The narrow-gauge railway connecting Verdun with the great
French depots of supplies was totally inadequate for the transportation
burdens suddenly cast upon it. In this desperate emergency a transport
system was born of necessity, a system that saved Verdun. It was fleet
upon fleet of motor trucks, all sizes, all styles; anything that could
pack a few shells or a handful of men was utilized. The backbone of the
system was a great fleet of trucks driven by men whose average daily
rest was four hours, and upon whose horizon-blue uniforms the stains of
snow and sleet, of dust and mud, were indelibly fixed through the
winter, spring, summer and fall of 1916, for the glorious engagement
continued from February 21st until November 2d, when the Germans were
forced into full retreat from the field of honor, the evacuation of Fort
Vaux putting a period to Germany's disastrous plan and to von
Falkenhayn's military career.
Lord Northcliffe, describing the early days of the immortal battle,
wrote:
"Verdun is, in many ways, the most extraordinary of battles. The mass of
metal used on both sides is far beyond all parallel; the transformation
on the Douaumont Ridge was more suddenly dramatic than even the battle
of the Marne; and, above all, the duration of the conflict already looks
as if it would surpass anything in history.
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