Evening star., 1916-05-13
CITADEL Of VERDUN
WTRSTANDSE ENEMY
Shells Strike Famous StruC-
ture, But Building Appears
Undamaged.
LIFE OF SOLDIERS
THERE is DESCRIBED
In Midst of Terrific Battles French
Appear to Be Lghthearted
and Happy.
BY HERBERT COREY.

BY HERBERT COREY.
VERDUN, May 3-Outside the citadel
today the sun was shining and oirds were
singing and shells were falling at nor
rifying rate. Through the open doors we
heard an almost continuous din as they
burst in verdun's houses or on the cob
b,es of Verdun's streets Inside the
citadel we were gratefully conscious OF
complete security. The German has not
yet made the shell that can even jar th's
massive refuge Even the forty-two-
centimeters are as harmless as peasnoot-
crs against It's wallis of earth and stone
Have the big shells struck the cita-
del?' asked.
..Often,'' was the reply. we have
found the places, but We have never felt
the blow"
Sort of Gibraltar.
The citadel appears to be sort OF IN
land Gibraltar. A reference to 1t appears
in almost every newspaper story OF tne
bombarded town. but even In Paris le"
know precisely what 1t is. From the day
that it was built it has been inaccessible
to visitors. No doubt the German spies
managed to work their way IN. lhey
seem to have worked their way IN al
world only knew of it as the strongest
place in the fortified town Of verdun.
That was before this war had given 10
the military phrase books the present
definition of q fortress:
"A fortress is the weak place in a
strong line"
stone, 100 meters high. That hill has
been pierced by many galleries, in pre-
cisely the fashion that Great Britain
has fortified the hill of Gibraltar. The
entrances are all upon the level Of the
street Ten yards inside the light OF
day is replaced by that of electric
globes. One mounts from level to level
ramps. At intervals cross galleries in
tersect the entry ways. They are
arched like those Of the New York sub
way and finished inside with rough
brick. There are two miles of these
galleries. At pinch they can shelter
40. 900 persons Verdun's population is
$4,000.
Made Fit for the Task.
One might think that Vauban. the
great military engineer of France. fore
saw the powerful engines of artillery
of today when he constructed these
refugees 1t Is true that they were
finally finished in 1897, after the war
of 1870 had taught France the need OF
powerful defenses against her thrust
ing neighbor. They were enlarged
then and modernized. and made fit for
their task OF today. But they were the
inspiration of Vauban. 1t is a comfort
now to recall what some one wrote OF
the hero Of fifty three sieges:
"A fortified town besieged by Nau,
ban is a town taken: town defended
by him is a town held"
1 do not know how many meters OF
solid stone lie between the ceiling OF
the topmost gallery, and the sky. On
top of the stone is an earth cushion
from the shocking power of the larges'
shells A series % boiler rooms fur
nish the power needed for the various
activities that go on within this fort
ress. Fresh air is furnished to the
most remote galleries by a system OF
forced draught All are well lighted
electrically. When the citadel was re-
built new ovens were put in. which
daily There are hospitals and dor
mitories for the men and entertain
ment halls.
Officers Quarters.
These are the officers quarters
said my guide.
Rough board partitions. eight feet in
height formed small cubicies in one OF
the arched galleries. Each officer had
room seven feet square. Half way
down the long hall was room just
twice the length of the others. My
guide lifted the blanket which served
as the door and I peered inside. There
was camp bed. a desk two or three
chairs and an army trunk In which the
occupant might store his personal be-
longings. All was clean and neat. but
there was no hint OF luxury.
This, said he, lis the room of the
general who commands in the city OF
Verdun.'
We took lunch in the kitchen with the
general and his staff. Twenty feet
away cooks busted themselves about
the stoves. The staff table was set
crosswise of the hall, while the other
tables at which the lesser officers sat
followed It's length. At one point in
the roof was on opening down which
appeared a faint CLEAN that told of
daylight far above. Some one pointed
to it with a laugh. 1t seemed that it
had been responsible for moments
commotion one day. To fully compre-
hend what had happened one must un-
derstand the absolute safety one feels
inside the citadel Outside death may
fall from the sky at any moment and
in any place. Here one breathes freely
Hit Top of Airshaft.
THE Germans hit the top of the air