Unbelievable carnage still visible 110 years after the conflict. Nature will need centuries to reclaim this sacred ground, but faint echoes of the screams and the gunfire will never be silent. Thank you JD!

The before and after was mind-blowing. And honestly little terrifying.

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Can’t even imagine being on the receiving end of that.

@thurin84

9 ай бұрын

you can see what it did to concrete and stone, now imagine what it did to flesh and bone.

Ok...I have to say...I was heartbroken for the loss of your equipment and your sadness after the Greece incident but you have come back stronger and better (which I didn't think was possible) than ever with your content, videos, etc!! Well done sir!!!👏👏

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

That means a lot. Thank you.

Great coverage and well thought comments. I was at the fort in 1961. I was junior high age and my step-dad was stationed in Karlsruhe, West Germany. Yes, we were in Karlsruhe when the Wall went up. At that time. we took a week and covered the forts of Verdun as best as we could. At that time, in almost every direction from the fort, the land was restricted due to unexploded ordnance. The trees were very short and you could see trenches and barbed wire going into the distance. I hope you will cover the Ossuary. Very sobering.

My Great-Great Granddad fought in WW1. He was injured in 1914 & taken prisoner. When he was transferred back to England his wife left him & people in the street gave him no end of grief because they assumed he was avoiding his duty, it was before they gave out the Silver War Badge. He killed himself because he couldn't take it any more. He was mentioned in House of Commons & now has a street named after him.

@jeffsmith2022

9 ай бұрын

A very sad ,family, story indeed...

@rickkawtoski9344

7 ай бұрын

That's a damn shame! So sorry to hear this. He got justice in the end,his name will live on forever now. God bless him and your family for any grief they faced.🙏

@scottfoster3445

6 ай бұрын

What a sad state of affairs

Man I love this series Verdun is seriously an incromprehensible place to be at Like you know what happened there but when you stand at these spots you just can't really imagine what it must've been like during those horrifying hours of battle What an incredibly brave generation of men May they all rest in peace knowing that they are not forgotten about even after all this time

You can really understand why people back in the day called WW1 the war to end all wars. Seeing pictures of all the stockpiled ammunition and the hours long pre-attack bombardments with absolutely ludicrous weapons…it just boggles the mind that anybody was able to endure 5 minutes of it, let alone surviving the entire war. Thank you JD

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Insanity.

Fort de Vaux, which fell shortly after, (and Raynal’s defense against overwhelming German assault) is also a very compelling story.

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

You’ll probably enjoy the next episode. 🙂

@Chiller11

9 ай бұрын

Ah the Living Dead. Someone should do a miniseries.

Oh just can’t stop saying wow! About those shell holes! Incredible! Even after all these years!

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Wild

@1psychofan

9 ай бұрын

@@TheHistoryUnderground it really is! Not she’ll holes-but HELL holes! I can’t imagine what those men went through-wow

And again a masterpiece. JD you are absolutely the one to watch on the tube. Thank you so much for taking us back in history ✌🏽

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Wow, thank you!

What an incredible episode! Those drone shots really show it don’t they? Wow JD! Thank you for taking us there!!!!

I never get tired of seeing this area. First time was in high school. 4 decades ago. Each time I imagine what horrible moments the men went through. Shell shocked men were many. War sucks. Thanks for showing and really great job.

Man over the last 20 years I watched the earth reclaim an abandoned house with hardly a trace that you would know it was there. Seeing all the 107 year old craters here that won't be going anywhere soon is maybe the earth telling us to remember.😢

@Hipp0campus_1

9 ай бұрын

The french are really good at maintaining their heritage. Of course there is some maintenance going on to keep the woods from reclaiming the forts. But you're right, I have stood in those craters (at Fort Vaux to be more precise) and it's a real humbling experience.

@aiglonducal314

9 ай бұрын

Indeed! I wouldn't go so far as to say they re-dig the craters once in a while (because I don't think they do), but these sites are obviously maintained as you rightly say. @@Hipp0campus_1

The before and after pictures at right about the 11 minute mark is crazy! Imagine being in that fort as all the shelling was happening... terrifying doesn't even cover it. Thank you for the amazing and informative video, as always!

I found this fascinating!!!! My grandfather was a ww1 vet!!! Of course he never discussed any of that with us!!! He was great and brave man!!!!!!!!!!

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

👍🏻

Seeing the grounds, fort, damage done. I choked up and teared up alittle. I felt terror. Strength of those who fought the battles of WW1 amazed me. Great adventure you took me on today.!!

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Can't even imagine what it must have been like to be under one of those artillery barrages.

@terryroths4254

9 ай бұрын

My grandfather came home from France with a bad heart and lungs from mustard gas. Traveling from New York to Wisconsin on $6 mustering out pay. His death in 1966 was ...painful..

Always the best history coming from your vids, we thank you for bringing it to everyone.

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoy it!

Been following JD since the start of UK lockdown in March 2020. His style is open and welcoming, very informative and the filming first class!

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

🙏🏼

I love seeing how all the wildlife has taken over. I love these old forts and the history the give us. If only walls could talk, imagine the stories they could tell us. Great video as always ♥️👍

Brilliance presentation. Your ability to deliver factual stories is mesmerising, especially this one. Thanks for everything you post. Love your work.

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Wow, thank you!

I can tell I am going to love this Verdun series!! Thanks JD!!

Great videos about Verdun. I've really enjoyed them and learning a lot. Thank you. I must say I'm surprised that these places are not better cared for or more visited. Maybe it's just when you visited. Such a pivotable point in history for so many reasons.

When I visited Fort Douaumont, there was one metal plate in one of the walkways, which our tour guide lifted and then dropped in order to simulate what being shelled would sound like. Honestly, seeing all these sights changes the way you view history and the world.

Really interesting. Video really gives you a better sense of the battle and what it might have been like. My ear plugs didnt work well around a 155 in the Army - will never forget that. That was outside. Cant imagine the noise of a 155mm in a closed space.

already hooked!enjoying this series even after only 2 episodes..like to see what else you have planned for WWI and maybe something about the fighting in Italy during WWII

Great video JD! I can't say enough about the education you are also giving this 63 year old Medic! Love the video, the editing, the music, and of course the History that goes with it! Well Done Brother, well done!

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Thanks! That means a lot.

@mrDCunningham

9 ай бұрын

This is great 👍🏼😎

When I went to Verdun in France, I swear to God I must have been there in a past life because I knew it like the back of my hand, down to where the guns used to be, and I had this eerie feeling that I had been there before and it had been stressful and traumatic. I had the same feeling in a town close to Pompeii that was also destroyed in the volcano blast. I just knew there was a temple there that I had some connection to and low and behold we found it, even though it wasn't marked and wasn't well known. That shit felt like I was going crazy.

@krisH-ph5of

9 ай бұрын

Have you played ww1 video games lol

@LozenColorado

9 ай бұрын

@@krisH-ph5of no, I never have. And I went there in '93. Not a lot of realistic video games back then.

@krisH-ph5of

9 ай бұрын

@@LozenColorado Fair enough, I had alot of similar feelings recently when i went to Normandy, I just put it down to the fact i'd played in some of the same areas when i was younger in video games. Could be something more to it though.

@GhostofSicklesleg

9 ай бұрын

I am a firm believer in your thoughts, General Patton also felt the same way. I have a special bond with The Gettysburg battlefield and other past places, like I had been there when I knew in this life I never was.

Spot on. I just saw your Fleury episode. Like you, my son (USAF) and I have been to many battlefields. Both of us were just so effected by Verdun we still talk about it after 5 months. Nothing so far has compared to any we have visited. Next spring we are going back and visiting the Meuse Argonne and St Michel AEF battlefields. WW1 is becoming forgotten and so tragic. There are self guided audio tours available with admission in English, French and German.

Oh man loving this series on Verdun so far! cant wait for more!

Really enjoyed the video mate can't wait for the next one 👍

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Thanks 👍

Thank you so much for your respectful presentation of Verdun battle ground. If you still there have a look to "Butte de Vauquois" and "Buttes des Eparges". These battle grounds were not part of battle of Verdun however it less than 40 min from there and these battle grounds are still impressive today.

@Hipp0campus_1

9 ай бұрын

The footage was shot in july. But I'm sure JD will visit France again in the future.

Outstanding video JD, anxiously awaiting the next installment in this series.

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Thanks!

I’m so glad someone is doing more videos of Verdun and walking around there. I traveled for a day back in 2018 and it was absolutely stunning and magical from the town itself to where all the fighting happened. It’s truly a gem of France that should be on any travelers list even if you don’t like history or The Great War.

Another great video JD, this battle and it’s surrounding area is very interesting. I study it, and all material out there like yours helpful and interesting. Thank you

I'm really enjoying this series, JD! Thank you for these videos!

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Glad you like them!

"The closer we are to danger, the further we are away from harm." J.R.R Tolkien.

This is so impressive. I find your videos very interesting and benefitial on keeping history in our minds. I‘ve travelled to Verdun a few times from Stuttgart/Germany. I‘d truly also love to see footage of the Argonne forest, e.g. the last battalion, Private York.

This is really superb content, JD. Enjoying these very much indeed.

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Thank you. That means a great deal coming from you.

That was an awesome piece of history! I hope you will go to Paeschendale as well. My greatgrandfather fought and was killed there,

The aerial before and after pictures are just shocking!

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Very

I visited the Verdun battlefield in the summer of 2022. The grass cover over Fort Douaumont had dried out, and it exposed the shell craters even more than we saw in this video. The violence was staggering. I also visited Fort Loncin, Fort Lantin and the 4 Maastricht forts. The dry moats and the counterscarp batteries of the intact forts (well, Loncin is partly a huge crater from the Big Bertha shell magazine explosion in 1914) would have been terrifying to those Pomeranian Grenadiers who knew that they had to cross the field of fire, make it through a spiked iron fence, down a vertical 15' slope to a mess of barbed wire, looking at a similar-height wall in front of you as the counterscarp batteries fired canister shell at you.

Wow what a place and the history of it is awe inspiring, Great work JD loved the video Thank you

I was going through my Dad's photos from his time in the 82nd Airborne WW2. His unit was in Rennes France and also has photos of US bombs flying over Normandy.

@user-lk2cj2qs1d

9 ай бұрын

Due to age My dad went into the 325th glider Infantry in May 1946 Then the 325th did Parachutes and Gliders

@kimberlykrupke5715

9 ай бұрын

@@user-lk2cj2qs1d My Dad was 82nd Airborne Infantry division.

Absolutely love this channel! Wish i was more into history when I was in school like i am now. Very much appreciate the work this guy does and how he explains everything, very very cool!!

Hope to visit Verdun next so I'll check this fort out, thanks for the insight 👍

Amazing. Hope you have time to do an episode on the breaking of then Hindenburg Line. My grandfather was severely wounded serving with the 30th Infantry Division 117th Infantry Regiment Co M. If I remember correctly there were several soldiers that earned the Medal of Honor for their actions.

Wow! Those Arial videos really give some perspective of the shelling. I could not imagine what the French soldiers were thinking. Thanks for sharing!

Great Video, two great guys that really love and know their Rugby. I still miss talking to my Dad after each game.

Another fascinating video. Thank you JD.

Been there and walked all those paths, yet you managed to provide a perspective on the fort itself as well as the battle. The drone shots are great!

Such an amazing channel. I love how you tell the stories. Bless you man. Greetings from Ecuador 🇪🇨

@TheHistoryUnderground

8 ай бұрын

Glad you like them! Thank you.

fantastic stuff ive never even seen. great history lesson for all those that care like myself. thanks you JD

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Thanks 👍

That drone footage was incredible!

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

👊🏻

Of all the battles in all of the wars this is the most terrifying one to me

Wonderful run down of Fort Douaumont, JD. It's an incredible place to visit

Howdy and Fantastic Brother! So much to tell about WWI and this fort was a HUGE part of it. That must have been a great visit. Cheers Amigo! Well done.

This channel is amazing..Thank u so much for all the time and effort you put in!

Thanks for making history part of the present JD!

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

You bet!

I hope you do a Part 2 on this fort. I was hoping you'd show that deep, hugeass hole that's somewhere in there, not sure what it was for. And also there's the room where all the Germans got blown up and the whole room was sealed shut. So cool to see the bird's nest still there : )

Very much enjoyed this. A terrible, terrible moment in Western history. And so important to remember. Thank you.

IMO your best series yet

@TheHistoryUnderground

8 ай бұрын

🙏🏼

I love your work. I was devastated when your gear and footage was stolen a while back. You are a gentleman. Really hope to say gday to you some day. I love your commentary and camera work.❤️🇦🇺

Loving all your work in the Verdun area. Thank you.

Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

Did you notice the flags on the fort : French, European AND German. Our two peoples are now friends in the European Union.

@aiglonducal314

9 ай бұрын

Hopefully they're friends even without the need for the undemocratic and parasitic EU. The people of Europe don't need Brussel's bloodsucking bureaucrats to live in peace and harmony between them, despite what the EU would, of course, have you believe.

@gsbeak

9 ай бұрын

@@aiglonducal314, Let's agree to disagree...

Awesome video loving the series already

If I was a 45 yr old French reservist manning Ft. Douaumont who had seen most of the guns and defenders relocated from my defensive position I would say France should not expect an heroic defense from me personally. I would likely have surrendered as well.

@aiglonducal314

9 ай бұрын

Absolutely! No point trying to play the heroes when you've been abandoned by your hierarchy and when the ennemies have already breached the fort anyway. By not surrendering you'd simply been killed and no one would care, whereas if you're taken prisoner you could possibly fight another day (or preferably never, of course!)...

The the forts, the battlegrounds stand alone today as a silent scream.

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Most certainly.

Outstanding episode and footage is top notch. Loving the ww1 content. Really complimenting the new episodes of ww1tv.

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

👊🏻

The amount of shell holes is just wild WW1 is such a horrifying time in history

When I was in that area about 16 years ago, I made a stop between Verdun and the Fort. I was walking around in the forest - and it took me a while to find out that this wasn‘t a normal path but the rest of a trench… Later that day I missed the way to the Fort and suddenly found myself on the top of an area which nowadays is used for shooting-practise for french tanks - directly next to the Fort. You can see the light green stripe in two sequences of this film up left. This is so strange….

JD Brilliant work & fantastic video thank you

6:50 Look at the battle damage on that. It even got hit right on top of it.

Wow just wow again! I gotta look this episode again and again. Thanks for all of your input! ❤greetings from the Netherlands ❤🇱🇺👍🏻✌🏻

Great episode JD,very informative

I am learning so much. Well told!

Fantastic! Thanks for posting

Despite the horrors of the past that are visible on the fort there is something oddly beautiful about flowers and other flora growing on the ruins. Never forget.

Thanks JD for another great video

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

No problem 👍

Excellent work JD and team 👍

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Thanks 👍

“Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.’1 Chancellor Otto von Bismarck” Peter Hart, The Great War: 1914-1918

That was awesome!!! Great job....

You make awesome content. Thank you!

If that wasn’t hallowed ground, it’d make an amazing links golf course.😁

@aiglonducal314

9 ай бұрын

😅 Frankly, why not! I don't think I would mind if I'd fought there and even been killed (obviously I couldn't mind in the latter case). Let's not forget that governments do their best to imprint on wars past and present a hallowed character so the populace is more easily tricked into partaking unquestionably in the next one. A golf course to me would be a big F you to the warmongers rather than an insult to the soldiers who fought and died there.

Very well done Video. Can't believe such a fortification was taken with the only casualty being a scraped knee. And the noise from all the artilllery pounding drove some men mad. The reverberations were constant and there was no escape from the din.

Must be quite evocative walking in the footsteps of the likes of Pioneer-Sergeant Kunze and the French soldiers who served there... if these Stones could speak, what a terror they'd tell. P.s. JD: mind yer noggin while exploring these Forts... we don't want you to end up adding to the list of casualties these Forts created.

Another good video JD. THANK you for that.. You should go to HOLLYWOOD I'm surprised they have not called yet THANK YOU FRANK FROM MONTANA......

9:55 Look upon this terrain. Give it a few moments. Look at how gnarly, old, and hostile it all still appears... An infinite scape of long rolling hills with a horizon that seems to reach out to the sky itself. Though covered with trees... You can still get a sense of craters and irregularities from the war torn ground below... Bleak and hopeless.

Great video. Thank you.

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Glad you liked it!

Brilliant JD 👍 as always 👏

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Good Show, wait for the next ! Yes, the before and after is mind numbing, if you had to defend that place, your body and mind would not be the same after, shell shocked !

Great visuals!

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

👊🏻

Brilliant effort.

Another great a educational video JD

@TheHistoryUnderground

9 ай бұрын

Thanks!

The trees in the area were not as tall in 1979, the forest obscures a lot of the battlefield area now.

you should do a part 2 of Douaumont, there is a lot you didn't see like the ammunition explosion that killed about 600 Germans or the ossuary or the grim fact that there is human remains that can still be seen in the fort if get a guide that will show you

@Hipp0campus_1

9 ай бұрын

If you mean the Ossuary on the memorial/graveyard, I'm sure you're gonna see it in one of the next episodes! I hope he got some amazing shots from the tower.

@seibelstein

7 ай бұрын

@@Hipp0campus_1 no, he means the german graveyard inside the fort. But you only can see a wall with cross, inscriptions and flowers......no human remains. The 600 - 700 soldiers are burried in two casemates about 10 and 20 meters behind that wall. They were killed by an inside explosion of a pile of granades on May 8 1916, provoked by german soldiers.

Another wonderful video. Sad that you didn't have more time to show everything

Excellent video! I was there two years ago. Imagine blood sprayed 24/7

Thank you for focus on WW 1. Americans have forgotten about it and few visit its battlefields.when I visited sites I was usually the only American around.

Excellent series.