| One of the costliest battles of
World War One, Verdun exemplified the 'war of attrition' pursued
by both sides and which cost so many lives. By the winter of
1915-16, German General Erich von Falkenhayn was convinced that
the war could only be won in the west. He decided on a massive
attack on a French position 'for the retention of which the French
Command would be compelled to throw in every man they have'. Once
the French army had bled to death, Britain would be fighting alone
on the Western Front and could be brought down by Germany's
submarine blockade.
Falkenhayn targeted the town of Verdun and its surrounding
forts. They threatened German lines of communication and lay
within a French salient (a bulge in the line), restricting their
defenders. Verdun was a Gallic fortress before Roman times and
later a key asset in wars against Prussia, and Falkenhayn knew
that the French would throw as many men as necessary into its
defence. He realised that this would enable him to inflict the
maximum possible casualties.
He massed artillery to the north and east of Verdun to pre-empt
the infantry advance with intensive artillery bombardment.
Although French intelligence had warned of his plans, these
warnings were ignored by the French Command. Consequently, Verdun
was utterly unprepared for the initial bombardment on the morning
of 21 February 1916. German infantry attacks followed that
afternoon and met little resistance for the first four days.
On 25 February the Germans occupied Fort Douaumont. French
reinforcements arrived and, under the leadership of General Pétain,
they managed to slow the German advance with a series of
counter-attacks. Over March and April the hills and ridges north
of Verdun exchanged hands, always under heavy bombardment.
Meanwhile, Pétain organised repeated counter-attacks to slow the
German advance. He also ensured that the Bar-le-Duc road into
Verdun - the only one to survive German shelling - remained open.
It became known as La Voie Sacrée ('the Sacred Way') because it
continued to carry vital supplies and reinforcements into the
Verdun front despite constant artillery attack.
German gains continued in June, but slowly. They attacked the
heights along the Meuse and took Fort Vaux on 7 June. On 23 June
they almost reached the Belleville heights, the last stronghold
before Verdun itself. Pétain was preparing to evacuate the east
bank of the Meuse when the Allies' offensive on the Somme River
was launched on 1 July, partly to relieve the French. The Germans
could no longer afford to commit new troops to Verdun and, at a
cost of some 400,000 French casualties and a similar number of
Germans, the attack was called off. Germany had failed to bleed
France to death and from October to the end of the year, French
offensives regained the forts and territory they had lost earlier.
Falkenhayn was replaced by Hindenburg as Chief of General Staff
and Pétain became a hero, eventually replacing General Nivelle as
French commander-in-chief.
Published: 28-02-2002
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