Why Verdun?

Jankowski, Paul.  Verdun: The Longest Battle of the Great War.  New York: Oxford University
        Press, 2014  ISBN: 978-0-19-931689-2

Many books are written about individual battles in World War I, especially Verdun. For a variety of reasons, Verdun is emblematic  of the fighting on the Western Front in the Great War.  However, Paul Jankowski has not written a normal battle history in Verdun, but rather a meditation  on what many consider the longest battle of World War I.  Rather than a detailed description of the action tracing units involved, personalities, terrain, etc., he opens with a discussion on the place the battle holds in the memories of Frenchmen, Germans and historians.  He explores why the German forces attacked at Verdun, then why the French decided to make a hold-at-all-cost defense there.  He examines the evidence regarding what part the concept of offensive tactics  and rates of attrition played in the battle and how prestige (French and German) controlled the length of the battle.  He looked at what French and German troops thought of the battle and how they viewed each other.  The other major area he covered is why the forces involved continued fighting this battle.

If you are looking for action, consider other titles on Verdun. But if you want a revisionist synthesis on why the battle happened, read on.