Neil Brown
Gerard Depuy, his tunic open in an un-soldierly way, stood on the corner of an anonymous street that intersected the road from Bar le Duc. He had no idea what day it was; all the days seemed pretty much the same. The sight that lay in his vision gripped him in a mixture of awe and revulsion. Although it was early morning, the Bar le Duc road was crowded with the implements of war–men, animals and machinery–wrestling for space. All heading to and from the inferno that was Verdun. With each passing vehicle large clouds of dust were kicked up, adding to the thick coating that had turned everything in the town to a consistent shade of dull brown. After months of heavy vehicles beating the road, several of the houses that lined it had their backbones shattered, eventually leaning forward precariously over the street and creating a sinister gateway to what lay beyond. [Read more…]
