Search results
The Battle of Verdun (French: Bataille de Verdun [bataj də vɛʁdœ̃]; German: Schlacht um Verdun [ʃlaxt ʔʊm ˈvɛɐ̯dœ̃]) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse.
- French victory
- Overview
- The initial German attack
The Battle of Verdun took place from February 21, 1916, to December 18, 1916, during World War I.
What countries were involved in the Battle of Verdun?
France and Germany fought in the Battle of Verdun. In the engagement, the French repulsed a major German offensive.
Why was the Battle of Verdun fought at that particular location?
The Battle of Verdun took place where it did because the French fortress of Verdun, with its surrounding fortifications along the Meuse River, threatened the main German communication lines. The fortress also represented a prominent point in the French defenses, and its loss would have been an enormous blow to French morale.
What were the number of casualties at the Battle of Verdun?
As early as January 1916, French airmen had detected German preparations for the Verdun offensive, and on February 11, 1916, a French intelligence officer discovered a buildup of German troops on the right bank of the Meuse. As French commanders had been almost exclusively focused on their own offensive plans, their hasty efforts to bolster the defenses of Verdun were very nearly too late. Over the next 10 days, thousands of men and dozens of guns were moved to Verdun to oppose the expected German attack. Confronted with a massive logistical challenge—main rail lines to Verdun had been cut or were under constant barrage by German artillery—French officers organized a motorized supply chain on an unprecedented scale, transporting men and matériel to the front in a fleet of more than 3,000 trucks. The 37-mile (57-km) dirt road connecting the railhead at Bar-le-Duc to Verdun came to be known as La Voie Sacrée (“the Sacred Way”) for its critical role in the French defense.
Britannica Quiz
Which Battle? Quiz
At 7:15 am on February 21, the Germans commenced a massive bombardment of a front some 25 miles (40 km) long, from the Bois d’Avocourt to Étain. At about 4:45 pm the first German infantry attack was launched, initially by teams of scouts who surveyed the damage done by the opening barrage. If French defenses had not been shattered in a given area, the scouts retired and directed additional shelling. Combat engineers then followed, ahead of the main body of the advance. German troops made significant gains by the end of the first day, occupying the Bois d’Haumont and penetrating the French lines. The following day the Germans capitalized on their gains, repelling a French counterattack. The village of Haumont was razed by artillery fire, and by February 23 the villages of Brabant-sur-Meuse, Wavrille, and Samogneux were in German hands. In three days the Germans had overrun the first line of French defenses, and both sides hastily reinforced their positions. Thousands of French troops, placed in untenable positions in open country, were almost immediately wiped from the field. On February 24 the Germans sought to advance from their position at Samogneux, but they were immobilized by French artillery. The rest of the German line swept through the second rank of French defenses, capturing Beaumont, the Bois des Fosses, and the Bois des Caurières and advancing on the key fort at Douaumont. That evening the French commander at Verdun, Gen. Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre, the so-called “Victor of the Marne,” was set aside in favour of Gen. Philippe Pétain.
Pétain brought a fresh army—the Second—to the fight, and on February 25 he was given the formidable task of holding the right bank of the Meuse. Initial plans had been made to mass French forces on the left bank so as to oppose a German crossing, but the French high command soon decreed that a new defensive line, stretching from the heights on the east bank of the Meuse to the village of Douaumont, should be held at all costs. As the French defense was reorganized, the Germans captured the undefended Fort Douaumont, arguably the most formidable of the strongpoints surrounding Verdun. Eight months would pass and much blood would be shed before the French could reclaim the fort. French resistance stiffened over subsequent days, however, and the German advance slowed. French fliers reclaimed command of the air over the battlefield, and Pétain deployed hundreds of artillery pieces to Verdun, linking many of the new batteries by telephone. On February 26–29 some 500,000 German troops assaulted Douaumont village, but the French defenses held.
Special offer for students! Check out our special academic rate and excel this spring semester!
Learn about the longest battle in modern history, which lasted from February to December 1916 and involved over one million casualties. Find out how the French defended Verdun against the German offensive and why the battle failed to achieve its strategic goals.
Oct 28, 2009 · Learn about the longest and bloodiest battle of World War I, which began on February 21, 1916, when a German artillery bombardment struck a French cathedral. Find out how the French and Germans fought for 10 months over a strategic fortress city, and what impact the battle had on the war.
- Missy Sullivan
- 2 min
Battle of Verdun, (Feb. 21–July 1916) Major engagement of World War I between Germany and France. As part of its strategy of war by attrition, Germany selected the fortress of Verdun as the site it believed France would defend to the last man.
The Battle of Verdun was one of the most important battles in World War I on the Western Front, fought between the German and French armies from February 21 to December 18, 1916, around the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in northeast France.
Learn about the causes, phases and consequences of the 1916 battle that involved over 700,000 casualties and symbolised the Great War. Explore the forts, trenches and monuments that commemorate the Franco-German conflict.
