Battle of Verdun (1916 AD)

A miniatures wargame intended for classroom use with two teams of students (grades 6-8). The game is designed to be played on a 7.5x5 foot table using 1/72 scale plastic miniatures. Free print-and-play paper miniatures are also provided for use with the rules. The German forces consist of 366 figures and the French forces consist of 182 figures. Terrain features include barbed wire, trenches, and shell holes.

“During World War I both sides dug a line of trenches along the Western Front extending from the English Channel to Switzerland. Each side tried repeatedly to breakthrough their opponent's line of defenses, suffering terrible casualties."

"In 1916 the Germans planned an attack on the French fortress city of Verdun. Their aim was to ‘bleed the French army white’ by inflicting so many casualties that France would be unable to continue the fight. Vowing that ‘they shall not pass’ the French were eventually able to stop the German advance, and after ten months of bloody combat the German gains had been virtually wiped out."

"In the worst war in human history Verdun stands out as the worst battle of all. The battle caused nearly a million casualties, more than half of them French. Verdun was a ‘victory’ that would haunt French military and political leaders for a generation. This scenario is designed to give the students a taste of what it was on the first day of the battle.”