Part 5

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_).

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.

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.

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.

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.

_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.

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.

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.

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.

_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._

_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.=

_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.

_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".

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".

=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.

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.

=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.

=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.

=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.

"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".

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.