It was a strange coincidence that the origins of the Battle of Verdun and the Battle of the Somme were founded in the same month in December 1915. The battle of the Somme was a sequel to the battle of Verdun starting on July 16, 1916, but the roots lay in an allied strategy conference at Chantilly in December 1915. The Battle of Verdun began on February 21, 1916. This would enable a quicker victory for Germany on the Western Front, leading to total victory in the First World War. Thus the battle of Verdun was based on the objective of causing heavy casualties to the French army to leading to a loss of morale of France and nullifying her effectiveness in the Anglo-French alliance against Germany. This loss of French morale would lead to a decreased interest in the war against Germany by France, leading to the British losing their most effective ally against the Germans 2. The wearing down of the French army would affect the morale of the French. The French army would bleed irrespective of whether Germany took the Verdun or not. This wearing down was to be effected through the attrition in numbers of the French Army, as they defended Verdun. The reason for the selection of the ring of forts at Verdun by General Falkenhyn lay in the objective of wearing down the French Army, who was sure to defend this fortress, because of the sentiments attached to it. The thrust at Verdun was the brainchild of General Falkenhyn, who believed that the key to winning the First World war lay in defeating the Anglo-French forces in Western rather than the defeat of the Russians in the Eastern front. The German strategy for completing the victory by defeating the Anglo-French forces in the remaining parts of Europe centered around submarine warfare and attacking the French ring of forts at Verdun. Objectives of the Battle of Verdun and battle of the Sommeīy the end of 1915, the Central Powers were in the ascendancy of the First World War. However, both the battles turned out to be battles of attrition, and the expectations of a quick victory by either side were not met leading to enormous casualties on both sides. The ferocity of the action seen in the battles stemmed from the premise of each side that (the Battle of the Somme to the Anglo-French side and the Battle of Verdun to the German side) as the means to achieve a quick victory. The Battles of the Somme and Verdun were two of the greatest battles fought on the Western front between the Anglo-French military forces and the German forces during the course of the First World War.
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