Deutsch-Eck – la Belle Croix –
Revolving Door of the Verdun Front
About two kilometers east of Romagne lies the intersection of roads D 19 and D 66. The French call it “la Belle Croix” after a cross monument located there. The monument was destroyed by vandalism in early 2017 and the metal cross was stolen. It was re-erected in the summer of 2017. To the Germans, the intersection was called “Deutsch-Eck”, named after the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz, which, with the confluence of the Rhine and Moselle, creates a visual impression similar to the roads converging there.
In the surrounding area, there were two stops of the wartime standard-gauge railway. Romagne also had its own station for the light railway, from which a line led directly to Montmédy. A large portion of the supplies and troop replacements for the entire northern Verdun front was handled via these stations, as well as the evacuation of wounded personnel back to the Reich territory. Replacement troops arrived in this local area, were equipped, and sent forward into battle. A large proportion of the wounded were transported from here by light or standard-gauge railway toward the large military hospitals in Longuyon, Montmédy, and into Reich territory. The “Deutsch-Eck” area was frequently called the “revolving door of the Verdun front.”
In the vicinity of the intersection, there were several large camp areas for up to 18,000 men as well as other military infrastructure facilities such as ammunition depots, pioneer parks, horse convalescent homes, and several field hospitals. Today, aside from the former paths and railway lines, hardly any noteworthy remains of this large complex can be found in the surrounding forests.
[if gte mso 9]> <![endif][if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 21 false false false DE X-NONE X-NONE <![endif][if gte mso 9]> <![endif][if gte mso 10]> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:“Normale Tabelle“; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:““; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:“Calibri“,“sans-serif“; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} <![endif] Just north of the intersection, at the beginning of the Battle of Verdun, a battery of 42 cm mortars “Big Bertha” was deployed. The position is marked on the map with “M5”. M stands for M-Gerät, the tactical designation of the weapon. “Big Bertha” was given the cover name “Kurze Marine-Kanone”. It was therefore Kurze-Marine-Kanonen-Batterie Nr. 5 (5th Short Naval Gun Battery). Slightly further north where the D 66 exits the Bois de Mangiennes, there was a battery of 30.5 cm mortars, called “Beta-Gerät”, tactical designation: “ß2”. The “Beta-Gerät” was called “Schwerer-Küsten-Mörser”. It was therefore Schwere-Küsten-Mörser-Batterie Nr. 2 (2nd Heavy Coastal Mortar Battery). By using the naval designations, they wanted to conceal the intended land deployment of these super-heavy guns.
The heavy batteries were equipped with two guns as standard, whereas, according to sources, M-Battery No. 5 only possessed a single piece at the very beginning of the Battle of Verdun due to a premature barrel explosion. After the guns had proven very reliable in the fighting for the Belgian forts, barrel detonations increased starting in 1916. The reason for this was that previously meticulously manufactured ammunition from peacetime production had been used, but from 1916 onward, frequently defective ammunition from wartime production was the only type available. The scarcity of resources led to production defects already at this stage. After four months of combat, by June 1916 none of the M-batteries deployed before Verdun still possessed their full complement of guns.
Remnants of the former artillery positions can still frequently be found in the surrounding forests. One of these positions can be found directly on the D 66 at the northern edge of the “les Nouelles” forest east of Roises-Ferme. The Germans called this forest “Neuer Wald.” Several ground depressions indicate the former gun locations. In addition, there are remains of concrete structures that served as quarters and storage space for the gun crews.
Excursion: Dr. med. Alfred Bauer – Doctor in Deutsch-Eck
Dr. med. Alfred Bauer, * March 18, 1878 in Luttringhausen, + January 18, 1955 in Hannover, was 36 years old when he was conscripted for military service in August 1914 in his then-hometown of Bad Rothenfelde. Regarding his experiences during the First World War, he compiled a diary of approx. 600 pages, which was transcribed into typescript in the 1990s at the instigation of his grandson, retired forest director Peter Lex from Lüneburg.
After Dr. Bauer had worked as a spa physician in Bad Rothenfelde starting in 1908, he was called up at the outbreak of war as a Reservist (reservist) to a medical company of the 78. Landwehr-Infanterie-Regiment (78th Landwehr Infantry Regiment), raised in Braunschweig (staff & III. Bn.) and Celle (I. & II. Bn.). Already from his mobilization day on August 2, 1914, Dr. Bauer worked as an examining physician in Lüneburg. On August 11, 1914, he traveled by train from Lüneburg station to the Western Front.
With the German army, Dr. Bauer marched into neutral Belgium in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan. On September 18, 1914, as the first physician of the German army, he received the Iron Cross, 2nd Class. Due to his brave conduct during the fighting in late September 1914 north of the city of Reims, he was also awarded the 1st Class of the Iron Cross on October 8, 1914.
In February 1915, Dr. Bauer was transferred to Feldlazarett 6 (Field Hospital 6) of the 19. Reserve-Division (19th Reserve Division) and relocated to the Verdun front in mid-March 1916. Here, the German breakthrough hoped for by the Oberste Heeresleitung had not succeeded “in an accelerated procedure” and hundreds of wounded from the fighting had to be cared for daily. When the troops arrived at their deployment location, the then casualty collection point Deutsch-Eck, Dr. Bauer found a completely inadequate situation. This concerned, on the one hand, the desolate hygienic conditions and, on the other hand, the fact that the incoming wounded could not be dealt with appropriately. Severely and critically wounded could not be cared for due to a lack of corresponding capacities. They were sent by train on their way to military hospitals in the rear or directly further into the Reich territory.
Many wounded died during transport, which mostly took place in old freight cars. Slightly wounded and those suffering from general illnesses, of whom medical units close to the front quickly rid themselves, could likewise not be treated appropriately. They, too, were mostly sent to the rear without examination. Dr. Bauer describes how such a large number of soldiers succeeded in reaching transport back to Germany with the slightest injuries and thus evading the fighting troops for months.
To master these grievances, above all to improve the general treatment options, Dr. Bauer utilized all opportunities presenting themselves to him, even away from long official channels. He describes, for example, having been supplied with all necessary construction material by the head of the pioneer park in Romagne-sous-les-Côtes, a fraternity brother from his student fraternity, the Burschenschaft Alemannia zu Bonn.
Thus he was able to create accommodation huts for himself and his staff, an operating and treatment room, as well as a kitchen. A concrete basin for about 24 cubic meters of water was built along with a filter system. The facility supplied the military hospital on the one hand, and on the other hand enabled the soldiers marching into combat on today’s D 66 to refill their water bottles. The paths of the military hospital area were paved using gravel from the nearby railroad facilities. In addition, Dr. Bauer organized further accommodation options by procuring tents. Gradually, by April 1916, the simple casualty collection point Deutsch-Eck evolved into a field hospital where about 120 wounded of all degrees of severity could be treated and cared for.
Dr. Bauer reports in detail about the difficulties that arose in the supply and evacuation of the wounded from the foremost combat lines in the Douaumont sector. For most of these soldiers, Fort de Douaumont was the first stop. Inside the fort there was a military hospital with an operating room, where the Berlin gynecologist Dr. Benno Hallauer served as the leading surgeon. Dr. Bauer had contact with his colleague on several occasions and describes in detail in his diary the conversations between the two doctors, for example regarding the conditions of wounded care, the general military situation, and especially also the explosion disaster in Fort de Douaumont on May 8, 1916.
Fort de Douaumont, located near the foremost lines, was hopelessly overcrowded with wounded and relief troops, and wounded were pushed back to the rear whenever possible. Further stations for them were then the front-line dressing stations, for example in the Chauffour Ravine (Totenschlucht), the Albain Ravine, or at Chambrettes Farm. Up to this point, wounded who were unable to march had to be carried, which, due to artillery fire, led to considerable losses among the stretcher-bearer units as well. From the forward dressing stations, transport continued via the benzol railway to the front-line field hospitals. One of these military hospitals was located near Azannes, another near Romagne. These hospitals, where wounded saw a doctor for the first time, were likewise completely overcrowded and incapable of treating severe injuries. Those affected were sent further to the rear and ended up in the area of other hospitals or collection points such as the one near Deutsch-Eck or at Sorel Farm.
In May 1916, both the French and German sides saw increased offensive efforts. The German 5. Armee (Fifth Army) had ordered a major offensive operation for May 6, 1916, which, however, had become known to the French. Immediately before the planned start of the attack, they shelled the German assault departure and reserve positions. As a result, massive casualties occurred, and the German attack was nipped in the bud.
In the following days, the French themselves went on the attack in the area of Fort de Douaumont. On May 8, 1916, a catastrophe occurred in which about 800 soldiers died due to exploding French shells. Beginning May 20, 1916, massive French attack efforts occurred again, during which parts of the fort could be briefly recaptured. The attacks and counterattacks continued uninterrupted into June 1916. They led to up to 1,200 seriously and lightly wounded soldiers having to be treated daily in Deutsch-Eck.
On June 2, 1916, Dr. Alfred Bauer received notification that he would be relieved in the coming days by a Bavarian medical unit. By June 5, 1916, he familiarized his successor with the work there. Then, as he describes, he visited the German military cemetery of Romagne-sous-les-Côtes as a farewell, where many of the soldiers who had succumbed to their injuries in Deutsch-Eck had been buried.
Following this, his unit was relocated to rest quarters in Colmey near Longuyon. Dr. Bauer ends his accounts of his time as Stabsarzt (staff surgeon) in Deutsch-Eck with statistics according to which he had treated a total of about 14,000 wounded and sick in Deutsch-Eck, of whom about 10,000 had been injured by means of warfare. About 8,000 shell injuries, many of them mostly fatal head injuries, were among them. According to his accusatory accounts, many cases could have ended more favorably through the earlier provision of steel helmets to the soldiers.
Dr. Alfred Bauer survived World War I. He died on January 18, 1955, in Bad Rothenfelde. His son, himself a Stabsarzt in World War II, managed to escape the Stalingrad pocket in 1943 and survived this further world war as well. Today in Bad Rothenfelde exists the local history museum already founded by Dr. Alfred Bauer, which deals with the history of the Osnabrück region back into early history.
The contemporary photographs from the “Deutsch-Eck” area were predominantly taken from an article by Pierre Lenhard from Romagne-sous-les-Côtes, which was published on the same topic in the 5th issue of the French magazine “Tranchées” in 2011.
were AI-edited (notice pursuant to Art. 50 Regulation (EU) 2024/1689).