Thursday, December 15, 2016

2ième Bataille Offensive de Verdun

The 2ième Bataille Offensive de Verdun, a second French offensive at Verdun, a battle that had been running for months, commenced at 10:00 on this day in 1916.  A German barrage designed to halt a ground attack commenced too late to stop it.

Map depicting french gains from December 15 (15/12), 1916 to December 18 (18/12), 1916.

The artillery phase of the offensive preceded the ground assault by several days, with artillery duels occurring as a result.  

The offensive would run until the 18th and gain up to about five miles in some locations, taking some very strategic position in its course and resulting in significant German losses.  The French would take 11,000 Germans as prisoners alone.  The halt of their advance on the 18th marked the end of the siege of Verdun.  In the total siege the French sustained about 400,000 casualties and the Germans about 300,000.

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