Verdun: Act 1, Scene 2: Bois des Caures

When much of the German Army retreated north after the 1914 Battle of the Marne, Crown Prince Wilhelm's Fifth Army dug in a perimeter around Verdun. Facing them 14 km north of Verdun were French soldiers in a wood named Bois des Caures. Both sides further fortified their positions for the better part of a year, when the Battle of Verdun would begin in their sector. After the stupendous opening barrage, it would be the site of the first infantry assault of the war's longest battle.

Frontline Trenches and French Redoubts (R1-5)

Taking command of the French defenses at Bois des Caures in 1915 was an industrious, formerly retired lieutenant colonel, who had returned to service when the war broke out, named Émile Driant. He had had parallel careers as a writer on nationalist matters and Futurism (often under the pen name Capitaine Danrit), which ended with the war, and as a deputy for Nancy in Parliament, which did not. By July 1915 he had had already fought in six major engagements arourd Verdun. At Caures, Driant took command of two battalions of Chasseurs Alpin to defend 2000 meters of frontage. Recognizing the vulnerability of the position, he developed an in-depth system of defenses 800-1,000 meters deep (see map above) with strengthened firing trenches and a series of five strong points surrounding a command post built with reinforced concrete. Meanwhile, he was already telling his parliamentary colleagues that "the [German] hammer will fall on the Verdun-Nancy line." 

Driant (with Cane) Inspecting the Position

From August 1915 on, Driant used his parliamentary connections to pass on warning of an impending German attack. This, of course, raised the ire of the army staff. In early 1916 his outposts began regularly reporting a build-up just behind the German front line. On 10 February 1916, he wrote his wife, telling her of a prisoner of war who had bragged that the Kaiser was planning to be strolling on the Verdun esplanade shortly. The attack Driant had long anticipated opened with a ten-hour barrage on 21 February followed by an infantry assault on Bois des Caures. 

Driant's 1,200 Chasseurs fought valiantly there in the face of overwhelming odds until, during the afternoon of the 22nd, he found he was outflanked on both sides. Driant ordered his few remaining men to withdraw toward the Fortress line. It was during that retreat that Driant himself was killed at the southern edge of the wood. Since the men with him had been taken prisoner by the Germans, firm news of his death did not reach Paris until 3 April. Some time after that, Mme. Driant received a letter from Germany informing her that her husband had been honorably buried and that his grave would be carefully tended until peace returned. 

In holding their positions and fighting to the end Col. Emile Driant and his Chasseurs, outflanked and overwhelmed, sacrificed their lives in order to slow the progress of the enemy. He is proudly remembered by the people of Verdun who still commemorate the fighting in the Bois des Caures with a ceremony held on 21 February every year. Driant was the first hero of the Battle of Verdun.

French Re-enactors at Driant's Temporary Grave