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WWI: Verdun - France and Germany mark centenary

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  • 29-05-2016 9:41pm
    #1
    Manach
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,703 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    A joint German/French ceremony of the battle.
    "
    The battle of Verdun, 21 February - 15 December 1916

    - Verdun - a strong point on the long front line dividing the French and German armies - was the longest battle of World War One
    - At the end of the bloodshed in December 1916, France won back nearly all the territory it had lost in February
    - General Erich von Falkenhayn, the Chief of the General Staff and Germany's principal strategist, targeted Verdun because of its position on the Allied line and its sentimental value to French people
    - Falkenhayn hoped to combine the Verdun offensive with a U-boat offensive against British shipping - the two campaigns together were designed to force France and Britain to seek peace terms
    - But Falkenhayn's plan for an attack that would economise on German resources failed to work out as he expected, and he used many more divisions than planned
    Germany, like France, accumulated huge losses and gained little territory, leading it to throw more and more men into the conflict, and Verdun soon became a battle of prestige for the Germans, as well as the French
    "- http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36407564


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