![]() Yet fighting continued around Verdun until 1918. There were more than 700,000 victims – 305,000 killed and missing and 400,000 wounded (approximately), with almost identical losses on both sides. The 1916 battle ended after ten months of bitter fighting. ![]() It was empty – the Germans had already left.įrom 15 to 18 December, the French attacked again, retaking almost all the land they had lost since 21 February. On 24 October 1916, they recaptured Fort Douaumont and, a few days later, they entered Fort Vaux. In the autumn of 1916, the French counter-attacked. The Germans tried to capture the town one last time, on 11 and 12 July, but they failed again. Shells from French batteries, making preparation for an. Then and now Before and After on the Western Front during WW1 Bob Grundy and Steve Wall have done it for you with over 100 then and now editions of. On 1 July, the British and French launched a major offensive on the Somme, relieving some of the pressure being put on the French troops by the Germans in Verdun. Photo, Print, Drawing Remarkable battle scene before Verdun, photographed from a French aeroplane. In all, some 4,000 trucks, 2,000 cars, 800 ambulances, 200 buses and numerous vans passed along it.įrom 6 March 1916, the Germans also attacked on the left bank of the River Meuse yet despite furious fighting on Le Mort-Homme in March and April they were unable to breach the French front line.Īt the end of June, having taken Fort Vaux, they launched a massive attack which failed – but only just. He increased the volume of traffic along the Bar-le-Duc to Verdun road, later known as the “Sacred Way”, the only route taking men and munitions up to the battlefield. General Pétain then took command of the troops. Despite heavy shelling, the French infantrymen (known as “ Poilus”) clung on to their positions and the Germans were unable to advance any further. he then embarked on the 170mile journey to Verdun, arriving at Herr's. The French High Command was anxious to retake the fort because of its dominant position high above the battlefield. 9 March to reorganise at PierrefittesurAire, 25 miles south of Verdun. During the first few days, the Germans breached the French front lines and captured Fort Douaumont without a fight on 25 February 1916.
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