Dead Man's Hill

Except for losing Fort Douaumont, French defendcrs do well and slow down the German attacks on the East Bank of the Meuse. To salvage the offensive, 5. Armee commander, Crown Prince Wilhelm, looks to the West Bank Standing in his …

1916-03-07

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Except for losing Fort Douaumont, French defendcrs do well and slow down the German attacks on the East Bank of the Meuse. To salvage the offensive, 5. Armee commander, Crown Prince Wilhelm, looks to the West Bank Standing in his way is Mort Homme (Dead Man's Hill), a high point overseeing much of the Verdun battlefield. The position actually spans two crests, 265 and 295 meters high. Taking one is only half way. German troops fight at close quarters for hours when they attack the weak French 67th Division. The density of the forces, coupled with the ferocity, leave the ground strewn with dead and wounded. Général Pétain declares, “we shall have them", and for now the French stay. Artillery guns match each other salvo for salvo. The German commander on the West Bank, Max von Callwitz, is an artillerist who knows barrages. The bombardments smash the hill until it is merely a collection of holes. Troops cling to them like ants, Dead Man's Hill becomes a see-saw battle destined to go on for months.

Verdun, France

The Battle of Verdun, 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-sur-Meuse. The German 5th Army attacked the defences of the Fortified Region of 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 Germans.

Wikipedia: Battle of Verdun

German

French