Zach Taylor
English 10B
Jennifer Atwood
Period 5
Battle of Verdun
“Four days and four nights - ninety-six hours - the last two days in ice-cold mud - kept under relentless fire, without any protection whatsoever except for the narrow trench, which even seemed to be too wide. I arrived with 175 men, I returned with 34 of whom several had half turned insane” (French captain, 1916). The death and suffering of the First World War were unlike anything that had happened before its time. Artillery and machine guns acted as the stepping stones to the modern age of combat and were used to great extent in Verdun. The Battle of Verdun was Germany's plan to take control of the western front by capturing strategic forts and the town of Verdun …show more content…
His plan was to capture Fort Douaumont and other smaller position that have historically protected France's borders. He assumed the French would be filled with pride and send massive counter attacks to retake the forts, allowing German troops to mow down the lines. The attacks began at 7:15 a.m. on February 21 with a massive artillery bombardment designed to destroy French defenses and break the line “more than 1,220 guns around an eight mile perimeter opened fire. It was the sort of drenching shellstorm that would distinguish the Battle. Verdun acted as a “Suction cup””(Biography). Scouts were sent ahead to see if the initial bombings had worked and called for the armies to proceed. Nearly 500,000 German troops pushed forward into the front and were met with French resistance “With over 160 airplanes in the vicinity of Verdun the Germans dominated the air over the Battle. This amount of planes had never before been seen at any Battle in history up to that point” (Biography). The overwhelming German numbers pushed the french back and force them to retreat to Douaumont; Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre was replaced by Gen. Philippe Pétain. Pétain brought in Fresh troops and was tasked with holding the front for as long as possible until British troops could arrive. They were slowly pushed back to Fort Douaumont and had to …show more content…
Pushed back to the the stronghold of Le Mont Homme (“The Dead Man”) the French would face a bloody stalemate that lasted for nearly 2 months. “The valley separating Le Mort Homme from Hill 287 is choked with bodies. A full brigade was mowed down in a quarter hour's holocaust by our machine guns. Le Mort Homme itself passed from our possession, but the crescent Bourrus position to the south prevents the enemy from utilizing it” (Anonymous). The Germans pushed through despite France's best efforts and were finally on the banks of the Meuse river; France was running out of options. Finally on june 24, after nearly 5 months of fighting the British entered the conflict. Britain was going to push the offensive onto the Somme river and force German troops out of Verdun and into another conflict. With a weaker German line the French were finally able to start pushing back the offensive and take back their land. They would continue on to win a series of strategic battles and by December, the French had completely pushed the Germans back to where it all
English 10B
Jennifer Atwood
Period 5
Battle of Verdun
“Four days and four nights - ninety-six hours - the last two days in ice-cold mud - kept under relentless fire, without any protection whatsoever except for the narrow trench, which even seemed to be too wide. I arrived with 175 men, I returned with 34 of whom several had half turned insane” (French captain, 1916). The death and suffering of the First World War were unlike anything that had happened before its time. Artillery and machine guns acted as the stepping stones to the modern age of combat and were used to great extent in Verdun. The Battle of Verdun was Germany's plan to take control of the western front by capturing strategic forts and the town of Verdun …show more content…
His plan was to capture Fort Douaumont and other smaller position that have historically protected France's borders. He assumed the French would be filled with pride and send massive counter attacks to retake the forts, allowing German troops to mow down the lines. The attacks began at 7:15 a.m. on February 21 with a massive artillery bombardment designed to destroy French defenses and break the line “more than 1,220 guns around an eight mile perimeter opened fire. It was the sort of drenching shellstorm that would distinguish the Battle. Verdun acted as a “Suction cup””(Biography). Scouts were sent ahead to see if the initial bombings had worked and called for the armies to proceed. Nearly 500,000 German troops pushed forward into the front and were met with French resistance “With over 160 airplanes in the vicinity of Verdun the Germans dominated the air over the Battle. This amount of planes had never before been seen at any Battle in history up to that point” (Biography). The overwhelming German numbers pushed the french back and force them to retreat to Douaumont; Joseph-Jacques-Césaire Joffre was replaced by Gen. Philippe Pétain. Pétain brought in Fresh troops and was tasked with holding the front for as long as possible until British troops could arrive. They were slowly pushed back to Fort Douaumont and had to …show more content…
Pushed back to the the stronghold of Le Mont Homme (“The Dead Man”) the French would face a bloody stalemate that lasted for nearly 2 months. “The valley separating Le Mort Homme from Hill 287 is choked with bodies. A full brigade was mowed down in a quarter hour's holocaust by our machine guns. Le Mort Homme itself passed from our possession, but the crescent Bourrus position to the south prevents the enemy from utilizing it” (Anonymous). The Germans pushed through despite France's best efforts and were finally on the banks of the Meuse river; France was running out of options. Finally on june 24, after nearly 5 months of fighting the British entered the conflict. Britain was going to push the offensive onto the Somme river and force German troops out of Verdun and into another conflict. With a weaker German line the French were finally able to start pushing back the offensive and take back their land. They would continue on to win a series of strategic battles and by December, the French had completely pushed the Germans back to where it all