Verdun, battle of, the longest and one of the bloodiest engagements of World War I. Two million men were engaged. It began on Feb. 21, 1916, when the Germans, commanded by Crown Prince Frederick William, launched a massive offensive against Verdun, an awkward salient in the French line. The outlying forts of Douaumont and Hardaumont soon fell, but the French rallied under General Pétain (with the cry "They shall not pass") and resistance stiffened. A British offensive on the Somme relieved the pressure on Verdun in July, 1916, and by December the French had recovered most of the ground lost. The intention of the Germans had been a battle of attrition in which they hoped to bleed the French army white. In the end, they sustained almost as many casualties as the French; an estimated 328,000 to the French 348,000.

Verdun, Treaty of, the partition of Charlemagne's empire among three sons of Louis I, emperor of the West. It was concluded in 843 at Verdun on the Meuse or, possibly, Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, Soâne-et-Loire dept., E France. Louis the German received the eastern portion (later Germany); Charles II (Charles the Bald) became king of the western portion (later France); Lothair I received the central portion (Low Countries, Lorraine, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence, and most of Italy) and also kept the imperial title. The Treaty of Verdun represented the beginning of dissolution of Charlemagne's empire into political units that foreshadowed the nations of Western Europe. It was superseded in 870 by the Treaty of Mersen.

Verdun, city (1991 pop. 61,307), S Que., Canada, on the south shore of Montreal island, on the St. Lawrence River. It is a residential suburb of Montreal.

Verdun, town (1990 pop. 23,427), Meuse dept., NE France, in Lorraine, on the Meuse River. A strategic transportation center, Verdun has varied industries and is situated in an agricultural region. The town was a prosperous commercial center in Roman times and also during the Carolingian period in the 800s. An episcopal see since the 4th cent., Verdun, with its surrounding area, was one of the three bishoprics (with Metz and Toul) seized (1552) by Henry II of France from the Holy Roman Empire. The town itself was a free imperial city before it passed to France. The Peace of Westphalia (1648), ending the Thirty Years War, confirmed Verdun in French possession. Fortified by Sébastien Vauban during the reign of Louis XIV, Verdun thereafter became important strategically. After 1871 the town became the principal French fortress facing Germany and was surrounded by a ring of defenses. The longest battle of World War I was fought at Verdun in 1916 (see Verdun, battle of). In 1918 the Americans and French were victorious in the Verdun sector and at Saint-Mihiel. Almost totally destroyed, Verdun was rebuilt after the war. The town and the battlefield of Verdun, with their huge military cemeteries and numerous impressive monuments, form a national sanctuary. Other points of interest are the cathedral (11th-12th cent.) and the town hall (17th cent.), which is now a war museum.

(843) Treaty partitioning the Carolingian empire among the three surviving sons of Louis I (the Pious). It marked a first stage in the dissolution of Charlemagne's empire and a step toward the formation of the modern countries of western Europe. The treaty was signed following three years of civil war between the three brothers. Lothar I received the imperial h1 and Francia Media, which included much of Italy as well as parts of several other present-day European countries. Louis the German received Francia Orientalis, the land east of the Rhine River, and Charles II (the Bald) received Francia Occidentalis, the remainder of modern France.

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(843) Treaty partitioning the Carolingian empire among the three surviving sons of Louis I (the Pious). It marked a first stage in the dissolution of Charlemagne's empire and a step toward the formation of the modern countries of western Europe. The treaty was signed following three years of civil war between the three brothers. Lothar I received the imperial h1 and Francia Media, which included much of Italy as well as parts of several other present-day European countries. Louis the German received Francia Orientalis, the land east of the Rhine River, and Charles II (the Bald) received Francia Occidentalis, the remainder of modern France.

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