Vauquois

Vauquois is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.

During World War 1, Vauquois was the site of violent mine warfare, also in connection with the Battle of Verdun (1916). From 1915 to 1918, French and German tunneling units fired 519 separate mines at Vauquois, and the German gallery network beneath the village hill (the Butte de Vauquois) grew to a length of 17 km. Vauquois was destroyed and many huge craters and dugouts remain.

The French papyrologist Jean Maspero (1885–1915) died in Vauquois, as did biologist Auguste Chaillou.