Historic fort outside Verdun, France, built in the late 19th century
Forts around Verdun. Douaumont is north-east of Verdun at upper right. Limits of German advance as at 26 February and 6 September 1916 are black lines, the river Meuse, flowing to the north, is the blue line at left.
Fort Douaumont (French: Fort de Douaumont) was the largest and highest fort on the ring of 19 large defensive works which had protected the city of Verdun, France, since the 1890s. By 1915, the French General Staff had concluded that even the best-protected forts of Verdun could not withstand bombardments from the German 420 mm (16.5 in) Gamma guns. These new super-heavy howitzers had easily taken several large Belgian forts out of action in August 1914. Fort Douaumont and other Verdun forts were judged ineffective and had been partly disarmed and left virtually undefended since 1915. On 25 February 1916, Fort Douaumont was entered and occupied without a fight by a small German raiding party comprising only 19 officers and 79 men, entering via an open window by the moat. The easy fall of Fort Douaumont, only three days after the beginning of the Battle of Verdun, shocked the French Army. It set the stage for the rest of a battle which lasted nine months, at enormous human cost. Douaumont was finally recaptured by three infantry divisions of the Second Army, during the First Offensive Battle of Verdun on 24 October 1916. This event brought closure to the battle in 1916.[1]
^"German troops capture Fort Douaumont (Verdun)". History.com.
FortDouaumont (French: Fort de Douaumont) was the largest and highest fort on the ring of 19 large defensive works which had protected the city of Verdun...
the landscape. The fort was built south-east of the village. The construction work for Fort de Douaumont started in 1885 and the fort was continually reinforced...
beginning of the attack until 21 February but the Germans captured FortDouaumont in the first three days. The advance then slowed for several days, despite...
The Douaumont Ossuary (French: Ossuaire de Douaumont) is a memorial containing the skeletal remains of soldiers who died on the battlefield during the...
housed a garrison of 150 men. Vaux was the second fort to fall in the Battle of Verdun after FortDouaumont, which was captured by a small German raiding...
Verdun forts, which had been recently upgraded with extra layers of concrete and sand, were resistant to their heaviest shells. FortDouaumont was captured...
Savitaipale Fort Bergues Fort Bayonne Fort de Bellegarde Bitche Fort Blaye Fort Bouillon Fort Boyard Fort Cambrai Fort Desaix FortDouaumontFort de Joux Fort Liberia...
point in pre-war France, ringed by a string of powerful forts, including Douaumont and Fort Vaux. By 1916, the salient at Verdun jutted into the German...
commune of Fleury-devant-Douaumont. Constructed between 1876 and 1879 at an altitude of 396m, it is a first generation fort. It served as a key battlefield...
lines, blinding the German Army for the first French counter-attack on FortDouaumont. Le Prieurs were also occasionally used against ground targets, the...
26 April 1916 and fired on a French Nieuport, shooting it down over FortDouaumont—although he received no official credit. A week later, he decided to...
Flanders in late 1914, at the Battle of Verdun in the recapture of Fort de Douaumont in October 1916, during the battle of Chemin des Dames in April 1917...
42 cm shell struck FortDouaumont, a key to the defense. It did not penetrate the reinforced concrete and sand layers: the Verdun forts were stouter than...
fortifications that had had their guns removed. FortDouaumont, the keystone of the system of Verdun forts, had been given up without a fight, becoming a...
Germans have taken FortDouaumont in the epic Battle of Verdun. During the performance, word arrives that the French have recaptured the fort. Maréchal interrupts...
cylinders. 8 May – During the Battle of Verdun, when the French outpost FortDouaumont was occupied by German infantry, a careless cooking fire detonated grenades...
entire front and blinding their Army to a French counter-attack on FortDouaumont. Certain aces on both sides known for going after the kite balloons...
proved effective: French troops re-took Fleury on 24 October, as well as FortDouaumont, whose capture by the Germans on 25 February 1916 had been highly celebrated...
Infanterie-Brigade. Prince Franz led this brigade through its victories at FortDouaumont, Passchendaele and Kemmelberg. For his exemplary leadership during these...
it can be considered a true siege. The main fortifications were FortDouaumont, Fort Vaux, and the fortified city of Verdun itself. The Germans, through...
of the conquest of Romania. October 24 Western The French recapture FortDouaumont near Verdun. (Details) November 1–4 Italian Ninth Battle of the Isonzo...
of Verdun – France launched a massive counteroffensive to recapture FortDouaumont from the Germans using two massive railway guns. Battle of the Ancre...
retake FortDouaumont, forcing General Philippe Pétain to call off further attacks and have defenses consolidated around the remaining forts. The Germans...
5th Army. The French advanced 1.2 mi (2 km) recaptured FortDouaumont on 24 October and Fort Vaux on 3 November. On the Somme, the French armies continued...
Prieur rockets, blinding the German Army for a French counter-attack on FortDouaumont. First air-to-ground rocket attack: A roving Nieuport 16 equipped with...
himself during the First World War, notably during the resumption of FortDouaumont, Battle of Verdun in October 1916 alongside the Régiment d'infanterie-chars...
of Verdun: The French Second Army consolidated control over FortDouaumont in Douaumont, ending major operations in a battle which cost as many as one...
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