The Battle of Verdun was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse. The German 5th Army attacked the defences of the Fortified Region of Verdun and those of the French Second Army on the right (east) bank of the Meuse. Using the experience of the Second Battle of Champagne in 1915, the Germans planned to capture the Meuse Heights, an excellent defensive position, with good observation for artillery-fire on Verdun. The Germans hoped that the French would commit their strategic reserve to recapture the position and suffer catastrophic losses at little cost to the German infantry.
Douaumont is a former commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Douaumont-Vaux.
Fort Douaumont was the largest and highest fort on the ring of 19 large defensive works which had protected the city of Verdun, France, since the 1890s. By 1915, the French General Staff had concluded that even the best-protected forts of Verdun could not withstand bombardments from the German 420 mm Gamma guns. These new super-heavy howitzers had easily taken several large Belgian forts out of action in August 1914. Fort Douaumont and other Verdun forts were judged ineffective and had been partly disarmed and left virtually undefended since 1915. On 25 February 1916, Fort Douaumont was entered and occupied without a fight by a small German raiding party comprising only 19 officers and 79 men, entering via an open window by the moat. The easy fall of Fort Douaumont, only three days after the beginning of the Battle of Verdun, shocked the French Army. It set the stage for the rest of a battle which lasted nine months, at enormous human cost. Douaumont was finally recaptured by three infantry divisions of the Second Army, during the First Offensive Battle of Verdun on 24 October 1916. This event brought closure to the battle in 1916.
The Siege of Maubeuge took place from 24 August – 7 September 1914, at the Entrenched Camp of Maubeuge the start of the First World War on the Western Front. The railway from Thionville to Luxembourg City, Arlon and Namur into Belgium had been cut by the demolition of the rail bridge over the Meuse at Namur in Belgium. During the siege, the German armies in the north could use only the single-track line from Trier to Liège, Brussels, Valenciennes and Cambrai, which could accommodate a maximum of forty trains a day.
The Séré de Rivières system was an ensemble of fortifications built from 1874 along the frontiers, ridges and coasts of France. The fortifications were named after their architect, Brigadier-General Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières. The fortresses were obsolescent by 1914 but were used during the First World War.
The Fort de Liouville, also known as Fort Stengel, located between the communes of Saint-Agnant-sous-les-Côtes and Saint-Julien-sous-les-Côtes, near the town of Commercy in the Meuse departement of France, is one of the forts built at the end of the 19th century to defend the valley of the Meuse. The fort was located on what was then the French frontier facing the German-occupied province of Lorraine. The Fort de Liouville was located between the Fort de Gironville and the Camp des Romains.
The Fort de Lantin is one of twelve forts built around Liège, Belgium, in the late 19th century. The overall Fortified Position of Liège was a constituent part of the country's National Redoubt. Fort de Lantin was built between 1881 and 1884 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete, a new material, rather than masonry. The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the Battle of Liège. Lantin was never upgraded like the other forts of Liège and retains its character as a Brialmont fort. It is preserved as a museum and may be visited by the public.
The Fort de Hollogne is one of twelve forts built around Liège, Belgium, in the late 19th century. The overall Fortified Position of Liège was a constituent part of the country's National Redoubt. Fort de Hollogne was built between 1881 and 1884 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete, a new material, rather than masonry. The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the Battle of Liège. Hollogne was never upgraded like the other forts of Liège and retains its character as a Brialmont fort. It is preserved as a museum and may be visited by the public.
The Fort de Fléron is one of twelve forts built around Liège, Belgium, in the late 19th century. The overall Fortified Position of Liège was a constituent part of the country's National Redoubt. Fort de Fléron was built between 1881 and 1891 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete, a new material, rather than masonry. The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the Battle of Liège. Fléron was upgraded in the 1930s in an attempt to forestall or slow an attack from Germany. Located in the center of Fléron, the fort has been buried and is surrounded by apartments.
The Fort de Barchon is one of twelve forts built around Liège, Belgium, in the late 19th century. The overall Fortified Position of Liège was a constituent part of the country's National Redoubt. Fort de Barchon was built between 1881 and 1884 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete, a new material, rather than masonry. The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the Battle of Liège. Barchon was upgraded in the 1930s in an attempt to forestall or slow an attack from Germany. It saw action in 1940 during the Battle of Belgium, and was captured by German forces. It is preserved as a museum and may be visited by the public.
The Fort de Liers is one of twelve forts built around Liège, Belgium, in the late 19th century. The overall Fortified Position of Liège was a constituent part of the country's National Redoubt. Fort de Liers was built between 1881 and 1884 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete, a new material, rather than masonry. The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the Battle of Liège. Liers was never upgraded like the other forts of Liège. It is now used as a test site for aircraft engines and is not accessible to the public.
The Fort de Chaudfontaine is one of twelve forts built around Liège, Belgium, in the late 19th century. The overall Fortified Position of Liège was a constituent part of the country's National Redoubt. Fort de Chaudfontaine was built between 1881 and 1884 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete, a new material, rather than masonry. The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the Battle of Liège. The fort is now used as an adventure park.
The Fort d'Embourg is one of twelve forts built around Liège, Belgium, in the late 19th century. The overall Fortified Position of Liège was a constituent part of the country's National Redoubt. Fort d'Embourg was built between 1881 and 1884 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete, a new material, rather than masonry. The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the Battle of Liège in World War I and again at the opening of World War II. It has been preserved and is operated as a museum.
The Fort de Pontisse is one of twelve forts built around Liège, Belgium, in the late 19th century. The overall Fortified Position of Liège was a constituent part of the country's National Redoubt. Fort de Pontisse was built between 1881 and 1884 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières, the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete, a new material, rather than masonry. The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the Battle of Liège. Attacked in both World War I and World War II, the fort has been preserved as a refuge for bats, which may be visited during summer months.
Sylvain Eugène Raynal was a French military officer.
The Obusier de 400 Modèle 1915/1916 were French railway howitzers that saw action during the First World War and World War II. The mle 1915/1916 was the largest caliber railway howitzers in service with the French Army during the First World War.
Kurt Rackow was a German military officer and Pour le Mérite recipient who served in the Imperial German Army, Freikorps, and Reichswehr during World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–19. Rackow's most famous action was leading the capture of Fort Vaux during the Battle of Verdun.
Fort Souville, briefly called Fort Lemoine, was one of the forts of the Verdun Fortification District, situated in the commune of Fleury-devant-Douaumont. Constructed between 1876 and 1879 at an altitude of 396m, it is a first generation fort. It served as a key battlefield in the 1916 Battle of Verdun during World War I. The fort was armed on its ramparts with 9 cannons and 5 mortars, with 8 pieces of artillery used as flanking fire. A Bussiere turret in attached battery was also present.
Hans Karl von Guretzky-Cornitz (1855–1917) was a German army general of the First World War. He was commander of the 9th Reserve Division during the early part of the war. He is noted for an incident during the 1916 Battle of Verdun when he falsely reported capturing Fort Vaux and was awarded the Pour le Mérite.
Le Vaillant was a pigeon used by the French Army in the First World War. The bird was the last held at Fort Vaux before it was overrun in the Battle of Verdun. Le Vaillant carried a message from the fort's commander Sylvain Reynal to his senior officers requesting reinforcements but was mortally wounded in flight. The bird was posthumously appointed to the Legion of Honour and is commemorated by a plaque at the fort.
