Fourth phase 1 July – 17 December Battle of Verdun

1 fourth phase 1 july – 17 december

1.1 9–15 july
1.2 1 august – 17 september
1.3 20 october – 2 november
1.4 15–17 december 1916

fourth phase 1 july – 17 december

by end of may french casualties @ verdun had risen c. 185,000 , in june german losses had reached c. 200,000 men. opening of battle of somme on 1 july, forced germans withdraw of artillery verdun, first strategic success of anglo-french offensive.

9–15 july

fort souville dominated crest 1 km (0.62 mi) south-east of fleury , 1 of original objectives of february offensive. capture of fort give germans control of heights overlooking verdun , allow infantry dig in on commanding ground. german preparatory bombardment began on 9 july, attempt suppress french artillery on 60,000 gas shells, had little effect since french had been equipped improved m2 gas mask. fort souville , approaches bombarded more 300,000 shells, including 500 360 mm (14 in) shells on fort. attack 3 german divisions began on 11 july german infantry bunched on path leading fort souville , came under bombardment french artillery. surviving troops fired on sixty french machine-gunners, emerged fort , took positions on superstructure. thirty soldiers of infantry regiment 140 managed reach top of fort on 12 july, germans see roofs of verdun , spire of cathedral. after small french counter-attack, survivors retreated start lines or surrendered. on evening of 11 july, crown prince wilhelm ordered falkenhayn go onto defensive , on 15 july, french conducted larger counter-attack gained no ground; rest of month french made small attacks.

1 august – 17 september

on 1 august german surprise-attack advanced 800–900 m (870–980 yd) towards fort souville, prompted french counter-attacks 2 weeks, able retake small amount of captured ground. on 18 august, fleury recaptured , september, french counter-attacks had recovered of ground lost in july , august. on 29 august falkenhayn replaced chief of general staff paul von hindenburg , first quartermaster-general erich ludendorff. on 3 september, attack on both flanks @ fleury advanced french line several hundred metres, against german counter-attacks 4–5 september failed. french attacked again on 9, 13 , 15–17 september. losses light except @ tavannes railway tunnel, 474 french troops died in fire began on 4 september.

20 october – 2 november

in october 1916 french began 1ère bataille offensive de verdun (first offensive battle of verdun), recapture fort douaumont, advance of more 2 km (1.2 mi). 7 of 22 divisions @ verdun replaced mid-october , french infantry platoons reorganised contain sections of riflemen, grenadiers , machine-gunners. in six-day preliminary bombardment, french artillery fired 855,264 shells, including 532,926 seventy-five mm field-gun shells, 100,000 155 mm medium shells , 373 370 mm , 400 mm super-heavy shells, more 700 guns , howitzers. 2 french saint-chamond railway guns, 13 km (8.1 mi) south-west @ baleycourt, fired 400 mm (16 in) super-heavy shells, each weighing 1 short ton (0.91 t). french had identified 800 german guns on right bank capable of supporting 34th, 54th, 9th , 33rd reserve divisions, 10th , 5th divisions in reserve. @ least 20 of super-heavy shells hit fort douaumont, sixth penetrating lowest level , exploding in pioneer depot, starting fire next 7,000 hand-grenades.

the 38th division (general guyot de salins), 133rd division (general fenelon f.g. passaga) , 74th division (general charles de lardemelle) attacked @ 11:40 a.m. infantry advanced 50 m (55 yd) behind creeping field-artillery barrage, moving @ rate of 50 m (55 yd) in 2 minutes, beyond heavy artillery barrage moved in 500–1,000 m (550–1,090 yd) lifts, field artillery barrage came within 150 m (160 yd), force german infantry , machine-gunners stay under cover. germans had partly evacuated douaumont, recaptured on 24 october french marines , colonial infantry; more 6,000 prisoners , fifteen guns captured 25 october attempt on fort vaux failed. haudromont quarries, ouvrage de thiaumont , thiaumont farm, douaumont village, northern end of caillette wood, vaux pond, eastern fringe of bois fumin , damloup battery captured. heaviest french artillery bombarded fort vaux next week , on 2 november, germans evacuated fort, after huge explosion caused 220 mm shell. french eavesdroppers overheard german wireless message announcing departure , french infantry company entered fort without firing shot; on 5 november, french reached front line of 24 february , offensive operations ceased until december.

15–17 december 1916

the 2ième bataille offensive de verdun (second offensive battle of verdun) conducted 126th division (general paul j. h. muteau), 38th (general guyot de salins), 37th division (general noël garnier-duplessix) , 133rd division (general fenelon f. g. passaga), 4 more in reserve , 740 heavy guns in support. attack planned pétain , nivelle , commanded mangin. attack began @ 10:00 a.m. on 15 december, after six-day bombardment of 1,169,000 shells, fired 827 guns. final french bombardment directed artillery-observation aircraft, falling on trenches, dugout entrances , observation posts. 5 german divisions supported 533 guns held defensive position, 2,300 m (2,500 yd) deep,  ⁄3 of infantry in battle zone , remaining  ⁄3 in reserve 10–16 km (6.2–9.9 mi) back; 2 of german divisions understrength c. 3,000 infantry, instead of normal establishment of c. 7,000. french advance preceded double creeping barrage, shrapnel-fire field artillery 64 m (70 yd) in front of infantry , high-explosive barrage 140 m (150 yd) ahead, moved towards standing shrapnel bombardment along german second line, laid cut off german retreat , block advance of reinforcements. german defence collapsed , 13,500 men of 21,000 in 5 front divisions lost, having been trapped while under cover , taken prisoner when french infantry arrived.

the french reached objectives @ vacherauville , louvemont had been lost in february, along hardaumont , côte du poivre, despite attacking in bad weather. german reserve battalions did not reach front until evening , 2 eingreif divisions, had been ordered forward previous evening, still 23 km (14 mi) away @ noon. night of 16/17 december, french had consolidated new line bezonvaux côte du poivre, 2–3 km (1.2–1.9 mi) beyond douaumont , 1 km (0.62 mi) north of fort vaux, before german reserves , eingreif units counter-attack. 155 mm turret @ douaumont had been repaired , fired in support of french attack. closest german point verdun had been pushed 7.5 km (4.7 mi) , dominating observation points had been recaptured. french took 11,387 prisoners , 115 guns. german officers complained mangin lack of comfort in captivity , replied, regret it, gentlemen did not expect many of you. lochow, 5th army commander , general hans von zwehl, commander of xiv reserve corps, sacked on 16 december.

cite error: there <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on page, references not show without {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see page).