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十大战役之Battle of Verdun
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此役是典型的阵地战、消耗战，双方共投入近100万人，双方损失70多万人。由于伤亡惨重，凡尔登战场被称为“绞肉机”、“屠场”和“地狱”。这次决定性战役是第一次世界大战的转折点，德意志帝国从此逐步走向最后失败。
“大战中的大战”———凡尔登—索姆河战役
The Battle of Verdun was one of the critical battles during the First World War on the Western Front. It was fought between the German and French armies, from 21 February to 18 December 1916, on hilly terrain north of the city of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-eastern France.
The Battle of Verdun ended in a French victory since the German High Command failed to achieve its two strategic objectives: the capture of the city of Verdun and a much higher casualty count inflicted on the French adversary. As a whole, the Battle of Verdun resulted in more than a quarter of a million battlefield deaths and at least half a million wounded. Verdun was the longest battle and one of the most devastating in the First World War and more generally in human history.
A total of about 40 million artillery shells were exchanged by both sides during the battle. In both France and Germany it has come to represent the horrors of war, similar to the significance of the Battle of the Somme to the United Kingdom. Major General Julian Thompson, a renowned British military historian, has referred to Verdun in the History Channel’s: "1916: Total War", as "France’s Stalingrad".
The Battle of Verdun popularized at the time General Robert Nivelle’s: "Ils ne passeront pas" ("They shall not pass") addressed to his troops on 23 June 1916. At the beginning of the Battle of Verdun, on 16 April 1916, General Philippe Pétain had already issued a reassuring order of the day ending with: "Courage! On les aura" ("Courage! We shall get them").
责任编辑：sealion1986
