Battle of Verdun: The Longest Battle of World War I
When German generals decided on a strategy of attrition to methodically wear down the French Army in the middle of the First World War (1914-18), the Battle of Verdun was the result, an engagement that spiralled out of control and cost both sides much more than they ever imagined. Desperate to hold on to the prestigious fortress complex of Verdun, the French rotated divisions in its defence so that 75% of the nation's army fought in this gigantic struggle. The longest of WWI and one of the deadliest, the Battle of Verdun (February-December 1916), as with so many others in the Great War, resulted in hundreds of thousands of casualties but very little strategic gain for either side. The French held out, and Germany was so exhausted in men and material that it could not launch another major offensive until 1918.
Fortress Verdun: Attack & Attrition
The German high command hoped a sustained attack on the prestigious fortress of Verdun, located in the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse in northeast France, would "bleed France white" (Bruce, 389). The reasoning was that the French generals could not possibly surrender Verdun, since this would be a serious blow to military and civilian morale. The German attack, made on a specific point of the huge Western Front, was designed to drag on and so continuously draw in French troops until so many men were killed, the French civilian population would rise up and insist on an end to the war. Whether the German high command actually wanted to capture the fortress complex is much debated by historians. The key to German success would be inflicting more losses on the enemy than its own forces endured so that attackers would outdo defence. So far, all the major battles of the First World War had favoured defence, but this uncomfortable truth was ignored when the German high command convinced Kaiser Wilhelm II (reign 1888-1918) to give them the green light to proceed.
It was left to the French Second Army to defend Verdun at all costs. It would not be easy. Verdun sat in a bulge of land within a loop of the river Meuse. This bulge could be attacked by the enemy from three sides. The fortress was actually a complex of mutually protecting and concentric rings of fortresses, but all would be exposed to artillery. The French had poor lines of communication and supply leading to Verdun, while the Germans had a railway line that reached within 12 miles (19 km) of it.
Another negative for the defence was that, after the fall of various fortresses earlier in the war, when German heavy artillery had pounded them to rubble, the French high command began to have serious doubts that any fortress, no matter how strong, would ultimately fall. Accordingly, most of Verdun's heavy guns had already been removed for use elsewhere as field artillery. In addition, this loop of the Meuse had become one of the quieter areas of the Western Front, and, consequently, in February 1916, the fortresses were only guarded by a handful of French divisions.
On the plus side for the French, the fortresses remained tough structures to break into; many sat on high ground, and many had been strengthened in 1885 and again, more recently, using concrete and armour plating. The trench systems between and around the various fortresses had also been greatly improved when the German build-up of troops suggested this would almost certainly be the location of the next big clash on the Western Front. The crucial question was: could the French Army organise itself to get sufficient men and material to this area to ensure its defence once an attack began?
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⇒ Battle of Verdun: The Longest Battle of World War I
