From Verdun to the Somme: How 1916 shaped the course of World War One

As winter turned to spring in February 1916, one of the first major battles took place at the fortified French city of Verdun.

It was located along the trenches of Western Front and was strategically significant due to its fortifications along the Meuse River.

In addition, Verdun held symbolic importance to French national pride since it had been a site of French resistance against invasions since Roman times, and its fortifications were symbols of French resilience. 

In 1914, the city had withstood German advances during the initial stages of the war, but by 1915, Verdun remained a salient, surrounded on three sides by German forces.

Despite its strategic importance, Verdun saw limited action during this period as both sides focused on other fronts. 

As a result, the French military leadership, who had underestimated the importance of fortifications, had even considered dismantling some of Verdun's defenses.

However, the Germans knew that if they launched an attack on this site, the French would defend it with all their strength.

So, the German Chief of Staff, General von Falkenhayn, decided to launch a prolonged attack on Verdun that would force the French to throw all their resources into defending it.

The strategy was to break the enemy lines, expend their resources, and wear down the French ability to fight through attrition.

By doing these things, Falkenhayn hoped to exhaust the French armies, or, as he said, to "bleed the French army white". 

The Battle of Verdun began on February 21st when approximately 140,000 German troops threw themselves against around 30,000 French defenders.

The Germans had launched a massive artillery bombardment before their infantry assault, aiming to overwhelm the French forces and capture Verdun quickly.

The German troops successfully captured Fort Douaumont  on February 25.

Despite being initially unprepared, the French forces mounted a determined and effective defense, quickly reinforcing their positions and counterattacking.

As a result, the initial German assault on Verdun ultimately failed due to a combination of challenging terrain and strong French fortifications.

In fact, General Philippe Pétain became a national hero for his leadership in organizing the counterattacks and the supply lines along the ‘Sacred Way’ to keep the French army reinforced.

Additionally, communication issues within the German ranks led to delays in advancing after initial successes.

These factors prevented the Germans from achieving their goal of a swift victory, resulting in a protracted that would last for gruelling ten months, only ending on the 18th of December.

Slowly, the French were able to turn the tide of the fighting. They were able to take back the valuable Fort Vaux after intense fighting from June 3 to June 8, 1916.

Also, the French were able to recapture Fort Vaux on November 2, 1916.

At its conclusion, the Battle of Verdun was one of the longest battles of World War One, and it was also one of the bloodiest.

Over 700,000 men (377,231 French and 337,000) were killed or wounded in the 10 months of fighting.

The Battle of the Somme was perhaps the most significant battle that took place in 1916.

Initially, the British army wanted to relieve pressure from the French army, who were fighting at Verdun.

General Sir Douglas Haig, who was the British commander, believed that attrition was the key to weakening the German army.

So, he assembled the British Fourth Army, consisting of 13 divisions, and the French Sixth Army, which were prepared to launch an infantry attack along a 15-mile front.

The offensive was intended to break through German defenses and create opportunities for further advances,

Before the day of the assault, the British army had bombarded the German trenches using artillery for over a week.

It involved approximately 1.73 million shells fired by the British Fourth Army across a 25,000-yard front.

Then, the Battle of the Somme began on July 1st, when the British army ordered 120,000 men to attack the German trenches along the Somme River.

Despite the earlier artillery bombardment, many of the shells had been duds, and the German defenses remained largely intact.

Also, poor coordination on the first day led to many soldiers walking into uncut barbed wire and strong German defenses.

German forces had developed quite a sophisticated defensive system by 1916, which including multiple trench lines, bunkers, and machine gun nests.

This made it exceedingly difficult for Allied forces to break through despite prolonged artillery bombardments.

60,000 German soldiers quickly defended their positions and caused horrific casualties on the approaching British lines.

As a result, the first day of the Battle of the Somme saw the British suffer approximately 57,000 casualties, of which around 19,240 were killed.

This meant that it was the deadliest day in British military history.

By the end of the first day, the British experienced limited success. The main achievements were in the southern sector near Montauban and Mametz, where they managed to capture some German positions.

These gains were primarily due to the effective support of French heavy artillery in those areas.

However, overall, the British failed to achieve their primary objectives, and most of their advances were repelled by strong German defenses.

However, the British did not want to surrender these limited gains and wanted to continue to relieve the pressure on Verdun.

So, the fighting at the Somme would last for five months, until November 18th. By its conclusion, over a million men were killed or wounded in the battle.

One of the important milestones of the Somme was the fact that tanks were used for the first time at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette.

In particular, the British forces deployed 49 new Mark I tanks, but they had limited success in the battle due to mechanical failures and poor coordination with infantry.

Also, the Somme offensive saw the first large-scale use of aircraft for reconnaissance and bombing, with both the British Royal Flying Corps and the German Luftstreitkräfte engaging in intense air battles for control of the skies.

Despite the huge death toll and the use of new technologies, the battle was not a clear victory for either side.

The Allies had advanced only about 7 miles at a great cost, with approximately 420,000 British and 200,000 French casualties compared to around 500,000 German casualties.

While the campaign at the Somme was unfolding, the British army planned a series of diversionary battles to help stretch German forces thin and prevent them from concentrating reinforcements.

By launching additional operations elsewhere, commanders hoped to alleviate pressure on the main assault and keep their forces committed to multiple fronts.

The expectation was that these efforts would weaken German defenses and give the Allies opportunities for breakthroughs.

British commanders believed that by coordinating these smaller offensives, they could prevent the Germans from regrouping or reinforcing their lines at critical points.

Each diversion had its own tactical purpose, and while the individual battles were often costly, the British viewed them as necessary for maintaining momentum against entrenched German positions.

Often, these operations were planned to coincide with renewed assaults along the main front, forcing the Germans to respond on multiple fronts simultaneously.

One of the earliest diversionary battles as part of the Somme fighting focused on capturing the village of Pozières and its ridge.

The ridge was providing the Germans with a vantage point over Allied lines, which made it a crucial target for the Allies to reverse this advantage.

In particular, the Australian 1st Division was ordered to capture the village when they attacked at 12:30 a.m. on July 23, 1916,

After a preliminary bombardment, they seized the German front and reached the main road through Pozières within an hour.

This was quickly followed up with the capture of a number of key enemy positions, including a concrete observation post known as Gibraltar.

However, at dawn, the Germans decided to bombard the village with artillery and launched a counterattack.

The Australians managed to hold their ground but suffered heavy casualties.

By July 27, the Australian 2nd Division took over the campaign and launched an unsuccessful attack on July 29, suffering 3,500 casualties.

However, they captured Pozières heights on August 4 after intense fighting.

On the 7th of August, the Germans believed that they could take back the village and ordered a counterattack at 4 a.m.

They captured some forward trenches and dugouts. However, the Australians, notably led by Lieutenant Albert Jacka, successfully repelled the Germans and retook the lost ground.

The remaining Australian forces managed to fight them off and the Germans never again sought to capture the village.

Then, the Australian 4th Division continued the advance towards Mouquet Farm, where there was fighting between August 8 and September 26 in the face of fierce German resistance.

In total, the battle lasted over seven weeks, during which time, the Australians suffered 23,000 casualties, including 6,800 deaths, before the battle concluded on September 3, 1916.

The Battle of Pozieres would turn out to be one of the bloodiest battles for Australian troops during World War I.

Another key diversionary battle was at the German-held French village of Fromelles, between the 19th and 20th of July 1916.

The British and Australian troops aimed to distract the German high command by keeping their reserves from moving south to engage in the Battle of the Somme.

Also, it was also intended to support the British 4th Army on the Somme by exploiting any weakening of German defenses.

Once more, Australian troops were assigned to fight alongside British troops in this battle.

The entire battle was intended as a 'feigned attack', which aimed to give the impression of a large-scale offensive through an intense bombardment.

However, the battle turned into a disastrous failure for the Allies as the Germans quickly realized it was merely a feint.

Since the Allies were now committed, they had to order the infantry attack, but it lacked realistic objectives and imposed unrealistic demands on the troops.

As a result, the attack was a disaster and there were over 5,500 Australian casualties in a single night, with nearly 2,000 killed or dying from wounds and about 470 captured.

This battle is considered one of the worst in Australian military history.

Also, the British 61st Division incurred 1,547 casualties, including 500 dead.

German casualties were comparatively lower, estimated at around 1,000.

Unlike the other battles of the Somme, which went on for months, the Battle of Fromelles lasted just 15 hours: between 6 PM on July 19 and 9 AM on July 20, 1916.

By the end of 1916, the military situation on the Western Front had reached a stalemate once more.

At the start of December, both sides had endured a year of continuous fighting, which drained manpower and supplies.

The Germans had failed to knock France out of the war at Verdun, while the British and French had made only modest territorial gains on the Somme.

The attritional nature of the fighting had taken its toll, which left armies physically and mentally depleted.

While the Allies maintained pressure on the Germans, they struggled to achieve any decisive result.

So, as winter set in, the Western Front remained locked in deadlock, with neither side able to gain a strategic advantage.