Western Front: 1915 – 1917: Stalemate
Operations in 1916
1. Battle of Verdun
2. Battle of the Somme
OPERATIONS IN 1916
Short Summary:
BATTLE OF VERDUN (Feb. 21-Dec. 18, 1916). Knowing that
the French would defend Verdun to the last, the Germans
attacked with a view to inflicting heavy casualties and thus alter the
manpower balance on the western front. In
heavy and vicious fighting the Germans made moderate gains. In the period
October-December, the French
counterattacked, recaptured Fort Douaumont and Fort de Vaux, and advanced
almost to Ornes. Fighting stopped on
December 18, after the French had suffered about 550,000 casualties,
and the Germans 450,000.
BATTLE OF THE SOMME (July 1-Nov. 18, 1916). In conformity
with their over-all strategic plan for 1916 and to relieve the pressure
on Verdun-the Allies launched an offensive astride the Somme River against
what were perhaps the strongest German defenses on the western front.
Immense preparations were made for the attack, including a seven-day
bombardment. The British Fourth Army, making the main attack, advanced
in dense formations and suffered many casualties. The Allies gained
some territory but no particular strategic or tactical advantage. The
battle developed into an even greater struggle of attrition than Verdun.
The Germans lost 650,000 men; the British, 420,000; and the French,
195,000. In this battle, the British introduced the tank to the battlefield.
------------------------------------
Battle of Verdun
The aim of Falkenhayn in 1916 was to lower French morale,
which he suspected had already been weakened by defeatist propaganda.
He chose for the front of attack the region of Verdun because he was
confident that the French would be induced by the prestige of its name
to fight for it to the last man, and his object was to bleed France
white. The second reason was the corollary of the first: Verdun was
a self-contained slaughterhouse, the flanks of which need not be extended.
The attack was to be made by German Crown Prince William, commander
of the Fifth Army.
The French commander at Verdun was General Petain. He had no responsibility
for any lack of preparedness, for he had been summoned by Joffre only
four days after the launching of the offensive on February 21, but his
calm and methodical nature was ideally suited to making the best use
of the assets and remedying the deficiencies, the chief of which was
the lack of adequate railways. The main artery was a narrow secondary
road from Bar-le-Duc, 40 miles to the south, which held out against
constant German shelling because of widening, first-class organization,
and incessant repairs. The French came to call it la Voie Sacree (the
Sacred Road).
Both sides fought with equal bravery, and the Germans.
with extraordinary tactical skill. The manner in which they were able
to cancel assaults in a few minutes when a company commander on patrol
noted that the French were particularly on the alert was astounding;
they were equally quick and clever in shifting the weight of an attack
from a strong to a weak point of resistance, and their handling of their
artillery was masterly. The French had no opportunities for such nicety
of tactics because they were limited to straight counterattacks, but
two commanders earned exceptional reputations. These were Gen. Robert
Georges Nivelle, who came in as a corps commander and succeeded Petain
in command of the Second Army; and Maj. Gen. (later Gen.) Charles Mangin,
who commanded the 5th Division and somewhat later was promoted to the
command of a corps. The French were, however, plagued by a series of
panics, which involved unnecessary withdrawals. These did not include
the loss of Fort Douaumont on February 25, because it was ungarrisoned
and was taken by a single German company. Here, too, the situation changed
speedily. On April 10, a German assault south of the fort was shot to
fragments, and as a consequence the best German corps commander, Gen.
Bruno von Mudra, was replaced by Gen. Ewald von Lochow. The French artillery
was also brilliant. The German giant howitzers in very many cases were
destroyed, and throughout the battle they were harried mercilessly by
the French long 155-mm. guns.
In the final phase of the Verdun offensive the Germans
slowed down still further, but they gained one more outstanding success
on the right bank of the Meuse River. Petain had realized the falsity
of the prewar doctrine that the forts of Verdun should be dismantled
and their guns used in the field. He had done all that lay in his power
to remedy the situation by providing the forts with permanent garrisons
of about 300 men each. On the German side the crown prince's resolute
chief of staff, Gen. Konstantin Schmidt von Knobelsdorf, obtained permission
to attempt the capture of Fort de Vaux and, if successful there, of
Forts Souville and Tavannes as well. The defense of Vaux by Maj. Sylvain
Eugene Raynal was heroic. After the fort had been completely surrounded,
he fought on desperately, repulsing attack after attack and surrendering
only when the water supply gave out on June 7.
For the attack on Souville and Tavannes on June 21,
the Germans used the lethal green-cross gas shell but were completely
routed. Although the fighting continued until July 11, this was the
real end of the offensive. Its only achievement had been to reduce the
French contribution on the Somme. French casualties totaled 315,000;
German casualties, 280,000.
Later, on October 24 and December 15, Nivelle and Mangin
launched two successful attacks at Verdun. These won back a large proportion
of the ground lost and almost all that counted.
Battle of the Somme
Once more General Haig had the experience of fighting
a battle in the wrong place, since the Somme Valley was barren of major
strategic objectives. The terrain was poorly watered, and the population
was sparse. The toil of excavating dugouts in the chalk, which had begun
early in the year, was immense.
The assault was launched on July 1 under the command
of Gen. Emile Fayolle and Gen. Sir Henry Seymour Rawlinson (later 1st
Baron Rawlinson), who were opposed by Gen. Fritz von Below. Fayolle
could muster only five divisions in the first line astride the Somme,
but he was much stronger than the British in heavy artillery. His success
was complete. The British 13th Corps on the French left did equally
well, but this was the end of success. The British suffered overwhelming
defeat and great casualties, the loss for that day amounting to 57,450.
There was nothing Haig could do but confine the attack to the area on
which ground had been won. He formed a new army, the Fifth, under Lt.
Gen. Sir Hubert de la Poer Gough, for a holding operation on the Ancre
River. The Germans did likewise, putting Gen. Max von Gallwitz in command
of a new army south of the Somme.
The fortunes of the battle fluctuated in succeeding
weeks. Haig had adopted the policy of attrition as completely as Joffre
had, while Gen. (later Marshal) Ferdinand Foch, the army group commander,
had never believed in the Battle of the Somme except as a means of relieving
the pressure on Verdun. On August 29, Falkenhayn was dismissed by the
emperor. Hindenburg, his successor as chief of staff, came west with
General Ludendorff.
On September 15, the British launched a general attack
on a 10-mile front. For the first time they used 36 units of the weapon
of the future, the tank, with considerable success. Haig has been criticized
for disclosing the new weapon prematurely and thereby losing the element
of surprise, but this verdict is of doubtful validity in view of the
fact that he had available almost precisely the same number of tanks
at Arras in the following spring. What is indisputable is the widespread
impression that both Haig and Joffre wasted lives on the Somme. Joffre
was regarded in France as being immersed so deeply in petty problems,
harassed so greatly by the task of placating politicians, and at the
same time presiding over what amounted to a ministry of war at Chantilly,
as to be out of date. Premier Aristide Briand made every effort to save
him by bringing in a new fighting subordinate and leaving Joffre in
general control. It could not be done. The part played by the new man
was honorable, but Nivelle was destined to the supreme command. In December,
Joffre and Foch were both retired.
Meanwhile, the Battle of the Somme ended on November
18. The casualty figures, which have been much disputed, were as follows:
German, 650,000; British, 420,000; and French, 195,000. In all, 95 German
divisions (including those which entered the battle more than once),
55 British divisions, and 20 French divisions were engaged.
