As a result the Germans would be able to ‘bleed France white’.īy the time the French realised that Verdun was about to be attacked they were almost too late to adequately prepare. With this theory in mind, Falkenhayn’s objective is often suggested to be the slow destruction of the French army in order to force them to make peace and, as a consequence, rob Britain of its strongest ally.īy launching the attack at Verdun, such a potent French symbol, it is claimed that Falkenhayn knew the French would not be able to abandon the city and would be forced to fight continually to defend it. In many ways 1916 was the year of ‘attrition warfare’ – the act of wearing down an opponent’s army and inflicting as many casualties as possible over a period of time whilst preserving your own force. The actual aim of Falkenhayn’s attack remains contentious even today. In charge of this attack would be General Erich von Falkenhayn. Today, the Verdun battlefield is a historic park pockmarked by crater holes.At the end of 1915 the German military had decided to launch an attack on Verdun for the start of the following year. The French won the battle after they launched two major offensives beginning in October. When the Battle of the Somme began in July, the Germans were forced to move men from Verdun to the Somme area. With the battle largely bogged down, both sides began using poisonous gas to end the stalemate, but to no avail.Īirplanes were used by both sides, but mainly for reconnaissance. The battle largely became a quagmire at that point. The bombing affected the city of Verdun and allowed the first wave of German attackers to advance with flame throwers.Īlthough the Germans took Douaumont early in the battle, most of tis weapons had been moved to the front at Belgium. The battle began with a heavy German artillery bombardment along a nineteen mile front. The French commander on the Western Front was Joseph Joffre. The German attack was led by the 5 th Army. The most heavily armed and modern of the French forts was at Douaumont. The Verdun region was protected by a series of forts, which were modernized in the late nineteenth century. In terms of theater logistics, the French referred to the region around Verdun as Région Fortifiée de Verdun (Fortified Region of Verdun/RFV). Falkenhayn's strategy was simply to win a battle of attrition by luring the French into a battle where they would have to use their reserves into hold ground. The war on the Western Front had become a battle of attrition at that point, bogged down by brutal trench warfare. The Germans were commanded by General Erich von Falkenhayn. The Germans eventually gave up on Verdun and focused on other areas of the Western Front. The battle was also extremely to both sides, with the Germans having about 140,000 of their men killed and the French having more than 160,000 killed. Since it was such an important strategic area, both side dedicated immense resources to the battle: the Germans sent about fifty divisions to the battle, while the French dedicated up to eighty-five divisions. The Germans hope to capture the Meuse Heights near Verdun, which they would then use as a defensive position to reign artillery fire down on the French. The battle was named for the French town on the Meuse River near where most of the fighting took place. It was fought from February 21 to Decemin the hills of northeastern France over a small area of land between the Germans and French. The Battle of Verdun was the longest of World War I and was also among the costliest.
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