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On 4 June Raynal released his last pigeon, number 787.15, named Le
Vaillant. The message he bore included the text "we are holding. But ... relief is imperative ... This is my last pigeon". Le Vaillant had been affected by gas released from German shells and was revived by a number of trips to a
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Le
Vaillant delivered the message to the dovecot at the citadel. The bird was grievously wounded and died in the hands of the citadel's pigeon master. Because of the message, five relief parties were sent to reinforce Raynal, arriving on 5 June. The garrison lacked water and ammunition and Raynal
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With German attacks continuing to gain ground Raynal sent the first of his pigeons on 2 June. The message requested that artillery fire be directed upon the fort against German troops that had occupied its upperworks. The pigeon arrived at the citadel, despite injury but had lost the ring
135:(died for France). A plaque memoralising the bird, with a depiction of him, is in the courtyard of Fort Vaux, being erected by the pigeon fanciers societies of France on 24 June 1929. The French Army perpetuates the history of messenger pigeons and the
127:, the only pigeon to be so rewarded during the war. The diploma of the award hung in the headquarters of the French army signals units. Le Vaillant was stuffed and preserved and is now in the Mont Valérien Military Pigeon Museum in
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and by early June the remaining French garrison was under the command of
Commandant Sylvain Raynal. Telephone connection between the fort and the
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182:
World War I: The
Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection [5 volumes]: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection
48:
to his senior officers requesting reinforcements but was mortally wounded in flight. The bird was posthumously appointed to the
136:
77:
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36:) (died 4 June 1916) was a pigeon used by the French Army in the First World War. The bird was the last held at
45:
304:
Pigeons in the Great War: A Complete
History of the Carrier-pigeon Service During the Great War, 1914 to 1918
131:. Le Vaillant was commemorated by a series of postcards issued after the war. He was formally recorded as
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maintains a dovecote of 200 pigeons for ceremonial use and in case of all other communications being lost.
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containing the message. Raynal's penultimate bird was received and was awarded the
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had been severed by German troops and Raynal's only means of communication was by
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271:"Histoires 14-18 : Le Vaillant, le dernier pigeon du commandant Raynal"
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was forced to surrender his position and 600 surviving troops on 7 June.
25:
Remains of Fort Vaux, Le
Vaillant's plaque is to the left of the entrance
421:"France's army platoon of carrier pigeons is one of its kind in Europe"
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was a fortification guarding the north-east approach to the city of
154:- about a Second World War British messenger pigeon named Valiant.
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loophole in Raynal's command post. He set off at 11:30 a.m.
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Collections Online - Museum of New
Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
350:
Collections Online - Museum of New
Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
44:. Le Vaillant carried a message from the fort's commander
307:. "Racing pigeon" publishing Company, Limited. p. 54.
67:. The fort was besieged by German forces during the 1916
240:"7 things you (probably) didn't know about Verdun"
123:Le Vaillant was posthumously appointed to the
346:"Postcard, 'The Last Pigeon of Fort de Vaux'"
52:and is commemorated by a plaque at the fort.
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16:French pigeon awarded a Legion of Honour
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212:The First World War: A Complete History
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179:Tucker, Spencer C. (28 October 2014).
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363:Everette, Susanne (November 1986).
525:Recipients of the Legion of Honour
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452:"Postcard, 'Au Pigeon de Verdun'"
393:Home Fronts, Technologies of War
515:Military animals of World War I
510:Individual domesticated pigeons
209:Gilbert, Martin (5 June 2014).
215:. Rosetta Books. p. 335.
1:
530:Individual taxidermy exhibits
482:. Rough Guides. p. 303.
369:. Smithmark Pub. p. 85.
40:before it was overrun in the
301:Osman, Alfred Henry (1928).
319:"Le Vaillant and his peers"
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479:The Rough Guide to France
185:. ABC-CLIO. p. 353.
366:Wars of the 20th Century
277:(in French). 6 July 2016
86:, of which he had four.
325:. French army ministry.
396:. Marshall Cavendish.
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476:Abram, David (2003).
390:Small, Steve (2002).
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106:Detail of the plaque
137:8th Signal Regiment
133:Mort pour la France
520:1916 animal deaths
323:Chemins de mémoire
275:France 3 Grand Est
246:. 21 February 2019
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489:978-1-84353-056-5
403:978-0-7614-7234-6
376:978-0-8317-9303-6
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192:978-1-85109-965-8
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76: [
34:The Valiant
30:Le Vaillant
504:Categories
461:1 November
431:1 November
281:1 November
250:1 November
159:References
56:Background
61:Fort Vaux
38:Fort Vaux
32:(French:
143:See also
150:Valiant
129:Suresne
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152:(film)
119:Legacy
65:Verdun
80:]
484:ISBN
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