ww1 (army, battle of verdun)?

Question

what was the time the soldiers usually faught at?
when did they usually rest (play games, lounge around, etc)
in the battle of verdun, which weapons did the germans use?
i know flame throwers, guns, but thats it :s
thanks!

Answer 1

The fought 24/7 when at the front. There was no rest and they where under fire from snipers or artillery at all times. They would try and rotate troops to and away from the front every few weeks, but while at the front it was a constant struggle. Even when they were off of the front the soldiers where kept busy with everything from equipment maintenance, training, to mandatory chores singing. They did not want the soldiers to have any free time.

The Germans had Maxim machine guns, bolt action rifles, hand grenades, mortars, poison gas, and all types of heavy artillery.

Answer 2

There was no playing games, it was nearly a constant state of war 24/7 the French had about half a million men killed at Verdun, the Germans more.

Pistols Grenades, Rifles, Light & Heavy Machine guns large and small caliber artillery, Flamethrowers, gas, knives, bayonets, spades, bare hands etc were all used at Verdun to kill.

Answer 3

Verdun was a battle that lasted almost the whole war. When I was stationed in Germany I visited many battlefields and couldn't miss Verdun. There is one site where a monument was built around a group of French soldiers who were climbing out of their trench to attack. Artillary shells impacted into the wall of the trench burying them alive, to this day, their rifles still protrude from the ground. It's called the Trench of bayonets. There is a huge building at Verdun and etched in gold is the names of all the French soldiers who fell at Verdun, the walls are covered with gold names and this building is about 200 yards long.
To my knowlege, the only troops who fought there were French and German, well . . . maybe some French Colonial troops too.

Answer 4

Battle of Verdun
Encyclopædia Britannica Article


(Feb. 21–July, 1916), one of the most devastating engagements of World War I, in which the French repulsed a major German offensive.

German General Erich von Falkenhayn believed in a strategy of attrition and argued that Germany should bleed France to death by choosing a point of attack “for the retention of which the French would be compelled to throw in every man they have.” The fortress of Verdun and its surrounding fortifications along the Meuse River was the point selected. The Germans massed huge amounts of artillery and troops for the attack, which the French knew was impending but believed would occur elsewhere. Thus, Verdun was unprepared when one of the heaviest bombardments of the war rained down on the area. From the offensive's start on February 21, the Germans advanced with little opposition for four days until they reached Fort Douaumont, which they took. French reinforcements arrived just in time and with them General Henri Pétain, who took command and managed to slow the German advance by several French counterattacks. In March and April the hills and ridges west of the Meuse and north of Verdun were bombarded, attacked, counterattacked, taken, and retaken. In June the Germans again assaulted the heights along the Meuse but were unable to maintain an advantage. By July they realized that their plan to seize Verdun and undermine France's will to resist had failed with a terrible loss of men—about 400,000 French casualties and nearly as many German—and material for both sides. From October until the end of the year, the French took the offensive and regained the forts and territory they had lost earlier.



To cite this page:
MLA style:
" Verdun, Battle of ." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 15 Oct. 2007 . APA style:
Verdun, Battle of . (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved October 15, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9075085