One thing Colonel Delion miscalculated was that the Germans used not just "a thousand" cannons to bombard Verdun, but more than two thousand.
On the nearly 10-kilometer front at Verdun, the German Army had deployed a total of 2,000 howitzers, 500 trench mortars, and more than a dozen powerful 210MM howitzers.
(The image above depicts a German 210MM howitzer from 1910, with a range of 9,400 meters and a shell weight of 120 kilograms)
During the preparation period for the attack, the German Army not only stockpiled a large amount of ammunition but also deployed over 30 engineer companies and more than 20 railway companies to improve transportation. The total number of construction personnel was more than 20,000, and just the shells sent to the front lines amounted to over 200 trainloads.
Ironically, while the German Army was intensively perfecting various facilities, the French Army on the other side was busy dismantling artillery and redeploying forces.
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