CAS HI 284 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, Battle Of Verdun
Document Summary
German army stayed on the defence in the west with the exception of verdun. Mostly allied troops that went out over the top to attack german trenches. Western trenches shifted no more than 10 miles over 4 years. Wwi and wwii, 50% of all casualties were inflicted by artillery. Trench networks on both sides, multiple layers of trenches all interconnected. German attack at verdun initially caught french army by surprise. French army recovered, responded with an extraordinary effort over 10 months, with the. 3/4 of the french army cycled through the same battlefield. Falkenhayn concluded that attrition was the only thing that mattered when armies could not flank. Believed the war needed to be won on the western front. Bleed france white - bleed out an entire nation as the operational principle in winning the war. Required german soldiers to die in very large numbers. This fact hidden from the men to preserve their fighting spirit.
