Editing Verdun (section)

=== Battle of Verdun (First World War) ===
{{Main|Battle of Verdun}}
[[File:Fort Douaumont Ende 1916 rotated North at top.jpg|thumb|left|Aerial photograph of [[Fort Douaumont]] towards the end of 1916]]
Verdun was the site of a [[Battle of Verdun|major battle]], the longest-lasting of the First World War.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zydwtyc |title=What caused Verdun to be the longest battle of WW1?|website=BBC Guides|access-date=16 September 2017}}</ref> One of the costliest battles in military history, Verdun exemplified the policy of a [[Attrition warfare|war of attrition]] pursued by both sides, which led to an enormous loss of life and very long casualty lists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-one/battles-of-world-war-one/the-battle-of-verdun/ |title=The Battle of Verdun - History Learning Site |website=Historyleaningsite.co.uk|access-date=16 September 2017}}</ref>

Following the failure of the [[Schlieffen Plan]] in 1914 and the solidifying of the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/standard/history/1890_1920/schlieffen_plan_belgium/revision/3/|title=BBC - Standard Grade Bitesize History - The Schlieffen Plan : Revision, Page 3|website=Bbc.co.uk|access-date=16 September 2017}}</ref> Germany remained on the strategic defensive in the west throughout most of 1915.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://defenceindepth.co/2015/09/25/german-defence-of-the-western-front-september-october-1915/|title=German Defence of the Western Front, September-October 1915 |date=25 September 2015 |website=Defenceindepth.co|access-date=16 September 2017}}</ref> In the winter of 1915–16, German General [[Erich von Falkenhayn]], the chief of the [[German General Staff]] (1914–1916) made plans for a large offensive on the Western Front that ultimately aimed to break the French Army through the application of firepower at a point that the French had to hold for reasons of national prestige.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/10060338/Foley_1916_New_Warfare.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204085535/https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/10060338/Foley_1916_New_Warfare.pdf |archive-date=2021-12-04 |url-status=live |title=A New Form of Warfare? : Erich von Falkenhayn's Plan for Victory in 1916 |author=Robert T. Foley |website=Kclpure.kcl.ac.uk|access-date=2017-09-16}}</ref> As Falkenhayn recalled it, his so-called "Christmas memorandum" to [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Kaiser Willhelm II]] envisioned a massive but limited attack on a French position 'for the retention of which the French Command would be compelled to throw in every man they have'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=812|title=GHDI - Document |website=Germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org |access-date=16 September 2017}}</ref> Once the French army had bled to death, Britain could be brought down by Germany's [[submarine]] blockade and superior military strength. The logic of initiating a battle not to gain territory or a strategic position but simply to create a self-sustaining killing ground—to bleed the French army to death—pointed to the grimness of military vision in 1916.

Recent scholarship by Holger Afflerbach and others, however, has questioned the veracity of the Christmas memo. No copy has ever surfaced and the only account of it appeared in Falkenhayn's post-war memoir.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A6AFCgAAQBAJ&q=Holger+Afflerbach+christmas+memo&pg=PA21|title=The Purpose of the First World War: War Aims and Military Strategies |first=Holger |last=Afflerbach |date=1 July 2015 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |access-date=16 September 2017 |via=Google Books |isbn=9783110443486}}</ref> His army commanders at Verdun, including the German Crown Prince, denied any knowledge of an attrition strategy. It is possible that Falkenhayn did not specifically design the battle to bleed the French army but used this supposed motive after the fact in an attempt to justify the Verdun offensive, despite its failure.

[[File:Aerial Photographs of the Western Front Q48890.jpg|thumb|right|Citadel of Verdun during World War I]]

Verdun was the strongest point in pre-war France, ringed by a string of powerful forts, including [[Fort Douaumont|Douaumont]] and [[Fort Vaux]]. By 1916, the salient at Verdun jutted into the German lines and lay vulnerable to attack from three sides. The historic city of Verdun had been an ''[[oppidum]]'' of the [[Gauls]] before Roman times and later a key asset in wars against [[Prussia]], and Falkenhayn suspected that the French would throw as many men as necessary into its defence. Ironically, France had substantially weakened Verdun's defences after the outbreak of the war, an oversight that would contribute to the removal of [[Joseph Joffre]] from supreme command at the end of 1916. The attack was slated to begin on 12 February, then 16 February, but the snow forced repeated postponements.

[[File:The Great war (1915) (14578428098).jpg|thumb|left|The city after the German bombardment, 1916]]

Falkenhayn massed over 1000 artillery pieces<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=World War 1: The Definitive visual history |publisher=Smithsonian |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4654-7001-0 |edition=2nd |location=United States |pages=154–161 |language=}}</ref> to the north and east of Verdun to precede the infantry advance with intensive artillery bombardment. His attack would hit the French positions on the right bank of the [[Meuse]]. Although French intelligence had warned of his plans, these warnings were ignored by the French Command and troop levels in the area remained low. Consequently, Verdun was utterly unprepared for the initial bombardment on the morning of 21 February 1916. German infantry attacks followed that afternoon and met tenacious but ultimately inadequate resistance for the first four days.

On 25 February, the Germans occupied Douaumont. French reinforcements—now under the leadership of General [[Philippe Pétain]]—began to arrive and were instantly thrown into "the furnace" (as the battle was called) to slow the German advance, no matter what the cost. Over the next several days, the stubborn defense managed to slow the German advance with a series of bloody counter-attacks. In March, Falkenhayn decided to target the French positions on the left bank of the Meuse as well, broadening the offensive front twofold. Throughout March and April, [[Cumières-le-Mort-Homme]] and Hill 304 were under continuous heavy bombardment and relentless infantry attacks. Meanwhile, Pétain organised repeated, small-scale counter-attacks to slow the German advance. He also ensured that the sole supply road from [[Bar-le-Duc]] into Verdun remained open. It became known as the [[Voie Sacrée]] "Sacred Way" because it continued to carry vital supplies and reinforcements into the Verdun front despite constant artillery fire.

[[File:French soldiers of the 87th Regiment shelter in their trenches at Hill 304 at Verdun.jpg|thumb|right|Men of the French 87th Infantry Regiment during the Battle of Verdun, 1916]]

German gains continued in June, but slowly and only after increasingly heavy losses on their side. On 7 June, following almost a week of bitter resistance, [[Fort Vaux]] fell to the Germans after a murderous hand-to-hand fight inside the fort itself. On 23 June, the Germans reached what would become the furthest point of their advance. The line was just in front of Fort Souville, the last stronghold before Verdun itself. Pétain was making plans to evacuate the right bank of the Meuse when the combined Anglo-French [[Battle of the Somme|offensive on the Somme River]] was launched on 1 July, partly to relieve pressure on the French, although the [[first day on the Somme|first day]] was the bloodiest in the [[history of the British Army|British Army's history]]. The Germans could no longer afford to continue their offensive at Verdun when they were needed so desperately on the Somme. At a cost of some 400,000 German casualties and a similar number of French, the attack was finally called off. The estimated death toll on both sides were 143,000 dead Germans and 162,440 French soldiers.<ref name=":0" /> Falkenhayn's plan to bleed France to death – if indeed that had been his intention – had failed.

The battle continued, however, from October to the end of the year. French offensives, employing new tactics devised by General [[Robert Nivelle]], regained the forts and territory they had lost earlier. This was the only gleam of hope in an otherwise abysmal landscape.

Overall, the battle lasted 11 months. Falkenhayn was replaced by [[Paul von Hindenburg]] as Chief of General Staff. General Nivelle was promoted over the head of General Pétain to replace [[Generalissimo]] [[Joseph Joffre]] as French supreme commander, although he was to hold the post for less than six months.