Wednesday, February 21, 2007
This Day in WWI History
On this day in 1916, the longest, bloodiest battle of WWI, the Battle of Verdun began and went on for bloody month after bloody month. Over 700,000 German and French troops died in this standoff, where “trench warfare” proved its ultimate uselessness as a way to decisive victory, but it also proved its efficiency as a killing ground for men. Ils ne passeront pas. This was the last time the French fought well, on a big scale, for a long time. When the war resumed in May, 1940, not so much.
# posted by Roger Fraley @ 7:37 AM 
