Douaumont

Douaumont
Douaumont
Location within Grand Est region  Douaumont
Coordinates: 49°13′15″N 5°25′56″E / 49.2208°N 5.4322°E / 49.2208; 5.4322Coordinates: 49°13′15″N 5°25′56″E / 49.2208°N 5.4322°E / 49.2208; 5.4322
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Meuse
Arrondissement	Verdun
Canton	Étain
Area1	6.14 km2 (2.37 sq mi)
Population (1999)2	6
• Density	0.98/km2 (2.5/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	55164 /55100
Elevation	240–395 m (787–1,296 ft) (avg. 380 m or 1,250 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Douaumont (French pronunciation: ​[dwomɔ̃]) is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.

The village was destroyed during World War I. Today the Douaumont Ossuary, which contains the remains of more than 100,000 unknown soldiers of both French and German nationalities found on the battlefield, stands high above the landscape.

The construction work for Fort de Douaumont started in 1885 and the fort was continually reinforced until 1913. The fort is situated on some of the highest ground in the area. At the very beginning of the Battle of Verdun (February 1916) and due to French unpreparedness, the fort was easily captured by a small German raiding party. Douaumont was later recaptured by the French army in October 1916, after major casualties on both sides.

"Douaumont.Verite et Legende", Alain Denizot,1998,Librairie Academique Perrin,.