Part 5

VI.—From Douaumont Fort to Bras and Samogneux

_A down-hill road leads direct from Douaumont Village to Thiaumont Farm, where the tourist will take his car again._

_Follow the road, which turns to the left and passes through Dame Ravine._ On all sides the chaotic waste testifies to the terrible hammering which this region received from the guns (_see photo, p. 78, and map, p. 73_).

_The tourist leaves_ =Chauffour Wood= _on his right_ (_photos, p. 78_).

This wood extends to the north of the road and approaches to within a few hundred yards of Douaumont on the west. The CVth German Infantry was cut to pieces here on the morning of February 26th, 1916, and on March 2nd the XXIst German Division suffered a similar fate there. During a powerful attack around Douaumont on April 16th the Germans occupied a small salient S. of the wood, but were soon after partially driven out, while on December 17th the wood was entirely cleared of them by the Zouaves and Tirailleurs of the 38th D.I. The enemy’s efforts to retake it and Albain Wood to the S.W. were unsuccessful.

_Continue to descend_; =Haudromont Quarries= _will be reached shortly afterwards_.

Around these positions, which dominate the ravine debouching at 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.

_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._

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

_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._)

=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.

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_).

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.

_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=.

(_Consider the four parts from left to right, across both pages; the top half fits on to the left of the bottom half._)

2nd ITINERARY: THE LEFT BANK OF THE MEUSE

including Cumières, Oie Hill, Mort-Homme, Montfaucon, Hill 304, and Avocourt (_see description, pp. 90–111_)

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.

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_.

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.

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.”

_From_ =Cumières= _continue straight ahead to Oie Hill, from where the above panoramic view was taken_.

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_).

_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.

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.

=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_).

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)._

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_).

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.

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=.

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.