A powerfully immediate and controversial account of one of the longest and bloodiest engagements of World War I.

In mid-February 1916, the Germans launched a surprise major offensive at Verdun, an important fortress in northeast France. By mid-March, more than 90,000 French troops had been killed or wounded. The fighting continued for seven long months, with casualties on both sides mounting in astonishing numbers. By the end of the year, the battle had claimed more than 700,000 victims. The butchery had little impact on the course of the war, and Verdun soon became the most potent symbol of the horrors of the war in general, and of trench warfare in particular.

Ian Ousby offers a radical, iconoclastic reevaluation of the meaning and import of this cataclysmic battle in The Road to Verdun. Moving beyond the narrow focus of most military historians, he argues that the French bear a tremendous responsibility for the senseless slaughter. In a work that merges intellectual substance and great battle writing, Ousby shows that the roots of the disaster lay in the French national character -- the grandiose, even delusional way they perceived themselves, and their relentless determination to demonize Germans, which began in the debacle of the Franco-Prussian War.

Ousby analyzes the generals' battle plans, and provides a graphic, gripping account of the deprivations and inhumane suffering of the troops who manned the trenches. His incisive, moving descriptions make it painfully clear why the influential French critic and poet Paul Valéry called Verdun "a complete war in itself, inserted in the Great War."

In telling the story of Verdun, Ousby demonstrates that the confrontation marked a critical midpoint in Franco-German hostility. The battle not only carried the burden of history, but with the presence on the battlefield of France's future leaders -- including Pétain and de Gaulle -- it fed an increasingly venomous enmity between France and Germany, and lay the groundwork for World War II.

"Ousby writes so well, so readably, so engagingly... the murderous tragedy he has staged for us proves absorbingly fascinating."
   THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

"An excellent and absorbing book."
   NATIONAL REVIEW

"Richly textured; [Ousby] has an especially keen eye."
   CHICAGO TRIBUNE

"An outstanding book, rich in its insights, and written with verve and style."
   THE GUARDIAN

"Studded with quotable and memorable descriptions of the horrors of the battle."
   TIMES (LONDON)

"An assured work which steps well beyond the narrow and constricting boundaries of military history.... Altogether more significant than a mere dry account of a battle of attrition would have been.... Harrowing."
   THE SUNDAY HERALD

"A story that still has the power to shock and horrify... Consistently intelligent and readable.... An engaging and important book."
   NEW STATESMAN

"A triumph... A must for any modern world history buff."
   PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (STARRED)

"A splendid account... Informed and erudite, lucid and sanguinary."
   KIRKUS REVIEWS