[88] Foley wrote that after the failure of the Ypres Offensive of 1914, Falkenhayn had returned to the pre-war strategic thinking of Moltke the Elder and Hans Delbrck on Ermattungsstrategie (attrition strategy), because the coalition fighting Germany was too powerful to be defeated decisively. In early May, the Germans changed tactics again and made local attacks and counter-attacks; the French recaptured part of Fort Douaumont but then the Germans ejected them and took many prisoners. Forests were reduced to tangled piles of wood by artillery fire and eventually obliterated. During the period between late February and late December, 1916, the German and French armies facing each other at Verdun fired approximately 10,000,000 shells at each other from their mortars and guns. Twenty-six super-heavy, long-range guns, up to 17in (420mm), fired on the forts and the city of Verdun; a rumble could be heard 99mi (160km) away. A "line of resistance" was established on the east bank from Souville to Thiaumont, around Fort Douaumont to Fort Vaux, Moulainville and along the ridge of the Wovre. The swift German advance had gone beyond the range of artillery covering fire and the muddy conditions made it very difficult to move the artillery forward as planned. 2016 | 2 Episodes. Huge losses were to be inflicted on the French by German artillery on the dominating heights around the city. The Battle of Verdun Alan Axelrod Rowman & Littlefield, Apr 1, 2016 - History - 272 pages 0 Reviews Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified. Even when reconciled to the attrition strategy, they continued with Vernichtungsstrategie (strategy of annihilation) and the tactics of Bewegungskrieg (manoeuvre warfare). Alain Denizot included period photographs that show overlapping shell craters in an area of about 39sqmi (100km2). An attack was made on a wider front along both banks by the Germans at noon on 9 April, with five divisions on the left bank but this was repulsed except at Mort-Homme, where the French 42nd Division was forced back from the north-east face. In May, Falkenhayn estimated that French casualties had increased to 525,000 men against 250,000 German and that the French strategic reserve was down to 300,000 men. The Battle of Verdun took place where it did because the French fortress of Verdun, with its surrounding fortifications along the Meuse River, threatened the main German communication lines. Five German divisions supported by 533 guns held the defensive position, which was 1.4mi; 2.3km (2,300m) deep, with 23 of the infantry in the battle zone and the remaining 13 in reserve 6.29.9mi (1016km) back. In the GorliceTarnw Offensive (1 May to 19 September 1915), the German and Austro-Hungarian Armies attacked Russian defences frontally, after pulverising them with large amounts of heavy artillery. One was a patriotic view embodied in memorials built on the battlefield and the Nivelle quote "They shall not pass". The battle was now raging on both banks of the Meuse. French resistance stiffened over subsequent days, however, and the German advance slowed. [79], The Second Offensive Battle of Verdun (2ime Bataille Offensive de Verdun) was planned by Ptain and Nivelle and commanded by Mangin. The 5th Army had been ordered to limit its attacks at Verdun in June but a final effort was made in July to capture Fort Souville. German air superiority was reversed by concentrating the French fighters in escadrilles rather than distributing them piecemeal across the front, unable to concentrate against large German formations. German artillery moved to Cte 265, was subjected to systematic artillery fire by the French, which left the Germans needing to implement the second part of the west bank offensive, to protect the gains of the first phase. [83] Some German officers complained to Mangin about their lack of comfort in captivity and he replied, We do regret it, gentlemen, but then we did not expect so many of you. The German artillery could fire into the Verdun salient from three directions yet remain dispersed around the edges. [35] A French counter-attack on Fort Douaumont failed and Ptain ordered that no more attempts were to be made; existing lines were to be consolidated and other forts were to be occupied, rearmed and supplied to withstand a siege if surrounded. The fortress of Verdun with its surrounding fortifications along the Meuse River was selected because it threatened the main German communication lines, it represented a salient in the French defenses, and the loss of such a storied citadel would be an enormous blow to French morale. Thousands of kilometres of telephone cable were laid, a huge amount of ammunition and rations was dumped under cover and hundreds of guns were emplaced and camouflaged. The opening bombardment was to build up slowly and Trommelfeuer (a rate of fire so rapid that the sound of shell-explosions merged into a rumble) would not begin until the last hour. [27] The main concentration of fire was on the right (east) bank of the Meuse river. Four divisions were sent to the Somme, where three defensive positions had been built, based on the experience of the Herbstschlacht. The preliminary artillery bombardment was to begin in the morning of 12 February. Falkenhayn was forced to conduct the offensive for much longer and commit far more infantry than intended. Between February and December 1916, the German 5th Army and the French 2nd Army were locked in a struggle, often over the loss or gain of a few meters of terrain. Corrections? The Germans counter-attacked from higher ground several times in September; holding the ground captured in August proved more costly than taking it. Some 300,000 were killed. 5 (Rohr), the battalion which conducted the attack. German counter-attacks from 27 to 28 September slowed the American advance but Ivoiry and Epinon-Tille were captured, then Montfaucon ridge with 8,000 prisoners and 100 guns. On the right bank of the Meuse, a combined Franco-American force under American command, took Brabant, Haumont, Bois d'Haumont and Bois des Caures and then crossed the front line of February 1916. The battle of Verdun was the longest, if not the bloodiest, single battle in World War I. She conducted many tours of the battlefield for individuals and groups and, with her specialized knowledge of the terrain, has acted as consultant to a number . [30], By 22 February, German troops had advanced 3.1mi (5km) and captured Bois des Caures at the edge of the village of Flabas. [119], The French planned an attack on a 5.6mi (9km) front on both sides of the Meuse; XIII Corps and XVI Corps to attack on the left bank with two divisions each and two in reserve. Falkenhayn urged the 5th Army to use Stotruppen (storm units) composed of two infantry squads and one of engineers, armed with automatic weapons, hand grenades, trench mortars and flame-throwers, to advance in front of the main infantry body. On 22 March, two divisions attacked "Termite Hill" near Cte 304 but were met by a mass of artillery fire, which also fell on assembly points and the German lines of communication, ending the German advance. The battle lasted for 302 days, one of the longest and most costly in human history. [122], A XV Corps attack on 7 September failed and on 8 September XXXII Corps gained a costly success. Areas were emptied of French civilians and buildings requisitioned. The Germans built field fortifications to hold the ground captured in 1914 and the French began siege warfare to break through the German defences and recover the lost territory. [1] Falkenhayn offered five corps from the strategic reserve for an offensive at Verdun at the beginning of February 1916 but only for an attack on the east bank of the Meuse. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [124], Verdun has become for the French the representative memory of the First World War, comparable to how the Battle of the Somme is viewed in the United Kingdom and Canada. By 29 March, French guns on the west bank had begun a constant bombardment of Germans on the east bank, causing many infantry casualties. On the left bank, the German advanced from the line Cte 304, Mort-Homme and Cumires and threatened the French hold on Chattancourt and Avocourt. [130], For the battle during the French Revolution, see. It must be mad to do what it is doing. The Health Service (Service de Sant) at the Ministry of War received daily counts of wounded taken in by hospitals and other services but casualty data was dispersed among regimental depots, GQG, the Registry Office (tat Civil), which recorded deaths, the Service de Sant, which counted injuries and illnesses and Renseignements aux Familles (Family Liaison), which communicated with next of kin. German artillery could still devastate French defensive positions but could not prevent French artillery fire from inflicting many casualties on German infantry and isolating them from their supplies. If they do so the forces of France will bleed to death. On the right (east) bank, XV Corps and XXXII Corps were to advance a similar distance and take Cte de Talou, hills 344, 326 and the Bois de Caurires. On 22 May, French Nieuport fighters attacked eight observation balloons and shot down six for the loss of one Nieuport 16; other French aircraft attacked the 5th Army headquarters at Stenay. The village of Haumont was razed by artillery fire, and by February 23 the villages of Brabant-sur-Meuse, Wavrille, and Samogneux were in German hands. Combat engineers then followed, ahead of the main body of the advance. If French defenses had not been shattered in a given area, the scouts retired and directed additional shelling. The 5th Army would begin a big offensive but with the objectives limited to seizing the Meuse Heights on the east bank, on which the German heavy artillery would dominate the battlefield. [57], Later in May 1916, the German attacks shifted from the left bank at Mort-Homme and Cte 304 to the right bank, south of Fort Douaumont. Battle of Verdun: February 21 to December 18, 1916. The Marin Report and Service de Sant covered different periods but included lightly wounded. The attack was intended to capture Ouvrage de Thiaumont, Fleury, Fort Souville and Fort Vaux at the north-east extremity of the French line, which had been bombarded by c.8,000 shells a day since the beginning of the offensive. [43], On 14 March a German attack captured Cte 265 at the west end of Mort-Homme but the French 75th Infantry Brigade managed to hold Cte 295 at the east end. The Battle of Verdun began on 21st February 1916 and was the result of a plan by the German Chief of General Staff, General von Falkenhayn, who wanted to "bleed France white" by launching an attack on a narrow stretch of land with historic sentiment - Verdun.
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