In France, the battle came to symbolise the determination of the French Army and the destructiveness of the war. In 2014, William Philpott wrote of 976,000 casualties in 1916 and 1,250,000 in the vicinity of Verdun. In 2000, Hannes Heer and Klaus Naumann calculated that the French suffered 377,231 casualties and the Germans 337,000, a total of 714,231 and an average of 70,000 a month. The battle lasted for 302 days, one of the longest and costliest in human history. In September and December, French counter-offensives recaptured much ground on the east bank and recovered Fort Douaumont and Fort Vaux. The offensive was reduced further but to keep French troops away from the Somme, ruses were used to disguise the change. Interesting experience travelling on an electric car through the old tunnels, all brought to life by a VR headset and. From 23 June to 17 August, Fleury changed hands sixteen times and a German attack on Fort Souville failed. Fleury was captured and the Germans came within 2.5 mi (4 km) of the Verdun citadel but in July the offensive was cut back to provide troops, artillery and ammunition for the Battle of the Somme, leading to a similar transfer of the French Tenth Army to the Somme front. The Germans advanced towards the last geographical objectives of the original plan, at Fleury-devant-Douaumont and Fort Souville, driving a salient into the French defences. The Germans tried alternating their attacks on either side of the Meuse and in June captured Fort Vaux. The yellow lines represent the highways the orange, the railroads. American troops in the Meuse-Argonne region battled constantly. In early May, the Germans changed tactics again and made local attacks and counter-attacks the French recaptured part of Fort Douaumont but then the Germans ejected them and took many prisoners. This map from 1916 shows the battles fought that are known today as the Battle of Verdun. A German World War I bunker, named the 'Devil's Bunker,' sits upon a hill in Cuisy, France, on March 24, 2017. The German offensive was extended to the west bank of the Meuse to gain observation and eliminate the French artillery firing over the river but the attacks failed to reach their objectives. By 29 March, French guns on the west bank had begun a constant bombardment of Germans on the east bank, causing many infantry casualties. Philippe Pétain ordered there to be no retreat and that German attacks were to be counter-attacked, despite this exposing French infantry to the German artillery. By 6 March, 20 + 1 ⁄ 2 French divisions were in the RFV and a more extensive defence in depth had been organised. The advance then slowed for several days, despite inflicting many French casualties. When German forces met stiff resistance in northern France in 1914, a race to the sea developed as France and Germany tried to outflank each other, establishing battle lines that stretched from Switzerland to the North Sea. Poor weather delayed the beginning of the attack until 21 February but the Germans captured Fort Douaumont in the first three days. Looking out across a battlefield from an Anzac pill box near the Belgian city of Ypres in West Flanders in 1917.
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