Part 4

=The Citadelle.=

The Citadelle occupies the site of the ancient abbeys or churches of Sainte-Vanne, erected in the Merovingian period and the 15th century.

The first Citadelle was completed under Henry IV. The second was the work of Vauban. The church of Sainte-Vanne which had survived was pulled down in 1831. During the war, the deep underground caves were a safe place of refuge for the inhabitants before their departure and for relief troops during the battle.

_On leaving the Citadelle, turn right and go down the slope towards the Meuse and the Rue de Rû, keeping to the right. Go by the stores and then the octroi where the shops are located, and enter the Citadelle by No. 4 listening-post, to visit some of the caverns fitted up as they were in the war._

_Here can be seen in particular, under a military guide, the chamber of honour where were laid to rest in November 1920 the bodies of 8 unknown soldiers, from among whom was taken the Unknown Warrior who rests in Paris beneath the Arc de Triomphe._

_Return from the Citadelle by the Rue de Rû, passing the theatre. Continue along the Rue Mazel to the site of the monument "Aux morts de Verdun" (see next page), return to the Place Mazel, turn right, cross the Meuse, and the Place Chevert is reached._

_From the Place Chevert, follow the Meuse to the right to the Porte Chaussée._

=The Porte Chaussée=

Its architecture is reminiscent of the Bastille. Half of the left tower, on the river, was rebuilt in 1690 on exactly the same lines and with stones of the old tower: the semi-circular arcade and the pediment facing the bridge are of the same date.

ROUTES FOR VISITING THE BATTLE-FIELDS OF VERDUN.

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_

_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.

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.=

=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.

_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.

=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.

=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...."

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.

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.

The Germans reorganised on the flanks of the hill and repulsed all counter-attacks.

=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.

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._

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.

=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.