The largest military operation of the First World War, included in the annals of history under the name "Verdun meat grinder", was the first significant event of the twentieth century. The battle took place between German and French troops on the Western Front for ten months. But, despite the huge number of victims on both sides, France has managed to defend its independence. The fate of the country and its territorial integrity were decided on the battlefield. The English historian Alistair Hori wrote about this battle in the following way: "Never before did any of the commanders-in-chief or strategists assume the retention of victory by the death of bloodletting. Such an idea could only be presented by the cruel nature of the First World War, when the most hardened leaders looked at people's lives only as units. "
The German strategy for 1916
The victories of previous years were given to Germany dearly. Inside the country, the people were starving, but the army kept a dislocation on the fronts. Resources were limited, and the military council identified three tasks that could be addressed. They concerned the three most powerful opponents: Russia, Britain and France. Regarding the European giant, it was decided to support the revolutionary movement. To which Alexander Gelfand immediately received 1 million rubles. England decided to parry an unlimited attack of submarines. With respect to France, it was decided to find the most promising place on the line of deployment of troops and make a breakthrough on it. Such a site was found in the form of a small protrusion near Verdun. The victory on it provided an open passage to Paris with the subsequent capitulation of French troops. Next followed the competent development of the situation - the battle of Verdun.
Preparing for battle
On the front, 15 kilometers long, on one side, there are two divisions of the French troops. Against them, Germany introduced six and a half of its divisions and almost all the power of artillery. Thus, the Germans hoped to ensure a breakthrough and a subsequent continuous offensive. The battle of Verdun began with the fact that the sky was completely cleared of the French aircraft so that German bombers could freely and unhinderedly do their work. That is, already at the very beginning of the campaign, one of the planned tasks was determined - the prevalence in airspace. German fire patchers tried to glory. By the way, it should be said that the French squadron "Newport" was able to participate fully in the battles only in May. Thus began the battle of Verdun.
The beginning of the battle in the area of the Verdun fortified area
As it is already clear from the preparation, "Verdun meat grinder" was predetermined by the German command from the very beginning. In the morning the Germans began the artillery preparation, which lasted 8 hours, after which the German troops launched an offensive on one of the sectors of the front - near the Meuse River. But there they were expected by the stubborn resistance of the French. The Germans conducted the offensive of infantry in a dense battle formation, in which individual groups were formed into a single echelon. Ahead were moving scouts and assault brigades, reinforced with grenade launchers, machine-gunners and flamethrowers. Thus, the "Verdun meat grinder" on the first day was marked by the advance of German troops for two kilometers to the rear of the French and taking their first position.
February-March 1916
The French did not expect such a powerful blow. And only after the first day did they begin to pull up additional military units to Verdun. In addition, they counted on the help of England. But Northern Albion and so fought with coolness, and certainly not in a hurry to help the allies. The Germans did not change tactics: in the following days, from the morning until the evening, artillery worked, processing territory, and by the night it was occupied by infantry. All forts were lost by the French in just 4 days. The French command, albeit belatedly, took measures: the cars carried military units from other sectors of the front in the number of 190,000 soldiers and 25 tons of cargo. As a result, the German offensive was stopped by a preponderance of manpower (1.5 times). The battle of Verdun has become a protracted one.
Narochsky operation of Russians
The situation of the French troops was facilitated by the Naroch Russian operation. At the request of the French commander-in-chief, Geoffrey, the Russian rate took a diversionary maneuver. On the territory of the modern Minsk region in Belorussia - near Lake Naroch - shelling of German troops continued for two days. Next followed the spent massive attacks of infantry, which were difficultly restrained by the German troops. During this time additional forces were pulled up to the front sector, and the offensive of the Russians was repulsed. But the necessary result was obtained - at Verdun, the attacks ceased for two weeks, and the French were able to provide "rear services".
The battle dragged on
The French managed to create a "sacred road", through which they intensively supplied their troops. The operation was obviously delayed. The Germans changed their tactics somewhat: since March their main blow has been directed to the left bank of the Meuse River. But, despite all the efforts of the German troops, by May they had been able to advance only 6 kilometers. Also in May, a new commander, Robert Nivell, was appointed, who attempted to organize an offensive, but all attempts to repel Fort Duhamont were leveled by the Germans, and then the French army was completely thrown back to its former positions.
Brusilovsky breakthrough and the final situation at Verdun
On June 7, the Germans attacked Fort Wo and captured it, advancing 1 kilometer to the territory of the French. The offensive could be continued, but in the summer of 1916 the Russian troops prepared an unexpected surprise for the German army: a powerful offensive began at Lutsk. It was not possible to deter attacks. As a result, for the whole summer the German troops were diverted to the Eastern Front, and the actions at Verdun were reduced to a minimum. In addition, unlike the spring campaign, the Russian troops won a real victory and occupied Eastern Galicia and Bukovina. In addition, the operation called "Brusilovsky Breakthrough" was a completely new type of offensive measures. German troops were weakened and forced to move to the Western Front on the defensive. In October, the French army launched an obvious offensive, and by December, returned to its positions, which was at the beginning of the battle. "Verdun meat grinder" is over.
Results and significance of the Battle of Verdun
No strategic and tactical tasks "Verdun meat grinder" in 1916 did not decide: the French troops took their own positions. But, if we calculate the losses, then the battle at Verdun exceeded all expectations. Both sides lost more than 1 million troops, of which about 430 thousand were killed. Verdun 1916 opened a brutal era of wars of the twentieth century. But the results were still there: the strategic plan of the Germans collapsed near Verdun. And from that moment, military historians have noted the depletion of the German military potential. Note also that in the battle of Verdun were first used chemical shells, light machine guns, flamethrowers and rifle grenade launchers. Also, for the first time, regrouping of troops by motor transport was tested, assault groups were created, the density of shelling increased, and ground attack actions were used.