In this stand-alone episode we have an interview with Christopher Huang, who is the author of the recently-released detective novel “A Gentleman’s Murder.” This is a slight departure from the BFWWP’s usual lineup, but I thought it would be good to support a young author writing a story in which the Great War has a strong presence.
“A Gentleman’s Murder” was a fun read. The main character of the story, Leftenant Eric Peterkin, is a veteran of the trenches in Flanders and France as are nearly every other member of the gentleman’s club to which he belongs. Peterkin takes it upon himself to solve an unprecedented murder in the club when he suspects the case is not exactly going to be solved by the police.
Christopher Huang grew up in Singapore and moved to Canada when he was 17 years old. He returned to Singapore the following year for two years of military service, before going to McGill University in Montreal to study Architecture. He currently lives in Montreal, and these days he is pursuing the dream of writing full-time. Mr. Huang is a longtime fan of the “golden age” of detective fiction, and in that spirit he writes his debut novel in the hopes that readers will figure out on their own who the killer is.
“A Gentleman’s Murder” is available through the Inkshares site, local booksellers, and Amazon. Links to the book will be provided in the episode description, as well on the website post and social media. Check out the book, and support an up and coming author. Hope you enjoy!
Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com or the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.
The summit of the Butte de Vauquois on a somber and wet February day in 2016.
The photos in this post are from February of 2016, when my stepson Lee and I took a week to be in France for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Verdun. On a rainy and misty weekend day, we took a tour of the Meuse-Argonne region to visit some of the more salient points of interest. One of them was the Butte de Vauquois.
The road up to the Butte de Vauquois.
A kiosk in the parking lot offers a history of the long struggle for the hill.
These kiosks typically offer text in French, German, and English.
At the time I didn’t know too much about Vauquois, only that mine warfare had dominated this sector of the front and that this hill was a hinge on the Verdun salient’s western side. I had seen photos on the Web, of course, and knew the barest details of the wartime history of the hill. I knew there would be some mine craters.
When you get close you see the hill is now wooded, and even in winter this obscures the true state of the butte today. Coming up the road to the hilltop battlefield, you are coming in from the rear of the French lines. The parking lot is on the western end of the hill, and here there are numerous artifacts related to the struggle for Vauquois Hill displayed at the edges of the lot. There is a visitor center that appears to be a former dugout, and it’s a great little place full of weapons, tools, and other artifacts used in the Vauquois sector and beyond.
At the upper edge of the lot are steps that lead up to the summit of the hill, and it’s a good walk to get up there.
The first thing you will see as you clear the trees is a massive mine crater. It’s like a giant dug his hand into the hill and tore out a huge chunk of it. It’s a hole big enough to fit a house in–literally, and I mean “literally” in the real sense of the word. This is the result of the May 14, 1916 mine set off by the Germans, where 60 tons of Westfalit explosives were used in an attempt to rupture the French lines.
The massive mine crater created on May 14, 1916 when the Germans detonated a mine packed with 60 tons of explosives. 108 French Poilus were killed in the blast.
This isn’t the only crater like this. Get to the top of the hill–now some eighteen feet shorter due to the First World War–and you will see a chain of massive holes that bisect the Butte de Vauquois. Not only has six meters of earth and an ancient village been wiped off the top of the hill, but the heart of it has been ripped out, too.
The heart of this hill has been ripped out. Check out the two visitors in the distance for an idea of scale.
This first time on Vauquois my brain was boggled by what my eyes were showing me. Holes of this size simply could not exist, even though I was looking at them and a short while later in them. I mean, a two-story home could fit comfortably in these craters with room to spare. To see these mine craters and know that these were man-made creations was startling.
Black and white gives a little more depth, and can give a better idea of the depth and breadth of these craters. Looking from the French (southern) side of the hill. A deep mine crater on Vauquois, looking from the French side east to west, roughly. . The craters show that the heart of the Butte de Vauquois has been ripped out.
The heart of the hill, torn open and exposed to the world.
The ground shows unmistakable evidence of the terrible events that happened here a century ago.
These mine craters are hard for the mind to comprehend.
Looking from the German lines.
A picture of the butte, and the hilltop village before the war. Your humble podcaster standing in the middle of a monstrous crater. In the German trenches. The Germans incorporated the remains of the village into their defensive works.
The French monument on Vauquois, sculpted by Marius Roussel, himself a veteran of the French 10th Division. It features scenes recalling the vicious fighting of 1915, with a dead Frenchman buried in the side of a mine gallery. A resolute brother soldier stands at the ready next to the corpse, and over both men are the remains of the chestnut tree that used to stand next to Vauquois’ church. Looking from behind the German wire towards the French side. The trench lines were so close that conventional infantry attacks were suicidal; mine warfare was the only way to effectively attack the enemy here.
Entrance to a dugout on the Butte de Vauquois.
Yours truly.
“Know the darkness.” A future post will show what lies beneath.
This was why the hill was fought over so ferociously: its heights offered dominating views over the surrounding countryside.
From the Argonne Forest to the Butte du Vauquois, the AEF 1st Corps goes on the attack. The 77th “Metropolitan” Division plunges into the Argonne. The 28th “Keystone” and 35th “Santa Fe” Divisions work to clear the River Aire Valley, seize the Butte du Vauquois, and push north to help cut off the Argonne.
Any questions, comments or concerns please contact me through the website, www.firstworldwarpodcast.com. Follow us on Twitter at @WW1podcast, the Battles of the First World War Podcast page on FaceBook, and on Instagram at @WW1battlecast. Not into social media? Email me directly at verdunpodcast@gmail.com. Please consider reviewing the Battles of the First World War Podcast on iTunes.
