bayonets sticking out of the ground in france WWI

R

Rena

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When I was child my dad was very big on taking us to place of great historical interest.
One of the place my dad took me was to a WW1 battlefield in France. There was along row of bayonets sticking out of the ground. I asked my dad what they were. He told me that is line of French soldiers that was buried alive by a big artillery explosion and these men die in place holding there rifles and all you can see of them is their bayonets sticking out of the ground.
To this day I think back fondly about that day and my dad, but sadly I don't remember where that French monument was. I remember it had a sidewalk that when beside it, there was no structure around it and the date I was there was 1963.
If any one can help me figure out the location of this site I would be very grateful, I need to fill in hole in my memory.
Thank you Rena
 
Bootie said:
Thats the Place of the Bayonets in Verdun.
Click to expand...
I thought it was Verdun too, but the structure that is built over them was built in 1923 or something like that. The place I was that I seen the bayonets in the ground they just had a side walk that curve around them and no structure that was 1963 maybe 1964
 
I thought it was a common practice to use bayonets as an 'impromptu gravestone.'

Side note and story from Operation Windsor in 1944, (sorry front and center of my mind at the moment) - The Canadian advance was through tall uncut wheat fields and many became casualties from enemy artillery fire. The wheat was so thick that the Sherman squadrons coming up behind the infantry couldn't spot the fallen Canadian soliders, wounded or killed. To avoid mishaps with the tankers rolling over the infantry (not clear from my reading if it was forward thinking or reacting to a horrible incident), the Canadians began planting upturned Lee-Enfield Rifles into the dirt to mark out where a fallen man was - spearing the bayonets into the dirt. This also helped the medical teams in their Universal Carriers race around trying to find the wounded as the day progressed.

Bayonets, sadly a handy tool. :(
 
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