French Soldier vs German Soldier: Verdun 1916

Osprey Combat #47

by David Campbell, Adam Hook (Illustrations)

Featuring specially commissioned artwork, archive photography, and full-color maps, this engrossing study investigates the doctrine, training, equipment, and combat record of the French and German troops who clashed in three key battles during the epic struggle for the Verdun sector at the height of World War I.

On February 21, 1916, the German Army launched a major attack on the French fortress of Verdun. The Germans were confident that the ensuing battle would compel France to expend its strategic reserves in a savage attritional battle, thereby wearing down Allied fighting power on the Western Front. However, initial German success in capturing a key early objective, Fort Douaumont, was swiftly stemmed by the French defenses, despite heavy French casualties. The Germans then switched objectives, but made slow progress towards their goals; by July, the battle had become a stalemate.

During the protracted struggle for Verdun, the two sides' infantrymen faced appalling battlefield conditions; their training, equipment, and doctrine would be tested to the limit and beyond. New technologies, including flamethrowers, hand grenades, trench mortars, and more mobile machine guns, would play a key role in the hands of infantry specialists thrown into the developing battle, and innovations in combat communications were employed to overcome the confusion of the battlefield. This study outlines the two sides' wider approach to the evolving battle, before assessing the preparations and combat record of the French and German fighting men who fought one another during three pivotal moments of the 101/2-month struggle for Verdun.

Genres: World War I

80 pages, Paperback

Published March 24, 2020

About the author

David Campbell has worked as a new media producer and content specialist for many years, including roles at IBM, the BBC, various Internet consultancies and the British civil service. He is the author of a number of titles for Osprey.

Reviews

[Flora R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a whim, because the publisher was discounting a number of books for some reason or another, and I was absolutely delighted. It’s thoroughly researched with wonderful pictures and graphics throughout. It weirdly reminds me of a high school textbook or a National Geographic booklet on a particular type of animal that runs in a series for kids, but about a particularly gruesome WWI battle. The illustrations are top notch, and I learned a fair amount about WWI battle tactics, which are dealt with in a degree of detail that manages to be thorough without being stultifying.

I highly recommend it to anyone interested in WWI history!

[neil chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Account of 3 main events..

Probably with the the almost parallel battle of the Somme the most horrific bloodletting of the the First World war in Europe.The book should be read with the superb Price of Glory by Alistair Horne.Illustrations are very good!

[Brian Dougherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful, concise guide to the battle with a decent amount of reference material for a novice understanding. The most glaring problem with it is that the author favors the French side by only quoting French firsthand accounts throughout.

[Irene ✨️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb.