The Battle of Britain

The Battle of Verdun

Near Fort Vaux; Near Fort Vaux, north-east of Verdun, a German soldier takes cover in a shallow fold in the ground. Next to him lies the part-buried corpse of a French soldier.

Near Fort Vaux

photographs

Near Fort Vaux, north-east of Verdun, a German soldier takes cover in a shallow fold in the ground. Next to him lies the part-buried corpse of a French soldier.

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The Battle of Verdun, fought between the Germans and the French throughout most of 1916, was arguably the most influential battle of the Great War and had enormous consequences on subsequent Allied strategies.

The battle began in February...

The Battle of Verdun, fought between the Germans and the French throughout most of 1916, was arguably the most influential battle of the Great War and had enormous consequences on subsequent Allied strategies.

The battle began in February 1916 with the launch of a German attack on the ancient fortified town of Verdun on the River Meuse. The ten-hour opening bombardment saw an unprecedented concentration of firepower, and although the French were forced back they did not break.

The battle continued until December and entailed concentrated use of shellfire, poison gas and flamethrowers. Bitter fighting took place over the hill forts that surrounded the town, and the death toll for both sides exceeded a quarter of a million. However, the result was a French defensive victory through careful management of their army, efficient logistics and the determination of French troops fighting to defend their homeland. After the war, the German Chief of the General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, would claim he had intended to 'bleed France white' through a deliberate battle of attrition, though the truth of his claim has been questioned.

The fighting at Verdun had both an immediate and lasting impact. Intense German pressure on the French made British action on the Somme increasingly urgent, and the horror of the fighting had a traumatic psychological effect on France’s national psyche. The bloody failure of 1917’s Nivelle Offensive, a large-scale assault on German lines, delivered a blow to morale enough to cause a widespread mutiny in the French Army. The spectre of Verdun stretched beyond the victory of 1918 and would weigh on French minds when the Germans invaded once more in 1940.

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  • Rose bud

    souvenirs and ephemera

    Rose bud; Verdun came to symbolise the Allied war effort. In November 1920, HMS Verdun, a Royal Navy destroyer named in honour of the battle, carried the Unknown Warrior from France in a unique and highly symbolic duty. This rose bud had been part of the wreath that lay atop the coffin, but it became detached and was given as a remembrance gift to a young boy whose father was killed in action in 1914.

  • A French Highway, 1918

    art

    A French Highway, 1918; A French Highway, 1918, by John Nash. John Nash was appointed as an official war artist in April 1918 following vigorous canvassing by his brother Paul. This 1918 painting shows two mounted French officers, in their distinctive helmets and dark blue cloaks, alongside marching British soldiers. The 45 mile (72 km) road between Bar-le-Duc and Verdun was the most important route in and out of the beleaguered Verdun salient. It became known as the Voie Sacrée, or Sacred Way.

  • Verdun, 1919

    posters

    Verdun, 1919; This is one of a series of posters depicting war damaged towns and cities in France produced after the war by the Eastern Railway Company. The fortified town and military base at Verdun was of great symbolic significance to the French, who defended it against a series of determined German attacks from February to December 1916.

  • Model of a French Army infantryman, 1917

    souvenirs and ephemera

    Model of a French Army infantryman, 1917; This detailed model of a French infantryman or poilu is thought to have been originally sold as a toy, retailing in Paris during 1917 for 70 Francs. The figure is dressed in the characteristic ‘horizon blue’ uniform of the French Army.