Third phase, 16 April – 1 July Battle of Verdun

1 third phase, 16 april – 1 july

1.1 april
1.2 4–24 may
1.3 22–24 may
1.4 30 may – 7 june
1.5 22–25 june

third phase, 16 april – 1 july
april

the failure of german attacks in april angriffsgruppe ost, led knobelsdorf take soundings 5th army corps commanders, unanimously wanted continue. german infantry exposed continuous artillery fire flanks , rear; communications rear , reserve positions equally vulnerable, caused constant drain of casualties. defensive positions difficult build, because existing positions on ground had been swept clear german bombardments in offensive, leaving german infantry little cover. xv corps commander, general berthold von deimling wrote french heavy artillery , gas bombardments undermining morale of german infantry, made necessary keep going reach safer defensive positions. knobelsdorf reported these findings falkenhayn on 20 april, adding if germans did not go forward, must go start line of 21 february.

knobelsdorf rejected policy of limited piecemeal attacks tried mudra commander of angriffsgruppe ost , advocated return wide-front attacks unlimited objectives, swiftly reach line ouvrage de thiaumont fleury, fort souville , fort de tavannes. falkenhayn persuaded agree change , end of april, 21 divisions, of ohl reserve, had been sent verdun , troops had been transferred eastern front. resort large, unlimited attacks costly both sides german advance proceeded slowly. rather causing devastating french casualties heavy artillery infantry in secure defensive positions, french compelled attack, germans inflicted casualties attacks provoked french counter-attacks , assumed process inflicted 5 french casualties 2 german losses.

in mid-march, falkenhayn had reminded 5th army use tactics intended conserve infantry, after corps commanders had been allowed discretion choose between cautious, step step tactics desired falkenhayn , maximum efforts, intended obtain quick results. on third day of offensive, 6th division of iii corps (general ewald von lochow), had ordered herbebois taken regardless of loss , 5th division had attacked wavrille accompaniment of band. falkenhayn urged 5th army use stoßtruppen (storm units) composed of 2 infantry squads , 1 of engineers, armed automatic weapons, hand grenades, trench mortars , flame-throwers, advance in front of main infantry body. stoßtruppen conceal advance shrewd use of terrain , capture blockhouses remained after artillery preparation. strongpoints not taken by-passed , captured follow-up troops. falkenhayn ordered command of field , heavy artillery units combined, commander @ each corps headquarters. common observers , communication systems ensure batteries in different places bring targets under converging fire, allotted systematically support divisions.

in mid-april, falkenhayn ordered infantry should advance close barrage, exploit neutralising effect of shellfire on surviving defenders, because fresh troops @ verdun had not been trained in these methods. knobelsdorf persisted attempts maintain momentum, incompatible methods of casualty conservation, implemented limited attacks, pauses consolidate , prepare. mudra , other commanders disagreed sacked. falkenhayn intervened change german defensive tactics, advocating dispersed defence second line held main line of resistance , jumping-off point counter-attacks. machine-guns set overlapping fields of fire , infantry given specific areas defend. when french infantry attacked, isolated sperrfeuer (barrage-fire) on former front line, increase french infantry casualties. changes desired falkenhayn had little effect, because main cause of german casualties artillery-fire, french.

4–24 may

from 10 may german operations limited local attacks, either in reply french counter-attacks on 11 april between douaumont , vaux , on 17 april between meuse , douaumont, or local attempts take points of tactical value. @ beginning of may, general pétain promoted command of groupe d armées du centre (gac) , general robert nivelle took on second army @ verdun. 4–24 may, german attacks made on west bank around mort-homme , on 4 may, north slope of côte 304 captured; french counter-attacks 5–6 may repulsed. french defenders on crest of côte 304 forced on 7 may german infantry unable occupy ridge, because of intensity of french artillery-fire. cumieres , caurettes fell on 24 may french counter-attack began @ fort douaumont.

22–24 may

in may, general nivelle, had taken on second army, ordered general charles mangin, commander of 5th division plan counter-attack on fort douaumont. initial plan attack on 3 km (1.9 mi) front several minor german attacks captured fausse-côte , couleuvre ravines on south-east , west sides of fort. further attack took ridge south of ravin de couleuvre, gave germans better routes counter-attacks , observation on french lines south , south-west. mangin proposed preliminary attack retake area of ravines, obstruct routes german counter-attack on fort made. more divisions necessary these refused, preserve troops needed forthcoming offensive on somme; mangin limited 1 division attack 1 in reserve. nivelle reduced attack assault on morchée trench, bonnet-d evèque, fontaine trench, fort douaumont, machine-gun turret , hongrois trench, require advance of 500 m (550 yd) on 1,150 m (1,260 yd) front.

iii corps command attack 5th division , 71st brigade, support 3 balloon companies artillery-observation , fighter group. main effort conducted 2 battalions of 129th infantry regiment, each pioneer company , machine-gun company attached. 2nd battalion attack south , 1st battalion move along west side of fort north end, taking fontaine trench , linking 6th company. 2 battalions of 74th infantry regiment advance along east , south-east sides of fort , take machine-gun turret on ridge east. flank support arranged neighbouring regiments , diversions planned near fort vaux , ravin de dame. preparations attack included digging of 12 km (7.5 mi) of trenches , building of large numbers of depots , stores little progress made due shortage of pioneers. french troops captured on 13 may, disclosed plan germans, responded subjecting area more artillery harassing fire, slowed french preparations.

the french preliminary bombardment 4 370 mm mortars , 300 heavy guns, began on 17 may , 21 may, french artillery commander claimed fort had been severely damaged. during bombardment german garrison in fort experienced great strain, french heavy shells smashed holes in walls , concrete dust, exhaust fumes electricity generator , gas disinterred corpses polluted air. water ran short until 20 may, fort remained operational, reports being passed , reinforcements moving forward until afternoon, when bourges casemate isolated , wireless station in north-western machine-gun turret burnt down. conditions german infantry in vicinity far worse , 18 may, french destructive bombardment had obliterated many defensive positions, survivors taking post in shell-holes , dips on ground. communication rear severed , food , water ran out time of french attack on 22 may. troops of infantry regiment 52 in front of fort douaumont had been reduced 37 men near thiaumont farm , german counter-barrages inflicted similar losses on french troops. french aircraft attacked 8 observation balloons , 5th army headquarters @ stenay on 22 may. 6 balloons shot down german artillery fire increased , twenty minutes before 0 hour, german bombardment began, reduced 129th infantry regiment companies 45 men each.

the assault began @ 11:50 a. m. on 22 may on 1 km (0.62 mi) front. on left flank 36th infantry regiment attack captured morchée trench , bonnet-d evèque costly , regiment advance no further. flank guard on right pinned down, except 1 company disappeared , in bois caillette, battalion of 74th infantry regiment unable leave trenches; other battalion managed reach objectives @ ammunition depot, shelter dv1 @ edge of bois caillette , machine-gun turret east of fort, battalion found flanks unsupported. despite german small-arms fire, 129th infantry regiment reached fort in few minutes , managed in through west , south sides. nightfall, half of fort had been recaptured , next day, 34th division sent reinforce fort. reinforcements repulsed , german reserves managed cut off french troops in fort , force them surrender, 1,000 french prisoners being taken. after 3 days, french had lost 5,640 casualties 12,000 men in attack , german casualties in infantry regiment 52, grenadier regiment 12 , leib-grenadier regiment 8 4,500 men.

30 may – 7 june

later in may 1916, german attacks shifted left bank @ mort-homme , côte 304 , returned right bank, south of fort douaumont. german offensive began reach fleury ridge, last french defensive line , take ouvrage de thiaumont, fleury, fort souville , fort vaux @ north-east extremity of french line, had been bombarded c. 8,000 shells day since beginning of offensive. after final assault on 1 june, c. 10,000 german troops, top of fort occupied on 2 june. fighting went on underground until garrison ran out of water , surrendered on 7 june. in 5 days german attack had advanced 65 m (71 yd) loss of 2,700 killed against 20 french casualties. when news of loss of fort vaux reached verdun, line of panic occupied , trenches dug on edge of city. on left bank, german advanced line côte 304, mort-homme , cumières , threatened chattancourt , avocourt. heavy rains slowed german advance towards fort souville, both sides attacked , counter-attacked next 2 months.

22–25 june

on 22 june, german artillery fired on 116,000 diphosgene (green cross) gas shells @ french artillery positions, caused on 1,600 casualties , silenced of french artillery. next day german attack on 5 km (3.1 mi) front @ 5:00 a.m., drove 3 km × 2 km (1.9 mi × 1.2 mi) salient french defences, without opposition until 9:00 a.m., when french troops able fight rearguard action. ouvrage de thiaumont , ouvrage de froidterre @ south end of plateau captured village of fleury , chapelle sainte-fine overrun. attack came close fort souville, since april, had been hit c. 38,000 shells , brought germans within 5 km (3.1 mi) of verdun citadel. chapelle sainte-fine recaptured french , german advance halted. supply of water german infantry broke down, salient vulnerable fire 3 sides , attack not go on without more diphosgene ammunition. chapelle sainte-fine became furthest point reached germans during verdun offensive , on 24 june preliminary anglo-french bombardment began on somme. fleury changed hands sixteen times 23 june 17 august. 4 french divisions diverted verdun somme , french artillery recovered sufficiently on 24 june cut off german front line rear. 25 june, both sides exhausted , knobelsdorf suspended attack.