To the French people, Verdun was also a symbolic fortress and a national treasure. Verdun was a fortress city on the River Meuse, and a strategically-vital link in the French sector of the Allied line on the Western Front.
By combining the Verdun offensive with a U-Boat offensive against British shipping, Falkenhayn thought France and Britain would be forced to make terms with the Germans. The heavily fortified area of Verdun remained a formidable salient into German territory which threatened the main German communication lines. By attacking Verdun, the French Army would be drawn into circumstances from which it could not escape – for reasons of strategy and prestige.īelieving that the war would be won or lost in France, Falkenhayn hoped that France would ‘throw in every man they have’ to defend it, which would thus drain its army of resources. Without France’s 96 divisions, the Allies would be unable to continue fighting in the west.Įrich von Falkenhayn, the chief of the German General Staff, believed the key to German forces making a breakthrough on the Western Front was to launch a concentrated offensive against the French.
#Battle of verdun ww1 full
Germany aimed to crush the French army before the Allies grew in strength with the full deployment of British forces. Just why was it so important that the French were successful in the Battle of Verdun, and what strategic implications did this have for the rest of the war? Why Verdun? Significance to Germany: The endless rows of white crosses that now cover the area are testament to the war’s longest and hardest-fought battle which lasted 10 months, from 21 February – 18 December 1916. Alongside the Somme, the name of the fortress town in eastern France is synonymous with the worst horrors of World War One. A French counter-attack to take the Bois des Caures failsĢ4 February – The German advance takes several other key points, pushing the 51st Division off the Bois des Fosses and capturing Ornes village on the Meuse. The French second line of defences collapsesĢ5 February – Fort Douaumont is taken by the German 24 th Infantry Regiment.Verdun. The hill is taken and Driant is killedĢ3 February – Brabant is captured, and Samogneux’s defence looks precarious. The Bois d’Haumont and the Bois d’Herebois fall to the Germans, but Driant’s Chasseurs just manage to hold on to the Bois des CauresĢ2 February – The Germans renew their artillery bombardment at first light, then use a greater weight of forces to overwhelm the defence of the Bois des Caures. – Bombardment ceases and the German infantry assault begins. – German artillery units begin their preparatory bombardment at VerdunĤ.45 a.m. Drianty’s Defence and Douaumont’s Fall 1916Ģ1 February – The Battle of Verdun begins with a lengthy German preparatory bombardment and an infantry assaultĤ.00 a.m. A timeline of the Battle of Verdun, which lasted for 303 days between February and December 1916 and became the longest and one of the most costly battles in human history.