In the timeįollowing that war, technology changed significantly and military tactics failed to keep World War I were in the Franco‑Prussian War in 1870‑1871. To make matters worse, the last major battles fought between the combatants prior to War, both sides regularly attempted to overrun enemy trenches in World War I. Well‑armed, entrenched enemy using foot‑soldiers armed only with rifles andīayonets should have been evident from the results of Pickett's Charge in the American Civil

Although the futility of an army attempting to overrun a

One of the things that made the battle so costly in terms of casualties was the trench Some positions were known to haveĬhanged over a dozen times during the battle. The tactics used by the commanders wasted soldiers and shifted most lines back andįorth only short distances over the course of the battle. However, positions rarely were strong enough to be held for Each assault resulted in a lot of men killed. Both sides stubbornly insisted on frontal assaults in anĪttempt to overrun the enemy positions. It was one of the deadliest battles of World War I withĪn estimated 3/4 million casualties. The battle for Verdun began on 21 February 1916 and lasted eleven months. No expense in defending Verdun, which, he argued, would weaken them to the point that theįrench could be defeated in a 'War of Attrition.' The general was also convinced that the French would spare Verdun could be waged by the Germans without much cost to Germany but that it would be costlyįor the French to defend Verdun. It became part of the German war plans when a German general concluded that an attack against

Region of France that has lots of natural resources that the Germans hoped to gain use of. Verdun was significant to the French in World War I because it was near theīorder with Germany and was one of the largest French cities near Germany. However, many other countries were involved including the United States, which entered the Which was fought from 1914 to 1918, mainly between the Allies, led by the United Kingdom,įrance and Russia, fighting against the Central Powers, led by Germany and Austria-Hungary. The battle for Verdun was one of the most significant battles of World War I, Verdun Battlefield Visit, Verdun, France 18 September 2012 Verdun Battlefield Visit - 18 September 2012

Verdun battlefield