A hundred years ago began the most terrifying battle in history that would last 300 days and amaze the world with its scale.
“Who has not experienced Verdun has not experienced the war!”. In the collective memory, the Battle of Verdun holds an exceptional status: it epitomizes the Great War, it is its symbol and emblem.
As early as August 31, 1917, the city council of Nice decided to rename Masséna Avenue (which leads to the Albert I public garden) “Avenue de Verdun”: “By giving the name Verdun to Masséna Avenue, one of the most important and beautiful arteries of our city, the city council, by its deliberation of August 31, 1917, intended to pay an eternal tribute to the heroic soldiers who, for many months, amid unheard-of suffering, held at bay the formidable rush of the German forces launched against the Verdun stronghold and thus became the impregnable rampart of the Fatherland.”
A bit of history…
On February 21, 1916, Lieutenant Colonel Driant, at the head of his two battalions of Chasseurs à pied, defended the Bois des Caures, the furthest point of the Verdun defense line. His battalions were annihilated by a deluge of shells fired by 2,000 heavy guns, and Driant, one of the last survivors, died on February 22 by the end of the day. His heroism and the sacrifice of his men allowed the French General Staff to organize the resistance and prevent the breakthrough imagined by the Germans.
Emperor Wilhelm II, convinced of the rapid success of his troops, expected to soon parade on the Champs-Elysées.
More than 70% of the units of the French army were engaged at Verdun. The 163rd Infantry Regiment from Nice lost 1,643 men between March 22 and April 12, 1916. The 111th, 311th, 112th, and 173rd also suffered significant losses.
