Northumbrian Gunner: Battle of Verdun

Saturday, 23 March 2024

Reims 2024 - La Voie Sacrée

The Battle of Verdun lasted for 300 days with over 1 million French soldiers serving in the sector, and the French artillery firing at estimated 23 million rounds. To keep the frontline supplied with men and materiel was a major logistical effort during the course of the battle.

It was along a 56 kilometre route route from Bar-Le-Duc to Verdun and a narrow gauge railway on which the logistics to sustain the battle depended. It became known as the Sacred Way ... La Voie Sacrée.

Along the route 6,000 lorries and buses passed every day, one vehicle passing every 14 seconds, day and night.

La Voie Sacrée movement by day

La Voie Sacrée movement by night

On average 13,000 men, 6,400 tons of equipment and 1,500 tons of ammunition were transported daily.

La Voie Sacrée Combat Supplies Heippes

La Voie Sacrée Artillery Ammunition Heippes

The return journey took 18 hours and drivers were required to stay with their vehicles at all times in order to be ready to move when ordered. They would eat and sleep in their vehicles.

La Voie Sacrée truck drivers

The route was split into sectors for efficient route control and strict discipline maintained by the provost marshall. Speed limits were imposed, 25 km per hour for vans, 15 km per hour for lorries. Heavy artillery tractors were limited to 4 km per hour or 8 km per hour when empty.

La Voie Sacrée traffic

La Voie Sacrée 10th Artillery Ammunition Section

Quarries were dug all along the road to maintain the road. A force of 8,000 French Territorial soldiers lived along the route constantly shovelling stones under the wheels of trucks to plug the ruts left.

La Voie Sacrée Route Maintenance

La Voie Sacrée shovelling stones

It was protected by several fighter squadrons dedicated to preventing enemy air attacks on the route.

The Sacred Way, a single road, only paved with stones of poor quality was a miracle that saved France a a perilous time during the First World war.

La Voie Sacrée

La Voie Sacrée 1916

La Voie Sacrée Great War Museum IJ

The route is commemorated by milestones marked by helmeted bollards bearing the inscription N VS (Nationale Voie Sacrée). It was inaugurated by the President of France on 21 August 1922 and the first marker being a memorial at Bar-Le-Luc.

La Voie Sacrée first route marker Bar-Le-luc

La Voie Sacrée Marker Stone

The current modern road that follows the original Voie Sacrée is designated the RD1916.

RD1916 La Voie Sacrée Marker Stone

RD 1916 DR IJ

A monument has been erected to commemorate the Voie Sacrée on the RD1916 8.5 km from Verdun.

La Voie Sacrée Memorial

La Voie Sacrée frieze

La Voie Sacrée frieze

Reims 2024 - Verdun Ossuary

The battle of Verdun lasted from lasted from the 21st February to the 18th December 1916 resulting in over 700,000 casualties of which around 300, 000 were killed. One estimate states 306,000 killed, 163,000 French and 143,000 German.

An ossuary commemorates those lost and contains the skeletal remains of 130,000 combatants from both sides.

Douaumont Ossuary

To the front of the ossuary is the Fleury-devant-Douaumont National Necropolisis. The French cemetery contains 16,142 graves, the largest single French Cemetery of World War One.

Fleury-devant-Douaumont Cemetery

Reims 2024 - Fort Douaumont

Fort Douaumont was the largest of 19 forts that protected Verdun. It was constructed between 1884 and 1886 and continually reinforced until 1913.

Fort Douaumont IJ

Fort Douaumont

The fort was was situated southwest of the village of Douaumont, that village being one of many destroyed during the battle.

At an altitude of almost 400 meters it commanded the area looking out 70km across the Woevre Plain towards Germany.

Fort Douaumont commanding view

The fort has a frontage of approximately 400 metres and occupies an area of 30,000 square metres which is surrounded by a moat. It was constructed from steel and reinforced concrete with earth works to absorb artillery fire.

Fort Douaumont prior to Battle of Verdun

Fort Douaumont January 1916

The fort was built on two levels with two corridors, one above the other, with barrack rooms, stores and support facilities. The barracks were built to accommodate a garrison of 635 soldiers. Tunnels ran to the extremities of the fort where the weapon turrets were located. The forts artillery armaments consisted of 155m and 75mm guns in rotating/retractable turrets. Four 75 mm guns were located in casemates. Observation cupolas provided a mechanism for target acquisition.

There were also turrets containing machine guns. The moats were protected by machine guns and revolving anti personnel guns at the corners.

Fort Douaumont Plan

When the Germans invaded Belgium in 1914 they used heavy artillery, 30 cm and 42 cm guns, to engage Belgian forts in Liege, Namur and Antwerp destroying or neutralising them. As a result the French army began to take a fresh look at the usefulness of their forts defending Verdun. They decided the guns, ammunition and troops would be better used to support the campaign in the Artois and Champagne regions which were conducted during 1915. Orders were issued in August 1915 for the gradual disarmament of the forts and the redeployment of personnel. All of the weapons were removed from Fort Douaumont with the exception of the 155mm and 75mm guns in the rotating/retractable turrets. This being due to the problems of removing them rather than any operational considerations. The personnel were reduced from around 500 to 58 reservists under the command of a warrant officer.

At 07:15 on 21st February 1916 the Germans began bombarding French positions on the west bank of the River Meuse, the opening move of the Battle of Verdun. The forts at Marre, Vacherauville, Charny, Vaux Douaumont were targeted by large calibre German guns.

Fort Douaumont under artillery bombardment

The infantry assault began on the afternoon of the 21st February and began to force the French back towards Verdun.

The targeting of Fort Douaumont by heavy artillery, including a battery of super-heavy 420 mm M-Gerät howitzers forced the occupants to take shelter in the lower parts of the fort and cut communications. By the 25th February the German infantry had reached the area of Fort Douamont. A party of soldiers from the 24th Brandenburg Regiment were able to gain entry to the fort and capture it without a shot being fired.

The capture of France's biggest and strongest fort in the Verdun sector was regarded as a significant achievement and it's 'heroic' capture was promulgated.

'Heroic' German capture of Fort Douaumont

Fort Douaumont February 1916

The Germans occupied the fort and it was used to shelter troops and stores. On the 8th May an unattended cooking fire had detonated grenades and flamethrower fuel causing a firestorm that killed 800 to 900 men.

By May the fighting in Verdun had reached stalemate and the break through the German High Command had desired had failed. One further attempt to penetrate the French line was made in June but this also failed. The Germans continued a battle of attrition with constant infantry attacks on the French line and bombardments by heavy artillery. The aim being to draw in French reserves and ultimately defeat them.

The loss Fort Douaumont had been a major blow to French morale. Its recapture was vital to restoring French esteem. Attempts to recapture the fort ended in failure. Millions of shells were fired at the fort and thousands of men killed in the failed attempts.

In October 1916 the French launched a major operation in the Verdun sector. After a two day bombardment they launched their attack on the east bank of the River Meuse. Fort Douaumont had been pounded for days by two super heavy 400 mm (16 in) long-range French railway guns. The bombardment had made its occupation untenable and it was being evacuated when it was recaptured by the French.

French recapture of Fort Douaumont October 1916

Fort Douaumont 1919

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Fort Douaumont 2024

Fort Douaumont Barracks Entrance

Fort Douaumont 75mm gun rotating/retractable turret

Fort Douaumont Machine Gun Turret NVAA

Fort Douaumont Observation Cupola

Fort Douaumont Casemeates

Fort Douaumont Shell Craters

Fort Douaumont interior corridor

Fort Douaumont Main Tunnel

Fort Douaumont Barrack Room

On May 8th 1916 an explosion in a grenade store that ignited flamethrower fuel killed 800 to 900 men. Some of those men were buried outside the fort, 679 were left where they were killed and the area sealed off by a wall. The location is marked by a memorial.