🌍 Travel Blog S1E10: FORT VAUX

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And the last location we visited in Verdun. Some of you may recognize it as a map from the Battlefield 1 "They Shall Not Pass" DLC. It's actually very different in real life than it is in the game. The game developers probably changed it a bit so the map would be more fun to play.

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Fort Vaux is synonymous with French stubbornness and resolve in WWI. By late May 1916, German forces had reached the outskirts of Fort Vaux and began their assault in force. The fighting was severe for both sides. On June 2nd, 1916, German assaults with flamethrowers pushed the French defenders inside the fort itself.

By June 5th the situation was such that the fort's commander major Sylvain Eugène Raynal requested the fort be bombed as its surface defenses had been completely overrun by the Germans. By June 7th, the fighting had moved underground and was close quarter combat among the galleries.

Medical, food and water supplies were all exhausted, forcing French defenders to lick condensation from the fort's walls or even drink their own urine. Outside, French relief forces desperately trying to push back the German attackers received one final message from Ford Vaux, it begged: "Don't leave us".

Unfortunately, with most of his men dead or wounded, major Raynal finally requested the surrender of his garrison to the German attackers later that day. The request was granted and the garrison surrendered formally with her bodies broken, but their dignity intact. Because of their tenacity, Raynal and his defenders were treated with respect. German soldiers described the French defense of Fort Vaux as: "Utterly reckless of their own lives and defended to the very last gasp".

Although the French forces couldn't relieve Raynal and his men in time, Fort Vaux would be recaptured later that November.

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And, as usual, a few photos from our visit.

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Check out Episode 9 as well.

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