Chapter III: Conclusion (2)

"With the French aeroplane cruising low just over the fort", wrote Commander Nicolay in his report, "the battalion approaches the moats in single column line, their leaders in front and rifles slung. Then they climb the steep slopes of the rampart gorge. On reaching the top of this rampart, they find in front of them the mouths of the casemates wide open, and, further forward, the court in an extraordinary state of disorder. In front of this chaos which the great fort had become, emblem of determination and power marvellously recovered, the heads of the column stand still and gaze. The battalion commander, who had halted for a moment at the bottom of the moat to see the movement was correctly carried out, rejoins at this instant the head, and while paying homage to this sacred and unforgettable sight, he gives orders to attack the machine guns which start to fire from the bottom of the casemates. This first resistance is overcome, and everyone reaches his objective (the operation having been fully rehearsed before the attack). All opposition from the turrets is likewise successively dealt with".

The superstructure of the fort was conquered. There remained the posts and the corridors to be attacked: bombers made themselves responsible for these and in a short while a hundred prisoners, including four officers, were brought in with 10 machine guns, 2 cannons, provisions and material of all kinds.

The prisoners assisted their conquerors in putting out the fire which was still burning.

During the night the line was advanced 400 metres more to the North. Douaumont fort, the famous "corner-stone" of the defence of Verdun, lost by surprise on a day of grief, was recaptured in a magnificent dash.

On the following December 15th, a new French offensive cleared the Douaumont line 2 miles more to the North, thus robbing the enemy of any possibility of re-taking the fort.

_Visit the interior of the fort under the escort of one of the guard._

At the entrance, a casemate has been burst open by a French 400 shell.

The lower structure of the fort, corridors, casemates and rooms are almost intact.

In one casemate is a small museum of shells, grenades, trench mortars, machine guns and all kinds of respirators.

_East of the fort the monument erected in honour of the 3rd battalion of the 74th Infantry Regiment can be reached._

_On the other side, to the West, the tourist can go as far as the ruins of Douaumont village._

=Douaumont village.=

It was chiefly in front of this village that the surprise attack of February 21st was checked.

On the evening of February 25th, zouaves and the "tirailleurs" rescued it. From the 26th to the 28th, the 5th German Infantry Division made five furious attacks, but were unable to break down the resistance of the 95th Line Regiment and units of the 153rd Division which were defending the village. On March 2nd, after a preliminary bombardment which destroyed the village and isolated the battalion holding it, the 113th German Infantry Division attacked about 1.15 p.m., North and East. The Germans wore French helmets as they advanced. After a second bombardment the enemy again attacked, overwhelming the defenders, one company of whom resisted to the last man. The remains of the French battalion took their stand fifty metres South-East of the village and prevented the enemy from debouching. On the 3rd, two battalions of the 172nd and 174th Line Regiments retook the village at the point of the bayonet. During the night the Germans counter-attacked twice unsuccessfully with heavy loss, 800 dead being counted in front of one of the French trenches. On the 4th a third and more powerful counter-attack succeeded in driving the French from the village, but broke down against new positions 200 yards to the south.

_Return to the Thiaumont road._

_Continue to the left, towards the crest where the_ =temporary mortuary of Douaumont= _is situated._

A memorial fund to the Defenders of Verdun is being raised for the purpose of erecting a mortuary in the centre of the battlefield, on a lofty point giving a clear view of the whole area. (_See the yellow pages at the beginning of the Guide_). The memorial will include, besides the mortuary, a large Catholic chapel and a mausoleum of each religion.

The remains will not be all placed together, as is the case in most existing mortuaries, but will be collected according to the sectors where they were found and placed in a hundred separate tombs. By this arrangement those who mourn a lost hero can kneel before a particular tomb with the hope that his remains are there.

On August 22nd, 1920, Marshal Pétain, honorary President of the Committee, laid the foundation stone of the permanent mortuary. That of the Catholic chapel was laid with the co-operation of M. James A. Flaherty, supreme head of the Chevaliers of Colomb.

_It will shine forth at night over the immortal battlefield of Verdun._]

_On the right, the trench leading to the porch of the monument._]

="Bayonet Trench".=

_From Douaumont mortuary, go down towards the monument of Bayonet Trench. The road passes through the ruins of Thiaumont farm, which once adjoined this road._

Near the bend in the road rises the monument of "Bayonet Trench", erected to the memory of the heroes of the 137th through the generosity of the American citizen, George F. Rand.

How were the foot soldiers of the 137th buried alive? Many stories centre round this tragic episode. The following version of the story is vouched for by one of the surviving officers, Lieutenant Foucher:

"Setting out from the citadelle of Verdun on June 9th 1916, the 1st battalion of the 137th reached the line on the night of the 10th-11th and relieved the 337th.

"Bayonet Trench" lay on the right of the 3rd company and on the left of the 4th company. On the morning of June 11th, a violent bombardment took place, lasting all that day and part of the night. During the course of the 11th under the bombardment of shells of 150, 210 and larger calibre, the trench assumed the appearance from which it gained its name. The men were awaiting the attack with fixed bayonets, but their rifles were propped against the parapet within reach, for they had in their hands bombs to be used as a first means of repelling the probable attack. Shells falling in front, behind and on the trench broke in the edges of the latter, burying our brave Vendéens and Bretons. Owing to the men not having their rifles in their hands, the bayonets stuck out after the collapse of the trenches. From that evening, June 11th 1916, the trench kept the appearance which it was found still to bear at the Armistice."

_carried out by M. E. Brandt, art iron-worker (101, Boulev. Murat, Paris)._]

_On the horizon, Poivre Hill._]

_Return to the car._

_The road merges into_ =Dame ravine.= Formerly, Nawé wood extended to the left, but now not even the stumps remain, so churned up is the ground. From the ridge to the bottom of the ravine the soil is pitted with shell-holes.

From June to October 1916, the first German lines ran over the ridge which stands out on the left. On October 24th 1916, the day of the victory of Douaumont, the Zouaves and the "tirailleurs" of the 36th Division cleared these slopes which were honeycombed with dug-outs. All who were cowering in these shelters gave up without a show of fight. An officer of high rank, was captured as he was getting out of bed and a quarter-master was made prisoner with all his mail.

During the following night, Sergeant Julien of the 4th Zouaves, returning from a ration party was captured by the Germans who were still occupying a dug-out. However, he took a high tone with them, telling them of the fall of Douaumont, and invited them to give themselves up in their turn, then and there. He so impressed them that they soon laid down their arms. He then collected them and brought back to the rear of the French lines his magnificent "bag", a company and six officers.

_At a turning in the road_ =Haudromont Quarries= are shortly visible. Their steep white walls show up against the clay of the hill. The enemy had cut galleries in the stone, proof against the heaviest shells.

These quarries were captured from the enemy at the time of the taking of Douaumont by the 11th Infantry Regiment, who on the left wing extended the general attacking front.

The infantrymen set out, singing: "We shall get in the quarries when the Boches are no longer there ...", and surrounded the quarries from the North. They encircled the defenders, firing on them from top to bottom, while the Germans who had taken up their refuge there protracted the resistance. The fight continued with bombs in the galleries until evening.

_From_ =Haudromont= _quarries a further 300 metres to the right is_ =Helly ravine.=

On the left is Couleuvre ravine, to which the battered slopes of Chauffour wood, captured during the offensive of December 1917, descend.

These slopes are crowned on the east by Douaumont fort which is plainly silhouetted against the sky.

_Next, return to the quarries and keep straight on to_ =Bras.=

_Before reaching Bras, a road goes off to the right to_ =Poivre Hill= _and_ =Louvemont.=

_The road which goes uphill to Louvemont was reconstructed after the village in May 1921._

=Poivre Hill.=

On the evening of February 25th, the 37th Infantry Division which had suffered severely and was afraid of being outflanked on the South-East, fell back on the ridge of Froideterre. Verdun was almost unguarded in the valley of the Meuse. The 39th Division of the 20th Corps promptly reoccupied Poivre Hill and barred the road to Bras.

_In the foreground, the last train to run at the foot of Poivre Hill in February 1916. It was wrecked on the spot by artillery fire._]

The enemy endeavoured to break through this barrier, but they were enfiladed by salvoes of artillery which was in position on the left bank of the Meuse. During the entire battle of Verdun, the southern slopes of Poivre Hill and the woods which extend down the slopes on to the Meuse formed, along the edge of the Meuse, an unbroken pivot of the whole of the French line on the right bank of the Meuse.

In 1916 the Germans converted the opposite slope, north of Poivre Hill, into a regular fortress, with concrete galleries, redoubts and armed posts. On December 15th 1916, three columns of the 112th Line Regiment, supported and covered on the march by quick-firing guns, rushed this fortress, flanking the entire German line. It was a complete surprise and in half an hour Poivre Hill was in our hands. German officers were captured as they were getting out of their beds. During this same attack, but more to the east, Commander Nicolay, one of the victors of Douaumont, was killed in front of a fortified cavern.

_The tourist who wishes to see the monument of Caures wood, erected to the memory of Colonel Driant and his chasseurs will turn right at Bras, in the direction of Vacherauville, where he will turn right along G. C. 6a to Ville. The monument is situated about 4-1/2 miles from Vacherauville at the junction of the road followed with the road which branches off to Flabas (See plan p. 60)._

_Return to Vacherauville and turn left towards Verdun along R. N. 64: the road follows the Meuse, and twists round the foot of Froideterre Hill, then Belleville and Saint-Michel. Verdun is re-entered by the Porte Chaussée._

_The R. N. 64, camouflaged, crosses the village. On the right branch off the Louvemont road towards Poivre Hill, and the Douaumont road (itinerary). In the left foreground, the canal that runs parallel with the Meuse and a lock._]

_2nd Itinerary:_

THE LEFT BANK OF THE MEUSE.

_Leave Verdun by the_ =Porte de France.= _Beyond the railway bridge, keep straight along the valley of the Meuse which is dominated on the right by Belleville Hill._

_Pass through_ =Thierville= _village._

_Opposite is seen_ =Marre fort.= _At the foot of the hill on which the fort stands, turn to the right._ _Leaving on the left the farm of Villers-les-Moines, the road then climbs a small eminence, Hill 243, below which is the_ =Charny redoubt.= _The road branching off to the right crosses the railway and leads to_ =Charny.=

It was at Charny that the Germans crossed the Meuse in 1870. Here they shot the retired notary, M. Violard, on the pretext that he had aided the francs-tireurs in a surprise attack.

_The road skirts the north slopes of the hills on which stand the modern forts of_ =Vacherauville=, =Marre= _and_ =Bois-Bourrus.=

_The Church and the main street in January 1916._]

_The village in January 1917._]

=Marre= _will be found almost entirely destroyed. After passing the ruins of the church, take the right-hand road and keep straight on to_ =Cumières.= _Half-way the station is passed on the right and on the left is the road to_ =Chattancourt.=

Attacked on March 14th, and destroyed by shell fire on April 25th, =Cumières= was only captured by the enemy during the night of May 23rd-24th. On May 26th, in the evening, after a desperate struggle the French retook the eastern portion.

On May 29th and 30th, after two days of continuous bombardment, they were momentarily driven back by superior numbers towards Chattancourt, but a vigorous counter-attack brought the French again to the southern outskirts of the village. Caurettes wood, however, to the south-west of Cumières remained in the enemy's hands.

On August 20th 1917, Cumières village and wood were recaptured by a regiment of the Foreign Legion who attacked singing _La Madelon_.

_From_ =Cumières= _the road goes straight on to_ =Oie Hill.=

_From_ =Cumières,= _return to Chattancourt station and keep right along the road to_ =Chattancourt.= _About 800 metres further on the village of Chattancourt, completely levelled to the ground, is reached._

From Chattancourt the positions of =Mort-Homme= can be visited _by the road going to Bethincourt_. _Motor-cars can go as far as the top of Hill 295 or Mort-Homme, where it is necessary to turn the car round and return to Chattancourt, as the road is cut near Bethincourt by the Forges stream, which has entirely flooded the lower part of the village._

=Mort-Homme.=

Like Hill 304, Mort-Homme was one of the most fiercely disputed positions on the left bank. It consists of twin hills: No. 265 (of which the Bethincourt-Cumières road skirts the summit) and No. 295 (the Morte-Homme proper, round which the road winds on the N. E.), and formed an excellent observation post and artillery position in front of the real line of resistance.

On March 5th, 1916, the German offensive, which, until then, had been confined to the right bank of the river, developed with great violence on the left flank, progressing in six days to the slopes of Mort-Homme.

On the 14th, after a bombardment lasting five hours, sometimes at the rate of 120 shells to the minute, consisting of shells of all kinds, time-fuse, percussion, poison gas and tear gas, the enemy's infantry attack on Mort-Homme began.

The 25th Division (Debeney), under orders not to fall back, was half buried and asphyxiated. Four colonels, including Colonel Garçon commanding the brigade, and their staffs fell, rifles in hand.

Hill 265 was taken but the infantry and zouaves, by a magnificent defence, held their ground on Hill 295, the key to the entire position. A counter-attack by the 15th Regiment further drove back the attackers to the North-West counter-slopes.

On April 9th, the enemy crept up the ravine of Corbeaux wood and attacked the line between the summits of Hills 265 and 295. During a struggle of unprecedented fury lasting over four hours and foiled four times in succession, the enemy reorganised and made fresh attacks until evening. The 8th and 16th battalions of chasseurs and the 2nd battalion of the 151st Line Regiment repulsed the Germans in terrific hand-to-hand fighting. The 8th battalion of chasseurs, "the battalion of Sidi Brahim" was outflanked on the wings and fought with three fronts, determined to hold on till the last man fell.

On the 20th, the 32nd French Corps (Berthelot), in their turn, took the offensive. After a careful artillery preparation, three battalions of the 40th Infantry Division passed Hill 295 and established their line on the north slopes. The enemy counter-attacked with an effort to outflank Mort-Homme by Hayette ravine but suffered terrible losses.

On the summit of Mort-Homme, the 150th Infantry Regiment repulsed all the attacks of a determined enemy and held Hill 295.

In order to ensure a greater measure of security, orders were given to protect, by means of wire entanglements, the small defensive post at the top of the hill. As soon as night fell, a man volunteered to put the first entanglement in place and was immediately shot dead. A second man immediately took his dead comrade's place and carried on with the work. He too, was killed. The same fate befell a third man, who after seeing his two fellow-soldiers killed, volunteered to continue with the task. A fourth man brought in the three bodies of the men who had just been killed in trying to put the entanglements in position, and then volunteered to fix a fourth entanglement alongside the others. Eventually the small outpost was entirely protected, and thanks to the sacrifice of these four brave men of the 150th Regiment, the enemy's efforts failed to pierce the defences.

Finally on May 23rd, a fresh German Corps was hurled against the summit of Mort-Homme, and succeeded in gaining possession of it.

From June 9th to 24th, the enemy were unable to debouch from Mort-Homme owing to the firm stand taken up by the 15th Corps (Maud'huy).

On June 15th, more than a kilometre of trenches was actually recaptured from the enemy.

In 1917, the sector was often the scene of violent combats, the Germans ending by occupying Hills 265 and 295. In these they organised formidable defences, according to their usual practice, especially as regards deep shell-proof tunnels. During the offensive of August 20th 1917 the 31st Infantry Division recaptured Mort-Homme and its tunnels.

_Follow the clearly marked path which ascends the slopes of Mort-Homme as far as the monuments to the 40th and 69th Divisions. By following the trench a little beyond the monument to the 40th Infantry Division and to the right, one reaches the mouth of and steps down to the Bismarck tunnel. Continue along the ridge towards Corbeaux wood, from whence there is a panorama view of the valley of the Forges stream and the heights north of this valley (the old French line of March 1916). On the right can be seen Caurettes ravine with its denuded wood._

_About 200 yards in front of the edge of Corbeaux wood, a stairway with a hundred steps gives access to an enormous German tunnel, joining Forges ravine and Caurettes ravine._

This tunnel, called Corbeaux tunnel by the French and Gallwitz tunnel by the Germans was captured by the 7th tirailleurs of the famous Morocco division.

On August 20th 1917, this tunnel was passed over but the enemy still held out in it.

Zouaves and tirailleurs kept careful watch at all the exits and ventilating shafts of this immense underground cavern, and it was not until the following day that the garrison of eleven hundred men including a colonel, three battalion commanders, and all their staff gave themselves up.

_Continue as far as the northern edges of_ =Corbeaux wood.=

=Corbeaux Wood.=

The table-lands dominated by the two Mort-Homme hills are cut on the north by a ravine bounded at the bottom by Corbeaux wood. This was a favourable spot for the massing and launching of attacking troops to reach Hill 295. On March 6th, the French line was brought back to the northern edges of the wood. On the 7th, the enemy succeeded in getting a footing there, wild hand-to-hand fighting being accompanied with so much bloodshed that in many places the snow became red. On the 8th, the 92nd Infantry Regiment retook the wood in twenty minutes; on the 10th, at nightfall, the 92nd, deprived of its colonel and receiving no support from the French artillery who failed to see their rocket signals on account of the intervening wood, had to give ground inch by inch under the assault of an entire German division.

_In the background where the roads meet (Montzéville to the left, Esnes to the right), take the one on the right to Esnes._]

_Return to the car by the same path. From Mort-Homme go back to_ =Chattancourt= _and take the road on the right to_ =Esnes.= _This rather steep road climbs the northern slopes of Hill 275, bringing one to a pass from which Hill 304 may be seen opposite. Continue as far as the cross-roads where turn right to go into Esnes. After passing the ruins of Esnes church, keep straight on, taking the second turn on the right not the first which leads to Bethincourt._

_Do not take the left-hand road which ends in a very steep rough track in a bad state of repair (plan p. 118). The second road to the right twists and turns, leading to the Calvary of Esnes, from which there is a magnificent view of the battlefields on the left bank from Mort-Homme to Bois-Bourrus. At the Calvary, take the right-hand of the two roads._

This road passes between Hill 287 and the famous Hill 304.

=Hill 304.=

Hill 304, with Hills 287 and 310 South of Esnes, forms a line of natural fortresses which kept under their cross fire not only the roads of approach but also the bare glacis or the steep escarpments immediately bordering them.

The nearest sheltered approaches to Hill 304 are Avocourt and Malancourt woods. From these woods started the first attack conducted by the 11th Bavarian Division against the hill on March 20th 1916.

The Bavarians were checked, however, by the French cross fire, on the long barren slopes leading to the ridge. From March 20th to 22nd their three regiments lost, to no purpose, from fifty to sixty per cent of their effective strength. On April 9th, before Hill 287, the first German attacking wave succeeded in gaining the support trench, but the French survivors in the advance trench crawled out from among the dead and debris of their trench and annihilated the attackers.

On May 3rd, 80 German batteries concentrated their fire on Hill 304 and its approaches.

Clouds of black, green and yellow smoke rose from the hill-top as from a volcano, obscuring the sky to a height of 2,500 feet, according to the reports of aviators. As a British war correspondent put it: "The sky was like a dome of invisible rails on which fast trains ran madly". On May 4th and 5th, a fresh German division attempted to occupy the position, believing it and its defenders to have been annihilated. On the 4th, they gained a footing on the North slopes of Hill 304, from which they were dislodged during the night by the 68th, who then had to withdraw. On the 5th the same German division attacked the Camard Wood and Hill 287 on the left. In this wood, entirely levelled by an eleven-hour bombardment, the 66th Line Regiment first held up, then charged the assailants at the point of the bayonet. At Hill 287 a battalion of the 32nd Line Regiment likewise brilliantly repulsed two attacks. On May 7th, after a tremendous shelling, the enemy attacked Hill 304 simultaneously from three sides with troops from five different divisions. It was their greatest effort against this position. Thanks to two French regiments of picked troops (125th and 114th), one company of which charged, to the strains of _La Marseillaise_, the Germans were thrown into disorder and driven back to the N. slopes. During the rest of the month the enemy counter-attacked but without success.

On June 29th and 30th, the enemy endeavoured to outflank Hill 304 East and West, by means of liquid fire.

During December, fresh efforts came to nothing.

During 1917, the Germans continued stubbornly with their attacks on Hill 304.

On June 28th and 29th, a powerful attack carried Hill 304 and an advance was made between the hill and the south-east corner of Avocourt wood, in a slight hollow, known as =Col de Pommerieux=. This hollow was, however, reconquered on July 17th by the French 51st and 87th Infantry Regiments, supported by two battalions of the 97th Infantry Division (335th and 346th Regiments) and one battalion of the 73rd Infantry Division. After a remarkable artillery preparation, the French infantrymen, in half-an-hour, reached the fortified crest, and regained a kilometre of ground. The 87th Line Regiment, went 300 yards beyond their allotted objective and captured an observation post, in front of the crest, which they promptly christened "Le créneau de Gretchen". The attack caught the enemy off their guard at the very moment a relief was being carried out, and 520 prisoners belonging to three different divisions were taken.

On August 24th, Hill 304 was wrested from the Germans by the 272nd and 128th Infantry Regiments of the 5th Brigade (Nérel). This brigade which attacked in front of Hill 304, on the Pommerieux plateau and at Camard wood, captured prisoners belonging to five German divisions. On the same evening, after capturing Hill 304 this brigade stormed several redoubts and carried the first line to the Forges stream, i.e. more than two kilometres from the starting point.

From Hill 304, return to =the Esnes Calvary= _and from there take the road on the right to_ =Avocourt.=

=Avocourt, Avocourt and Malancourt Woods.=

One of the finest feats of arms in the battle of Verdun was performed at Avocourt.

On March 20th, 1916, the Germans who had never been able to take the village, attacked the wood with a fresh division, the 11th Bavarian Division. The attack succeeded, with the help of liquid fire. A French counter-attack on the 29th by the 210th Infantry Regiment, and a battalion of the 157th, recaptured the wood and the redoubt known as the "Réduit d'Avocourt". The attacking troops which had not been revictualled for four days, had finished their reserve rations twelve hours previously. So fatigued were they that they slept standing despite the bombardment. To rouse them, their chiefs, at 3 a.m. next morning, ordered the buglers and drummers to play. As the day was breaking the music suddenly stopped, a shell having buried all save one drummer. Furious at this, the men, with the drummer at their head, rushed forward, and by 8 a.m. the wood had been entirely reconquered.

_Photographed from the French line. The sandbags mark the German line._]

_From Avocourt, return to Esnes. Again take the Chattancourt road but about 1,500 metres from Esnes, take the road on the right to_ =Montzéville,= _G. C. 18, as far as_ =Dombasle-en-Argonne,= _where take R. N. 3 to_ =Verdun.=

Dombasle was one of the points where the Sainte-Menehould-Verdun railway was bombarded.

_Going through_ =Blercourt,= _there are two level crossings to pass: after the second, the_ ="Sacred Way"= _branches off on the right to Bar-le-Duc, via Souilly._

The fate of Verdun, even of France, depended on this road. Disintegrated by frost and thaw, and subjected to the wild rush of transport which in the space of five days raised the fighting strength of the Verdun army from 150,000 to 800,000, this road visibly sank. When General Pétain took command of the battle on February 25th, his first care was to ensure that this road was firm and sound. All along the road 16,000 men divided into gangs were engaged upon the task of repairing it. Quarries were opened in the vicinity, and without interrupting the convoys of lorries which ran at regular intervals, thousands of roadmen threw tons of stones on the road. The road stood up to the strain and carried all necessary supplies up to the vast battle.

_Re-enter_ =Verdun= _by the_ =Porte de France.=

_3rd. Itinerary:_

THE TRANCHÉE DE CALONNE

THE RIDGE OF ÉPARGES, THE WOËVRE

_Leave_ =Verdun= _by the Pont Beaurepaire, Rue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, Rue St-Sauveur, Rue St-Victor, the Porte Nationale and R. N. 3 (See plan of Verdun, exit III)._

_Follow R. N. 3 for two and a half kilometres and then take R. N. 64, on the right, which follows the Meuse valley, towards Houdainville and Dieue-sur-Meuse. At the latter village, turn left along I. C. 5 to Sommedieue. This very picturesque road climbs through Amblonville forest towards the_ =Tranchée de Calonne,= _I. C. 3 which should be taken on the right._

=The Tranchée de Calonne.=

It is almost straight, crossing the entire Amblonville forest. It was formerly the haunt of poachers and hunters only.

But now the Tranchée de Calonne evokes more tragic memories. From the word "Tranchée" it might be supposed that it was a relic of the Great War. It is not so, however, since for more than a century this name had been given to the road which M. de Calonne, Minister of Finance under Louis XVI, had had laid out on the ridge of hills to approach his château, built at the foot of the Heights of the Meuse. This château was destroyed during the Revolution.

_French trenches and observation posts, on the right of the road, in the Taillis de Sauls, in front of the Éparges road (plan on opposite page)._]

The story goes that M. de Calonne hoped one day to receive the king in his residence, and wishing to welcome him in a worthy manner, had planted rose trees all along the road. Anyway, during the war wild roses could be seen blooming along this forest road which became indeed a "trench" in the military sense of the word.

The front cut the "tranchée de Calonne" a little to the south-west of Saint-Rémy. On both sides it was bombarded and kept busy with never-ending attacks and counter-attacks.

In March 1915, the French brought into position there naval 140 guns intended for firing at a 12,000 metre range over Éparges, right behind the enemy lines. It was with difficulty that the sailors installed their heavy guns in this clay soil.

This effective bombardment irritated the Germans, who on the 24th, launched a mass attack which reached the third support line.

The naval officers who were isolated in their post with their telephone wires cut and no contact with the infantry, rapidly organised their defence and swept the ground with the fire of their only heavy guns and a few 75s, dragged up by hand, which fired with their sights at zero.

The Germans, however, continued to advance, and on the 25th they were no more than one kilometre from the guns, the only protection for the sailors now being broken down trenches and the remains of barbed wire entanglements. On the 26th, while the sailors were preparing to make a firm stand against the enemy's attack, two French battalions of chasseurs, called in to reinforce, crawled through the undergrowth and gradually got up to the position from which they counter-attacked. On the 27th, the firing died down, but the Germans reorganised and again attacked on May 5th. The first rush gave them some advantages, which were quickly wrested from them by the arrival in the field of the Moroccan brigade and six battalions of chasseurs who recaptured, in a few hours, all the ground lost on April 24th.

_On the left, commences the Éparges road which is impassable for cars._]

The Tranchée de Calonne enters the forest, every part of which was used by both sides during the war for engineers' and artillery parks, aid posts, shelters, small-gauge railways and gun emplacements of which trace can still be found.

_On the left the bifurcation of Mont-sous-les-Cotes is passed._

Soon the forest clears and then only blackened tree stumps are seen, cut by shot and shell, as the old lines are crossed.

_Pass the road junction, to the left of the Éparges road, a road which is broken up and impassable. Continue along the Tranchée de Calonne which crosses, at 1,500 metres, the hill of Senoux near which were the enemy first line trenches. Turn left along I. C. 13 in the direction of Saint-Rémy. After 2-1/2 kilometres the road descends as far as the stream of Longeau or Éparges._

All along this road, on the left side, the Germans had built into the hill concrete dug outs, pillboxes, underground galleries and headquarters posts and there are also some German tombs.

_On the right the horizon is bounded by Combres Ridge, on the left by Éparges Crest._]

_On reaching the valley, near the stream, there are cross-roads, the road on right leading to_ =Saint-Rémy,= _the ruins of which can be seen. Continue straight on to_ =Combres,= _along an uphill road. Beyond the crest, at a sharp turn to the right, opposite a large blockhouse, get out of the car and proceed left along the path to the Éparges crest, which at first runs along the south slope of the spur in the old German positions. Notice on the right the entrances to many huge mine galleries which, under the crest, communicate with the openings on the north slope. The path rises to the eastern edge of the spur, point X (on plan), whence there is a wide view over the Woëvre. Return along the trenches on the crest. On the north slopes were the French lines containing a series of huge mine craters organised into defensive positions. At the highest point marked by a sign post, an excellent general view of the position is obtained._

_The path of the itinerary is shown by a dotted line._]

=Éparges Spur.=

Éparges spur, 1,400 metres in length and 346 in height, dominates the Woëvre plain. Its sides are steep and slippery, springs break out of the soil and small streams drain down its slopes. It is in very truth, as it has been called, "a mountain of mud". It is a magnificent observation post which dominates the surrounding country. "He who holds Éparges, has all the roads under fire".

The Germans gained possession of Éparges on September 21st 1914 and quickly organised several lines of trenches between the summit and the valleys; at certain points five ranges of fire could be brought to bear on a point, and the whole crest was transformed into a strong redoubt, flanked east and west with two bastions.

The French occupied, to the North, the brow of Montgirmont and Éparges village, about 600 metres from the German trenches.

It was at the West part of the Spur (point C) that, at the end of October, the French commenced their attack, step by step, to the sap, at the same time penetrating into the woods which cover the flanks of the ravine.

In February there started a series of almost daily attacks and counter-attacks, only finishing at the beginning of April. On February 17th, thanks to a mine explosion, the French got a footing in the enemy first line; attacks and counter-attacks lasted five days during which Colonel Bacquel was mortally wounded at the head of his troops. The French held all the west bastion and they started to advance towards the east bastion. From March 13th to 21st, they returned to the attack and occupied the enemy front line.

On March 27th a battalion of chasseurs made a fresh push, bringing them nearer the summit. On April 5th, started the last big attack which the 12th Division was to carry on day and night until the 9th. The rain and muddy ground seemed for the moment to hold them back and render their efforts in vain.

In the evening, part of the crest was occupied but the use of aerial torpedoes which blotted out whole ranks of men, and a massed counter-attack, launched on the morning of the following day at 4.30 a.m., robbed them of the gains of the first advance. During the evening of the 6th and all the night of the 6-7th, in spite of a continuous downpour, the trenches were recaptured step by step, with 100 prisoners including several officers.

On the 8th the summit and the west ridge were firmly occupied and at midnight, after fifteen hours of furious and uninterrupted fighting practically the whole ridge was in French hands.

On the night of the 8-9th, it took fourteen hours to get fresh troops into position in squalls of rain and a blinding wind. The attack was resumed at 3 p.m. on the 9th, the ground being hollowed out into deep pits into which men sometimes disappeared altogether. Finally the French held the west bastion (point C), the fortified curtain and stood their ground in front of the east part (point X).

At the end of 1915 and in 1916 the struggle was rather less bitter but still deadly enough: the story of a mine exploded by the Germans, as told by a young Lieutenant of the 74th Infantry Regiment, brings out vividly the tragic side.

"On the evening before, I had relieved, between the point "X"
and the point "C", a section of the 129th. My night had been
spent in visiting my posts and establishing contact. At daybreak
I returned to my hole, a mine listening gallery running down
crosswise for about 15 metres. Everything was quiet and it
appeared that the enemy had done no work for two days on their
mine chamber. Were we going to be blown up? No one dreamt it
would be so.

"About 4 p.m. we distinguished quite plainly the detonations of
several petards. "Good, the Boches are working, we are alright
for to-day!"

"At that very moment we heard a formidable rumbling, our dug-out
rocked and came to earth again as though a Hercules had lifted
it several metres high and then let it fall again with a bump.
We were turned topsy-turvy one on top of the other in the
darkness.

"Cries were heard, some one was wounded. We lighted a candle and
extricated the man who fortunately had nothing the matter. "Come
on, boys, at them with bombs".

"To get out--the exit was blocked three metres high at least.
Moreover a stream of water had been let in at the higher end of
the sap.

"Without loss of time we got down to work. To reach the piled up
debris a man had to crawl in the midst of the stream, flat on
his stomach, and only one could work at a time.

"An hour passed, then two, centuries it seemed. The water rose,
the air became less and less pure.

"I spare you the agony of a man who perceived that his end was
near, who saw it coming and knew that he could not escape it.

"It was now three hours since the mine went up. The water had
reached our feet. The candles had gone out, we could breathe
only with the greatest difficulty, and everything seemed to be
going round.

"All of a sudden a cry was heard: "Lieutenant, here is the
daylight." A man had succeeded in making a hole through the mud
with the barrel of his rifle.

_The series of mine craters and chambers (see plan p. 115)._]

"At last! Everyone felt restored to life. Already we could
breathe again. Our candles would burn.

"After another half-hour we got out of this hell and it was time
too.

"Where were we? In the enemy's lines or our own? What had
happened during these four hours? What had become of my posts?

"I pointed out to my men the direction of our lines and I
tried to regain my bearings. But the aspect of the ground had
completely altered. For half-an-hour I probed the darkness. I
could make nothing of it, when, suddenly, I seemed to see two
shadows. I made myself known, but the two men moved off and
fired a star-shell in my direction. It was a German star-shell.

"I made my way to the rear and reached the Battalion Command
Post at Bois Joli. I had been posted "missing".

"No one had news of my section. I went back to the line and
found a corporal and two men who were in the line at the time
of the explosion. For four hours they had prevented the enemy
patrols from investigating the ground and occupying it. They
were the sole survivors."

_On the right, Montgirmont mound. On the left, Hures Hill._]

_Return to the car by the same path._

_Continue straight along and rejoin, at Combres, G. C. D. 10 that leads to Fresnes or making a half-turn, go down to the cross-roads of Saint-Rémy, turn to the right towards_ =Éparges,= _cross the village, and keep on towards_ =Trésauvaux= _passing between the crest of Montgirmont and Hures Hill, on the left (photo above), and so reach Fresnes-en-Woëvre._

_Barricade of boxes filled with earth barring the main street: on the right, the church._]

_At Fresnes turn left, on leaving the village, towards Manheulles and follow R. N. 3 straight on to Verdun._

_A cemetery in front of the last house on the right on the road to Trésauvaux._]

_Dug-outs and French mine entrances on the slope of Éparges Spur._]

A. The Woëvre.--B. The trench from which the photo was taken, on the crest of Montgirmont.--C. The Éparges crest.--D. Mort ravine.--E. Dug-outs on the side of Éparges Hill, F. A Trench.]

_4th Itinerary:_

THE ARGONNE

MONTFAUCON.--ROMAGNE

_This itinerary is a continuation of the circuit of the left bank of the Meuse. It joins it at the village of Esnes (see plan above, on the right)._

_Tourists who do not wish to prolong their itinerary by the loop Montfaucon-Romagne can make straight for Vauquois, then, in Argonne, by the G. C. 28, the road from Esnes to Varennes via Avocourt and Vauquois._

_Tourists starting from Sainte-Menehould can reach Varennes by R. N. 3 from Islettes and Clermont-en-Argonne road: from Clermont, climb the Aire valley as far as Varennes, then Vauquois by G. C. 2a and R. N. 46._

_This itinerary joins up with that from Champagne via Vienne-la-Ville and Ville-sur-Tourbe._

_Starting from Esnes by G. C. 18, the road climbs to Hill 304, then falls to Forges stream and Malancourt, beyond which were our first lines from 1914 to 1916._

_The road then climbs towards the peak of Montfaucon, one of the most famous German observation posts along the whole front. This peak embraced a horizon extending from the plains of Champagne to the Heights of the Meuse._

From Hill 304 the tourist traverses the battle area of the 79th American Division when the latter attacked the formidable heights of Montfaucon on September 26th 1918.

To the 313th American Regiment fell the honour of making a direct attack on Montfaucon while the other regiments of the division had to outflank the peak right and left. Reaching the bottom of the slopes the 313th attacked with two tanks at nightfall. They were overwhelmed with a deluge of fire and forced to withdraw to the northern edges of Montfaucon wood.

On the following morning they returned to the attack, supported by tanks and a barrage of machine guns. At 11 a.m. the 313th entered the village and at 1 p.m. units of the 27th Division effected contact with the victors.

_It was constructed on the site of and with the ruins of the church._]

_In the background in front of the trees, the German observation post._]

_In this cemetery, the most impressive in existence, the Americans have massed together 25,500 graves._]

_A large number of bodies have since been taken to the United States, but 15,000 graves still remain in this cemetery._

_From Montfaucon follow I. C. 4 to Cierges and Romagne. In Romagne, near the church keep right along the Cunel road and cross the bridge. About 250 metres beyond the village, the vast American cemetery of Romagne on the slopes of a hill comes into view. Return to the church, then follow the Charpentry-Varennes road, G. C. 2a._

_Pass through Eclisfontaine and then Charpentry. Beyond this village the road descends the valley of Aire. Two kilometres beyond the village, turn left along R. N. 46 to Varennes._

_In Varennes, after crossing the railway, and before reaching the church, turn left for 200 metres, then turn left again along G. C. 38 which goes down to Vauquois. Cross the railway and about 4 kilometres from Varennes, take the road leading right to the new village of Vauquois at the foot of the famous mound._

=VAUQUOIS=

=Vauquois= is one of the famous points of the Argonne battlefield. The Germans took it in September, 1914, during a strong attack on the French 3rd Army, in their efforts to encircle Verdun. The ridge concealed their operations to the north of Varennes, covered the re-victualling of the Argonne front by the Four-de-Paris road, and in addition furnished their artillery with an excellent observation post. The importance of the position caused the Germans to convert it into a veritable fortress. Caves were made in the rock and connected by underground passages. The streets of the village were excavated, so that the vent-holes of the cellars formed loop-holes on a level with a man's head. The walls of the houses and gardens were battlemented, and trenches were dug in the slopes in front of the village. The position was supported and flanked by the guns in the Woods of Cheppy, Montfaucon and Argonne. Approach was the more difficult, in that the position was surrounded on all sides by ravines and glacis, which provided admirable firing positions for the machine-guns.

This formidable position, which, earlier in the war, before the improvement in the French artillery, would have been considered impregnable, was taken by the French 10th Infantry Division (Valdant) after heroic sacrifices. The first assaults especially, made without artillery preparation or support, cost the splendid French Infantry heavy losses.

The first attack was made on October 28, 1914, by two battalions of the 46th Regiment of the line. The French front lines were then on the Mamelon Blanc, facing Vauquois. Two companies debouching from Noir Wood attacked the western slopes of Vauquois, the sections deployed in skirmishing order, without artillery preparation, and without a single big French gun being fired on the village. As the men dashed forward up the slopes, they were shot down by the carefully concealed German riflemen, but continued nevertheless to advance, in spite of the rain of bullets, till an avalanche of big German shells overwhelmed and scattered them. At the end of half an hour almost all of them were out of action.

The second assault was made on the following day (the 29th), after a very short artillery preparation, during which only a few shells were fired, most of which failed to burst. Fresh companies attacked further to the right, near the Cigalerie. The men charged with the bayonet, but as on the previous day, were mown down by the German machine-guns and rifles, and failed, after heavy losses. At night, an attempt to rescue the wounded left on the field was unsuccessful, the enemy firing pitilessly on the stretcher-bearers, in spite of the Red Cross lantern.

The third assault was carried out on February 17th, 1915. The operation went near to success. The artillery preparation with 75's, 155's and 270's lasted more than twelve hours. Before the attack, three mines should have gone up and destroyed the enemy lines. Only one exploded, but not being dug deep enough into the hill, the effect was merely that of a small mine and the stones thrown up fell back for the most part on the starting off trench, killing or wounding 30 men. In spite of the confusion created by the mine, the men climbed the ladders and proceeded to the attack. The band of the 31st Line Regiment, grouped on the Mamelon Blanc, in full view of the enemy, played the _Marseillaise_. In a few minutes several bandsmen fell killed or wounded, but the attacking waves had gone forward and the surviving bandsmen sounded the charge. The colonel of the 31st, who was leading the attack, fell mortally wounded but the companies leading the attack scaled the slopes of Vauquois. The 31st charged into Vauquois and reached the ruins of the church, but caught by the fire of the Argonne and Montfaucon batteries and the machine guns of Cheppy, they were forced after heavy losses to fall back. Abandoning the plateau they held on half-way down the hill.