![]() ![]() Offensive on the French that most historians believe These happened in February, where you have the Battle Just in World War I history, but in world history, In fact, it was soīloody that some of the most famous battles, not The front pretty much looked the way that it looks in Stalemate because you did not have a major movement Period between 19 on the Western Front is usuallyĬonsidered to be a stalemate. So ya, the Austrians weren't just sitting on their hands for most of the war, despite what it may seem. However, the Austrians were worn out and by 1918 the Austrians were routed and were forced to capitulate. The Austrians in 1917 would then, with German support, fight the decisive Battle of Caporetto which Drove the Italians back several hundred miles and would break the Italian's moral. The Italians would launch a grand total of 11 attacks against the Austrians here (All called "The Battle of the Isonzo River", trying and differentiate between them all is a lot of fun) and the Austrians won each on. Here, the front line ran along the Isonzo River. However, it was in Italy, that the Austrians had the most success. By 1917 when the war in the east ended, the Austrian were low on moral and were almost totally subservient to the Germans. in 1915, the Austrians had helped the Germans in the repelling of Russian forces from Poland and in 1916 in repelling the Russian Brusilov Offensive. In Russia, the Austrians had also been defeated by the Russian in 1914, and had lost much of their province of Galica to the Russians. This front too would remain static with trenches until 1918. However, the allies quickly rushed troops into neutral Greece to prevent the complete occupation of the Balkans. In 1915, the Austrians, with German and Bulgarian support, finally overran the country. In 1914, the Austrians had invaded Serbian (three time precisely) had had been repelled each time. During 19, the Austrians were fighting on three major fronts, in the East against the Russians, in the Balkans against a combined allied army in Greece, and with the Italians along the Austro-Italian Border. To call Verdun a victory for either side would be incorrect – Verdun was a victory for death alone.Good Question Adam, I've noticed the same thing myself :). His strategy nearly worked, but as the numbers show, it was just as devastating to the German forces as it was to the French. ![]() In other words, rather than gain territory as was the traditional goal of a battle, he wanted to eliminate so many of France’s infantry that they would have to surrender. German Chief of General Staff, Erich von Falkenhayn, famously stated that he wanted to “bleed France white”. By the end of the battle, both sides were essentially in the same place they were at the beginning. ![]() Reinforcements would be brought in, and this cycle would play out over and over again. Each day the men would leave the trenches to fight in “no mans’ land”, almost certain death. A constant barrage of artillery rained down on the soldiers on either side. Each side dug in, building trenches several hundred metres away from the other side. A new type of warfare was being waged here. German machine gunners wearing gas masks in case of chemical attack The ground, churned up, a muddy, murky mess of clay, shells, and human remains. Their former happy streets became places of unimaginable horror. Imagine these villages, home to generations of farmers and craftspeople, bakers and priests, going back to medieval times. The battle for Verdun turned the beautiful French countryside into an alien landscape – the forests were obliterated, the farms were pockmarked with huge shell craters, and the 9 rural villages that surrounded Verdun were erased – nothing was left. Over 70 000 casualties per month – just on this one battlefield Over 377,000 casualties on the French side The numbers alone are shocking :ĩ months, 3 weeks and 6 days of continuous fighting “On ne passe pas!” (They shall not pass) was the oft quoted battle cry, coined by French General Robert Neville.įrench military poster with the words “On ne passe pas!” (They shall not pass)įrom the 21st of February to the 18th of December, 1916, unrelenting warfare was carried out across the forested hills and farms outside of the evacuated, destroyed town of Verdun. ![]()
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