Verdun 1916: The Renaissance of the Fortress

by J.E. Kauffman, H.W. Kauffman

Wrapped in myth and distortion, the Battle of Verdun is one of the most enigmatic battles of the Great War, and the controversy continues a century later. Before the battle the Germans believed they had selected one of the strongest points in the French defences in the hope that, if they smashed through it, the French would collapse. But Verdun was actually a hollow shell since its forts were largely disarmed and the trench lines were incomplete. So why did the Germans fail to take Verdun? As well as seeking to answer this fundamental question, the authors of this perceptive new study reconsider other key aspects of the battle the German deployment of stormtroopers, the use of artillery and aircraft, how the French developed the idea of methodical battle which came to dominate their military thought after the war. They look too at how Verdun brought about a renaissance of fortress engineering that resulted in the creation of the Maginot Line and the other fortifications constructed in Europe before the Second World War.

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 31, 2016

Reviews

[Mark Merritt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to give this book 4 stars but a couple of issues held me back. Normally, it’s hard to find decent books on Verdun that stick to the military history adequately, and I had high hopes for this book to fit that bill. Unfortunately, it’s marked by several major typos and repetition of points covered previously.

I thought that chapter one concentrated on the start of the war way too much, all the back and for of the telegrams and ultimatums are best left to a book that concentrates on that subject. And the re-hash of what led to Verdun was equally useless except for the part concerning what led up to the Verdun salient being formed. The discussion of the failure of Russian fortresses on the eastern front did not add to the discussion of Verdun, as the conditions were much different there.

Once we got to the discussions on how the forts were constructed and how well the forts in the west did prior to the battle, the quality picked up. The authors definitely know there stuff when it comes to forts! The last two chapters covering the actual battle of Verdun were quite good, very detailed in most cases. I do wish that they listed the sources for the German OOB, they seemed to know when these units came and went and what HQ they belonged too, as well as casualties suffered.

So, a mixed bag. The back of the book is actually much better than the first part. If you’ve never heard of Verdun I’m not sure you would make it that far. But I have, and I’m glad I did.