France endures the ten-month Battle of Verdun
The longest battle of the First World War becomes a national symbol of sacrifice
Quick facts
- Location
- Verdun, France
- Duration
- 21 February - 18 December 1916
- French commitment
- About 75% of the French army rotated through
What happened
German Chief of the General Staff Erich von Falkenhayn planned an offensive at Verdun intended to bleed the French army white through sheer attrition rather than to break through the line entirely. The battle opened on 21 February 1916 and ground on for ten months, becoming the longest battle of the First World War, with France rotating roughly 75 percent of its entire army through the fighting to defend the fortress town. French forces held Verdun, but the cost on both sides was enormous, and Germany was left too exhausted to launch another major offensive until 1918.
Why it matters
Verdun became the central symbol of French endurance and sacrifice in the First World War, embodied in the rallying cry ils ne passeront pas, they shall not pass, and the scale of loss shaped French military and political caution for a generation afterward. The war's full course across the Western Front is covered on its own dedicated timeline.
How we know
Military records from both the French and German general staffs, along with the enormous number of individual soldier accounts and the postwar memorial architecture built at the site, document the battle's scale and duration in detail.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Battle of Verdun: The Longest Battle of World War I · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Imperial War Museums. Battle of Verdun · Reputable sourceiwm.org.uk · The domain "iwm.org.uk" is on our Reputable source registry.
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Related timelines
- World War I → · Follow the full course of the First World War on its own timeline