Voie Sacrée

About

The Sacred Way or National Sacred Way is a strategic French historic road linking Bar-le-Duc to Verdun, numbered RD 1916. It was the main artery of the Battle of Verdun. Simply designated as the road, the department linking Bar-le-Duc to Verdun was the vital logistics artery of Verdun Square.

It was named the "Sacred Way" by the writer Maurice Barrès, with reference to the ancient Roman Via Sacra leading to triumph. This route had to be maintained at all times, as the trucks carrying equipment and troops moved there at the pace of a vehicle every fourteen seconds on average. During the summer of 1916, 90,000 men and 50,000 tons of ammunition, supplies and equipment were used weekly to power the Verdun furnace.

If a vehicle failed, it was immediately pushed into the ditch so as not to obstruct traffic. Quarries were dug all along the road and soldiers were constantly throwing stones under the wheels of trucks to plug ruts. Several fighter squadrons, among the best in French aviation, were responsible for...