greatwar-1914
February 19, 1916 - Snow Thaws at Verdun, D-Day Planned for February 21
Pictured - Verdun in 1915, before the battle.
The week of waiting after the postponement of the Verdun attack drew heavily on both French and German soldiers. Nerves were showing signs of strain. French poilus looked out over at the German side, sure that this waiting was just another part of the diabolical plan, a mental bombardment before the real one began. Their German counterparts, however, were hardly comforted either.Then, on the 19th, the sun re-appeared and the snows melted. The next day was pleasant, almost spring-like. Everyone knew it had to be soon. Colonel Émile Driant, in charge of the 56th and 59th chasseurs reservists battalions in the wooded Bois des Caurres directly in front of Verdun, wrote a letter home to his wife. Driant had critizced Joffre now for months, appearing at the government in Paris to decry the removal of artillery guns from the Meuse for elsewhere. He was positive he and his men would be wiped out in the first German wave. “The hour is near… I feel very calm… In our wood the front trenches will be taken in the first minutes… My poor battalions, spared until now!”
