We should next examine the reasons prompting the Germans to select Verdun as the vital point, the nature of the scene of operations, and the manner in which the preparation was made. The Kaiser himself, replying toward the end of February to the good wishes of his faithful province of Brandenburg, congratulated himself publicly on seeing his warriors of the 3d Army Corps about to carry ‘the most important stronghold of our principal enemy.’ It is plain, then, that the object was to take Verdun, win a decisive victory, and start a tremendous onslaught which would bring the war to a triumphant close. At Berlin, travelers from neutral countries leaving for Paris by way of Switzerland were told that the Germans would get there first. On March 4 the Crown Prince urged his already overtaxed troops to make one supreme effort to ‘capture Verdun, the heart of France’ and General von Deimling announced to the 15th Army Corps that this would be the last battle of the war. The German press, at the beginning of the battle, treated it as a matter of secondary import, whose object was to open up free communications between Metz and the troops in the Argonne but the proportions of the combat soon gave the lie to such modest estimates, and in the excitement of the first days official utterances betrayed how great were the expectations. They staked everything on putting their adversaries out of the running by breaking through their lines, marching on Paris, and shattering the confidence of the French people. The determination with which the Germans followed out this plan and the reckless way in which they drew on their resources leave no doubt as to the importance the operation held for them. And so, in the autumn of 1915, preparations were begun on a huge scale for delivering a terrible blow in the West and dealing France the coup de grâce.

The submarine campaign was counted on to keep England’s hands tied it remained, therefore, to attack and annihilate the French army. These triumphs, however, had not brought them peace, for the heart and soul of the Allies lay, after all, in the West-in England and France. To the South they had crushed Serbia’s opposition, saved Turkey, and won over Bulgaria. Galicia had been almost completely recovered, the kingdom of Poland occupied, Courland, Lithuania, and Volhynia invaded. Their offensive in the East was most fruitful.

In the West, thanks to an energetic defensive, they had held firm against the Allies’ onslaughts in Artois and in Champagne. The year 1915 was rich in successes for the Germans. The Object of the Battle, and the Preparation for It

Hearts of iron 4 battle plans