so so guys we are on our last destination, Verdun Citadel.
so see what's inside the underground citadel is a series of tunnels excavated in the late
19th century under the citadel of verdun in france
in 1552 king henry ii annexed the city of verdun an important strategic place due to its location on a
fortified promontory it was part of the "voyage of germany" a military expedition of the king
against charles v of the holy roman empire which include the cities of metz, toul and verdun
to protect and control the city king henry ii applied the principles of bastion architecture
and modified the medieval fortifications and so the idea of building a citadel was born
the king's engineers and mathematicians Pierre de Conty d'Argencour, Jacques Aleaume and Claude Chastillon
lead the construction according to the plans and principles of the version military engineer
Jean Errard
he decided to consolidate the medieval fortifications and a citadel was built
from 1567 to 1634 but the site was not progressing because of the wars of religion
it was not until 1624 in the middle of the 30 years war that the work really begins
after louis xiii had asked the Marshal de Marillac
lieutenant general of the bishoprics and governor verdun to quickly complete the fortifications
in 1648 the treaty of munster being part of the treaties of westphalia
confirms the attachment of the city in the bishopric of verdun to the kingdom of france
louis xiv entrusted the engineer and military architect Vauban with the task of improving the
city's defense it gave Vauban the opportunity to put his mark on it as in many places in france
in verdun it made way for the Vauban fortifications
work began in 1674 and ended in 1692 before assuming in 1698. the citadel
had several bastions barracks an arsenal artillery store a wheat store and powder stores
following the wars against prussia in 1792 and 1871 and france lost of alsace-lorraine
which include the city of metz a garrison town that became german verdun became the new border
the citadel suffered damages so defenses must be increased and fortified
from 1886 to 1893 galleries were dug and under 16 meters of rocks
and formed underground citadel of verdun or lower citadel in opposition to the upper one
a belt of around 40 forts were built around the region such as the fort's' vaux, souville and douaumont
which formed the fortified area four kilometers of galleries were dug
under the citadel that could accommodate men and materials in the event of conflict
in 1914 the galleries of four kilometers were extended over seven kilometers by
the end of the war it consisted of six powder magazines seven ammunition stores
a bakery a meal a telephone and telegraph exchange water lifting machines for the city and the forts
kitchens and large stores from the start of the german offensive in the
battle of verdun on february 21 1916 the first shells fell on the citadel
as expected the local staff and certain civilian services found refuge in these galleries
the citadel of verdun is then organized like an underground city
it accommodated up to 10 000 soldiers and the red ovens produced 28 000 rations of bread per day
the staff installed in the offices follows the progress of the fighting
ammunition and powder stores supply the front, nurses treat the wounded, bakers produce
up to 40 000 rations per day the troops leaving or returning from the front follow one another
within the citadel they have huge dormitories but also places dedicated to entertainment
an electrical plant supplies the entire citadel providing lightning and even a telephone exchange
it was never affected by bombing it is a rock in the history of the first world war
and provided essential logistical and moral support during this four years
on september 13 1916 the underground citadel
hosted a ceremony in tribute to the resistance of the entire nation
which entered the war two years ago and engaged in the battle of verdun for five months
after the war in the presence of the political figures and french and allied
military authorities the president of the republic raymond poincare represents eight
honorary medals to the representatives of the city of verdun. november 10 1920 it hosts
the designation ceremony of the unknown soldier who rests under the triumphal arc of the star
in paris the citadel has been listed as a national monument since october 24 1929
and verdun is the most decorated city in france with 26 medals nowadays these
stores board a small drain underground the citadel to see some of the galleries
throughout the visit realistic displays illustrate the everyday life of the
soldiers in these galleries during the battle of verdun
at the end of the visit you'll see a tableau depicting the selection
of the body of the unknown soldier
today the underground city of verdun is one of the places to visit
or the main sites to see if you want to learn more about the battle of verdun
so that's it for the history of the citadel underground verdun
till next time don't forget to hit like share and subscribe bye
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