If it were not for the deliberate search for information, many people may not have thought of it, or even believed, that the three words "Verdun", which represent blood, cruelty and hell, actually symbolize "beautiful towns" in the local language. Yes, it has changed from a quiet and beautiful town on the Franco-German border, on the banks of the Maas River, with picturesque scenery and peaceful life, making it feel like a paradise.
Who would have thought that such a "paradise" would become a purgatory on earth forged in the name of glory?
For the purposes sought in the First World War, in fact, for the allies of the imperialist military aggression group, they are all the same, that is, plunder and expansion. In this regard, German Foreign Minister Pilov once said: "The Germans give up land to one of their neighbors, give up the sea to another, and leave themselves a worthless sky, and this era is gone!" We don't want to squeeze anyone into a dark corner, but we also want to give ourselves a place of light, a piece of land under the sun. ”
When the imbalance in the economic and political development of imperialism is getting worse and worse, the international environment is deteriorating day by day, and the great powers are eager to compete for more "territory under the sun", so many once beautiful and peaceful towns like Verdun have become the fields of war, the furnaces of the great powers, and the whole of Europe has become a "powder keg".
Under the burning explosion of this "powder keg", the "beautiful town" verdun, almost irreversibly became the "Verdun meat grinder", even if a century has passed, there are still terrible traces of war and cruel memories, although it is not the most deadly battle in the First World War, it is the most destructive and longest battle, this bloody battle that lasted for ten months, let the French Army nearly 3/4 of the troops involved, and even affected the entire course of the First World War.
The famous British historian Alistair Horn recreates the terrible bloody battle in a panoramic way through the book "The Battle of Verdun", in which he describes the war as "winning the chilling title of the battlefield with the largest number of deaths per square foot in human history", we all know that no one will be proud of such a title, let alone recall the tragedy of the time, but whether it is Germany and France or the people of the world, in fact, they should face it again. Then reflect on this battle.
The German chief of staff and infantry general Falkingham shouted that "the French will shed all their blood", almost "bloody" launched a crazy attack, the fertile fields became scorched, and the soldiers who survived became walking dead, still unable to slow down his offensive even the slightest, and even used the new quick-acting suffocating gas cannon "Green Cross" against humanity.
But France had already conducted a profound introspective study of the Franco-Prussian War at this time, it was once full of endless pride and pride, but now, in the face of Falkingham's cry that "the French will shed all their blood", France did not use "to fight to Berlin" to make a superficial counterattack, but faced this disaster in a more calm and united way.
At the beginning of the war, however, no one expected the battle to be so fierce, and the young soldiers of Germany and France sang their own battle songs, as Horn described in the Battle of Verdun:
"On one side is the disciplined, energetic, forward-attacking grey legion, proud of its numerical superiority and national superiority, singing the battle song: Victory! Our army will defeat France,
Die for your country like a hero.
Young people on the other side of the war were filled with a strong desire for revenge, their swift footsteps accompanied by the music of the military band, and their mouths sang more melodious lyrics: "Sacrificing one's life for the country is the highest glory." ”
The war was as easy as alcohol for the excited young German soldiers, who were even fascinated by the first sight of the shattered corpses, shouting "There is no more glorious death in the world than death in battle", and embarked on this road of shura field that could not be turned back.
Horn also attempts to decipher Falkingham, one of the initiators of the First World War, the Prussian general character whom Horn described as "the most eccentric character of the whole world war, whose personality and intentions remain obscure to this day, like a mystery", and Horn shows us the multifaceted, cold and contradictory character of Falkingham's personality through the analysis of a series of events.
He had a contemptuous attitude towards the press and the "people" and was indifferent to the casualty figures. With his direct skills and ability to work, Falkingham often has a very precise grasp of strategic situations and will take on more responsibilities beyond the scope of his work. At the same time, the shortcomings in his personality are also very obvious, he is not good at words, cold to the point of almost inhumanity, and almost morbid paranoia. Cautious but hesitant in military strategy, "his ruthlessness lacked the clear goals of Ludendorff's tenacity, and his indecision and excessive caution often turned what could have been a complete victory into a mixed victory", and this character trait also made him miss many good opportunities and caused a painful tragedy for both France and Germany in the Battle of Verdun.
In the Battle of Verdun, it was not only the French side that paid a terrible price, but among the more than one hundred divisions invested in the double fire, the French suffered nearly 550,000 casualties, the German casualties reached nearly 450,000, and with the final French victory, Germany even lost morale, confidence and the initiative in the war because of the tragic counterattack.
As the American writer wrote in The General History of the Globe: "In 1916 the Bloody Battle of Verdun did not bring about the decisive victory that Germany had hoped for. In fact, by the end of the year, the French had begun a counter-offensive, recapturing the positions they had lost in the spring, and the military good fortune of the Allies had reached its peak. ”
But although this military good fortune brought them the final victory, the process was extremely tragic, the Battle of Verdun was the most typical "soldier's war" in history, and one of the generals' decisions was to charge hundreds of thousands of soldiers. For the first time, in the face of the disgusting rats, mud, and lice in the trenches, the soldiers could humorously joke that a lice had just been born in the morning and was a grandmother full of children and grandchildren in the evening.
As the war progressed, however, the war became more and more fierce and bloody, and their eyes went from losing their light to being completely numb, and their bodies were even detached from their will, or the only remaining wills could only fall into the abyss with the crazy decisions of the leaders of the European countries and the fate and honor of the nation, as a German writer once wrote: "The battle will not end until the last German and the last Frenchman, jumping out of the trench on crutches and killing each other with a fruit knife or teeth or nails." ”
In addition to the description of the tragic situation of the soldiers, Horn also highlighted several key figures in the Battle of Verdun, such as the above-mentioned Falkingham, the German Crown Prince who was the Crown Prince but had little real influence, General de Castell, who sacrificed his three sons for the country, the "consistent killer", the leading technical expert in the French army, and the most courageous and fearless fighter in France.
These portraits and scenes reproduce together to form the epitome of the Battle of Verdun, which is the condensation of "all the horrors and glory, courage and senselessness of the First World War", from which we see politics and humanity, glory and cost, as the famous saying of Solon quoted in the last part of the Battle of Verdun, "I think of the glory in front of you, and all the sufferings that the gods have arranged for you, as the price of glory, will be experienced", but these glories are exchanged for great costs and sufferings, How profoundly will they affect the course of human destiny? This is something that we must constantly examine and think about.