Battle of Verdun Bleed the French white Thesis The failed Schlieffen Plan by the Germans prolonged the war and Germanys hope to conquer France thus leading to a bombardment with artillery and ID: 533645
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By: Rachel Moore, Astika Joshi, Noah Wong, Selena Ando, Aaron Harris
Battle of Verdun
“Bleed the French white”Slide2
Thesis
The failed Schlieffen Plan by the Germans prolonged the war and Germany’s hope to conquer France, thus leading to a bombardment with artillery and
trench warfare at Verdun, France. Seeking to gain territory and demoralize the French, the Germans attempted to conquer Verdun. However, during this war of attrition, the victorious counterattack of the French army against the Germans, amidst suffering immense losses, symbolizes France’s ability to effectively defend their country against enemy invaders. Although,, in the end, the Battle of Verdun proved to be an insignificant victory for the French against the persistent Germans, as the conflict and trench warfare only shifted a few kilometers closer to Paris at the River Somme, where the British entered to support the French. Slide3
Background on the Battle
Lasted from February 21st, 1916 to December 16th, 1916.
Verdun is a small stretch of land located
on the heights above the Meuse River,
with twenty major forts and forty smaller ones
Verdun is located just under 140 miles away from Paris, the initial first step of the Schlieffen Plan. Named the “bloodiest, worst, and longest battle”French General Philippe Pétain in charge of the defense at Verdun, later recognized a heroGerman Chief of General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn, under Kaiser Wilhelm II, wanted to “bleed French white” through the offensive attackA 37-mile dirt road known as the “Sacred Way” was used to transport men and material to French forcesSlide4
Causes of the Battle: Pride, Politics and Tactics
On February 21, 1916, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany launched a "limited offensive" against the French bastion of Verdun-- the French were taken by surprise
The Kaiser failed in his initial onslaught, then developed a new strategy; to lure the French army to a place where they would have to defend-- Verdun, France
The Germans believed the French would resist their effort to seize Verdun with “every man they had” because of its sentimental value and position on the allied line.
Germany hoped to cause enough casualties that the French public would demand peace and wanted to gain Verdun as their territorySlide5Slide6
Western Front during the Battle of Verdun
Dotted line (left) in map shows Germany's advance to the Meuse River as of July of 1916
Franco-British forces counter-attack in autumn of 1916
Forced Germany back to position where they started offensiveSlide7
French soldiers coming out of the trenchesSlide8
The Battle
The Allies were able to overcome the German
luftsperre
(air blockade) and the initial surprise of the Fokkers to eventually establish aerial superiority
German artillery bombardment: 100,000 shells per hour
The defense of Bois des Caures is overwhelmed
French counter-attack to reclaim Bois des Caures fails and Brabant is capturedOn February 24th, the Germans push the 51st Division off the Bois des Frosses leading the French second line of defense fallingThe Germans than take Fort Douaumont and Pétain took command of the Verdun area Slide9
The Battle Expansion
On March 4 the Douaumont Fort falls to the Germans
Germans capture Forges, Regnéville, the Bois des Courbeanux and
Côte de l’Oie. Le Mort
A major attack by the Germans is launched to attack both sides of the Meuse
Pétain is now commander of Army Group Centre and Nivelle is the commander of the Second ArmyThere was repeated attacks on Le Mort-Homme by the GermansThe French try a counter attack against Fort Douaumont which failsThe french have a key position, Fort Vaux, the Germans surround them and after 5 days they lose it to the GermansSlide10
The Battle Continues
The Anglo-French offense of Somme draws France and Germany to the north away from Verdun
The Germans final major offense of Operation Gericht does not accomplish its objective of taking Souville
French launch a counterattack resulting in recovery of some key landmarks including Fort Douaumont
August 28, Falkenhayn resigns and Paul von Hindenburg replaces him
Hindenberg than commands all offenses be at Verdun
French advance and recapture Fort VauxAnother French attack pushes the Germans back to their starting point and cause them to lose all gains from the battleSlide11
Effects of the Battle of Verdun
High death tolls
337,000 German casualties, to France’s 377,231 casualties
Landscape surrounding the city
Nine villages destroyed —Beaumont, Bezonvaux, Cumières, Douaumont, Fleury, Haumont, Louvemont, Ornes, and Vaux
Lead to the Battle of Somme
The large number of casualties and effects it had on the French Army was the primary reason for the British starting the Battle of the Somme in July 1916To take German pressure off of the French at VerdunSlide12
Effects of the Battle
Explosive shells
The French Interior Ministry estimated that over 10 million shells remained in the soil around Verdun
Zone Rouge (“Red Zone”)
Big loss for Germans
Plan backfired
Sacrificed many of men and lost many weapons (due to poor distribution) Win for the French-- boosted their spirits Reporting The NY Times and the Daily Mail had extensive coverage on the warThey were able to deliver facts, communiqués, descriptions of the fight, and the celebration that followed afterword Slide13Slide14
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Bidou, Henri. “Battle of Verdun .”
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Duffy, Michael. "Battle of Verdun Map." N.p., 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 3 Feb. 2017.
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