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Monument to the 40th Infantry Division at Mort-Homme, Verdun. © 2015 John M. Shea
Turkish Cavalry, from a German postcard.
The rulers of the Central Powers stumped by Verdun. Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, Mohammed V of Turkey, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, and Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria puzzle over a map labeled "Verdun." The ink and watercolor drawing is dated March 4, 1916. By R. DLC?The German assault on Verdun began on February 21, 1916 and continued through August.
Small and neutral Portugal tries to resist the pressure applied by a cheerful Great Britain to join the Entente Allied cause. British warships encourage Portuguese acquiescence, as the shadow of German militarism threatens. After German submarines sank Portuguese vessels, Portugal seized German ships in its ports. Germany responded by declaring war on Portugal on March 10, 1916. One of a series of 1916 postcards on neutral nations by Em. Dupuis.
French infantry charge near Fort Vaux, one of the bastions of Verdun. In March 1916, the village of Vaux changed hands 13 times. The fort fell to German forces the morning of June 7.Illustration by Léon Taa. . . ., 1916.
"On March 6, during a driving snowstorm, the Germans launched an attack on the high ground of Mort-Homme, on the left bank of the Meuse. The preliminary artillery bombardment was as intense as that of February 21. Crossing the river at Brabant and Champneuville, and supported by the heavy gun fire from an armoured train, German troops gained an unexpected advantage when many of the shells fired at them by the French failed to explode in the soft, swampy ground. Mort-Homme held, but in the course of two days' fighting, 1,200 French soldiers surrendered. To keep the others in the line, the commander of the forces on the left bank, General de Bazelaire, warned that artillery and machine guns would be turned on any unit that retreated further." ((1), more)
"During the first months of 1916 the British made several attempts to relieve the surrounded troops of General Townshend. Two divisions from France and some other troops were brought to Busra for the purpose.The Turks had three entrenched positions, one in rear of the other, on either side of the Tigris. In bloody fighting from [January] 7th to the 9th and on the 13th and 14th, the Turks were driven from their first two positions. In the third position they withstood the enemy's attacks, which were repulsed with great loss to the British.New British attacks with fresh troops were made at Es Sinn on March 7th and repulsed." ((2), more)
"Wednesday, March 8, 1916.The fighting around Verdun is raging with redoubled ferocity. The Germans are attacking with large forces on both sides of the Meuse. Our line holds firm in spite of the intensity of their fire and the violence of their assaults." ((3), more)
"Mar. 8 [1916] Portugal seizes 38 German shipsMar. 9 Germany declares war on Portugal. . .Mar. 15 Austria at war with Portugal...In retaliation for the sinking of neutral Portuguese vessels, the Portuguese Government seized 38 vessels lying at anchor in her harbors, and refused Germany's demand for their release." ((4), more)
"While the battle was raging on at Mort-Homme, the Germans kept on fighting on the eastern part of the battlefield, away from French sideways fires. The war objective of the enemy was Fort Vaux. On 8th March, a severe bombing struck that area, with teargas shells for instance. The village of Vaux was partly captured in the afternoon.. . .On 10th March, the Germans renewed their assaults against the fort with multiplied strength. Several successive waves were stopped by 75's shells which caused a real inferno for the assailants. From 10th March 1916 onwards, the battle changed nature : on both banks of the Meuse river, the Germans started suffering as much as the French, sometimes even more." ((5), more)
(1) The advance of German forces on the right bank of the Meuse River in the Battle of Verdun exposed the French positions on Mort-Homme to German artillery bombardment, but impelled General Petain, commanding the defense of Verdun, to reply with heavy bombardment of the German positions. The Germans, in turn, attacked on March 6 to capture the French positions on Mort-Homme, on the French left, west of the city.
The First World War, a Complete History by Martin Gilbert, page 233, copyright © 1994 by Martin Gilbert, publisher: Henry Holt and Company, publication date: 1994
(2) Attempting to capture Baghdad in Mesopotamia, the British had captured Kut-al-Amara along the way, and continued their advance. In early December, 1915 they were forced back to Kut, where they were surrounded by superior Turkish forces. The increasingly beleaguered force under General Townshend, many of them Indian, awaited the Relief Army that was stopped in January and again in March. 'Busra' is Basra, the Persian Gulf port, and Britain's gateway to Mesapotamia.
Five Years in Turkey by Liman von Sanders, page 132, publisher: The Battery Press with War and Peace Books, publication date: 1928 (originally)
(3) Entry for March 8, 1916 from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia. On March 6 the Germans had launched an attack on Mort-Homme, high ground on the left bank of the Meuse, with a preliminary bombardment as intense as the one that had opened the Battle of Verdun on February 21.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, page 202, publisher: George H. Doran Company
(4) The dated items are entries from 'Important Events on Land and Sea' for the 'Third Year of the War 1916' from King's Complete History of the World War. The remainder of the quote is from 'Germany Launches New Submarine Campaign Against Allies.' Neutral Portugal was under increasing pressure from her ally, Great Britain, to join the Entente Allies. Portugal also held colonies in Africa — Angola and Mozambique — and had clashed with Germany, particularly along the borders of the latter.
King's Complete History of the World War by W.C. King, pp. 205, 261, copyright © 1922, by W.C. King, publisher: The History Associates, publication date: 1922
(5) During the month of March, 1916, the village of Vaux changed hands thirteen times, but it was not until June 6 that German troops finally captured the fort itself. In planning the Battle of Verdun, German commander Erich von Falkenhayn anticipated, using massive concentrations of artillery, a ratio of three French deaths for every German one. Although the battle would continue for months, Falkenhayn had already fallen far short of his goals.
The Battle of Verdun by Yves Buffetaut, pp. 50, 51, copyright © Ysec Éditions 2013, publisher: Ysec Editions, publication date: 2013
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