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4:45 AM
Bombardment ceases and the German infantry assults begins. The Bois d'Herebois fall to the Germans, but Draint's Chasseurs just managed to hold on to the Bois des Caures. -
The Battle of Verdun bombardments and infantry assults.
At 7:15 AM on Febuary 21, the Germans commenced a massive bombardment of a front some 25 miles long -
4:45 PM
The first German Infantry attack was launched, initially by the teams of scouts who surveyed the damage by opening barrage. -
4:00 AM
German artillery units begin their preparatory bombardment at Verdun. -
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Battle of Verdun
The Battle of Verdun was the longest battle of World War 1st, it lasted around 11 months and had at least 400,000 French and 350,000 German soldiers. -
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First phase of the battle
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The French army had fielded (placed) 66 division at Verdun.
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Germans capitalized on their gains
The Germans capitalized on their gains, repelling a French counterattack. The village of Haummont was raised by artillery fire and was destroyed almost completely. -
Villages were in German hands.
In this day, the villages of Brabant-sur-Meuse, Wavrille, and Samogneux were in German hands. The Germans have overrun the first line of French defenses, and both sides were reinforced by their positions. Many French troops, were placed in dangerous positions that ended up costing thousand of lives. -
The Germans advanced from Samogneux.
The Germans advanced from Samogneux, but they were immobilized by French artillery. But, the rest of the German line swept through their second rank defense. Capturing Beaument, The Bois des Fosses and the Bois des Caurières. -
Pétian was given the task of holding the right bank.
Pétian brought a fresh army and was given the task of holding the right bank of Meuse. The initial plan to mass French forces on the left bank but were changed, who ordered the defense of the line from the heights east of Meuse to Douaumont village. Despite this plan, Germans managed to capture Fort Douaumont do to lack of defense. The French took 8 months to reclaim it. -
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Troops Assaults
More than 500,000 German troops assaulted Douaumont village, but the French defenses were successful. -
Germans captured Douaumont village.
Germans capture Douaumont village, this town was destroyed during the battle, the Germans made sure they weren't able to rebuild it. The Germans expanded their attacks to the west bank of the Meuse. -
Two reserve corps crossed the river of Brabant.
The Germans crossed the river at Brabant and occupied the Hill de 1'Oie. -
Germans captured the defensive area of Hardaumont.
Germans captured the defensive area of Hardaumont on the right side, and spent 10 days engaging in bloody attacks in fort and village of Vaux. -
The Germans capture Bois de Cumières.
The Germans capture the Bois de Cumières, leading the way for attacks in the pillars of the main French line of defense, a hill named for Le Mort Homme (“The Dead Man”). Both had to pay the price of tens of thousands of casualties during these attacks. -
Germans capture the lower crest of Le Morte Homme.
Germans capture the lower crest of Le Morte Homme, the higher crest could be held by neither side and was considered No Man's Land. -
Germans capture the Bois d'Avocourt on the left side.
The Germans captured the Bois d'Avocourt on the left side, setting the location for an assault on the French stronghold at Hill 304, and the Germans deployed fresh troops to the area. -
The battle began again on the left bank, in the right bank the Germans captured the village of Vaux.
The battle began again on the left bank. -
The Germans capture the village of Vaux.
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The French lost the remaining front line.
The French lost the remaining of their front line on the left bank of Meuse. -
The crown prince ordered an attack in both banks.
The crown prince ordered an attack in both banks, on a scale not known since the opening offensive in February, but the gains were insignificant. -
Germans capture the Bois Camard.
Germans capture the Bois Camard, but were unable to gain an advance into a successful assault on the French strong point at Hill 304. -
The village of Cumières fell in heavy fighting.
The village of Cumières fell in heavy fighting, but the Germans gains were partially reverday days later, due to a French attack on Douaumont that immobilized German troops to the left bank. Preparations for the Somme offensive exerted pressure on both sides to push for a hasty and conclusive resolution to the battle. -
The Germans attacked Vaux and Thiaumont.
The Germans attacked Vaux and Thiaumont, two French strongpoints on the right bank. -
Aleksey Brusilov launched a devastating offense.
Rusian Gen (Aleksey Brusilov), launched a devastating offense in Volhynia (Nowadays Ukraine) that captured 200,000 Austro-Hungarian troops in just three days. -
Germans captured both strongpoints.
After many back-and-forth combats, the Germans captured both positions (Vaux and Thiaumont). -
France reclaimed more than half a mile of trenches.
France reclaimed more than half a mile of trenches on Le Mort Homme, these small gains resulted in enormous cost of lives and would show in the trench warfare on the Western Front. -
The Germans renewed their attack on the right bank.
The Germans renewed their attack on the right bank, the town of Fleury fell, as did many first line trenches in Souville front. But, the offense stalled at the French strongpoint at Froide Terre. -
Pétian advised relocating to the left bank.
Pétian advised relocating to the left bank, if the Germans advanced farther. -
The preliminaries offensive of Somme began.
The preliminaries of the great Franco-British offensive of Somme began. -
Pétian was ordered to hold the right bank at all costs.
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The general Allied infantry assault began.
The general Allied infantry assault began and costed more than 60,000 casualties and 20,000 killed on just the first day. -
Germans made another attack on Verdun.
Germans made another attack on Verdun, assaulting the line from Vaux to Souville. -
The advancements on the sloped of Souville failed.
The advancement on the sloped of Souville failed, and another German attack failed aswell. -
The French retook Thiaumont.
The French retook Thiaumont, and Fleury the following day. -
The Germans regained Thiaumont.
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Local Fights continued back-and-forth.
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Significant German attack that yielded (provided) no gains
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General Charles Mangin proposed a plan to liberate Verdun region
General Charles Mangin proposed a plan to liberate Verdun region, which was approved by Nivelle. The offensive began with a widespread of artillery barrage. -
Major French offensive begins, making advances of 3km on the first day and recapturing Fort Douaumont.
An infantry assault followed, with three divisions advancing behind a creeping artillery barrage. By that evening they had retaken Douaumont along with 6,000 German prisoners. -
France recaptured the fort at Vaux.
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Preparations began with a 750-gun barrage.
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Mangin planned to attack on the right bank over a 6-mile front.
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The German launched a violent offensive.
The German launched a violent offensive in an attempt to preempt the French assault and later captured Hill 304. -
Neville recommenced the preparatory barrage for the upcoming battles.
French and German batteries engaged in artillery duels, above the battlefield pilots battled in the air for supremacy of the skies. -
The French attack was made.
The French attack was made, four French divisions launched an attack on German lines. The German counterbarrage began two minutes late. By nightfall, the French had recaptured all of Poivre Hill. Their advance moved past Hill 378, stopped 65 feet south of the Chambrettes farm, and then turned south through the Bois d’Hardaumont and Bois la Vauche to the defensive works at Bezonvaux. The French forces captured and destroyed 115 guns and took 9,000 prisoners. -
Battle of Louvemont came to the end, thus, ending the Battle of Verdun.
It came to be known as the Battle of Louvemont was completed, with the recapture of Chambrettes and the capture of over 11,000 German prisoners. Thus, marking the end of the Battle of Verdun.