The Battle of Verdun

The Battle Of Verdun

By Benjamin Imison

From the 21st of February to the 18th december 1916 in the first world war The battle of verdun which was fought on the western front between the Germans and the French armies. This Essay will be outlining the objectives for the German army, discussing the course of the the battle and also outlining the consequences on which it had on the war and after the war. The Battle of Verdun was also the longest single battle ever fought and also had a huge amount of casualties from both the French and German armies. The battle was fought around the city of Verdun-Sur-Meuse in northeast France.

The objectives of the German army was that their Chief of staff Erich von Falkenhayn thought that a breakthrough to win the war might not be possible, but the French could still be beaten if they suffered a very large number of casualties. He wanted to attack s spot from where the French could not retreat. Falkenhayn found a location where the French isolated on three sides and also because there was only one road for the French to get their supplies from. But the main objective was to destroy the fortifications along the Meuse river because it threatened the main German communication lines, was very important in the French defences, and the loss of such a big fortress would be a very big blow to the French morale. Falkenhayn also wanted to lure the French out of their trenches to put them in the ‘mincing machine” of his German artillery fire. Falkenhayn had a very good plan to lure the French out and finding a way to winning the war, he was very optimistic with his plans to defeat the French but turned out that his plans were a little bit too optimistic which is why they lost that battle.

This is a outline of the course of the battle. There were 140,000 German troops starting the attack. They were supported by 1,200 artillery guns that targeted 2,500,000 shells at the Verdun region. 1,300 ammunition trains were needed to supply these guns. The Germans also had 168 planes located in the area (the largest amount of planes in history up to that point). To start with, the French only had 30,000 troops to oppose the Germans. On the day the battle started, February 21st, 1000 German artillery guns fired on a eight mile line along the French front. The German attack and the subsequent battle was to last over 300 days. Flame throwers were used for the first time to help the Germans advance the eight miles they needed to if they were to capture Verdun.

By February 25th, the Germans had captured 10,000 French prisoners. To the German’s amazement, the huge fort at Douaumont, considered to be the most powerful fort in the world, was manned by just 63 elderly part-time snipers who gave the German attackers no pressure. The French public was not immediately told about Fort being attacked, some newspapers did not even carry any story about it being attacked claiming that the battle around Verdun was going well for the French.

The French put General Philippe Pétain in charge of the defence of Verdun. He was faced with a very difficult situation. There was only one road into Verdun from the outside from which they could receive their supplies from. In fact, it was barely a road. It was only 15 feet wide and vehicles could barely pass one another. Yet along this road, 25,000 tons of supplies were moved into Verdun and 90,000 soldiers. 6,000 vehicles were used in this task and that 66% of the French army was to pass up this road at some time during the battle to save Verdun.The Germans also suffered huge losses. By the end of April, the Germans had lost 120,000 men and the French 133,000 men.

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