Battle of Verdun

In February 1916, the Germans attacked Verdun, near Sedan. Aristide Briand, premier of France, knew that if Verdun - strategically unimportant but a symbol of the national will to resist - fell, public morale and his government would fall with it. Verdun had to be held. Briand ordered a counter-offensive, led by General Philippe Pétain. Pétain saved the fortress and made his reputation; but between Verdun and the Somme offensive in July, there were half-a-million French casualties. Public disillusionment set in, and the government embarked on an extensive propaganda campaign to sustain public support for the war. Marshal Joffre was its victim, and was dismissed at the end of the year.

This article is based on material taken from A Traveller's History of France (© Robert Cole), published by The Windrush Press, and is by kind permission of its author Robert Cole.

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