The horror of the trenches, the cold, the hunger, the ranging battles... Many documentaries have already told the story of what was everyday life for the French troops. There is another place that was strategic in the Great War about which most people have heard very little: the forts. Defended, lost and recaptured, the forts of Verdun played a pivotal role. 163,000 French soldiers gave their lives to defend them.
Today, over a thousand eye-witness accounts by French soldiers that it was thought had been lost, have just been unearthed. It is thus through the voices of the soldiers based in the forts in Douaumont, Vaux, and Souville, that this documentary looks back at this less familiar aspect of World War I. This epic account pays tribute to those men and reveals the strategic role played by the Verdun forts.
Direction: Juliette Desbois
Production: ZED for RMC Découverte.