By combining the Verdun offensive with a U-Boat offensive against British shipping, Falkenhayn thought France and Britain would be forced to make terms with the Germans.
The heavily fortified area of Verdun remained a formidable salient into German territory which threatened the main German communication lines. By attacking Verdun, the French Army would be drawn into circumstances from which it could not escape – for reasons of strategy and prestige.īelieving that the war would be won or lost in France, Falkenhayn hoped that France would ‘throw in every man they have’ to defend it, which would thus drain its army of resources. Without France’s 96 divisions, the Allies would be unable to continue fighting in the west.Įrich von Falkenhayn, the chief of the German General Staff, believed the key to German forces making a breakthrough on the Western Front was to launch a concentrated offensive against the French.
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Germany aimed to crush the French army before the Allies grew in strength with the full deployment of British forces. Just why was it so important that the French were successful in the Battle of Verdun, and what strategic implications did this have for the rest of the war? Why Verdun? Significance to Germany:
The endless rows of white crosses that now cover the area are testament to the war’s longest and hardest-fought battle which lasted 10 months, from 21 February – 18 December 1916.
Alongside the Somme, the name of the fortress town in eastern France is synonymous with the worst horrors of World War One.
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