War chronicle · February–December · Verdun, France
The Battle of Verdun
Verdun becomes a nightmare of mud, blood, and bodies after a massive German bombardment.
The Germans begin 1916 by stepping up their efforts at knocking France out of the war. This time they plan to attack a place they know the French will defend at all costs – Verdun. They choose this fortress town because it had protected France from invasion in the past and was now a symbol of French power.
On 21 February the Germans begin their attack with the biggest artillery bombardment of the war to date. Their aim was to inflict enormous losses and destroy morale – ‘to bleed the French Army white’.
The Germans capture the outer defences, including two forts, before fierce French resistance halts their advance.
Some of the most savage fighting of the war follows over the next 10 months, with the Germans and French losing roughly the same amount of men. The battlefield becomes a nightmarish quagmire of mud, shell holes, fire and blood, scattered with the remains of half a million dead soldiers.
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