# Verdun - Fort Sartelles ***IMAGE INTENSIVE***



## TeeJF (Jun 9, 2012)

So it's time for the third of our Verdun fort reports from this year's trip across... 

*L'histoire...*​
*Fort Sartelles was constructed during the second phase of the extensive fort building scheme carried out around Verdun following the Franco-Prussian War. As such it had far better blast and penetration protection against heavy German artillery which was advancing in quantum leaps at that time. The earlier "panic forts" constructed in great haste immediately after the cessation of hostilities less than a decade before had relied for protection upon a strong masonry shell surrounding an air gap, and within this was constructed the masonry interior structure of the fort. This system proved woefully inadequate because the new German artillery shells not only penetrated much further due to their new shape, but they also packed a far mightier punch due to the composition of their new explosive. Thus two enormous escalations of the arms race of the time in rapid succession drastically changed the construction techniques of the forts practically overnight. *

*BELOW - the giant Krupps 420mm siege howitzer which demolished most of the Belgian forts with ease and severely damaged many of the highly reinforced Verdun forts.*







*BELOW - to give you an idea of what this uber -gun fired here is a photo of one of the rounds with TJ next to it for a size comparison.*




*The "panic forts" had relied upon portable artillery pieces sited within the fort, together with huge masonry and earth shielded shelters for the crews and ammunition storage. Localised small arms support was afforded by the garrison infantry sheltering behind ramparts on the top of the forts. This next generation of forts, of which Sartelles was one of the first to be built, relied instead upon self contained, armoured fighting turrets constructed of steel and concrete. Unlike some of the other forts though Sartelles did not have any artillery turrets but was armed instead with two twin Hotchkiss machine gun turrets. Each turret was supported by an armoured observation "cloche" which consisted of a narrow concrete tube almost to the surface, capped with a 7 inch thick armoured steel dome through which observation officers could direct the fire of the adjacent MG turret. The one shown BELOW is located at nearby Fort Douamont which was built only four years after Sartelles so it is to all intents and purposes identical.
*





*Fort Sartelles underwent two periods of modification before the outbreak of the Great War, and these included the up-armouring of the fort, and the construction of two Bourges Casemates to provide a "quick fix" artillery addition in the form of FOUR fast firing 75mm artillery pieces. The fort variant of this gun had no wheels or axle for horse drawn transportation unlike the field version of the gun, rather it has a fixing point at the front which was anchored to a pivot point directly behind the firing port of the casemate, and a pair of small wheels set at 90 degrees to the barrel (which can be clearly seen in the photograph) enabled the gun to run on semi-circular tracks within the casemate through a fixed arc, thus facilitating the fastest possible traverse to the point of aim.

The moat protection was also radically improved by the construction of one single and one double counterscarpe gallery accessed by tunnels travelling beneath the moat. The existing gorge caponniere protecting the front of the fort and the drawbridge access was retained. The reason for the move to counterscarpe galleries rather than a continuation of the use of capponieres was the fact that the roof of a caponniere has to be massively reinforced in order to prevent the destruction of the fighting gallery within by plunging howitzer or siege mortar ordnance. As with all the Verdun forts, and indeed most of the French forts, protection of the moat against enemy infanctry and pioneers was achieved with Hotchkiss "Revolver Canons", a kind of Gatling Gun with five 37 mm barrels. Capable of firing 43 rounds per minute with an accurate range of 2000 yards, they were more than adequate for the defence of the short moat sections. Additionally infantry manned firing ports within the fighting galleries armed with rifles and light machine guns, and large horizontal ports at knee level allowed the "posting" of hand grenades into the moat.*

*In 1917, following the Battle of Verdun, a need was identified for the construction of connecting corridors between the individual fighting compartments within all the Verdun forts - Fort Vaux had fallen for want of drinking water even though isolated areas of the fort had been able to continue the fight after German infantry had penetrated the fort. A system of modifications began early in 1917 but most of the so called Travaux 17 (literally 1917 works) tunnels were never properly concrete lined. Consequently many have collapsed today or are barely hanging on, held up by the rotten remnants of wooden pit props.

The actual construction techniques of the Verdun forts did not vary greatly beyond that which we have already mentioned regarding the phases of construction in answer to the various artillery evolution crisis of the time. There is however one fundamental factor that varies from fort to fort and that is the placement of the fort ABOVE ground vs. placement of the fort IN the ground. Fort Sartelles was dug down into the ground and so an access ramp descends into the moat from the adjacent road. A small secondary moat directly in front of the main access door into the fort is crossed by a drawbridge. Most of the fort therefore sits below ground level with only the Bourges Casemates etc. above.*


*L'piccies...​*








*We have arrived  *









*Here you can see the Bourges Casemate on the glacis of the fort next to the double gorge caponniere.*









*The fort's main entrance.*









*A firing port for an infantry soldier with a rifle near the entrance.*









*Behind the main doors which are bullet riddled *









*At the junction of the frontal corridor and the gorge caponniere.*









*In the domed caponniere's fighting gallery.*










*A collection of openings gives a Hotchkiss Revolver Cannon crew a field of fire down the moat. 
Top is an observation opening, middle is for the cannon, and the other one is to post grenades into the moat.*









*L'kazi avec le pong du merde magnifique  
...the Chasseur recruits still use it *









*Light at the end of the tunnel. This corridor allowed the garrison infantry to crash out onto the ramparts quickly.*










*We are up on the glacis at the back of the fort over the main entrance now, not far from the Bourges Casemate.*










*Back inside, the red band on the wall denotes that this area is bombardment proof.*









*Dropping down ever deeper, this stairwell leads to the first MG turret.*









*The MG turret counter balance weight allowed the heavily armoured turret to be hand wound from it's bombardment position up to it's fighting position.*









*The fighting compartment of the turret and the MG mounts can be seen through the trap door in the turret's fighting compartment floor.*









*And deeper still. We are off underneath the moat out to the counterscarpe gallery now.*









*The green light is sunlight reflecting off the undergrowth and spilling in through a firing port in the counterscarpe gallery.*









*A collection of firing ports in the counterscarpe gallery wall.*









*The field of fire for a large piece of ordnance along the moat bottom.*









*The crumbling remains of a Travaux 17 tunnel.*









*Originally all corridors in the forts were barred with big gates like this but very few remain now.*










*Outside on the moat bottom, this is the double counterscarpe gallery which protected two lengths of the moat.*










*We have walked back round the moat bottom and ahead is the gorge caponniere by the main entrance. *









*And we're done! It's time to trot off back to that black Volvo up on the road and reflect upon our morning!*​



* And that's your lot! Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for looking. ​*


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## TeeJF (Jun 9, 2012)

skeleton key said:


> That's a cracking place would love to pay it a visit after seeing this nice job
> 
> Hey have you thrown in a bit of HDR there lol



Buckets of it mate! Thanks for the compliment. If you wanna do some of these forts you just need to blister on with us next time we go across or chat to me in a PM if you want to go it alone.


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## The Lone Ranger (Jun 9, 2012)

Very nice report, great history and images


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## KingRat (Jun 9, 2012)

Spot on !! That was worth the wait, really enjoyed the read and the pics.


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## night crawler (Jun 9, 2012)

Brilliant it of work that, one question, if entry is forbidden because it is Military ground, what the heck do they use it for?


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## chris (Jun 9, 2012)

Another fantastic report  

It looks damn muddy in that moat


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## maxmix (Jun 9, 2012)

Great report, Loving all these French forts on here, brings back many memories of seeing these on TV (Can't remember the name of the program, anyone else remember the prog? BBC 1980's) as a youth.....


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## flyboys90 (Jun 10, 2012)

Brilliant report & photos,thanks for sharing them.


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## oldscrote (Jun 10, 2012)

Wonderful stuff,the sheer scale of these forts things is mind boggling.


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## Seahorse (Jun 10, 2012)

It was just castles with better guns. What the heck was the point? Although I suppose decades of hindsight is a wonderful thing. 

I need to get myself over the water sometime. I'm hooked now.


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## gingrove (Jun 10, 2012)

Fantastic set of reports - great history backed up by briliant pics. Whats next years project Maginot line from end to end?


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## TeeJF (Jun 10, 2012)

Thank you all for your lovely comments. It's great that the reports generated so much interest because me and the boss are incredibly passionate about the Great War!




gingrove said:


> Whats next years project Maginot line from end to end?



Hee hee! No, but we do have some juicy info on one of the biggest, none adopted Maginot Line forts waiting for action. It's odd though, even though the Line is much more modern (it was used during the Cold War though Lord alone knows why!!!) it just doesn't really turn us on like Verdun's forts do!



Seahorse said:


> It was just castles with better guns. What the heck was the point?
> 
> I need to get myself over the water sometime. I'm hooked now.



Had the French stuck to their guns (literally) the Verdun forts would have rendered the area impregnable. As it was that buffoon "Papa" Joffre instigated a scheme whereby all the mobile artillery was taken out for use in a war of movement that had already ground to an ignominious halt, together with most of the infantry manning the forts. His idea of warfare was to charge the enemy "armed to the teeth" with little more than "Elan" whilst wearing dark blue tunics and bright red trousers. France was practically bled white long before the Germans decided to do just that in Verdun in 1916. Fort Douamont was captured without a shot being fired by a little German Pioneer Sergeant by the name of Kunze who fell into the moat and wandered in through an open door very early on in the battle of Verdun. He actually locked the garrison (just a handful of old reservists, old men!) in their barracks whilst reinforcements arrived to take control of the fort. It then took the French several months to get it back and cost them thousands of lives. Properly manned and armed these forts are so placed that they command the countryside in every direction and most of the second and third phase forts could withstand even the mighty 420 Krupps guns. Douamomnt was eventually breached by a French shell but not until the eartha dn sand covering hand been literally blown off by months of sustained barrage. The fact that amazes me is that the French built the Maginot Line in the 30s but stopped it to all intents and purposes at the Belgian border for fear of offending the Belgians! I jest ye not. You'd have thought they'd have learnt that the Germans were more than happy to waltz in through a neautral country bypassing fortifications, after all they'd done just that in 1914! 

And yes, those forts more than merit a trip on the ferry! You'll not be dissapointed if you do.



oldscrote said:


> the sheer scale of these forts things is mind boggling.



...and Sartelles is actually a very small one, almost but not quite an ouvrage! The bigger forts are something else!



chris said:


> It looks damn muddy in that moat



Oh yes! The mud around Verdun is a very pretty cream colour and it sticks like S-H-one_T to a blanket. It rained on us all the time we were there so after a bit we were absolutely filthy! But it was a very satisfying kind of muckiness!



night crawler said:


> one question, if entry is forbidden because it is Military ground, what the heck do they use it for?



About a couple of miles down the road that forts Sartelles and Chaume are on is a huge barracks occupied by a regiment of Chasseurs. My French is not good but it appears that the depot in question is a major training depot for that district and they send recruits there for initial training. Last year we ran into a Corporal in charge of a training team and he politely refused us entry as they were about to receive a group up from the depot. Sure enough we passed about 30 sweaty oiks jogging up the road, already soaked to the skin. Inside the fort there was a lot of evidence of them overnighting and on the glacis there were piles of "merde" complete with little tissue decorations every few metres. It's clear to me that the French military do not teach their recruits how to perform an "individual shovel recce" during basic training! 






This was about the same time last year!


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## krela (Jun 10, 2012)

Your info on why the maginot line stopped near Belgium... it's an inaccurate anecdote... 

Excellent report though, the engineering here is just nuts... with minor modifications they would be tough to infiltrate even by today's standards.


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## TeeJF (Jun 10, 2012)

krela said:


> Your info on why the maginot line stopped near Belgium... it's an inaccurate anecdote...
> 
> Excellent report though, the engineering here is just nuts... with minor modifications they would be tough to infiltrate even by today's standards.



Oh yes, you're spot on. And it's staggering just how similar the turrets are on the Verdun forts and the corresponding calibre weapon turrets on the Maginot Line, it's stuff like gas proofing, self sufficiency/sustainability and the depth of the forts to prevent breach by bombardment that sets the two eras apart.

But the anecdote? Tell me more. I'm reading up on it right now as it happens having just bought a brand new book that's not long come out as a prelude to attempting some of the Line. I'm not challenging your knowledge but what you are saying is definitely at odds with what I have just read.

*It had this to say:*

*"The next phase called the New Fronts lasted from 1934 to 1939. It included a new section called the "Maginot Extension" by some authors that would cover part of southern Belgium leaving however a gap between it and the RF* (fortified region) *of Metz."*

It then continues, 

*" no continuous line was planned for this section of the frontier because the French government was reluctant to offend the Belgians by erecting a barrier between the two countries. Furthermore most of the terrain in the area was unsuitable for large subterranean forts."*


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## krela (Jun 10, 2012)

Does the book provide a source for that piece of information?


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## TeeJF (Jun 10, 2012)

krela said:


> Does the book provide a source for that piece of information?



I dunno, I haven't finished it yet. But then I don't tend to read the end notes overly often anyway.


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## chris (Jun 11, 2012)

I read in one book that they left a weak sectorat the west end of the Maginot Line because they wanted to encorage the Germans to go through Belgium as this would slow them up and give France valuable time to mobilize


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## krela (Jun 11, 2012)

From my understanding there were a whole bunch of factors that led to the gap in the Maginot line, the foremost being that the French and English simply never believed that the Belgian low country and Ardenne forests were penetrable by invading forces. 

Remember up until then Wars were fought with large numbers of mostly static and 'dug in' cavalry and infantry, highly mobile tanks and heavy weaponry were practically unknown, and where they were used they were used in support of infantry, behind the 'fighting front', not as an attacking force in their own right. The assumption was that it would take the Germans months to build up a strong enough force to invade, which could be defended at the few weak points on the line, in much the same way as it happened during WW1. Months of fighting for half a mile here or there. The French believed Belgian low country and forests simply weren't a suitable front from which the Germans could attack, so it wasn't defended.

Of course Blitzkrieg with it's focus on civilian panic via Stukka dive bombers, Panzer tanks and half-track mobilised troops took a little over a week from start to finish, Germany didn't play by 'the rules', as they were known and understood then.

Yes there were political things going on too, there was the idea that if France forced the Germans up to Belgium then it was more likely that UK forces would get involved (a correct supposition as it turned out... hence Dunkirk), there were the close ties between France and Belgium, and there was also a major issue of the land simply not being suitable for building such heavy defences, but simply naivity and the genius of Blitzkrieg tactics were the main factors. The landscape of war changed irreversibly in those few months.


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## TeeJF (Jun 12, 2012)

Interesting too that the British Army were the ones who invented Blitzkreig, though we called it "all arms". You'd have thought we'd have had a bit of an idea that the "Herman Gelmet" would chance a "quickie Schlieffen" again!


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## bluto (Jun 14, 2012)

These are awesome pics. Really fancy touring the atlantic wall!!

By the way, is it just me or do the bullet holes in the main enterance door kinda look like a person walking!?!?!?!?


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## night crawler (Jun 14, 2012)

" no continuous line was planned for this section of the frontier because the French government was reluctant to offend the Belgians by erecting a barrier between the two countries. Furthermore most of the terrain in the area was unsuitable for large subterranean forts."

So in not offending the Belgians they left an opening for the Germans to drive round the line. Mind you from what you say about the political side sending the Germans towards Belgium it is no wonder People don't like the French.


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## TeeJF (Jun 15, 2012)

There was an intersting hypothethis offered that diverting the Germans would give the French time to mobilise and meet them at their borders in a favourable position for a war of manouvre. I'd not heard that one I have to say. Personally I susbscribe to the "crass stupidity" theory! You'd think they'd learn having had it done to them once already... had it not been for the Belgian forts taking longer to bust than anticipated and the interference of that "contemptible little army" the Brits threw at them at Mons they'd have hooked Paris round just outside target time and finished the Great War early rendering it Franco-Prussian Act II instead.

And perhaps it might have been a bit better world had they done so... Cold War, the rise of America after she bled Britain dry financially etc etc etc.

Hindsight is an amazing thing isn't it!


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## Mars Lander (Jun 15, 2012)

Very interesting TeamTJ, the red stripe denoting safety from bombardment is ace never knew that before, great piks too bet it was tricky to get some of those shots


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## TeeJF (Jun 15, 2012)

AltDayOut said:


> the red stripe denoting safety from bombardment is ace
> 
> bet it was tricky to get some of those shots



Ha ha! Thanks buddy. 

I don't do "tricky", I just point and hope for the best, I'm far too amateur to acheive anything smart, especially as the camera is new-ish. This light painting business is kind of good though and gets pix where you wouldn't normally. I'm glad someone showed me how.

The red stripe is particular to all the Verdun forts. If it's the same elsewhere I can't comment.


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## prettyvacant71 (Jun 16, 2012)

Thanks for sharing folks...quality pics, im gettin more interested in such places since poking around here, must do it more often!


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## TeeJF (Jun 17, 2012)

prettyvacant71 said:


> Thanks for sharing folks...quality pics, im gettin more interested in such places since poking around here, must do it more often!



thank you! Watch this space as they say...


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## Mars Lander (Jun 17, 2012)

TeeJF said:


> Ha ha! Thanks buddy.
> 
> I don't do "tricky", I just point and hope for the best, I'm far too amateur to acheive anything smart, especially as the camera is new-ish. This light painting business is kind of good though and gets pix where you wouldn't normally. I'm glad someone showed me how.
> 
> The red stripe is particular to all the Verdun forts. If it's the same elsewhere I can't comment.



Light painting is fun , leave shutter open and shine away, better than a flash picture , i hate em, thing is you need a pretty good torch i guess and ours are like £3 for 3 haha so dont throw out much light.


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## maxmix (Jun 17, 2012)

TeeJF said:


> thank you! Watch this space as they say...



Can't wait, your reports are stunning


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