Editing Battle of Verdun (section)

====22–24 May====
[[File:Verdun and vicinity, May 1916.png|thumb|upright=1.15|{{centre|Front line at Mort-Homme, May 1916}}]]
In May, General Nivelle, who had taken over the Second Army, ordered General [[Charles Mangin]], commander of the 5th Division to plan a counter-attack on Fort Douaumont. The initial plan was for an attack on a {{cvt|3|km|order=flip}} front but several minor German attacks captured the {{lang|fr|Fausse-Côte}} and {{lang|fr|Couleuvre}} ravines on the south-east and west sides of the fort. A further attack took the ridge south of the {{lang|fr|ravin de Couleuvre}}, which gave the Germans better routes for counter-attacks and observation over the French lines to the south and south-west. Mangin proposed a preliminary attack to retake the area of the ravines, to obstruct the routes by which a German counter-attack on the fort could be made. More divisions were necessary but these were refused to preserve the troops needed for the forthcoming offensive on the Somme; Mangin was limited to one division for the attack with one in reserve. Nivelle reduced the attack to an assault on Morchée Trench, Bonnet-d'Evèque, Fontaine Trench, Fort Douaumont, a machine-gun turret and Hongrois Trench, which would require an advance of {{cvt|500|m|yd|order=flip}} on a {{cvt|1150|m|yd|order=flip}} front.{{sfn|Holstein|2010|pp=76–78}}

[[File:Gervais-Courtellemont french anti-aircraft guns 1916 001.jpg|thumb|left|{{centre|French anti-aircraft guns mounted on vehicles during the Battle of Verdun, 1916. [[Autochrome]] colour photograph by [[Jules Gervais-Courtellemont]]}}]]
III Corps was to command the attack by the 5th Division and the 71st Brigade, with support from three balloon companies for artillery observation and a fighter group. The main effort was to be conducted by two battalions of the 129th Infantry Regiment, each with a pioneer company and a machine-gun company attached. The 2nd Battalion was to attack from the south and the 1st Battalion was to move along the west side of the fort to the north end, taking Fontaine Trench and linking with the 6th Company. Two battalions of the 74th Infantry Regiment were to advance along the east and south-east sides of the fort and take a machine-gun turret on a ridge to the east. Flank support was arranged with neighbouring regiments and diversions were planned near Fort Vaux and the {{lang|fr|ravin de Dame}}. Preparations for the attack included the digging of {{cvt|12|km|order=flip}} of trenches and the building of large numbers of depots and stores but little progress was made due to a shortage of pioneers. French troops captured on 13 May, disclosed the plan to the Germans, who responded by subjecting the area to more artillery harassing fire, which also slowed French preparations.{{sfn|Holstein|2010|p=78}}

The French preliminary bombardment by four {{nowrap|370 mm}} mortars and {{nowrap|300 heavy}} guns, began on 17 May and by 21 May, the French artillery commander claimed that the fort had been severely damaged. During the bombardment the German garrison in the fort experienced great strain, as French heavy shells smashed holes in the walls and concrete dust, exhaust fumes from an electricity generator and gas from disinterred corpses polluted the air. Water ran short but until 20 May, the fort remained operational, reports being passed back and reinforcements moving forward until the afternoon, when the Bourges Casemate was isolated and the wireless station in the north-western machine-gun turret burnt down.{{sfn|Guttman|2014|p=9}}

Conditions for the German infantry in the vicinity were far worse and by 18 May, the French destructive bombardment had obliterated many defensive positions, the survivors sheltering in shell-holes and dips of the ground. Communication with the rear was severed and food and water ran out by the time of the French attack on 22 May. The troops of Infantry Regiment 52 in front of Fort Douaumont had been reduced to {{nowrap|37 men}} near Thiaumont Farm and German counter-barrages inflicted similar losses on French troops. On 22 May, French [[Nieuport]] fighters attacked eight [[observation balloons]] and shot down six for the loss of one [[Nieuport 16]]; other French aircraft attacked the 5th Army headquarters at [[Stenay]].{{sfn|Guttman|2014|p=9}} German artillery fire increased and twenty minutes before zero hour, a German bombardment began, which reduced the 129th Infantry Regiment companies to about {{nowrap|45 men}} each.{{sfn|Holstein|2010|pp=79–82}}

[[File:Frech long gun battery overrun at Verdun (alternate view).jpg|thumb|{{centre|French artillery battery ([[De Bange 155 mm cannon|155 L]] or 120 L) overrun by German forces, possibly the 34 Infantry Division at Verdun}}]]
The assault began at {{nowrap|11:50 a. m.}} on 22 May on a {{cvt|1|km|order=flip}} front. On the left flank the 36th Infantry Regiment attack quickly captured Morchée Trench and Bonnet-d'Evèque but suffered many casualties and the regiment could advance no further. The flank guard on the right was pinned down, except for one company which disappeared and in {{lang|fr|Bois Caillette}}, a battalion of the 74th Infantry Regiment was unable to leave its trenches; the other battalion managed to reach its objectives at an ammunition depot, shelter ''DV1'' at the edge of {{lang|fr|Bois Caillette}} and the machine-gun turret east of the fort, where the battalion found its flanks unsupported.{{sfn|Holstein|2010|p=91}}

Despite German small-arms fire, the 129th Infantry Regiment reached the fort in a few minutes and managed to get in through the west and south sides. By nightfall, about half of the fort had been recaptured and next day, the 34th Division was sent to reinforce the French troops in the fort. The attempt to reinforce the fort failed and German reserves managed to cut off the French troops inside and force them to surrender, {{nowrap|1,000 French}} prisoners being taken. After three days, the French had suffered {{nowrap|5,640 casualties}} from the {{nowrap|12,000 men}} in the attack and the Germans suffered {{nowrap|4,500 casualties}} in Infantry Regiment 52, Grenadier Regiment 12 and Leib-Grenadier Regiment 8 of the 5th Division.{{sfn|Holstein|2010|p=91}}