Fort Marre

 

LOCATION:

  49°11'38.72"N -  5°18'49.91"E

FIND ME:

Click to view this location in Google Earth...

BUILT: 1875 - 1877.
MODIFIED: 1885, 1890, 1908, 1910, 1914.
ACCESS:

Prohibited - access is not difficult once you climb down into the moat. A rope would be wise though as it is steep and slippery.

GARRISON:

220 men.

ARMAMENTS:

1 x twin 75mm turret.

NOTES:

Much of this fort is inaccessible due to the intense shelling it suffered. It is imperative that extreme caution is exercised if entering the interior as ceilings are unstable and the concrete floor has been undermined in many areas.

 

 

Fort Marre was one of the earliest forts built immediately after the initial six "Forts de la Panique" - literally the Panic Forts - which had been built in great haste in 1874 when diplomatic relations between Germany and France again deteriorated to the point where it was expected that another war was imminent. As it turned out the diplomatic crisis evaporated but tension between the two neighbours simmered, and the French, still reeling from their defeat in the recent Franco-Prussian war, continued to build, anticipating another attack along much the same route sooner not later.

As with all the forts around Verdun careful planning ensured the best possible location for Fort Marre on high ground shielding both Verdun itself and the road to Paris along which the Germans had pressed so hard to reach the capital only a few years before.

The initial design of the fort was quite different to that of the fort which eventually faced the new onslaught during the Battle of Verdun in 1916, a plan of which is shown -  RIGHT  - (with thanks to Cedric and Julie Vaubourg).

Initially the fort had been armed with reinforced exterior emplacements for the deployment of none permanent artillery, and there was very little in the way of reinforcement against plunging enemy artillery over the fort itself. Then with the crisis precipitated by the German invention of a far more deadly explosive together with the emergence of bigger and better ordnance designed and implemented by the mighty Krup works, an urgent need was identified for better shell proofing. Stressed concrete was poured in certain areas of vulnerability and then a special, highly reinforced, and armoured concrete was developed to encase the barracks blocks within the fort. Numerous other improvements were made including the provision of electric lighting and ventilation but the biggest addition to the fighting capability of the fort was the addition of a twin 75mm fast firing retractable, armoured gun turret, together with an armoured observation cupola from which command and control of the turret could be implemented. Thus equipped Fort Marre entered the Great War in 1914. After the horrendous fighting of 1916 all the Verdun forts underwent a series of modifications in the form of the so called Traveux 17. A series of deep concrete lined tunnels were constructed to connect all fighting compartments within the fort, and to provide an exit from the fort in the case of a need for final abandonment in the face of overwhelming enemy forces.

The fort today is very heavily damaged and the devastating effects on the structure of the heavy German artillery pieces such as their 420 mm howitzers, can be clearly seen. parts of the fort facing the German advance were so pulverised that it is hard to find a way through the rubble and the top of the fort is now massively overgrown effectively barring this route as an alternative. We were unable to find a route to see the twin 75mm turret, which is a great shame as this turret is one of the few that did not survive the German artillery and was actually destroyed. Given the heavy armour of these turrets this is a real rarity around Verdun and so it would have been well worth a look.

Penetration of the subterranean areas is possible and it is relatively easy to get a good idea of the layout, though things do get rather confused towards the front of the fort. The interior is very badly damaged and the floor is undermined in many areas leaving only thin layers of aged and rather crumbly concrete over deep pits. Together with the weak ceilings post bombardment, it does not fill one with much confidence!

 


Here are some photographs taken at Fort Marre in May 2011.

 
 

 

To view any of the photographs in a larger format just click the small
photograph of your choice and a larger version will open in a secondary window.

 

 

As we arrive at the fort entrance having fought through the forest we are greeted by an iron barred gate...
 
We climbed the bank and soon worked our way around to the back side of the entrance tunnel.
 
A slippery descent into the moat and we were soon up against the gorge caponier wall.
 

Is it a bird? is it a plane? No, it's TJ at speed!

 

Once through the gorge wall we could proceed through the caponier corridors.
 
Behind us now is a gorge caponier fighting compartment with a firing slit in the wall.
 
A flight of steps leads up from the gorge caponier to a corridor immediately behind the entrance drawbridge...

 
...and the tunnel leads into an open courtyard immediately behind the front of the fort.

 
The fortified barrack block sits under heavy concrete but is slightly raised above ground level. It requires a flight of steps to reach the doorways.
 

Obvious signs of damage from the heavy German artillery bombardments.
 

The fort had it's own well.

 
Looking down the well.

 
Inside one of the spartan barrack block rooms.

 

A flight of stairs leads out of the barrack block down into an open area within the centre of the fort.
 

The way out.

 

This is probably a Travaux 17 tunnel leading to a fighting compartment but now blocked by a roof fall.
 

One of many long corridors leading forward towards areas at the front of the fort.
 
Light at the end of the tunnel.

 
Within one of the ditch caponier fighting compartments.
 
Outside now, having climbed out of a caponier into the ditch.
 
Proceeding around the ditch.
 
A partial land slide has almost covered this caponier.

 
Purpose unknown other than to let light in!

 

Time to go. We are heading back through to the rear of the fort again.
 

 
Click above to navigate back to the

Verdun forts main page once more...

  Click above to navigate to Cedric & Julie Vaubourg's

excellent and informative site on the forts of France...