Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cost and Hours:
€4, use the free 45-minute audioguide, daily May-Aug
10:00-18:30, April and Sept until 18:00, Oct until 17:30, Nov-Dec and Feb-March until
17:00, closed Jan.
Near Verdun
St-Mihiel
For a better understanding of the American role in the battles and to see real battle
trenches, detour south of Verdun (on D-34 or D-964) to the area known as the St-Mihiel
salient (a salient is a territory surrounded on three sides by the enemy). Here, American
and French forces joined in 1918 under the command of General John Pershing, in hopes
of breaking the Germans' will by gaining the important city of Metz. The joint attack on
the St-Mihiel salient caught the Germans by surprise and was initially successful, but later
became bogged down by poor roads and related supply problems. The Americans didn't
make it to Metz, and the Germans were able to regroup and hunker down.
Today, you can see good examples of WWI trenches (many are reconstructions) and
appreciate how close the opposing trenches were. German trenches are generally still in
good condition since they were built with concrete. The French ones were built mostly
withsandbags—theyassumedthewarwouldbeshort—andthushavenotheldupaswell.
Start with the trenches (maps available at Verdun's TI show their locations), then visit the
cemetery.
To see the best
trenches,
take D-907 east from St-Mihiel, following signs for
Apre-
mont le Forêt
and
Pont à Mousson,
and drive about five kilometers out of the city. You'll
see signs to the right to several trenches (first,
Bois d'Ailly/Tranchées de la Soif,
then
Tranchées des Bavarois et de Roffignac
). Both are interesting and worth a stop. The third
set of trenches (to the right) are signed as
Bois Brûlé/Croix des Redoutes.
Here you'll find
original German trenches—still in good condition, and French trenches made from sand
bags. The French trenches have been rebuilt in their original locations.
The somber
St-Mihiel American Cemetery and Memorial
at Thiaucourt has 4,153
graves (daily 9:00-17:00, 30 kilometers east of St-Mihiel—follow signs to
Pont à Mous-
son
).
About 19 kilometers farther south, the
Montsec Monument
marks the conquest of
the St-Mihiel salient by the First US Army. From the monument you can appreciate views
over the battlefields, and see the ruins of several forts (always open).
Skip the town of St-Mihiel, which is far away from these places of interest.
