Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

Troyon Fort, also briefly known as Essling Fort, was built between 1878 and 1879 as part of the Séré de Rivières defensive system, designed to protect the eastern borders after the defeat of 1870. Situated at 264 metres above sea level on Troyon and Lacroix-sur-Meuse (Meuse), it was part of the Verdun defences. In 1887, Minister Boulanger renamed Essling fort in tribute to Marshal Masséna, but that name was repealed in the same year, although kept on his pediment. This first-generation fort, designed for 751 men and 42 cannons, has architectural similarities with that of Genicourt, but is distinguished by details such as its indirect firing casemates or its Devèze-type drawbridge, rare for the period.

During World War I, Troyon Fort played a strategic role in the fighting of September 1914. Bombed by German artillery (305-320 mm shell) from 8 September, he resisted for six days under the command of Captain Heym (166th RI), preventing the encirclement of Verdun. On 9 September, German Major Neuhoff ordered the defenders to surrender, but Heym refused, triggering an intensification of the bombings. The resistance of the fort, which ceased on 13 September, was crucial for the French victory at the Marne, avoiding a German breakthrough towards Verdun. In 1918, he served as a rear hospital for American troops releasing Saint-Mihiel.

Ranked a historic monument in 1994, Troyon Fort is today a place of memory open to the public. An obelisk erected in 1916 paid tribute to the 450 soldiers who stood up to an enemy division of 10,000 men. Its architecture, typical of the forts Séré de Rivières, includes caponnières, ravelin and powder shops, while elements such as the pediment cartridge or the counterweights of the drawbridge have been restored by associations. The site illustrates the military ingenuity of the Third Republic and the heroism of the 1914 soldiers.

External links