Verdun Hell on Earth February December 1916 1 2 3 1 9/29/2015 - PDF document

9/29/2015 Verdun “Hell on Earth” February – December 1916 1 2 3 1

9/29/2015 Verdun  Historic City – Part of the French Identity  Treaty of Verdun 843 A.D.  Divides Charlemagne’s empire among his three grandsons .. Modern France and Germany will emerge. Port d’ Chaussee 17 th Century  Surrounded by fortifications built in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War.  Largely ignored in the first year of World War I. 4 5 6 2

9/29/2015 Verdun (Overview) Part of a long line of fortifications on the Franco – German border established after the Franco – Prussian War of 1870 – 1871. Begins 21 February 1916 -- Ends 16 December 1916 (Longest Battle of WWI!) Nearly 2/3’s – ¾’s of entire French army will serve at Verdun! Largest Fort Douaumont (falls 25 February) Smallest Fort Vaux (falls 7 June) (Less than one mile apart!!) 7 8 9 3

9/29/2015 Unknown Soldier of France Verdun – Paris 11 November 1920 10 German General Falkenhayn “Bleed the French White”  German Chief of Staff  Operational Goals  Deprive the British of the French as an ally.  Kill so many French that they will lose the will to fight.  Selects a place that France will defend no matter what will come. 11 Marshal Henri Philippe Petain French Army • Leading French Hero of the War • Rebuilt French Army after 1917 mutinies. • 1940-Arranged armistice with Nazis & Headed Vichy Government . • Convicted of Treason; Sentence commuted to life. 4

9/29/2015 Battle Begins on 21 February 1916 (Concealed in a Snow Storm!) The Verdun Battlefield will be six miles wide by six miles deep The Germans will bring up 1,240 pieces of artillery and mortars vs. the French who will have only 270 … after the front stabilized in 1915 France removed the heavy artillery from Verdun to be placed elsewhere. 13 The opening day of the battle will see the Germans fire for nine hours continuously in excess of one million rounds of artillery in this 6 x 6 mile front. From 21 – 25 February a total of 2.5 millions shells will be fired by the Germans. By the end of the battle in December a total of 37 million artillery rounds will be fired by both sides! 14 15 5

9/29/2015 Lt.Col Driant’s Regiment helps to slow the German advance Lt. Col. Driant was a member of the French Chamber of Deputies, had criticized Gen Joffre for 16 removing the big guns and predicted that the Germans would attack. 17 18 6

9/29/2015 Douaumont falls without a fight Captured by a small German company (100 men) French felt it could not withstand the German 420mm guns. Was not defended from inside! 19 Fort Douaumont Before After 20 21 7

9/29/2015 Destroyed Villages Surrounding Verdun 1916 22 23 24 8

9/29/2015 Terrain surrounding Fort Douaumont and Fort Vaux as the Battle for Verdun raged on 25 General Petain  French General Petain sent to Verdun – “Your country needs you at this moment”.  Defensive specialist – believes that a good defense can make a difference in war.  “ They shall not pass !” --- Halts German advance  Shows great concern for the troops.  Listens to their complaints – Restores their morale – Gains soldiers respect  May – Promoted up (out – he will not attack)  La Voie Sacree = “The Sacred Road” 26 Note the distance in-between! 27 9

9/29/2015 Vaux Village January 1916 Vaux Village April 1917 28 Smallest of all the Verdun forts  Shelled daily March – June (8,000 per day)  Germans attack 2 June 1916  French surrender on 5 June 1916. Major Raynal – Vaux’s Commander honored  by German Crown Prince Wilhelm 29 30 10

9/29/2015 Inside Vaux Before & After 31 Major Raynal in German Captivity 32 33 11

9/29/2015 34 35 Voie Sacree (The Sacred Road)  Lifeline to Verdun 72 km (45 miles)  Road kept open 24/7  Small gauge railway ran parallel to road  Trucks passing every 10 seconds Feb – Dec 1916 36 12

9/29/2015 Voie Sacree Today 37 German Crown Prince Wilhelm’s HQ Dugouts 38  Petain will not attack.  Replaced by General Nivelle – May 1916 General Nivelle  Pioneers the French use of the “Rolling / Creeping Barrage”  Over time recaptures nearly all that was lost.  Will become the French Army Chief of Staff.  Makes big mistakes in 1917 – will be replaced by Petain in May 1917. 39 13

9/29/2015 Germans introduce the flamethrower at Verdun Germans introduce Phosgene (green cross) gas in artillery shells at Verdun 40 Capt. Charles DeGaulle 33rd Infantry Regiment • Wounded 3 times and was eventually captured at Verdun. Tried to escape 5 times. • Led Free-French forces in WWII; provisional President of France 1945- 46. • First President of Fifth French Republic. 41 Sgt. Andre Maginot 44th Territorial Regiment • Awarded Medal Militaire for service at Verdun in 1914; wounded & discharged • As Deputy & Minister became advocate of strong frontier defense. • Namesake of Maginot Line. 42 14

9/29/2015 Falkenhayn is relieved in June 1916 by the Kaiser (ends up in Turkey by end of war)  Replaced by Hindenburg and Ludendorff Hindenburg calls off the offensive after the British attack at the Somme on 1 July 1916.  377,000 French killed or wounded (162,000 Dead)  337,000 Germans killed or wounded (100,000+ Dead) Ossuary of  Survivors likened the experience to “being Douaumont condemned to Hell” 130,000 (French & German) unidentified! Cemetery of Douaumont 16,000 graves – largest in France! 43 130,000 Unknown French / German Soldiers 16,000 Known French Graves 44 End Results!!  Neither side won the battle.  There was no change in the battlefront.  The battle weakened both armies. 45 15

9/29/2015 “Never Again” 46 16