![]() ![]() The inauguration ceremony took place on 10 September 1922, in the presence of Generals Nivelle and Berthelot, Boichut, the Governor of Verdun and Mon. He carries the flame of victory and the monument is inscribed with the words: The skeleton of a French soldier is draped over the flag for which he has sacrificed his life. The Monument at Mort Homme was the work of the sculptor Jacques Froment-Meurice, and was erected by the veterans of the 69th French Infantry Division. Monument at Mort Homme and the Monument to the 40th French Infantry His parliamentary occupation meant that he was not obliged to serve in the army but he had volunteered anyway. It is dedicated to Andre Thomé, a French politician, who was killed at Verdun on 10 March 1916. This memorial comprises the sculpture of a reclining soldier, the work being entitled "Le Soldat du Droit" (The Soldier of Justice). In the gallery below are some further photographs of the ossuary and cemetery. Around the exterior of the building are displayed the coats of arms of all the cities that donated money towards its construction. The construction of the ossuary was organized by a committee led by the Bishop of Verdun, who collected subscriptions within France and internationally. Underneath, burial vaults hold the bones of the unidentified dead. Inside the cloister are 18 shelters, each holding two granite tombs, with each of these tombs representing an exact section of the battlefield. The cloister is 137 metres (449 ft) long and contains 42 interior alcoves. At the top of the tower a rotating red and white "lantern of the dead" shines on the battlefields at night. It was offered by an American benefactor, Anne Thornburn Van Buren, in 1927. The tower contains a bronze death-bell, weighing over 2 tonnes (2.0 long tons 2.2 short tons), called Bourdon de la Victoire, which is sounded at official ceremonies. The tower is 46 metres (151 ft) high and has a panoramic view of the battlefields. ![]() Jacques Hardy and George Desvallières designed the stained-glass windows. The architects of the ossuary were Léon Azéma, Max Edrei. The ossuary was officially inaugurated on 7 August 1932 by French President Albert Lebrun. It was initiated in 1923 by Verdun veteran André Maginot, who would later create the Maginot Line. In front of the monument, and sloping downhill, lies the largest single French military cemetery of the First World War, with 16,142 graves. ![]() On the inside of the ossuary, the ceiling and walls are partly covered by plaques bearing names of French soldiers who fell during the Battle of Verdun, as well as the names of those who died fighting during World War II, The First Indochina War and during the Algerian Wars. Through small outside windows, the skeletal remains of at least 130,000 unidentified soldiers of both nations can be seen filling up alcoves at the lower edge of the building. The ossuary is a memorial containing the remains of both French and German soldiers who died on the Verdun battlefield. It is located in Douaumont, France, within the Verdun battlefield and has been designated a "nécropole nationale", or "national cemetery". The Douaumont ossuary is a memorial containing the remains of soldiers who died on the battlefield during the Battle of Verdun in World War I. Since then, cemeteries and memorials have been established for casualties of both sides, in addition to significant people and events related to the battle. The French town of Verdun was the site of the Battle of Verdun during the First World War, one of the costliest battles in military history. ( November 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions. ![]() This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. ![]()
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