Vauquois is one of the most famous points of the fights in the Argonne. The Germans had occupied it during their push against the 3rd french army in September 1914, as they tried to surround Verdun. The height hid activities north of Varenne, covered the supply road in the Argonne to Four de Paris and represented an excellent artillery-observation-point.

Church-position 1915 entrance of the tunnel XII of the 1./ Pionierbataillons 30.

The Germans turned this important position in a fortress. Shelters were hit into the rocks and were connected through subterranean run-walks; the streets were dug out so that the cellar-hatches turned into embrasures.

The walls of the houses and gardens were equipped with sandbags and embrasures, trenches were built placed against the hillsides in front of the village. The position was supported and flanked by the fire-positions of Cheppy, Montfaucon and the Argonne. The approach was difficult; on all sides of the position, it was surrounded by canyons and a well visible front terrain, which offered an excellent field of fire to the riflemen.

German trench

This position, which could be regarded as impregnable at the beginning of the war, was attacked from the 10th french infantry division. These first attacks were executed with particular heavy losses, because they were prepared without artillery support. The first storm was carried out on October 28, 1914 of two battalions. The first french lines have been at that time on the white hill opposite from Vauquois. Two companies proceeded from the black wood in line of skirmishers from the west-hillsides of the height, without artillery-preparation at all. The soldiers, who proceeded leap-frog, were fallen down by the probably hidden german riflemen. They nevertheless progressed in the hail of bullets until a volley of heavy german grenades destroyed them. After thirty minutes, the attack was interdicted.

Minengallerie mit Feldbahn

The second attack was already executed on October 29; after only a short artillery-preparation, on which only some shells exploded.
Nine companies attacked with the Cigalerie farther right. The troops went become low-shoot her/it/them with set up bayonet before, as at the eve and the attack failed under big losses.

Kitchen in the tunnel-barracks

The third attack was executed on the 17 February 1915 and nearly successful. The artillery-preparation had taken over half a day; before the attack three mines should be exploded and destroy the enemy position.

A single one, that didn't lie sufficiently deeply under the hill however, only exploded; the others deflagrated and wounded thirty men in the first trench by tossed up stones.

In face of the confusion that followed, the French ascended the leader from the trenches and broke before. The proceeding first companies climbed the hillsides. The storming battalions broke into Vauquois and reached the ruins of the church, however lost ground after heavy losses under the fire of the German batteries in the Argonne, from Montfaucon and the machine guns of Cheppy. They gave up the hilltop and established themselves on the half height of the hill.

Cemetary in the Vauquois wood

A fourth attack took place on the February 28, but without any success. Finally the determining attack was executed on 1 march. The preparations continued. A plan of the village, from which ruins only were remaining, was distributed to the troops. Each company has their determined target, for the first time, the new melinit hand grenades were distributed. The shelling began in the dawn, the heavy guns crushed the dugout shelters; installed 75 gun on the Mamelon Blanc, gave fire on the village.

Trench in the "Kniestellung"

The fight was hard; twice the French reached the hilltop, jumping from hole to hole, taking one house after the other and pushed forward to the church. A village existed not more, only stone cairns, fragments of walls and ripped open cellars. On the next day, german mortar fire started, the French lost ground. They retreated by disengaging; their resistance-line, developed in the fire at the edge of the plateau, brought the Germans to hold up. The french infantry went renew to storm in the village at 14:00 o'clock, occupied the german ditches and broke into the debris by 14:35, where they repressed the adversary with the bayonet. By 15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 17:30 the Germans did counterattacks, for what they had applied units of 14 different formations one after the other; however, they could not pushed away the French from the main street. The French tried twice in vain to take the church at night. Four days and four nights the french troops endured below the continual hostile fire without food, forced to live from the rations of the dead soldiers.

Communications headquarter

The colonial-infantry, which replaced the attack-troops from short time, was destroyed in few days. The Germans used already heavy mine-launchers, while only small, primitive pieces existed on the other side. The Germans attacked almost every night. They were interdicted with hand grenades, guns and the bayonets. The position was unsupportable; it either was called to give way or to make way. The French attacked again.

Mine gallerie at the north-hillside

On March 4, in the afternoon the french infantry-regiment 76 took west from the church the german trenches and reached the church-wall despite the opposing fire. On March 5, a german counterattack was rejected. The taking of Vauquois was definitely. The front remained still, long animated through frequent raids, mine-war and a continuous shelling. Almost every month mines were blown up. They got over the loss of the position that gave the French the insight after Varennes and on the street, which was the continuation of the built narrow-gauge track between Montfaucon and Spincourt. The first company of Pioneer-battalion 30 became reinforced by beginning of March through a work-command of the infantry with 150 miners, the foot-artillery company No. 3, a section of the pioneer-battalion 29 as well as a mine launcher section of the pioneer battalion 13. Already on March, 13 - 1915 another work-command with 150 people was assigned to the position and on 16th already bombproof shelters for 300 men were demolished in the north hillside.

In the following years the positional-fights in the Argonnen slew down relative in this area; the cobatants gave up bigger operations. In 1917 only raids and small patrols occurred. Listening tunnels were positioned and smaller crush demolitions were executed on demand.

September, 26, 1918 the American / French offensive began in the Argonne. At Vauquois laid two weak companies of the II. Battalion Guard Regiment by foot. The miners had prematurely been withdrawn in expectation of a generic offensive. At 02.30 o'clock the american artillery began to fire. This concentrated artillery and mine-launcher fire continued until 05.30 o'clock. The german defenders remained in their sure shelters and gave up every observation. The 35th american infantry division succeeded to push fast right and left of the height. Then a vehement fight of the weak defenders for individual shelters and positional-sections broke out. The message of the last letter-pigeon, who was risen by Lieutenant von Hüllesheim, was: "The enemy storms in close masses from all sides. We fight up to the last man. Long live the king." At midday twenty German soldiers finally went in captivity. With it the fights ended at the Vauquois height.

Pionierpark of the 1./ Pionierbataillon 30 in Varennes