In 2000, Hannes Heer and Klaus Naumann calculated that the French suffered 377,231 casualties and the Germans 337,000, a total of 714,231 and an average of 70,000 a month. The battle lasted for 302 days, the longest and one of the most costly in human history. In September and December, French counter-offensives recaptured much ground on the east bank and recovered Fort Douaumont and Fort Vaux. The offensive was reduced further but to keep French troops away from the Somme, ruses were used to disguise the change. From 23 June to 17 August, Fleury changed hands sixteen times and a German attack on Fort Souville failed. Fleury was captured and the Germans came within 4 km (2 mi) of the Verdun citadel but in July the offensive was cut back to provide troops, artillery and ammunition for the Battle of the Somme, leading to a similar transfer of the French Tenth Army to the Somme front. The Germans advanced towards the last geographical objectives of the original plan, at Fleury-devant-Douaumont and Fort Souville, driving a salient into the French defences. The Germans tried alternating their attacks on either side of the Meuse and in June captured Fort Vaux. In early May, the Germans changed tactics again and made local attacks and counter-attacks the French recaptured part of Fort Douaumont but then the Germans ejected them and took many prisoners. The German offensive was extended to the west bank of the Meuse to gain observation and eliminate the French artillery firing over the river but the attacks failed to reach their objectives. By 29 March, French guns on the west bank had begun a constant bombardment of Germans on the east bank, causing many infantry casualties. Philippe Pétain ordered there to be no retreat and that German attacks were to be counter-attacked, despite this exposing French infantry to the German artillery. By 6 March, 20 + 1⁄ 2 French divisions were in the RFV and a more extensive defence in depth had been organised. The advance then slowed for several days, despite inflicting many French casualties.
Poor weather delayed the beginning of the attack until 21 February but the Germans captured Fort Douaumont in the first three days. The Germans hoped that the French would commit their strategic reserve to recapture the position and suffer catastrophic losses at little cost to the German infantry. 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 German 5th Army attacked the defences of the Fortified Region of Verdun (RFV, Région Fortifiée de Verdun) and those of the French Second Army on the right (east) bank of the Meuse. The battle was the longest of the First World War and took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse. This event brought closure to the Battle of Verdun in 1916.The Battle of Verdun ( French: Bataille de Verdun German: Schlacht um Verdun ) was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 on the Western Front in France. Douaumont was finally recaptured by three infantry divisions of the French Second Army, during the First Offensive Battle of Verdun on 24 October 1916. It set the stage for the rest of a battle which lasted nine months, at enormous human costs. The easy fall of Fort Douaumont, only three days after the beginning of the Battle of Verdun, shocked the French Army. On 25 February 1916, Fort Douaumont was entered and occupied without a fight, by a small German raiding party comprising only 19 officers and 79 men. As a result, Fort Douaumont and other Verdun forts were judged ineffective and had been partly disarmed and left virtually undefended since 1915. These newly deployed giant howitzers had easily taken several large Belgian forts out of action in August 1914.
By 1915 the French General Staff had concluded that even the best-protected forts of Verdun could not resist bombardments from the German 420 mm (16.5 in) Gamma guns. Fort Douaumont (French Fort de Douaumont) was the largest and highest fort on the ring of 19 large defensive forts protecting the city of Verdun, France since the 1890s.
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