Ten million artillery shells pulverized the landscape until it ceased to resemble Earth: forests erased, hills reshaped, soil churned with metal and human remains. The Battle of Verdun, 302 days through 1916, was not fought to capture territory. German commander Falkenhayn engineered it coldly as a meat grinder, gambling that French pride would feed men into a confined pocket where his artillery could, in his words, bleed France to death.

This episode dissects the trap and the blunders on both sides: the French decision to strip their own legendary forts of guns, the ten-hour opening bombardment heard 100 miles away, and the mighty Fort Douaumont captured without a shot by a hundred wandering soldiers who found it nearly empty. It follows Petain's logistical salvation on the Sacred Way, the relief brought by the Somme and Brusilov offensive ...