the stream near Bras, furious indecisive fighting took place, more
especially on March 18th, April 22nd and May 8th, 9th, 10th, 22nd, 26th
and 27th, 1916. They were finally taken on October 24th by the French
11th line regiment.
Fighting was very bitter around the quarries, which form a rough
oblong 200 to 300 yards long, fifty to sixty yards wide, visible from
afar on account of their white colour. The enemy had cut galleries,
casemates and shelters in the chalky soil, the whole forming a
redoubtable position. After encircling the quarries, the French
captured them with grenades.
[Illustration: HAUDROMONT WOOD IN MARCH, 1917]
_At the bottom of the hill, opposite and below_ =Haudromont Quarries=,
_tourists desirous of visiting_ =Helly Ravine= (_see photo below, and
map, p. 73_), which was the scene of terrible fighting during the
offensive of December, 1916 (_pp. 20–21_), _should turn to the right
for about 300 yards_.
_Return to the starting-point and continue straight along the_ =Bras
Road=.
_On the right the tourist comes to the uphill road to_ =Louvemont=,
_which crosses the southern slopes of Poivre Hill. This road is
impracticable for carriages beyond Louvemont._
[Illustration: HELLY RAVINE (_photographed in May, 1919_).]
[Illustration: ROAD FROM LOUVEMONT TO ORNES
(Farthest point accessible to motor-cars in May, 1919)]
Louvemont and Poivre Hill
At 2.20 p.m. on February 24th, strong enemy forces debouched between
=Louvemont= and =Hill 347=. During the night the first French
reinforcements, belonging to the 20th C.A., repulsed them. On the
25th, the enemy, in dense formation, outflanked the village on the W.
and E. They were checked several times by units of the 37th D.I. and
artillery fire, but succeeded in entering the village at 3 p.m., after
having practically levelled it by shell fire.
[Illustration: LOUVEMONT VILLAGE IN APRIL, 1917.]
Zouaves, who were still clinging to the outskirts, ran short of
ammunition, but on being reinforced by a battalion of Tirailleurs
with 50,000 cartridges, continued with the latter to defend the S.E.
approaches of the village until the morrow.
[Illustration: FROIDE-TERRE REDOUBT IN 1915]
Owing to their heavy losses, the French 37th D.I. was compelled to
fall back, but the fire from a hundred 75 mm. guns concentrated at
Froide-Terre held the Germans in check and prevented their debouching
from the village. The French 39th D.I. promptly took up positions in
front of the 37th, between Poivre Hill and the Meuse, and barred the
road to Bras. Louvemont and its approaches were brilliantly retaken
during the French offensive of December 15th, 1916. While a brigade of
the 126th D.I. captured Hill 342 in several rushes, the 4th Moroccan
Brigade of the 38th D.I., in a running attack, carried the first and
second enemy lines, Louvemont and Hill 347, as well as a fortified
cavern known as the camp du Henrias, before which one of the victors of
Douaumont, Major Nicolaï, was killed.
On August 20th, 1917, four successive lines of trenches were taken by
the French 165th D.I., in an attack to the north of Louvemont.
_On leaving Louvemont, return by the same way to the Bras Road and take
it on the right. Bras village is reached shortly afterwards, where the
Itinerary follows the Meuse Valley and_ N. 64.
=Bras.=—The Prussians camped here in 1792, during the occupation of
Verdun.
[Illustration: THE LAST TRAIN TO PASS AT THE FOOT OF POIVRE HILL IN
1916. IT WAS WRECKED BY ENEMY ARTILLERY]
In 1916 the Germans could not capture it, although they took Poivre
Hill which dominates the village to the N.
After several checks (_e.g._ February 25th and March 9th) they occupied
Poivre Hill and Vacherauville, but were unable to dislodge the French
from the woods to the S.E.
[Illustration: BRAS VILLAGE AND POIVRE HILL IN SEPT, 1917]
From March, they organised a network of barbed-wire entanglements,
concrete galleries, redoubts, shelters, etc., on the hill, converting
it into a kind of fortress, but on December 15th the village and hill
were rushed by the 112th line regiment in three-column formation,
covered on the left by a fourth column and supported by auto-cannon.
Veritable bastion, overlooking the Beaumont road and flanking the
entire German line, the village could only be captured by surprise, and
the latter was complete. German officers were taken in their shelters
while dressing. The attack had not been expected before noon or later
than 2 p.m. The village was conquered in ten minutes, and Poivre Hill
in seven minutes, in a single rush.
[Illustration: RUINS OF BRAS CHURCH, WHOSE TOWER COLLAPSED
(_Photographed in April, 1917_)]
_From Bras continue northwards to_ Vacherauville and Samogneux, where
the first German attacks at the beginning of the battle of Verdun took
place, (_see Itinerary p. 57._)
[Illustration: THE GERMAN ADVANCE ON FEB. 24TH, 1916]
=Vacherauville=, entirely destroyed, _is reached soon afterwards.
Leave on the right the road to Beaumont and take, a little further on,
that leading to Champneuville, which brings the tourist to the top
of_ =Talou Hill=, _from where the panoramic view on pp. 86 and 87 was
taken_.
Situated in a long bend of the Meuse, =Talou Hill= gradually slopes
down to the water’s edge. On February 25th the enemy reached this
hill which, caught between the fire from both banks, became equally
untenable for the French and Germans, and from February 27th was
considered as a neutral zone. It was retaken by the French in their
offensive of August 20th, 1917, at the same time as the villages of
Neuville, Champneuville and Champ.
=Samogneux= _may be reached from Talou Hill, either by continuing, via
Champneuville (see outline map, p. 87), or by returning to the_ R. N.
64.
[Illustration: VACHERAUVILLE. THE APPROACHES TO THE VILLAGE ON DEC.
20TH, 1916]
Subjected to an infernal shell-fire on February 22nd and 23rd
=Samogneux= had to be abandoned by the French on the evening of the
latter date. It was retaken by the 126th D. I. on August 21st, during
the French offensive of August, 1917, _i.e._ two days in advance of the
scheduled date (_see p. 23_).
[Illustration: THE CENTRE OF SAMOGNEUX VILLAGE ON THE N. 46, IN MAY,
1919.
The village was entirely levelled.]
E. of Samogneux and dominating the road from Vacherauville to Beaumont
rises =Hill 344=, which, together with Samogneux and Beaumont, fell
into the hands of the enemy in 1916. It was retaken during the French
offensive of August 20th, 1917, by regiments belonging to the 123rd and
126th D.I. These were almost immediately relieved by the 14th D.I.,
which for three weeks withstood violent enemy counter-attacks without
flinching. On September 9th, in particular, it repulsed an attack by
several German divisions which had orders to retake Hill 344 at all
costs.
[Illustration: SAMOGNEUX CHURCH IN AUG., 1915.]
_Return to Bras by the same road._
VII.—From Bras to Verdun
_From Bras take N 64 towards_ =Verdun=. _The road winds across the
western slopes of_ =Belleville Fort=. _At the top of the hill, take the
road on the left (leaving the down-hill road to Verdun)._
_The road (IC 2) passes by_ =Belleville Fort= _and along the top of the
hill, which formed the last permanent line of resistance, from, N.E. of
Verdun to_ =St. Michel Fort=.
_From_ =St. Michel Fort= _there is a fine run down_ =St. Michel Hill=
_to Verdun which enter by the_ =Rue d’Elain= _and_ =Chaussée Gate=.
[Illustration: Hill 275
Chattancourt-Esnes Road
Hill 304
Chattancourt Village
Mort-Homme
Champ Village
Oie Hill
Cumières Hill
Montfaucon]
[Illustration: Forges Wood
End of Oie Hill
River Meuse
Heights of Sivry-on-the-Meuse
Consonvoye
Brabant
Verdun—Consonvoye Road
Samogneux
PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE MEUSE VALLEY SEEN FROM THE TOP OF TALOU HILL.]
(_Consider the four parts from left to right, across both pages; the
top half fits on to the left of the bottom half._)
[Illustration: From this spot on the road from Vacherauville to
Champneuville (see outline map, p. 87), there is a general view of the
lines from which the German Offensive started, and of the battlefield
on the left bank of the river.]
[Illustration]
2nd ITINERARY: THE LEFT BANK OF THE MEUSE
including Cumières, Oie Hill, Mort-Homme, Montfaucon, Hill 304, and
Avocourt (_see description, pp. 90–111_)
[Illustration]
[Illustration: THE CHURCH AND MAIN STREET OF CHARNY IN JANUARY, 1916]
I.—From Verdun to Charny
_Leave Verdun by the Porte de France; after the railway bridge
go straight along_ G. C. 38 _(see plan between pp. 30–31.) Cross
the Faubourg de Jardin-Fontaine, then Thierville village. Facing
it is_ MARRE FORT. _At the foot of the hill on which the fort
stands, turn to the right. Leaving on the left the ruined_ farm of
Willers-les-Moines, _the road climbs up the small_ Hill 243, _below
which is the_ strongly fortified =Charny Redoubt=.
On the other side of the level-crossing is =Charny=. It was at Charny
that the Germans crossed the Meuse in 1870. Incidentally, they shot
the former notary, M. Violard, under the pretext that he had aided
an attack by the francs-tireurs of Verdun. In 1916, the village was
frequently bombarded by the enemy, particularly on March 31st.
[Illustration: THE CHURCH AND MAIN STREET OF CHARNY SEEN FROM THE OTHER
SIDE IN MAY, 1919
On the horizon: Poivre Hill]
[Illustration: MARRE VILLAGE IN RUINS.
Beyond the Church take the road on the right to Cumières. That on the
left, leading to Bourrus Woods, is impracticable for cars.]
II.—From Charny to Cumières
_Return to the level crossing, then turn to the right on leaving
Charny. The road skirts the northern slopes of the hills on which
stands the_ modern forts of =Vacherauville=, =Marre= and =Bourrus
Woods=.
_Cross through Marre village, in ruins. Beyond the ruined church follow
the right-hand road (photo above) to_ =Cumières=. _Half-way between
Marre and Cumières are (on the right) the station of_ =Chattancourt=,
_(on the left) the road leading to that village_.
[Illustration: CUMIÈRES IN MAY, 1916]
Attacked on March 14th and destroyed by shell-fire on April 25th,
=Cumières= was only captured by the Germans on the night of
May 23rd. Three days later the French retook the eastern portion after
a desperate combat. On May 29th and 30th, after two days of continual
bombardment, they were momentarily driven back towards Chattancourt,
but a vigorous counter-attack brought them back to the southern
outskirts of the village. Caurettes Wood, to the S.W. of Cumières,
remained, however, in the enemy’s hands.
[Illustration: Haumont Wood
Oie Hill
Samogneux
River Meuse
National Road No. 64
Poivre Hill
Talou Hill
Champneuville
Road from Champneuville to Vacherauville
Froide-Terre Hill
Champ Village
Vacherauville Fort
PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE RIGHT BANK OF THE MEUSE SEEN FROM OIE HILL (_see_
Outline Map below).]
On August 20th, 1917, Cumières village and wood were retaken by a
regiment of the Légion Étrangère, who attacked singing the famous
popular song “La Madelon.”
[Illustration: CUMIÈRES IN AUGUST, 1917.]
[Illustration]
_From_ =Cumières= _continue straight ahead to Oie Hill, from where the
above panoramic view was taken_.
[Illustration: CHATTANCOURT ON MAY 16TH, 1916.
On the horizon: The slopes of Mort-Homme.]
III.—From Cumières to Chattancourt and Mort-Homme
_On leaving Cumières return to the Station of Chattancourt, and take on
the right the road to_ =Chattancourt=, which is about 800 yards further
on. This village was completely levelled (_photo below_).
[Illustration: CHATTANCOURT IN 1919.
Nothing remains of the houses and trees. The road seen in the above
photo leads to Mort-Homme.]
[Illustration: THE GERMAN ATTACKS OF MARCH 5TH–14TH, 1916, ON THE LEFT
BANK OF THE MEUSE]
_From Chattancourt the positions of_ =Mort-Homme= _may be visited
by the road to Béthincourt (the lower photograph on p. 94 shows the
beginning of this road)_.
_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 Béthincourt 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 Béthincourt-Cumières road skirts the summit) and No. 295
(the Mort-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 five-hours bombardment with shells of every kind
and size, sometimes at the rate of 120 a minute, the enemy’s Infantry
attack on Mort-Homme began. The Germans took and kept Hill 265, but
the French Infantry and Zouaves, after a magnificent defence, held
their ground on Hill 295—the key to the entire position—and in night
counter-attacks drove back the assailants to the N.W. counter-slopes.
From March 15th to the end of December, 1916, the Germans launched
at least fifteen particularly violent attacks against Hill 295,
sacrificing countless men and huge quantities of munitions. On March
16th, 17th and 31st, and April 9th and 10th, French Chasseurs and
Infantry repulsed the enemy in terrible hand-to-hand fighting. On
April 22nd, 23rd and 24th the French 40th D.I., by its resistance and
brilliant counter-attacks, broke up as many as three enemy attacks in
one day, and re-established the French front as it was on April 5th.
Further German attacks on Hill 295 followed on May 7th, 20th and 22nd,
June 29th, July 12th and December 28th. Their furious offensive of May
20th alone brought them momentarily on the S.W. crest of Hill 295 and
as far as the French second-line trenches, which were retaken on June
15th.
At that time the sector of Mort-Homme and Hill 304 was commanded by
General de Maud’huy, whose courage and coolness are legendary in the
army. The exploits of the French troops at Mort-Homme during the
difficult period of 1916 were countless. One of the most brilliant was
accomplished on April 9th by the 11th Company of the 151st Regiment
of Infantry, which had received orders to reconquer the crest of the
Mort-Homme.
Laughing and singing under a continual bombardment, this company
went into line, a section at a time, with measured step and rifle in
hand. On approaching the enemy trenches, the men rushed forward under
heavy machine-gun fire and captured a large and important network of
trenches. Promptly organising the conquered trenches, and despite
an extremely intense enemy bombardment of thirty-six hours, the men
succeeded in re-establishing the _liaison_ with the 8th Battalion of
Chasseurs on their right, making it possible to reform the line which
had been broken, and which the enemy afterwards tried in vain to
pierce, until May 20th.
[Illustration: THE SOUTH-WESTERN SLOPES OF MORT-HOMME IN JANUARY, 1917.]
In 1917 the sector was often the scene of violent combats, especially
on January 25th, and March 18th, 20th and 29th. After many efforts and
at heavy cost the Germans succeeded in occupying Hill 265 and the crest
of Hill 295, where they organised formidable defences, including deep
shell-proof tunnels.
On August 20th, 1917, during the French attack along the entire Verdun
front, the 31st D.I. carried all the German defences and recaptured
the Mort-Homme and its tunnels, including the one known as the
“=Crown-Prince=,” which was “cleaned out” by the Foreign Legion. In one
of the tunnels several cavalry-men, units of the XXXVIth and a whole
battalion of the XXth Regiment of the German Reserve, were captured,
while among the officers taken was Count Bernstorff, nephew of the
ex-German Ambassador to the United States. An entire staff was captured
in another of the tunnels.
[Illustration: MORT-HOMME AFTER THE ATTACK OF AUGUST, 1917 (see p. 23)]
=Corbeaux Wood.=—The plateaux dominated by the two Mort-Homme Hills are
cut into on the north of the high road by a ravine bordered by Corbeaux
Wood. This wood offers favourable cover for the massing of attacking
troops. It was by this fiercely disputed route that the enemy tried to
reach Hill 295. On March 6th the French line was brought back in front
of the wood. On the 7th the enemy, after bombarding it, succeeded in
getting a footing there, but on the following day the 92nd Infantry
Regiment, in a magnificent counter-attack, retook the wood in twenty
minutes. On the morning of the 10th, reinforced by another infantry
battalion, the same regiment further captured the N.E. outskirts
of Cumières Wood (to the E. of Corbeaux Wood), but in the evening,
deprived of its commanding officer (Colonel Macker, who had fallen
that morning), and lacking the support of the French artillery, which
the trees prevented from seeing the rocket-signals, the regiment was
compelled to fall back before an impetuous attack by a whole enemy
division. However, it was only at frightful cost that the Germans were
able to score these two successes, as the French gave ground only inch
by inch.
The wood was retaken by the Foreign Legion Regiment on August 20th,
1917 (_see p. 23_).
[Illustration: MORT-HOMME
Trenches captured in August, 1917]
[Illustration: Road to Montzéville
Hill 304
Road to Esnes
THE ROAD FROM CHATTANCOURT TO ESNES, AT THE FOOT OF HILL 275.
In the background the road forks, that on the left going to
Montzéville, the one on the light to Esnes. The tourist should take the
latter.]
IV.—From Mort-Homme to Esnes.
_From Mort-Homme return to the starting-point at Chattancourt, and take
on the right the road to Esnes (see photo at the bottom of p. 94)._
[Illustration: ESNES VILLAGE IN 1919.
_On the left_, THE CASTLE; _on the right_, THE CHURCH.]
This fairly steep road scales the northern slopes of Hill 275. Driving
is rather difficult by reason of the numerous shell holes in the road.
A pass is soon reached, from which Hill 304 can be seen opposite
(_photo, p. 98_).
[Illustration: ESNES IN JANUARY, 1916]
This road crosses all the organisations of the first line shelters,
posts of commandment, dressing-stations, etc. _Continue as far as a
crossing_ (visible in _photo, p. 98_), _where turn to the right into_
=Esnes=.
By reason of its position, S. of Hills 304 and 295, Esnes was an
important base of operations during the Battle of Verdun. It was
subjected to frequent enemy bombardments, of which the most violent
occurred on March 20th and 21st, April 5th, 6th, 12th, 25th and 26th,
and June 22nd, 1916.
The three photographs on pp. 98 and 99 show the aspects of the village
at three different stages of the battle.
[Illustration: ESNES ON SEPTEMBER 25TH, 1916.]
[Illustration: Mort-Homme
Heights on the left bank of the river
Hill 275
Road to Chattancourt
Marre Fort
Hill 272
Bourrus Woods
Hill 310
FROM MORT-HOMME TO BOURRUS WOODS; PANORAMIC VIEW TAKEN FROM THE WAYSIDE
CROSS AT ESNES (_see_ Outline-Map below).]
[Illustration: OUTLINE-MAP OF THE GROUND COVERED BY THE ABOVE PANORAMIC
VIEW.]
V.—From Esnes to Montfaucon, via Hill 304
_After passing in front of the ruins of Esnes Church, continue straight
ahead, taking the second road on the right (not the first, which leads
to Béthincourt—see photograph above)._
_The road on the left ends in a very steep rough track and is
impracticable for cars._
_The road to be followed zig-zags up to the_ =Wayside Cross of Esnes=,
_from which there is a magnificent view of the battlefields on the left
bank from Mort-Homme to Bourrus Woods (Panorama above)_.
_At the Wayside Cross take the road to the right._
_The left-hand one (seen in the foreground on photo, p. 101) leads to
Avocourt. The tourist will take it on his return from_ =Montfaucon=.
_The one on the right (in the foreground on photo, p. 100) passes
between_ =Hills 287 and 304= _(the latter of celebrated memory)
crosses the ruins of_ =Haucourt and Malancourt villages=, and ends at
=Montfaucon=.
[Illustration: THE TOP OF HILL 304, SEEN FROM POMMERIEUX PLATEAU.]
HILL 304
=Hill 304=, with Hills 287, 310 and 275, forms from Malancourt to Marre
Fort a line of natural fortresses, which kept under their cross-fire
not only the roads of approach, but also the bare glacis and the abrupt
escarpments immediately bordering them.
The covered ground nearest Hill 304 is the S.E. corner of Avocourt
Wood. It was from this wood that the IInd Bavarian D.I. left to attack
the Hill on March 20th, 1916.
They were checked, however, on the long barren slope leading to the
ridge, by the French cross-fire. Their three regiments, on March
20th to 22nd, lost from fifty to sixty per cent. of their effective
strength, without gain. On April 9th, before Hill 287, the first German
attacking wave succeeded in crossing the French first-line trench,
practically destroyed by bombardment. They were running towards the
French supporting trench when the survivors of the front-line trench,
coming out of their shelters in the upheaved ground among the dead,
exterminated them to the last man.
On May 3rd, eighty 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. They gained a footing on the N.
slopes of the hill, but were driven back during the night by the French
68th R.I., which then withdrew. On the 5th the same German division
attacked on the left the Camard Wood and Hill 287. In this wood,
entirely levelled by an eleven-hour bombardment, the 66th Line R.I.
first held up, then charged the assailants at the point of the bayonet.
At Hill 287 a battalion of the 32nd Line R.I. 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. However, 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
continually, at times in force, as on May 18th, 20th and 22nd, but
without success.
[Illustration: TRENCH ON HILL 304.
Reconquered August 24th, 1917.]
On June 29th and 30th they sought to turn the Hill from the E. and W.
with the help of liquid fire. On the E. desperate fighting took place
around a work which was lost by the French on the 29th, then retaken,
lost again, and reconquered on the 30th.
The Germans made a powerful attack on December 6th, in which they took
several trenches on the E. slopes.
On the 28th of the same month another German attack, preceded by an
intense bombardment, failed.
In 1917 the enemy continued their efforts against Hill 304. They
succeeded on January 25th in occupying several of the French
advance-positions, which were partly recaptured the next day.
Further enemy attacks on March 18th, 20th and 29th were repulsed after
hand-to-hand fighting.