Fort Sartelles

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.

 LEFT ABOVE  - a massive Krupps 420mm siege gun.  RIGHT  - TJ stands by a 420mm shell to give you an idea of how big these rounds were.

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  LEFT  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 variant of this gun shown in our photograph  RIGHT  has no wheels or axle for horse drawn transportation like 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.

On the  LEFT  is a "floor plan" of Fort Sartelles, shown here by kind permission of Cedric and Julie Vaubourg. I would strongly recommend a visit to their excellent site where comprehensive information and masses of superb photographs document this and all the other Verdun forts, AND many other fortifications throughout the whole of France. The sheer amount of work they have done absolutely beggars belief and they must input practically every minute of their spare time into documenting the French fortresses. It is therefore a "must see" site and there is a picture link to it here  ABOVE RIGHT .

May 2012 and we have just rocked up at Fort Sartelles.   As we descend the moat ramp we can see the gorge caponniere and above it to the left a Bourges Casemate.   The gorge caponniere protects the front of the moat and the drawbridge across to the main entrance door.   The main entrance.   A firing point for an infantry soldier and his rifle.   Inside the fort behind the main entrance doors.   The steel doors have been riddled with bullets!   Down at the gorge caponniere now, the red painted line denotes this area is safe whilst under bombardment.   Inside the caponniere's domed fighting gallery.   An observation port, a firing port and a grenade chute.   This port was probably for a revolver canon or possibly a machinegun.   Another grenade shoot.   This fort is still in use so these latrines stank to high heaven!!!   Light at the end of the corridor - literally! Beyond this corridor is the Rue du rempart, the access to topside for the defending infantry.   TJ topsides!   Looking back towards the road from on the glacis of the fort, to the right is the Bourges Casemate.   And it's time to go back underground again.   TJ is on her way back into the bombardment proof part of the fort again.   On the way down to a machine gun turret.   The counterweight mechanism on the turret allows it to be wound down when under intense artillery bombardment.   The fighting compartment can be seen here beyond the trap door. The machine gun mounts can also be clearly seen.   Descending beneath the moat now on the way out to one of the counterscarpe galleries which protected the moat.   Reflected sun light from the dense undergrowth outside lights the single counterscarpe gallery in a delicate shade of green.   The centre port was probably for a revolver canon and the two either side will have been for infantry riflemen.   Although it looks like you could just step into the gallery through this opening there is actually a deep secondary moat directly beneath the embrasure.   The precarious remnants of a Travaux 17 tunnel.   At the opposite side of the front of the fort this gate opens into the access tunnel down under the moat to the double counterscarpe gallery.   This counterscarpe gallery had a doorway to allow the garrison infantry to access the moat. The armoured door is long gone and the fence barring entry has been "doctored"!   Looking back from down in the bottom of the moat at the double counterscarpe gallery.   The field of fire from the gallery.   Almost back around at the fort's main entrance again now, the double gorge caponniere can be clearly seen to dominate this approach.   And we're done! It's time to trot off back to that black Volvo up on the road and reflect upon our morning!   Click above to navigate back to the Verdun forts main page once more...