The goals of the German offensive

What does Germany want by attacking at Verdun? Even today, we don't really know! To wear down the French army, certainly, to beat it and to bring France to the negotiation table if the attack succeeds, perhaps! Falkenhayn (here on the right), generalissimo of the German armies, would later write that he wanted to bleed the French army. However, he was determined to achieve his goals at the lowest human cost. It was therefore going to employ few men, 26 divisions, of which only 9 were in the front line, but on the other hand it was going to use a large mass of artillery. The French general staff and, in particular, Joffre, had a hard time convincing themselves of the reality of an attack on Verdun, believing rather in a diversion to hide a more important action elsewhere.