Sculpture of a French soldier carved out of a tree trunk still in the ground, Fleury-devant-Douaumont near Verdun, Meuse, France
Sculpture of a French soldier carved out of a tree trunk still in the ground. This memorial sits in the remains of the village of Fleury-devant-Douaumont near Verdun, Meuse, France. It commemorates the discovery of the remains of 26 French solders close to the Our Lady of Europe chapel in 2013. Following the Battle of Verdun in 1916, Fleury-devant-Douaumont was one of many villages destroyed by the artillery bombardments. The land was made uninhabitable to such an extent that a decision was made not to rebuild it. The area around the municipality was contaminated by corpses, explosives and poisonous gas, so no farmers could take up their work. The site of the commune is maintained as a testimony to war and is officially designated as a "village that died for France."
Size: 3362px × 5119px
Photo credit: © Maurice Savage / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: art, fleury-devant-douaumont, memorial, sculpture, soldier, tree, trunk, verdun, war, world, wwi
