The 77th Division continues its grind through the Argonne Forest in the last days of September 1918. Under orders to advance without regard to flanks, US Army MAJ Charles Whittlesey and his 1st Battalion, 308th Infantry Regiment find themselves cut off and surrounded on a hill named l’Homme Mort.
Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.
Operational map of 77nd Buffalo Division in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, 19 SEP-16 OCT 1918. Map provided by Griffin Group Photos collection on www.meuse-argonne.com.
That red circle ⭕️ in the middle of the map will be the focus of the next BFWWP episode. This was the Small Pocket, where US Army MAJ Charles Whittlesey and men of his 1st Battalion, 308th Infantry were surrounded on 28-30 SEP 1918. Before Whittlesey and his men became the Lost Battalion, they experienced the very same thing due to orders telling all American units to ignore their flanks and advance. Episode coming out tonight!
The streambed where MAJ Charles Whittlesey and his 1st Battalion, 308th Infantry formed a hollow square defensive perimeter from 28-30 September, 1918. In the center left of the photo, the concrete bunker used as the perimeter command post. Photo taken January 1919. The German bunker in the Small Pocket in January 1919. The Small Pocket’s German bunker 90-some years after the end of WW1. Photo taken by Robert Laplander.Up close to the German bunker on l’Homme Mort. Photo taken by Robert Laplander.
As the American 1st Army launched its attack on the Meuse-Argonne on the 26th of September, the 368th Infantry Regiment of the segregated 92nd Buffalo Division launched an attack on the left flank, west of the Argonne Forest. Despite several catastrophic stumbles, the regiment eventually succeeded in capturing the ruined village of Binarville. Their reputation, they quickly found out, was also in ruins as a result.
Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.
The AEF 3rd Corps attacks with three divisions on the right of the attack front. The 4th “Ivy” Division attacks the German lines and supports the attack on Montfaucon. The 80th “Blue Ridge” Division attacks through Forges Creek and pushes up to Brieulles-sur-Meuse. The 33rd “Prairie” Division also pushes through Forges Creek, clears Bois de Forges, and then aims for Dannevoux village. Across the River Meuse, the French 17th Corps launches a supporting diversion for the AEF 1st Army.
Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.
The AEF 5th Corps launches its three divisions in the center of the Meuse-Argonne attack front. The 91st “Wild West” Division thrusts up towards the ridge on which sat Épinonville. The 37th “Buckeye” Division supported the 79th “Cross of Lorraine” Division’s attack on the German bastion on Montfaucon.
Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.
I never tire of looking at the Vauquois monument on the French side of the hill. It apparently has a red beacon light that shines in response to the Douaumont Ossuary’s own red beacon several kilometers away. I have never seen the light at work, so a future evening trip is in order. The detail in the sculpture though is startling–in the trench lies a corpse, already incorporated into the trench wall while the living guard remains at the alert.
Getting into the tunnels was something truly remarkable. Through Randy Gaulke of meuse-argonne.com I connected with the Les Amis group and got into a tour in the summer of 2018 with my stepson Lee of the Viking Age Podcast, my Army brother Chuck, and my good friend Michiel.
Getting inside Vauquois was one extraordinary afternoon in a trip of extraordinary days. It was an experience that I will never forget, and it’s right up there with being at LTC Driant’s command post at the Bois des Caures at the exact minute of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Verdun, and it’s up there with being able to stand in the foxholes of the Lost Battalion near Charlevaux Mill.
We entered the tunnels through a small 4ft by 4ft doorway at the end of one of the German trenches, and you had to enter hunched down and backwards in order to step down into a damp passageway.
Once inside this first tunnel we entered a dimly-lit world of hand-hewn tunnels that had wiring along the walls for lights and German street names at the corners.
Hand-hewn tunnels on the German side of the hill. The rock walls are gaize, a siliceous rock that is stable and flexible for digging through when damp.
My man Michiel touching the walls. It’s a moving experience to be where men a century ago lived and died.
The tunnel height makes taller folks have to stoop. It was also an instinctive thing for me to do–not that I’m that tall. But my brain said, “Tunnels. Stoop.”
Single light bulbs illuminate the passages. It’s a dim world down there.
Wiring along the walls. I’m not sure that much has changed since the Great War.
Chuck moving through ahead of me. Now he is much taller and definitely had to hunch down.
A passage leading to another hallway.
The signs are new, but the names are not. The Germans named their tunnels with street and place names from back home to help with getting around.
Remnants of German tar paper put up to make some of the underground rooms more comfortable.
Monsieur Guy Bigorgne led us through a tour of tunnels and rooms where bunks and tables sat, along with equipment and gear collected. In some of the rooms it looked like the bottles and tools were as the French and Germans had left them a century before.
Some of the bottles and utensils are from the time of the war.
Wartime photo of French officers sitting in one of these underground rooms.
On the French side, the tunnels were supported.
Wartime images of life on Vauquois.
Duty on “Les Mont des Morts.”
A mine gallery on the French side.
Vauquois village before the war.
A French light rail tunnel leading outside.
A German engineer in a mine gallery.
A Frenchman listening for mining noises from the enemy.
Schematic of the various tunnel systems inside Vauquois.
Heading back outside after a couple of hours underground.
What it must have been like for the men who had to live in that hill. At regular temperature the tunnels were about fifty degrees Fahrenheit; a little chilly for just a t-shirt and fishing shirt. During the war, the air inside the underground complexes would have been the same chilly norm with pockets of hot air in rooms where pumps and other machinery worked. The air would have been stale with earth, exhaust fumes, sweat, and human waste. The air must have been nauseating at times. The French tunnels featured wooden supports, along with low tunnels that supported a light railway cart system for the removal of earth and rock from the mine galleries. On either side of the hill though, the accommodations shed light on the dark troglodyte world these men endured for years on end.
Michiel walking through the French trenches.
Lee walking through the French trenches.
Supported trench works.
It’s hard to tell, but under the corrugated metal is a set of steps–this was where a building of the ancient hilltop village was incorporated into the trench lines.
The construction helmet provided by Les Amis de Vauquois and mandatory for underground tours.
It was a wonderful tour, and Guy Bigorgne said himself that he is a talker and thus his tours are generally longer than those of the other guides. I could have listened to him for days, he has a remarkable wealth of knowledge and his passion for the subject of Vauquois is evident.
From left: Chuck, Lee, Michiel, myself, and Guy Bigorgne.
If you ever visit the Verdun and Meuse-Argonne battlefields, do make a stop at Vauquois. This is a site left largely untouched since the end of the Great War, and the ground stands in silent agony there. Even a walk across the tortured summit is well worth it. You’ll feel the war up close.
So…the only way to finish this post is with my man Chuck’s words down in the tunnels:
“Man, you go through all this shit and still lose?”
A gift to the steadfast supporters of the BFWWP on Patreon. It really means a lot to me that you have signed on as patrons of the show, and I wanted to give you all an extra episode. Thanks so much, everyone!
The story of the First World War in the Meuse-Argonne region of France cannot be told without talking about the Butte de Vauquois. So here, in an attempt to do a part-travelogue, part-history episode, I retell the story of this tortured and murdered hill. This scene of terrible mine warfare–where an ancient village and six meters of height were erased from the crest during the war–remains today a stark reminder of the brutal nature of the Great War.
The link to the episode is below. If you’re a patron on Patreon, thanks again so very much. If you are not yet a patron on Patreon, check it out!
Hi Folks, so for those of you who follow me on Twitter and FaceBook, you know that I have posted in the past about having awesome listeners. I’m writing this post about the same subject.
One of the best things to come out of writing the podcasts has been connecting with other enthusiasts. I’ve shared emails with listeners who have corrected me on errors big and small, and with listeners who have simply shared information on several aspects of the Great War. I have truly enjoyed all of it, and these exchanges have shown for what the internet was truly created. It has been a blessing to connect with such great people.
Here is another great example of one of these connections: listener DS wrote in to ask me about me about my use of the word “insurgent” in my Delville Wood episode, to describe Boer fighters during the Boer War of 1899-1902. His writing led to a fascinating email discussion of the Boer War, of which I am woefully ignorant.
And then it led to this:
I received two books in the mail from listener DS, and for a man who loves books, these are kingly gifts.
And this:
This map is a reprint of a map issued by the London Times at the end of the Boer War. The map was an addendum to the Times’ history of the war. (The knife in the corner is a nod to Jocko Willink.)
To DS, thanks again so very much for the books and the map! I am humbled that a stranger from the other side of the Pond would take it upon himself to educate me about a war I know so little about, and to set me up for success with some great books and maps. It is so very humbling.
I cannot thank everyone who has written in enough. It is such a treat to hear from listeners and connect with them! With gratitude, Mike.
In this stand-alone episode we have an interview with Christopher Huang, who is the author of the recently-released detective novel “A Gentleman’s Murder.” This is a slight departure from the BFWWP’s usual lineup, but I thought it would be good to support a young author writing a story in which the Great War has a strong presence.
“A Gentleman’s Murder” was a fun read. The main character of the story, Leftenant Eric Peterkin, is a veteran of the trenches in Flanders and France as are nearly every other member of the gentleman’s club to which he belongs. Peterkin takes it upon himself to solve an unprecedented murder in the club when he suspects the case is not exactly going to be solved by the police.
Christopher Huang grew up in Singapore and moved to Canada when he was 17 years old. He returned to Singapore the following year for two years of military service, before going to McGill University in Montreal to study Architecture. He currently lives in Montreal, and these days he is pursuing the dream of writing full-time. Mr. Huang is a longtime fan of the “golden age” of detective fiction, and in that spirit he writes his debut novel in the hopes that readers will figure out on their own who the killer is.
“A Gentleman’s Murder” is available through the Inkshares site, local booksellers, and Amazon. Links to the book will be provided in the episode description, as well on the website post and social media. Check out the book, and support an up and coming author. Hope you enjoy!
Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.
The summit of the Butte de Vauquois on a somber and wet February day in 2016.
The photos in this post are from February of 2016, when my stepson Lee and I took a week to be in France for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Verdun. On a rainy and misty weekend day, we took a tour of the Meuse-Argonne region to visit some of the more salient points of interest. One of them was the Butte de Vauquois.
The road up to the Butte de Vauquois.
A kiosk in the parking lot offers a history of the long struggle for the hill.
These kiosks typically offer text in French, German, and English.
At the time I didn’t know too much about Vauquois, only that mine warfare had dominated this sector of the front and that this hill was a hinge on the Verdun salient’s western side. I had seen photos on the Web, of course, and knew the barest details of the wartime history of the hill. I knew there would be some mine craters.
When you get close you see the hill is now wooded, and even in winter this obscures the true state of the butte today. Coming up the road to the hilltop battlefield, you are coming in from the rear of the French lines. The parking lot is on the western end of the hill, and here there are numerous artifacts related to the struggle for Vauquois Hill displayed at the edges of the lot. There is a visitor center that appears to be a former dugout, and it’s a great little place full of weapons, tools, and other artifacts used in the Vauquois sector and beyond.
At the upper edge of the lot are steps that lead up to the summit of the hill, and it’s a good walk to get up there.
The first thing you will see as you clear the trees is a massive mine crater. It’s like a giant dug his hand into the hill and tore out a huge chunk of it. It’s a hole big enough to fit a house in–literally, and I mean “literally” in the real sense of the word. This is the result of the May 14, 1916 mine set off by the Germans, where 60 tons of Westfalit explosives were used in an attempt to rupture the French lines.
The massive mine crater created on May 14, 1916 when the Germans detonated a mine packed with 60 tons of explosives. 108 French Poilus were killed in the blast.
This isn’t the only crater like this. Get to the top of the hill–now some eighteen feet shorter due to the First World War–and you will see a chain of massive holes that bisect the Butte de Vauquois. Not only has six meters of earth and an ancient village been wiped off the top of the hill, but the heart of it has been ripped out, too.
The heart of this hill has been ripped out. Check out the two visitors in the distance for an idea of scale.
This first time on Vauquois my brain was boggled by what my eyes were showing me. Holes of this size simply could not exist, even though I was looking at them and a short while later in them. I mean, a two-story home could fit comfortably in these craters with room to spare. To see these mine craters and know that these were man-made creations was startling.
Black and white gives a little more depth, and can give a better idea of the depth and breadth of these craters. Looking from the French (southern) side of the hill. A deep mine crater on Vauquois, looking from the French side east to west, roughly. . The craters show that the heart of the Butte de Vauquois has been ripped out.
The heart of the hill, torn open and exposed to the world.
The ground shows unmistakable evidence of the terrible events that happened here a century ago.
These mine craters are hard for the mind to comprehend.
Looking from the German lines.
A picture of the butte, and the hilltop village before the war. Your humble podcaster standing in the middle of a monstrous crater. In the German trenches. The Germans incorporated the remains of the village into their defensive works.
The French monument on Vauquois, sculpted by Marius Roussel, himself a veteran of the French 10th Division. It features scenes recalling the vicious fighting of 1915, with a dead Frenchman buried in the side of a mine gallery. A resolute brother soldier stands at the ready next to the corpse, and over both men are the remains of the chestnut tree that used to stand next to Vauquois’ church. Looking from behind the German wire towards the French side. The trench lines were so close that conventional infantry attacks were suicidal; mine warfare was the only way to effectively attack the enemy here.
Entrance to a dugout on the Butte de Vauquois.
Yours truly.
“Know the darkness.” A future post will show what lies beneath.
This was why the hill was fought over so ferociously: its heights offered dominating views over the surrounding countryside.
