Fort de Souville

Ruined fort marking the furthest point of the German advance

Fort de Souville sits on a wooded ridge between Verdun and Fort de Vaux. It is the least-restored of the major forts — barely more than a ruin, with collapsed concrete galleries and overgrown emplacements — and for that reason gives the most authentic sense of what the battlefield looked like in the years after the war.

There is no formal visitor centre; a parking area on the road below and a marked path leads up. It's a fifteen-minute walk through forest scarred by shell craters and is well worth combining with a Fort de Vaux visit for those wanting more than the headline sites.

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A story
Fort de Souville marks the closest point of the German advance — the Bavarian Alpine Corps got within 100 metres of its walls on 12 July 1916 before the assault collapsed. The fort itself was never captured. It was here that General Nivelle issued his famous order 'Ils ne passeront pas' — they shall not pass.