Chapter II: Conclusion (1)

The Battle of Verdun was not merely one of the hardest of the War's many battles, it was also one of the most serious checks received by the Germans. The enemy High Command had foreseen neither its amplitude nor its long duration. Whereas, "according to plan", Verdun--"Heart of France"--was speedily to be overpowered by a carefully prepared mass attack, the Germans found themselves involved in a formidable struggle, without being able either to obtain a decisive advantage or keep the relatively small advantages obtained at the beginning of the battle.

The battle did not develop "according to plan", its successive phases being determined by circumstances. The huge reinforcements which the Germans were compelled to call upon bring out very clearly the immensity of the enemy effort.

From February 21st 1916 to February 1st 1917 the Germans made use of fifty-six and a half divisions, i.e. 567 battalions, in front of Verdun. Of these fifty-six and a half divisions, six divisions appeared successively on both banks of the Meuse, eight others being also engaged twice and six three times. In reality, in the course of eleven months, eighty-two and a half German divisions (nearly 1,800,000 men), took part in the attacks on Verdun, which they had expected to crush in a few days with ten to twelve divisions. The contrast between this formidable effort and the meagre results obtained is striking, and is a splendid testimony to the courage and tenacity of the defenders.

This battle, by using up the best troops the Germans could put into the field, had serious strategic results for the enemy.

Hindenburg in his Memoirs states "This battle exhausted our forces like a wound that never heals."

"At Verdun France learnt to know herself", writes L. Gillet in his wonderful book _The Battle of Verdun_.

"The Marne was not enough to show France what she really was. A day of inspiration, a few hours of frenzy, a burst of enthusiasm, a sudden glow of rage and passion with _Marseillaises_ sounding on all sides, the world knew us to be capable of flashes like these. But the world did not know--nor did we ourselves--our own sterling virtue.

"We were the country of improvisation, the country of laughing nonchalance, varied with attacks of fever: we had forgotten our strength of continuity. Thanks to the length of the battle, France was able to measure her reserves of endurance. In this continuous struggle which brought, one after another, men of every village to the same tragic scene, each was inspired with the determination to do at least as well as those who had preceded him. Then, when their turn had come to be relieved, after unheard of ordeals, they read again and again, in the communiqué's, the names of the same hills and awful woods where they had held the line, and learnt that others in their turn kept holding on....

"Instead of a succession of isolated deeds of valour, Verdun was for the whole French Army an heroic exploit in which all shared alike. France bled soldiers from all her wounds. At Verdun she was inspired with something solemn, sacred and unanimous, like the spirit of a religious crusade."

As President Poincaré declared on September 13th 1916, when he handed to the Mayor of Verdun the decorations conferred upon the town by the Allied Nations, it was before the walls of Verdun that "the highest hopes of Imperial Germany were crushed". At Verdun, Germany had sought to achieve an overwhelming spectacular success, and it was there that France had replied quietly but firmly "They shall never pass".

"For centuries to come, in all parts of the world the name of Verdun would continue to ring like a cry of victory and a sound of joy uttered by a people delivered from tyranny."

VERDUN AND THE ARGONNE IN 1918

During the winter 1917-1918 the Verdun-Argonne front remained quiet, but the year 1918 opened with ill omens.

Russia gave in and Rumania, left to struggle alone, was forced to terms.

The Germans reckoned in 1918 to make an end of the Allies. They attacked successively in Picardy, on the Chemin des Dames, in front of Compiègne in Champagne. But whenever these attacks succeeded in driving small salients in the line, the front was at once reunited and the enemy fell short of victory. =On July 18th=, a decisive move was reached when the Allies in their turn took the initiative.

THE GENERAL ATTACK (OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1918.)]

After the counter-attack of July, which drove the Germans from the Marne to the Vesle, the battle shifted to the flanks. Offensive followed offensive with unfailing regularity, first on the left (the Franco-British offensive of August 8th), then in Artois (the offensive of August 20th) and lastly against the whole of the Hindenburg line which the Allies attacked on September 1st.

_Franco-American offensive (September 1918)._]

The Germans were already greatly shaken but Marshal Foch gave them no respite, and to prevent their recovery he redoubled his attacks.

_Franco-American offensive (September-October 1918)._]

Three simultaneous offensives were envisaged, on the left wing, in Flanders, the combined Belgian, French and British Armies under King Albert; in the centre the 3rd and 4th British Armies and the 1st French Army; on the right wing, in Champagne and in Argonne, the 4th French Army (Gouraud) and the 1st American Army (Pershing).

=The Franco-American offensive of September 26th, 1918.=

As a prelude to taking its place in the line for the great offensive, the American Army had already fought the brilliant action of September 12th-14th which reduced the Saint-Mihiel salient.

=On September 26th=, at the same time as the 4th French Army (General Gouraud) attacked the enemy in Champagne, the American Army under the command of General Pershing, took the offensive between the Argonne and the Meuse.

The artillery preparation was terrific but of short duration, lasting only three hours.

At 5.30 a.m. the Americans furiously assaulted the strong German positions on the left bank of the Meuse and captured the whole line from Avocourt to Forges right away. The artillery, keeping in close support, cleared the stream of Forges during the morning.

The woods which were strongly held were also cleared and by midday the Americans reached the south of Montfaucon.

During the afternoon a stubborn encounter took place on the positions covering Montfaucon, a formidable peak and the most valuable enemy observation post in the neighbourhood of Verdun.

The Americans wisely outflanked the peak on the right and advanced to Septsarges, so that by nightfall Montfaucon was encircled.

=On the 27th and 28th=, the advance was slower and continued westerly in spite of enemy counter-attacks; Montfaucon was captured.

The American spoils included 8,000 prisoners and 100 guns.

=On October 4th=, Pershing launched an attack on his whole army front. But the enemy stiffened their resistance by bringing up numerous reinforcements. On the right bank of the Meuse, the 17th French Army Corps (Claudel) and two American Divisions were then brought into the fray, reaching and quickly passing the famous line from which the Crown Prince, in February 1916, had launched his attack upon Verdun.

=On October 14th= a general attack was launched.

The Germans resisted desperately but could not regain any advantage. Their resources were diminishing and battalions were withdrawn to be hastily reorganised in rear and then put in the line again at once.

Round Grandpré a furious fight raged.

By the end of October the Germans had lost, on the two banks of the Meuse, since September 26th, 20,000 prisoners, 150 guns, 1,000 trench mortars, and 6,000 machine guns.

=November 1st-11th 1918.=

In the North, the Belgians had just cleared their coast-line, and were menacing the enemy by an advance into the very heart of Belgium. The British had occupied Lille and broken down the defences of the Hindenburg Line. Meanwhile, the French, relentlessly driving back the retreating enemy, had entered Laon, after forcing the formidable bastion of the Saint-Gobain Forest.

=On November 1st=, a new offensive was opened up by Gouraud's Army and the 1st American Army, resulting in a gain of several kilometres. The enemy fell back on the great Sedan-Metz highway, the approaches to which they wanted to defend at all cost.

=On November 4th=, the 3rd American Corps reached the Meuse between Mouzon and Stenay.

The Germans withdrew on the right bank.

=On the 8th=, the French entered Sedan and, on the 9th, Mézières.

On the 10th, the enemy was driven back on the extreme right, to the foot of the Meuse Heights and South of Stenay by the 17th French Army Corps.

=On November 11th=, with the threat of a fresh offensive in Lorraine, the Germans surrendered in open country to save themselves from complete destruction.

_A French photograph used in the preparation of the American offensive on the banks of the Meuse in September 1918._

_The barbed-wire entanglements and trenches are plainly indicated._]

THE FINAL ALLIED OFFENSIVE FROM JULY 15TH 1918 TO NOVEMBER 2ND, 1918

Nine days before the German capitulation in open country on November 11th 1918.

_By strengthening the two lines of July 15th and November 2nd, which are accurately reproduced, and by adding a few lines inside and the point of the helmet, a draughtsman of the Staff-major obtained this curious figure of Germany brought to her knees._

_From the plan one can easily recognise the salients of Ypres and Arras, the indentation of Montdidier, and that of Château-Thierry intersecting the Vesle, the salients of Reims and Verdun and the break through at Saint-Mihiel._]

A VISIT TO THE CITY OF VERDUN

_The motorist coming either from Sainte-Menehould or Bar-le-Duc, via the "Sacred Way" enters Verdun by the Porte de France, and reaches the cathedral by the Rues: Saint-Maur, Chevert, and la Belle-Vierge._

_The tourist coming from the station by the Porte Saint-Paul, reaches the Cathedral by the Rues: Saint-Paul, Saint-Pierre and la Belle-Vierge._

=The Cathedral.=

The tourist, arriving at the Place de la Cathédrale, via the Rue de la Belle-Vierge, finds himself in front of the North Façade (_photo opposite_).

In the middle is the entrance porch; on the right, the Western transept and the towers enclosing the remarkable, square-shaped old Choir, on the left, the Eastern transept and the polygonal apse of the Great Choir with the Roman basement and Gothic buttresses (_photo p. 52_).

In front of the towers and on the right, _in the photograph opposite_, is the entrance to Margueritte College leading to the Bishop's Palace and the Cloister.

_In the foreground: Roof of nave, transept and great choir of the Cathedral. In the middle-ground, The Meuse: on the left, the Porte Chaussée in the middle: Military Club. In the background: Line of trees marking the ramparts; behind Belleville Village (on the left) and the Faubourg Pavé. On the horizon: Belleville Hills._]

_which can be seen from the banks of the Meuse._]

On entering the Cathedral by the central porch of the north façade, the old choir is on the right and on the left the great choir.

The old square choir is intersected by the great organ.

In the great choir, notice the elegant panelling of Rococo-style and the ciborium with canopy supported by twisted columns of grey marble.

The numerous side-chapels are 14th, 15th and 16th century.

The most interesting is in the South Aisle, that of the Blessed Sacrament, Radial-Gothic in style (_photo above_).

The door of Margueritte College (_see photo page 51_) leads to the courtyard of the BISHOP'S PALACE (18th century) and thence to the CLOISTER (historical monument of the 13th and 14th centuries, _photos p. 54._)

_From the Bishop's palace, go along the Rue Chatel to the Place Chatel, then down the Rue des Hauts-Fins, and cross the Esplanade_ =to the Citadelle.=

_In the background, the old choir and the organ platform._]

_In the background: the East Gallery.--On the right: the ruins of the South Gallery.--In the town can be seen the church of Saint-Sauveur against the green background of the fortifications._]

_See above (on the right) its state after the War._]

=The Citadelle.=

The Citadelle occupies the site of the ancient abbeys or churches of Sainte-Vanne, erected in the Merovingian period and the 15th century.

The first Citadelle was completed under Henry IV. The second was the work of Vauban. The church of Sainte-Vanne which had survived was pulled down in 1831. During the war, the deep underground caves were a safe place of refuge for the inhabitants before their departure and for relief troops during the battle.

_On leaving the Citadelle, turn right and go down the slope towards the Meuse and the Rue de Rû, keeping to the right. Go by the stores and then the octroi where the shops are located, and enter the Citadelle by No. 4 listening-post, to visit some of the caverns fitted up as they were in the war._

_Here can be seen in particular, under a military guide, the chamber of honour where were laid to rest in November 1920 the bodies of 8 unknown soldiers, from among whom was taken the Unknown Warrior who rests in Paris beneath the Arc de Triomphe._

_Return from the Citadelle by the Rue de Rû, passing the theatre. Continue along the Rue Mazel to the site of the monument "Aux morts de Verdun" (see next page), return to the Place Mazel, turn right, cross the Meuse, and the Place Chevert is reached._

_Site of the War Memorial shown below._ (Photo Sommer.)]

_A crypt will be opened in the base of the monument where will be laid to rest the 7 Unknown Soldiers, a touching symbol of the sacrifice of the soldiers of Verdun (April 1925)._]

_From the Place Chevert, follow the Meuse to the right to the Porte Chaussée._

=The Porte Chaussée=

Its architecture is reminiscent of the Bastille. Half of the left tower, on the river, was rebuilt in 1690 on exactly the same lines and with stones of the old tower: the semi-circular arcade and the pediment facing the bridge are of the same date.

ROUTES FOR VISITING THE BATTLE-FIELDS OF VERDUN.

Four hundred thousand Frenchmen died for their Country on the battlefields of Verdun.

It is with feelings of deep respect that tourists visit the sacred ground and thus pay tribute to the heroes who there laid down their lives.

Four routes starting from Verdun lead to the most famous battle areas.

_1st Route._ The right bank of the Meuse and the forts of Tavannes, Vaux, Souville and Douaumont.

_2nd Route._ The left bank of the Meuse, Cumières, Mort-Homme, Hill 304 and the "Sacred Way".

_3rd Route._ Calonne Trenches, Éparges Ridge and the Woëvre plain.

The battlefields of the Argonne adjoin on the West those of Verdun. We pick up at Esnes the route that leads to this region (2nd route opposite).

_4th Route_. Montfaucon, Romagne, Vauquois mound, Varennes, the forest of Argonne, Haute Chevauchée and the valley of the Biesme.

This volume ends with the _visit to Metz_, the Cathedral and the Place d'Armes, the Esplanade, and the new and old quarters.

_1st Route_

_Leave Verdun by the_ =porte Chaussée,= _cross the Meuse, and the fortified enclosure and turn left along the Rue d'Étain (N. 18)._

This takes one up the =Faubourg Pavé= used by relief troops holding the Vaux and Douaumont sectors.

The bombardment of this suburb was incessant until after Verdun was completely cleared in December 1916.

On the left, the tricolor floats over a military cemetery containing over 6,000 graves. This is the Faubourg Pavé cemetery.

On the crest of the hills, on the left, are the forts of Belleville, Saint-Michel and the Marceau barracks which were utterly destroyed. Here started the rear of the battlefield. Behind this crest the field kitchens of the units in the line were concealed. Every night, the fatigue parties, known as "cuistots", facing a thousand dangers started from here to take up food to the men in the line.

_Follow the Route Nationale for about 6 km.; beyond the Cabaret Rouge Inn on the right, and the Valteline ravine on the left, the road ascends. Go past the cross-road at Bellevue farm and then turn left by the road leading to_ =Tavannes fort.=

_The road runs downhill and then rises across the shattered Hospices Wood._

_Take the metalled road on the right leading to_ =Tavannes fort.=

=Tavannes Fort.=

Built of stone about 1880 it was never concreted, like Vaux and Douaumont forts. Tavannes fort dominates the ground behind the Vaux-Souville line and the Étain-Verdun road. The Germans, in their effort to reach Souville, sought by frequent bombardments to destroy the fort which resisted stubbornly, but on May 7th a 17-inch shell destroyed one of the arches and caused serious damage. Looking westwards, the horizon is bounded by the long straight line of plateaux. There are three elevations on this line, three points which mark the tragic battlefield of Verdun; on the left the Saint-Michel fort which immediately dominates the basin of Verdun; in the centre nearer still, Souville fort; and finally, further away, on the right, Douaumont.

_Return to the road by which the fort was reached and turn into it on the right, following it for about 300 metres until you come to the fork._

At this fork the road passes above =Tavannes tunnel=. By following to the left the line of telegraph poles the West entrance is reached.

Although the entrances were constantly shelled by enemy artillery, this tunnel was used as a shelter for the reserves of the Vaux-Souville sector and as a munitions depot. Bunks were fitted up in three superimposed rows, 300 to 450 feet in length, and separated by spaces, where those who could not find bunks slept as they could on the ground. Despite the ventilating shafts in this tunnel 1,500 metres long, the air remained foul owing to the stenches of all kinds. On the night of September 4th-5th a grenade depot blew up, causing many victims.

_At the fork, take the road on the right to Vaux Fort. At a sharp bend on this road, the Tavannes ravine, where the railway from Verdun to Metz runs, dips down to the plain of the Woëvre._

The road rises to a plateau formerly wooded but now only a kind of brownish moorland, dotted with tree stumps. On the left can be seen what remains of Vaux-Chapitre Wood and, on the right, the remnants of Laufée and Chênois woods.

By crossing Horgne ravine an open plateau is reached, at the end of which is silhouetted a kind of rock, rugged and uneven "like sandbanks thrown up by a mighty sea over the ages". This rock is Vaux fort.

=Vaux Fort.=

Built of masonry about 1880 and afterwards reconstructed in reinforced concrete, the fort was only completed in 1911. Smaller and less powerful than Douaumont fort, it dominates the plateau to the south of Vaux ravine and the reverse side of Douaumont plateau. Hence its importance.

To follow the battles which were unfolded round Vaux fort, let us climb on to the superstructure of the fort. From there a huge panorama lies before our eyes.

To the north is seen a deep ravine, Bazil ravine, at the bottom of which glistens Vaux pool. Vaux village, situated more to the right, has totally disappeared, Meusien station has been rebuilt there, its red-tiled roof shewing vividly against the dark mass of Hardaumont Ridge.

On the left, the ground rises towards a crest, forming the slopes of Fausse-Côte and Caillette woods. The projection on the crest is Douaumont fort.

On the right, the Woëvre plain extends to the horizon: in clear weather the blue line of the Moselle Heights is visible. The plain is overlooked by hills, on the nearest of which was the site of the Damloup battery. At the foot are the ruins of Damloup village where the Horgne ravine starts.

_The moat has been filled up by the bombardment._]

=The battle round Vaux. Attacks of March and April 1916.=

During the early days of March 1916, the Germans reached the crest on the horizon, to the north of Vaux fort, from Douaumont to Hardaumont redoubt.

To storm the entrance to Bazil ravine by capturing the village and Vaux pool, then to outflank the fort by the ravine at the same time as they delivered a frontal attack, such was the manoeuvre which the enemy intended to attempt in March and April.

On March 1st, in front of Vaux village and fort, the French front was held by the 303rd Brigade (Naulin), 408th and 409th Regiments, which were going to be reinforced by the arrival of the 1st, 3rd and 31st Battalions of chasseurs and parts of the 38th, 86th, 158th, 149th infantry Regiments and the 71st territorial Regiment.

From March 6th to 11th the enemy, regardless of sacrifices, attacked madly in mass.

They reached the western edge of the village but were driven back at the point of the bayonet. Barricades blocked the main street of the village which was defended at all costs.

The enemy were so eager that they made a direct attack on the fort. The attacking waves climbed the brow. The slopes, which are very steep to start with, concealed them and gave them protection, but as soon as they reached the more gradual slopes leading to the fort, they were mown to the ground and fled back in disorder, leaving more than 200 corpses in front of the barbed wire.

The attack of March 9th was made with such confidence in their victory that the German commander announced in his communiqué: "Vaux village and fort, after a strong artillery preparation, were captured in a brilliant night attack by the 6th and 19th Posen Regiments".

On the next day, to justify this lying message, a new attack was ordered, which failed in spite of a deluge of fire rained upon the shell of the fort.

Colonel Naulin, commanding the 303rd Brigade, wrote in his report: "This period is particularly trying, especially from March 9th onwards. The iron rations have been eaten up: food supplies no longer reach us and we are out of water: on the 10th and 11th the garrison is reduced to drinking melted snow. In spite of everything, the morale has never been better. The men realise that the sacrifices cheerfully made have not been in vain and that behind them, Vaux fort though battered beyond recognition is still ours...."

_On the left, Bazil ravine and the tip of Vaux pool._

_In the centre, the village ranging along the northern slopes of hill containing Vaux fort._]

_In the background, the hill where Vaux fort is situated._]

Losses were however, heavy on both sides, the 303rd Brigade when relieved having lost 2,500 men and 65 officers.

On the 31st, fighting broke out afresh. In the village of Vaux, the attackers surrounded the garrison which made its escape and clung to the Western outskirts.

_A signaler reaches the fort._]

On April 2nd, a fresh enemy division swarmed down the southern slopes of Caillette wood and reached Bazil ravine. It was a serious moment. Douaumont was outflanked to the South, and Vaux to the West.

The 3rd Corps (Nivelle) was rushed to the relief, the 5th Division (Mangin) at the head; Mangin had only the 74th Regiment available at the moment. There was no time to lose. Mangin reached Souville where he turned and said to the colonel of the 74th who accompanied him: "My friend, no half-measures here but get to close quarters with the Boches and get after them with bombs".

The 74th and then the whole 9th Brigade crossed Bazil ravine, which was filled with gas, cleared Caillette wood with bombs and at the point of the bayonet, and held fast to the recaptured line, repelling all counter-attack.

On April 9th and 10th the enemy again attacked unsuccessfully in front of the fort but captured Vaux village.

=The June attacks.=

At the beginning of June the enemy planned to make violent attacks upon Vaux fort.

Occupying the village, they held the head of Bazil ravine. Their plan was to outflank the fort simultaneously on the West by Fumin ravine and wood and on the South-East by Horgne ravine.

On June 1st, in front of Damloup, their attack failed, but in the centre the bombardment overwhelmed and almost buried the 6th French Division which barred the Bazil ravine.

Deploying from the ravine the enemy advanced through Fumin wood.

On June 2nd, after the fall of Damloup, the enemy progressed through Horgne ravine. The fort, pounded by a storm of 210, 380, and 420 shells was threatened simultaneously from 3 sides, and closely besieged. Survivors from the trenches at hand took refuge in the fort. In the redoubt to the west of the fort a handful of foot-soldiers of the 101st died fighting to the last man.

The Germans reorganised on the flanks of the hill and repulsed all counter-attacks.

_On the horizon, Douaumont fort._ (Photo Martin Collardelle.)]

=The capture of the Fort (June 3rd-8th).=

On June 3rd, at dawn, a wave of German pioneers crept through the fog and smoke, eluding the look-out men at the fort, captured the Casemates on the North Moat (_Photo above_), then got down into the half-filled moat, and crept stealthily along the funnels on to the superstructure of the fort, where they put their machine guns in position.

Since March, the fort and its surroundings had received no less than 8,000 heavy shells every day. The Commandant Raynal, who was O. C. of the fort, was imprisoned underground with his men. The garrison, regularly composed of the 6th company, a company of machine guns of the 142nd and about 40 artillery men and sappers was augmented by two companies of the 142nd, a company of the 101st and a company of machine guns of the 53rd who had taken refuge there.

To economise food and water, the surplus contingents were ordered by Commandant Raynal to leave the fort. On the night of the 4th-5th, a first detachment of the 142nd made its escape under the direction of Lieutenant Buffet, who returned next evening to the fort bringing orders. On the night of the 5th a hundred more men managed to get away. Carrier pigeons and optical signals soon furnished the only means of communication.

On the afternoon of the 4th, the last pigeon was released. On the morning of the 5th, thanks to two signalmen who volunteered to change a signal post which the Commandant had difficulty in observing, communications were maintained.

On the evening of the 5th, Commandant Raynal sent his last message that could be read in its entirety, and which ended: "We have reached the limit, officers and soldiers have done their duty. Long live France". Nevertheless, the fort continued to hold out and refused to surrender.

On the night of the 6th, 7th, reinforcements tried to relieve it and reached the moat, but after losing nearly all their officers they were compelled to fall back.

_View of the north casemate demolished by the bombardment._]

The Germans who had gained a footing in the ruins of the superstructure, were only able to drive the French out of the casemates by lowering baskets of grenades with time fuses and by spurting liquid fire and asphyxiating gas.

Driven back in the underground passages, the defenders continued the fight with grenades and bayonets. The sand bags which were used to barricade the passages were thrown into the air by the rending explosions. Attackers ran at every turn against machine guns or bombers.

"Captain Tabourot, who was defending the north-east gate, lies writhing in agony, wounded in the stomach and with broken legs. The aid post is a hell where hundreds of wounded lie parched with thirst in the stinking darkness of paraffin lamps. Water is unobtainable. The stench increases, in the atmosphere of smoke and gas it is impossible to breathe. On the 7th, at 3.50 a.m. the fort signals again, and these are the only words that are read "... at the bitter end.... Vive la France!" (L. GILLET).

The 2nd regiment of Zouaves and the Colonial regiment of Morocco made a last effort on the morning of the 8th to relieve the garrison. They reached the approaches of the fort, from which clouds of thick black smoke, caused by a violent explosion in one of the casemates, were pouring. Exposed to the fire of the enemy machine-guns installed in the superstructure of the fort and attacked by constantly increasing reinforcements, they were unable to hold their ground.

On the 8th, at 4 p.m. when the German communiqué announced the capture of the fort, the heroic defenders were at last overpowered, the unwounded among them not having tasted a drop of water for two days.

By winning the admiration of the enemy, the Commandant Raynal was allowed to keep his sword in captivity and his heroic men were accorded special treatment.

Five months later, on November 2nd, after the victory of Douaumont, the Germans hurriedly evacuated the fort.

_Under the escort of one of the garrison the interior of the fort may be viewed._

Notice in the passages the marks made by bursting bombs. The dummy barricades with loop holes which obstruct the passages were built by the French in 1917, after the recapture of the fort, they replace the walls of sandbags which Commandant Raynal's heroic garrison had put up.

_On leaving Vaux fort, return along the same road to the fork of Tavannes tunnel._

A hundred metres beyond the first bend on this road, the furthest line reached by the Germans in September 1916 is crossed: this line then runs down to the left to Woëvre, passing between Damloup battery, captured on July 11th 1916, and Laufée redoubt.

_The whole field of battle is entirely pounded up. A few rudimentary trenches can only be discerned with difficulty here and there._

_The woods which used to cover the plateau of Vaux fort and the slopes of Horgne ravine have disappeared.--The much worn surface looks like a sponge._]

a. Froideterre Hill.--b. Thiaumont Redoubt.--c. Douaumont Mortuary.--d. Douaumont Fort.--e. Hardaumont Crest.--f. Vaux Fort.]

=The panorama from Souville fort.=

_At the fork at Tavannes tunnel, turn right towards_ =Souville fort= _seen immediately in front._

On the right, the ruins of Tunnel and Hôpital batteries; on the left, the ravine of Hôpital wood, with trees denuded of branches. This ravine was crammed with artillery batteries which were daily subjected to fire and deluged with poison gas.

The road turns to the right, at the foot of the escarpments of Souville fort, the shapeless mass of which dominates the ridge. After passing the ridge, the vast panorama of the Souville-Douaumont battlefield unfolds itself. This was "the supreme arena, captured and recaptured, the holy of holies of this sacred ground" where the soil has been ploughed and blistered with thousands of furrows like as it were to a cataclysm unprecedented in nature. No one can regard unaffectedly this battlefield, unique in the world, the furnace where for ten months millions of men fought face to face and nearly 700,000 laid down their lives.

To understand properly the battle which look place before Souville in June and July 1916, let us examine from left to right the vast panorama reproduced above.

On the left the horizon is bounded by the long Froideterre hill. (It was on this crest that the mortuary of Douaumont was afterwards built). On this straight line stand out conspicuously Froideterre and Thiaumont redoubts, then the ridge rises appreciably towards Douaumont fort which crowns the highest point, 388 metres.

Between Thiaumont and Douaumont a tricolor floats above the temporary mortuary of Douaumont. Lower the cemetery of Fleury is conspicuous by a big white patch, and the site of the village is a little more to the left on the reverse of a slight slope encircled, from East to West, by the ravines of Poudrière and Vignes. Nearer, at the cross-roads, is the site of Chapelle-Sainte-Fine; the road which branches off to the right plunges into Fontaines ravine and leads to Vaux.

To the right of Douaumont, the ridge drops slowly towards Hardaumont hill, separated from Vaux Fort hill by Bazil ravine.

Between Souville and Vaux stretch the old woods of Vaux-Chapitre, Fumin and Chênois.

=The battle in front of Souville (June 1916).=

Thiaumont redoubt, Froideterre hill, Fleury and Souville fort formed the last powerful barrier which the enemy, in June 1916, wanted to break through in order to get an uninterrupted view of the basin of Verdun.

With Souville captured, the enemy dominated the town at a distance of hardly two miles, while the defenders in acute danger were driven back upon the last zone Belleville, Saint-Michel, with the Meuse immediately behind.

Time was getting on and the enemy felt themselves menaced on the Somme and the eastern front. This is the time for success the Kaiser announced. A German officer, taken prisoner before the attack, was reported to have said "The capture of Verdun was anticipated in four days". A curious map distributed to each one of the attackers and later found on the prisoners showed the various stages to Verdun and with false figures of distances the road from Verdun to Paris.

From Froideterre to Vaux fort the French line was held by the 11th and 6th Corps (Mangin and Paulinie).

From the 21st, an unprecedented bombardment was directed upon the zone Froideterre-Fleury-Souville-Tavannes. The ridges were set on fire, smoking like volcanoes and black and yellow smoke clouds rose from all the ravines. It was a continuous bombardment, marked every now and then by the terrific bursts of enormous shells of 380 and 420 calibre which deluged down upon Froideterre, Souville and Tavannes.

On the evening of the 22nd, the enemy, to complete his task of annihilation, poured down upon the plateau of Souville, the ravines, the battery emplacements, and the tracks nearly 200,000 gas shells. The atmosphere became unbearable to the point of suffocation. The enemy expected to meet with no further resistance, so certain were they of having annihilated artillery, food and supply convoys, and supports.

Nevertheless, reinforcements proceeded up to the "furnace", under the protection of gas masks, stooping under the weight of their packs, stumbling in shell-holes, while shells were falling about them on all sides.

"All night long, the troops climbed this Calvary. In the morning, tired out, they would withstand the shock of the attacking infantry."

At daybreak on the 23rd, the bombardment reached an intensive fury.

"Masked, blinded, half-suffocated and half-buried in the earth thrown up by the incessant shell-fire, the troops in the line of the Garbit, Toulorge Giraudun Divisions knew perfectly that, when the tornado lifts, that moment would be the signal for the attack. They waited (and what a waiting that was!) on ground churned up by fire, listening to the pitiful cries of the wounded, and with the dead to keep them company. They waited, controlling their nerves, all on edge but strung towards one object, one idea, never to give ground but to fight and hold on. The sentries wiped with their benumbed fingers the glasses of their periscopes, and peered into the smoking horizon. The barrage lifts, the enemy are leaving their trenches, Ah! here they come!" (H. BORDEAUX: _La Bataille devant Souville_).

It was 7 a.m. when across the hills and by all the ravines converging on the plateau, Couleuvre and Dame ravines which lead to Froideterre, Caillette and Bazil ravines which lead to Fleury, Fontaines ravine which extends from Vaux towards Souville, the thin columns wended their way, 80,000 "feldgrau": Bavarians, chasseurs of the Alpine Corps, troops inured to hardship, advanced on the 5 kilometre front.

In the first line, the storm battalions marched in mass formation, preceded by an extended line of bombers who held the handle of their bombs and leapt from hole to hole. In the rear, supporting troops assembled in the ravines. The French batteries kept up an incessant barrage, harrying these ravines which became charnel-houses of blood, poisoned with gas fumes.

On Froideterre hill, Thiaumont redoubt was forced to capitulate with its garrison. Attacked from front and flank, the chasseurs of the 121st Battalion struggled, outnumbered ten to one, and hand-to-hand fighting took place along the whole front of the battalion which was encircled, only sixty chasseurs being able to escape with their lives from the encounter. Through this breach in the line 4 Bavarian companies burst through as far as Froideterre redoubt. But the obstinate defence of Thiaumont enabled the 114th Battalion of chasseurs to come up, who then deployed, "as though on parade" and by a dashing display with bayonet and grenade harassed and overwhelmed the Bavarians who, for a moment, had got possession of Froideterre redoubt.

In the centre, Fleury village was outflanked. A battalion of the Alpine corps who had succeeded in crossing Bazil ravine before the lifting of the French barrage, hurled themselves against Fleury and gained a footing in the western outskirts.

Before Souville, fortunately, the main German attack was broken by the 307th Brigade (Colonel Bordeaux). The 407th Infantry Regiment held the line on the wooded slopes of Vaux-Chapitre. The right held on without giving way, but on the left contact was broken through a gap being made: this enabled the Germans to fall upon the defenders in rear. It was a critical moment, saved by the Colonel of the 407th who had posted several machine gun batteries near his headquarters, and was able to slow down the attacking waves. At the same time he improvised a force of reserves, adding telephonists, stretcher-bearers, pioneers, orderlies and cooks, and with these he attacked the enemy who were surprised and fell back.

The Souville road was still barred. The fort, where so many heroic artillery observers had been buried or blown to pieces by the bombardment, continued to remain the ever-alert sentinel of the battlefield.

The flags of the attacking German regiments, which had been sent up from the depots to the front to be unfurled in captured Verdun, were sent back to the rear by higher orders.

But the enemy had not yet finished his attempts to force the barrier. They captured Thiaumont and Fleury, and on July 11th they intended to try, by way of Poudrière and Vignes ravines, to outflank Souville fort on the West while at the same time making a direct attack upon the north slopes (_Plan p. 78_).

In front of Souville, the line was held by the 131st Infantry Division (Duport) and in front of Vaux fort by the 79th (Mordrelle), reinforced by the 128th Infantry Division (Riberpray).

In the Vaux sector the attack failed.

But on the left of the battle, the enemy passed Fleury and penetrated into Poudrière and Vignes ravines. On the 12th, at daybreak, they captured Chapelle Sainte-Fine, thereby threatening Souville fort. The enemy quickened his pace and climbed the slopes of the fort, with the French barrage playing right on them. Under this rain of fire the attackers swerved and a final headlong rush carried 150 Germans to the summit of the fort, "like the edges of foam from a packet steamer which dissolves into spray". All were captured or killed in an instant in the moats. The Germans could not take Souville.

_From the slopes of Souville, go down to the cross roads of_ =Chapelle Sainte-Fine,= _where the memorial (page 79) marks the limit of the German advance before Verdun._

_From Chapelle Sainte-Fine, Vaux pool may be reached on the right by following the famous Fontaines ravine, between the stumps and the brushwood of Vaux-Chapitre wood and Fumin wood._

_Five hundred metres from the cross roads of Chapelle Sainte-Fine, on the right_, is =Haie Renard=, the scene of one of those undying exploits which contributed to the safety of Verdun. On August 1st 1916 the Germans had progressed as far as this crest which dominates the head of Fontaines ravine.

On August 5th, the enemy by a hustling attack on the 10th Regiment and the left of the 56th, forced a new indentation in the line whereby the position of the 4th Zouaves was threatened, more to the west. The colonel realising the danger decided to counter-attack in the neighbouring sector, but his whole reserve only numbered 24 zouaves, a pioneer section commanded by Lieutenant Charles.

The position was acute: on the other side of the ravine the Germans were continually advancing. The Colonel sent his section into action. The men fell to the bottom of the ravine which was beaten down by 150's, then crossed the road, and climbed up in the face of the enemy's fire. Lieutenant Charles calmly reorganised the line. This little band lay on the ground and fired full at the enemy.

Presently the order to charge with the bayonet was given: every man got ready. The leader rose and with a cry of "Advance" the Zouaves leapt forward. Disconcerted and wavering the Germans turned tail and raised their arms: those who resisted were run through and forty prisoners were sent back to the rear under charge of one man, for by this time Lieutenant Charles had only 7 Zouaves left. With his 7 Zouaves, 2 men and one sergeant of the 56th Lieutenant Charles held the recaptured line. In the middle of the night this handful of heroes was relieved by an entire battalion.

_On the right, Bazil ravine; on the left, Fontaines ravine._]

_Continue towards_ =Vaux pool= _and stop a hundred metres from the pool._

_Make your way to Vaux pool on foot between the crests of Hardaumont and of Vaux fort._

_Make a half turn and come back by the same road as far as the Chapelle Sainte-Fine cross roads. Then continue some 40 metres, taking the turn on the right to_ =Douaumont.=

_In the foreground, on the crest, big calibre shells bursting. Then just behind, Poudrière ravine. The first white blot in the middle of the photograph is the Fleury sector. In the background, amid the smoke of exploding shells, Froideterre Hill and Thiaumont._]

_About 500 metres from the cross-roads is the site, on the left, of_ =Fleury village.= A slight raising of the soil is the only sign that is left that a village once existed. Captured on June 23rd, 1916, Fleury village was not definitely freed until August 18th, after two month's incessant fighting.

On June 26th, the 114th Battalion of chasseurs clung to the borders south and west of the village. On July 15th, in an attack made by the 3rd Zouaves, one battalion lost all its officers. On August 2nd, the 56th and 10th Infantry Regiments captured the station to the south of the village, with 350 prisoners and 11 machine guns. Next day, some units of the 207th crossed the village but they ran short of ammunition so that after a close combat somewhat ill-matched, they had to withdraw to their original line. On August 4th, the 134th Infantry Regiment captured some buildings, as also did the 8th Tirailleurs four days later.

On August 10th, at length, the colonial regiment of Morocco planned a systematic capture of the village. From the 10th to the 16th, they advanced to the sap and organised their starting points. On August 18th, supported by a battalion of the 8th Tirailleurs, the colonials attacked singing the _Marseillaise_ and the _Anthem of the Marines_. Two battalions encircled the village, but in the centre each shell-hole and every hollow had become a miniature fort to be stormed in the teeth of machine gun fire. Next day was a fight of knives and bombs. At night a hundred surviving Germans gave themselves up. After the capture of the village the enemy concentrated a terrific artillery fire on it, and up to September they endeavoured to retake the ruins.

_The Southern edges of Fleury, in July 1916._

_The Main Street of Fleury, in July 1916._

_A trench in the ruins of Fleury, in October 1916._]

_One kilometre beyond the ruins of Fleury, the road divides; the left fork leads straight to Bras, but take the right hand one as far as the road to Douaumont fort, 300 metres to the right._

On the crest =Thiaumont redoubt= stands out prominently. To the left of the redoubt is Froideterre Hill, which was, at the end of June and July 1916, a palpitating centre of the battle. Thiaumont is, in fact, at the junction of several ravines, where Douaumont crest joins Froideterre and that of Thiaumont joins Souville. For three months the rival artilleries poured their fire on this tragic mound. The redoubt was almost pulverised and buried under these terrific bombardments, changing hands 16 times in all. Recaptured by the 128th, on June 30th, it was held by the 202nd Regiment when, on July 4th, the 6th Regiment of Prussian Guards attacked it after a tremendous bombardment.

The colonel of the 202nd, though lying wounded on a stretcher, assisted the commander who took his place. The latter took with him at all risks, to sound his orders, a bugler who had not finished his training and did not know much about bugling. Moreover, his instrument was far from perfect.

"Sound all the same", ordered the commandant, "Sound every time you see the Boche".

_The communicating trench in the foreground was levelled everyday by heavy shells and remade at night._]

Though he extracted from his instrument some dreadful noises, the bugler conscientiously carried out his job, which made him a target for any number of projectiles. By his side in the same shell-hole a "feldwebel", captured at the outset of the action, was poking fun at him. When questioned, he arrogantly replied: "In half an hour, the Prussian guard will be here. You will see".

Provoked by this, the commandant shouted in his face: "You do not know my soldiers, it is they whom you will see". Then and there the commandant led a brilliant counter-attack which threw the enemy back on the Thiaumont road.

When the commandant returned to his post, the bugler blew a blast as loud as an ass brays: the "feldwebel" stood to attention, saluted and said "The French are brave, yes, brave": But he added, throwing a provoking glance upon the bugler: "Their music is ... rotten".

_In the foreground, the barbed wire entanglements in front of the French line._]

=Douaumont fort.=

_The gorge of the fort_ with its heaped up moats _is now reached_.

_Climb on to the superstructure of the fort_, a kind of rough and devastated field where grass grows and the wind whistles.

Several French 400 shells and a German 420 have broken the thick shell of the fort; deep funnels mark their track.

From Douaumont fort, southwards, the plateau falls and ends in wooded slopes which overhang Bazil ravine: these are Caillette and Fausse-Côte woods. Above rise Vaux fort, then to the right Tavannes, and next Souville. The plateau which contains Douaumont extends to Froideterre Hill.

Turning towards the valley of the Meuse, the monument of "Bayonet Trench" can be seen about 1,500 metres away, the site of Douaumont village being half-way. Beyond the monument are the slopes which surround Dame and Helly ravines. On the horizon are outlined the heights of the left bank of the Meuse, Mort-Homme and Hill 304. The peak of Montfaucon also rises on the horizon.

To the north is the battlefield of the surprise attack of February 21st-25th. The plateau is marked with small hills and culminates at Hill 378, Vauche wood with its skeletony trees standing out: further to the right are two adjoining mounds, the Ornes twins, and finally to the West, by the Hardaumont Hill, the plateau falls on the plain of Woëvre.

_In front of the entanglements, the path leading up to the superstructure of the fort._]

=The capture of Douaumont fort (February 25th 1916).=

For four days the German infantry, advancing from the crests which formed the horizon to the North (the twin Ornes, Caures wood), made ground in the region of woods and ravines lying before the slopes of Douaumont, despite the heroic sacrifices of the 37th Division, the Chasseurs (2nd and 4th Battalions) of the 20th Corps and the 31st Brigade (Reibell), all hopelessly outnumbered.

On the 25th the enemy, encouraged by their advance, hurried forward their attacks. Near Vauche wood they climbed the slopes leading to the plateau of Douaumont. The units composing the van of the 24th Brandenburgers had orders to halt and reorganise about 800 metres from the barbed wire entanglements of the fort. One of the lieutenants commanding a company of this regiment decided, however, to take a chance and push on to the fort situated on the crest which was covered with snow. The company advanced under cover of patrols and made a breach in the entanglements. They then discovered the side casemates and, seeing no one, they slithered along the poles in the moats and then climbed up the wall of the scarp on a bank of snow. In this way they gained an entry into the fort which was only held by the turret artillerymen and a few engineers who were surprised and powerless.

The attackers were presently joined by another company of the same regiment.

The French officer in command of the fort had been misled by the snow storm into taking the attacking party for Frenchmen who were falling back and consequently made no effort to stop them.

Why was Douaumont fort almost unmanned?

After the fall, in 1914, of Liége and Maubeuge forts, the high Command had decided against garrisoning forts, and for merging the garrisons with the troops in the field.

Suddenly, on February 25th 1916, the fort till then in the third line, became the first line of defence and moreover at the junction of two units already widely deployed. On that particular day, the staff of General Balfourier which took the place of that of General Chrétien did not imagine for an instant that the fort was so denuded of defenders. Hence this unfortunate incident.

=The French attack of May 22nd 1916.=

Douaumont became an excellent observation post for the enemy. On May 22nd, the 10th Brigade of Mangin's division intended to try and capture it.

From the 19th to the 22nd the French heavy guns bombarded the fort. On the 20th, the bursting of a 400 shell caused a tremendous fire in the fort, which blew up a munitions depot and annihilated a whole battalion, according to prisoners' accounts.

On the 22nd, at midday, the 129th Line Regiment occupied the west part of the fort, but the 74th, unable to take the east part, held on to the crest about 200 metres away.

During the night and the day of the 23rd, the enemy artillery pounded the narrow salient recaptured by the French. A battalion of the 74th lost 75% of its effectives.

On the 24th, the 1st Bavarian Corps reserved for the attack on the left bank of the Meuse, recaptured the fort and its approaches from the decimated troops of the 10th Brigade.

=The Victory of Douaumont (October 24th 1916).=

For five months the enemy progressed inch by inch from Douaumont fort to Chapelle Sainte-Fine. In a few hours on October 24th, Mangin's troops were destined to recapture all this field of battle.

On October 24th a dense fog overhung the whole plateau, but Mangin decided to attack all the same. At 11.40 a.m. three attacking divisions were launched.

They marched by the compass without hurrying, in good order and with assurance, over muddy ground, full of holes, where it was essential to avoid sinking in or stumbling. At first observation posts were useless but several aeroplanes went up, and as masters of the air and flying very low, they followed the progress of the troops and kept the Commander informed.

West of the fort, on Froideterre Hill, the "tirailleurs" of the Guyot de Salins division captured Thiaumont redoubt at a single dash, which had cost so much blood and effort. While the "tirailleurs" were consolidating the captured positions, the zouaves went through them and hurled themselves upon the village of Douaumont, outflanking the fort to the west.

East of the fort, chasseurs and foot soldiers of the Passaga division advanced towards Hardaumont Hill, crossed Bazil ravine, without check, and captured Caillette woods.

General Ancelin who commanded the left brigade of the division was killed at the start of the engagement.

The dense fog, which had concealed the starting of the attacking waves and had enabled them to reach the railway without having a single shell directed at them, cleared and showed Douaumont fort on the left.

This view magnetised the chasseurs and foot soldiers. A soldier waved a flag on the muzzle of his rifle, while another man, standing on the crest, madly sounded the charge.

But Douaumont fort was the prime objective and upon a Colonial regiment from Morocco, the one that captured Fleury, fell the glorious task of taking it.

Croll's battalion was to surround the fort, then go beyond and cut it off while Nicolay's battalion was to attack and enter it, drive out the enemy and take up their position there. However, in the thick fog, this battalion inclined too much to the West and was late. The captain commanding the first wave of Croll's battalion not catching sight of his comrades, instead of going round the fort, took the initiative of crossing the superstructure. There his men fell in with foot soldiers of the 321st Infantry Regiment the extreme left wing of Passaga's division, who were trying to find touch with the Colonials. The battalion came up at the very moment when the fog lifted and revealed the fort.