In the summer of 1914, the inhabitant population of Verdun was 1. 40,000 yuan, such an inconspicuous small place sits the largest fortress in eastern France, a strong defensive system composed of 5 fortresses, and can garrison tens of thousands of officers and soldiers at most in wartime.

In terms of terrain, Verdun is a natural fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is mostly a hilly and forest area below 400 meters above sea level, the terrain is high in the south and low in the north, and the Maas Hill is in the northwest to northeast direction, and the semi-ring is in the east, northeast and north of Verdun. At the same time, it is also a transportation hub, with a north-south railway line running through the city, reaching the French military town of Sedan in the north, Saint-Miel in the south, and the east-west railway to Metz in the east and Confuvlang in the west. For France, Verdun was the fulcrum of the eastern flank of the front and the gateway to Paris. If this place is captured by the Germans, the eastern defense system of France will be damaged, the road to Paris will be opened, and the morale of the French military and civilians will undoubtedly be dealt a heavy blow. However, the French high-level self-reliance on the Verdun fortress built on the mountain, condescending, strong fortifications, battery rings, the entire fortress is equipped with more than 1,000 artillery pieces and more than 100 machine guns, compared with the Belgian Liege, which is known as the first fortress in Europe, is not inferior, so after the front line troops were repulsed by the Germans on the Alsace, Lorraine and Maas River fronts, the number of defenders of the Verdun fortress did not increase but decreased. At least 3 artillery battalions with medium-caliber artillery went to reinforce the field units of the 3rd and 4th armies. It was not until 26 and 27 August, when the German airships appeared over Verdun for two days in a row and made a long stop, that the French high command realized that the German unit that had broken through the Maas River from the Ardennes was interested in capturing Verdun.

On the night of 27 August, the 17th Native Division and the 9th Colonial Division of the French Army, which were resting in Chalon, received orders to leave for Verdun overnight, and at this time, a lancer regiment of the 3rd Prussian Cavalry Division, the advance force under the command of Crown Prince Wilhelm, had followed the French rout into Verdun from the southeast.

In 1914, when the machine gun industry had become the standard equipment of the infantry of various countries, the German army had 12 elite main cavalry divisions, of which 10 were directly engaged in the war on the Western Front - 5 on the right flank, 5 on the center and on the left flank, most of these cavalry units were sent by the Kingdom of Prussia, they did not wear the iron helmets and cuirassets of the Napoleonic era like the French cavalry, but armed with spears and rifles. And with horses towing field artillery vehicles and wheeled machine guns, it has a strong field assault capability.

In the early hours of 28 August, more than 600 Prussian lancers flanked French positions without artillery cover. The position was not part of the Bulden Fortress, but rather a temporary field fortification of the French 63rd Infantry Division retreating from the front. The French division had engaged the Germans in the vicinity of Metz only two days earlier, and had suffered heavy casualties under heavy German artillery bombardment, and had to retreat with friendly forces. For two days, it was constantly attacked by German cavalry, and when it retreated to Verdun, only 3,000 troops remained, and the infantry was exhausted, discouraged, and discouraged. In order not to affect the morale of the defenders of the fortress, the French Theater Command did not intend to let these disabled troops stay in Verdun, but ordered them to retreat to the rear to recuperate. The French 41st Infantry Division, which had retreated to Verdun first, had left Verdun that night in a column, and if nothing else, the 63rd Infantry Division would have withdrawn before dawn - they were taken by surprise by the surprise attack of the German cavalry. Before the French machine guns could be fired, the Prussian lancers rushed through the position like the wind. However, these fierce guys did not burn and loot everywhere as soon as they entered the city like their predecessors in the Cold Weapon Age, but went straight to the Verdun train station. Although the French troops guarding the railway station eventually repelled the German cavalry with the fortifications and buildings in the city, the Germans premeditated by blowing up several locomotives parked on the tracks and some traffic control facilities in the station, and then broke through the relatively weak flank of the French defenses. In the process, the light and heavy artillery of the fortress of Verdun failed to play any role because it was difficult to avoid accidental injuries.

On the morning of August 28, two regiments of the French 9th Colonial Division arrived at Verdun by train, and the 19th Infantry Division of the German 5th Army also had two regiments advanced to the city of Verdun, and the German infantry brought two field artillery batteries, compared to the French artillery deployed in the fortress of Verdun, these 77 mm caliber field guns were not worth mentioning at all, but due to the threat of German artillery fire, the French army withdrew all the inhabitants from the city of Verdun, and all the field troops outside the city withdrew into the fortified area. German infantry combat reconnaissance squads began to enter the positions abandoned by the French and set up fire observation posts in several buildings east of Verdun.

However, after the withdrawal of the French inhabitants from Verdun, the French artillery in the fortress of Verdun no longer had the scruples of the previous night. As soon as the German field artillery approached the city, the easternmost battery of the fortress sounded several thunderbolts, and heavy shells smashed into the German artillery with terrible screams. When these shells exploded, the whole ground trembled, and a field artillery company of the German army immediately lost 7 cannons, dozens of artillery officers were either killed or wounded, the remnants of the personnel hurriedly retreated, and before the battle to attack the fortress began, the Germans saw the power of the French heavy artillery.

In the afternoon of the same day, the remnants of the German 19th Infantry Division arrived in Verdun one after another. Due to the destruction of the railway line along the way during the retreat of the French army, these German soldiers basically marched on foot, followed by cannons and baggage towed by mules and horses, and the heavy artillery group to which the regiment belonged was more than 50 kilometers away. In revenge for the morning's kill, the Germans brought in six Zeppelins. The Germans deliberately exaggerated the bombing power of the Zeppelin in their official war reports, so that the Allied soldiers thought that the Belgian fortresses such as Liège and Namur had been destroyed by the bombardment of the German airships, so they were afraid of them - I saw these six Zeppelins fly straight over the fortress of Verdun and drop more than 90 bombs in the bombardment that lasted more than an hour. Although each of these bombs did not exceed 50 kilograms, the power was not as good as that fired by large-caliber artillery, and the accuracy of the high-altitude bombs was also very poor, but the French officers and men were still greatly shocked by the sight of death falling from the sky, fearing that their fortress would be reduced to ruins in the fierce air raid of the Germans.

Shortly after the Zeppelin bombardment of Verdun had ended, the German 19th Infantry Division and the 3rd Cavalry Division launched a tentative attack on the battery in the southeast corner of the fortress. Relying on the fire of the battery, the French blocked the charge of the German cavalry, but the German infantry then broke through to the position under the cover of smoke grenades, and after a short battle, the Germans managed to capture part of the field fortifications on the perimeter of the French battery, from which they launched an attack on the battery. Surprisingly, over the next half hour, more than 1,500 German soldiers fell in front of the battery - a horrific massacre by French artillery with howitzers and small-caliber machine guns. This was a tragic situation not seen in the entire German 5th Army since the beginning of the war, and there were similar bloody scenes only in Alsace and Lorraine, when the French infantry rushed in dense ranks to the German machine-gun positions.

Half a regiment of troops was lost in the first attack, and the German 19th Infantry Division, which had been overwhelming for several days, did not die down. That night, under the cover of night, the division took advantage of the field fortifications in front of the batteries in the southeast of the fortress of Verdun to assemble 1. 20,000 soldiers and 15 field guns, and explosives packs were distributed to the commandos. Just after midnight, the Germans sounded the horn for a new attack, and the officers were full of ambition to think that their troops would be able to take the battery by virtue of their numerical superiority, but they were stunned by the scene before them: under the light of searchlight flares, the hillside in front of the battery was as bright as day, and the German infantry was visible under the French guns. The machine-gun and machine-gun fire formed a series of dark red points of light, which swept mercilessly across the battlefield, and the German infantry fell in groups in rows, and the men behind rushed up without hesitation, only to repeat the previous image repeatedly; Dense shells continued to burst through the crowd, and human stumps were scattered in all directions. Regardless of the direction from which the attack was launched, the Germans were like the flow of water from a, and they could not move forward at a certain distance. Although the German artillery projected smoke grenades during the shelling and the infantry used a large amount of smoke agent on the battlefield, the French guns fired non-stop, and even if the line of sight was seriously disturbed, it was still able to continue to kill the German troops engaged in the attack......

After more than an hour, the gunfire gradually subsided, the smoke cleared, and the bright yellow beam of the searchlight was still moving across the battlefield, and there was no living person in sight. Some of the figures, though in a standing position, looked closely but were dead people supported by guns or the remains of their comrades.

The ground around the fort was littered with corpses, and rivers of blood flowed like a river.

With more than 60 percent casualties, the German 19th Infantry Division was no longer capable of continuing the battle. After the arrival of the follow-up troops and their replacement of their positions, the remnants of the remnants of the army, the light and seriously wounded, retreated, and their frightened faces contrasted sharply with the high-spirited and ambitious latecomers, and their appearance also made the comrades who were about to enter the battle faintly feel the arduousness of the siege of the fortress of Verdun.

Two German units arrived at Verdun the next day, the 7th Light Infantry Division and the 16th Infantry Division from Prussia, and in the original battle plan they were to capture Verdun together with the 19th Infantry Division - according to the Legion Command's estimates, the French troops stationed here did not exceed 30,000, and the three infantry divisions, plus the 3rd Cavalry Division and the heavy artillery group directly under the Legion, totaled more than 80,000 men, more than twice as many as the enemy, and the French troops were scattered in various forts and fortresses, and the movement of troops was difficult. The German offensive forces were free to assemble, thus creating a more pronounced comparative advantage. Now that the 19th Infantry Division had unexpectedly failed, the attacking force had been reduced by a third in the blink of an eye, and the hope of victory had suddenly dimmed considerably.

(End of chapter)