10 Years Later - The Major Battles - The Battle of Verdun

The Battle of Verdun was a ten-month-long tussle between Germany and my half-native France (Alfred is half-native because his mother is French and his father is a British entrepreneur). This battle was considered one of the most brutal of the First World War.

The German attack began on February 21, 1916 with an intense artillery bombardment of the forts surrounding Verdun. The French army retreated to predetermined/prediscussed positions while the German army pounded through the French lines. On February 25 1916, Fort Douaumont, near Verdun, surrendered to German forces. On that same day, General Joseph Joffre, the French Commander and Chief, dedicated to ceasing further French retreat, assigned General Henri Philippe Petain to command the French army at Verdun. Petain fought with the motto " Ils ne passeront pas," which means, "They shall not pass!" While the exhausted German army was lingering at Fort Douaumont, Petain restructured his troops and transported reserves to the region continuously.

After about ten months, in November, three forts had been reclaimed by France and the French Army returned to their original positions.

That is a summary of the Battle of Verdun

Retired Field Marshall Alfred Baptiste Laurent