Targeting Verdun was simply a means to an end - that end being an intentional battle of attrition. Although this battle had a significant geographic dimension -in the importance of the position of the fortress and its surrounding associated defensive works - its aim was really to force France to commit troops so that Germany could decimate them. The battle was preceded by intense, short-term artillery attacks at various points along the front, meant both to soften French defenses before the German infantry advance and to draw the French into committing more troops to the region.
In fact, German Army Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn declared his intent to bring about a battle that would “ bleed France white. The ensuing defeat would deliver the fortress into German hands, land a roundhouse blow to French morale, and, perhaps most importantly, seriously attrit French forces. German planners envisioned a massive battle that would draw in all the best of what France could muster. Verdun threatened German communication lines to the east but the fact that it did so, from such a formidable position, offered the possibility of a fight the French could not avoid if their hand was forced. These French positions created a salient - an east-facing bulge - into German lines that, to the Germans, presented both a threat and an opportunity.
February 21 will mark the 105th anniversary of the commencement of the Battle of Verdun, which began with a German offensive against the French fortress at Verdun and its surrounding fortifications.
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