5. Weather came to the aid of the French at the end of February
Heavy fighting continued in the village of Douaumont after the fort was taken, and the German advance was blunted. Heavy rains and warmer temperatures made moving the German artillery forward to support the gains made by the infantry impossible in the resulting mire. The brief thaw was followed by a heavy snowstorm, and the exhausted German infantry advance ground to a halt. The Germans had not expected the heavy casualties they sustained, and the lack of artillery support prevented them from advancing further by February 29. Another section of German advance to the south on the east side of the Meuse brought it under heavy fire from French batteries west of the river.
The first week of March found the German infantry under heavy bombardment by French artillery. The Germans were forced to huddle in cold, muddy, and often water-filled shell holes under heavy fire. The French were able to resupply the gunners and continue to push reinforcements into the RFV while German attempts to counterfire the French artillery failed. French aircraft also began to appear over the battlefield in numbers sufficient to drive off or shoot down German observation balloons and airplanes. Throughout March and into April the Germans attempted to silence the French guns, as the battle degenerated into little more than a bloodletting in which neither side gained significant advantage.