A Short History of the First World War by Gordon Kerr

Author:Gordon Kerr
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781843440956
Publisher: Oldcastle Books
Published: 2014-05-09T00:00:00+00:00

‘There are objectives within our reach… for which the French General Staff would be forced to throw in every man they have. If they do so, the forces of France will be bled to death, since there can be no question of voluntary withdrawal… the objectives of which I speak are Belfort and Verdun… the preference must be given to Verdun.’

The Battle of Verdun

In a pre-Roman Gallic dialect, the word ‘Verdun’ means ‘powerful fortress’ and, indeed, the region had been fortified since Roman times. The Meuse River flowed through this strategically vital city that boasted 60 individual forts and outposts and miles of underground tunnels. Fort Douaumont, the largest of the forts was spread over nearly eight acres and was defended by a garrison of between 500 and 800 soldiers. For France it had great symbolic value. It was where Charlemagne had divided his empire up between his sons, creating the basis for the future states of France and Germany. Twice it had valiantly withstood German sieges – in 1792 and during the humiliating defeat of 1870 – before eventually capitulating. Painted on the door of Fort Douaumont’s main entrance was the legend: ‘Better to be buried under the ruins of the fort than to surrender it’. The loss of Verdun would, therefore, be a major blow to French morale, ensuring it would be defended no matter the cost. Its loss, Falkenhayn believed, would bring such a crisis that the French government would collapse. He would lay siege to the city for as long as it took and would kill as many French soldiers as he could.

Verdun had already distinguished itself during this war. It had been held during the Battle of the Marne, being the Allies’ easternmost position. Maurice Sarrail’s stout defence left it at the apex of a salient jutting deeply into German-held territory. Both sides fought vigorously for an advantage in the first half of 1915 but it remained unsullied. The fortifications, however, were not as strong as they appeared, French generals having lost faith in such defences following the destruction by the Germans of Belgium’s forts. They were in a state of some disrepair, therefore, with inadequate trench systems between them. To make matters worse, Joffre had wrongly calculated that Verdun would remain quiet for a while and had removed its heavy guns. Meanwhile, he concentrated on his own plans for a 1916 offensive along the Somme, guessing wrongly that the Germans would do nothing for the first half of the year.

The German attack was launched on the morning of 21 February 1916 with a nine-hour bombardment of the French lines by the heaviest artillery concentration of the war thus far, some 1,600 artillery pieces. The first attempt to break through was driven back by resolute French resistance and it took until 25 February for Fort Douaumont to fall. The shaken French appointed a new commander of the armies at Verdun. Marshal Philippe Pétain (1856–1951), scion of a wealthy family from the Pas-de-Calais, was tasked with restoring the morale of his soldiers and driving the German offensive back.

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