In the summer of 1914, Verdun had a population of 14,000. Such an inconspicuous small place was located in the largest fortress in eastern France, a solid defense system composed of five fortress groups, and could be stationed at most tens of thousands of officers and soldiers during wartime.

In terms of terrain, Verdun is a natural fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is mostly hills and forest areas below 400 meters above sea level. The terrain is high in the south and low in the north. The Mass hills are northwest to northeast, half-circling between the east, northeast and north. At the same time, it is also a transportation hub. The north-south railway line passes through the city, reaching the important military city of France, Sedan, the south-east, and the east-west railway line reaches Metz in the east and the west through Confron. For France, Verdun is the fulcrum of the eastern wing of the front line and the gate to Paris. If it is captured by the German army, France's eastern defense system will be destroyed, and the road to Paris will be opened. The morale of the French people will undoubtedly be severely hit.

The French top leaders believed that Verdun Fortress was built on the mountain, with a high position, strong fortifications, and a circular array of fortifications. The entire fortress was equipped with more than 1,000 artillery and more than 100 machine guns. Compared with Liège, Belgium, which is known as the first fortress in Europe, it is not inferior to the current line troops. Therefore, after the German troops were repelled by the Germans in Alsace, Lorraine and the Mas River fronts, the number of defenders in Verdun Fortress did not increase but decreased. At least three artillery battalions brought medium-caliber artillery to reinforce the field troops of the 3rd and 4th Army. It was not until August 26 and 27 that the German airships appeared over Verdun for two consecutive days and stayed for a long time that the French Command realized that the German troops that broke through the Mas River from the Aden Mountains were intending to capture Verdun.

On the night of August 27, the 17th native division and the 9th colonial division of the French army who were resting in Chalon received an order to travel to Verdun overnight. At this time, a lancer regiment of the 3rd Prussian Cavalry Division, a advance unit under the German Crown Prince William, had followed the French army's defeated troops to advance to the city of Verdun from the southeast.

The cavalry was not good at siegeing cities, which was a certain perception that had been consolidated in people's minds since the era of cold weapons. In 1914, when the machine gun industry had become the standard equipment of infantry in various countries, the German team had 12 elite main cavalry divisions, of which 10 were directly invested in the Western Front, and 5 were deployed on the right wing, and 5 were deployed on the middle and left wing. Most of these cavalry units were dispatched by the Kingdom of Prussia. They did not wear the iron helmets and breastplate of the Napoleon era like the French cavalry, but held spears, carried rifles, and dragged field artillery chariots and wheel-mounted machine guns with horses, and had strong field assault capabilities.

In the early morning of August 28, more than 600 Prussian lances attacked the French position on the flank without artillery fire. The position was not part of the Verdun Fortress, but a temporary field fortification built by the 63rd French Infantry Division retreated from the front. This French division had a fierce battle with the German army near Metz two days ago, but suffered heavy casualties under the bombardment of German heavy artillery. It had to retreat backwards with friendly and neighboring troops. For two days, it was constantly raided by German cavalry. When it retreated to Verdun, only 3,000 troops were left. The infantry were exhausted, covered in dust, and the morale of the army was dispersed. In order to avoid affecting the morale of the fortress defenders, the French War Zone Command did not intend to let these broken troops stay in Verdun, but ordered them to retreat to the rear for rest. The French retreat to Verdun first

The 41st Infantry Division of the Army left Verdun on the train that night. If nothing unexpected happened, the 63rd Infantry Division would evacuate the German cavalry before dawn. Before the French machine guns could make a sound, these Prussian Lancers rushed through the position like the wind. However, these fierce guys did not burn and kill and loot as soon as they entered the city like the predecessors of the Cold Weapon Age, but went straight to Verdun Railway Station. Although the French team guarding the railway station finally used the fortifications and buildings in the city to repel the German cavalry, the Germans planned to blow up several locomotives parked on the tracks and some traffic control facilities in the station, and then broke out from the flanks where the French army had relatively weak defenses. During this process, because it was difficult to avoid accidental injuries, the light and heavy artillery of Verdun Fortress failed to play any role.

On the morning of August 28, two regiments of the 9th French colonial division arrived at Verdun by train, and two regiments of the 19th Infantry Division of the 5th German Army also advanced to the city of Verdun. The German infantry brought two field artillery companies. Compared with the French artillery deployed in the Verdun Fortress, these 77mm-caliber field artillery were not worth mentioning at all. However, frightened by the threat of German artillery fire, the French evacuated all residents from Verdun City. All field troops outside the city retreated into the fortress area. The German infantry combat reconnaissance squad began to enter the position abandoned by the French army, and set up fire observation posts in several buildings east of Verdun City.

However, after the French residents withdrew from Verdun City, the French artillery in Verdun Fortress no longer had the scruples of the previous night. As soon as the German field artillery approached the city, several bolts of the blue sounded from the fortress on the easternmost side of the fortress, and heavy artillery shells hit the German artillery with shrill screams. When these shells exploded, the entire ground was trembling, and a German field artillery company immediately lost 7 artillery pieces, dozens of artillery soldiers were either dead or injured, and the remaining personnel retreated in a hurry. Before the battle to attack the fortress began, the Germans realized the power of the French heavy artillery.

In the afternoon of the same day, the remaining units of the 19th Infantry Division of Germany arrived in Verdun one after another. As the French army destroyed the railway line along the way when they retreated, these German soldiers were basically marching on foot, followed by mules and horses towed cannons and baggage, and the heavy artillery group to which the legion was still more than fifty kilometers away. In order to avenge the revenge of an arrow in the morning, the Germans transferred six Zeppelin airships. These guys, who were 100 meters long, were astonishingly large as they flew over their heads, the momentum of the dark clouds was enough to shock. Moreover, the Germans deliberately exaggerated the bombardment of Zeppelin airships in the official war report.

The power of the bombing made the Allies think that Liege, Namur and other Belgian fortresses were destroyed by the bombing of German airships, so they were afraid of them. The six Zeppelin airships flew straight over the Verdun Fortress and dropped more than 90 bombs in the bombing that lasted for more than an hour. Although each of these bombs was no more than 50 kilograms, the power was not as powerful as the shells fired by large-caliber artillery, and the accuracy of the bombs dropped at high altitudes was also very bad, but when the death fell from the sky, the French officers and soldiers were still very shocked, fearing that their fortress would turn into ruins in the fierce air raids of the Germans.

The bombing of the Zeppelin fortress on Verdun had just ended. The German 19th Infantry Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division launched a tentative attack on the fort at the southeast corner of the fortress. The French built a trench bunker outside the fortress and set up barbed wire in front of the position. However, these fortifications were not completed, and only one battalion of troops was stationed at this time. Relying on the firepower of the fortress, the French stopped the charge of the German cavalry, but the German infantry then broke into the position under the cover of smoke bombs. After a brief battle, the German army became

He seized some field fortifications outside the French fortress and launched an attack on the fortress from here. Surprisingly, in the next half hour, more than 1,500 German soldiers fell in front of the fortress. The Artillery used shrapnel and small-caliber machine guns to create a horrific massacre. This was a tragic situation that the entire German 5th Legion had not seen since the war began. Only when the French infantry in Alsace and Lorraine rushed towards the German machine gun positions in dense queues, did there be a similar bloody scene.

The first attack lost half of the regiment's strength. The 19th German Infantry Division, which had been unstoppable for several days, did not stop. That night, under the cover of night, the division used the field fortifications in front of the southeastern fortress of Verdun to assembled 12,000 soldiers and 15 field artillery, and distributed explosive packs to the commando. Just after midnight, the German army sounded the horn of a new round of attack. The officers were ambitious to think that their troops could relied on the advantage of the number of people, but the scene that appeared in front of them shocked them: under the illumination of searchlights, the hillside in front of the fort was as bright as day, and the figures of German infantry appeared under the French guns and machine guns and

The firepower of the machine guns formed a series of dark red light spots. They swept across the battlefield ruthlessly. German infantry fell in groups, and the people behind rushed up without hesitation, but they just repeated the previous picture. The dense shells kept blooming in the crowd, and the human body was scattered and fell. No matter which direction the attack was launched, the German crowd was like encountering the water flow of the dam, and they could no longer move forward when they reached a certain distance. Although the German artillery shot smoke bombs during the artillery and the infantry also used a large amount of smoke on the battlefield, the French guns and cannons kept firing. Even if their vision was seriously disturbed, they could still continue to kill the German troops who were put on the attack...

After more than an hour, the sound of guns and cannons gradually subsided, the smoke dissipated, and the bright yellow light column of the searchlight was still floating on the battlefield, and there was no living person in sight. Although some figures were standing and looking closely, they were dead people supported by guns or wreckage of companions.

The corpses were all over the ground, and blood flowed into a river.

Due to more than 60% of casualties, the 19th Infantry Division of the German army no longer had the ability to continue fighting. After the subsequent troops arrived and took over their positions, the remaining troops of the unit, Yu Yong, were slightly injured and then retreated. The frightened and lost faces formed a sharp contrast with the high-spirited and ambitious descendants. Their appearance also made their companions who were about to enter the battle vaguely feel the difficulty of conquering Verdun Fortress.
Chapter completed!