Logistical problems

For the first time, perhaps, the Battle of Verdun was also a logistical battle. Verdun was only served by a narrow-gauge railroad, the "Petit Meusien", and a "Chemin de Grande Communication"[Great Communication Way], the GC 6, the road from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun. After the war, this road became "La Voie Sacrée"[Sacred Way] as Maurice Barrès called it. A standard gauge railroad did exist, but it was beaten by German cannon. It was these two means of communication that ensured the logistics of the front, that of the men, the equipment and the materials, especially the ammunition. On the road, the traffic of vehicles never stopped. The Territorials opened quarries along the route and shovelled the materials directly under the tyres of the vehicles.