Note 4 — Chapter VIII · VERDUN

Verdun, the Virdunum of the Romans. In the third century a bishopric was founded there with Saint Saintin as first bishop; 843, the treaty of Verdun; after the battle of Fontanet the three sons of Louis the Debonair, Lothair, Louis of Bavaria, and Charles the Bald, divided the empire of Charlemagne, with the result that not only was France separated from Germania, but her natural boundaries, the Alps and the Rhine, were lost; 1792, the Prussians besieged it in force and it was obliged to capitulate after two days; 1870, a heroic defense lasting nearly three months ending in capitulation; 1916, Ils n’ont pas passé, ils ne passeront pas.