Extremely of Be worth

Located close to Verdun, in the Meuse the fort of Be worth was built of 1881 with 1884 within the framework of the Système Séré de Rivières and was reinforced in 1888. The fort is disarmed in 1915 by a decree, which dismantles also the Fort of Douaumont.

Be worth is the symbol of the Poilu pushing its direction of the duty until the ultimate sacrifice. It is defended by a small garrison directed by the Commander Raynal. It is a work without armament whose turret of 75 mm had exploded as of February 1916. From June 2nd to 7th 1916, thanks to the heroism of the commander Raynal, the fort resists the 50e German division. After very hard combat, it is overflowed in the North-West, the Germans cap the superstructures.

March 6th, the Germans attack the fort; the village falls on April 2nd, but the fort resists.

The attack of the fort of Be worth

Provisions of the German army

At the end of May, the Germans contain and crush the French counter-attack on Right Bank of the Meuse, while on left bank their own offensive progresses: they finally managed to take the control of the Cote 304 and the Death-Man.

The following operation must enable them to reach the positions from where they will be able to launch the final attack on the town of Verdun it-même : the objectives are the farm of Thiaumont, Fleury and the forts of Souville and of Be worth.

Five divisions coming from the 1 {{er}} Bavarian body and from the 10 {{E}} and 15 {{E}} body of reserve are indicated to carry out the offensive, which begins on June 1st. The attack of Be worth at summer planned for the fourth day of the offensive, but the 15th body of reserve having achieved all its goals as of on June 1st, the attack on the face starts as of the lendemanin, June 2nd.

The fort of Be worth at the beginning of the battle

The fort of Be worth is smaller than that of Douaumont. It was built between 1881 and 1884, and its roof was reinforced by a concrete carapace 2,5 m thickness in 1888. Between 1904 and 1906, the strong one was modernized and a turret armed with guns of 75 mm was installed. When on February 24th, the order was given to prepare with the evacuation of Right Bank of the Meuse, of the loads of demolition were installed in order to be able to make jump the work constantly. But two days later, a Obus of 420 mm penetrated the fort and destroys the part where the detonators were stored. Another shell struck the turret of 75 mm, always furnished with its loads of demolition, causing an enormous explosion which deprives Vaux of its single gun; its four other guns of 75 mm, distributed in two casemates of Bourges, were withdrawn in 1915; the garrison replaced them by machine-guns.

The fort of Be worth is ordered by the commander Raynal, 49 years, which began the war with the head of the 7 {{E}} regiment of Algerian riflemen. It was wounded with the shoulder by a ball of Mitrailleuse in September 1914, then seriously wounded in December when its headquarters was touched of full whip by a shell. After ten months of hospitalization, Raynal reconsidered the face on October 1st, 1915, to be again wounded later with the leg by shrapnel S a few days, which been worth to him to be promoted Officier of the Légion of honor. Still convalescent at the beginning of 1916, it walks only with difficulty, and the war seems finished for him. At this point in time the Ministre for the War announces that the officers who cannot be useful in first line because of their wounds can be named with the command of Forteresse S. being carried voluntary, Raynal requires to be used for Verdun, where the Germans have just launched their offensive.

Raynal takes its station on May 24th; at this time, the French infantrymen cling to a line Tranchée S located in front of the fort of Are worth, but only to avoid an attack surprised of night, of day the position is intolerable. The fort itself is held by the 6th company of the 142 {{E}} regiment, a company of machine-guns, and a detachment of artillerists and genius, are 250 men. To this garrison are however added a certain number of soldiers of the 101 {{E}} and 142e regiments who took refuge in the fort when the German offensive drove out them their positions. It is also the case of the 53e company of machine-guns, which Raynal preserves in the fort, with the agreement of its commander.

When Vaux is finally encircled, on June 2nd, Raynal has with him more than 500 men, four carrier pigeons, and a cocker spaniel answering in the name of " Quiqui" , which belongs to one of the sappers. There is not many vivres, but the provisioning of Eau is in theory assured thanks to a Citerne 5.000 liters.

The German attack

If it had still had its guns of 75mm, the fort could have inflicted serious losses with the Germans on June 1st. It has an excellent field of fire, and the men of Raynal even succeed in killing several Germans whom they surprise with maximum range (2 500 m) their machine-guns. But the French infantrymen were driven back, and Are worth from now on is exposed to the attack. At the dawn of June 2nd, after a bombardment which lasted all during the night, the German Sape the USSR spring to place loads of demolition on the roof of the work, while two battalions of the 50e division try to submerge the positions of the French machine-guns. The ditch is filled soon with corpses, but the German infantrymen manage to throw grenade S in the embrasures, and to drive back the French of several positions. In spite of the signals given by Raynal, the French artillery does not manage to make them release taken.

Be worth has two trunks of contrescarpe, located at the north-eastern and north-western corners, whose fires beat the ditches and take in row the attackers who are there. The artillery cannot destroy them by direct shootings, only plunging shootings, arriving in the ditch itself, are likely to damage them. This is why the Germans concentrated so many howitzers around the fort. The trunks were seriously damaged and the defenders endeavor to clog the breaches with sandbags. The shells opened other breaches in various places, the two tunnels leading to the domes of observation are perforated, the base of the ditch is broken in two places and an excavation gives access to a driving staircase at the lower levels of the fort. Each time, the French set up a double wall with sandbags forming a Chicane.

The German sappers attack the trunks with loads of demolition which they reduce at the end of cords, and with Lance-flammes. The Tabourot captain defends the north-eastern trunk with a savage energy, throwing grenade on grenade, until a German grenade breaks it. In the north-western trunk, it is hairy 19 years, the Cahuzac soldier, who carry out defense, all the warrant officers died. The two stations end up succumbing in the afternoon. The Germans slip into the two undergrounds which carry out in the fort, but find themselves blocked by the barricades of sandbags. An appalling underground battle begins, with the Couteau, the shovel ditching and the grenade. One can only imagine the scene, and the noise. Broad, high, the galleries 0,90 m 1,50 m are strewn with corpses, which remain on the spot until the end of the engagements. When one visits these tunnels today, the steps of the visitors strongly resound on the stone ground, while insisting a little, one can obtain guides which they explode a detonator in one of the casemates, the noise amplified by the echo is completely seizing.

June 3rd, the Germans try by three times to take by storm the driving tunnel at the observation post armoured of Raynal. Those which are with the free air are regularly the target of the artillery Frenchwomen shootings.

A correspondent war German, Kurt von Raden, arrives at dawn in a trench dug near the ditch. Suddenly a Avion of observation French passes in waterspout above its head, with less than 100 meters of altitude, in spite of the intense fire which rises ground. Ten minutes later, the mortars French of 220 mm crush the trench where von Raden is held, and the German soldiers will take refuge in the breach of the fort. Then the French attack démarre : elements of the 124 {{E}} division manage to briefly take again the west coast of the fort, before being pushed back by a counter-attack.

The next morning, the Germans bring four their powerful Lance-flammes on the roof of the fort. With 8:30, a flood of ignited liquid drowns the driving tunnel with the double trunk. A thick black smoke invades the central gallery. Lieutenant Girard threads his Gas mask and street in the flames and smoke for enpoigner the machine-gun. Its men precipitate with his continuation in the tunnel, just in time to drive back in extremis the group of German attack.

The commander Raynal can still communicate intermittently with the fort of Souville, with a Héliographe. He has also his four carrier pigeons, to forward his reiterated requests for counter-attack. But Raynal then discovers with horror that water reserves of the fort are practically épuisées ; the indications given by the gauge of the cistern were false. It would seem, in addition, that ceaseless rammings created a crack in the cistern, causing an escape. Water was already rationed, but from now on the situation is without hope. Into the night the candidate Buffet and a group of volunteers slips out it extremely to prevent the French high command that the fall of Are worth is imminent. The majority of the volunteers are made kill, but Buffet not only manages to rejoin the HQ of the Lebrun general, but still succeeds in returning to Vaux the following night to announce that the French will try to help them at the first hours of June 6th.

Counter-attack French

Right before going, the Commander Raynal succeeds in evacuating 100 men in the night from June 5th to 6th. June 4th, Raynal sends its last pigeon (the Valiant one), which, poisoned, dies on arrival with pigeon of the Citadelle of Verdun (decorated with the Légion of honor on a purely posthumous basis, the bird is exposed today to the museum of Fleury.)

We always hold, but, let us undergo an attack by gas and very dangeureuses smoke. There is urgency to release us.

Two companies of the 238 {{E}} regiment and two others of the 321 {{E}}, accompanied by some sappers, receive the order to launch out in direction of Are worth at 2 o'clock in the morning. These two regiments have been in first line for 48 hours, under continual artillery fires, including few 75 French mm which draw too short. The Aillaud captain, of the 238e, share to the attack with two other officers and 160 men; 22 regain the lines. Wounded Aillaud, was captured.

Rendering

It is Raynal which at the height announces of Souville that the counter-attack failed. Then it spawning time way in undergrounds empuantis, where its men are reduced by it to lick the moisture which oozes on the walls, or with drinking their own urine, which makes them vomit. Four of its eight officers are wounded, itself grelotte under the effect of a recurring Malaria, and it has 87 wounded piled up in the undergrounds. Deaths, there are 50 of them, were piled up in another recess of the fort.

At 6 o'clock in the morning, it gives the Reddition of the fort of Are worth.

Attacked since days with the Lance-flame S, exhausted, wounded, assoiffés, in fact true phantoms to them German return the honors. Raynal and its men (as well as the Quiqui cocker spaniel) leave in captivity. The commander is led to the HQ of Kronprinz, where one compliments it for his valiant resistance. Kronprinz, not having been able to make find the saber of the commander Raynal, whom it had returned at the time of its rendering, will then give a dagger of German pioneer to him as a sign of respect.

The following day, the general Nivelle to no purpose wastes the life of his men of the 2 {{E}} Zouaves and of the Colonial Régiment of Infantry of Morocco in a vain attempt to take again the fort ; even its staff, is not this time not agreement. Hardly the troops gained their starting position, under a beating rain which fills with water the shell holes, that they find under the fire rolling of the howitzers of 210 mm, it is the preliminary stopping with the attack that the 50e German division is on the point of launching on its side. A handle of Morocco ains manage to reach the ditch of the fort and to throw some grenades before beings mown by the machine-guns which draw since the superstructures from the fort.

The fort is taken again on November 2nd by the French.

List killed and wounded of the fort of Be worth

Albert Besson 1916

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