The Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun 1916
Photo Credit: United States Military Acadmey
The Battle of Verdun took place February 21 through December 18, 1916. The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of World War I. The battle was situated in Verdun, France. German Chief of Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn had a plan to take the French city of Verdun which was a French stronghold. His plan was to break the morale of the French with a victory at Verdun. The French were severely outnumbered by the Germans in the battle. The Germans also used a heavy bombardment to shell the French however it didn’t cause much damage. During this long battle the Germans came close to taking Verdun. The Germans introduced the use of poison gas. The British forces who launched the Battle of the Somme in July of 1916, forced the Germans to divert some of its troops away from Verdun to the Somme. While this was happening the Russians resumed an attack on the Eastern Front which also moved some German troops from the Western Front to the Eastern Front. The German Army was led by Crown Prince Wilhelm in the Battle of Verdun. This long battle saw heavy casualties on both sides. The approximate death count of the French was upwards of a half a million soldiers and the Germans around 450,000 dead.