Article about: Picked this up today as a present for my wife for here upcoming birthday. French made plate commemorating the defence of Verdun and naming two of the commanders, French Army chief of staff,
Picked this up today as a present for my wife for here upcoming birthday. French made plate commemorating the defence of Verdun and naming two of the commanders, French Army chief of staff, General de Castelnau, and commander of the French Second Army, General Philippe Pétain. Also lists some of the main battles including the two forts at Douaumont and Vaux.
As a coincidental update, they just mentioned on the radio that in France today they removed the last street sign bearing Petain's name, as though he was known as the Lion of Verdun, his more dubious reputation from WWII has overshadowed that and as all the WWI vets are no longer with us who had previously still remembered him with respect, they have finally erased him from the street signs. This month is the 97th anniversary of the end of the first phase of the battles and it was after Petain took over that the Germans were stopped and eventually driven back.
Petain was from peasant origins and managed to empathise with his soldiers. He made a point of being seen by them and making personal inspections . The Vichy regime is more complex than the issues of ww1 . The holocaust casts its shadow over it.
I really like your plate on a lighter note . Does your wife collect or is that a way round bringing in more stuff !
Petain was from peasant origins and managed to empathise with his soldiers. He made a point of being seen by them and making personal inspections . The Vichy regime is more complex than the issues of ww1 . The holocaust casts its shadow over it.
I really like your plate on a lighter note . Does your wife collect or is that a way round bringing in more stuff !
Heres my offering to commemorate Verdun . My M2 gas mask which is marked sept 1916 .
Petain was from peasant origins and managed to empathise with his soldiers. He made a point of being seen by them and making personal inspections . The Vichy regime is more complex than the issues of ww1 . The holocaust casts its shadow over it.
I really like your plate on a lighter note . Does your wife collect or is that a way round bringing in more stuff !
Hi Rob,
My wife collects WWI items in a small way and this will go nicely with her collection. I like it as well, but it is for her. I also picked up for her a WWI German shell case dated 1916.
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