Books

The primary source I have chosen is a book written by André Pézard, published in 1918 and entitled Nous autres à Vauquois, which could be translated as “We, soldiers at Vauquois”. Vauquois is sadly famous for the battle named after the mine riven hill of Vauquois in which around 14,000 soldiers died. French and German forces dug tunnels and mines exploded beneath respective positions. French and German engineers and sappers were constantly at work under the town of Vauquois. The author, André Pézard, explains in his book how he and other fellow soldiers lived and tried to survive.

André Pézard was an infantry second lieutenant during the Great War. He fought for 18 hard months in the Hill of Vauquois against the Germans. This book is a testimony of the horrible circumstances in which courageous men fought to defend France. The author lost two third of his men in this awful battle. His story is simple but really emotional, it is often compared to the book Ceux de Verdun written by Maurice Genevoix. The Butte de Vauquois is a small hill, 290 meters high, which dominates the valley. It was a strategy point because it allowed good observation in every direction, particularly Les Islettes pass, leading to Verdun and consequently both German and French Armies were anxious to hold it. Pézard describes the grenades shots, the land plowed by bombs and shells, and dried out by the flamers. At first, German and French forces held trenches either side of the village of Vauquois, from October 1914-October 1915. But the worst came with the mine war, 17 km (10.5 miles) of underground galleries, and 519 underground explosions. In fact, gradually the two sides decided to abandon hand to hand fighting from the trenches and resorted to digging and setting off explosive mines underneath the hill. May 14th, 1916 was the worst day and Pézard would never forget it. Sixty tons of explosives created a 30-meter-deep crater (98.5 ft.), it is wider than the Versailles’s courtyard. Mines finally split the hill in two.

I have chosen this book because it is a first-hand testimony of someone who lived through this conflict. Moreover, the author is really talented, and his descriptions of the battle are really accurate and vivid. We must be grateful to him for fighting for us and for sharing his story.