Editing Battle of Verdun (section)

===German preparations===
[[File:Map commune FR insee code 55545.png|thumb|{{centre|Map of Verdun and the vicinity (commune FR insee code 55545)}}]]
Verdun had been isolated on three sides since 1914 and the mainline Paris–[[Sainte-Menehould|St Menehould]]–[[Les Islettes]]–[[Clermont-en-Argonne]]–Aubréville–Verdun railway in the Forest of Argonne was closed in mid-July 1915, by the right flank divisions of the [[5th Army (German Empire)|5th Army]] ([[Generalmajor]] [[Wilhelm, Crown Prince of Germany|Crown Prince Wilhelm]]) when it reached the {{lang|fr|La Morte Fille}}–Hill 285 ridge, after continuous local attacks, rendering the railway unusable.{{sfn|Sheldon|2012|pp=164, 200–201}} Only a light railway remained to the French to carry bulk supplies; German-controlled mainline railways lay only {{cvt|24|km|order=flip}} to the north of the front line. A corps was moved to the 5th Army to provide labour for the preparation of the offensive. Areas were emptied of French civilians and buildings requisitioned. Thousands of kilometres of telephone cable were laid, a huge amount of ammunition and rations was dumped under cover and hundreds of guns were emplaced and camouflaged. Ten new rail lines with twenty stations were built and vast underground shelters ({{lang|de|Stollen}}) {{cvt|4.5|–|14|m|order=flip}} deep were dug, each to accommodate up to {{nowrap|1,200 infantry.}}{{sfn|Mason|2000|pp=21, 32}}

The III Corps, VII Reserve Corps and XVIII Corps were transferred to the 5th Army, each corps being reinforced by {{nowrap|2,400 experienced}} troops and {{nowrap|2,000 trained}} recruits. V Corps was placed behind the front line, ready to advance if necessary when the assault divisions were moving up. XV Corps, with two divisions, was in 5th Army reserve, ready to advance and mop up as soon as the French defence collapsed.{{sfn|Mason|2000|pp=21, 32}} Special arrangements were made to maintain a high rate of artillery-fire during the offensive; {{frac|33|1|2}} munitions trains per day were to deliver ammunition sufficient for {{nowrap|2,000,000 rounds}} to be fired in the first six days and another {{nowrap|2,000,000 shells}} in the next twelve. Five repair shops were built close to the front to reduce delays for maintenance and factories in Germany were made ready, rapidly to refurbish artillery needing more extensive repairs. A redeployment plan for the artillery was devised, to move field guns and mobile heavy artillery forward, under the covering fire of mortars and the super-heavy artillery. A total of {{nowrap|1,201 guns}} were massed on the Verdun front, two thirds of which were heavy- and super-heavy artillery, which was obtained by stripping modern German artillery from the rest of the Western Front and substituting for it older types and captured Russian and Belgian guns. The German artillery could fire into the Verdun salient from three directions yet remain dispersed around the edges.{{sfn|Foley|2007|pp=214–216}}