6. The German attacks were all made at a disadvantage in March
Throughout the bloody month of March, 1916, German attacks to reduce the French artillery were doomed to failure. The French were by them amply supplied, in excellent defensive positions, and reinforced as necessary. As German artillery was brought forward it could and did obliterate French defensive positions, but when the German infantry moved forward it was exposed to the French artillery. The heavy casualties being inflicted on the German infantry had not been anticipated by the German planners. They had intended to bleed the French white, not themselves.
By the end of March, German forces had suffered over 80,000 casualties. The battlefield contained thousands of dead, buried in shell holes hastily by comrades, and then blasted to the surface by ensuing bombardments. The entire battle area was a mire of mud, containing the remains of human beings, blasted trees and buildings, abandoned weapons and equipment, and swept by rain, sleet, snow, winds, and poison gases. Yet at the end of March German commanders requested fresh reinforcements from Falkenhayn, in order to resume the offensive on the east bank of the Meuse, still under fire from French guns on the west bank.