A year and a half later, the European theater evolved from a quick decisive battle plan into a war of attrition, and all sides had to tap the potential of war. The Battles of Verdun and the Somme are typical of the second phase.
In 1915, Germany turned the center of the war to Russia, intending to force it to compromise, and although the Russian army suffered a crushing defeat, Germany's strategic objectives were not achieved. In 1916, after two years of attrition, both sides were exhausted and decided to use this year as a breakthrough. In view of the weakening of the Russian army on the eastern front, the Allies decided to shift the focus of the war to the western front, with the French fortress of Verdun as an offensive target. In February 1916, the Germans began the 10-month Battle of Verdun.
Since Verdun was the gateway to the defense of Paris, in 1914, the French built a defensive labyrinth of reinforced concrete and heavy artillery and machine guns in this place. The Germans used this as a breakthrough because the area was relatively calm for two years from 1914 to 1916, which made the French ignore the importance of the area, thinking that the Germans would not attack here, withdrawing most of the forts and reducing the garrison of Verdun. (The Germans' plan was to encircle the point to help, and even designed a specific time for the fall.)
On 21 February 1916, the Germans shelled Verdun for 8.5 hours. As the Germans rushed to french positions that they thought were completely destroyed, French machine guns rang out, after which france mobilized 190,000 troops to support. 10 months of fighting, double-haired repeatedly fought. By December, by the end of the battle, the French suffered 460,000 casualties and the Germans suffered 300,000. Known as verdun meat grinder.
After the Battle of Verdun began, the French General Xiafei saw the intentions of the German army and chose the Somme To launch a new attack, objectively restricting the verdun attack. However, the Germans built the strongest fortifications in the world at the time on the Somme.
In late June, Britain and France shelled the Somme and then attacked. On the first day of the British army on the Somme, 60,000 people were captured and missing. By mid-July, the British had advanced only 2.5 kilometers. French 5-7 km. In August, Britain and France fought in 51 divisions and 31 German divisions. The Anglo-French casualties were 300,000, while the Germans suffered 200,000 casualties. It was not until September and October, when the British put in tanks, that the form changed, but it did not fundamentally change the situation of the war. In November, with bad weather, the battle ended. The Anglo-French casualties were 800,000 and the Germans 500,000. The result of the war was only to push the front line by 10 kilometers.
A war without results was painful for the resource-starved Allies, and it was quite powerful for the resource-rich Allies. Therefore, these two fruitless wars were the turning point of the First World War. In 1917, tired from the war, Russia broke out in February and October, and Lenin came to power and signed an armistice with Germany.
In World War I, new weapons appeared. The development of chemical weapons, tanks, aircraft, submarines, the emergence of the use, partially changed the pattern of war.
Britain, a maritime power in 1914, imposed a naval blockade on Germany from the outset. As a result, Britain and Germany fought in many seas. With the use of German submarines, by the end of 1917, German submarines had sunk 651 merchant ships and several warships (but Britain's naval strength was not affected). Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare, due to attacks on merchant ships, led to the Declaration of War on Germany by the United States. The United States greatly strengthened the Allies, and by the end of World War I, the Number of U.S. troops in Europe had reached 2 million. Under the influence of the United States, many countries joined the Allies and declared war on the Allies.
In 1918, World War I entered the third phase, a strategic decisive battle. At this time, the socio-political crisis intensified, and countries wanted to end the war, but they were unwilling to cease war against their own disadvantages. After several major battles, the Allies surrendered. A series of treaties, including the Treaty of Versailles, were signed. The power of the countries has changed. The Versailles system was a treaty in which the victorious powers divided the spoils of the defeated countries, and did not resolve the contradictions between the empires, laying the foundation for the outbreak of World War II.