Verdun Tours - Argonne Forest and Vauquois Hill

The Argonne Forest and Vauquois Hill

The Argonne Forest was the scene of many battles during the war.

In 1914 the German attempt to push down from the north and cut the main Paris-Verdun road and railway was stopped by the French in the Argonne Forest and both sides dug in.

When each side failed to dislodge the other, they resorted to mine warfare.

As time went by, a complex system of trenches, blockhouses, tunnels and railways developed, much of which remains today.

In September 1918, American soldiers cleared the Argonne forest with heavy casualties, many of whom lie in the beautiful American cemetery at Romagne.

With a one-day tour we can show you a selection of the main French, German and American sites in the Argonne Forest, such as the French and German front lines, a "village" of blockhouses, "the Crown Prince's bunkers", the American cemetery and the excellent museum at Romagne, the American monument and ruined village at Montfaucon.


One of the Crown Prince’s Bunkers	Ruined abbey at Montfaucon	Meuse-Argonne Memorial at Montfaucon

Vauquois Hill

Captured by the Germans in September 1914 for use as an observatory, Vauquois Hill was the scene of many unsuccessful French attempts at recapture. With the front lines only 70 metres apart, each side resorted to mining to blow the other side off the top of the hill. The old village was blasted away and the hilltop is now a wilderness of mine craters.

The extensive tunnel systems inside the Hill are open to the public and can be visited by prior arrangement.


French tunnel in Vauquois Hill	German front line trench on Vauquois Hill

If you have two days or more, we could also visit some other unusual or off-road sites known to the troops on both sides such as the Lost Battalion's positions near Charlevaux Mill, the ruined French camp at La Harazee, Apremont German cemetery in the old front lines, the vanished Garibaldi cemetery and various American State memorials.


Lost Battalion site	Original German cemetery monument

”…The first obstacle was the country itself. The forest is 12 miles of jungle growth, rocky slopes, cliffs, ravines, innumerable brooks, its terrain shell holed like the moon; and all at right angles to the American line of attack.

Through this wilderness spread three main barriers of the Hindenburg line; and behind these extensive fortifications the German garrison was organised and waiting…”

From “Doughboys: The Story of the American Expeditionary Forces 1917-1918” by Laurence Stallings. Copyright Smithmark Pub 1995.