Battle of Verdun 1916
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 21 February 1916 – 18 December 1916 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1916 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Western Front, World War I | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | French Third Republic, German Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 49.2081, 5.4219 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Verdun (French: Bataille de Verdun [bataj də vɛʁdœ̃]; German: Schlacht um Verdun [ʃlaxt ʔʊm ˈvɛɐ̯dœ̃]) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north of Verdun. The German 5th Army attacked the defences of the Fortified Region of Verdun (RFV, Région Fortifiée de Verdun) and those of the French Second Army on the right (east) bank of the Meuse. Using the experience of the Second Battle of Champagne in 1915, the Germans planned to capture the Meuse Heights, an excellent defensive position, with good observation for artillery-fire on Verdun. The Germans hoped that the French would commit their strategic reserve to recapture the position and suffer catastrophic losses at little cost to the German infantry.
Poor weather delayed the beginning of the attack until 21 February but the Germans captured Fort Douaumont four days later. The advance then slowed for several days, despite inflicting many French casualties. By 6 March, 20+1⁄2 French divisions were in the RFV and a more extensive defence in depth had been organised.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Verdun (revision 1376156165), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Third Battle of Krithia 1915
- Action of 19 August 1916 1916
- Actions of the Bluff, 1916 1916
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- Battle of Delville Wood 1916
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All 138 battles of the World War I →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · World War I era battles