Field Marshal von Hindenburg and his crafty
Chief of Staff, General Ludendorf, had planned a campaign against Russia
designed to put that tottering military Colossus out of the war. The
plans were upon a scale that might well have proved successful. The
Kaiser, influenced by the Crown Prince and by von Falkenhayn, decreed
that the Russian campaign must be postponed and that von Hindenburg must
send his crack troops to join the army of the Crown Prince fronting
Verdun. Ludendorf promptly resigned as Chief of Staff to von Hindenburg
and suggested that the Field Marshal also resign. That grim old warrior
declined to take this action, preferring to remain idle in East Prussia
and watch what he predicted would be a useless effort on the western
front. His warning to the General Staff was explicit, but von Falkenhayn
coolly ignored the message.
[Illustration: Map: Verdun in the Southwest corner, to Maucourt toward
the Northeast.]
IMMORTAL VERDUN, WHERE THE FRENCH HELD THE GERMANS WITH THE INSPIRING
SLOGAN "THEY SHALL NOT PASS"
Why did Germany select this particular point for its grand offensive?
The answer is to be found in a demand made by the great Junker
associations of Germany in May, 1915, nine months before the attack was
undertaken. That demand was to the effect that Verdun should be attacked
and captured.
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