Aerial photos don’t convey the level of destruction that occurred at Verdun. This is a ground level view of Fort Douamont after the battle. The battle officially lasted for 10 months, until December 1916, but fierce fighting continued in this area through the end of the war. An estimated 420,000 men on both sides were killed in this futile battle, and another 800,000 were wounded. The skies over Verdun were the setting for the first major air battle in history, as both sides fought to gain air superiority. When the American squadron was finally formed, it would cut its teeth flying over Verdun. (Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nach_der_Wiedererstürmung_des_Forts_Douaumont.jpg.)