Battleground
2 total works
This new and enthralling study is the first detailed work in English of a largely unknown period of the Battle of Verdun. It considers the background to the battle and casts light on the first three critical months of fighting there. It explains the decision to change the original German plan for the Verdun offensive and extend the action to the Left Bank of the River Meuse. Using only original French and German sources the author describes the fighting on the Left Bank and follows the German offensive as it slowly pushed forward, taking three terrible months to reach its objectives, the two hills known as Cote 304 and the Mort-Homme, or Dead Man. The reasons why the German offensive did not go as planned, and the problems that they had to overcome in order to reach their objectives, are fully explained. The French defence of the Left Bank hills, described by Germans themselves as outstanding, is also covered in great detail. Having spent twenty years walking the battlefield of Verdun, the author is able to describe the events in detail on the basis of a unique and intimate knowledge of the ground.The French defences, described by the Germans as outstanding, are thoroughly explained.
The book contains over 150 photographs, most of which have never been published before and which show the startling traces that remain of the longest battle of the First World War. The three walking tours take visitors through areas of the Left Bank that few visitors will ever visit.
The book contains over 150 photographs, most of which have never been published before and which show the startling traces that remain of the longest battle of the First World War. The three walking tours take visitors through areas of the Left Bank that few visitors will ever visit.
On 21 February 1916 the German Fifth Army launched a devastating offensive against French forces at Verdun and set in motion one of the most harrowing and prolonged battles of the Great War. By the time the struggle finished ten months later, over 650,000 men had been killed or wounded or were missing, and the terrible memory of the battle had been etched into the histories of France and Germany. This epic trial of military and national strength cannot be properly understood without visiting, and walking, the battlefield, and this is the purpose of Christina Holstein's invaluable guide. In a series of walks she takes the reader to all the key points on the battlefield, many of which have attained almost legendary status - the spot where Colonel Driant was killed, the forts of Douaumont, Vaux and Souville, the Mort Homme ridge, and Verdun itself.