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One of the reasons why Germany was thwarted was the brilliance and stubbornness of the French commander at Verdun. Petain proved to be a brilliant general and was able to inspire his men to defy continuous German attacks. Pétain rotated the French troops at Verdun after a short period, which brought meant that most troops of the French army to served at the Verdun front for some time.<ref> Petain, p. 115</ref> This meant that they The troops were not as tired or suffered from poor as the Germans and their moralewas much better. He Petain also punished severely did not tolerate any derelictions dereliction of duty or and severely punished incidents of cowardice such as those ‘that lead to the desertion of Fort Dounamount on February 25th.’<ref> Petain, p. 92</ref> The French as a result became more formidable opponents that than the Germans had anticipated. At the start of the Battle of Verdun, the Germans could kill two French soldiers for every soldier that they lost.  However, under Petain, the French by the end of the war were able to kill one German for every man that they lost. The French government effectively used propaganda to fortify the common soldier and to inspire them to victory. This proved very effective and stiffened the French resistance in and around Verdun. The Germans had gravely underestimated the French and their ability to defend Verdun. They proved to be much more committed and dogged that the High Command in Berlin had planned for. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, the German army believed that the French did not have the stomach for the fight and that if put under sufficient pressure that they would evenutally break. This assumption was very misplaced misguided and this played a an very important role in the German High Commands failure to secure their objectives in Verdun.</ref> Keegan, p. 234</ref>