It was the site of the Battle of Verdun in 1916 during World War I.
In the Treaty of Verdun in 843, the empire of Charlemagne was divided into three parts.
... Republics (USSR) Cheka (1917-1922) Gosudarstvennoye Politicseskoye Upravleniye[?] (GPU, 1922-1923) Obyedinennoye Gosudarstvennoye Politicheskoye Upravleniye[?] (OGPU, ...