15.3.3

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'.

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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