- Fort Vaux
Fort Vaux, located in
Vaux-Devant-Damloup ,Meuse ,France , became the secondFort to fall in theBattle of Verdun . The first fort to fall had beenFort Douaumont .The defense of Fort Vaux was marked by the heroism and endurance of the garrison, including Major
Sylvain-Eugene Raynal . Under his command, the besieged French garrison fended off numerous assaults including underground combat from barricades inside the invaded corridors of the fort. What was left of the French garrison finally gave up after it had completely run out of water and ammunition. Raynal had also sent several messages to his commanding officers viahoming pigeons (including the famousCheramie ), requesting relief for his soldiers. During his last communications, Major Raynal penned the phrase "This is my last pigeon." Upon the eventual capture of Fort Vaux, the Crown Prince of the German ruling family, theHohenzollerns , presented Major Raynal with his sword as a sign of respect. Fort de Vaux was recaptured by French troops in November 1916.External links
* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~verdun/Engels/The%20battlefield/Vaux/fortvaux.htm Webpage about Fort Vaux]
* [http://vaux-histoire-d-un-fort-en-1916.ifrance.com/ The fort in 1916] (in French)
* [http://www.firstworldwar.com/diaries/verdun_vaux.htm Memoirs & Diaries: Account of the assaults upon Fort Vaux, Verdun, June 1916]
* http://www.battleofverdun.nl Website in english language about the battle
* http://forum.battleofverdun.nl The Verdun-Forum (english)
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