by J E Kauffman
Raynal realized that repairs were urgently needed. He immediately set to work with the little manpower and few resources available. He discovered that the previous bombardments had created seven openings in the fort that could allow the enemy to gain an easy entry. They were located in the galleries connecting the two coffres on the front of the fossé to the western Casemate de Bourges and the entrances. Since the garrison was unable to seal these openings effectively, Raynal ordered the men build chicanes in the galleries.43After February 1915, the fort had no machine-gun turrets, only observation cloches and infantry weapons to defend the fort. The numerous heavy bombardments had partially filled the fossé.
In May, three army corps, the I Bavarian, X Reserve and XV Corps renewed the attack. This time, they were supported by eighteen howitzer batteries, including six heavy ones, transferred from the Western Attack Group to support operations east of the river. The batteries on the west bank strove to supress the French enfilading artillery on the Marre Ridge, which had impeded German infantry progress on the east bank since late February.
On the west bank, the 54th Division (XXIV Reserve Corps) conducted mildly successful operations on 3 June. However, by 9 June it was pushed back to its starting position together with the 29th Division (XXIV Reserve Corps). East of the XXIV Reserve Corps, three divisions of the XXII Reserve Corps had had to stave off repeated French assaults aimed at Le Mort Homme since the end of May. The Germans lost about 250m of trenches on the southwest slope by dusk on 1 June. Knobelsdorf pulled back the XXII Reserve Corps (43rd and 44th Reserve divisions). Its 56th Division remained until mid-June when General von François, VII Corps (13th and 14th divisions), took over the positions of the XXII Reserve Corps. French forces assailed Le Mort Homme once more on 14 and 16 June, but the German line held. The French artillery, however, prevented the Germans from improving their positions.
View of right rear flank of Fort Moulainville.
On the east bank, the 5th Army prepared for another major offensive involving the I Bavarian and X Reserve corps. The VII Reserve Corps (on the west bank) provided artillery support. The XV Corps formed the left wing. These forces concentrated on a 5km front of one of the mostly heavily defended sectors of Verdun. Knobelsdorf was convinced, or simply wanted to believe, that the defeat at Douaumont in May had greatly weakened the enemy. The Germans assembled 2,200 artillery pieces including the Big Berthas for another crushing barrage. The 420mm weapons contributed little because they concentrated their fire on Fort Moulainville during the offensive. Moulainville was the second largest fort on the right bank and somewhat similar to Fort Douaumont. It had become the Germans’ main target after Fort Douaumont fell. It included a 75mm and a155mm gun turret, which had remained in action since February causing difficulties for the Germans. Thus, during this latest attack, the 420mm weapons targeted Fort Moulainville instead of Fort Vaux or Fort Souville. However, their efficacy proved to be almost nil against Fort Moulainville.44 During the campaign, they fired 339 rounds against the fort, scoring only 43 hits (just under 14 per cent), and they never came close to putting the fort out of action. This was not the first time the Germans had taken on Fort Moulainville. They had shelled it for a few days in March and April 1916. A 420mm round had struck the 155mm gun turret on 9 March, but the garrison had repaired it in two days. That turret fired over 5,800 rounds and its worn barrel had had to be replaced. The 75mm gun turret fired twice as many rounds and suffered minor damage during bombardments. The French had acquired more 155mm guns and their counter-battery fire targeted the 420mm howitzers and other heavy artillery in fixed positions with some effect.45
The French, who were still recovering from their failed May offensive, faced another massive onslaught. On 1 June, the I Bavarian Corps burst through the front southwest of Douaumont, the 7th Reserve Division moved through Caillette Woods to the south of Fort Douaumont and the 1st Division took the heights northwest of Fort Vaux and thrust into the Vaux Valley. The Crown Prince claimed that casualties were light as his troops took 2,000 prisoners. The French reacted with a heavy bombardment on 2 June that damaged a machine-gun turret and observation position at Fort Douaumont, which still afforded the only safe shelter for the German reserves in the area. The 50th Division of the XV Corps took Damloup. On 2 June, three companies of its 158th Regiment clawed their way onto the cratered superstructure of Fort Vaux. The French counter-attacked along the front of the I Bavarian Corps and X Reserve Corps, but were thrown back everywhere.46 The East Prussians of the 1st Division repeatedly tried to improve the German line to the northwest of Fort Vaux while French troops strove to eject the 7th Reserve Division from Chapitre and Fumin woods.
Raynal had not been able to do much in one week to get Fort Vaux in shape. On 1 June, the German assailants succeeded in crossing the ravine, despite casualties, and forced the French back. Some of the retreating troops took shelter in the fort. The fort had a garrison of about 450 men including 150 men of a machine-gun company of the 53rd Infantry Regiment that had taken shelter there during the day. They joined the defence of the fort adding to its firepower. Other soldiers, who were not part of the garrison, overcrowded the fort and contributed nothing to the fighting. The fort endured heavy bombardment until 2 June when special German pioneers, trained to serve as storm troopers, joined in the siege of the fort. The French 101st and 142nd Infantry regiments of the 124th Division held positions around the fort. The German 158th and 53rd Infantry regiments advanced from their trenches to about 200m from the fort and engaged in heavy fighting not only with the French troops posted around the fort, but also with contingents emerging from the fort. The weapons in the coffres of the counterscarp stopped the German troops from crossing the moat. An attempt to destroy the machine gun defending the northeastern coffre failed, but the gun jammed eventually.47 The fight next turned into a grenade duel until the thirty or so French soldiers in the coffre were overcome by fumes from a rubbish fire and surrendered after 2 hours of combat. Major Raynal, who had few means of communication at his disposal, sent a messenger pigeon to inform headquarters that the Germans had surrounded the fort.48
The Germans took over the coffre and began to explore the tunnel connecting it to the fort’s caserne. As they explored the galleries, they came face to face with the defenders and an underground battle broke out. Meanwhile, other German soldiers tried to breach the double coffre without much success until the pioneers arrived with their flamethrowers. Since they had a short range, they lowered the weapon’s nozzle from the top of the coffre, pushed it into an embrasure and injected a jet of flame. The machine guns in the coffre were instantly silenced. Before long, the Germans found an opening covered with sandbags, which they removed only to find the coffre empty. The defenders had evidently fled back to the fort through the tunnel. French counter-attacks from outside the fort failed while the fighting continued in the bowels of the structure. Using the remaining coffre and positions established in the gorge, the defenders kept the Germans from this quarter of the fort. By 3 June, the 124th Division was too weak to relieve the fort. When reinforcements arrived for the French early in the morning, they were pushed back and suffered heavy losses. The German regiments at the fort were relieved during the night of 3/4 June. The battle among the underground barricades continued. The Germans slowly worked their way through the eastern and western access galleries in the direction of the caserne. The attackers advanced with trepidation along the narrow, dark galleries as the defenders feverishly fired their machine guns and lobbed grenades from behind their barricades. The assailants brought up their flamethrowers to illuminate and burn the defenders. The French pulled back temporarily, and opened sandbagged positions in the gorge walls of the caserne to let in a rush of air to blow back the fumes and the flames when some rubbish caught fire. Before the Germans could get past the barricades, the Frenchmen came back at them weapons blazing. Still desperately holding on to the bulk of the fort, Raynal was informed that the water cisterns were empty. It seems that someon
e had miscalculated the amount of water they held. As the water and other supplies dwindled, Raynal devised a plan to move out hundreds of soldiers that were not part of the garrison at night. Only a few succeeded in escaping before the Germans realized what was afoot. The underground battle continued on 5 June. On 6 and 7 June, the 1st Division repulsed numerous French attempts to reach the fort, the positions of which were obliterated. Raynal, his water gone, had no choice but to surrender on 7 June. Unaware that the fort had fallen, the French launched a final attack on 8 June, but sustained many casualties without anything to show for their efforts.49
Even though it was smaller and not as well armed as Fort Douaumont, Fort Vaux demonstrated the importance of forts in modern warfare. Its performance was remarkable especially since its main weapons – the 75mm turret guns and the missing guns of the Casemate de Bourges – did not take part in its defence. Pétain had been correct in February to order the restoration of the forts to full service and to provide each of them with up to two weeks’ supplies so they could be self-supporting. The forts became the fulcrum of the French defensive positions. When the Germans secured the sector between forts Vaux and Douaumont, they could prepare a drive towards the Meuse. To do this, they had to eliminate the ouvrages of Thiaumont and Froideterre and the older forts of Souville and Tavannes. Since it had taken them months to take Fort Vaux, it was not likely that the remaining forts would fall quickly. Putting them under siege only promised to raise the number of casualties. The Germans could also expect further losses in the effort to clear every ravine and wood between them and the line of ouvrages and forts.
After the fall of Fort Vaux, the German June offensive continued. On 8 June, the 1st and 50th divisions of XV Corps with the I Bavarian Corps on their right resumed their advance. The X Corps was scheduled to launch the attack at 4.00 pm (German time), but the French forestalled them by 10 minutes, only to be thrown back. The 2nd Bavarian Division, supported by the new Alpine Corps, advanced to within 100m of the Thiaumont Farm taking 1,500 prisoners. On 12 June, the Alpine Corps replaced the 2nd Bavarian Division and captured Thiaumont Farm.50 As the Germans tried to consolidate their gains, they came under a vigorous French artillery barrage, which made it virtually impossible for them to carry out the task.
Before long, Falkenhayn sent orders to suspend the offensive because a Russian operation in Galicia was becoming problematical and the Austrians were once again on the verge of collapse. Shortly afterwards, however, the Crown Prince was told to renew the offensive and he was allotted the 4th and 103rd divisions. The Eastern Attack Group also received the 11th Bavarian Division from Army Detachment Strantz. In addition, General Headquarters promised a large supply of Green Cross (phosgene) gas shells. Prince Wilhelm was not enthused; his heart was not in it, he said. He recalled these months at Verdun as the most painful of the war. He thought that the French, who relieved their divisions frequently, did not suffer much more than his troops and, he lamented, ‘now the balance seemed to me to be swaying the other way’.*
The last major German thrust. The Lion Monument represents the point of the maximum German advance.
Once Fort Vaux surrendered, the plan was to capture Froideterre, the village of Fleury and Fort Souville. On 21 June, the German artillery fired phosgene gas at the French artillery batteries in an attempt to suffocate the crews. The VII Reserve, XV and the Alpine corps launched a preliminary assault, but they were checked by French artillery and machine-gun fire. This time, the French also targeted the rear areas to prevent the advancing troops from getting reinforcements and supplies. The Germans beat off French counter-attacks. A sustained bombardment heralded the main German attack. By 23 June, the poison gas finally seemed to take effect as French resistance faltered. The Bavarian troops took the Ouvrage of Thiaumont in a rapid assault. Other Bavarian troops and elements of the Alpine Corps assailed the village of Fleury. Further to the left, the newly arrived 103rd Division and the 1st Division advanced from Chapitre Woods, but they were halted by French machine guns that barred the way to Fort Souville. The 103rd Division sustained heavy losses. Meanwhile, the 50th Division cleared away French positions south of Fort Vaux. The French continued their futile counter-attacks. The Germans took 4,000 prisoners in these operations. On 24 June, the Crown Prince was informed that Falkenhayn intended to reduce expenditures of men and materials due to the general situation. Knobelsdorf insisted that the offensive should continue and Falkenhayn agreed despite a reduction in support for 5th Army. This offensive would be the last major effort on the part of the Germans to gain victory at Verdun.
During this offensive, as in the past, the German divisions fought until they reached the point of exhaustion before they moved to the rear for a short respite while other divisions took their places on the front. In some cases, Knobelsdorf had to replace an entire corps. On 1 July, Joffre launched his much-anticipated Somme Offensive. Falkenhayn’s headquarters ordered the 5th Army to assign two divisions to the High Command’s reserves and to report on additional forces that could be made available. The Crown Prince drove to Falkenhayn’s General Headquarters in Mézières to report that the 4th Division and 21st Reserve Division would be available for the reserves.
Late June to July – The Last Assault
At the beginning of June 1916, as disaster loomed on the Austrian Front in Russia, General Erich von Falkenhayn had to divert his attention from the Western Front. General Alexei Brusilov had launched a major Russian offensive in Galicia on 4 June. The Austrians had already caused difficulties for Falkenhayn when Generalfeldmarschall Conrad launched the Trentino Offensive against Italy in May 1916. Conrad wanted him to send German troops to support his campaign in Italy where his army had driven the Italians back, but suffered 150,000 casualties. In June, Conrad had to divert forces to the east to reinforce his armies, which were collapsing in the face of Brusilov’s offensive.51 The Russian’s four armies smashed the Austro-Hungarian front inflicting over 100,000 casualties in a couple of weeks, and took 200,000 prisoners before they outran their supply lines. The Germans, who were afraid that a defeat could trigger Rumania’s entry into the war, had to prop up their ally. Brusilov renewed his offensive in late June, but had to slow his pace in July. A renewed Russian offensive failed in late July. The Germans had to take control of Austro-Hungarian forces on the Eastern Front. Falkenhayn’s strategy based on his Verdun gamble was unravelling. On 1 July, while the Germans were still contending with the disaster in the East, the Western Allies opened their Somme Offensive.
Before the Russian front exploded and the Somme Offensive opened, the Germans had a piece of good news. Between 31 May and 1 June, the German High Seas Fleet had engaged the British Grand Fleet in the Battle of Jutland, the only major naval battle of the war. The British had caught the German fleet out of port, off the Danish coast, and attacked it. Whether or not it was a trap engineered by Admiral Reinhard Scheer made little difference.52 The German warships inflicted heavy losses on their enemy before they made it back to the safety of their ports. However, even though the British suffered greater damage and losses than the Germans, the High Seas Fleet never accepted a similar challenge again. The British won a great strategic victory, but the Germans and their media relished the tactical victory. It was, however, only a feel-good triumph as the Allies’ blockade caused greater shortages in Germany. In 1916, Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz agreed with Falkenhayn that it was time to unleash unrestricted U-boat warfare, but the chancellor and government refused to allow it. Admiral Scheer had to order his submarines back to port in April 1916. Thus, the blockade could not be broken and the High Seas Fleet no longer presented a threat to shipping, a capability it never had since its warships were not designed for extended voyages.
The Somme Offensive
The great offensive began on 1 July 1916 on a 30km front stretching from Amiens to Péronne on both sides of the Somme River. It was heralded by an eight-daylong preparatory bombardment. Three armies, two British and one French, with a tot
al of twenty-seven divisions engaged sixteen German divisions of the 2nd Army. According to General Otto von Below, the 2nd Army commander, German air reconnaissance had noticed the build-up since February. In May, Below complained that his army was weakened when many of the German artillery pieces were replaced with captured weapons.
The British bombardment, which began on 22 June, failed to destroy the barbed wire and the German first line. The French, however, did a better job on their part of the front. The first day, 1 July, was one of the darkest days in British military history as 58,000 men were lost in the assault, over 19,000 of which were killed. The Germans counter-attacked after the first day and regained their lost positions. It took over a week to capture the first German line. According to Below, the Allies not only outnumbered his troops but also had more aircraft and more equipment. He was forced to send in units piecemeal just to fill the breaches and prevent a collapse. The battle raged for almost five months. In September, the British launched the first tank assault of the war, but made only minor gains.
By the time the offensive ended in November, the British had lost 420,000 men, the French 200,000 and the Germans about 500,000. After this debacle, Hindenburg took over operations in the West and adopted a new strategy. Combined with Verdun, the German army was bled white, but the Allies still failed to break the stalemate. The Somme Offensive forced Falkenhayn to weaken his position on the Verdun Front. In September, Hindenburg ordered the creation of a new position, nicknamed the Hindenburg Line, to which he pulled back his forces at the end of the year. The Crown Prince anchored the German flank from the Verdun Front to the Aisne.
Ouvrage of Laufée. A caserne (bottom) with attached 75mm gun turret and observation block (top). The caponier on the caserne was added in 1916.