PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Phase 1
The German's Plan of attack:
The German commander-in-chief General Erich von Falkenhayn considered England to be Germany’s most important enemy. He believed England would collapse as soon as France, their most important ally, would be defeated.
The German preparations:
On 24 December 1915 the final decision was made to attack Verdun. In total secrecy preparations were made by the Germans. These plans were hardly known to their other army units.
The french's preparations:
Verdun was a garrison town surrounded by a double ring of fortresses and fortifications situated among nearly impenetrable hills. However, the defence of Verdun had been seriously neglected since the beginning of the war
Phase 2:
The start of german attack
The attack started on 21 February on the right bank of the Meuse with the heaviest bombing that had ever taken place in a war. It lasted over 9 hours and was the most horrible that man had ever seen.
Pétain takes defence measures:
The French headquarters appointed general Phillipe Pétain commander-in-chief of the Verdun front. He immediately ordered the formation of a line of defence on the right bank of the Meuse. This line had to be formed between the remaining fortresses which had to be defended at any cost to buy the time needed to build fortifications.
Phase 3 - The Battle of the Flanks: the Left Bank of the Meuse
The battle of Côte 304 and Le Mort-Homme
The German army command decided to attack both banks of the Meuse at the same time. The most important aim of attack on the left bank was the Bois Bourrus. The French artillery was concentrated here. Before this Bois could be attacked a hill called Le Mort-Homme [Dead Man Hill] had to be taken. The attack started on 6 March 1916.
Phase 4 - The Battle of the Flanks: the Right Bank of the Meuse
By the end of May French casualties at Verdun had risen to 185,000 and in June German losses had reached 200,000 men.The opening of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July, forced the Germans to withdraw some of their artillery from Verdun, which was the first strategic success of the Anglo-French offensive. On 29 August Falkenhayn was replaced as Chief of the General Staff by Paul von Hindenburg and First Quartermaster-General Erich Ludendorff.
Phase 5 - The Last German Offensive
The first German attack: the occupation of Fleury
The next major German offensive was aimed at the occupation of the village of Fleury and fort Souville. From these points the Germans intended to advance to Verdun. On 23 June three German army corps attacked. This was the first attack in which phosgene gas was used. 230 Guns fired a total of 110,000 of these poison gas shells.
The Crisis of the French Defence
At the same time the French found themselves in a crisis situation. Verdun was under heavy attack: there was even some thought of clearance of the right bank of the Meuse. In the nick of time a German breakthrough was stopped due to the individual actions of French officers. These officers independently organised the defence at the front and stood their ground.
The second German attack: the Failed Attack of Fort Souville
The planned German attack took place on 11 July. The French answered with violent gunfire and soon stopped the attack. Nevertheless, the Germans did have one victory: the village of Fleury was finally theirs. However, the German reserve troops that had to force a breakthrough did not show and the French were able to bring fortifications at the last moment to stop the German army. There was another attempt to take fort Souville, but that failed as well. The German attack of Verdun had failed again.
The third German attack: the Battle of Fleury
The German army command decided to attack once more, to consolidate the front between Fleury and the Thiaumont fortification. The attack begun on 1 August and lasted on and off until 6 September. The advantage alternated between the Germans and the French, but neither party achieved any real success. The fighting zone was the area between fort Souville and the Froideterre fortification. This area had turned into a quagmire with shell holes where both sides took turns in attacking and counterattacking.
Phase 6: the french offensive
The Relief of Von Knobelsdorf and Von Falkenhayn
THE FALL OF FORT DOUAUMONT AND FORT VAUX
THE LAST FRENCH OFFENSIVE
Aftermath
By early December, under Robert Nivelle, who had been appointed to replace Philippe PÉtain in April, the French had managed to recapture much of their lost territory, and in the last three days of battle took 11,000 German prisoners before Hindenburg finally called a stop to the German attacks.
