VERDUN - Thiaumont - Trench of Bayonets - Ouvrage de Thiaumont - Command Posts 118, 119 - Abris 320, Adalbert - Boyau de Londres - Abri 2408

  • by Pierre Grande Guerre
  • •
  • 25 Mar, 2019
  • •

Years of visit: 1986, 1994, 2005, and 2009

A visit to the area around Ouvrage de Thiaumont, and around the Nécropole Nationale de Douaumont, centre point of the Battlefield of Verdun. We will visit the Trench of Bayonets, Ouvrage de Thiaumont, Command Post 118, Command Post 119, Abri 320, Abri Adalbert. the Boyau de Londres and Abri 2408.
Tranchée des Bayonets (Trench of Bayonets)
 
North of the Douaumont Cemetery.
The Battle of Verdun started with a German bombardment of ship-artillery and train-artillery sometimes from 32 km away. 
(Visit later also my photo page about the German Artillery Base near Duzey!)
This bombardment was sustained by 1,220 other artillery guns, and lasted for 9 hours.
This trench was an outpost on the westflank of Fort de Douaumont.
"The MEMORIAL of the TRENCH of the BAYONETS has been conceived to save in tact this famous piece of terrain as it was at the end of the war, from which the rifles stick out of the ground of the HEROES, who have been buried here alive. The MINISTER of VETERANS and VICTIMS OF WAR."
This trench forms the grave of two batallions of the French 137th Infantry Regiment .
Although a lot of these artillery grenades missed their target, their explosions were so heavy that the rather unbelievable legend sets itself in history; the artillery bombs buried the soldiers alive here in their trench.
On this site you still can see the attachments of the bayonets to the  rifle barrels, sticking out of the ground.
Period photo of 1919 of the Tranchée des Bayonets - The rifle barrels are still visible
A last view of the to my opinion rather ugly concrete memorial.
Commanders of the German 5th Army
This Verdun sector of the front was headed by the German Crown Prinz, Wilhelm, Commander of the 5th Army. From the beginning of the war,  on 2 August 1914, untill the end, "Little Willie" would stay in command in the sector of Verdun. 
His second man in command of the 5th Army was General von Knobelsdorf, who actually planned all logistics and attacks. 
The attack on Verdun was an idea of the Crown Prince,  eagerly set in action by the Oberste Heeresleitung under command of General von Falkenhayn. Both generals were the masterminds of the attack in 1916, which led to the Battle of Verdun.
Von Falkenhayn preferred also an attack on Verdun, because he expected, that the French would never give up this town and by their patriotic defense: "The French forces would bleed themselves to dead."

Operation Gericht

The first phase of the Battle of Verdun, "Operation Gericht", started on 21 February and would last until 25 February . The operation focused on capturing the height and forts on the right bank of the Meuse river. 
The Battle of Verdun would last 10 months, 
from 21 February to 21 December 1916.
We pass the landmark of the Nécropole Nationale de Douaumont, once the centre point of this battlefield for a period of 10 months. We will visit this site later on this website in more detail.  
From the parking on top of the cemetery we go on foot. For now we continue west to the relics of the redoubt, the Ouvrage  de Thiaumont.
Ouvrage de Thiaumont 

During the battle the farm of Thiaumont and the Ouvrage were constantly under  fire. The site was captured and re-captured more than twenty times. 
Ouvrage de Thiaumont - 1916
Ground plan of the Ouvrage de Thiaumont
Aerial photo: Ouvrage de Thiaumont on 23 June 1916
This memorial panel tells us a lot of infomation about this site. 
"HERE, FROM JUNE UNTIL OCTOBER 1916, HAVE TAKEN PLACE FURIOUS COMBATS, WHICH PUSHED TO THE LIMITS OF HEROISM. THE REDOUBT OF THIAUMONT HAS BEEN LOST AND RETAKEN MORE THAN TWENTY TIMES.
THE 5th, 7th, 8th, 19th, 21th, 28th, 31th, 32th, 33th, 38th, 52th, 55th, 60th, 67th, 68th, 129th, 130th, 131th, 151th INFANTRY DIVISIONS AND THE 127th AND 261th INFANTRY BRIGADES HAVE TAKEN PART IN THESE TERRIBLE COMBATS.
ON 24 OCTOBER 1916 THE 4TH MIXED REGIMENT OF ZOUAVES AND RIFLEMEN, THE 6TH BATTALION OF 8TH INDIGENOUS TIRAILLEURS OF THE 38TH INFANTRY DIVISION HAVE HAD THEIR GLORY AND THE MERIT OF DEFINITELY CONQUERING THE REDOUBT OF THIAUMONT.
THEIR BANNER IS DECORATED WITH THE CROSS OF THE LEGION OF HONOUR AND WEARS IN IT'S FOLDS THE PRESTIGIOUS CITATION, SO ENVIED,
VERDUN - DOUAUMONT."
After these words there are no more words needed. From here let the photo's tell their own story about
the Ouvrage de Thiaumont.
View from the Ouvrage de Thiaumont over the battlefield, scattered with shell holes , to the memorials on top of the Command Post 118.
Command Post 118
 
Not more than 500 m. away from the Ouvrage Thiaumont lies Command Post 118.
Originally this shelter was an "in between" bunker, number 118, or bunker FT 4.
"FT" stands here for the French front sector of "Froideterrre - Thiaumont".
On top of Command Post 118: two memorials.
"PAUL MERLANT (BORN) 31 JULY 1895 - 1ST JUNE 1916. CORPORAL FOURRIER OF THE 293RD INFANTRY REGIMENT BURIED UNDER THE POST 118 AT THIAUMONT- ASCENSION 1916 - PRAY FOR HIM."
The left memorial: the Dragoon, Raymond de Fontaines, disappeared from here on 2 June 1916.
View from the roof of Abri 118 to the Ouvrage de Thiaumont.
A last view of Command Post 118.
We go on some 400 m. to the south west to the Command Post 119.
The same text on a panel as on the sign near the Ouvrage de Thiaumont.
Command Post 119, part of the Ouvrage de Thiaumont, was also captured more than 20 times in 10 months.
Command Post 119 is also known as Abri FT 3.
On top of the bunker,  on the right, there are 2 memorials to be found.
Left: "Second Lieutenant H. Mialet fell here on 1 August 1916"
Right:
"TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY OF THE CHIEF OF THE BATTALION CHARLES RIDOUARD, OFFICERS AND NCO'S, CORPORALS, AND SOLDIERS OF THE 3RD BATTALION OF THE 317TH INFANTRY REGIMENT WHO DIED FOR FRANCE DURING THE FIRE BLAZE OF COMMAND POST 119 ON 31 JULY 1916."

The central entrance to the post.
We enter the post from the left or west.
The situation inside has become quite dangerous.
2009: The concrete ceiling of the corridor is hanging loose.
This bunker is alas in serious decay. - 2005: Compare the photo's of 2009 of above with the photo's of 2005 below.
Two 2009 photo's of the locked interior, left in the corridor.
A last 2009 view at Command Post 119.
We return to the Douaumont War Cemetery, where we enter our car. 
 East of the D 913, at the foot of the cemetery, lies Abri 320.
Abri 320 is a large 4 shelter bunker system, exactly like the bunkers of Les Quatres Cheminées.
View eastward, into the direction of the former German lines on the horizon. 
Notice the surface with its typical "golfball"-pattern of shell holes.
From the foot of the Nécropole Nationale de Douaumont on the left side of the road and from the Abri 320 on the right side of the road, we continue on the D 913 d, north-eastward, in the direction of the Fort de Douaumont.
We enter the road between the Muslim Memorial at the left, ...
... and the Memorial for André Thome on the right corner. The road will run in a dead end at the entrance of the Fort de Douaumont.
(For more info about these memorials visit later my impression about the Nécropole Nationale de Douaumont)
Detail French Trench Map d.d. 17 May 1916 - Blue lines: German lines - Red lines: French lines
We pass the "Ouvrage Adalbert", or bunker complex TD 2 (front sector "Thiaumont-Douaumont"), which served as a shelter, command post, and dressing station.
This period photo pictures the situation of the Abri Adalbert on 24 December 1916.
The Germans called the Abri "I-Werk 368".
Units from the Bavarian Infantry Regiments 13 and 20 (B.I.R. 13 and B.I.R. 20) captured the already partly destroyed bunker complex on 8 June 1916.
We continue to find the "Boyau de Londres", ... 
... the London Trench, crossing the road on the north side, ...
.... and on the south side.
We continue along the road and find  the Abri 2408, or bunker TD 3, a shelter bunker.
Now we have arrived at the entrance of Fort de Douaumont. On the next page you will find a photo impression of a comprehensive visit to Fort de Douaumont, to the interior and to the superstructure of the fort.
Continue to the next chapter: "Fort de Douaumont"

AISNE - Chemin des Dames

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 29 Nov, 2019

De Vanceboro Bridge Bomaanslag

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 14 Nov, 2019

Inleiding: Franz Von Papen & Werner Horn; schaker en pion

Onlangs stuitte ik in een oud boek (1) van 1919 op een opmerkelijk verhaal over een Duitse Luitenant, die in begin februari 1915 een half geslaagde bomaanslag pleegt op een spoorbrug over een grensrivier tussen de Verenigde Staten en Canada. Ook al staat de bekentenis van de dader, Werner Horn, deels in het boek te lezen, de naam van zijn opdrachtgever zal Horn blijven verzwijgen. Na wat verder zoeken vond ik ook de naam van Horn’s opdrachtgever, Franz von Papen, een van de aangeklaagden van het latere Neurenberg Proces in 1946.

In een Grote Oorlog als de Eerste Wereldoorlog  is Horn’s aanslag op de brug uiteraard slechts een bescheiden wapenfeit. Toch vermoed ik dat dit relatief onbekende verhaal, dat de geschiedenis is ingegaan als de “ Vanceboro International Bridge Bombing ”, nog interessante kanten kent. Het is onder andere een spionageverhaal over hoe in een groter plan een sluwe schaker zijn naïeve pion offert.  

Beknopte situatieschets Canada en de Verenigde Staten in 1915

ALSACE-LORRAINE - The Gap of Charmes - La Trouée de Charmes

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 01 Oct, 2019

This trip we start at the Léomont near Vitrimont and we will with some exceptions concentrate on the Battle of Lorraine of August-September 1914 in the area, called, the “Trouée de Charmes”, the Gap of Charmes.

After the Léomont battlefield we continue our explorations to Friscati hill and its Nécropole Nationale. Next we pay a visit to the battlefield of la Tombe to go on to the Château de Lunéville. There we cross the Vezouze to move on southward to the Bayon Nécropole Nationale. At Bayon we cross the Moselle to pass Charmes for the panorama over the battlefield from the Haut du Mont. North-west of Charmes we will visit the British Military Cemetery containing 1918 war victims. From Charmes we go northward to the battlefield of the First French Victory of the Great War, the Battle of Rozelieures of 25 August 1914. North of Rozelieures we will visit the village of Gerbéviller. From there we make a jump northward to visit the ruins of Fort de Manonviller to finish with an interesting French Dressing Station bunker, west of Domjevin.

LORRAINE - Avricourt - Leintrey - Reillon - Domèvre - Parux

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 18 Sept, 2019
Though we depart from Badonviller in the Northern Vosges , we make a jump northward to the east of Lunéville and Manonviller. We start at Avricourt on the border of Alsace and Lorraine. From the Avricourt Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof we explore the southern Lorraine battlefields ; the mine craters of Leintrey , the Franco- German war cemetery and Côte 303 at Reillon , and some German bunkers near Gondrexon , Montreux , and Parux.

LORRAINE - Montreux - German Front Walk 

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 13 Sept, 2019
We depart from Raon-l’Etape to drive northward via Badonviller to Montreux to visit the  "Circuit du Front Allemand 14-18", the  Montreux German Front Walk 14-18,  with its trenches , breastworks , and at least twenty bunkers.

LORRAINE - The Battle of Morhange - 1914

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 08 Sept, 2019
North-east of Nancy, east of Pont-à-Mousson, and south-east of Metz we visit the battlefields of the Battle of Morhange of 14 until 20 August 1914. We follow mainly topographically the route of the French advance eastward over the Franco-German border of 1871-1918.
During this visit, we try to focus on the day that the momentum of the battle switched from the French side to the advantage of the Bavarian side: the day of 20 August 1914, when the Bavarians rapidly re-conquered the territory around Morhange , being also the day of the start of their rather successful “Schlacht in Lothringen”.
We will visit beautiful landscapes of the "Parc Naturel Régional de Lorraine", memorials, ossuaries, and cemeteries. Sometimes we will divert to other periods of the Great War, honouring Russian and Romanian soldiers, who died in this sector. We start our route at the border village of Manhoué, and via Frémery, Oron, Chicourt, Morhange, Riche, Conthil, Lidrezing, Dieuze, Vergaville, Bidestroff, Cutting, Bisping we will finish in Nomeny and Mailly-sur-Seille, where the Germans halted their advance on 20 August 1914, and where they constructed from 1915 some interesting bunkers.

LORRAINE - Lanfroicourt – Nomeny - Monument du Grand Couronné 

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 05 Sept, 2019
South of Manhoué we start this trip at Lanfroicourt along the French side of the Franco-German 1871-1918 border, marked by the meandering Seille river. We visit some French bunkers  in Lanfroicourt, near Array-et-Han and in Moivrons. From there we go northward to the outskirts of Nomeny and the hamlet of Brionne to visit the ( second ) memorial, commemorating the events in Nomeny of 20 August 1914. We continue westward to finish at the Monument du Grand Couronné at the Côte de Géneviève, a former French artillery base, which offers several panoramic views over the battlefield.

LORRAINE - Bouxières-sous-Froidmont - Verny - Feste Wagner

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 28 Aug, 2019
North of Pont-à-Mousson and south of Metz, we explore the relics of German bunkers and fortifications along the Franco-German 1871-1918 border. We start at Bouxières-sous-Froidmont to visit the nearby height of the Froidmont on the front line. This time we will show only a part of the Froidmont, focusing on its military significance.  From the Froidmont we continue via Longeville-lès-Cheminot and Sillegny to the “Forêt Domaniale de Sillegny” to explore some artillery ammunition bunkers. Next we continue to Marieulles for its three interesting bunkers and to Vezon for its line of ammunition depot bunkers. From Vezon we continue to the “Deutscher Kriegsgräberstätte Fey – Buch”. From Fey we go eastward, passing 6 bunkers near Coin-lès-Cuvry to finish our trip at the top construction of the “Feste Wagner” or “Fort Verny”, north of Verny.

VOSGES - Mutzig - Fort de Mutzig - Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 25 Aug, 2019

From Badonviller or the Col du Donon we continue north-eastward for a visit to an extraordinarily well restored sample of German fortifications:  the Feste Kaiser Wilhelm II, or Fort de Mutzig,  lying on a height, some 8 km. away from the 1871-1918 Franco-German Border.

VOSGES - Ste. Marie-aux-Mines - Tête du Violu / Bernhardstein

by Pierre Grande Guerre • 23 Aug, 2019
We concentrate on the German side of the front around "Markirch", Sainte Marie-aux-Mines, the so-called "Leber" front sector . We first pay a visit to the Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof, and next to the southern side of the Col de Ste. Marie for the many interesting bunkers of the German positions at the Bernhardstein, at the north-eastern slopes of the Tête du Violu. On the next photo page about the Haut de Faîte we will continue with a visit to the northern side of the pass and the "Leber" sector.
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