Battle of Verdun

Battle of Verdun, major engagement of World War I, fought between German and French forces in Verdun, France, from February to December 1916. The Germans wanted to mount a major offensive against the French in order to end the stalemate on the western front. They chose Verdun, one of the historic guardian fortresses of France. It held little strategic significance but was of patriotic value to the French, and the Germans thought the French would engage every soldier to defend it.

On February 21, 1916, the Germans launched an attack on Verdun. The attack began with a German artillery bombardment, unprecedented in intensity, of the outlying forts. The French fell back to prepared positions, and the German command, intensifying the onslaught, pushed forward, disregarding the enormous loss of life. Fort Douaumont fell to the Germans on February 25. That same day General Henri Philippe Pétain was placed in command of the French troops at Verdun. With French reserves arriving continuously, Pétain's men met with increasing confidence the unceasing attacks by densely massed German formations. Although Fort Harcourt was lost to the Germans on March 22, and Fort Malancourt was captured a week later, the initial German drive for Verdun failed.

German attacks continued, however, with little intermission. By April the French air force gained control of the skies over the battlefield, and this played an important role in the successful defense of the area. Also in April, Pétain was promoted, and General Robert Nivelle took over the French command at Verdun. In June a new German drive succeeded in capturing the forts of Vaux and Thiaumont. Now, however, German pressure began to slacken appreciably. To disperse the military strength of the Germans and thus relieve the strain on the French, the British had opened an attack on the Somme River, which necessitated the transfer of considerable German forces. As the fighting abated, French troops prepared for a sudden, decisive blow.

On September 24 the French under General Charles Mangin advanced on a 6-km (4-mi) front, recapturing Douaumont and Thiaumont. With this resumption of the French offensive, the last hope of the Germans to turn the Allied line at Verdun was shattered. The French attacks persisted throughout October, and the Germans evacuated Fort Vaux in early November. By the end of the year the French occupied substantially the positions from which they had been routed in February.

The losses on both sides were high. The total casualties for the Battle of Verdun were estimated at more than 700,000 men, of which about 377,000 were French and about 337,000 were German. The battle itself was totally indecisive, gaining no strategic advantage for either side.