This monument, located in Verdun, was created by French architect Léon Chesnay. The sculptor was Jean Boucher (1870-1939), who was himself a veteran of Verdun battle (he ended the war as a lieutenant).
From the very first year of Verdun battle (1916), the city council wanted a monument to remember it. The foundation stone of the monument was laid down in 1920 by War Minister André Lefèvre on June 23, 1920, even if real work began only in 1926. The monument was inaugurated on June 23, 1929 with an impressive ceremony. Were present Gaston Doumergue (the French President), Raymon Poincaré (the Prime Minister) , several ministers and maréchal Pétain..
This monument is located on a stairway. The pyramidal tower (30 m high) holds a crypt which was used to hold books with the names of French and American soldiers who fought in this region (the books are now kept in the city hall). The crypt, which was supposed to be bigger, had been conceived to hold the mortal remains of the 7 unknown soldiers who were not chosen during the famous 1920 ceremony (they are now in Faubourg-Pavé military cemetery).
The monument in 1938
Some WW1 Photographs... 