VERDUN - Etang de Vaux - Vaux Destroyed Village - Fort de Vaux - Ouvrage de la Laufée

  • by Pierre Grande Guerre
  • •
  • 23 Mar, 2019
  • •

Years of visit: 1994, 2005, 2009

From Batterie de l'Hôpital we continue with a visit in 4 stops: Etang de Vaux, the Destroyed Village of Vaux devant Damloup, and the Fort de Vaux, to follow there some traces of the Siege of Major Raynal's fortress during the first week of June 1916. To end this impression, a visit to the nearby ruins of the Ouvrage de la Laufée. As always we start off with some situation maps.
We depart at the Lion de Souville to follow the D 112 northward.
Along the road, at the edge of the Bois de Chapitre, stands the Memorial for the French 407th Infantry Regiment.
“407e R.I. TO OUR COMRADES, DISAPPEARED IN THE SOIL OF VAUX-CHAPITRE DURING THE COMBATS OF JUNE 1916. TO THOSE, WHO REST HERE. 23 JUNE 1916. FROM THIS QUARRY, COMMAND POST OF THE 407ME R.I., THE COLONEL ALLAIN HAS LAUNCHED THE ULTIMATE COUNTER ATTACK, THAT BROKE THE ADVANCE OF THE ENEMY AT SOUVILLE”
For a long time these woods along the road, of La Caillette, Chapitre, and Fumin, formed the French side of the front line.
We continue northward with some period pictures of the area.
We arrive at the Etang de Vaux (The Pond of Vaux).
Nowadays the natural landscape of the Pond of Vaux is beautiful.
We walk northward along the pond to pass this Memorial, dedicated to the aviator, Sergeant-pilote, Guy Dussumier Latour, who crashed and died of his injuries near this pond on 2 June 1916.
Official army death certificate
View westward from the modest memorial, which reminds us of the hundreds of air combats, which took place in the skies above Verdun.
On the northern edge of the pond ...
... stands the Memorial for the 1e Bataillon de Chasseurs à Pied.
“IN MEMORY OF THE THREE OFFICERS, ELEVEN NON COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, TWO HUNDRED CORPORALS AND CHASSEURS OF THE FIRST BATALLION OF CHASSEURS A PIED, KILLED ON THIS POSITION, STOPPING THE GERMAN ATTACK OF 21 MARCH 1916.”
In the woods around the pond there are still traces of shell holes and trenches.
We continue eastward to visit for a short moment the memorials of the Destroyed Village of Vaux-devant-Damloup.
Now the former village is overgrown with dense vegetation.
A modest memorial reminds us of the location of the destroyed village.
“PASSER-BY, GO ON AND TELL OTHER PEOPLES, THAT THIS VILLAGE HAS DIED TO SAVE VERDUN AND WITH IT VERDUN SAVED THE WORLD. VAUX 10 AUGUST 1924. R. POINCARE.”
At the edge of the modern village stands this memorial tower.
We return back to the junction of the Lion de Souville, ...
... to pass it southward along the D 913, next turn left at the Batterie du Tunnel, ...
... and northward to the D 913 a. At the end of the road we arrive at the Fort de Vaux.
To familiarize ourselves with the site of Fort de Vaux, we start our visit with some satellite photo's, some maps,
and a ground plan of the fort.  
We start our visit at the south-east corner of the Fort.
One of the entrances to the fort.
The south-eastern "Casemate de Bourges".
View through the gate of the exit on the left:
The concrete bunker contains above ground two rooms with 75 mm artillery guns on a platform with rails.
In the basement there are munitions and powder storage rooms and resting places for the crew.
Two 75 mm artillery guns are directed eastward.
We walk some metres back to climb the superstructure of the fort.
Two view from the flagpole on the roof north-eastward, from left to right.
The German "Operation Maiköpfchen”
From 6 March 1916 General von Falkenhayn released "Operation Maiköpfchen” (Maycup). In the sector of Douaumont and Vaux the General deployed 5 divisions of the 10th and the 5th Reserve Corps, and in the east the 15th Corps. Main targets were Thiaumont, Côte de Fleury, Fort de Souville, and Fort de Vaux. After 27 May the German Artillery intensified their bombardments on the area around and on Fort de Vaux itself from the aera around Spincourt, Billy, and Spincourt in the nort-east.
On 1 June 1916 General von Falkenhayn choose the sector of Damloup, the trenches around the fortress, and the fortress itself, as his second main target.
After a huge bombardment the General deployed 7 divisions to attack Thiaumont, Fort de Souville, and Fort de Vaux.
Before I tell you later on this page more about the 7 days Siege of Fort de Vaux,  we continue our walk on the top construction of the fortress.
We explore first the east side of the superstructure.
Although the grass has not been mowed, the shell holes are still to be seen.
A steel, bell-shaped observation cupola.
We move to the centre of the top construction.
The central observation post.
The observation post was located near the former 75 mm gun turret.
View northeast from this observation post.
Below the observation bell, ...
... lie relics of parts of the 75 mm gun turret.
2 June 1916. Rackow's men conquer the superstructure
At dawn of 2 June suddenly the heavy bombardment stops. Two battalions of General Weber - Pasja's 50th Division approach the fort at 150 metres. They know to penetrate the dry moats of the fort.
Major Raynal's machine gun turrets keep the attackers from the wings with flanking fire. Despite of attempts of "Pioniere" to enter with explosives the defenders know to cause still heavy losses to the the Germans. Another attempt by "Pioniere" to penetrate into the north-east corridor failed. Some pioneers injure themselves, if they try to let down bags, filled with hand grenades, in ventilation shafts.
The entrance to the north-west corridor though is rapidly in German hands, despite the heroic resistance of Captain Tabourot, who remained throwing grenades until he killed himself, injured by a German grenade. Thirty-two French soldiers and one officer surrender at this gate.
At the north-western counterscarp gallery, the 19-year old Poilu, Cahuzac, takes up the defence from his post from an armoured post along the inner slope of the dry moat, since all his officers in that sector of the fort were killed.
German flamethrower attack - Fort de Vaux.
Pioneers connect their flamethrowers to long tubes through openings in the fortress to set it on fire, or at least at smoking. Surprised by this action the French machine gun stops firing.
Using this short break thirty soldiers of Second Lieutenant Kurt Rackow's Paderborner 158th Infantry Regiment were climbing from the dry moat and they reached, just after 5 AM, as the first Germans, the superstructure of the fortress. The French machine guns resumed their murderous work again.
By the artillery barrage back and forth for hours, Rackow's men on the roof get even more isolated.
At the end of the morning the Germans discover a breach near the north-west corridor in the top construction, sealed with sand bags. They remove the sand bags and throw grenades inside.
Commandant Raynal, commander of the garrison, orders immediately to evacuate this corridor. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon Raynal has lost its main defensive positions of the north of the fortress. Through the observation holes the French see, that the German soldiers on the superstructure are at ease enough to smoke a pipe. The superstructure of the fort was finally in the hands of the Germans.

With these events in our mind we continue our exploration.
On 26 February 1916 the 75 mm gun turret on top of the fort ...
... was destroyed by an impact of a German 420 mm grenade.
In some way or another, this period picture of Hanotaux's "Histoire Illustrée de la Guerre de 1914" must have been imprinted forever in my memory, ...
... for sure during the moment, when I shot this photo below.
Under the observation post one of the firing holes.
With a last view of the superstructure, we descend to inspect the dry moat around the fort.
A view of the northeast corner of the dry moat.
These fortified inner gates, which the French call a "coffre de contre-escarpe", or counterscarp gallery, controlled with machine guns the dry moat against invaders.
View to the northern corner of the dry moat.
The coffres de contre-escarpe were connected to the fortress ...
... with tunnels, running beneath the moat.
From the moat we reach the west corner and the exterior of the south-western Casemate de Bourges.
Although mirrored, the western casemate is almost similar in structure to the eastern casemate.
Later on this page, we will visit the interior of the south-western Casemate de Bourges.
We approach the fort from the front side.
These renovations were made after 1916.
We pass a memorial plaque with the list of the defending units of the garrison, and the official text of Raynal's letter of capitulation. Later on I will name these units in more detail.
"TO THE DEFENDERS OF FORT DE VAUX"
IN THIS RUINED FORT 250 MEN RESISTED DURING 7 DAYS (1-7 JUNE 1916) THE FURIUOUS ASSAULTS OF THE GERMANS. TO ATTACKS WITH GAS AND FLAMABALE LIQUIDS, TO TORTURE AND THIRST.”

(Next the garrison list.)

Official Text of the capitulation of the fort:

"To the Commander of the German forces, who attack Fort de Vaux,
Under the following conditions: with the honours of war, respectful treatment, the choice of officers respected to keep their personal care-takers, and personal objects left with their proprietors, I surrender the premises and parts of the stronghold, still under my command in Fort de Vaux, to the German troops.
Fort de Vaux June 7, 1916. Commander of the battalion, Commander of the fort, Raynal."

The Siege of Fort de Vaux

When Raynal assumes his post in the Fort de Vaux on 24 May, he is Commander of a garrison, consisting of the 6th Company and part of the 7th Company of the 142nd Infantry Regiment of the Second Army, from 2 machine gun Companies of the 142nd regiment, a unit of gunners of the 5me Régiment d'Artillerie the Position (R.A.P.) and the 6me R.A., a sapper unit of the 2me Regiment de Génie and of the 9me, and stretcher bearers of the 101me R.I.; together around 250 men.
 
The Major finds a desolate state in the fortress. The fort is overpopulated. Above the normal occupancy of 250 people, even hundreds of men, like soldiers of the 101st and 142nd regiments and members of the 53rd machine gun company, during the fighting detached from their units, are also packing the tunnels and rooms. They looked for refuge in the fort. Raynal tries, still unsuccessfully, to evacuate these refugees from the fort. But in the chaos of fighting and artillery shelling, there are only more refugees turning in, so that the occupation of the fort is in fact at about 600 men! Besides these 600 men there are still 4 pigeons in the fort and a Cocker Spaniel dog, owned by a sapper, who listens to the name "Quiqui ". 
The Commander notes that the defence is almost zero, so he orders immediately to strengthen the fort. Raynal lets his soldiers fill the recently impacted breaches with sand bags. In the corridors he orders to build "chicane"-shaped barriers of sand bags up of 1 meter thick, with holes for the grenadiers behind it to throw grenades, and sometimes he leaves behind these barricades also some machine guns. The tank of 5,000 litres of water seems, for now, sufficient.
The next days the garrison fought a tough battle for every inch in the dark, underground corridors against repetitive German attacks with flame throwers, grenades, and poison gasses.
All communication lines to Fort de Souville have been cut off. The light signal system has been destroyed. A few carrier pigeons are the only means of communication for Commandant Raynal. On 4 June Raynal sends his last pigeon.
Original pigeon note: "We still hold, but we will suffer an attack by gas and very dangerous fumes. It is urgent that we withdraw - do give us direct optical communication to Souville, that does not answer my calls. This is my last pigeon. Raynal "
The pigeon arrives successfully at the Citadel of Verdun, but it drops dead immediately.
In the afternoon Raynal receives the news that the water tank is leaking and that there is an acute shortage of water.
 
On 5 June the Germans explode a mine near the south-west Casemate de Bourges. In the afternoon the Germans succeed to conquer the last latrines along the eastern corridor. Raynal’s soldiers are receiving only 125 mm. water a day, and they are forced by thirst to lick the moist of the walls. The loss of the latrines and the lack of water breaks the morale of the defenders. Raynal realises that he is not able to continue his resistance.
On 6 June the French units of the 238e R.I. and the 321e R.I. organize a counterattack to liberate the fortress. With an improvised light signal system Raynal sends Fort de Souville a message, that the counterattack is a complete failure. Ten minutes later Raynal sends another desperate message.

"I have no water anymore, despite the rationing of the last days. I should withdraw and I have to be supplied immediately with water. I believe that I have used the utmost of my forces. Under these conditions the troops, men and officers, have all done their duty to the utmost."
The telegram continues with mentioning the names of men nominated for a medal award, the names of the dead men, and the wounded, and then to end with:
"I hope that you will intervene with renewed vigor before the total exhaustion."
 
Around nine o’clock the Grand Quartier Géneral decides that Raynal is to be honoured with the award of Commander of the Legion of Honour, a message Raynal will not read, because it is impossible to reach Fort de Vaux.
On 7 June Raynal and his garrison have to surrender. What is left of the garrison is too dried out of thirst to be able to fight on. When the Germans capture Raynal, he is treated as a real war hero.
The Germans have such an admiration for the perseverance of Raynal, that he may pose for the photo along with Second Lieutenant Kurt Rackow, on the same day awarded with the high honour of "Pour le Mérite".
While Raynal's fort occupation counts 50 deaths and 87 wounded, the German losses though were much heavier after 6 days. For a week Raynal and his men have kept busy 4 German battalions, which together have lost 2.678 soldiers and 64 officers.
The front line of 20 June, after the German captures of the Forts de Douaumont and Vaux. The front lines of the later German attacks of June 1916 on Thiaumont, Ouvrage de Froideterre, Côte de Fleury, Fort de Souville, Bois de la Laufée, and Fort de Tavannes.
After this historic intermezzo we continue our visit. There is another plague on the wall, dedicated to the carrier pigeon.
“TO THE PIGEON-FANCIERS WHO DIED FOR FRANCE. TO THE PIGEON OF VERDUN. ON 4 JUNE, DURING THE BATTLE OF VERDUN, FROM THIS FORT, THE LAST CARRIER PIGEON OF MAJOR RAYNAL (NO. 787-15) DEPARTED, CARRYING THE MESSAGE: "We still hold, but we will suffer an attack by gas and very dangerous fumes. It is urgent that we withdraw - do give us direct optical communication to Souville, that does not answer my calls. This is my last pigeon. Raynal " THE PIGEON SUCCEEDED IN HIS MISSION AND HAS BEEN AWARDED WITH THE CITATION: ...." - Followed by the text of the citation, which belonged to the posthumous award for the pigeon of Knight of the Legion of Honour!
Fort de Vaux, the Interior

A part of the interior of Fort de Vaux is open to the public. Photographing is allowed. We make a tour along some interesting sites in the fortress, important for the story of the Siege: the main corridor, the water tank, the barracks, the office of Raynal, the first aid post, the east corridor, the "lost" latrines, and backwards to the west, to the memorial chapel at corridor D, and the interior of the western Casemate de Bourges.
 
The main corridor.
The water tank.
"GLORY TO THE HEROIC DEFENDERS", followed by the list of units, defending the fortress during the siege.
Down the entrance to the 75 mm gun turret tunnel still lies the symbolic grave of a French soldier.
On the southern side of the main corridor are the barracks.
Next to the barracks: the rather small office of the Commanders of the fort.
Behind the glass: window figures representing Raynal giving orders to a Poilu.
We continue to the First Aid Post or Lazaret.
There is only place for 6 men!
On 6 June the garrison had yet 76 wounded men! They were packed in the corridor, leading to the lazaret.
On the door of the Commander's dormitory a list of 1916 Commanders of the fort. Notice the name of the German Commander, Major von Enchen.
The small dormitory of the Fort Commander.
Opposite the bed a stool with a modest desk.
The communication centre, which would be of no use after 1 June.
Adjacent to the communication room, is the cage for the 4 carrier pigeons, of whom one played such an important role in this story.
We continue through the north-east corridor. 
Notice the chicane-shaped walls, which were fortified with sandbags, ...
... and with square holes to throw handgrenades or fire machine guns at the intruders.
The German capture of the latrines broke definitely the morale of the thirsty troops of Raynal. 
We return to the main corridor, and go westward.
At the western dead end corridor D is now located a small memorial chapel.
Behind the wall still rest the corpses of soldiers.
We continue to visit two rooms of the western Casemate de Bourges, ...
... with it's 75 mm artillery guns on rails. 
We leave the fort with a last view, again at the exterior of the western Casemate de Bourges.
We continue along the road southward.

24 Octobre - The French recapture the fort
On 24 October the French start an operation to retake Fort de Vaux. It will  take them nine days, before they succeed to recapture the fort on 3 November 1916, which the Germans already secretly left the day before.
Units of General Andlauer's 63rd Infantry Division occupied the fort in the night of 2 and 3 November 1916.
On our return from the fortress, along the west side of the dead end road, stands this memorial, ...
... dedicated to Jacques David of the 50e Bataillon Chasseurs à Pied,"KILLED BY THE ENEMY ON 24 OCTOBER 1916". 
To end our voyage in time around Vaux we make a jump of 1.300 m. southward to the Bois de la Laufée.
In the wood there are many traces of trenches. 
We detect an improvised grave or a memorial, covered with a piece of "horizon bleu",  corrugated board.
It is dedicated to two "Comrades of the 171e R.I.". The names are not readable.
Along more traces of trenches we reach ...
... The Ouvrage de la Laufée.
Some details about the Ouvrage de la Laufée
In March 1916 the stronghold was garrisoned by units of the 52me R.I. , under command of Captain Chabert; one infantry company, a machine gun section, an artillery unit, and, as always in larger fortifications, a unit of engineers.
The job of commanding the Ouvrage must have been stressful for the officers. On 31 March Captain Waltz of the 10me Regiment de Hussards takes over the command, sustained later by Captain Poirier and Captain Burthe d’ Arbriet, Commander of the 23me Escadron de Dragons. On 18 August 1916 Captain Rex, a Chasseur of the 4me Bataillon de Chasseurs à Pied, takes over the command of these morally and physically stressed officers.

Function of the Ouvrage

This stronghold contains several underground shelters. During some periods it even served as a Command Post for 2 batallions. There was a shaft to a source, connected to two water tanks. There were two exit caverns. A part of the redoubt served as a dressing station. During the end of October 1916 the French installed also a generator room to feed the stronghold with electricity. Beneath this concrete complex there were 530 tunnels and rooms, and 40 shafts. Much of the system is now filled in, or unstable, and very dangerous.
 
Daily Bombardments and infantry attacks.

The Ouvrage possessed a powerful 75 mm gun turret, which bombarded together with the guns of Fort de Moulainville and the nearby Batterie de Damloup, the Germans, occupying the Fort de Vaux. Only on one day, on 4 June 1916, it fired 294 grenades at the Germans! At 8 and 9 June however the superstructure of the Ouvrage received more than 400 impacts of German 210 mm and 380 mm shells. In the days before 23 June the German shells count 700 a day.
On 23 June the Germans deploy an infantry attack at the Ouvrage and the Batterie de Damloup, which the garrison of the Ouvrage knows to withstand. In July the bombardments on the Ouvrage continue. On 11 July starts another series of German infantry attacks, with the German 126 I.R., 143 I.R., and the 99 I.R. conquering even the nearby Batterie de Damloup, but not the Ouvrage. The German artillery bombardments would continue until the end of August. From 24 October 1916, during the French counteroffensive, the 75 mm gun turret of the Ouvrage took part in the bombardments of the slopes around Fort de Vaux and the German trenches in Damloup and around the Batterie de Damloup, firing 545 grenades a day.

During December 1916 and January 1917 the Ouvrage suffered many more of these heavy German artillery bombardments.
Later, during the Second World War, the Germans exploded the 75 mm gun turret.
 
Main Source:  A post war report of an unknown French author: "Monographie de l'Ouvrage de la Laufée".
 
Nowadays the ruins of the heavily bombarded Ouvrage de la Laufée is covered by a dense vegetation, ...
... which makes it almost invisible.
Along some fire holes in the eastern wall, I try to reach the top of the Ouvrage. 
Soon I detect this concrete circle on the superstructure.
It is the relic of the base of the former 75 mm gun turret.
The dense vegetation camouflages the circle with a diameter of about 5 m.
I used some extra flash light just to give you some idea of the depth of about 5 m.
Be warned, and don't fall in! The vegetation hides more of these surprises, smaller, but still even, nasty surprises.
I descend from the roof to find an entrance to the Ouvrage.
At the end of a trench I succeeded to find an entrance.
In this rather big entrance hall is only recent graffiti to be found.
As I already know that this stronghold is in a dangerous state, ...
... I only enter it for about 75 m.
In the pitch dark these "unexpected" shafts are very dangerous! 
These manholes, only seldom equipped with a very rusty ladder, 
go straight down for sometimes 20 m. deep or much deeper.
WARNING! An example of the risks you may encounter on your explorations on the battlefields: on 12 July 2009, a 25 year old Swiss tourist was not cautious enough, and fell down one of the shafts of Fort de Souville near a Pamart bunker for about 20 m.! It took a special rescue team almost 3 hours to rescue this tourist!
(Source: L'Est Républicain, 12-07-2009.)

I continue my exploration to find more of these deep shafts.
They sometimes were ventilation shafts to lower levels, but some of these shafts also formed the direct connection for the soldiers to get down to the lower tunnels and rooms.
I decide, that it is safer for me to leave the impressive Ouvrage before I would fall into one of these.
With a last view of the Ouvrage de la Laufée we return to our car. By lack of time we were alas forced to abandon our walk to the Batterie de Damloup, which we will save for another time.
We continue our virtual tour to the area of Fort de Tavannes.  Continue to: "Tunnel de Tavannes and Fort de Tavannes"

AISNE - Chemin des Dames

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 29 November 2019

De Vanceboro Bridge Bomaanslag

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 14 November 2019

Inleiding: Franz Von Papen & Werner Horn; schaker en pion

Onlangs stuitte ik in een oud boek (1) van 1919 op een opmerkelijk verhaal over een Duitse Luitenant, die in begin februari 1915 een half geslaagde bomaanslag pleegt op een spoorbrug over een grensrivier tussen de Verenigde Staten en Canada. Ook al staat de bekentenis van de dader, Werner Horn, deels in het boek te lezen, de naam van zijn opdrachtgever zal Horn blijven verzwijgen. Na wat verder zoeken vond ik ook de naam van Horn’s opdrachtgever, Franz von Papen, een van de aangeklaagden van het latere Neurenberg Proces in 1946.

In een Grote Oorlog als de Eerste Wereldoorlog  is Horn’s aanslag op de brug uiteraard slechts een bescheiden wapenfeit. Toch vermoed ik dat dit relatief onbekende verhaal, dat de geschiedenis is ingegaan als de “ Vanceboro International Bridge Bombing ”, nog interessante kanten kent. Het is onder andere een spionageverhaal over hoe in een groter plan een sluwe schaker zijn naïeve pion offert.  

Beknopte situatieschets Canada en de Verenigde Staten in 1915

ALSACE-LORRAINE - The Gap of Charmes - La Trouée de Charmes

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 1 October 2019

This trip we start at the Léomont near Vitrimont and we will with some exceptions concentrate on the Battle of Lorraine of August-September 1914 in the area, called, the “Trouée de Charmes”, the Gap of Charmes.

After the Léomont battlefield we continue our explorations to Friscati hill and its Nécropole Nationale. Next we pay a visit to the battlefield of la Tombe to go on to the Château de Lunéville. There we cross the Vezouze to move on southward to the Bayon Nécropole Nationale. At Bayon we cross the Moselle to pass Charmes for the panorama over the battlefield from the Haut du Mont. North-west of Charmes we will visit the British Military Cemetery containing 1918 war victims. From Charmes we go northward to the battlefield of the First French Victory of the Great War, the Battle of Rozelieures of 25 August 1914. North of Rozelieures we will visit the village of Gerbéviller. From there we make a jump northward to visit the ruins of Fort de Manonviller to finish with an interesting French Dressing Station bunker, west of Domjevin.

LORRAINE - Avricourt - Leintrey - Reillon - Domèvre - Parux

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 18 September 2019
Though we depart from Badonviller in the Northern Vosges , we make a jump northward to the east of Lunéville and Manonviller. We start at Avricourt on the border of Alsace and Lorraine. From the Avricourt Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof we explore the southern Lorraine battlefields ; the mine craters of Leintrey , the Franco- German war cemetery and Côte 303 at Reillon , and some German bunkers near Gondrexon , Montreux , and Parux.

LORRAINE - Montreux - German Front Walk 

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 13 September 2019
We depart from Raon-l’Etape to drive northward via Badonviller to Montreux to visit the  "Circuit du Front Allemand 14-18", the  Montreux German Front Walk 14-18,  with its trenches , breastworks , and at least twenty bunkers.

LORRAINE - The Battle of Morhange - 1914

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 8 September 2019
North-east of Nancy, east of Pont-à-Mousson, and south-east of Metz we visit the battlefields of the Battle of Morhange of 14 until 20 August 1914. We follow mainly topographically the route of the French advance eastward over the Franco-German border of 1871-1918.
During this visit, we try to focus on the day that the momentum of the battle switched from the French side to the advantage of the Bavarian side: the day of 20 August 1914, when the Bavarians rapidly re-conquered the territory around Morhange , being also the day of the start of their rather successful “Schlacht in Lothringen”.
We will visit beautiful landscapes of the "Parc Naturel Régional de Lorraine", memorials, ossuaries, and cemeteries. Sometimes we will divert to other periods of the Great War, honouring Russian and Romanian soldiers, who died in this sector. We start our route at the border village of Manhoué, and via Frémery, Oron, Chicourt, Morhange, Riche, Conthil, Lidrezing, Dieuze, Vergaville, Bidestroff, Cutting, Bisping we will finish in Nomeny and Mailly-sur-Seille, where the Germans halted their advance on 20 August 1914, and where they constructed from 1915 some interesting bunkers.

LORRAINE - Lanfroicourt – Nomeny - Monument du Grand Couronné 

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 5 September 2019
South of Manhoué we start this trip at Lanfroicourt along the French side of the Franco-German 1871-1918 border, marked by the meandering Seille river. We visit some French bunkers  in Lanfroicourt, near Array-et-Han and in Moivrons. From there we go northward to the outskirts of Nomeny and the hamlet of Brionne to visit the ( second ) memorial, commemorating the events in Nomeny of 20 August 1914. We continue westward to finish at the Monument du Grand Couronné at the Côte de Géneviève, a former French artillery base, which offers several panoramic views over the battlefield.

LORRAINE - Bouxières-sous-Froidmont - Verny - Feste Wagner

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 28 August 2019
North of Pont-à-Mousson and south of Metz, we explore the relics of German bunkers and fortifications along the Franco-German 1871-1918 border. We start at Bouxières-sous-Froidmont to visit the nearby height of the Froidmont on the front line. This time we will show only a part of the Froidmont, focusing on its military significance.  From the Froidmont we continue via Longeville-lès-Cheminot and Sillegny to the “Forêt Domaniale de Sillegny” to explore some artillery ammunition bunkers. Next we continue to Marieulles for its three interesting bunkers and to Vezon for its line of ammunition depot bunkers. From Vezon we continue to the “Deutscher Kriegsgräberstätte Fey – Buch”. From Fey we go eastward, passing 6 bunkers near Coin-lès-Cuvry to finish our trip at the top construction of the “Feste Wagner” or “Fort Verny”, north of Verny.

VOSGES - Mutzig - Fort de Mutzig - Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 25 August 2019

From Badonviller or the Col du Donon we continue north-eastward for a visit to an extraordinarily well restored sample of German fortifications:  the Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II, or Fort de Mutzig,  lying on a height, some 8 km. away from the 1871-1918 Franco-German Border.

VOSGES - Ste. Marie-aux-Mines - Tête du Violu / Bernhardstein

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 23 August 2019
We concentrate on the German side of the front around "Markirch", Sainte Marie-aux-Mines, the so-called "Leber" front sector . We first pay a visit to the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof, and next to the southern side of the Col de Ste. Marie for the many interesting bunkers of the German positions at the Bernhardstein, at the north-eastern slopes of the Tête du Violu. On the next photo page about the Haut de Faîte we will continue with a visit to the northern side of the pass and the "Leber" sector.
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