First World War: Second Lieutenant Kléber Dupuy defeated a German attack on Fort Souville at a key moment of the Battle of Verdun.

World War I or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Main areas of conflict included Europe and the Middle East, as well as parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific. There were important developments in weaponry including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it resulted in an estimated 30 million military casualties, plus another 8 million civilian deaths from war-related causes and genocide. The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic.

Kléber Dupuy was a French army officer. The son of an oyster farmer, he was conscripted into the French Army in 1913. He served in the First World War as an enlisted soldier in the 9th Infantry Regiment but was accepted for a commission and in 1915 joined the 7th Infantry Regiment as a second lieutenant. Dupuy commanded a force of 60 men at Fort Souville during the 1916 Battle of Verdun and, on 12 July, repelled a German attack. He was honoured with the Croix de Guerre. Later in the war he was wounded in action and had part of his right leg amputated. After the war Dupuy worked for the government's veterans' office and, during the Second World War, joined the French Resistance. Dupuy was appointed a grand officier of the Legion of Honour.

Fort Souville, briefly called Fort Lemoine, was one of the forts of the Verdun Fortification District, situated in the commune of Fleury-devant-Douaumont. Constructed between 1876 and 1879 at an altitude of 396m, it is a first generation fort. It served as a key battlefield in the 1916 Battle of Verdun during World War I. The fort was armed on its ramparts with 9 cannons and 5 mortars, with 8 pieces of artillery used as flanking fire. A Bussiere turret in attached battery was also present.