Battle of Verdun

A battle fought between French and German forces around Verdun, France, from February to December 1916. It became one of the First World War’s longest and deadliest battles.

German strategy at Verdun: The German plan for the 1916 offensive against Verdun, intended to draw French forces into a costly battle. Erich von Falkenhayn’s offensive set the battle’s attritional logic in motion.
Erich von Falkenhayn: German chief of the General Staff from 1914 to 1916 and a central planner of the Verdun offensive. His strategic priorities shaped the decision to attack Verdun.
Philippe Pétain: French general who commanded the defense of Verdun from February to May 1916. He stabilized the defense and organized the flow of troops and supplies.
Casualties of the Battle of Verdun: The military deaths, wounds, and disappearances suffered by French and German forces during the 1916 battle. The scale of losses made Verdun an enduring example of industrialized attrition.
Ils ne passeront pas: A French phrase meaning “They shall not pass,” associated with resistance during the First World War. The slogan came to express the French determination to hold Verdun.
French Second Army: A French field army that defended Verdun under Philippe Pétain during the battle’s early months. Pétain organized the defense and prioritized reinforcements, artillery, and supplies.
Verdun: A city in northeastern France whose position and fortifications made it a major military objective in 1916. The city’s location and symbolic value made it central to the offensive.
Robert Nivelle: French general who took command at Verdun in May 1916 and directed later counterattacks. His command oversaw the French operations that recovered key forts.
French Army mutinies: A wave of refusals to obey orders by French soldiers in 1917, following the failed Nivelle Offensive. The suffering at Verdun formed part of the wider strain on French soldiers during the war.
Sacred Union: The political truce among France’s major parties at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The battle tested the national unity that France had declared at the war’s beginning.

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