butte de vauquois

Went here on the way to Verdun and it was really great. Brings the terror of war into a condensed hill and shows the effect of mine warfare. The first Sunday of every month they open the tunnels to be visited, very much worth a visit.

Read reviews posted by Doug D and Snailkite --- both capture the Butte very well and I cannot improve on their observations. I would add that the trails are steep and can be slippery so walk with caution but take time here and definitely walk the entire butte. Note the difference in the construction of German and French tunnels, linger to take in the vista. Imagine how lovely the village was sited.I'd also suggest that you stay at Le Coq d'Or in Montfaucon d'Argonne and leave for the butte after breakfast so you have hours to explore the butte and it's environs.

While easy to find, the Vauquois battlefield requires that you have your own transportation. Once you ascend the steep trail to the battlefield few words can express the impact the view makes upon the visitor. The hill upon which the 'lost village' of Vauquois sat was of strategic importance during WWI. Both the French and Germans fought tenaciously, destroying the town in the process. As neither was willing to surrender the high ground, both armies decided to dig under the village. Nearly the entire battle, lasting the entire war, was fought underground by miners and sappers. Each detonated enormous mines, which lifted the earth above and created craters across the landscape.Unfortunately, two-dimensional photos do little to capture the view. The entire landscape is composed of crater upon crater, the magnitude of which conveys in a visceral sense the horror of this battle. The French monument is exceptional, showing a soldier in a trench with a grenade (within throwing distance of his foes) and behind him a fallen comrade nearly covered with earth. How many soldiers are entombed beneath your feet as you walk the battlefield?

The lost village of Vauquois is a testament to the ferocity of mine warfare, an underground struggle unique to that war (each side would dig tunnels under the oppsition's lines, pack them with explosives and detonate the ordinance). There are other lost villages in France and Verdun in particular and other areas were mined--the Somme, Vimy and the Argonne Forest--but it is only at Vauquois that you find such extreme and surviving evidence of that type of warfare. The Butte de Vauquois, where this tiny village once stood, is now just a mass of craters and tunnel entrances. But in 1914 this small hill was hotly contested by the Germans and French. It provided a superb observation point. The Germans took the hill on Sept. 24 1914 and heavily fortified it. The French mounted several counter-attacks. Eventually they overcame German resistance and established themselves on the south side of the hill, with the Germans occupying the north side. This is where both sides stayed for the next three years, mining towards each other with increasing ferocity. One hundred years on, it remains a grim reminder of the horrors of war. Chilling and an important aspect of the war that few are aware.

I think this of all may show the everyday horris this war inflicted in civilians and soldiers alike. The town on the butte was destroyed, this was among the most vicious fighting of all and soldiers if all armies died here. Great way to see the craters, actual trenches and entrances to rooms. A bit if a walk but up steps. Go the other way back if you can...a brief walk thru history.

Quite a way out of Verdun but worth a visit. Own transport essential. The surrounding views are stunning.

Un village entièrement détruit ou il ne reste que quelques ruines, des trous d'obus, un cratère immense suite à l'explosion d'une bombe faisant un millier de morts, des tranchées françaises et allemandes séparées de seulement 60 mètres, et entre les deux une stèle indiquant la mort atroce de 5 sapeurs-pompiers de paris brulés au lance flammes. Quelques informations complémentaires seraient les bienvenues pour expliquer ces ruines tout au long de ce parcours exceptionnel d'émotions.

C'est un peu difficile de mettre des étoiles sur ce genre d'endroit. Mais il faut voir cela. Et réfléchir... à ce que peut être une guerre.

ce site est impressionnant. nous avons fait le circuit de la visite et il n'est pas difficile d'imaginer ce que ces hommes ont vécus, il y a 100 ans.

Approche réelle de la dureté des combats, de la proximité des troupes françaises et allemandes. Les tranchées, les cratères restituent parfaitement la violence des combats dans ce lieu maintenant bucolique et empreint de souvenirs marquants.

un tres beau site à voir à Verdun, tres bien entretenue, facile d'acces, mais comme signalé un manque d'explication.

le site est bien entretenu on se rend bien compte de l'intensité des combats mais je trouve dommage qu'il n'y a pas plus d'information en haut sur le site méme, nous n'avons pas pu visité les galeries ,elle étaient fermées

Malgré le manque d'explication, ce site est très intéressant. On y voit des tranchées et des trous d'obus impressionnant. Il est même possible de visiter les souterrains le jeudi après en juillet-août et le 1er dimanche du mois.

Anders als im Granatenkrieg wurden hier riesige Minen von bis zu 60 Tonnen eingesetzt. Dementsprechend wurde der von vielen Stollen durchzogene Hügel umgepflügt. In der Stille um den Hügel klingt das verbrecherische sinnvolle Opfer hunderttausender Menschen zwisxchen 1914 und 1918 umso eindrucksvoller nach.

Visite des galeries très intéressante accompagnée de guides très investis dans la préservation de ce site.