French soldiers coming out of their trenches. The Germans occupied the huge fort at Douaumont – considered to be one of the most powerful forts in the word – by  25 February. It was originally planned by the German Chief of General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn to secure victory for Germany on the Western Front.The aim was to crush the French army before the Allies grew in strength through the full deployment of British forces. Battle of Verdun.

Here are 10 interesting facts about this epic battle.

In terms of theater logistics, the French referred to the region around Verdun as.

Battle of Verdun, World War I engagement in which the French repulsed a major German offensive.

Never before or since has there been such a long battle, involving so many men, fought on such a tiny piece of land. It was fought from February 21 to December 18, 1916 in the hills of northeastern France over a small area of land between the Germans and French.

The Battle of Verdun was a battle of the First World War.

So much fighting over such a long duration in a small area like Verdun, devastated the land and resulted in deplorable conditions for the troops on both sides. 10.

(Credit: Public Domain). The Battle of Verdun is considered the biggest and longest in world history. The German death toll was 143,000 (out of 337,000 total casualties) while the French lost 162,440 (out of 377,231). Their advance was hindered by small-scale counter-attacks made by the French under the able leadership of, #6 The Somme Offensive was launched to relieve the French at Verdun, #7 Falkenhayn was replaced as Chief of Staff due to his failure at Verdun. Verdun was of greater value to France symbolically than strategically and Germany wanted to exploit this. By mid July the Germans were forced to stop any meaningful attacks at Verdun. Since the 1960s Verdun has become a symbol of Franco-German reconciliation due to remembrance of common suffering. Douaumont would have been all but impregnable under normal circumstances, but its garrison had been reduced to just 57 men in the months before the battle. The area around Verdun was historically important to the people of France; several forts We use our own and third party cookies to improve your experience and our services; and to analyze your use of our website. The attack caught the French by surprise. A staggering 2.5 million shells were shipped to the front using 1,300 munitions trains. Falkenhayn chose Verdun as the focus of the German offensive because it was historically important to the French as its forts had been key assets in wars since ancient times. Falkenhayn plan was for Germany to inflict comparatively much more damage to France and he was certain that the French losses would ultimately change the course of World War I in Germany’s favor.

It ended on December 18 of that year. The diversionary battle had worked. Hence he wanted to launch a massive German attack on France to kill so many of their men that it would open an opportunity to defeat Britain or to force them to negotiate. 7. (Credit: Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images), Of the 800,000 casualties at Verdun, an estimated 70 percent were caused by artillery. The battle took place north of the town of Verdun-sur-Meuse in northern France.

The German offensive in Verdun was scheduled to begin on 12 February but due to poor weather it was delayed till 21 February, 1916.