Verdun is one of the bloodiest and longest battles of the Great War. It began on February 21 with a 9-hour German artillery fire and lasted until December 18, 1916. The possible conquest of the Fortified Region of Verdun opened the way for the Germans to Paris and secured Metz and Lorraine against a possible attack by the French army strengthened by the English expeditionary corps. The head of the German General Staff, Gen. Erich von Flankenhayn in the “Christmas Memorial” of 1915 presented a plan to conquer the Verdun fortress. The task was entrusted to the Fifth Army under the command of the heir to the throne, Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern. The Commander-in-Chief of the French Army, General Joseph Joffre, disregarded the possibility of an attack in this section indicated by the intelligence service. The battle with variable fortune was fought in 6 phases and eventually ended with the Francois getting closer to their position before it broke out.