Fort de Vacherauville
Fort de Vacherauville was the last fort constructed before the First World War, with construction beginning as late as 1910 and lasting until the outbreak in 1914 without ever having been fully completed. Originally the site of an old artillery battery, Vacherauville was intended to be a truly modern fort. Sitting at an elevation of roughly 260 meters, it overlooks the village of Charny and saw considerable action both at the start of the war as well as in 1916 during the battle. From the start of the battle the German artillery was intent on silencing the guns of the fort and repeadetly tried disabling them with heavy shellfire as well as gas, however they were never fully able to destroy them. A number of shells landed close to a main gallery knocking them out, and an additional tunnel system was added later on as was the case with all the forts around Verdun. During the Second World War all remaining equiptment was subsequently removed, and as of today the site has been purchased by a nature convervatory and is home to a large population of bats.