including the German Crown Prince, denied any knowledge of an attrition strategy. It

1029-514: The German advance. He also ensured that the sole supply road from Bar-le-Duc into Verdun remained open. It became known as the Voie Sacrée "Sacred Way" because it continued to carry vital supplies and reinforcements into the Verdun front despite constant artillery fire. German gains continued in June, but slowly and only after increasingly heavy losses on their side. On 7 June, following almost

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1078-431: The Germans sought to establish a base from which to capture the Meuse bridges and cross the river. Meuse is a department in northeastern France and is part of the region of Grand Est . The capital and largest town in the department is Bar-le-Duc , and other large towns are Commercy and Verdun . The northern edge of the department is on the border with Belgium, to the east lies the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle , to

1127-806: The Somme River was launched on 1 July, partly to relieve pressure on the French, although the first day was the bloodiest in the British Army's history . The Germans could no longer afford to continue their offensive at Verdun when they were needed so desperately on the Somme. At a cost of some 400,000 German casualties and a similar number of French, the attack was finally called off. The estimated death toll on both sides were 143,000 dead Germans and 162,440 French soldiers. Falkenhayn's plan to bleed France to death – if indeed that had been his intention – had failed. The battle continued, however, from October to

1176-552: The battle was called) to slow the German advance, no matter what the cost. Over the next several days, the stubborn defense managed to slow the German advance with a series of bloody counter-attacks. In March, Falkenhayn decided to target the French positions on the left bank of the Meuse as well, broadening the offensive front twofold. Throughout March and April, Cumières-le-Mort-Homme and Hill 304 were under continuous heavy bombardment and relentless infantry attacks. Meanwhile, Pétain organised repeated, small-scale counter-attacks to slow

1225-535: The beginning of the Revolution . He was employed successively at the ministries of the interior and of war, and was appointed on 20 September 1793 third deputy suppliant of Paris by the Luxembourg section. Thus brought into notice, he was made minister of war on 3 October 1792. Pache was a Girondist himself, but aroused their hostility by his incompetence. He was supported, however, by Marat , and when he

1274-505: The citadel was used to hold British prisoners of war . In the Franco-Prussian War Verdun was the last French fortress to surrender in 1870. Shortly afterwards a new system of fortification was begun. This consisted of a mutually supporting ring of 22 polygonal forts up to 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the city and an inner ring of 6 forts. Despite the extensive fortifications, in the Battle of Verdun in 1792

1323-431: The end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, these communes have been unoccupied with an official population of zero; the villages are Beaumont-en-Verdunois , Bezonvaux , Cumières-le-Mort-Homme , Fleury-devant-Douaumont , Haumont-près-Samogneux and Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre . In the later part of the twentieth century the number of inhabitants in the department varied little but eventually fell below 200,000 inhabitants in

1372-482: The end of the year. French offensives, employing new tactics devised by General Robert Nivelle , regained the forts and territory they had lost earlier. This was the only gleam of hope in an otherwise abysmal landscape. Overall, the battle lasted 11 months. Falkenhayn was replaced by Paul von Hindenburg as Chief of General Staff. General Nivelle was promoted over the head of General Pétain to replace Generalissimo Joseph Joffre as French supreme commander, although he

1421-692: The fortress was captured by the Prussians during the War of the First Coalition . The battle was fought on 20 August 1792 between French Revolutionary forces and the Prussian army. The Prussian victory opened the path to Paris for the invading armies. However the Prussians were unable to press their success and abandoned Verdun following the Battle of Valmy . Verdun was the site of a major battle ,

1470-595: The investiture ceremony took place on 10 October 1917, during President Machado's visit to the Western Front . Meuse (department) Meuse ( French pronunciation: [møz] ) is a department in northeast France , named after the River Meuse . Meuse is part of the current region of Grand Est and is landlocked and borders by the French departments of Ardennes , Marne , Haute-Marne , Vosges , Meurthe-et-Moselle , and Belgium to

1519-542: The last stage of their rule. The Carolingian territories were divided into three sections in 843 at the Treaty of Verdun , and the area that is now the department of Meuse became part of Middle Francia . The new ruler was Lothair I , and on his death in 855, his territory north of the Alps was passed to his second son Lothair II , after whom the hitherto nameless territory was called Lotharingia, which name eventually evolved into

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1568-556: The longest-lasting of the First World War. One of the costliest battles in military history, Verdun exemplified the policy of a war of attrition pursued by both sides, which led to an enormous loss of life and very long casualty lists. Following the failure of the Schlieffen Plan in 1914 and the solidifying of the Western Front , Germany remained on the strategic defensive in the west throughout most of 1915. In

1617-455: The modern Lorraine. Lothair II died without legitimate heirs and Lotharingia was divided into east and west parts. The king of East Francia , Louis the German , received the eastern part and Charles the Bald , king of West Francia , received the western part, which included Meuse, thus effectively establishing the medieval Kingdoms of Germany and France . The Battle of Sedan was fought in

1666-573: The new constitution that had been promised. His relations with Jacques Hébert and Pierre Gaspard Chaumette , and with the enemies of Robespierre led to his arrest on 10 May 1794. Jean Nicolas Pache would be replaced as mayor by Lescot-Fleuriot, who was more subservient to the convention. He owed his safety only to the amnesty of 25 October 1795. After acting as commissary to the civil hospitals of Paris in 1799, he retired from public life, and died at Thin-le-Moutier on 18 November 1823. Jean Nicholas Pache may not have single-handedly brought down

1715-466: The north. Parts of Meuse belong to Parc naturel régional de Lorraine . It had a population of 184,083 in 2019. Front lines in trench warfare during World War I ran varying courses through the department and it hosted an important battle/offensive in 1916 in and around Verdun . Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, by order of

1764-470: The northern part of the Meuse department. It is connected by rail to Jarny . The A4 autoroute Paris–Metz–Strasbourg passes south of the town. Verdun ( Verodunum , a latinisation of a place name meaning "strong fort " in Gaulish ) was founded by the Gauls . It has been the seat of the bishop of Verdun since the 4th century , with interruptions. In 486, following the decisive Frankish victory at

1813-618: The northwest of Verdun. It is the final resting place for 14,246 American military dead, most of whom died in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive . The chapel contains a memorial to the 954 American missing whose remains were never recovered or identified. On 12 September 1916 King George V awarded the Military Cross to the City of Verdun, one of only two awards of this British decoration to a municipality during World War I,

1862-454: The ossuary's vaults. Among many revered memorials on the battlefield is the " Bayonet Trench ", which marks the location where some dozen bayonets lined up in a row were discovered projecting out of the ground after the war; below each rifle was the body of a French soldier. It has been assumed that these belonged to a group of soldiers who had rested their rifles against the parapet of the trench they were occupying when they were killed during

1911-577: The other being Ypres . On 5 October 1917, Bernardino Machado , President of the Portuguese Republic , awarded the City of Verdun the Order of the Tower and Sword , 1st Class (Grand Cross) for its "tenacious resistance, steadfastness in battle, and heroism of its garrison, having filled a brilliant position in the present war and gloriously proving the worth of a nation's valour and patriotism";

1960-448: The population of rural France to fall. Meuse has no big cities to receive population and the total population of the department has thus decreased. It reached 328,657 inhabitants in 1851, with a population density of 52.9, but had fallen to 277,955 by 1911. Meuse experienced the greatest proportional population decline in French departments in just ten years, from 278,000 inhabitants in 1911 into just 207,000 in 1921. The First World War dealt

2009-722: The power of the Jacobin Clubs and sans culottes . The people of Paris would not forget this and the legacy of "the people in arms" would have a long-term impact on the French revolutionary tradition, in the readiness of the Parisian population to "rush to the barricades," through the 19th and 20th centuries. Verdun Verdun ( / v ɜːr ˈ d ʌ n / vur- DUN , UK also / ˈ v ɛər d ʌ n / VAIR -dun , US also / v ɛər ˈ d ʌ n / vair- DUN , French: [vɛʁdœ̃] ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse )

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2058-477: The removal of the same 22 Girondins, reinforced with 12,000 signatures, and submit it to the convention on 18 April. The petition would again be scoffed at by a Convention led by Girondins. Pache also brought before the convention a petition for a ’maximum’ on bread prices on 18 April. With a threat from the Commune issued to the convention, the maximum was voted on 4 May. However, Pache and Chaumette would lead

2107-433: The snow forced repeated postponements. Falkenhayn massed over 1000 artillery pieces to the north and east of Verdun to precede the infantry advance with intensive artillery bombardment. His attack would hit the French positions on the right bank of the Meuse . Although French intelligence had warned of his plans, these warnings were ignored by the French Command and troop levels in the area remained low. Consequently, Verdun

2156-666: The south lies Vosges , to the southwest lies Haute-Marne , to the west lies Marne and to the northwest, Ardennes . The main rivers flowing through the department are the River Meuse , the Aire and the Chiers . A ridge running from south to north separates the watersheds of the Seine and the Rhine . These hills are called the Argonne and are clothed in oak forests. The area of the department

2205-670: The western part of the department during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. It resulted in the capture of the Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies. The area was again a battleground in World War I when the Battle of Verdun was fought in 1916. In the Second World War it again saw action in another battle when

2254-618: The winter of 1915–16, German General Erich von Falkenhayn , the chief of the German General Staff (1914–1916) made plans for a large offensive on the Western Front that ultimately aimed to break the French Army through the application of firepower at a point that the French had to hold for reasons of national prestige. As Falkenhayn recalled it, his so-called "Christmas memorandum" to Kaiser Willhelm II envisioned

2303-600: Was superseded in the ministry of war by Beurnonville (4 February 1793) he was chosen mayor by the Parisians. In that capacity he contributed to the fall of the Girondists. Jean Nicolas Pache would be the first to submit a petition to the National Convention on 15 April 1793 for the totemic 22 Girondist leaders to be removed from office. Although he was scoffed at, the Commune would publish a petition for

2352-497: Was to hold the post for less than six months. There are many French and German cemeteries throughout the battlefield. The largest is the French National Cemetery and Douaumont Ossuary near Fort Douaumont. Thirteen thousand crosses adorn the field in front of the ossuary, which holds roughly 130,000 unidentified remains brought in from the battlefield. Every year yields more remains, which are often placed inside

2401-405: Was utterly unprepared for the initial bombardment on the morning of 21 February 1916. German infantry attacks followed that afternoon and met tenacious but ultimately inadequate resistance for the first four days. On 25 February, the Germans occupied Douaumont. French reinforcements—now under the leadership of General Philippe Pétain —began to arrive and were instantly thrown into "the furnace" (as

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