#Verdun battlefield Patch

Although many of the physical scars from battle are now covered with woods and greenery after almost 100 years, the French Interior Ministry estimates that as many as 12 million unexploded shells probably lie undiscovered in the Verdun area today, some perhaps containing poison gas. According to records from both sides, somewhere around 60 million artillery shells were fired in this area during the battle: about 150 for every square meter of the battlefield. These two opposing notions led to the death of thousands on a daily basis, as the sides went back and forth, sometimes over a few yards of scorched earth or polluted mud. The French had to hold the town at all costs. On the other side, a loss at Verdun would shatter the French national psyche and destroy the armyвЂ™s morale. Even if ultimate victory could not be achieved, the Germans would be able to вЂњbleed France whiteвЂќ in a war of attrition, perhaps dissolving French public support for continuing the war. German generals believed if they could achieve a вЂњbreakthroughвЂќ in the Western Front at Verdun, then the road to Paris (and the end of the war in the west) would be open. Strategically, it also lay along the major route to Paris. Verdun, in the heart of the French province of Lorraine, was psychologically important to the French people. The German High CommandвЂ™s order for an offensive at Verdun in February 1916 seemed based on sound strategic principles. Arguably the most important battle of the Great War, in the end, the battle itself was a draw. Estimates are somewhat inconclusive due to the number of missing on both sides, perhaps as many as 250,000 total. Although some of the final numbers are contradictory, most historians agree that the French army lost over 500,000 (including 150,000 killed in action) and that the German army lost over 450,000 (including over 130,000 killed).

#Verdun battlefield Patch

On, after 10 months of fighting back and forth over a patch of Earth less than 8 square miles (smaller than many major world cities), the Battle of Verdun was over. Marshall Philippe Petain, Commander of the French 2nd Army, Battle of Verdun, 1916 Their expressions seemed frozen by a wisdom of terror they sagged beneath the weight of horrifying memories.'

'When they came out of the battle, what a pitiful sight they were. How can people begin to know what that one word - Hell - means.' 'People will read that the front line was Hell. 'You eat beside the dead you drink beside the dead, you relieve yourself beside the dead and you sleep beside the dead.' 'To die from a bullet seems to be nothing parts of our being remain intact but to be dismembered, torn to pieces, reduced to pulp, this is the fear that flesh cannot support and which is fundamentally the great suffering of the bombardment.'ДЇrench Soldier from the Battle of Verdun, 1916 Men are mad!'ДЇrench SoldierвЂ™s diary from the Battle of Verdun, What a massacre! What scenes of horror and carnage! I cannot find words to translate my impressions. Why is the Battle of Verdun considered the turning point of the Great War on the Western Front?.Why did the French feel the need to defend Verdun at all costs?.What was the German strategy in launching an attack at Verdun?.Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, students here will understand the basic facts of the Battle of Verdun, including the reasons behind the German attack, the progress of the battle itself over the 10 months of fighting, including how the French Army was able to turn back the German assault, and finally how the failure of the German offensive at the Battle of Verdun was a critical turning point in the war, foreshadowing, ultimately, the defeat of the German forces on the Western Front.