who won the battle of verdun
The Battle of Verdun is generally considered a French victory; France successfully held Verdun and forced the Germans to abandon their offensive without achieving their objectives.
Who “won” Verdun?
- The French Army emerged as the strategic and political “winner” because:
- Verdun did not fall, despite Germany’s aim to capture it or bleed France into collapse.
* By December 18, 1916, French forces had retaken key lost positions, including Fort Douaumont, and pushed the Germans back toward their original lines.
* Germany ended the battle by calling off the offensive, having failed to break French resistance.
In other words, Germany started Verdun as an offensive operation to shatter France, but ended it exhausted, on roughly the same ground, while France still held Verdun and could claim a defensive success.
Quick historical scoop
- Timeframe: February–December 1916, one of World War I’s longest and bloodiest battles.
- Sides: German Empire vs. France on the Western Front.
- Casualties: Around 700,000 combined casualties (roughly 300,000 killed), making it a symbol of attrition warfare.
- German goal: To “bleed” the French Army white at a place they felt compelled to defend (Verdun’s forts and symbolic value).
- Outcome in simple terms:
- Germany failed to capture Verdun or break the French Army.
- France held the city, retook key forts, and could present Verdun as a national rallying point and a costly but crucial victory.
Was it really a victory?
Historians often stress that Verdun was a pyrrhic or “hollow” victory for France because of the immense losses and trauma, even though, militarily and politically, France achieved its core objective: Verdun did not fall, and German plans to force a decisive French collapse failed.
HTML fact table (Verdun outcome)
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Who won the Battle of Verdun? | France is generally considered the victor; Germany abandoned its offensive without taking Verdun or breaking French resistance. | [3][1]
| Main German objective | Inflict massive losses and force France to either lose Verdun or be “bled white” defending it. | [7][3]
| Main French objective | Hold Verdun at all costs, prevent German breakthrough, and maintain national morale. | [1][3]
| End of the battle | German attacks petered out; French counteroffensives retook key forts like Douaumont, ending with a clear French defensive success on 18 December 1916. | [5][3]
| Wider impact | Helped grind down German strength and became a symbol of French endurance, shaping the rest of World War I on the Western Front. | [10][3][1]