1916

By early 1916 the German and Allied forces in France were locked in a stalemate, fighting from trenches that stretched from the English Channel to the Alps. Realizing that there was no longer any chance of a decisive breakthrough, the German high command settled on a different strategy, one whose goal was not to capture territory or gain a strategic advantage, but simply to kill and wound French soldiers—to bleed France white. The Germans believed that if they could drain France of enough blood, the country would eventually have no choice but to sue for peace.

The German plan was to launch attacks along the lines in occupied Lorraine, designed to lure the French into counterattacking and into committing their reserves. The Germans believed that by doing so they could inflict horrific casualties on the French, while keeping their own casualties relatively low. Victory would be achieved by breaking the will of the French people.

The Germans launched their attack in February, along the lines in the region of the ancient town of Verdun, which the Germans knew France would fight bitterly to defend. The battle that followed would be the longest sustained battle in human history, and one of the deadliest.

For 302 days the two armies slugged it out along a twenty-five-mile front, a ceaseless series of attacks, counterattacks and never-ending massive artillery bombardments. The human toll was staggering. Every German attack was answered with a French counterattack. While the Germans were able to inflict heavy casualties on the French, their own losses were nearly as high. Four months into the battle, with the Germans pouring over 100,000 shells of poisonous gas into the French lines, there seemed a danger that the French would break, causing French General Robert Nivelle to give his famous command, “Vous ne les laisserez pas passer, mes camarades,” paraphrased and remembered in English as “They shall not pass.” The French held.

By the time the carnage finally ended in December 1916, over three quarters of a million men had been killed or wounded. The battle has come to symbolize French determination, resolve and love of country.

In every village, town, and city in France today there is a monument dedicated to those who died in the First World War, typically inscribed with the names of the men who gave their lives and the words “Mort pour la France.”

The Battle of Verdun began on February 21, 1916.