French villages destroyed in the First World War

During the First World War, specifically at the time of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, many villages in the French département of Meuse were destroyed by the fighting. After the war, it was decided that the land previously occupied by the destroyed villages would not be incorporated into other communes, as a testament to these villages which had “died for France”, as they were declared, and to preserve their memory. While three of the villages were subsequently rebuilt and are governed as normal communes, the other six are entirely unpopulated and are managed by a council of three members, appointed by the prefect of Meuse. All of these communes are located in the Canton of Charny-sur-Meuse in the Arrondissement of Verdun, and are located generally north of the city of Verdun, in the Lorraine region of northeastern France.

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