Gun turrets of Fort Douaumont in the rain, September 22, 2015. © 2015 John M. Shea
"On February 25th the 24th (Brandenburg) Infantry Regiment stormed Fort Douaumont, the strong and reputedly impregnable north-eastern pillar of the Verdun defence system. Simultaneously the enemy gave way in the Orne valley as far as south of the Metz-Verdun road, so that the German front here also moved forward to the foot of the Heights of the Meuse. From many signs it was clear that this powerful German thrust had not only shaken the whole enemy front in the West very severely, but that its effects had not been lost on the peoples and the Governments of the Entente."
German Commander-in-Chief General Erich von Falkenhayn launched the Battle of Verdun on February 21, 1916 with a crushing bombardment from over 1,000 guns. He chose the salient of Verdun in the belief the French would feel compelled to defend it, feeding soldiers into a funnel which the Germans could shell from three sides. French Commander Joseph Joffre little valued forts or the Verdun salient, but politicians, including French President Raymond Poincaré, impressed upon him the need to defend the sector at all costs. Unaware the fort was at risk, its small garrison left Fort Douaumont virtually undefended, and it was easily taken by the Germans. The successful French defense of Verdun, despite the loss of the fort, impressed the Entente allies, contrary to Falkenhayn's hopes.
General Headquarters and its Critical Decisions, 1914-1916 by Erich von Falkenhayn, pp. 265, 266, copyright © 1920 by Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc., publisher: Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc., publication date: 1920
1916-02-25, 1916, February, Verdun, Douaumont, Fort Douaumont
