The Battle of Verdun, 1916: they shall not pass

Some battles are won by a stroke of genius. Verdun was won, at a terrible price, by simply refusing to break. For ten months in 1916 two armies fed themselves into the hills around a French fortress town, and it became the longest battle of the First World War and one of the most murderous in history.

Bleed France white

The German commander Falkenhayn did not expect to break through at Verdun. His aim was colder: to attack a place France could not afford to lose, and there to bleed the French army white, trading life for life until France ran out. Verdun, ringed with old forts and heavy with national pride, was the bait.

The forts fall

In February 1916 a massive bombardment opened the battle, and the Germans pushed forward. Within days the great Fort Douaumont, the strongest in the ring, fell almost without a fight. It looked as if Verdun might collapse.

France answered not with a plan, but with a promise: they shall not pass.

Ils ne passeront pas

General Pétain took command and turned Verdun into a fortress of will. A single road into the town, later called the Voie Sacrée, the Sacred Way, kept it supplied by an endless stream of trucks, and fresh divisions were rotated through the front so the army was bled but never shattered. The rallying cry became ils ne passeront pas, they shall not pass.

The mill

What followed was not a battle so much as a machine for killing. Artillery churned the ground into a moonscape of mud and craters; forts and villages changed hands again and again; men lived and died in holes under constant shellfire. Both sides poured in everything they had.

The toll

By the time it ended in December, the front had barely moved, and together the two armies had suffered around 700,000 casualties or more. Falkenhayn's plan failed: Germany bled almost as heavily as France. Verdun won nothing on the map, but it became France's supreme symbol of endurance, and a lasting emblem of the futility of a war of attrition.

Frequently asked questions

What was Falkenhayn's strategy at Verdun, and did it work?

At Verdun in 1916 the German commander Falkenhayn did not aim to break through but to bleed the French army white by attacking a place France could not afford to lose, yet the plan failed because Germany bled almost as heavily as France.

Why is Verdun called the longest battle of the First World War?

The Battle of Verdun in 1916 lasted ten months, from February to December, as two armies fed themselves into the hills around the fortress town, making it the longest battle of the First World War and one of the most murderous in history.

How did France hold Verdun after Fort Douaumont fell?

At Verdun in 1916, after the great Fort Douaumont fell almost without a fight, General Pétain took command and kept the town supplied along a single road, the Voie Sacrée, rotating fresh divisions through the front so the army was bled but never shattered.

What did the Battle of Verdun achieve in the end?

By the time Verdun ended in December 1916 the front had barely moved and the two armies together had suffered around 700,000 casualties or more, so the battle won nothing on the map but became France's supreme symbol of endurance.

What does Verdun symbolise about the First World War?

The Battle of Verdun in 1916, with its ten months of grinding slaughter for almost no ground, became a lasting emblem of the futility of a war of attrition.

Who won the Battle of Verdun?

The Battle of Verdun in 1916 ended without a clear victor, as after ten months the front had barely moved, yet the French held the town and Falkenhayn's German plan to bleed France white had failed. It became France's supreme symbol of endurance and of the futility of a war of attrition.

How many people died at Verdun?

Precise figures are debated, but together the two armies are estimated to have suffered around 700,000 casualties or more during the Battle of Verdun in 1916, with Germany bleeding almost as heavily as France.