On this Day 21 February 1916: The Battle of Verdun commenced
By Picture Desk
Published 28th Feb 2019, 14:03 GMT
The battle was fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916, and was the largest and longest battle of the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies
Lasing for 303 days, it was the longest and one of the most costly in human history. In 2000, Hannes Heer and K. Naumann calculated 377,231 French and 337,000 German casualties, a total of 714,231, an average of 70,000 a month.
The Parc d'Artillerie or Artillery Park near Verdun, during World War I, circa 1916. (Photo by Henry Guttmann/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Pictures: Getty Images
9th May 1917: A French telegraphist in Verdun in north-east France, scene of a long and extremely bloody battle between French and German troops. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
January 1918: French troops passing through ruins at Verdun. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
May 1916: German infantrymen before leaving a village near Verdun in north-east France, scene of a long and extremely bloody battle between French and German troops. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
circa 1925: The French fortified town of Verdun, on the Meuse, scene of the longest and most severe battle of World War I in 1916, in which the French repelled a powerful German offensive. Ten years after the battle, the reconstruction of Verdun is almost finished. The archbishop's residence, which had to be almost entirely rebuilt, is viewed from the cathedral. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
November 1916: Soldiers in a trench outside a dugout at Verdun. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
1916: French troops going ' over the top' during the Battle of Verdun. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
June 1916: Captured Germans in a prisoner of war camp in Verdun. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
circa 1918: Engineers clearing away wire entanglements from a German position, to make way for a new road to the front, North West of Verdun, France. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
6th September 1916: French dugouts near Verdun. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
1916: A French soldier at the Battle of Verdun, wearing a gas mask. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)
French troops under shellfire during the Battle of Verdun. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)
A French soldier's grave, marked by his rifle and helmet, on the battlefield of Verdun. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
