Part 2

From March 11th to April 9th the aspect of the battle changed. Wide front attacks gave place to local actions, short, violent and limited in scope. On March 14th the Germans captured Hill 265, forming the western portion of the Mort-Homme position, from the 75th French Brigade, whose commander Colonel Garçon, fell, rifle in hand, but they failed to take the eastern part, Hill 295. On the 20th, Avocourt and Malancourt Woods fell to the Bavarians, and after a fierce struggle the village of Malancourt was lost on March 31st, Haucourt on April 5th, and Béthincourt on April 8th.

On the right bank, after powerful attacks near Vaux, the enemy reached Caillette Wood and the Vaux-Fleury railway, only to be driven back by the 5th division (Mangin).

A furious attack was made along both banks by the Germans at noon on April 9th; _on the left bank_, five divisions were engaged, failing everywhere except at the Mort-Homme, where, despite the heroic resistance of the 42nd division (Deville), they gained a footing on the N.E. slopes; _on the right bank_, Poivre Hill was attacked but remained in French hands.

“_April 9th was a glorious day for our armies_,” General Pétain declared in his order of the day dated the 10th, “_the furious attacks of the soldiers of the Crown Prince broke down everywhere. The infantry, artillery, sappers and aviators of the 2nd Army vied with one another in valour. Honour to all. No doubt the Germans will attack again. Let all work and watch, that yesterday’s success be continued. Courage! We shall beat them!_”

On the 10th the enemy continued his efforts with small success.

From that date operations were limited to local actions, either in reply to French counter-offensives (attacks of April 11th between Douaumont and Vaux and between the Meuse and Douaumont on the 17th), or in endeavours to take key positions where the French offered vigorous resistance. At the beginning of May General Pétain, having received the command of the central group of armies, General Nivelle took over that of the army of Verdun.

From May 4th to 24th the Germans attacked furiously around Mort-Homme. On the 4th they captured the northern slopes of Hill 304, where desperate combats took place on the 5th and 6th. By a powerful attack on the 7th they forced the French to abandon the crest of Hill 304, which, however, they were unable to occupy on account of the violence of the bombardment. Cumières and Caurettes fell on the 24th.

In the meantime, the battle had started afresh on the Douaumont—Vaux front. On May 22nd, at 11.50 a.m., the French 5th D.I. attacked and recaptured the fort of Douaumont, the casemates of which were the scene of desperate hand-to-hand fighting. The French were driven out on the 24th, but maintained their positions in the immediate vicinity.

The battle continued without respite or quarter. Not an hour passed without a surprise of some sort being attempted. The Germans were determined to advance, but at every step they were checked by the unflinching will of the French not to let them pass.

From May 29th to 31st the enemy attacked Hill 304 and at Mort-Homme. June 1st was marked by the loss of the Hardaumont salient and Thiaumont Farm. On the 2nd the enemy progressed in Fumin Wood, but lost Thiaumont Farm. On the 3rd they gained a footing in Vaux Fort, which was entirely in their possession on the 8th. On the 9th they attacked Hill 304 and Damloup Battery and retook Thiaumont Farm. On the 12th they advanced along La Dame Ravine, but lost the N.E. slopes of Mort-Homme on the 15th.

On the 23rd, after an uninterrupted bombardment, begun the day before, the Germans launched their greatest attack. Seventeen regiments were hurled simultaneously against the Thiaumont—Fleury—Souville front, resulting in the capture of the Thiaumont redoubt and the gaining of a footing in the village of Fleury, but failing to take the fort of Souville. Froide-Terre Hill, momentarily invaded, was cleared of the enemy by a grenade and bayonet attack.

On the following days, the fighting centred around the Thiaumont redoubt, which changed hands many times, remaining finally with the enemy on June 30th.

Combats, frequent and furious, continued on both banks until the middle of August.

FRENCH COUNTER-OFFENSIVES—CLEARING VERDUN

_October–December, 1916–August, 1917_

The French Offensive of October 24th, 1916, on the Right Bank of the Meuse

From August, 1916, the Germans, in consequence of the Franco-British offensive in the Somme, gradually abandoned Verdun, in which venture she had sacrificed the pick of her troops. The army of Verdun took advantage of this to regain the initiative of the operations.

Under the command of General Mangin the French attacked from Thiaumont to Laufée Wood on October 24th, 1916, the artillery preparation by 650 guns, including the new 15-inch and 16-inch mortars, beginning on October 20th. On the 22nd a feint attack enabled French aeroplanes to locate 158 enemy batteries, which were heavily shelled the next day.

That the Germans did not realise the position was evident from the Crown Prince’s announcement that he had broken a strong French attack. The real attack took place on the morning of the 24th (_see map, p. 20_).

The German front was held on the first line by seven divisions. The French attacked with three divisions: the 38th (Guyot de Salins), supported on the left by the 11th line regiment; the 133rd (Passaga), known as “La Gauloise”; the 74th (de Lardemelle).

The attack was a brilliant success and gave the French the Haudromont quarries, Thiaumont redoubt and farm, Douaumont fort and village, the northern edge of Caillette Wood, Vaux pond, the eastern edge of Fumin Wood and Damloup battery. On the 24th and 25th more than 6,000 prisoners, fifteen guns, and considerable quantities of material, were captured. On November 2nd, when the French re-entered Vaux Fort, abandoned by the enemy, they practically reoccupied their positions of February 24th.

The French Offensive of December 15th, 1916, on the Right Bank of the Meuse

To completely clear Verdun to the east of the Meuse and give greater freedom to the reconquered forts of Vaux and Douaumont, General Mangin organised a new attack. A great amount of preparatory work was done by the army of Verdun, including about eighteen miles of road (whereof one of logs laid transversely for the artillery), more than six miles of narrow-gauge railway, and a network of trenches and depots for munitions and material. As soon as these very considerable preparations, often carried out under heavy enemy shell-fire, were finished, the attacking troops took up their positions: the 126th D.I. (Muteau), 38th D.I. (Guyot de Salins), 37th D.I. (Garnier-Duplessis) and 133rd D.I. (Passaga), with the 123rd, 128th, 21st and 6th D.I. as reserves. Two lines of artillery prepared and sustained the attack: one from Vacherauville to Thiaumont, Fleury and Souville, the other passing through Belleville, St. Michel Hill and Tavannes Fort. The six-mile German front from Vacherauville to Bezonvaux was held by five divisions in the first line, with four divisions in reserve.

On December 15th, while Germany was proposing that France should ask for peace, the reply came in the form of attacking waves protected by a moving curtain of artillery fire.

Several of the objectives, including Vacherauville, Poivre Hill, Hill 342 and the first and second lines before Louvemont, were reached in a few minutes at a single bound. Albain and Chauffour Woods, those in front of Douaumont and Helly Ravine, took longer to capture. To the east La Vauche Wood was carried at the point of the bayonet, Caurières Wood passed, and the edges of Chaume Wood reached. The farm of Les Chambrettes and village of Bezonvaux were taken on the following days. The success was considerable, more than 11,000 prisoners, including 300 officers, 115 guns, several hundred machine-guns and important depots of munitions and material, being captured. The enemy who, in July, had been within a few hundred yards of Souville Fort, was now more than three miles away. In June, the _Frankfort Gazette_, celebrating the German successes at Verdun, declared: “We have clinched our victory and none can take it from us,” but on December 18th they had lost all the ground it had taken five months and enormous sacrifices to conquer.

In congratulating the troops General Mangin reminded them that Germany had just invited France to sue for peace, adding that they had been “the true ambassadors of the Republic.”

The French Offensive of August 20th, 1917

The Army of Verdun, under General Guillaumat, completed the clearing of the city on both banks of the Meuse.

On August 20th, 1917, eight divisions attacked from Avocourt Wood on the west to Bezonvaux on the east, along a fifteen-mile front. Avocourt Wood, Mort-Homme, Corbeaux Wood and Oie Hill on the left bank; Talou Hill, the villages of Champ, Neuville and Champneuville, Hill 344, parts of Fosses Wood, Chaume Wood and Mormont Farm, on the right bank, were captured by the French, who, the next day, also took Samogneux and Regnéville. Hill 304, which had thus far resisted, was likewise captured. On the 26th a further attack from Mormont Redoubt to Chaume Wood brought the French to the southern outskirts of Beaumont. From the 20th to the 26th August the captures include 9,500 prisoners, thirty guns, 100 trench mortars and 242 machine-guns.

The American Offensive of September 26th, 1918

(_See Panorama, pp. 106 and 107_)

The clearing of Verdun was entirely and definitely effected in the autumn of 1918.

While the 4th French Army, under General Gouraud, attacked between the Moronvillers Hills and Argonne on September 26th, the American Army, under General Pershing, took the offensive between the Argonne and the Meuse.

Artillery preparation commenced at 2.30 a.m. and lasted three hours. At 5.30 a.m. the Americans attacked with great dash the redoubtable enemy positions on the left bank of the Meuse, capturing Malancourt, Béthincourt and Forges. Keeping up with the infantry, the artillery crossed the Forges stream during the morning. The woods, very strongly defended, were cleared of the enemy, and by noon the Americans had reached Gercourt, Cuisy, the southern part of Montfaucon and Cheppy.

In the afternoon a desperate battle was engaged on the positions covering the redoubtable ridge of Montfaucon, the most important enemy observation-post in the region of Verdun. The Americans wisely turned the ridge on the right, advancing as far as Septsarges. By evening Montfaucon was surrounded. The advance, now slower, continued on the 27th and 28th, despite German counter-attacks. To the west of Montfaucon, Ivoiry and Epinouville were captured, and thus the ridge fell. The Americans took 8,000 prisoners and 100 guns.

The Franco-American Offensive of October, 1918

On the right bank of the Meuse, a French army corps and American troops, under General Pershing, joined in the struggle, capturing Brabant, Haumont, Haumont Wood and Caures Wood, while the famous line from which, in February, 1916, the Crown Prince’s army had attacked Verdun, was soon reached and passed. By the end of October more than 20,000 prisoners, 150 guns, nearly 1,000 trench-mortars and several thousand machine-guns, had been captured, while unconquered Verdun was definitely lost to the Germans. Their retreat was now destined to continue uninterruptedly until the Armistice.

CONCLUSION

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

The battle did not develop “according to plan,” its successive phases being determined by circumstances.

The huge numbers of troops which the Germans were compelled to engage brings out very clearly the immensity of their effort and the different phases of the struggle.

* * * * *

The first and shortest phase (February 21st–March 1st) was that of the =surprise attack= by a large concentration of specially trained troops.

To the six German divisions which had been holding the Verdun sector since the Battle of the Marne, were added nine full divisions, rested and trained for attack.

Of these fifteen divisions ten took part in the surprise attack, their losses being immediately made good by reserves stationed in the rear of each army corps. At the end of February, in consequence of the French withdrawal in Woevre, two further divisions strengthened enemy action in that region.

* * * * *

The second phase (March 2nd–April 15th) marked the =general attack= on both banks of the Meuse, in place of the surprise attack which had failed.

During this period nine and a half fresh German divisions were engaged, of which four came from the Eastern front.

At the same time two and a half German divisions were withdrawn and rested in quiet sectors, while four others were sent to the rear to reform, two of them being, however, again engaged after twenty days’ rest.

* * * * *

The third phase (April 15th–July 1st) was that of =attrition=. After the failure of their general attack and to avoid avowal of their defeat, the Germans persisted in their attacks on Verdun.

Twelve fresh divisions were engaged, in addition to three others which had been sent to the rear to reform. On the other hand, fourteen divisions were withdrawn and sent to the rear, to Russia, or other sectors on the French front.

* * * * *

The fourth phase (July 1st, 1916, to 1917) was that of the =retreat and stabilisation=. The Germans were exhausted and compelled to use their reserves for the Russian front and especially in the Somme. Their activities on the Verdun front were limited to making good their losses. However, they were finally obliged to weaken this front to a point that they were unable to reply to the French attacks.

From August 21st to October 1st, the Germans brought up only one division and withdrew four. From October 1st to 24th, three divisions relieved nearly five. After October 24th the strength of the enemy forces varied only slightly, the French offensives preventing any further weakening of the front. The attrition caused by the French attacks of October 24th and December 15th gave rise only to rapid replacements of about equal importance.

In brief, from February 21st, 1916, to February 1st, 1917, the Germans engaged fifty-six and a half divisions (or 567 battalions), of which six divisions appeared successively on both banks of the Meuse, eight others being also engaged twice and six three times. In reality, in the course of eleven months, eighty-two and a half German divisions took part in the attacks on Verdun, which they had expected to crush in a few days with ten to twelve divisions. The contrast between this formidable effort and the meagre results obtained is striking, and is a splendid testimony to the courage and tenacity of the defenders. The Battle of Verdun in 1916 was not merely a severe local setback for the Germans; by using up their best troops it had also very important strategical consequences. Their successes were few, temporary, and dearly bought. Advancing painfully, each step forward was marked by a mountain of corpses. Up to the end of the War, even after the Battles of the Somme and Aisne in 1910 and 1917, and after the Battle of Champagne in 1918, Verdun remained a hideous spectre for the German people, while their soldiers surnamed it “=The Slaughter-House of Germany=.”

As the French President, M. Poincaré, declared, on handing to the Mayor of Verdun the decorations conferred on that city by the Allied nations, it was before the walls of Verdun that “the supreme hope of Imperial Germany was crushed.” It was at Verdun that Germany sought the “kolossal” victory which was to enslave the world, and it was there that France quietly but firmly replied “No road.” For centuries to come the name of Verdun will continue to ring in the ears of humanity like a shout of victory and a cry of deliverance.

Verdun Decorated

It was in a casemate of the Citadel, transformed into a _salle de fêtes_, that, on September 13th, 1916, Président Poincaré handed the undermentioned decorations, conferred on the city by the Chiefs of State of the Allied countries, to the Municipal Authorities of Verdun: St. George’s Cross of Russia (white enamel); the British Military Cross (silver); the medal for military valour of Italy (gold); the Cross of Leopold I. of Belgium (gold); the medal “Ohilitch” of Montenegro (gold); the “Croix de la Légion d’Honneur” and the “Croix de Guerre” of France. Since then the French Government has conferred a Sword of Honour on the city. Generals Joffre, Pétain and Nivelle, the Military Governor (General Dubois), the French War Minister and representatives of the Allied Nations were present at this moving ceremony, which consecrated the heroic resistance of the army of Verdun and the German defeat.

A VISIT TO THE CITY OF VERDUN

VISIT TO THE CITY

From the =Porte-de-France=, whose entrance arcade on the bridge dates from Louis XIV., _take the Rue St. Maur, leading to the Place du Gouvernement_.

This square owes its name to the building called “Le Gouvernement,” or “Ancien Logis du Roi.” Residence of the War Minister, M. Louvois, in 1687, and to-day a barracks for the gendarmes. It was damaged by the bombardment.

_From the Place du Gouvernement go_ via _the Rue Chevert to the Place d’Armes_.

The =Place d’Armes=, badly damaged by bombardment, occupies the site of a tower (Tour le Princier) of the old rampart.

Go down the Rue St. Pierre.

_Turning to the left into the Rue St. Paul, the tourist passes in front of_ =the College=.

The present building was erected in 1890 on the site of the old college, founded in 1570 by Bishop Nicolas Psaume in the grounds of the ancient Hôpital de St. Nicolas-de-Gravière. Its church, a fine Ionic structure, was built in 1730 by the Jesuits. The college was one of the first buildings to be damaged by the bombardment, being struck in 1915, prior to the great German offensive against Verdun.

_Continue along Rue St. Paul as far as the_ =Palais de Justice= _and the_ =Sub-Préfecture= (_photo, p. 34_).

These two buildings are the remains of the second Abbey of the Premonstrants of St. Paul, built inside the town after 1552. The first, situated without the walls, was destroyed by order of the Military Authorities, who feared a siege by Charles Quint.

In the SOUS-PRÉFECTURE vestiges of the ancient monastery are more numerous and apparent. The _Salle des Archives_, with its slender columns and great Renaissance bays, was the monks’ refectory. The _Cabinet du Sous-Préfet_, with its austere vaulting, has retained its archaic appearance. In the _Loge du Concierge_ (caretaker’s lodge) there still exists one of the original mantelpieces, with carving representing Abraham sacrificing Isaac. The marble-paved _vestibule_ and fine _staircase_ are also 16th century.

The interior arrangement of the Palais de Justice buildings, whose façade is ornamented with a finely carved semicircular _pediment_, has been changed. Of the old convent there now only remains the Salle des Pas-Perdus, formerly the cloister.

The =Hôtel de la Cloche d’Or=, near by, has been installed in the ancient “Procure” of the same monastery (St. Paul’s).

The books and woodwork of the monastery have been removed to the Municipal Library.

_Return by the Rue St. Paul to the Rue Chaussée, into which turn to the left; at the end is the_ =Chaussée Gate= (_hist. mon._), built about 1380 (_see pp. 35 and 58_).

Its architecture recalls that of the Bastille. Half of the left tower on the river was rebuilt in 1690, exactly on the same lines and with the stones of the old tower; the semicircular arcade and the pediment facing the bridge are of the same date.

The pediment between the two towers was struck by shell splinters, otherwise the bombardments did not damage the gate.

_Cross the Chaussée Bridge over the Meuse, then take on the right the Boulevard de la République, which passes in front of the Cercle Militaire (Military Club)._

_Take on the left, the Rue du Puty and the Rue des Tanneries, then the Minimes Bridge (also on the left), at the end of which is_ =St. Saviour’s Church=.

The church is modern, having replaced the old Église des Minimes in 1830. It contains, however, some interesting stained-glass windows, while at the entrance is the tomb of the founder of the old church, Bishop Bousnard, deceased in 1584.

_Return by the Rue des Tanneries to the Rue du Puty, turn to the left, reaching the_ =Place Chevert= _on the right bank of the Meuse (see photo, p. 37)_.

There is a fine view of the upper town, bishop’s palace and cathedral from this square. The latter was begun in 1552, after the Church of St. Croix had been pulled down. A statue of _General Chevert_, by the sculptor of the pediment of the Madeleine in Paris (Lemaire), has been erected on the site of this church. In December, 1916, this statue was removed to the underground vaults of the Citadelle.