8. The bulk of the casualties inflicted on both sides was from the massive artillery barrages
Falkenhayn believed throughout the early weeks of the battle that the Germans were inflicting casualties on the French at a ratio of 5:2. In fact the casualties were, up to the point that the Germans turned over to the defensive, about equal. German morale, especially among the infantry, plummeted. The French adopted a system of rotating divisions in and out of combat. As the battle went on, French troops rotated out of combat temporarily exhibited more and more of what was then known as shell shock. A later age would identify it as combat fatigue, and later still gained the name of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
French desertions began to increase, with troops hoping to escape the carnage to neutral Spain, or in some cases simply surrender to the enemy as prisoners of war. Petain ordered deserters shot if captured. When May began, he was promoted to command Army Group Center, and General Robert Nivelle assumed command of the French 2nd Army and the defenses at Verdun. By then German attacks had been reduced to small, localized actions, mostly to either improve defensive positions or as counterattacks against French gains. Nivelle decided to move the French into an offensive posture, and retake Fort Douaumont.