Battle of Verdun :de:Schlacht_um_Verdun The Battle of Verdun was a major action in World War I. The battle was fought between February 21 and December 19, 1916, and resulted in more than 250,000 deaths and an additional 450,000 wounded and missinghttp://www.war1418.com/battleverdun/slachtoffers.htm. It is one of the longest and bloodiest battles in history. Background On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria and heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist. The assassination soon triggered World War One. As soon as the war began, Germans began to implement their war plan, the Schlieffen Plan. However, due to the inflexibility of the plan as well as the incompetence of the German commander von Moltke, the Central Powers failed to capture Paris and knock France out of the war. As a result of the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, the rapid war of movement expected by the great powers before 1914 soon bogged down into a stalemate in the Western front. Trench warfare was developed and neither sides could achieve a breakthrough. War of attrition Following the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, both sides attempted to break the trench lines and ended in vain. In September 1914, Falkenhayn succeeded Moltke as Chief of Staff after the Battle of the Marne. Falkenhayn intended to impose a ruinous battle of attrition on the French armies in Verdun as the city held great strategic and symbolic importance to the French. The Battle The Battle of Verdun is considered by some to be the greatest battle of human history, and certainly can claim to be one of the lengthiest, lasting for nearly a year, from the 21st February 1916 until the 19th December 1916. There were an estimated 700,000 casualties at Verdun, within a 10 kilometer radius. The German High Command decided to attack Verdun, a salient into German lines, because they felt that this location, although not likely to result in a grand strategic breakthrough, was not a place from which the French could retreat, for both strategic reasons and reasons of national pride. Rather than a traditional military victory, Verdun was planned as a vehicle for destroying the French army. The Germans assaulted the French forces with a massive artillery barrage and then advanced on French trenches using flamethrowers for the first time. Although Germany slowly advanced and captured the centre-piece of France's fortifications at the Douaumont Fort, they could not capture Verdun itself. In July 1916, the British and French launched an offensive on the Somme principally to relieve pressure on Verdun. At the end of Verdun, the sides returned to the very same lines they had started from. The Battle was not a strategic success. Many would argue that the Germans would have been better further advancing in the East to knock the Russian Empire out of the war and capture the grain fields of the Ukraine. This was not itself without risk, as even if successful, troops would have to be diverted from active fighting to occupy captured territories, grain could not be harvested without losing men from active duty and furthermore direct train routes were not available to the area. France's losses were appalling however. It was the perceived humanity of Field Marshal Philippe Pétain who insisted that troops be regularly rotated in the face of such horror that helped seal his reputation. The rotation of forces meant that 70% of France's army went through 'the wringer of Verdun', as opposed to the 25% of the German forces who saw action there. The loss of life and effect on morale stretched the French army to the very edge of mutiny. In that respect, Verdun was successful: mutiny was avoided by promises by the French army leadership that they would no longer engage in costly offensives. In the mathematics of the war, it was crucial that the smaller and more slowly increasing populations of the Central Powers inflict many more casualties on their adversaries than they themselves suffered. At Verdun, Germany did inflict more casualties on the French that they incurred - but not in the 2 : 1 ratio that they had hoped for. Verdun brought the French to the brink of collapse, but it did not push their forces over the edge. They did not pass. Aftermath The apparent successes of the fixed fortification system (with the exception of Fort Douaumont) led to the adoption of the Maginot Line as the preferred method of defense along the Franco-German border during the inter-war years. France's army was subsequently plagued not with desertions, but rather with a general refusal to march face-first into the teeth of Germany's impregnable positions. France's troops remained in their trenches, willing to fight only in a defensive capacity. Verdun memorial Significance The Battle of Verdun became a symbol of French determination, inspired by Petain's declaration "they shall not pass". The Germans achieved their initial aim, to inflict heavy losses on the French, but their own casualties were comparable. See also Verdun Douaumont References A. Horne: The Price of Glory, ISBN 0-14-017041-3 External links The Battle of Verdun - the greatest battle ever Info from firstworldwar.com Verdun book excerpt FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. 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