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Verdun Battlefield

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Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Verdun Battlefield
Phone:
+33 3 29 86 14 18

Address:
Verdun, France

The Battle of Verdun , fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916, was the largest and longest battle of the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies. The battle took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France. The German 5th Army attacked the defences of the Fortified Region of Verdun and those of the French Second Army on the right bank of the Meuse. Inspired by the experience of the Second Battle of Champagne in 1915, the Germans planned to capture the Meuse Heights, an excellent defensive position with good observation for artillery-fire on Verdun. The Germans hoped that the French would commit their strategic reserve to recapture the position and suffer catastrophic losses in a battle of annihilation, at little cost to the Germans in tactically advantageous positions on the heights. Poor weather delayed the beginning of the German attack until 21 February but the Germans captured Fort Douaumont in the first three days of the offensive. The German advance slowed in the next few days, despite many French casualties. By 6 March, ​20 1⁄2 French divisions were in the RFV and a more extensive defence in depth had been constructed. Pétain ordered that no withdrawals were to be made and that counter-attacks were to be conducted, despite exposing French infantry to fire from the German artillery. By 29 March, French artillery on the west bank had begun a constant bombardment of German positions on the east bank, which caused many German infantry casualties. In March, the German offensive was extended to the left bank of the Meuse, to gain observation of the ground from which French artillery had been firing over the river onto the Meuse hills. The Germans were able to advance at first but French reinforcements contained the attacks short of their objectives. In early May, the Germans changed tactics again and made local attacks and counter-attacks, which gave the French an opportunity to begin an attack against Fort Douaumont. Part of the fort was occupied until a German counter-attack recaptured the fort and took many prisoners. The Germans alternated their attacks on both banks of the Meuse and in June captured Fort Vaux. The Germans continued the offensive towards the last geographical objectives of the original plan, at Fleury-devant-Douaumont and Fort Souville. The Germans drove a salient into the French defences, captured Fleury and came within 4 km of the Verdun citadel. In July 1916, the German offensive was reduced to reinforce the Somme front and from 23 June to 17 August, Fleury changed hands sixteen times. Early in July, a German attack on Fort Souville failed. The German offensive was reduced further and deceptions to keep French reinforcements away from the Somme were tried. In August and December, French counter-offensives recaptured much of the ground lost on the east bank and recovered Fort Douaumont and Fort Vaux. The battle had lasted for 303 days, the longest and one of the most costly in human history. In 2000, Hannes Heer and K. Naumann calculated 377,231 French and 337,000 German casualties, a total of 714,231, an average of 70,000 a month. In 2014, William Philpott wrote of 976,000 casualties in 1916 and 1,250,000 suffered around the city during the war.
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