[Illustration: Sketch routes of the Battlefields of Verdun and
Argonne.]
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_
[Illustration: THE RIGHT BANK OF THE MEUSE, CIRCULAR TOUR OF THE
FORTS.]
_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.
[Illustration: LEAVING VERDUN BY THE PORTE CHAUSSÉE.]
[Illustration: THE FAUBOURG PAVÉ MILITARY CEMETERY.--_On the horizon
the Hills of Belleville._]
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.=
[Illustration: LOOKING TOWARDS VERDUN FROM SAINT-MICHEL HILL.]
[Illustration: THE ROUTE DU FORT TAVANNES IN JUNE 1916.]
=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.
[Illustration: THE SOUTHERN MOAT AND ENTRANCE TO TAVANNES FORT IN
JUNE 1916.]
[Illustration: THE TAVANNES TUNNEL (VERDUN SIDE ENTRANCE) IN 1920.
(Photo Martin Collardelle, Verdun.)]
[Illustration: IN THE TAVANNES RAVINE IN JUNE 1916.--_A shell has
just smashed in a dug-out._]
_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.
[Illustration: CHÊNOIS WOOD IN 1917.--IN THE BACKGROUND, VAUX FORT.]
[Illustration: THE ROAD TO VAUX FORT.--IN THE BACKGROUND, THE 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.
[Illustration: VAUX FORT.--THE CASEMATES OF THE GORGE OF THE FORT.
_The moat has been filled up by the bombardment._]
[Illustration: Map (TN).]
=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...."
[Illustration: THE SOUTH-WEST EDGES OF VAUX IN MAY 1916.
_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._]
[Illustration: THE VILLAGE AND POOL OF VAUX IN APRIL 1916 VIEWED FROM
HARDAUMONT CREST.
_In the background, the hill where Vaux fort is situated._]
[Illustration: Map (TN).]
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.
[Illustration: CASEMATES OF VAUX FORT IN NOVEMBER 1916.
_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.
[Illustration: THE SOUTH MOAT OF VAUX FORT IN MAY 1916.]
The Germans reorganised on the flanks of the hill and repulsed all
counter-attacks.
[Illustration: VAUX FORT: THE NORTH MOAT HAS BEEN HALF FILLED IN; THE
CASEMATES WHICH GUARD IT.
_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.
[Illustration: THE NORTH-EAST MOAT OF VAUX FORT IN APRIL 1916.
_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._
[Illustration: THE AID POST AT VAUX FORT, IN NOVEMBER 1916.]
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.
[Illustration: LAUFÉE REDOUBT.--THE INSIDE COURT.]
[Illustration: VAUX FORT AND ITS APPROACHES IN AUGUST 1916.
_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._]
[Illustration: PANORAMA VIEW OF THE NORTH SLOPES OF SOUVILLE.
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_).
[Illustration: THE BATTLE IN FRONT OF SOUVILLE (_June 23rd and July
12th 1916_).]
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.
[Illustration: THE WAR MEMORIAL OF CHAPELLE SAINTE-FINE. (Photo
Sommer.)]
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.
[Illustration: THE HEAP OF SHELL CASES FIRED (45,000 IN 3 DAYS) BY 8
GUNS, DURING THE BATTLE IN FRONT OF SOUVILLE (JUNE 1916).]
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.
[Illustration: IN SOUVILLE FORT (MARCH 23RD 1917).--_General
Corvisart._]
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.
[Illustration: Map (TN).]
_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.
[Illustration: FONTAINES RAVINE IN FEBRUARY 1917.--_A demolished
French battery._]
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.
[Illustration: ATTACKING WAVES CROSSING FUMIN WOOD (OCTOBER 1916).]
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.
[Illustration: VAUX POOL (MARCH 4TH 1917).]
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.
[Illustration: VAUX POOL (MAY 1921).
_On the right, Bazil ravine; on the left, Fontaines ravine._]
[Illustration: DEFENCE WORKS IN VAUX VILLAGE (JANUARY 14TH 1916).]
_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._
[Illustration: WHERE VAUX VILLAGE WAS (APRIL 26TH 1917).]
_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.=
[Illustration: THE BOMBARDMENT OF THE FLEURY-THIAUMONT SECTOR SEEN
FROM AN AEROPLANE (AUGUST 1916).
_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.
[Illustration: FLEURY DURING THE BATTLE OF VERDUN.
_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._]
[Illustration: THIAUMONT REDOUBT IN 1920. (Photo Martin Collardelle.)]
_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".
[Illustration: THE VAST CEMETERY OF FLEURY.--_On the horizon
Douaumont fort._]
[Illustration: THIAUMONT REDOUBT IN FRENCH HANDS IN MAY 1916.
_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".
[Illustration: THE RUINS OF THE REDOUBT, A MONTH LATER, IN GERMAN
HANDS.
_In the foreground, the barbed wire entanglements in front of the
French line._]
[Illustration: THE PANORAMA SEEN SOUTHWARDS FROM DOUAUMONT FORT.]
=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.
[Illustration: THE SUPERSTRUCTURE OF DOUAUMONT FORT.--_On the right_:
AN OBSERVATION POST. _On the horizon_: a. Hill 378.--b. The Twin
Ornes.]
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.
[Illustration: DOUAUMONT FORT IN MAY 1921.
_In front of the entanglements, the path leading up to the
superstructure of the fort._]
[Illustration: DOUAUMONT FORT IN JANUARY 1916.]
=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.
[Illustration: FOOT SOLDIERS AND SAPPERS OF MANGIN'S BRIGADE
OCCUPYING THE WEST MOATS OF DOUAUMONT FORT ON MAY 22ND 1916, AT
MIDDAY.]
=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.
[Illustration: Map (TN).]
[Illustration: Map (TN).]
=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.
[Illustration: INFANTRY MEN OF THE COLONIAL REGIMENT OF MOROCCO
OCCUPYING THE MOATS OF THE RECAPTURED FORT. (OCTOBER 25TH
1916).--INSET: COMMANDER NICOLAY.]
"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".
[Illustration: THE MOATS OF DOUAUMONT FORT IN FEBRUARY, 1917.]
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.
[Illustration: THE MONUMENT ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF THE SOLDIERS OF
THE 3RD BATTALION OF THE 74TH. (Photo Martin Collardelle, Verdun.)]
_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._
[Illustration: Map (TN).]
=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._
[Illustration: THE RUINS OF THIAUMONT FARM IN MAY 1916.]
[Illustration: THE TEMPORARY MORTUARY OF DOUAUMONT IN 1921.]
_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.
[Illustration: TOMB OF GENERAL ANCELIN, KILLED IN ACTION ON OCTOBER
24TH 1916, IN FRONT OF DOUAUMONT.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE TEMPORARY MORTUARY OF DOUAUMONT.]
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.
[Illustration: AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE TEMPORARY MORTUARY: THE STATUE
OF RESIGNATION.]
[Illustration: THE MORTUARY OF DOUAUMONT.]
[Illustration: THE LIGHTHOUSE OF DOUAUMONT.
_It will shine forth at night over the immortal battlefield of
Verdun._]
[Illustration: MODEL SUPPLIED BY THE ARCHITECTS, LEON AZEMA AND
JACQUES HARDY.]
[Illustration: CLOISTER OF THE MORTUARY OF DOUAUMONT.--RECESSES FOR
THE TOMBS.]
[Illustration: THE MONUMENT OF "BAYONET TRENCH" (A. Ventre,
architect).
_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."
[Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF THE MONUMENT OF "BAYONET TRENCH".]
[Illustration: THE WROUGHT IRON GATE OF THE ENTRANCE PORCH OF THE
MONUMENT,
_carried out by M. E. Brandt, art iron-worker (101, Boulev. Murat,
Paris)._]
[Illustration: ONE OF THE NUMEROUS DEADLY RAVINES AT VERDUN.--DAME
RAVINE.
_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.
[Illustration: HAUDROMONT QUARRIES IN SEPTEMBER 1917.]
_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._
[Illustration: HELLY RAVINE IN MAY 1921.--_On the horizon, Poivre
Hill._]
[Illustration: LOUVEMONT VILLAGE IN APRIL 1917.]
=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.
[Illustration: POIVRE HILL. (Photo Martin Collardelle.)
_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.
[Illustration: BRAS CHURCH WITH THE RUINS OF THE STEEPLE (APRIL
1917).]
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)._
[Illustration: THE RUINS OF BRAS IN 1918.]
[Illustration: MONUMENT TO COLONEL DRIANT.]
_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._
[Illustration: BRAS VILLAGE SEEN FROM AN AEROPLANE (1918).
_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:_