Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun, fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916, was the longest battle of the war and one of the most sustained acts of industrial slaughter in history. Germany's Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn chose Verdun deliberately as a place of such symbolic and strategic importance — the ancient fortified city on the Meuse, gateway to Paris — that France could not abandon it regardless of cost. His aim was not to take Verdun but to 'bleed France white' through attrition. The offensive opened on 21 February with a nine-hour artillery bombardment along an 8-kilometre front that destroyed French forward positions. Fort Douaumont, the largest of the ring of forts, fell to a small German patrol without serious resistance on 25 February, a blow to French morale. General Philippe Petain, appointed to defend the city, reorganised the supply route along the single road from Bar-le-Duc — the 'Voie Sacree' — rotating divisions through the battle systematically so that almost the entire French army eventually experienced Verdun's conditions. France held, counterattacking to retake Douaumont in October and Vaux in November. By the battle's end, French and German forces had suffered a combined total of close to 700,000 casualties, and the front had moved only marginally. Verdun became the defining trauma of modern France: the phrase 'Ils ne passeront pas' — They shall not pass — became the war's most enduring slogan.
- Year: 1916 CE
- Category: Military
