The German attack on Verdun, an important pillar of the French defence system, was launched on this day. More than 100,000 shells were fired every hour during fighting that would last more than ten months, killing over 160,000 men on the Allied side and 140,000 among the Germans, and wounding almost half a million soldiers irrespective of nationality. Starting in June 1916, both camps made tactical changes. Little by little, the German troops were obliged to give way.
