The Battle of Verdun, which began on 21 February 1916, ended on 18 December 1916 with the French back on the offensive. A last attack on the right bank of the Meuse, launched on 15 December, retook Louvemont and Bezonvaux. By then Forts Douaumont and Vaux were French again, and some 300,000 men had died on both sides.
The French take back their forts
The German offensive that opened on 21 February 1916 took Fort Douaumont on 25 February and Fort Vaux on 7 June. General Philippe Pétain was put in charge of the defense of Verdun, and in the spring General Robert Nivelle replaced him. In the autumn the French, led by Nivelle and General Charles Mangin, went over to the attack. Their offensive opened on 24 October and retook Douaumont. The Germans then evacuated Fort Vaux, and the French were back in it by 3 November; Larousse gives 2 November.1
The last attack, 15 to 18 December
On 15 December the French attacked again on the right bank of the Meuse. They cleared the ground around Fort Douaumont and retook the villages of Louvemont and Bezonvaux; Larousse also names Hardaumont and Vacherauville among the places taken that day. The offensive ended on 18 December, and with it the Battle of Verdun.2
The cost
No exact count of the losses exists, and the published totals differ. The Mémorial de Verdun gives 163,000 French dead and 216,000 wounded, and 143,000 German dead and 190,000 wounded, almost 700,000 killed or wounded in all. The French Ministry of the Armed Forces gives some 300,000 dead, 160,000 French and 140,000 German. Larousse counts about 360,000 French and 330,000 German killed or missing.3
Our full account, The Battle of Verdun, 1916, tells the whole battle from Falkenhayn’s plan to the Sacred Way and the fight for the forts. The opening day has its own page: 21 February, the Battle of Verdun begins.
Battle of Mudki, 1845: the first battle of the Sikh Wars
18 December 1845 · 180 years ago
East India Company forces fought part of the Khalsa, the army of the Sikh Empire, at Mudki, after Sikh leaders had pushed their restive army into war with the British. The British won, though at the cost of heavy casualties.
Read the full story of Battle of Mudki, 1845: the first battle of the Sikh Wars ›
