49.2°N 5.4°E Western Front Battle of Verdun
Briefing
The longest battle of the war ran from February to December 1916, as Germany set out to 'bleed France white' at the fortress city of Verdun. Ten months of artillery and attrition produced over 300,000 dead and the enduring French vow: Ils ne passeront pas — they shall not pass. Neither side gained ground that mattered.
Books Covering This Event (4)
Popular History
The First World War John Keegan · 1998
★ 4.5 Intermediate A single-volume military history of the entire war by the most influential military historian of the 20th century.
The First World War Hew Strachan · 2003
★ 4.4 Intermediate A global history of the war that ranges far beyond the Western Front to Africa, the Middle East, and the seas.
The Beauty and the Sorrow Peter Englund · 2011
★ 4.4 Intermediate An intimate history of the war told through the diaries and letters of twenty ordinary people on every front.