<p><blockquote><br />
We journey farther afield, and the famous fort of Douaumont is pointed out. The storming of Fort Douaumont, gunless and unmanned, was a military operation of little value. A number of the Brandenburgers climbed into the gunless fort, and some of them were still there on March 6th, supplied precariously with food by their comrades at night.
<p>They were practically surrounded by the French, whose Headquarters Staff regarded the whole incident as a simple episode in the give-and-take of war. The announcement of the fall of Fort Douaumont to the world evinces the great anxiety of the Germans to magnify anything concerning Verdun into a great event. It should also cause people to apply a grain of salt to German official communiques before swallowing them. <br />
<p>(In actuality, ten german soldiers climbed into one of the most modern French fortresses, and <a href="http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Base/3495/FVerdun15a.html">captured</a> it. Even though the fort was under fire, most of the garrison was in the lecture room. It was estimated that the French lost 100,000 men trying to retake the fort.)</p>