The Importance Of The Battle Of Verdun In World War I
The Battle of Verdun in World War was one of the most important battles of the Great War, taking place from February 21-November 26, 1916. It was an unsuccessful German offensive to take the west, and was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. The total casualties were estimated to be 542,000 French and 434,000 Germans.
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist sparked the beginning the first World War. On this day he shot Franz Ferdinand (Archduke of Austria and heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne) to death in his car in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Soon after this, World War I began, pitting Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria against Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United States. Not long after the assassination, the Germans started to implement their plan …show more content…
Trench warfare began taking hold of the entire front and made it nearly impossible to either side to break through. Following the failure of the Schlieffen Plan in September of 1914, Erich von Falkenhayn succeeded Moltke as Chief of Staff after the Battle of the Marne. Falkenhayn intended to launch a huge offensive on the French armies in Verdun, which held great strategic and symbolic importance to the French.
The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of the war and proved to be very deadly, with casualties in the hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides of the German and French armies. It began on February 21 of 1916 and ended on December 19 of the same year. General Erich von Falkenhayn began the German assault, bombarding the French followed by an attack surrounding the region around Verdun, which was positioned in the German zone, sticking out from northeastern France. This attack was initially successful, and the Germans were able to capture the French fort of Douamont on February 25, just four days after the Battle of Verdun
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist sparked the beginning the first World War. On this day he shot Franz Ferdinand (Archduke of Austria and heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne) to death in his car in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Soon after this, World War I began, pitting Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria against Britain, France, Russia, Italy and the United States. Not long after the assassination, the Germans started to implement their plan …show more content…
Trench warfare began taking hold of the entire front and made it nearly impossible to either side to break through. Following the failure of the Schlieffen Plan in September of 1914, Erich von Falkenhayn succeeded Moltke as Chief of Staff after the Battle of the Marne. Falkenhayn intended to launch a huge offensive on the French armies in Verdun, which held great strategic and symbolic importance to the French.
The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of the war and proved to be very deadly, with casualties in the hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides of the German and French armies. It began on February 21 of 1916 and ended on December 19 of the same year. General Erich von Falkenhayn began the German assault, bombarding the French followed by an attack surrounding the region around Verdun, which was positioned in the German zone, sticking out from northeastern France. This attack was initially successful, and the Germans were able to capture the French fort of Douamont on February 25, just four days after the Battle of Verdun