Armistice Day: Snapshot of Verdun at the time of 100th anniversary of end of WWI

World
Europe

02:41

Around the globe, people have been gathering to mark a hundred years since the end of the First World War. The Battle of Verdun, in which the French fought off a major German offensive, is considered one of the longest, and most-ferocious battles of the war. CGTN's Natalie Carney has the story.

The beautiful rolling plains of France easily mask the horrors that occurred upon them more than a century ago.

It was here in the region of Verdun the longest single battle of World War One took place. This area was one of the bloodiest frontlines and is now home to the thousands of bodies that fell.

NATALIE CARNEY VERDUN "The Battle of Verdun started on February 21st, 1916 with a German offensive on French soldiers stationed here."

For nine hours, German artillery long-range canons rained down on the French, destroying everything and creating these big craters.

By 4 pm, only 450 of the 13-hundred infantry men stationed here were left standing.

A few kilometers south, the battle for St. Mihiel took place. Today, an American cemetery marks the area.

JEFFREY HAYES, SUPERINTENDENT ST. MIHIEL AMERICAN CEMETERY "After the war, we put cemeteries in the middle of the battlefields to remember the significant events."

More than four thousand Americans who died in the war are buried here.

Meanwhile, in Paris, scores of world leaders gathered for a somber ceremony to mark the end of the war.

EMMANUEL MACRON FRENCH PRESIDENT "During these four years, Europe almost committed suicide. Humanity sunk into the hideous labyrinth of merciless clashes, into a hell that engulfed all combatants, on whichever side, whatever nationality they were."

One hundred years later and those divisions of the past are gone. But some wonder whether new ones have resurfaced.

In the French capital, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time since Moscow blamed Israel for the shooting down of a Russian surveillance plane in Syria in September.

Putin expressed hopes to resume talks with the U.S. about the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty after President Trump accused Russia of violating it.

The two leaders are expected to hold talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina later this month.

Back at St. Mihiel cemetery, flags represent the soldiers that fell on the last day of the war.

JEFFREY HAYES, SUPERINTENDENT ST. MIHIEL AMERICAN CEMETERY "These aren't just crosses, these are people. They had a life, they left behind children."

And some of those children are still alive today, determined to never forget. Natalie Carney, CGTN, Verdun, France.