Monthly Archives: February 2016

AT SLAUGHTERHOUSE OF VERDUN, FRENCH STOP GERMAN ADVANCE

Petain: Tell Your Troops, Hold Fast. For German Command, ‘No Success Anywhere’ Special to The Great War Project (26-28 February) The carnage at Verdun continues unabated. Reports historian Martin Gilbert, the German daily assaults and shelling are ferocious. But while the Germans savage the French defenders, they “failed to give the Germans their entry into…

FRENCH PANIC AT VERDUN

Many Soldiers Terrorized, Flee Battlefield; Kaiser Arrives to Praise German Troops. Verdun on the Brink of Collapse. Special to The Great War Project. (22-25 February) By the third day of the German offensive at the French town of Verdun, German troops advance two miles. They take 3,000 French soldiers prisoner, after the Germans use their…

EXTRA! EXTRA! GERMANS ATTACK FRENCH AT VERDUN.

THROW A MILLION MEN INTO THE BATTLE. An Immense Artillery Barrage; Huge Attack from the Air. Special to The Great War Project (20-21 February) On this day a century ago, the Germans mount a great offensive at Verdun. A million German soldiers seek to take the old fortress at this northern French city on the…

RUSSIAN COSSACKS OVERRUN TURKISH CITY

Ottomans Stunned at Fall of Erzurum on Caucasus Front; Relentless Turkish Siege of British at Kut . Special to The Great War Project. (16-19 February) In the Mesopotamian [Iraqi] desert, the Turks tighten their deadly noose around the small and increasingly hungry British and Indian troops at Kut. In mid-February 1916, precisely a century ago,…

SERBIA ATTACKED AGAIN BY AUSTRIA

Conditions for Serb Forces Disastrous; Typhus Spreads Among Troops. Hatred of Austrians the Glue that Holds the Serbs Together. Special to The Great War Project (11-15 February) By this time one hundred years ago, Serbia, the land where the war started, is nearly defeated and occupied by the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary. This is…

GERMAN ATTACK ON VERDUN IMMINENT

In Final Stages of Preparation; Germans Seek Knockout Blow Against French Bastion. French, British Eye Offensive at the Somme Special to The Great War Project. (7-10 February) Planning on both sides intensifies, as the Germans and the Allies each hope to mount massive offensives that can break the war’s devastating stalemate.. Writes historian Martin Gilbert,…

ALLIES NEED U.S. MONEY, WEAPONS TO CONTINUE THE WAR

German Limits on U-boat Ops Satisfies Americans. Under Siege in Iraq, British Desperate for American Support Special to The Great War Project (3-6 February) It is now completely obvious that, at this stage in the war a century ago, without American support in munitions and loans, Britain and France will lose the war. Writes historian…

BRITISH BLOCKADE TAKING ITS TOLL

Little Food Reaching Germany; Its Exports Drying Up In Dire Straits, Berlin to Mount Huge Attack at Verdun Special to The Great War Project (30 January-2 February) The British sea blockade of Germany is causing real pain. The British goal is to starve Germany into submission, and the blockade is having an impact. In the…