Imperial Germany began a major offensive against the ancient city of Verdun on February 21st, 1916, to exhaust and demoralize the French. Britain would launch the Somme offensive on July 1st against the Germans, in part to relieve German pressure on Verdun. These bloody, grinding campaigns aimed at attrition marked a new phase in the First World War: total war. Combatant countries now mobilized their entire populations, economies, and resources to achieve victory. The people were asked to endure and to sacrifice for the sake of national pride but at what cost? How would total war help spread the “Spanish” flu that was to come two years later?
Join historians Scott Hileman, Ph.D. and Peter Doyle, Ph.D. for a panel discussion following a screening of “Apocalypse WWI: Hell” (2014).
This program supports By the People: Civic Engagement for All, an FCPL initiative to foster civic knowledge and participation in the Frederick County community.