16.3.3

Battle of Verdun

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Battle of Verdun

Between 1916 AD and 1918 AD, the opposing sides (France and Germany) focused their efforts on wearing the enemy down. It became a 'war of attrition'.

War of attrition

War of attrition

  • Attrition warfare is a military strategy where each side tries to wear the enemy down by continually draining their personnel and resources.
  • In these wars, the side with the most resources usually wins.
Battle of Verdun: background

Battle of Verdun: background

  • Germany attacked Verdun because it hoped that it would weaken the Allied Powers.
  • They hoped to use a small number of German troops to attack the French.
  • This turned out to be a serious underestimation and they had to use many more troops than planned.
Battle of Verdun: facts

Battle of Verdun: facts

  • Verdun (February 1916 AD to December 1916 AD) was the longest battle in WW1 - it lasted 300 days.
  • This battle was between France and Germany.
  • In the first eight hours of the battle, Germany fired over two million shells.
Battle of Verdun: facts

Battle of Verdun: facts

  • Germany thought that if it captured Verdun, the Allies' morale would be so low that Germany would win the war.
  • 140,000 German troops led the attack, supported by 1,200 artillery guns.
Result

Result

  • Verdun became a battle of pride - neither France nor Germany wanted to admit defeat.
  • The French suffered around 380,000 casualties and the Germans suffered around 340,000 casualties.
  • Eventually, Germany withdrew because they needed to use their troops elsewhere.
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