Government
A Tour of the Eerie Villages France Never Rebuilt After WWI
After the Battle of Verdun left hundreds of thousands dead, the towns-turned-battlefields sat empty out of respect.
The Battle of Verdun, an 11-month struggle in northeast France between German and French forces during World War I, left hundreds of thousands on both sides dead (recent casualty estimates range between 700,000 and just under 1 million). When the fighting finally ceased in late summer 1917, the Germans had retreated, leaving small villages along the battlefields completely destroyed. As a tribute, many were never rebuilt.
Vaux-devant-Damloup was rebuilt (2006 population: 68) and Douamont and Ornes were partially put back together. The other six sit empty, thought they do have symbolic mayoral representation and are managed by an appointed three-member council.