fleury

NigelC638

Perhaps in another 10 years the addition of information about the old owners will expand to make this site meaningful, but at present it is a marker for a village safely evacuated and it is hard to feel too much about it given the tragic scenes around it. It is also now in a reforested area which gives it a false sense of being idyllic, when it must have been far from this in the decades after 1916. So a bit disappointing after the build up in book I'm afraid.

VeganABZ

A visit to Fleury is a visit to one of several villages that were completely obliterated during WWI, only small signs indicate where there was once a farm or a bakery or a school etc. Its hard to think that in this now wooded area, anonymous at the side of the road, there was once a busy village with people serving out their days in perfect peace before the bombs fell.Not one for the children as there's not much to see - it's what you can't see that is worth going for.

Graeme1947

Visit this village and and you will quickly realise the horror that is war. In the space of months it was obliterated but the positions of the various dwellings and businesses are set out on the ground. It was fought over, taken and retaken so many times it is hard to imagine the hell it must have been. Visit it and remember.

pabirds

This is a must do. It's on the road to the Ossuary, only minutes down the road. Parking is free along the roadside. Fleury is one of 9 French towns that literally dissappeared during the war, never to be re-built. They've marked out the original streets and the location of various farms and businesses, complete with family names. But the entire area is riddled and pock-marked with mortar craters. It was simply obiterated. What a terrible, stupid war that went on for so long before those guiding it got the idea that, really, the ground hundreds of thousands died upon could never be taken. This town shows a very human side of the ridiculous conflict---and how it changed lives of those unfortunate enough to live near the front.

Guppy63

6 villages were destroyed but are remembered. There is still evidence of how horrid the fighting was in the area. Markers at the spot where there were once a farm, bakers and family homes. A chapel has been rebuilt to remember all the villagers who lost their life during the battle.

Muldunespeaks

The official town of Fleury is gone. It was so obliterated in the battle for Verdun that it now only has a museum to remember it by. The museum is currently under renovation until 2016. This is a site I visited in 2006 last time and it never gets old. Once complete I will return. Put it on your bucket list, this one is impressive and one of the best collections of artifacts from that war in the world.Happy Travels

JoeW139

The museum is undergoing a major refit in preparation for the centennial. According to locals they don't expect re opening for a couple of years, Check their website for updates

rat_race_escapee

While there is little to see here, it is worth a stop to walk around and contemplate the fact that this used to be a village, Fleury devant Douanment. Utterly destroyed, there is a small chapel and a memorial, as well as a path leading you around to survey the site of the devastated village.

Chronosus

There's little to see there, and that's exactly the point. Scarred ground full of craters is all that's left of this village, along with a stone here and there. It's free, and it's at a few minutes from Memorial of Verdun.

sempre39

The town of Fleury was erased. Residents were evacuated early in the war, and then this small area was contested for 4 years. The shell holes remain everywhere you look, now softened by trees and vegetation. Markers note the locations of homes and shops, and descriptive plaques are placed along a paved path.

Beleriand

Fleury had about 400 inhabitants when its residents were evacuated in February 1916, when the Battle of Verdun arrived. The destruction was so horrific that the German soldiers themselves were shocked. This place is so deceptive -- the forest is so beautiful, and everything is covered with grass, and then you realize that the many depressions are not natural, but were caused by shells. The village is laid out with small markers showing where various landmarks were -- tinsmith, butcher, and is very moving.

bas011656

A beautifully laid out tribute to a village destroyed in the WW1 carnage. Immaculately kept, a living memorial to those who perished. Very moving.

EllenMay2013

One of many destroyed villages along the Western Front in France. Very moving. Nice to see many villages are so well kept, and past houses etc indicated to gain a full appreciation of the extent of the loss of the village.

Onalaska_Archer

I walked from Fort Douaumont to Fleury. The trip is mostly downhill and is something that I would recommend anyone who is healthy enough for the walk to make. Park at the Ossuary, walk to Douaumont Village, then to Fort Douaumont, then to Fleury and then back to the Ossuary. Fleury in itself is well dedicated and very much worth the visit.

ww1guide

It is hard to imagine that life in this village ceased on 21st Feb 1916. The German attack started and people left leaving meals on the table. The village was destroyed and all that remains are mounds of earth and holloways.