Bordeaux

Bordeaux, Henry and Cohn, Paul V (Translator)Biblio.com

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

1916rif. 91552Paris: Thomas Nelson and Sons c1916. This is Volume LVIII of Nelson's Continental Library presumed first printing thus. Wraps. Good/Good. xviii--255 1 pages. Footnotes. The illustrated dust jacket is in a plastic sleeve and has some wear and soiling. The dust jacket states that is book must not be taken into Great Britain the Colonies or U.S.A. Henry Bordeaux 25 January 1870 29 March 1963 was a French writer and lawyer. The writings of Bordeaux reflect the values of traditional provincial communities. One theme is loyalty. Loyalty is pervasive and it applies to family country and God. Bordeaux was elected to the Académie française on 22 May 1919. This elite group of writers popularly known as the "immortals" are responsible for maintaining the grammar usage and acceptance of vocabulary into standard French. An unforgettable account of one of the most extraordinary sieges in modern warfare this book tells the story of Fort Vaux and its garrison during the Battle of Verdun. In 1916 German forces launched an all-out offensive on the French stronghold of Verdun. Fort Vaux a key defensive position was one of their main targets. After fierce fighting the Germans captured the fort but in one of the most daring episodes of the war the French garrison retook it. The author a French officer tells the story with vividly sharp insight. Based on official reports interviews and personal observations this book provides a unique view of the horrors and heroics of trench warfare. It explores the larger themes of courage sacrifice and the human cost of war demonstrating the indomitable spirit of those who fought and died at Verdun. This testament to the bravery of the soldiers on both sides is a valuable addition to the literature of WWI. The Author of The Last Days of Fort Vaux M. Henry Bordeaux has distinguished himself performing his duty manfully in the field and then as official historian of the Great War. M. Bordeaux has probably more readers in this country than any other French novelist of the day. He duly performed his military service. Then he attracted attention by a series of admirable critical essays speedily republished in a book and by an historical romance. From the publication of his novel Le Pays Natal in 1900 to the outbreak of war he has divided his life between Paris and Savoy devoting himself entirely to writing. Besides novels M. Bordeaux has worked as a dramatic critic and one of the most sensitive and discerning judges of literature in the leading French reviews. Being an impassioned lover of his own beautiful country of Savoy he is one of the many modern novelists who have identified themselves with a particular region and invested their books with local color. At the same time he is a brilliant chronicler of Parisian life. M. Bordeaux belongs to the school of writers who have raised the tone of French fiction. Says one of his countrymen Henry Bordeaux has the soul of a poet a thinker and a soldier a soul ardently in love with beautiful rhythms and with noble efforts a soul firm as a rock and luxuriant as the valleys of its birthplace. His writings are of peculiar interest at the present moment when France in her glorious struggle against a brutal invader is showing the world how sorely her enemies and even some of her friends had misjudged her. In August 1914 as a captain in the reserves M. Bordeaux at once left for the front in command of a company of territorial infantry and in due course took part in the desperate fighting of which this book is a record. In the Battle of Verdun which broke the back of the German invasion and completed the work that the victories of the Marne and the Yser had begun two out of the thirty forts which defended the fortress were lost: Fort Douaumont on the evening of February 25 1916 and Fort Vaux on the morning of June 7. On October 24 however Fort Douaumont was regained by the French troops acting with irresistible dash; and on November 2 All Saints Day the enemy was compelled to abandon Fort Vaux. Thus by the recapture of these two forts the Battle of Verdun was turned into a victory. The present work deals with the admirable defense of Fort Vaux from March 9 to June 7 1916. This defense gave the world an opportunity of gauging the stamina of the French soldier and his powers of resistance. Yet it must not lead us to forget that a little later our troops re-entered the fort as victors. M. Henry Bordeaux was peculiarly entitled to write The Last Days of Fort Vaux. He followed the Battle of Verdun as a captain on the Staff and was mentioned in dispatches in the following terms: An officer who under all circumstances has displayed the highest military qualities. He volunteered on March 9 1916 to perform in our first line an exceptionally dangerous mission and carried it out under a furious bombardment. M. Bordeaux afterwards went on the staff of General Nivelle now commander-in-chief of the French armies. On September 23 1916 he was decorated with the Legion of Honour and the War Cross. He has also filled a post in the Press section of the great General Staff and was in February 1917 attached to the Historical Archives department of the French War Office. In The Last Days of Fort Vaux we thus enjoy the advantage of reading the account of one who is a master both in the art of letters and in the technicalities of war. The successive phases of the heroic defense are presented with a carefulness of detail that must satisfy the military expert and a dramatic force that must impress the general reader. The book is a worthy chronicle of a great episode in the greatest epic of modern days. Thomas Nelson and Sons paperback

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