9 , led by Rittmeister Oskar von Blumenthal , discovered Know that Marshal François Bazaine 's 160,000-man Army of the Rhine was attempting to escape Escaping from Metz to join with French forces at Verdun .

In 1916 , the Battle Hostile_encounter of Verdun had been a costly failure Earnings_and_losses for the Germans and the Anglo-French Battle of the Somme had forced a defensive Defending battle Hostile_encounter on the Germans , leaving Departing the western armies ( ) exhausted Expend_resource .

The German 2nd and 1st armies on the Somme managed Control a recovery Cause_change_of_position_on_a_scale after the string of defeats in September , with fresh divisions to replace exhausted troops and more aircraft , artillery and ammunition diverted Removing from the battle Hostile_encounter at Verdun and stripped Removing from other parts of the Western Front .

The reinforcement Cause_change_of_strength of the Somme front with troops and equipment Supply from Verdun also contributed Causation to the German defeat Conquering in the First Offensive Battle Hostile_encounter of Verdun ( ) and the loss Earnings_and_losses of forts Douaumont and Vaux .

The reinforcement Cause_change_of_strength of the Somme front with troops and equipment Supply from Verdun also contributed Causation to the German defeat Conquering in the First Offensive Battle Hostile_encounter of Verdun ( ) and the loss Earnings_and_losses of forts Douaumont and Vaux .