Verdun WW1 Battlefield site, Verdun-sur-Meuse, France. March 2014 Seen here: The Remains of Fort de Vaux on the Verdun Battlefie
Verdun WW1 Battlefield site, Verdun-sur-Meuse, France. March 2014 Seen here: The Remains of Fort de Vaux on the Verdun Battlefield. Fort Vaux, located in Vaux-Devant-Damloup, Meuse, France, was built in 1881–1884 at a cost of 1,500,000 Francs, built to house 150 men. it became the second Fort to fall in the Battle of Verdun. The first fort to fall had been Fort Douaumont which was virtually undefended and had been captured by a small German raiding party in February 1916. Fort de Vaux, on the other hand, was fully garrisoned when it was attacked on June 2 by German assault troops. The fort had been modernized before 1914 with additional reinforced concrete top protection, like at Fort Douaumont and thus did resist a German heavy artillery preparation which had included shelling by 16 inch howitzers. The superstructure of the fort had been heavily damaged but the deep interior corridors and stations remained intact and can still be seen in their original condition today. One of the fort's side bunkers ("Casemate de Bourges") is still equipped with its 75mm cannon. The defense of Fort Vaux was marked by the heroism and endurance of the garrison, including Major Sylvain-Eugene Raynal. Under his command, the besieged French garrison fended off repeated German assaults, including fighting underground from barricades inside the invaded corridors of the fort, which was the first major engagement to happen completely inside a fort during World War I. What was left of the French garrison finally gave up after it had run out of drinkable water (some of which was poisoned), ammunition, medical supplies and food. Raynal sent several messages to his commanding officers via homing pigeons (including the famous Vaillant[verification needed]), requesting relief for his soldiers. During his last communications, Major Raynal penned the phrase "This is my last pigeon." After the capture of Fort Vaux on June 7, the Crown Prince of the German ruling family, the Hohenzollerns, prese
Size: 4161px × 2734px
Location: Verdun WWI Battlefield area France
Photo credit: © BRIAN HARRIS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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