In point of fact, no episode of this war can be regarded as standing apart from the rest. A close brotherhood in arms links the warriors of Verdun with those of the Bukovina, of Galicia, of the Trentino, and of the Somme. What happened at Vaux was not a matter of indifference to any of the belligerents, or even to any nation on earth.

Whenever we speak of the victory of the Marne, our hearts swell with joy, and a hymn of deliverance rises inevitably to our lips. The departures for Champagne and the Somme have all the blitheness of a summer morning. The beauty of Verdun is more grim and austere. It is a struggle of patience and sacrifice, one in which the watchword is “Hold and keep.” The question here is not merely one of barring the road to a foe who may pierce our line, but also of pinning him down to the spot while the Allies draw up and carry out their plan of a general offensive. That is why the resistance of Fort Vaux serves a higher purpose than the defence of a mere scrap of territory. It is bound up with a victory, it forms part of a victory, if victory be measured by the thwarting of the enemy’s will and design.

There is beauty in that victory, a beauty born of necessity and endurance. May a reflection of it illumine the epic of Fort Vaux!

CONTENTS

BOOK I
PAGE
I.The Fort[1]
II.What the Fort saw[4]
BOOK II
THE BATTLE
I.The Flight of the Ravens[15]
II.The Road[27]
III.The Master of the Hour[47]
IV.The First Fights round Vaux[50]
V.Round the Washing-Place[62]
VI.Reflections on Death[77]
VII.The Enemy’s Evidence[82]
VIII.From March 30 to May 31[95]
BOOK III
THE STRANGLEHOLD
I.Stones and Men[113]
II.The Stranglehold tightens in the West[120]
III.The Stranglehold tightens in the East[141]
BOOK IV
THE LAST WEEK
I.The Battle at the Fort[153]
II.The Fort appeals[164]
III.The Sortie[179]
IV.Some One re-enters the Fort[188]
V.The Last Words[192]
BOOK V
THE DÉNOUEMENT
I.The German Account[201]
II.The Final Effort[215]
III.The Harvest of the Future[224]

THE LAST DAYS OF FORT VAUX