Tag Archive for Verdun

MURDEROUS STALEMATE PERSISTS

Vast Bloodletting at Verdun in France, Naroch in Russia. The Most Mismanaged Battle of the War; Russian Defeat Threatens Mutiny. Special to The Great War Project (3-6 April) Significant news from the battlefields on both the Western and Eastern Fronts. In the West, the main battle is still at Verdun – which begins in February…

NO LET UP IN FIGHT FOR VERDUN

Armies Are Exhausted; Soldiers are Deserting Captain De Gaulle Attempts Escape, Over and Over Again. (20 March) The fierce battle for the French town of Verdun is ceaseless. Neither the French nor the Germans are willing to abandon the fight, which brings minuscule gains for each. The Germans attack on this date, one hundred years…

THE LONGEST BATTLE

Both Sides Stake All at Verdun. A Surprise German Attack Quickly Deadlocked. Special to The Great War Project. (4-7 March) The murderous battle on the Western Front for Verdun is now more than two weeks old, and the fighting is fierce. The Germans appear to have the upper hand. Their goal at Verdun is now…

VERDUN BLOODLETTING CONTINUES.

 British Reinforcement Fails at Siege of Kut. Russians Advance in Caucasus; Covert War in Persia. Special to The Great War Project (29 February-3 March) “Like a vision of hell.” That’s the way one German general describes the wounded German soldiers streaming past his headquarters on the battlefield at Verdun on the Western Front, 100 years…

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…

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,…

OUTLOOK FOR ALLIES IS DIRE

‘Bleed Them White’ Argues German Leader The Ignominy of the War of Attrition Special to The Great War Project. (29-31 December; 1 January) At the beginning of 1916, precisely a century ago, the Central Powers – Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire—are “in the ascendant,” as historian Martin Gilbert writes. The picture for Britain, France,…