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Vauquois, 29th August 1915, (1926). Artist: Francois Flameng
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Vauquois, 29th August 1915, (1926). Artist: Francois Flameng
Vauquois, 29th August 1915, (1926). The hill of the Butte de Vauquois in the Argonne occupied a strategic position as an observation point. The Germans captured the hill in 1914 and heavily fortified it. After a series of counter-attacks the French established themselves on the southern slopes in 1915, with the Germans holding the northern flank of the hill. For the remaining three years of the war both sides turned the Butte de Vauquois into a warren of tunnels and caves as they sought to plant mines beneath each others positions. The largest of these, detonated by the Germans in May 1916, used 60, 000 kg of explosive and left a crater 80 metres across and 20 metres deep, killing 108 French soldiers. Bizarrely, the two sides met at one point in 1917 and mutually agreed to only detonate mines between the hours of 4 and 7 pm, a pact which lasted for two months. By the time the Germans withdrew from the hill in 1918, 8000 men had been killed and the village that stood on its top before the war had been completely obliterated
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EDITORS COMMENTS
This print by Francois Flameng, titled "Vauquois, 29th August 1915" (1926), transports us to a significant moment in history. The image depicts the Butte de Vauquois, a hill in the Argonne region that held great strategic importance as an observation point during World War I. In 1914, the Germans captured this hill and fortified it heavily. However, after a series of counter-attacks, the French managed to establish themselves on the southern slopes in 1915 while the Germans retained control of the northern flank. What followed was three years of intense warfare as both sides dug tunnels and caves beneath each other's positions to plant mines. One particularly devastating explosion occurred in May 1916 when German forces detonated a mine using an astonishing amount of explosives - 60,000 kg. This massive blast created a crater measuring 80 meters across and plunging down to a depth of 20 meters. Tragically, it claimed the lives of 108 French soldiers. Interestingly enough, amidst this brutal conflict underground, there was an unusual agreement between both sides at one point in 1917. They mutually decided to only detonate mines between specific hours from four to seven pm for two months. By the end of World War I in 1918 when German forces finally withdrew from Butte de Vauquois, approximately eight thousand men had lost their lives and not even a trace remained of the village that once stood atop this now ravaged hilltop.
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