Posted on 08/07/2018 4:43:59 PM PDT by robowombat
First World War battlefield in Verdun still a danger with thousands of exploded shells 100 years on
Nearly 100 years since the end of the First World War and there are still areas of France unsafe to be visited because of unexploded shells.
Some 300,000 soldiers were killed in the Battle of Verdun between France and Germany from February to December 1916.
During the onslaught, around six million shells - including many containing mustard gas - were fired by the opposing sides. One million of those failed to explode. Dozens of unexploded shells are unearthed every day.
At the end of The Great War, France bought the battlefield land from villagers and designated it a "red zone", and since then it has been inaccessible to the public.
For years, bomb disposal experts have slowly been removing the ordinances, finding dozens of shells a day, but experts fear the work may yet require another century to be completed.
The Battle of Verdun cost 300,000 lives. The land on which Verdun was fought was originally agricultural land, fields upon fields.
But except for shell removal squads, nobody has set foot there since the war's end, and the area now resembles a forest.
Pierre Moreno, one of the bomb experts, told ITV News he thinks it will take years to clear the land.
"There are still tonnes and tonnes," he said.
"There will be decades, centuries, of work for us, because the ammunition is buried and every year it is rising naturally to the surface."
Experts believe it may take another 100 years to clear the forest. This year alone, some 500 tonnes of shells have been removed from the ground, and are currently being stored until they are disposed of by way of controlled explosion.
Experts fear that the land make never be able to be used again - certainly not for agricultural purposes.
While those who died in the Battle of Verdun are remembered 100 years on, the legacy it inflicted upon the land on which it was fought continues to be felt too.
As a footnote, the city of Bari still remembers this event vividly. When NATO was contemplating major ground ops in Kossovo Bari was the logical port for marshaling material and logistical support. The Bari commercial elites closed ranks and presented financial demands that were extortionate and placed contractual limitations that would have made operations virtually impossible. Bari wants no part of mil ops it would seem
I have. All my life.
Thanks for the info.
Thank you for your courteous reply !
Yes, I did note the use of elemental chlorine as a chemical warfare agent. It was found to be too light, and not poisonous enough ... So the Powers went on to using Sulfur Mustard compounds, Lewisite (organo-arsenic compound), and a whole bunch of other organic compounds involving chlorine and sulfur or arsenic in the molecule. Generally, they were either severe irritants, or blister agents. Organo-phosphate nerve agents were developed later.
You’re welcome smart guy. WW1 was personal to me. My grandfather was a veteran of the A.E.F and damn near lost his life to that poison gas crap.
My Dad said sometimes he'd have nightmares and my poor grandmother would get a beating. He got involved in working with poison gas because he thought he was volunteering for a detail that would get him out of the front lines. Little did he realize what he was in for.
My grandfather was lucky to have survived that crap.
Yes, he was. The chemical agents used in The Great War got nastier as it progressed. Straight chlorine gas wasn't deadly enough (!!!) and could easily blow back at the people using it, so they got clever. The various phosgene, lewisite, and mustard agents were used because they were deadlier and less susceptible to weather. There were, in fact, over a dozen different chemicals, and various mixtures, employed by both sides. It was a nasty business; your grandfather's reluctance to talk about it is understandable.
Thats quite an ossuary! Which one is that? Is that one in the catacombs under Paris or under a church or cathedral somewhere else?
I was just looking it up to tell you.
Thanks for the link! That was one I wasnt aware of. European ossuaries are marvelous and fascinating things. It amazes me that they have the wars that have ravaged that continent. They are shocking and scary to behold when you arent expecting it. But reading about their history demystifies them.
...survived the wars...
You’re welcome! Back when I posted the pic I had thought it was from France! So actually, thank YOU!
That’s hard to get your arms around.
Makes you realize what an insignificant blip our lives here on earth are in the overall scheme of things.
WWI was a really stupid war. The Germans, Brits, and French all had memories of wars that were much smaller, shorter, and less lethal.
Their young men clamored for war, for glory, with a "we can take those guys" attitude.
WWII was engendered by WWI.
WWI was the start of the suicide of the West.
Europe died on those fields.
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