Location 9 – Fort Vaux

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Brief History - Crisis of the Battle

Directions – If you are continuing your journey and trying to fit all the locations into one day (which is technically feasible but exhausting), return back to the National Cemetery and continue along the D913 which takes you in front of the cemetery. After you have passed the cemetery the D913 bears to the left signposted to Fleury. Follow this route for about five minutes past this "village détruit" and the Mémorial de Fleury museum until you come to a left-hand turn signposted to Fort Vaux (the D913a). You should reach the car park to the fort in a further five minutes or so.

If you are spending two full days on this tour (much the recommended option), leave Verdun at the start of Day 3 by the N3 to Étain and take the left turn onto the D913 signposted to the "Champ de Bataille de Verdun". The right turn onto the D913a to Fort Vaux should be reached in a few minutes.

Practical Information – The fort is closed in January and February but is open the rest of the year with a two-hour break for lunch outside the main summer months. As with Fort Douaumont, the inside of the fort is very cold and wet so it is advisable to wear something warm during the cooler months of the year.

Historical Information – Fort Vaux was originally completed in 1880 and strengthened with concrete in subsequent updates before being re-commissioned in 1911. Although much smaller than nearby Fort Douaumont, its significance lay in its position overlooking the plateau behind its more powerful neighbour – ground the Germans would have to cover to reach Verdun. Taking over command of the Verdun defences the day after Douaumont fell, General Pétain immediately reversed the policy of denuding the forts of men and guns and sent a garrison to Vaux to prepare its defence.

The first German attacks came on 8th and 9th March. Despite heavy losses, the 6th and 19th Reserve Regiments captured Damloup to the east and reached Vaux village to the north-west. For the next four weeks they tried to make headway up the slope leading to the fort but each assault ended in bitter failure. French rifle, machine-gun and artillery fire raked the open ground and the German dead soon lay in heaps.

It was another two months before the Germans made another concerted effort in this sector as part of Operation May Cup. It opened on 1st June with a heavy artillery concentration, deluging Vaux and its immediate surroundings with 8,000 high calibre shells. With an overwhelming superiority in men, the attackers made it to the northern moat and sent powerful forces to probe around the fort's southern approaches to halt the flow of reinforcements.

Under such an onslaught, the French defenders could not hold their positions outside and withdrew into the fort's interior. Surrounded on three sides and lacking the fire support that Douaumont would have provided, there was nothing to stop German infantry swarming onto the superstructure. Sensing the end was near, and wanting to conserve the limited stocks of food and water, the garrison commander, Major Raynal, ordered all men that were surplus to requirements to leave and prepared for the final stand. On the 4th the last carrier pigeon was released and on the 5th the last complete communication was received from Raynal, "We have reached the limit, officers and soldiers have done their duty. Long live France!"

Yet, incredibly, the garrison continued to hold out. On the night of the 6th a relieving column almost made it to the fort but was beaten back. On the 7th, Germans storm-troopers entered the fort by blasting and torching their way into the casemates with grenades and flame-throwers. The French retreated into the underground galleries where they continued the fight with rifle and bayonet. Eventually, with the cisterns completely empty and following another failed relief attempt on the morning of the 8th, the garrison surrendered. They had held out for seven days, the last two without water.

The Germans held Vaux until 2nd November 1916, when they abandoned it following the great French counter-attack of 24th October. Today the heroic action of Raynal and his beleaguered garrison at Vaux is rightly ranked as one of the great defences of modern military history.