Bois des Caures 1914-1918 –
the Caures-Wald in the fighting north of Verdun

The Bois des Caures, called Caures-Wald by the Germans, is located about 15 kilometers north of Verdun between the villages of Flabas and Ville-devant-Chaumont to the north and the remains of the village of Beaumont-en-Verdunois to the south. In February 1916, the forest area was to become the scene of the opening Battle of Verdun.

Source unknown
from: Reichsarchiv, Verdun, Part 1, Berlin 1926
© Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière
© Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière

Northeast of Verdun, between Vacherauville and Ville-devant-Chaumont, one of the few cross-connections running in a west-east direction across the Meuse Heights, today’s D 905, already existed during wartime. In the central area of the local forest region lies the branch of the D 125 leading to Flabas. The road junction was an important traffic hub during the war and was of essential significance for German attack planning. Heavy fighting was to take place in its surroundings between February 21 and 23, 1916, at the beginning of the German attack on the fortress belt around Verdun,

Subchapter

1914–1916
1914–1916
Battle of Verdun
Battle of Verdun
1917–1918
1917–1918
Commemoration
Commemoration
Today
Today
Émile Driant, French postcard
Émile Driant, French postcard

The description of the events in the Bois des Caures during the war, especially the French one, has always focused on the first days of the Battle of Verdun, when the sector was defended by two French Jäger battalions under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel (Oberstleutnant) Émile Driant against a superior force of two German divisions.

Naturally, this aspect should not be neglected either. Nevertheless, a look at earlier developments is worthwhile first. These make the military topography of the area and the course of the fighting easier to understand. The essential remains of positions still to be found today in the former front area of the Caures Forest predominantly do not date from the time of the Battle of Verdun. They were already created by the French and Germans in the years 1914 and 1915. The events in the further course of the war and after the end of the war, during which the Caures Forest became one of the essential French memorial sites in the area of the Verdun battlefield, are also to be examined.