The special feature of the place, however, was a powerful reflecting telescopic periscope mounted on a gun carriage and put in place on the first floor with the tube running through the tower and out the roof. This instrument was so constructed that observation could be carried on either through selective eye pieces at the base of the tube on the first floor, or by means of reflectors and prisms from the second or third floors. A large and very elaborate observation map was found mounted in the chart room scaled in mils and oriented with respect to the instrument, so that to lay on any point on the map it was only necessary to get its mils deflection from the map, turn it off on the traversing scale of the telescope, and bring it into focus from the eye piece. The instrument when captured was in serviceable condition, but some thoughtless souvenir hunter stole the eye pieces rendering it useless.

It is interesting to note that the Crown Prince is reputed to have used this place as his headquarters during the battles of Verdun, which fact, judging from the thickness of the walls, is very probably true. The structure, less the telescope, is standing intact at the time of writing and unless explosives are resorted to will probably continue to stand for some time to come as a monument to the German occupation."