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How did Verdun threaten German communication lines?

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French soldiers in uniform rest and eat on a grassy field behind the front lines during the Battle of Verdun in World War I, with gear and rifles stacked nearby. — Battle of Verdun French soldiers resting away from the front line at the Battle of Verdun, 1916.

The French fortress of Verdun and its surrounding fortifications along the Meuse River were considered a strategic threat because they posed a direct menace to the main German communication lines.123

Because the fortress complex sat within a French salient, it cramped the defenders while simultaneously threatening German logistics in the region. Consequently, German General Erich von Falkenhayn selected Verdun as the target for his offensive in 1916, intending to force the French to defend the position at all costs, thereby drawing their reserves into a battle of attrition where they could be decimated by German artillery.23