Vauquois Travel Guide

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The tunnel system created by both sides was extensive. There was room up here for some 2,000 soldiers – 800 French with 150 engineers and 1,200 Germans with 320 pioneers. There is almost 5 kilometers of tunnels with 184 large rooms, three observation posts, four blockhouses which can be visited the first Sunday of the month on one of the guided tours.

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Trenches faced off each other across from the mine craters. The French ones are not as well-preserved as the German. When the US 35th Division captured the Vauquois on 26 September 1918 they did so by first retreating out of their trenches – the same ones held formerly by French soldiers – and then inundating the top of the hill with artillery fire and gas shells. They then attacked around the sides of the hill mopping up the top of the hill later in the day.

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A walking route takes you up from the parking lot past some 20+ marked sites of interest. The first thing you notice will be the gigantic craters that engulfed the former village and totally transformed the top of the butte into something that looks more like a quarry. The first enormous crater you come to was blown on 14 May 1916 by the Germans killing 108 French soldiers.

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By the parking lot near the top of the butte is a small museum which is full of old weapons, photos, trench and tunnel maps as well as explanations for the many actions that took place up here. The museum is not always open, but it would be on the first Sundays of the month when tours of the tunnels deep within the butte are given.