Walking In the Footsteps of the Fallen: Verdun 1916

Christina Holstein

jul 2019 · Pen and Sword Military

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Fully illustrated with photographs and maps, this guide to the WWI battlefield of Verdun offers a deeper understanding of its history and its monuments.
 
A visit to the battlefield of Verdun is usually dominated by the forts of Douaumont and Vaux, the museum at Fleury and the striking Ossuary. Although this gives a flavor of the horrific fighting that took place in the area during the Great War, the visitor who explores no further will have only skimmed the surface of this deeply fascinating site. This book seeks to guide the battlefield pilgrim on a series of walks that combine major sites with parts that are rarely visited.
 
These four walking tours have been thoroughly researched and feature many physical remnants of combat, such as gun positions, bunkers and trench systems, the significance of which are fully explained. They are carefully curated to give visitors a greater understanding of why the fighting developed as it did and why such places as Fort Vaux were so significant to both sides. Though they vary in length, most take a half day to complete, while the longest—and last—takes a full day.

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Christina Holstein is a leading authority on the Battle of Verdun. For many years she lived close to the battlefield and has explored it in great detail. She regularly conducts tours of the battlefield for individuals or groups and, with her specialized knowledge of the terrain, has acted as consultant to a number of other historians, TV producers and TV and radio journalists. Over the years she has written four books in the Battleground Europe series on the Battle of Verdun 1916. She was the founding chairman of the Luxembourg branch of the Western Front Association.