The monument erected to the memory of the soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 74th.
(Photo Martin Collardelle, Verdun.)
The prisoners assisted their conquerors in putting out the fire which was still burning.
During the night the line was advanced 400 metres more to the North. Douaumont fort, the famous "corner-stone" of the defence of Verdun, lost by surprise on a day of grief, was recaptured in a magnificent dash.
On the following December 15th, a new French offensive cleared the Douaumont line 2 miles more to the North, thus robbing the enemy of any possibility of re-taking the fort.
Visit the interior of the fort under the escort of one of the guard.
At the entrance, a casemate has been burst open by a French 400 shell.
The lower structure of the fort, corridors, casemates and rooms are almost intact.
In one casemate is a small museum of shells, grenades, trench mortars, machine guns and all kinds of respirators.