(The total casualty figure for the entire war in the Verdun sector approaches 1.25 million.) Even today, the skeletons of Verdun still surface, to be added to the towering bone piles in the basement of the Douaumont ossuary. Casualties for both sides totaled between 600,000 and 700,000 and were roughly equal. By the time their advance ground to a halt in mid-December, they were close to the line where the battle had started ten months earlier. In the autumn, they retook Douaumont and then Vaux. Falkenhayn was dismissed shortly after, largely for his failure at Verdun. Then, on July 14, the Germans called off their offensive. A few of their troops actually reached a point from which the twin towers of Verdun cathedral were visible, two miles away. The Germans took another key stronghold, Fort Vaux, after hideous subterranean melees at the beginning of June. Fighting degenerated into isolated struggles for shell-holes, forcing the French into an impromptu but successful defense-in-depth. For the French, that marked the low point. Orders went out to take French positions "without regard to casualties." At the end of the first week, the Germans had advanced six miles a few men walked into an almost undefended Fort Douaumont and took possession. But even from the start, the "Meuse Mill" did not achieve the five-to-two kill ratio Falkenhayn had predicted. Verdun did act as a "suction cup": three-fourths of the French Western Front divisions would eventually serve there. It was the sort of drenching shell storm that would distinguish the battle. On February 21, 1916, more than 1,220 guns around an eight-mile perimeter opened fire. The French retook their forts and pushed back the line, and by the time their forces ground to a halt in December, both sides were left with more than 600,000 casualties. Despite coming within two miles of Verdun cathedral, the Germans called off their offensive in mid-July, and Falkenhayn was relieved of his position. The battle, which lasted from 21 February 1916 until 19 December. 2 2.The Battle of Verdun History Learning Site 3 3.Battle of Verdun begins HISTORY 4 4.The Battle of Verdun: Historic Events 5 5.Why Was the Battle of Verdun so Significant History Hit 6 6.The Battle of Verdun The Atlantic 7 7.Battle of Verdun Wikipedia 8 8.WW1: What caused Verdun to be the longest battle of the war.
There were many attacks and counterattacks one small village changed hands 16 times. Never before or since has there been such a long battle, involving so many men, fought on such a tiny piece of land.
German forces advanced quickly in February 1916, claiming Fort Douaumont and Fort Vaux after brutal subterranean melees. The Battle of Verdun is considered the biggest and longest in world history. This World War I siege stemmed from German General Erich von Falkenhayn's edict to elicit major bloodshed from the French defense of the fortress complex around Verdun.
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