(urth) Short Story 47: Hour of Trust

[Mo Holkar]

At 06:31 27/12/2012, Marc wrote:
>  the Verdun family is named after a town near Normandy that saw 
> some fierce fighting in WWII, and it is possible that this is also 
> ironically invoked by his name, though he is very far from an ideal general.


Just on this point, I think the battle of Verdun (WWI, on the Western 
Front) is the primary reference for this character. The historical 
Verdun family is a red herring.

This battle is pretty much proverbial, on this side of the Atlantic 
at least, for the folly and waste of the war-of-attrition strategy.

At the time Wolfe was writing (although there's more recent doubt) it 
was believed that the German intention was not to gain the territory, 
but simply to cause as many French casualties as possible: in 
practice, they sustaned as many themselves. The two sides together 
lost approaching a million men.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verdun

best wishes,

Mo




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