![]() ![]() June 5, 1916, Commandant Raynal requests the French army to bomb the fort, where the top is occupied by the Germans, to allow part of the garrison to evacuate the fort.The Germans penetrate the fort through the coffers of the counterscarp ( contre-escarpe). 2 and 3 June 1916, German troops led by Kurt Rackow attack the fort with flame throwers and force French troops outside to retreat into the fort.They cannot be stopped due to the fort having no artillery. June 1, 1916, the Germans begin preparations to enter the fort through the Bois de la Caillett.May 14, 1916, Commandant Raynal takes command of the fort, which has no artillery.Late February – early March 1916, the fort is frequently bombarded and the 75 mm turret is destroyed accidentally by heavy shells that cause the demolition explosives within to detonate.Pillboxes and armoured observatories are damaged and the gallery leading to the 75 mm turret was cut. From 21 to 26 February 1916, the fort is bombarded with shells of all sizes including 129 heavy shells.In January 1916, enough gunpowder stored for the possible destruction of the fort in case of an enemy approach.The four 75 mm guns are removed from the casemates, leaving only the two in the turret. End of 1915, disarmament of the fort is carried out to send the guns and ammunition to the front-line.February 18, 1915, the fort is bombarded for the first time by twelve 420 mm rounds which causes little damage.September 11, 1914, the 75 mm turret fires 22 rounds at a German detachment in the Bois de Mabras. ![]() Verdun forts, Vaux upper right German advances to 26 February and 6 September 1916 in black, the river Meuse in blue at left The underground installations of the fort are well preserved and are open to the public for guided visits. Some damage from the fighting on 2 June can still be seen. Several underground galleries were dug to reach far outside the fort, one of them being 1.5 km (1 mi) long, the water reserve was quadrupled and light was provided by two electric generators. After its recapture, Fort Vaux was repaired and garrisoned. The fort was recaptured by French infantry on 2 November 1916 after an artillery bombardment involving two long-range 400 mm (16 in) railway guns. Raynal and his soldiers remained in captivity in Germany until the Armistice of 11 November 1918. Īfter the surrender of the garrison on 7 June, Crown Prince Wilhelm, the commander of the 5th Army, presented Major Raynal with a French officer's sword as a sign of respect. In his last message, Raynal wrote "This is my last pigeon". Raynal sent several messages by homing pigeon (including Le Vaillant, requesting relief for his soldiers. The last men of the French garrison gave up after running out of water (some of which was poisoned), ammunition, medical supplies and food. Under his command, the French garrison repulsed German assaults, including fighting underground from barricades inside the corridors, during the first big engagement inside a fort during the First World War. The defence of Fort Vaux was marked by the heroism and endurance of the garrison, including Major Sylvain-Eugene Raynal. The superstructure of the fort was badly damaged but the garrison, the deep interior corridors and stations were intact when the fort was attacked on 2 June by German Stormtroops. Vaux had been modernised before 1914 with reinforced concrete top protection like Fort Douaumont and was not destroyed by a German heavy artillery fire, which had included shelling by 16-inch (410 mm) howitzers. Vaux was the second fort to fall in the Battle of Verdun after Fort Douaumont, which was captured by a small German raiding party in February 1916 in the confusion of the French retreat from the Woëvre plain. Built from 1881 to 1884 for 1,500,000 francs, it housed a garrison of 150 men. ![]() Fort Vaux ( French: Fort de Vaux), in Vaux-Devant-Damloup, Meuse, France, was a polygonal fort forming part of the ring of 19 large defensive works intended to protect the city of Verdun. ![]()
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