The Verdun Tree

The Verdun Tree. . This tree has grown from a conker which itself came from one of the last trees left standing after the Battle of Verdun during the First World War., On 21st February 1916, the Germans attacked the mighty fortress of Verdun in eastern France in an attempt to destroy the French Army. The ensuing battle lasted for 303 days. For the French, there was only one access route , a narrow road that became known as "La Voie Sacrée" (the Sacred Way) along which all their supplies and reinforcements had to pass., In July of that year, the British launched the Battle of the Somme. One objective of this offensive was to relieve pressure on the French by forcing Germany to remove troops from Verdun. Finally, on 19th December, perhaps the greatest and longest battle in world history ended, with the Germans having been pushed back to their original positions. Some 300,000 had been killed and a further 400,000 wounded., For France, Verdun is remembered much as the Somme is by the British, symbolising the horrors of war. In November 1920, to bring the Unknown Warrior back from France, the British government could think of no more appropriate ship than HMS Verdun., This Verdun Tree was planted here in St Albans in 1976 to mark the 60th anniversary of the battle. A horse chestnut is in fact in many ways appropriate to mark a battle, as the starch from its conkers is an essential component of cordite , unlike gunpowder, an almost smokeless explosive.