The Last Days of Fort Vaux, March 9-June 7, 1916

Henry BordeauxProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.8

Word count: 301K words
Chapters: 31

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Last Days of Fort Vaux, March 9-June 7, 1916 by Henry BordeauxAuthor: Bordeaux, Henry, 1870-1963,Language: English, Class: D501: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere: World War I (1914-1918), Release Date: Mar 19, 2015

Editor's review

This book focuses on the Battle of Verdun in World War I, centering on Fort Vaux within the Verdun fortress system, with its timeframe concentrated between March and June 1916—the critical period before and after the fort's fall. Henry Bordeaux experienced or closely observed this period, and his narrative carries a vivid sense of immediacy and emotional engagement, presenting both the tension and ferocity of defensive combat and the perseverance and sacrifice of the garrison under extreme conditions. As a work of reportage, its value lies in supplementing battle details from a participant's perspective, helping readers understand the place of fortress warfare within the Battle of Verdun and the psychological impact of war on ordinary soldiers. It is best read alongside general World War I background and materials on the Battle of Verdun; note that the author's writing carries the emotional coloring of its era and is better treated as a historical source than as neutral military history analysis. Suitable for military history readers and those interested in humanistic records of World War I.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the military history of World War I
Readers studying the Battle of Verdun and fortress warfare
Those who enjoy war reportage from a participant's perspective
Readers concerned with the psychological impact of war on soldiers

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking systematic military history analysis and strategic summaries
Readers sensitive to detailed and harrowing descriptions of war
Casual readers who prefer fiction and light subjects

Reading tips

First learn the basic background of the Battle of Verdun and Fort Vaux before entering the main text.
Consult maps and timelines while reading to clarify the shifts between phases of attack and defense.
Read alongside other World War I military histories to distinguish emotional narrative from historical fact.
Allow time to digest after each chapter to avoid emotional strain from continuous reading.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a systematic military history of the Battle of Verdun?

Not entirely. It focuses on the final phase of Fort Vaux from March to June 1916, with a participant's perspective and emotional coloring. It is better read as a record of battle details and human experience rather than comprehensive strategic analysis.

What historical background knowledge is needed before reading?

It is advisable to first understand the basic course of World War I, the strategic significance of the Battle of Verdun, and the general form of fortress defensive warfare. With this background, the book's account of the garrison's situation and the details of attack and defense will be easier to understand.

Is the author's narrative stance neutral and objective?

The work carries clear period emotions and personal stance, with the narrative imbued with respect for the garrison and feelings about war. It should be read as an emotionally engaged documentary text and judged in comparison with other military history materials.

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About the author

Henry Bordeaux Author · French · 1870–1963

Henry Bordeaux (1870–1963) was a French writer and lawyer, born in Thonon-les-Bains and died in Paris. He came from a Savoyard legal family, and his works reflect the values of traditional provincial Catholic communities, with "loyalty"—a theme running through family, country, and God—as a central concern. His representative works include La Maison, Les Roquevillard, and La Peur de vivre, as well as Georges Guynemer: Knight of the Air, about the World War I air hero, and The Last Days of Fort Vaux, March 9–June 7, 1916, on the final days of Fort Vaux at Verdun. These works tend to focus on family ethics, religious faith, and wartime responsibility, with a style marked by moral concern and realistic narrative. In 1919 he was elected to the Académie française, giving him a recognized place in French literary life.