![]() Casualties rose as villages such as Fleury changed hands several times. Even so, the Germans were not prepared to give ground. His Second Army had artillery superiority and he employed new tactics based on specialist infantry sections armed with light machine guns, rifle grenades, mortars and light field guns. The German offensive at Verdun was reduced in order to reinforce the Somme front. On 24 June, the Allied bombardment began on the Somme. Efforts to continue the advance later that month failed, despite the use of phosgene gas. In early June the Germans took Fort Vaux after very tough fighting. ![]() This offered the Germans a chance to return to Falkenhayn's strategy but by this time all sense of the original concept was lost, replaced by a fixation to take Verdun. In late April, General Robert Nivelle took over French command from Petain and began large-scale counter attacks. The already terrible battlefield conditions were made worse throughout March and April, as persistent rain turned the area into a quagmire. On 6 March, the Germans renewed their offensive, this time on the west bank of the Meuse. The ability of the French to sustain the battle was due to ammunition and supplies arriving along the 'Voie Sacree', the Scared Way, a single road into Verdun kept open despite constant German shelling. The French also greatly increased the number of artillery pieces at Verdun, leading to the Germans suffering equally from incessant shelling. Petain also rotated units through Verdun on a regular basis and whilst this exposed much of the French Army to the battle, it ensured troops did not spend long periods of time at the front. Petain had a reputation as a master of defence and organised his forces to defend in depth by establishing a series of mutually supporting strongpoints, rather than pushing all his troops into the vulnerable front line trenches. General Philippe Petain was then given command of the French Second Army at Verdun. The seizure of ground became the priority and by the end of February, German losses at Verdun were similar to the French casualties. At this point, however, Crown Prince Wilhelm and his staff stopped following Falkenhayn's strategic concept and committed the Fifth Army to greater offensive action. ![]() French military leaders declared Verdun could not be held if the east bank of the Meuse was lost and that French national morale would not survive the loss of the city. The battle appeared to be going Falkenhayn's way. Five days into the battle, German forces captured Fort Douaumont, the largest and highest of the 19 forts protecting Verdun. At 4am on 21 February 1916 the battle began, with a massive artillery bombardment and a steady advance by troops of the German Fifth Army under Crown Prince Wilhelm.
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