VERDUN DURING THE BATTLE OF THE MARNE (continued 2)

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".

The vast Cemetery of Fleury.—On the horizon Douaumont fort.

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".

The Ruins of the Redoubt, a month later, in German hands.

In the foreground, the barbed wire entanglements in front of the French line.

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.

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.

Douaumont fort in May 1921.

In front of the entanglements, the path leading up to the superstructure of the fort.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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 monument erected to the memory of the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 74th.

(Photo Martin Collardelle, Verdun.)

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.

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.

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.

The ruins of Thiaumont Farm in May 1916.

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.

Tomb of General Ancelin, killed in action on October 24th 1916, in front of Douaumont.

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.

At the entrance to the temporary Mortuary: the statue of resignation.

The Mortuary of Douaumont.

The Lighthouse of Douaumont.

It will shine forth at night over the immortal battlefield of Verdun.

Model supplied by the architects, Leon Azema and Jacques Hardy.

Cloister of the Mortuary of Douaumont.—Recesses for the tombs.

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."

The interior of the Monument of "Bayonet Trench".

The wrought iron gate of the entrance porch of the Monument, carried out by M. E. Brandt, art iron-worker (101, Boulev. Murat, Paris).

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.

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.

Helly ravine in May 1921.—On the horizon, Poivre Hill.

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.

Poivre Hill.

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.

(Photo Martin Collardelle.)

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.

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 4½ miles from Vacherauville at the junction of the road followed with the road which branches off to Flabas (See plan p. 60).

The Ruins of Bras in 1918.

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.

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: THE LEFT BANK OF THE MEUSE.

Leave Verdun by the Porte de France. Beyond the railway bridge, keep straight along the valley of the Meuse which is dominated on the right by Belleville Hill.

Pass through Thierville village.

Opposite is seen Marre fort. At the foot of the hill on which the fort stands, turn to the right. Leaving on the left the farm of Villers-les-Moines, the road then climbs a small eminence, Hill 243, below which is the Charny redoubt. The road branching off to the right crosses the railway and leads to Charny.

It was at Charny that the Germans crossed the Meuse in 1870. Here they shot the retired notary, M. Violard, on the pretext that he had aided the francs-tireurs in a surprise attack.

The road skirts the north slopes of the hills on which stand the modern forts of Vacherauville, Marre and Bois-Bourrus.

Charny.

The Church and the main street in January 1916.

Charny.

The village in January 1917.

The church and the main street in May 1919.

Marre will be found almost entirely destroyed. After passing the ruins of the church, take the right-hand road and keep straight on to Cumières. Half-way the station is passed on the right and on the left is the road to Chattancourt.

Attacked on March 14th, and destroyed by shell fire on April 25th, Cumières was only captured by the enemy during the night of May 23rd-24th. On May 26th, in the evening, after a desperate struggle the French retook the eastern portion.

The ruins of Marre. After passing the church, the car turns right, towards Cumières. On the left, the road to Bourrus woods is impassable.

On May 29th and 30th, after two days of continuous bombardment, they were momentarily driven back by superior numbers towards Chattancourt, but a vigorous counter-attack brought the French again to the southern outskirts of the village. Caurettes wood, however, to the south-west of Cumières remained in the enemy's hands.

On August 20th 1917, Cumières village and wood were recaptured by a regiment of the Foreign Legion who attacked singing La Madelon.

From Cumières the road goes straight on to Oie Hill.

Cumières Village in August 1917.

Chattancourt in 1921.—The exit from the village to Mort-Homme.

From Cumières, return to Chattancourt station and keep right along the road to Chattancourt. About 800 metres further on the village of Chattancourt, completely levelled to the ground, is reached.

From Chattancourt the positions of Mort-Homme can be visited by the road going to Bethincourt. 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 Bethincourt by the Forges stream, which has entirely flooded the lower part of the village.

The "Place" of Chattancourt in June 1916.

Chattancourt on May 16th, 1916.—On the horizon, The Slopes of Mort-Homme.

Chattancourt in June 1916.—The entrance to 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 Bethincourt-Cumières road skirts the summit) and No. 295 (the Morte-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 bombardment lasting five hours, sometimes at the rate of 120 shells to the minute, consisting of shells of all kinds, time-fuse, percussion, poison gas and tear gas, the enemy's infantry attack on Mort-Homme began.

The 25th Division (Debeney), under orders not to fall back, was half buried and asphyxiated. Four colonels, including Colonel Garçon commanding the brigade, and their staffs fell, rifles in hand.

Hill 265 was taken but the infantry and zouaves, by a magnificent defence, held their ground on Hill 295, the key to the entire position. A counter-attack by the 15th Regiment further drove back the attackers to the North-West counter-slopes.

Mort-Homme in April 1916.

On April 9th, the enemy crept up the ravine of Corbeaux wood and attacked the line between the summits of Hills 265 and 295. During a struggle of unprecedented fury lasting over four hours and foiled four times in succession, the enemy reorganised and made fresh attacks until evening. The 8th and 16th battalions of chasseurs and the 2nd battalion of the 151st Line Regiment repulsed the Germans in terrific hand-to-hand fighting. The 8th battalion of chasseurs, "the battalion of Sidi Brahim" was outflanked on the wings and fought with three fronts, determined to hold on till the last man fell.

Mort-Homme.—In the captured trenches (August 1917).

On the 20th, the 32nd French Corps (Berthelot), in their turn, took the offensive. After a careful artillery preparation, three battalions of the 40th Infantry Division passed Hill 295 and established their line on the north slopes. The enemy counter-attacked with an effort to outflank Mort-Homme by Hayette ravine but suffered terrible losses.

On the summit of Mort-Homme, the 150th Infantry Regiment repulsed all the attacks of a determined enemy and held Hill 295.

In order to ensure a greater measure of security, orders were given to protect, by means of wire entanglements, the small defensive post at the top of the hill. As soon as night fell, a man volunteered to put the first entanglement in place and was immediately shot dead. A second man immediately took his dead comrade's place and carried on with the work. He too, was killed. The same fate befell a third man, who after seeing his two fellow-soldiers killed, volunteered to continue with the task. A fourth man brought in the three bodies of the men who had just been killed in trying to put the entanglements in position, and then volunteered to fix a fourth entanglement alongside the others. Eventually the small outpost was entirely protected, and thanks to the sacrifice of these four brave men of the 150th Regiment, the enemy's efforts failed to pierce the defences.

Finally on May 23rd, a fresh German Corps was hurled against the summit of Mort-Homme, and succeeded in gaining possession of it.

From June 9th to 24th, the enemy were unable to debouch from Mort-Homme owing to the firm stand taken up by the 15th Corps (Maud'huy).

On June 15th, more than a kilometre of trenches was actually recaptured from the enemy.

On the summit of Mort-Homme, the Monument to the 69th Division.

In 1917, the sector was often the scene of violent combats, the Germans ending by occupying Hills 265 and 295. In these they organised formidable defences, according to their usual practice, especially as regards deep shell-proof tunnels. During the offensive of August 20th 1917 the 31st Infantry Division recaptured Mort-Homme and its tunnels.

Follow the clearly marked path which ascends the slopes of Mort-Homme as far as the monuments to the 40th and 69th Divisions. By following the trench a little beyond the monument to the 40th Infantry Division and to the right, one reaches the mouth of and steps down to the Bismarck tunnel. Continue along the ridge towards Corbeaux wood, from whence there is a panorama view of the valley of the Forges stream and the heights north of this valley (the old French line of March 1916). On the right can be seen Caurettes ravine with its denuded wood.

About 200 yards in front of the edge of Corbeaux wood, a stairway with a hundred steps gives access to an enormous German tunnel, joining Forges ravine and Caurettes ravine.

This tunnel, called Corbeaux tunnel by the French and Gallwitz tunnel by the Germans was captured by the 7th tirailleurs of the famous Morocco division.

On August 20th 1917, this tunnel was passed over but the enemy still held out in it.

Zouaves and tirailleurs kept careful watch at all the exits and ventilating shafts of this immense underground cavern, and it was not until the following day that the garrison of eleven hundred men including a colonel, three battalion commanders, and all their staff gave themselves up.

Continue as far as the northern edges of Corbeaux wood.

On the Summit of Mort-Homme, the Monument to the 40th Division.

(Photo Martin Collardelle.)

Corbeaux Wood.

The table-lands dominated by the two Mort-Homme hills are cut on the north by a ravine bounded at the bottom by Corbeaux wood. This was a favourable spot for the massing and launching of attacking troops to reach Hill 295. On March 6th, the French line was brought back to the northern edges of the wood. On the 7th, the enemy succeeded in getting a footing there, wild hand-to-hand fighting being accompanied with so much bloodshed that in many places the snow became red. On the 8th, the 92nd Infantry Regiment retook the wood in twenty minutes; on the 10th, at nightfall, the 92nd, deprived of its colonel and receiving no support from the French artillery who failed to see their rocket signals on account of the intervening wood, had to give ground inch by inch under the assault of an entire German division.

Corbeaux Tunnel after its capture (August 22nd 1917).

The road from Chattancourt to Esnes, at the foot of Hill 275.

In the background where the roads meet (Montzéville to the left, Esnes to the right), take the one on the right to Esnes.

Return to the car by the same path. From Mort-Homme go back to Chattancourt and take the road on the right to Esnes. This rather steep road climbs the northern slopes of Hill 275, bringing one to a pass from which Hill 304 may be seen opposite. Continue as far as the cross-roads where turn right to go into Esnes. After passing the ruins of Esnes church, keep straight on, taking the second turn on the right not the first which leads to Bethincourt.

Esnes Village, September 25th 1916.

Esnes.—The Road to Bethincourt in May 1921.

Do not take the left-hand road which ends in a very steep rough track in a bad state of repair (plan p. 118). The second road to the right twists and turns, leading to the Calvary of Esnes, from which there is a magnificent view of the battlefields on the left bank from Mort-Homme to Bois-Bourrus. At the Calvary, take the right-hand of the two roads.

This road passes between Hill 287 and the famous Hill 304.

Esnes.—The Road shown above, before the War.

Hill 304.

Hill 304, with Hills 287 and 310 South of Esnes, forms a line of natural fortresses which kept under their cross fire not only the roads of approach but also the bare glacis or the steep escarpments immediately bordering them.

The nearest sheltered approaches to Hill 304 are Avocourt and Malancourt woods. From these woods started the first attack conducted by the 11th Bavarian Division against the hill on March 20th 1916.

The Bavarians were checked, however, by the French cross fire, on the long barren slopes leading to the ridge. From March 20th to 22nd their three regiments lost, to no purpose, from fifty to sixty per cent of their effective strength. On April 9th, before Hill 287, the first German attacking wave succeeded in gaining the support trench, but the French survivors in the advance trench crawled out from among the dead and debris of their trench and annihilated the attackers.

On May 3rd, 80 German batteries concentrated their fire on Hill 304 and its approaches.

Clouds of black, green and yellow smoke rose from the hill-top as from a volcano, obscuring the sky to a height of 2,500 feet, according to the reports of aviators. As a British war correspondent put it: "The sky was like a dome of invisible rails on which fast trains ran madly". On May 4th and 5th, a fresh German division attempted to occupy the position, believing it and its defenders to have been annihilated. On the 4th, they gained a footing on the North slopes of Hill 304, from which they were dislodged during the night by the 68th, who then had to withdraw. On the 5th the same German division attacked the Camard Wood and Hill 287 on the left. In this wood, entirely levelled by an eleven-hour bombardment, the 66th Line Regiment first held up, then charged the assailants at the point of the bayonet. At Hill 287 a battalion of the 32nd Line Regiment likewise brilliantly repulsed two attacks. On May 7th, after a tremendous shelling, the enemy attacked Hill 304 simultaneously from three sides with troops from five different divisions. It was their greatest effort against this position. Thanks to two French regiments of picked troops (125th and 114th), one company of which charged, to the strains of La Marseillaise, the Germans were thrown into disorder and driven back to the N. slopes. During the rest of the month the enemy counter-attacked but without success.

On June 29th and 30th, the enemy endeavoured to outflank Hill 304 East and West, by means of liquid fire.

During December, fresh efforts came to nothing.

Recaptured trench on Hill 304, August 24th, 1917.

During 1917, the Germans continued stubbornly with their attacks on Hill 304.

On June 28th and 29th, a powerful attack carried Hill 304 and an advance was made between the hill and the south-east corner of Avocourt wood, in a slight hollow, known as Col de Pommerieux. This hollow was, however, reconquered on July 17th by the French 51st and 87th Infantry Regiments, supported by two battalions of the 97th Infantry Division (335th and 346th Regiments) and one battalion of the 73rd Infantry Division. After a remarkable artillery preparation, the French infantrymen, in half-an-hour, reached the fortified crest, and regained a kilometre of ground. The 87th Line Regiment, went 300 yards beyond their allotted objective and captured an observation post, in front of the crest, which they promptly christened "Le créneau de Gretchen". The attack caught the enemy off their guard at the very moment a relief was being carried out, and 520 prisoners belonging to three different divisions were taken.

The top of Hill 304 seen from Pommerieux Plateau.

On August 24th, Hill 304 was wrested from the Germans by the 272nd and 128th Infantry Regiments of the 5th Brigade (Nérel). This brigade which attacked in front of Hill 304, on the Pommerieux plateau and at Camard wood, captured prisoners belonging to five German divisions. On the same evening, after capturing Hill 304 this brigade stormed several redoubts and carried the first line to the Forges stream, i.e. more than two kilometres from the starting point.

Avocourt village in March 1916.

From Hill 304, return to the Esnes Calvary and from there take the road on the right to Avocourt.

Avocourt, Avocourt and Malancourt Woods.

One of the finest feats of arms in the battle of Verdun was performed at Avocourt.

The centre of Avocourt, in April 1916.

On March 20th, 1916, the Germans who had never been able to take the village, attacked the wood with a fresh division, the 11th Bavarian Division. The attack succeeded, with the help of liquid fire. A French counter-attack on the 29th by the 210th Infantry Regiment, and a battalion of the 157th, recaptured the wood and the redoubt known as the "Réduit d'Avocourt". The attacking troops which had not been revictualled for four days, had finished their reserve rations twelve hours previously. So fatigued were they that they slept standing despite the bombardment. To rouse them, their chiefs, at 3 a.m. next morning, ordered the buglers and drummers to play. As the day was breaking the music suddenly stopped, a shell having buried all save one drummer. Furious at this, the men, with the drummer at their head, rushed forward, and by 8 a.m. the wood had been entirely reconquered.

A trench in the ruins of Avocourt in April, 1917.

Site of Avocourt Village in November 1918.

Malancourt Wood in 1916.

Photographed from the French line. The sandbags mark the German line.

A German dump in Avocourt Wood (August 1919).

A sausage (Observation Balloon) in the neighbourhood of Regret.

From Avocourt, return to Esnes. Again take the Chattancourt road but about 1,500 metres from Esnes, take the road on the right to Montzéville, G. C. 18, as far as Dombasle-en-Argonne, where take R. N. 3 to Verdun.

Dombasle was one of the points where the Sainte-Menehould-Verdun railway was bombarded.

Brocourt (4 km. south of Dombasle): Aeroplane hangars hit by shell fire (August 1916).

In the Circuit de Nixéville (the loop which bounds the "Sacred Way" on the north), a regiment entering lorries to be taken to rest billets.

Going through Blercourt, there are two level crossings to pass: after the second, the "Sacred Way" branches off on the right to Bar-le-Duc, via Souilly.

Refugees from the Verdun District passing through Souilly along the "Sacred Way" worn into furrows by motor convoys.

The fate of Verdun, even of France, depended on this road. Disintegrated by frost and thaw, and subjected to the wild rush of transport which in the space of five days raised the fighting strength of the Verdun army from 150,000 to 800,000, this road visibly sank. When General Pétain took command of the battle on February 25th, his first care was to ensure that this road was firm and sound. All along the road 16,000 men divided into gangs were engaged upon the task of repairing it. Quarries were opened in the vicinity, and without interrupting the convoys of lorries which ran at regular intervals, thousands of roadmen threw tons of stones on the road. The road stood up to the strain and carried all necessary supplies up to the vast battle.

Re-enter Verdun by the Porte de France.

3rd. Itinerary: THE TRANCHÉE DE CALONNE THE RIDGE OF ÉPARGES, THE WOËVRE

Leave Verdun by the Pont Beaurepaire, Rue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, Rue St-Sauveur, Rue St-Victor, the Porte Nationale and R. N. 3 (See plan of Verdun, exit III).

Follow R. N. 3 for two and a half kilometres and then take R. N. 64, on the right, which follows the Meuse valley, towards Houdainville and Dieue-sur-Meuse. At the latter village, turn left along I. C. 5 to Sommedieue. This very picturesque road climbs through Amblonville forest towards the Tranchée de Calonne, I. C. 3 which should be taken on the right.

The Tranchée de Calonne.

It is almost straight, crossing the entire Amblonville forest. It was formerly the haunt of poachers and hunters only.

But now the Tranchée de Calonne evokes more tragic memories. From the word "Tranchée" it might be supposed that it was a relic of the Great War. It is not so, however, since for more than a century this name had been given to the road which M. de Calonne, Minister of Finance under Louis XVI, had had laid out on the ridge of hills to approach his château, built at the foot of the Heights of the Meuse. This château was destroyed during the Revolution.

The Tranchée de Calonne.

French trenches and observation posts, on the right of the road, in the Taillis de Sauls, in front of the Éparges road (plan on opposite page).

The story goes that M. de Calonne hoped one day to receive the king in his residence, and wishing to welcome him in a worthy manner, had planted rose trees all along the road. Anyway, during the war wild roses could be seen blooming along this forest road which became indeed a "trench" in the military sense of the word.

The front cut the "tranchée de Calonne" a little to the south-west of Saint-Rémy. On both sides it was bombarded and kept busy with never-ending attacks and counter-attacks.

In March 1915, the French brought into position there naval 140 guns intended for firing at a 12,000 metre range over Éparges, right behind the enemy lines. It was with difficulty that the sailors installed their heavy guns in this clay soil.

This effective bombardment irritated the Germans, who on the 24th, launched a mass attack which reached the third support line.

The naval officers who were isolated in their post with their telephone wires cut and no contact with the infantry, rapidly organised their defence and swept the ground with the fire of their only heavy guns and a few 75s, dragged up by hand, which fired with their sights at zero.

The Germans, however, continued to advance, and on the 25th they were no more than one kilometre from the guns, the only protection for the sailors now being broken down trenches and the remains of barbed wire entanglements. On the 26th, while the sailors were preparing to make a firm stand against the enemy's attack, two French battalions of chasseurs, called in to reinforce, crawled through the undergrowth and gradually got up to the position from which they counter-attacked. On the 27th, the firing died down, but the Germans reorganised and again attacked on May 5th. The first rush gave them some advantages, which were quickly wrested from them by the arrival in the field of the Moroccan brigade and six battalions of chasseurs who recaptured, in a few hours, all the ground lost on April 24th.

The Tranchée de Calonne.

On the left, commences the Éparges road which is impassable for cars.

The Tranchée de Calonne enters the forest, every part of which was used by both sides during the war for engineers' and artillery parks, aid posts, shelters, small-gauge railways and gun emplacements of which trace can still be found.

On the left the bifurcation of Mont-sous-les-Cotes is passed.

Soon the forest clears and then only blackened tree stumps are seen, cut by shot and shell, as the old lines are crossed.

Pass the road junction, to the left of the Éparges road, a road which is broken up and impassable. Continue along the Tranchée de Calonne which crosses, at 1,500 metres, the hill of Senoux near which were the enemy first line trenches. Turn left along I. C. 13 in the direction of Saint-Rémy. After 2½ kilometres the road descends as far as the stream of Longeau or Éparges.

All along this road, on the left side, the Germans had built into the hill concrete dug outs, pillboxes, underground galleries and headquarters posts and there are also some German tombs.

Tranchée de Calonne Road to Saint-Rémy. (German dug-outs).

Saint-Rémy Church and Village.

On the right the horizon is bounded by Combres Ridge, on the left by Éparges Crest.

On reaching the valley, near the stream, there are cross-roads, the road on right leading to Saint-Rémy, the ruins of which can be seen. Continue straight on to Combres, along an uphill road. Beyond the crest, at a sharp turn to the right, opposite a large blockhouse, get out of the car and proceed left along the path to the Éparges crest, which at first runs along the south slope of the spur in the old German positions. Notice on the right the entrances to many huge mine galleries which, under the crest, communicate with the openings on the north slope. The path rises to the eastern edge of the spur, point X (on plan), whence there is a wide view over the Woëvre. Return along the trenches on the crest. On the north slopes were the French lines containing a series of huge mine craters organised into defensive positions. At the highest point marked by a sign post, an excellent general view of the position is obtained.

Éparges Spur.

The path of the itinerary is shown by a dotted line.

Éparges Spur.

Éparges spur, 1,400 metres in length and 346 in height, dominates the Woëvre plain. Its sides are steep and slippery, springs break out of the soil and small streams drain down its slopes. It is in very truth, as it has been called, "a mountain of mud". It is a magnificent observation post which dominates the surrounding country. "He who holds Éparges, has all the roads under fire".

The Germans gained possession of Éparges on September 21st 1914 and quickly organised several lines of trenches between the summit and the valleys; at certain points five ranges of fire could be brought to bear on a point, and the whole crest was transformed into a strong redoubt, flanked east and west with two bastions.

The French occupied, to the North, the brow of Montgirmont and Éparges village, about 600 metres from the German trenches.

It was at the West part of the Spur (point C) that, at the end of October, the French commenced their attack, step by step, to the sap, at the same time penetrating into the woods which cover the flanks of the ravine.

Éparges in February 1915.—A trench in front of the point C.

In February there started a series of almost daily attacks and counter-attacks, only finishing at the beginning of April. On February 17th, thanks to a mine explosion, the French got a footing in the enemy first line; attacks and counter-attacks lasted five days during which Colonel Bacquel was mortally wounded at the head of his troops. The French held all the west bastion and they started to advance towards the east bastion. From March 13th to 21st, they returned to the attack and occupied the enemy front line.

On March 27th a battalion of chasseurs made a fresh push, bringing them nearer the summit. On April 5th, started the last big attack which the 12th Division was to carry on day and night until the 9th. The rain and muddy ground seemed for the moment to hold them back and render their efforts in vain.

In the evening, part of the crest was occupied but the use of aerial torpedoes which blotted out whole ranks of men, and a massed counter-attack, launched on the morning of the following day at 4.30 a.m., robbed them of the gains of the first advance. During the evening of the 6th and all the night of the 6-7th, in spite of a continuous downpour, the trenches were recaptured step by step, with 100 prisoners including several officers.

On the 8th the summit and the west ridge were firmly occupied and at midnight, after fifteen hours of furious and uninterrupted fighting practically the whole ridge was in French hands.

On the night of the 8-9th, it took fourteen hours to get fresh troops into position in squalls of rain and a blinding wind. The attack was resumed at 3 p.m. on the 9th, the ground being hollowed out into deep pits into which men sometimes disappeared altogether. Finally the French held the west bastion (point C), the fortified curtain and stood their ground in front of the east part (point X).

Éparges in February 1915.—A shell bursting on a front line trench.

Éparges.—In a captured enemy trench; a prisoner being taken behind the lines.

A mine crater at the extremity of the spur, point X. (60 metres in diameter, 30 in depth).

At the end of 1915 and in 1916 the struggle was rather less bitter but still deadly enough: the story of a mine exploded by the Germans, as told by a young Lieutenant of the 74th Infantry Regiment, brings out vividly the tragic side.

"On the evening before, I had relieved, between the point "X" and the point "C", a section of the 129th. My night had been spent in visiting my posts and establishing contact. At daybreak I returned to my hole, a mine listening gallery running down crosswise for about 15 metres. Everything was quiet and it appeared that the enemy had done no work for two days on their mine chamber. Were we going to be blown up? No one dreamt it would be so.

"About 4 p.m. we distinguished quite plainly the detonations of several petards. "Good, the Boches are working, we are alright for to-day!"

"At that very moment we heard a formidable rumbling, our dug-out rocked and came to earth again as though a Hercules had lifted it several metres high and then let it fall again with a bump. We were turned topsy-turvy one on top of the other in the darkness.

"Cries were heard, some one was wounded. We lighted a candle and extricated the man who fortunately had nothing the matter. "Come on, boys, at them with bombs".

"To get out—the exit was blocked three metres high at least. Moreover a stream of water had been let in at the higher end of the sap.

"Without loss of time we got down to work. To reach the piled up debris a man had to crawl in the midst of the stream, flat on his stomach, and only one could work at a time.

"An hour passed, then two, centuries it seemed. The water rose, the air became less and less pure.

"I spare you the agony of a man who perceived that his end was near, who saw it coming and knew that he could not escape it.

"It was now three hours since the mine went up. The water had reached our feet. The candles had gone out, we could breathe only with the greatest difficulty, and everything seemed to be going round.

"All of a sudden a cry was heard: "Lieutenant, here is the daylight." A man had succeeded in making a hole through the mud with the barrel of his rifle.

Éparges Spur photographed from the air.

The series of mine craters and chambers (see plan p. 115).

"At last! Everyone felt restored to life. Already we could breathe again. Our candles would burn.

"After another half-hour we got out of this hell and it was time too.

"Where were we? In the enemy's lines or our own? What had happened during these four hours? What had become of my posts?

"I pointed out to my men the direction of our lines and I tried to regain my bearings. But the aspect of the ground had completely altered. For half-an-hour I probed the darkness. I could make nothing of it, when, suddenly, I seemed to see two shadows. I made myself known, but the two men moved off and fired a star-shell in my direction. It was a German star-shell.

"I made my way to the rear and reached the Battalion Command Post at Bois Joli. I had been posted "missing".

"No one had news of my section. I went back to the line and found a corporal and two men who were in the line at the time of the explosion. For four hours they had prevented the enemy patrols from investigating the ground and occupying it. They were the sole survivors."

On Éparges Spur: Destroying the German system with bombardments of 75s. (April 1915).

Éparges Monument.

(Photo Sommer)

Coming into Éparges from Saint-Rémy in 1920.

On the right, Montgirmont mound. On the left, Hures Hill.

Return to the car by the same path.

Continue straight along and rejoin, at Combres, G. C. D. 10 that leads to Fresnes or making a half-turn, go down to the cross-roads of Saint-Rémy, turn to the right towards Éparges, cross the village, and keep on towards Trésauvaux passing between the crest of Montgirmont and Hures Hill, on the left (photo above), and so reach Fresnes-en-Woëvre.

Éparges Village in 1915.

Éparges Village in 1915.

Barricade of boxes filled with earth barring the main street: on the right, the church.

At Fresnes turn left, on leaving the village, towards Manheulles and follow R. N. 3 straight on to Verdun.

Éparges Village.

A cemetery in front of the last house on the right on the road to Trésauvaux.

Mort Ravine (1915) (See plan p. 129).

Dug-outs and French mine entrances on the slope of Éparges Spur.

General view of the Éparges Range, taken from the crest of Montgirmont.

A. The Woëvre.—B. The trench from which the photo was taken, on the crest of Montgirmont.—C. The Éparges crest.—D. Mort ravine.—E. Dug-outs on the side of Éparges Hill, F. A Trench.

Fresnes-en-Woëvre.—The Statue of General Margueritte.

Ronvaux village at the foot of the Meuse Heights in 1917.

4th Itinerary: THE ARGONNE MONTFAUCON.—ROMAGNE

This itinerary is a continuation of the circuit of the left bank of the Meuse. It joins it at the village of Esnes (see plan above, on the right).

Tourists who do not wish to prolong their itinerary by the loop Montfaucon-Romagne can make straight for Vauquois, then, in Argonne, by the G. C. 28, the road from Esnes to Varennes via Avocourt and Vauquois.

Tourists starting from Sainte-Menehould can reach Varennes by R. N. 3 from Islettes and Clermont-en-Argonne road: from Clermont, climb the Aire valley as far as Varennes, then Vauquois by G. C. 2a and R. N. 46.

This itinerary joins up with that from Champagne via Vienne-la-Ville and Ville-sur-Tourbe.

Starting from Esnes by G. C. 18, the road climbs to Hill 304, then falls to Forges stream and Malancourt, beyond which were our first lines from 1914 to 1916.

The road then climbs towards the peak of Montfaucon, one of the most famous German observation posts along the whole front. This peak embraced a horizon extending from the plains of Champagne to the Heights of the Meuse.

From Hill 304 the tourist traverses the battle area of the 79th American Division when the latter attacked the formidable heights of Montfaucon on September 26th 1918.

To the 313th American Regiment fell the honour of making a direct attack on Montfaucon while the other regiments of the division had to outflank the peak right and left. Reaching the bottom of the slopes the 313th attacked with two tanks at nightfall. They were overwhelmed with a deluge of fire and forced to withdraw to the northern edges of Montfaucon wood.

Through the aperture of the observation post below.

On the following morning they returned to the attack, supported by tanks and a barrage of machine guns. At 11 a.m. the 313th entered the village and at 1 p.m. units of the 27th Division effected contact with the victors.

The Observation post of Montfaucon.

It was constructed on the site of and with the ruins of the church.

Montfaucon.—The Church in October 1918.

Montfaucon. Arch of the North Aisle, taken from the Choir.

In the background in front of the trees, the German observation post.

The immense American Necropolis of Romagne-sous-Montfaucon in 1922.

In this cemetery, the most impressive in existence, the Americans have massed together 25,500 graves.

Romagne. Straight ahead is the road to Bantheville.

A large number of bodies have since been taken to the United States, but 15,000 graves still remain in this cemetery.

From Montfaucon follow I. C. 4 to Cierges and Romagne. In Romagne, near the church keep right along the Cunel road and cross the bridge. About 250 metres beyond the village, the vast American cemetery of Romagne on the slopes of a hill comes into view. Return to the church, then follow the Charpentry-Varennes road, G. C. 2a.

Pass through Eclisfontaine and then Charpentry. Beyond this village the road descends the valley of Aire. Two kilometres beyond the village, turn left along R. N. 46 to Varennes.

In Varennes, after crossing the railway, and before reaching the church, turn left for 200 metres, then turn left again along G. C. 38 which goes down to Vauquois. Cross the railway and about 4 kilometres from Varennes, take the road leading right to the new village of Vauquois at the foot of the famous mound.

Panoramic View of Vauquois Crest taken from the Varennes-Avocourt road (German lines).

VAUQUOIS

Vauquois is one of the famous points of the Argonne battlefield. The Germans took it in September, 1914, during a strong attack on the French 3rd Army, in their efforts to encircle Verdun. The ridge concealed their operations to the north of Varennes, covered the re-victualling of the Argonne front by the Four-de-Paris road, and in addition furnished their artillery with an excellent observation post. The importance of the position caused the Germans to convert it into a veritable fortress. Caves were made in the rock and connected by underground passages. The streets of the village were excavated, so that the vent-holes of the cellars formed loop-holes on a level with a man's head. The walls of the houses and gardens were battlemented, and trenches were dug in the slopes in front of the village. The position was supported and flanked by the guns in the Woods of Cheppy, Montfaucon and Argonne. Approach was the more difficult, in that the position was surrounded on all sides by ravines and glacis, which provided admirable firing positions for the machine-guns.

This formidable position, which, earlier in the war, before the improvement in the French artillery, would have been considered impregnable, was taken by the French 10th Infantry Division (Valdant) after heroic sacrifices. The first assaults especially, made without artillery preparation or support, cost the splendid French Infantry heavy losses.

The first attack was made on October 28, 1914, by two battalions of the 46th Regiment of the line. The French front lines were then on the Mamelon Blanc, facing Vauquois. Two companies debouching from Noir Wood attacked the western slopes of Vauquois, the sections deployed in skirmishing order, without artillery preparation, and without a single big French gun being fired on the village. As the men dashed forward up the slopes, they were shot down by the carefully concealed German riflemen, but continued nevertheless to advance, in spite of the rain of bullets, till an avalanche of big German shells overwhelmed and scattered them. At the end of half an hour almost all of them were out of action.

The second assault was made on the following day (the 29th), after a very short artillery preparation, during which only a few shells were fired, most of which failed to burst. Fresh companies attacked further to the right, near the Cigalerie. The men charged with the bayonet, but as on the previous day, were mown down by the German machine-guns and rifles, and failed, after heavy losses. At night, an attempt to rescue the wounded left on the field was unsuccessful, the enemy firing pitilessly on the stretcher-bearers, in spite of the Red Cross lantern.

The third assault was carried out on February 17th, 1915. The operation went near to success. The artillery preparation with 75's, 155's and 270's lasted more than twelve hours. Before the attack, three mines should have gone up and destroyed the enemy lines. Only one exploded, but not being dug deep enough into the hill, the effect was merely that of a small mine and the stones thrown up fell back for the most part on the starting off trench, killing or wounding 30 men. In spite of the confusion created by the mine, the men climbed the ladders and proceeded to the attack. The band of the 31st Line Regiment, grouped on the Mamelon Blanc, in full view of the enemy, played the Marseillaise. In a few minutes several bandsmen fell killed or wounded, but the attacking waves had gone forward and the surviving bandsmen sounded the charge. The colonel of the 31st, who was leading the attack, fell mortally wounded but the companies leading the attack scaled the slopes of Vauquois. The 31st charged into Vauquois and reached the ruins of the church, but caught by the fire of the Argonne and Montfaucon batteries and the machine guns of Cheppy, they were forced after heavy losses to fall back. Abandoning the plateau they held on half-way down the hill.

Vauquois Hill as seen from an aeroplane (August 1918).

V. V.: V. de Vauquois; B. N. Noir Wood; V. Vauquois, site of the village; C. Cigalerie Farm; M. the Maize; M. B. Mamelon Blanc; F. H. Hesse Forest; B. C. Cheppy Wood.

A fourth attack was carried out on February 28th with no more success. At last, on March 1st, the decisive attack was executed by the 31st, supported by the 46th and the 89th. The preparation was further improved. A plan of the village, of which only the ruins were left, was issued to the troops. Each company had its precise objectives and the men were armed, for the first time, with the new hand-grenades, charged with melanite.

The bombardment began at dawn. Big guns shattered the dug-outs, and 75's hoisted to the top of Mamelon Blanc, and fed by infantry who carried up shells on their backs, fired directly on the village.

The start off was magnificent. Suddenly, a flashing line of bayonets stood erect on the flank of the hill.

Vauquois Hill

The slope occupied by the French lines: view taken from the Mamelon Blanc.

In the foreground, the Gabionnade, then the road from Boureuilles to Cheppy and the communicating trenches leading to the front line at the top of the hill.

In the background was the pretty village of Vauquois of which nothing is left.

The slope was hard to climb. Standing on the parapet a bugler madly sounded the charge until he was laid low by a bullet. At his observation post, General Valdant, who was following the attack, turning with great emotion to his officers, raised his kepi, and said: "Gentlemen, salute!" The fight was stubborn: twice the troops, dashing from one shell-hole to another, reached the plateau, the second time standing firm. The houses were taken one by one, and the church reached. The village had been wiped out—only shell-holes, heaps of stones, bits of walls and shattered cellars remained. Throughout the next day the Germans shelled the defenders, who were armed only with rifles. Outflanked, the French were slowly forced back from shell-hole to shell-hole, fighting all the time, but their line of defence, organised under fire on the edge of the plateau, brought the enemy to a standstill.

On Vauquois Hill

A mountain gun placed in position on Vauquois hill, after the attacks of March 1915. This photograph was taken ten minutes before the gun was destroyed by a 210 shell (See opposite).

At 2 p.m. the French infantry again attacked the village, carried the German trenches, entered the ruins at 2.35 p.m. and drove back the enemy at the point of the bayonet. At 3, 4, 5 and 5.30 p.m., the Germans counter-attacked, but although troops of fourteen different units were successively launched, they could not dislodge the French from the main street. Twice during the night they tried, in vain, to take the church. For four days and nights, under an incessant pounding by high-explosive shells and a rain of bullets, the French troops held on, without supplies, dependent for their food on the rations taken from the dead. The Colonial Infantry, who for a short time relieved the attacking troops, were decimated in a few days. The Germans were already making use of a powerful minenwerfer, to which the French could only reply with hastily-devised mortars roughly made out of 77 mm. shell-cases, and which carried only 100-150 yards. It was an unequal contest. The Germans attacked almost every night, but were repulsed with hand-grenades and rifle fire, sometimes with the bayonet. The position became untenable, and the French had either to retreat or advance. Once more they attacked.

On the afternoon of March 4th, the 76th Line Regiment took the German trenches west of the church, and reached the wall of the cemetery in spite of small mines being blown up under their feet, and the enemy's bombs. On the 5th a German counter-attack was repulsed.

The capture of Vauquois by the French was definite. During the night of the 15th-16th, a fresh German attack was easily repulsed. On the 16th, at the Cigalerie, which during the attacks of February and March had served as a dressing station, Standard-bearer Collignon, of the 46th Regiment of the line, Councillor of State, and former Secretary-General to the Presidency of the Republic, who had voluntarily enlisted at the age of fifty-eight, was killed by the explosion of a shell while trying to rescue a wounded man belonging to the 76th Regiment of the line. Ever since, at Regimental roll-calls, his name follows that of La Tour d'Auvergne, and the reply is made: "Died on the field of honour".

On Vauquois Ridge.

Clearing out the shelter under which the mountain gun, photographed opposite, used to fire, after its destruction by a 210.

Monument erected to the memory of "Poilus", killed in the attacks on Vauquois.

Cazeneuve, of the Opéra Comique, Adjutant of the 46th Regiment of the line, who had volunteered at the age of fifty-four, was also killed at Vauquois by a bomb which shattered his dug-out.

Vauquois for long remained a particularly dangerous sector, the scene of frequent surprise attacks, of mining and counter-mining, and of continuous bombardment. The Germans were not reconciled to the loss of this position, which gave the French an outlook over Varennes and the road which formed a continuation of the light railway which they had built between Montfaucon and Spincourt. On March 22, 1915, near the ruins of the church, they attacked a trench with liquid fire. Mines were exploded almost every month, followed by fighting for possession of the craters.

The battle of Verdun was followed by comparative calm in this sector, both sides practically abandoning mine warfare. In 1917, there was hardly anything except surprise raids or reconnoitring parties. On September 26th 1918, the first day of the Franco-American offensive, the outskirts north of Vauquois were completely cleared and Boureuilles was captured by the Americans.

On Vauquois Ridge: the front line trench.

After visiting Vauquois, return to and follow G. C. 38 to Varennes (214 miles).

At the Foot of the Mamelon Blanc.

Crater formed by a 380 German shell. On the right, Colonel Cuny commanding the 31st I. R.

Varennes.—The Place du Marché.

On the right, the ruins of the house where Louis XVI was arrested.

VARENNES

Coming from Vauquois, the lower town is entered, opposite the church. Cross the bridge over the Aire. The Rue de la Basse-Cour brings you to the Place du Marché where you will see, on the right, the ruins of the house in which Louis XVI spent the night before his arrest.

Drouet who had recognised the king at Sainte-Menehould, reached Varennes before him by a short cut. The whole town, aroused by the tocsin, assembled and compelled the king's carriage to stop.

German Dug-outs said to have been used by the Crown Prince in Grurie Wood.

(Photo Sommer.)

Ascend to the upper town which is situated on the slope of a hill. On leaving the village turn right along G. C. 38, the road to Vienne-le-Château, which climbs towards the forest of Argonne. At the edge of the plateau look behind for a view of the Aire valley and Vauquois Hill. About 3 kilometres past Varennes, a road leads right to some German dug-outs said to be those of the Crown Prince.

Return to the Vienne-le-Château road.

One kilometre further and 200 metres beyond the highest point of the road, the Haute-Chevauchée road branches off right and left, an old Roman road running along the central ridge of the Argonne plateau.

Turn left and drive carefully for the first two kilometres which are in pretty bad repair.

The road passes through Bas-Jardinet Woods, which are full of gun emplacements. On leaving the woods, the road climbs towards Hill 285. On the right and behind this hill are the sectors of Fille-Morte and Courte-Chausse, the scene of struggles as stubborn as those in Grurie Wood.

Craters on Hill 285 dividing the two lines.

The Haute-Chevauchée road is the central pivot where the Germans endeavoured, on July 13th 1915, to dent in the French front so as to reach Clermont-en-Argonne and the Sainte-Menehould-Verdun railway.

On July 13th, the 113th Regiment held the sector of Haute-Chevauchée, on their right the 4th held Hill 263, while on the left the 91st were on the plateau of Bolante. After an annihilating fire which completely destroyed these sectors, five regiments of the 16th German Corps broke through the French lines. The Germans, who no longer had any troops to face, believed that they could march unhindered to the south. Already the enemy patrols had reached the cross road of Maison Forestière, 2 kilometres south of Hill 285.

The 82nd and 66th Battalions of chasseurs and the 131st who had just been relieved received warning at their billets and went up into the line under a barrage of enemy fire, by paths marked out with corpses, through ravines full of poison gas. The men, who were exhausted by a whole night's march, hurried forward, gasping and almost suffocated. The order was given to the infantry and chasseurs to counter-attack. The 3rd Battalion of the 131st, led by their commander, swarmed up the steep slope of Bolante plateau. The Germans crouching among the tall ferns endeavoured to withstand them, but they were sharply hustled and did not waste time in turning tail. Bolante plateau and the crest of Fille-Morte were cleared at the point of the bayonet, without artillery support. Further to the right, the 66th Battalion of chasseurs captured Hill 285, while the 82nd, with three battalions in the field, recaptured the crest joining Hills 285 and 263.

The 1st Battalion of the 82nd relieved the battalion of the 4th which was defending the redoubt of Hill 263.

The line was established along Hill 285.

By going on as far as the cross road at the Maison Forestière, the large cemetery is reached.

On Hill 285, the Monument "To the Dead of the Argonne".

(Photo Sommer.)

Return to the Varennes-Four-de-Paris road, downhill road skirting the Meurissons ravine.

It was in this wild ravine of the Meurissons spring that the Garibaldian regiment, placed at the disposal of General Gérard, commanding the 2nd Corps, received their baptism of fire. On December 26, 1914, the 2nd Garibaldian Battalion was detailed to take a German trench. The attacking front was limited, about 150 yards, but the position was strongly held and protected by a deep entanglement of barbed wire. After an artillery preparation lasting from midnight until dawn, the Garibaldian companies rushed forward, one behind the other, to make a breach at all costs, but were held up by the uncut wire. At one point an opening was made and a few men got through to the edge of the German trench, only to be killed there. It was during this engagement, which cost the 2nd Battalion 30 dead, 17 missing, and 111 wounded, that Second-Lieutenant Bruno Garibaldi—a grandson of Giuseppe Garibaldi, "the old red bird" whom, in 1870, the Prussian General Werder confidently expected to "catch in his nest" in the Vosges, but failed in the attempt—was killed. Bruno Garibaldi, though in reserve, advanced to the assault with the 2nd Battalion, his sword drawn, his green tunic unfastened, showing the traditional and symbolic red shirt. Wounded in the hand, he went back to the trench to have it dressed, then returned immediately to the fight. Struck by a bullet, he continued to urge his men forward, until another laid him low. Before dying, he embraced a wounded comrade near by, saying "Kiss my brothers for me".

The Four-de-Paris—Varennes Road.

The German front line cut the road at this point. On the left, Meurissons ravine; on the horizon, Biesme valley.

Meurissons Ravine.

German shelters on the counter slope. Bolante plateau riddled by machine gun fire.

On Bolante Plateau.

The forest laid waste by mine craters and machine gun fire.

On January 7th, after a half-hearted German attack, which was easily beaten off, rough trenches were dug on the plateau—in view of a possible retreat—by men belonging to the 46th French Regiment of the Line, who worked under heavy fire. General Gouraud, commanding the 10th Infantry Division, who came to examine the position, was wounded in the shoulder by a machine-gun bullet. On the following day a violent German artillery preparation began at dawn. At 7.30 a.m. three regiments of Bavarian chasseurs advanced to the attack. A trench held by men of the 89th Line Regiment was blown up and the Bavarians took the first and second lines held by troops of the 89th and 46th Regiments of the Line, who put up a fierce resistance. On the plateau the 11th Company of the 46th, which held the unfinished supporting trench, stopped the rush of the enemy. The Germans, unwilling to risk a frontal attack, turned the position on the right flank, and finally took the trench, but only after the gallant defenders had fired their last cartridges. The Germans penetrated into the ravine, capturing the regimental headquarters, and wounding the colonel and his staff. The 11th Company, however, still held on. On the crest, the cooks and the sick seized rifles and joined in the fight. At about 9.30 a.m. a blast of trumpets on the right announced the arrival of reinforcements. Units of the French 89th Regiment of the Line and 2nd Garibaldian Battalion charged through the undergrowth. A furious hand-to-hand struggle ensued in the copse-wood, no quarter being given. The French succeeded in saving their comrades of the 46th, and checked the enemy, who eventually evacuated the ravine.

Le Four-de-Paris (as seen from an observation post).

In the foreground, the road from Paris to Varennes.

At Le Four-de-Paris, turn right along G. C. 63 towards La Harazée and Vienne-le-Château.

The road follows the valley of the Biesme, dominated on the right by a series of spurs separated by ravines where flow the streams of Fontaine au Mortier, Fontaine aux Charmes and Fontaine de Madame.

The crests and ravines covered by Grurie Wood were in 1914-1915 the scene of fierce struggles.

Bagatelle—Fontaine-aux-Charmes—Fontaine-Madame—Saint-Hubert—Marie-Thérèse, all these sectors were made famous by communiqués as the scenes of terrific fights.

La Harazée.

The church bell was used as a gas alarm. It was placed on the new road, between Vienne-le-Château and La Harazée, on the right bank of the Biesme.

From La Harazée a path leads to Fontaine-aux-Charmes, following the stream which falls into the Biesme at La Harazée and to which it gives its name; another path follows the stream of Fontaine-Madame.

These two streams enclose a plateau broken by ravines along which the French advanced in September and October 1914, seeking to threaten the German lines of communication through the Argonne.

The German troops of Von Mudra decided to reach the valley of the Biesme by penetrating the ravines of Fontaine-aux-Charmes and Fontaine-Mortier towards La Harazée.

In Grurie Wood, the French line was held by regiments and battalions of chasseurs of the 32nd Corps. For over a year a desperate struggle was destined to take place without quarter day and night.

Attacks followed attacks and counter-attacks counter-attacks: every inch of a devastated area was disputed without truce or rest.

A fatigue party en route for the front line in the Salient of Marie-Thérèse.

Every day saw the same fearful struggle in the depths of the forest: the rival trenches were hardly 30 metres apart, sometimes only 10, protected merely by line of barbed wire which could not be carried far out nor fixed down. Barricades of sandbags were built up in the communicating trenches, which often ran through the enemy lines, to mark the boundary, and, behind these, men kept watch. On each side the temptation was too strong to pay a surprise visit to this "no man's land" and to spring into the opposite trench.

A communication trench obstructed with wounded in the sector of Bagatelle.

The front trenches were blotted out by aerial torpedoes and mine explosions which completely demolished the frail barricades often made up of human corpses. Then followed hand-to-hand fighting with bayonets and knives.

Among the numerous encounters which all resembled each other, here is the account of one taken from the annals of the 150th Regiment, one of the gallant regiments of the 32nd Corps.

On April 18th, the 2nd Battalion attacked Bagatelle trench which was held by the Germans. Our attack, which started at 2 p.m., was successful and we advanced 80 metres. A German counter-attack straightway robbed us of the fruits of our effort. At 7 p.m. the 2nd Battalion again started the attack but were mown down by machine gun fire. A third attack was launched by the same battalion, only to be thwarted by a counter-attack. Their fourth effort ended at 11 p.m., with a gain of a yard and a half! Commander Grosset of the 1st Battalion was mortally wounded.

From April 25th to 27th the Germans unsuccessfully attacked, the 150th not yielding a single inch of ground.

On the evening of May 1st, at 5 p.m., the 3rd Battalion of the 150th relieved the 2nd Battalion of the 161st. At 5.30 p.m., before the relief was complete, the Germans blew up one of our block-houses by means of a mine and hurled themselves upon our trenches. On the whole front of the 3rd Battalion, the German attack broke out with ferocity, the enemy artillery firing behind our lines and reaching an extreme intensity, so that our companies in the front line were completely cut off. Liaison with the front line became impossible and no reinforcements could be sent up to the units in the first line trenches.

Grurie Wood.

Cooks carrying up soup to the front line trenches (Saint-Hubert Sector).

In the centre, the 9th company, commanded by Captain Juge, held on splendidly against the incessant attacks of the enemy who used liquid fire and an unlimited supply of bombs. To keep up the supply of ammunition in the sector was difficult, the 9th company running out of bombs: their casualties kept mounting and the situation was grave. Standing upright on the parapet, with his revolver clasped in his hand, Captain Juge cheered on his men. He fell wounded but got to his feet again shouting: "Stand your ground, stand your ground, my men, and be brave". He was wounded again but refused to be taken back to the rear. This valiant officer continued to keep up the courage of his men who stood on the exposed ground and fired point blank at the enemy who were making incessant attacks. Captain Juge was wounded a third time. By this time the company was reduced to one officer and 23 men, with no bombs and no cartridges. The 10th and 11th companies counter-attacked, checking slightly, though not stopping, the furious onslaught of the Germans. Attacked in rear, these two companies after losing many men were forced to fall back. The 10th, though they had run out of ammunition, only gave ground inch by inch, building up and defending nineteen barricades in succession while falling back 100 metres. At every one of the barricades there was furious hand-to-hand fighting: our men counter-attacked from the parapet with the bayonet and fought with the butt end of their rifles and thus succeeded in bringing the enemy advance to a standstill.

On the left, the 12th company held the Germans in check, and though at one time surrounded, they cut a way through with their bayonets.

At 7 p.m., the Germans attempted a new attack and wrested from us a second line trench. The 12th company under the command of Lieutenant de Marolles counter-attacked once more, regaining the lost ground. Our men snatched sacks of bombs from the hands of the German bombers, and supplied with these, the grenadiers of the 12th company following the irresistible lead of their officer, 2nd. Lieutenant Germain, went forward and captured a machine gun from the enemy after killing the gunners.

Behind the lines: the rat hunt, a pleasant picture.

At 9 p.m. quiet again reigned. Our first line was left entirely in the enemy's hands, but the second line after being lost and recaptured, then lost again and again retaken, remained wholly in our possession....

On August 10th, the regiments and battalions of chasseurs of the 32nd Corps, all included under the command of the 3rd Army, were relieved by those of the 10th Corps.

On a road made of faggots. Donkeys bringing up supplies.

Vienne-le-Château.—The nave of the Church (15th century).

After passing through La Harazée, Vienne-le-Château is reached. Turn left opposite the church and follow G. C. 67 to Vienne-la-Ville. The tourist reaches the edge of the Argonne plateau which gives place to the chalky plains of Champagne.

For a tour of this region, read the guide entitled: The Battles of Champagne.

Sainte-Menehould, on the Verdun-Paris railway, can be reached, by G. C. 67 and then G. C. 17, 15 kilometres.

In October 1915, troops of the 1st Colonial Corps at rest in the cagnas built along the road to Marson ravine.

Picture taken from the Guide: "The Battles of Champagne".

Different moments of an attack during the offensive of September 25th 1915.

Before the attack, the first waves wait for "Zero" in the starting off trench: in the distance, smoke of the bursting shells used in the artillery preparation.

The first wave has gone over, and has just got into the first enemy trench from which they are about to start for their new objective.

Parties known as "moppers up" follow the first waves.

Supporting lines, scattered in the open in small columns follow the advance. In the foreground some attackers in the first wave caught by a storm of machine gun fire.

Pictures taken from the Guide: The "Battles of Champagne".

From VERDUN to METZ

The tourist can go from Verdun to Metz either by the Route Nationale No. 3, the Porte Saint-Victor—Haudiomont—Mars-la-Tour and the battlefields of August 1870 (see page 166), or by the Route Nationale No. 18 (the Route d'Étain) and R. D. 1.

Étain.

In 1914 Étain was bombarded on August 24th and 25th. On the 24th many inhabitants were killed. On the 25th, the inhabitants who took refuge in the cellars of the town hall perished under the ruins of the building, but 200 others escaped to Verdun.

On the same day the French forces, north of Étain, crushed the 33rd German D. R. Nevertheless the order to retire was given and the enemy occupied the town which they pillaged methodically. Every other day convoys took back to Germany, furniture, linen, wines, groceries, cloth, footwear, tools, and even materials.

In April 1915, the French troops came back quite near Étain where the line was established until February 1916.

In the town, which is partly destroyed, the church, much damaged, can be seen on the left.

Through the steeple which was cut in two by the bombardments can be seen the internal structure: the Germans had fitted up an observation post inside.

Viollet-le-Duc used to consider the church of Étain with its three naves one of the five noteworthy churches of the Meuse. It was commenced in the 13th century and finished in the 15th.

The majestic choir, with its large windows with manifold mullions, was 15th century. Inside (right aisle) could be seen the font and the Notre-Dame-de-Pitié by Ligier-Richier (photo page 164).

Étain church in 1918.—The Central nave, looking towards the choir.

Étain church.—Notre-Dame-de-Pitié, by Ligier-Richier.

In 1920. At the entrance to Étain.—The Hôtel de la Sirène (Rue Nationale), formerly the Crown Prince's Headquarters in 1916.

Metz.—Panorama View taken from Saint-Quentin Fort.

(Cliché LL.)

METZ ORIGIN AND PRINCIPAL HISTORY

The origin of Metz dates back to the Celtic epoch; it was the capital of the Mediomatrice. The Romans fortified it to defend the frontiers of the Empire against the Barbarians. Thus Metz became the starting point of the six great Roman roads which led to the distant provinces, two roads from Metz to Reims, two roads from Metz to Treves, one by the right bank, the other by the left bank of the Moselle: the road from Metz to Strasbourg and the road from Metz to Mayence.

Being a very rich and densely populated town, it was embellished with numerous Roman monuments, of which excavations have brought to light important traces: the Amphitheatre near the Porte Mazelle, and especially the Aqueduct of Gorze dating from the 4th century, which was 22 kilometres long, bringing to Metz the waters of Gorze. There are splendid remains to be seen at Jouy-aux-Arches.

The Roman Emperors during their stay at Metz lived in the palace of the governors which stood on the Place Sainte-Croix.

Metz was captured and devastated by the Huns in 451 A. D.

A half-century later the ruins were restored and the city became, on the death of Clovis (in 511 A. D.) the capital of Austrasie and the cradle of the Carolingian branch. Louis-le-Débonnaire was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Arnout. The treaty of Verdun (843 A. D.) gave it to Lothaire who made it the capital of his kingdom, Lotharingia, which became, later on, Lorraine. But thirty years later the treaty of Mersen (870 A. D.) assigned it to Louis-le-Germanique.

In the name of the Emperor it was first administered by counts and then by bishops. In 1220, on the death of Count Thiébault, the town was raised to a kind of republic under the title of "Imperial free town" and until 1552 was administered by sheriffs.

Under Henry II, the French, lead by Montmorency, occupied the town after a treaty had been concluded with Maurice de Saxe. The Duc de Guise, appointed governor, skilfully and energetically defended Metz to which the Emperor Charles V had laid siege (October 19th, 1552). On January 1st 1553, Charles V withdrew after losing 30,000 men. The kings of France for a long time held the title of Protector. Henry III was the first to be called the sovereign lord. The Parliament of Metz, constituted in 1633, finally brought about the downfall of its municipal independence and the treaty of Westphalia (1648) definitely made it part of France. It became the capital of the province of Trois-Évêchés, composed of Metz, Toul and Verdun.

Up to the Revolution, Metz escaped the horrors of war, though on every occasion the town suffered from the consequences. Troops were continually passing through and the barracks were used as a place of muster. Turenne, Villars, the Marquis de Créqui, and Marshal Villeroi encamped within its walls, and at Metz, Louis XV, in August 1744, fell seriously ill, and the whole of France prayed and fasted for the "Well-beloved".

In 1790, Metz became the headquarters of the new department of Moselle. Two sieges in 1814 and 1815 were successfully repulsed.

The year 1870, however, marked a sad date in the history of Metz, till then nicknamed Metz the Virgin City.

The French army of Moselle, beaten at the frontiers, fell back on Metz. Intending to rejoin the army of Mac-Mahon at Châlons, it began a slow and uncertain retreat. The Germans hindered this retreat (Borny, August, 14th), crossed the Moselle south of Metz and stopped the French columns on the march to Verdun. (Rezonville, Mars-la-Tour, August 16th), narrowed the circle round Metz and surrounded Bazaire (Gravelotte, Saint-Privat, August 18th.)

The battles of Borny (August 14th), Rezonville (August 16th), Saint-Privat (August 18th) forced Marshal Bazaine to fall back on the walls of the town. He put up a feeble resistance, being content to await developments, without even attempting a serious sally which might have saved his military honour. On October 28th, he put his name to the capitulation, and on the following day he handed over 173,000 men, 60 generals, 6000 officers, 58 standards, 622 field guns, 876 heavy guns, 72 machine guns, 137,000 chassepots, 123,000 other rifles and masses of untouched munitions. Six months later, the treaty of Frankfort (May 10th 1871) ceded to Germany Metz and a part of the department of Moselle. Metz became the capital of German Lorraine.

Marshal Fabert, Generals Custine, Richepanse and Lasalle, the composer Ambroise Thomas and the poet Paul Verlaine were born at Metz.

The fortifications of Metz.

The situation of Metz destined it to become a stronghold of first importance. The Romans fortified the town, which had been built by the Gauls, and constructed the first citadel. The walls were preserved for a considerable time, and Bishop Robert in the 10th century, again utilised their outline. It was only in the 12th century that the new circumvallation was extended to the island formed by the two arms of the Moselle; it was composed of a high rampart protected by 68 towers. In 1532 the Duc de Guise ordered the engineer Pierre Strozzi to restore these fortifications which had undergone two sieges (1444 and 1552) and were in a pitiable state. Four years later (1556), Marshal de Vieilleville had a citadel flanked with four bastions constructed on the site of the ancient monastery. This citadel (which lasted till 1802) was on the spot now occupied by the Esplanade.

Vauban, nearly a century later, realised the strategic worth of Metz and conceived a vast project which the engineer Cormontaigne, in the 18th century, was to realise. At all events Vauban was able to construct a "horned redoubt" and to add eleven new bastions to those which already guarded the citadel, but it was Cormontaigne who carried out the plan of the inundation of the valley of the Seille, by using the vast waters of the pool of Lindre.

Metz became one of the most formidable fortresses of Europe. Under Louis-Philippe the fortifications were entirely remade and in 1866 preparations were in hand to reconstruct them on a new plan in accordance with the requirements of the then existing military armament. Of the four separate forts of Saint-Quentin, Plappeville, Queuleu and Saint-Julien, only the first two were completed in 1870.

Metz.—The Fort of Saint-Quentin.

View taken from the Esplanade.

(Cliché Prillot.)

The Germans considerably strengthened the wall of circumvallation by the addition of 19 bastions surrounded with moats, and themselves protected with 13 advance works. The extent of the zone of forts reached 30 kilometres and 11 new forts were added.

METZ DURING THE WAR

Before the War the Germans had drawn up their famous "black lists" in which were recorded numbers of manufacturers, political men, journalists, priests and members of Lorraine societies. The inhabitants of Metz were not spared in these lists; many were arrested on the suspicion of exercising "a provocative action and a pernicious influence over the population". Among them were M. Prevel, M. Winsback, secretary of the "Souvenir alsacien-lorrain", league which was dissolved in 1913; M. Gangloff, whose two sons and his brother-in-law, as French officers, laid down their lives for France. Some were able to escape, as occasion offered, and get back to France, like Paul Piquelle, editor-in-chief of the Messin, and the canon Collin, director of the Lorrain.

Before mobilisation had begun or hostilities declared, the "suspects" were forcibly torn from their families and confined in cells, without trial, in the military prison of Metz. A few days after they set out, without saying goodbye to their families, for Coblentz. When taken to the fort of Ehrenbreitstein they only escaped the frenzy of an excited populace on account of thirty German bayonets which surrounded them. Worn out with exhaustion, they were shut up in the casemates which were used some years before the war for confining to barracks soldiers undergoing disciplinary punishment and which had been evacuated under the orders of the authority on account of their unhealthy condition.

For months they existed in these dungeons under the most deplorable physical and moral conditions. Some of them, by depositing a surety of 30,000 marks, left to go and live under a kind of penal regime in the Prussian Rhineland. The less submissive element stayed where they were more than two years and were then subjected to the same regime as their comrades who had already left. They were absolutely forbidden to enter the fortress of Metz.

These "suspects" never knew the reasons for their arrest until August 1917. Permission to return to their town was given them in November 1918 by the "Soldiers Council" which had replaced the Imperial Government.

Several inhabitants of Metz were promptly seized and drafted into the units sent up to the front, especially the Russian front. Among them, one of the brothers Samain, president of the "Lorraine Sportive" was sent to the French front in the batteries most exposed to danger. When crippled in the legs he was brought back from the front and thrown into prison.

The Germans subjected Metz to a regime of terror. The German inquisition was not confined to the street, but it intruded into the homes. Everything that reminded them of France, books, sacred family relics, had to disappear.