Persona 1
Pierre Barthas
“Everyone should know history, without it we would have no present”
Pierre is a 17 year old french student who is interested in history and the First World War. He spends much of his day reading books about the history of France and other European countries, as well as watching various action and war movies. Pierre has been assigned to do a project for his history class about a moment of national significance for France, and since he has recently read a book about the First World War, he has chosen to do his project on this topic. His teacher suggests to him that he should write about the Battle of Verdun which was one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the war, even to this day. While doing research on the subject, Pierre comes across the name Adolfe Séré de Rivières and learns about the French fortresses that played such an integral role in the shaping of the battle’s outcome. For more information, he decides to visit an online project which can tell him about the individual forts of the battlefield, and their significance.
Persona 2
Samantha Taylor
“I am always happiest with a cup of coffee and a good book about Europe”
Samantha is a 37 year old American author whose interest is primarily in European warfare in the modern era. Although her main focus is the 20th century, she also enjoys reading books about the middle ages in her freetime, and has recently began to learn about the Carolingian War which divided the empire into three kingdoms, ending in the 9th century with the Treaty of Verdun. While researching the this event, she begins to take an interest in the events which occurred in the very same city during the First World War, and decides she wants to investigate the historical connection between the two. In order to understand what the significance of Verdun was for the French in 1916 and why they fought so desperately to hold on to it no matter the cost of human lives, she begins to read more and more about the battle itself. While researching the fortresses constructed by the French Army in the late 19th century following the defeat of the Franco-Prussian war she comes across an online project that lists each of their roles in the shaping of the battle.
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