The Washington times., 1916-12-03
Facts Regarding Grewsome
Tragedy In Fort Douamont
lust Learned by French.
VICTIMS WERE NOT BURIED
Troops Were Unable to Dig
Graves and Simply Piled
!, o. Bodies In Tunnel.

WITH THE FRENCH ARMIES AT
yERDUN, Nov. 10.--tBy mail) THAT
about 1900 German soldiers and off
eers were killed In terrific explosion
thst occurred In Fort Douamount on
nay II, was today established by the
,eonpetent authorities OF the French
armies.
v AZ the time the explosion took
'Disoe! Fort Douamount, was being kept
'Shder . night and day lombard.
meat BY the French OF such an unre-
uenting and unremitting nature that Il
i.s prsIii hs s. for man
4 This bombardment was kept up un-
Seeasingl~ for weeks, and as II was
Subsequently impossible FOR the few
men left alive within the fort as well
take the place OF the 800 killed to
garry the bodies out OF the fort and
Ppy them. another sxpedient had to
b'.vhs 1900 cadavers were therefore
carried into one OF tho subterranean
galleries Of the fort where they piled
w, one above the other along tho walls
from the floor to the ceiling and al
.tont interruptions in the lombard.
lnent during the succeeding weeks AZ
lowed them to be taken out q few at
"A Zine and buried. &c.
-s54S" Only yust Verified.
!, while the French have been In pos.
session OF many OF the details OF this
terrific explosion almost from the day
u occurred. II IL only since the re-
ronquest OF the fort, on october 10,
that they have been able to verify all
or the details In such a manner as to
leave not the slightest doubt as to
tss n, ,Sa killed d. The ss, minimum fis
pishsd are 1900, while other figures
,ssa ether evidence increase this even
lUp TO tn present time there is only
.is tho original cause OF the explosion.
Whatever that may have been, how
ever, u 10 known that IL was communal.
Gated TO the huge magazine OF explo-
msns had concentrated in the fort
with the most appalling effects.
Shock KILLED Many.
Tho REINFORCED concrete walls OF
the fort, some OF them several yards
thick and with practically no air
vents for escapes, retained all OF the
eoncussion OF the explosion TO such
an extent that hundreds OF the garri-
scn were killed by the mere shock
alone.
Those who survived quickly died
of tho fumes and gases let loose by
had no outlet from the long. narrow,
walledin. galleries.
ro Tol sS Il. occupation Q. the the
s :s tunnel up TO the fort from
passing entirely under the fort and
then on down toward. Verdun.
% Made Eatrssee Possible.
o.. 1t served 20 enable the Germans TO
bring up troops from the rear. pass
them under the fort and on down to
the front line trenches toward Yer
Dup without subJectIng them TO the
unintermittent shellnre OF the French,
which would have allowed very few
ever TO reach the front alive.
. IL 80 TITO this gallery and tunnel
that the 1900 eadavers were carried
and ST.. Ell away for weeks until the
opportunity could be found 20 get
them out OF the fort under cover and
German prisoners taken even as
late as the reconauest OF the fort on
October 20 still recount to the French
officers their hoNors when. on being
sent up to the front line trenches at
yerdun. they passed through this long
tunnel and gallery under Fort DouR-
mount, where each side from the floor
to the ceiling was walled up with hui
us@a eeuoN'is hht ~ many sahupubr.
Altered Their Methods.
The explosion, with its frightful
toll OF human life. appears to have
he'd a very marked effect on the Ger
mans and to have altered consider.
ably their methods OF handling the
garrison within the fort
Printed orders have been found
showing that the Germans immedi-
ately reduced the size OF their gsrri-
son In the fort so as to prevent any
such possible toll OF life in the future.
Instructions were also given that In
case OF explosions within the fort,
the entire garrison was t. get out as
quickly as possible.
on October "a, the day preceding
the French infantry attack, the
French artillery succeeded In placing
a 400 millimeter high explosive shell
square In the fort.
This produced an enormous eNplo-
.sion with a great outburst OF names
from three sides OF the fort. A good.
ly portion OF the garrison appears to
have, obeyed INSTRUCTIONS and to have
rotten out Immediately, so that when
the French infantry finally burst into
the fort there was considerably less
Vf hand-to hand hghting than would
Otherwise have been the case.