Editing Battle of Verdun (section)

====27–29 February====
The German advance gained little ground on 27 February, after a thaw turned the ground into a swamp and the arrival of French reinforcements increased the effectiveness of the defence. Some German artillery became unserviceable and other batteries became stranded in the mud. German infantry began to suffer from exhaustion and unexpectedly high losses, {{nowrap|500 casualties}} being suffered in the fighting around Douaumont village.{{sfn|Mason|2000|pp=114–115}} On 29 February, the German advance was contained at Douaumont by a heavy snowfall and the defence of French 33rd Infantry Regiment.{{efn|Captain [[Charles de Gaulle]], the future [[Free French]] leader and President of France, was a company commander in this regiment and was wounded and taken prisoner near Douaumont during the battle.{{sfn|Williams|1998|p=45}}}} Delays gave the French time to bring up {{nowrap|90,000 men}} and {{cvt|23000|ST}} of ammunition from the railhead at [[Bar-le-Duc]] to Verdun. The swift German advance had gone beyond the range of artillery covering fire and the muddy conditions made it very difficult to move the artillery forward as planned. The German advance southwards brought it into range of French artillery west of the Meuse, whose fire caused more German infantry casualties than in the earlier fighting, when French infantry on the east bank had fewer guns in support.{{sfn|Mason|2000|p=115}}