Battle of Saint-Mihiel - Background: Saint-Mihiel Salient

Background: Saint-Mihiel Salient

Saint-Mihiel is a town in the Meuse department in north-eastern France. Since the end of the 1870 Franco-Prussian War the town was no longer considered important strategically and military installations were not developed. This changed early in World War I with the town inside the battlefront.

In 1914 the German command wished to take the Verdun fortifications which formed a strong point in the French lines. A first attempt, at Bois-le-Pretre (Priesterwald in German), failed despite violent fighting. During two more attempts (Battle of Flirey) German troops took Saint-Mihiel and the fort at Camp des Romains, but they were ultimately stopped at the Fort de Troyon to the South of Verdun.

During the course of the war the battlefront did not change much in this area. Saint-Mihiel formed a salient inside the French lines, blocking communications between Nancy and Verdun. The area near St. Mihiel would know much fighting:

• The Crête des Éparges (Les Éparges crest): February–April 1915.
• The Bois d'Ailly (Ailly Wood) and the Tranchée de la Soif (Trench of Thirst): isolated behind German lines, Commander André's men fight three days without food or water before surrender in May 1915.
• Bois Brûlé (The Burned Forest): many casualties when German conquer a redoubt on December 1914. It's here that the sub-officer Jacques Péricard pronounced the famous words: "Debout les morts!" (Dead men, arise!) on 8 April 1915.
• The forêt d'Apremont (Apremont forest), the Tête à vache (Cow's head) trenches, Calonne trenches…

But despite French attacks the German forces were able to retain this strategic location until the last months of the war.