The Battle of Verdun in World War I was a peculiarly horrific trench warfare, and a group of French soldiers who cut barbed wire found the bodies of their fellow French soldiers on the barbed wire.

 　The Battle of Verdun in World War I was a peculiarly horrific trench warfare, and a group of French soldiers who cut barbed wire found the corpses of their comrades on the barbed wire. The French attackers struggled against the barbed wire but were brutally repulsed by the Germans. Hundreds of corpses were strewn across the wreckage launched by the tidal wave. Bodies lying on or in front of the barbed wire were strewn about. At the time of the French attack, there were no gaps in the German barbed wire.　

　The Battle of Verdun, which broke out on February 21, 1916, was preceded by artillery bombardment for the first time in history. Bombing to destroy the enemy caused deaths among trenches, batteries, and wire fences. It was the first attack to make extensive use of fighter planes to observe bombing and direct artillery fire.

　In the attack on Verdun, the French suffered some 944,000 dead or captured and over 1.5 million wounded. It was a purely German battlefield for the slaughter of French soldiers. Instead of invading a small territory, the Germans concentrated on annihilating the enemy inflicting as many losses as possible.

　Before launching the bombardment of the attack, the Germans attacked Alsace in the direction of Artois, an attack that deceived the French. Once the French were out of position, the Germans opened fire, and by dawn on February 21, some 2 million 380 and 420 mm shells had fallen on a front only about 4 km long. The Germans placed heavy artillery every 24 km and light artillery every 17.7 km. The German bombardment lasted about nine hours, and Verdun was almost completely destroyed and annihilated, turning the surrounding countryside into a scene of carnage, with thousands of smoking craters expanding.

　French infantry units were ordered to attack at 4 p.m. on February 21. Already decimated by artillery fire, French soldiers were bayoneted and burned alive. The Germans broke through at least 3.2 km of front line and three defensive lines, and when the impregnable fortress of Doumont fell on February 24, French Prime Minister Aristide Briand appointed Philippe Pétain as commander of the Verdun front.

　Even with two railroads, the Germans had difficulty transporting supplies to their troops. All resources were invested in vehicles and roads to level and widen the roads. Within a short time, the French transported large numbers of artillery along the eastern bank of the Meuse. Six divisions were brought in to replace the 20 divisions that had been destroyed by the Germans. The French 30th Corps alone suffered 680 dead and 3,200 wounded in one week, with 16,500 prisoners of war.

　Between February 27 and March 6, 190,000 French troops and some 23,000 tons of ammunition were transported by some 3,900 trucks from Bar-le-Duc to the Verdun front. Once the French formed their combat units, the fighting began again. Both sides made extensive use of flamethrowers and poison gas. Forts Doumont and Vaux were lost, recaptured, and occupied several times, and by the end of June, French losses totaled 179,000 killed or captured and 279,000 wounded. By December 19, when the Battle of Verdun ended, 500,000 men had been killed on the battlefield.