Loading…
TRAGEDY IN BEAUTY
This former railroad tunnel, over a mile in length, runs beneath the remains of Fort Tavannes outside of Verdun. The tunnel was used as a troop shelter during WWI. A pack mule standing near the opposite entrance to the tunnel became spooked when a hot ember from a nearby cook stove set on fire the materials loaded on the mule's back. The flaming mule ran into the tunnel where the flames ignited fuel storage tanks not far from the tunnel's entrance. A tremendous explosion and fire, fed by wind currents created by the tunnel incinerated over 500 men. It's a tragedy still remembered in France today.