# Verdun trip, Forts report number 3 - Forts Marre and Bois Du Bourrus. IMAGE INTENSIVE



## TeeJF (Jun 27, 2011)

Now please bare with me on this one... compared to our first "none tourist" fort penetration at Belleville back in May (see our previous report) Marre was a cracker - it just seemed rather lame after the first two we had managed to get into on this trip! And although this was actually the fourth fort we managed to crack I am saving fort three - the best - for last! 

Marre is situated to the north west of Verdun on the left bank of the river Marne. There is another fort very, very close by called Fort Bois du Bourrus, and we wanted to get into this one quite badly however we found that the gate was most comprehensively barred and access to the moat was nigh on impossible without a ladder. Now it's not that we didn't have one but by the time we were ready to go back and use it the following day, the weather had turned and the access road was a sea of gloopy cream coloured mud. Our car skied down hill on the first track we attempted so we decided to stick to forts located next to a road after that! 

But I digress, so back to the forts! Having found Marre's entrance gate was bricked up we went to the right of the gate and up over the top of the moat. Soon enough there was a breach in the wall from the German artillery bombardment and we slid down into the moat to look for an access route. 

Once we were inside the fort proper we soon found that it was very difficult to penetrate much beyond the front because a lot of internal passages were blocked by fallen ceilings. This fort was one of the earliest to be built and so it was not as strong as the later ones despite subsequent modernisation. Although Marre is reported to have had a turret it proved impossible to find it from inside the fort due to the many roof falls we encountered. 


*But first a few pictures of the uber enticing Fort Bois du Bourrus! This is the main gate and drawbridge...*









*The fort facade to the right of the entrance shows some damage by artillery fire...*








*Scarp galleries protect the moat...*








*... which is extremely steep sided and very deep! On most of the forts we had visited up to that point access down to the moat bottom was usually just a matter of finding a point where a barrage had brought the wall down. Some forts were easier still and the actual fort entrance proper is built in the bottom of the moat with an access road running straight in at that level - Forts Belleville, Moulainville and Regret for example. Not so this fort! The only potential moat access we found was down a flight of stairs which had a 4 or 5 metre gap mid flight where a small drawbridge had been in the past. A set of ladders would have got us beyond that point!*








*Moving on to Fort Marre now, this is the first sight of the entrance as you almost literally stumble upon it deep in the undergrowth of a rather dense forest!*








*It is possible to climb up past the front gate to cross the top of the moat. Here we are looking back at the rear of entrance tunnel where it exits into the front of the moat...*








*Scarp galleries protect the front of the fort proper...*








*A rather shifty person moving at speed seen by someone from inside the fort! *








*There is no evidence in Marre of the lovely cobble sets seen in the other fort's entrance corridors.*








*...and in places the structure is very badly damaged by prolonged artillery bombardments.*








*Access to the frontal scarp galleries from the entrance tunnel. This photo was taken looking back up the steps from the scarp gallery...*








*A scarp gallery firing port looks out into the moat...*








*Corridors run along the front of the fort connecting each scarp gallery fighting compartment...*








*Well, well well, what have we here?  *








*Well! Who would have imagined it could be that???*








*The barrack blocks in Fort Marre are raised up above ground level slightly and access to either wing is up a short flight of stairs. Interestingly too, the actual doorways are inset slightly which we did not notice elsewhere...*








*Inside a barrack block. These chambers were built to house 40 soldiers...*








*Numerous stairways ascend and descend within the front of the fort but almost at every turn further penetration was prevented by serious roof falls. This stairwell leads down to a steel door opening onto an outdoor area within the fort. *








*A firing port in the steel door protects the entrance in the event of enemy penetration...*








*So near and yet so far! Another roof fall...*








*This sector of the fort revealed a feature very similar to something we had found inside Fort Souville some years before... a long, narrow corridor deep below ground level running flat and level for some distance... *








*...then leading up steeply to the surface...*








*...where we found ourselves in an exterior artillery area similar to the now destroyed Rue Du Rempart at Douamont. Numerous artillery shelters are built into this area and this is an entrance to one of them...*








*Within a frontal scarp gallery...*








*A curious piece of architecture, purpose unknown but prety all the same!*








*The forward area of the moat is badly damaged by shell fire and access to counterscarp galleries there was not possible despite the potential of using them as a means of accessing the areas of the fort we had failed to penetrate due to roof falls. Clearly Fort Marre suffered very badly in 1916.*








* I hope you enjoyed this report despite it being a slightly dissapointing site in comparison with the others we have visited on this trip. Our final report on Fort Du Regret should make up for it! Stay tuned and thanks for looking! *​


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## night crawler (Jun 27, 2011)

Dissapointing not for us that was brillaint, thanks for taking the trouble.


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## jonney (Jun 27, 2011)

Got to echo NC on that TeeJF fascinating stuff and fabulous architecture


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## Janey68 (Jun 27, 2011)

once again these are fantastic photos and the most breathtaking places. 

brilliant!!!


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