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At 2.20 in the afternoon a large force of Germans advanced between Louvemont and Hill 347, and though the French made desperate efforts to stay the advancing waves, Les Chambrettes, Beaumont, and Fosses and Caures Woods were occupied by the enemy. Naval events such as the world had never known were believed to be impending at the beginning of the war's second year.
During the night of December 17, 1916, German troops delivered a strong counterattack against the new French positions north of Douaumont. By hard fighting they succeeded in forcing the French out of the fortified position known as Chambrettes Farm, the farthest point which the French attained in their advance on December 15, 1916.
In this advance the French troops captured the villages of Vacherauville and Louvemont, the fortified farm of Chambrettes, and the fortified fieldworks of Hardaumont and Bezonvaux. The results gained by the French in this advance compare favorably with General Mangin's sensational exploit on October 24, 1916, when Fort Douaumont was taken.
The attack extended from Vacherauville on the Meuse to Bezonvaux on the east, and all along the line the French won their objectives. Besides Vacherauville they retook Poivre hill, Haudromont wood, and Louvemont on the left, captured Chambrettes farm and Caurières wood in the centre, and seized Hardaumont wood and Bezonvaux on their right.
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