Question: Émile Driant was the first high-ranking casualty in the largest  and longest battle of the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies, fought when?

full_context: Document 1: Battle of the Somme: The Battle of the Somme (French: "Bataille de la Somme" , German: "Schlacht an der Somme" ), also known as the Somme Offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies and was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front. More than 3 million men fought in this battle and one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history.
Document 2: Meuse-Argonne Offensive: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, also known as the Maas-Argonne Offensive and the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a major part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire Western Front. It was fought from 26 September 1918 until the Armistice of 11 November 1918, a total of 47 days. The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest in United States military history, involving 1.2 million American soldiers. It was one of a series of Allied attacks known as the Hundred Days Offensive, which brought the war to an end. The battle cost 28,000 German lives and 26,277 American lives. It was the largest and bloodiest operation of World War I for the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), which was commanded by General John J. Pershing, and one of the deadliest battles in American history. American losses were exacerbated by the inexperience of many of the troops, and tactics used during the early phases of the operation.
Document 3: Battle of Verdun: The Battle of Verdun ("Bataille de Verdun", ] , "Schlacht um Verdun", ] ), fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916, was the largest and longest battle of the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies. The battle took place on the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse in north-east France. The German 5th Army attacked the defences of the Fortified Region of Verdun ("RFV, Région Fortifiée de Verdun") and those of the French Second Army on the right bank of the Meuse. Inspired by the experience of the Second Battle of Champagne in 1915, the Germans planned rapidly to capture the Meuse Heights, an excellent defensive position with good observation for the artillery to bombard Verdun. The Germans hoped that the French would commit their strategic reserve to recapture the position and suffer catastrophic losses in a battle of annihilation, not costly for the Germans because of their tactical advantage.
Document 4: Ardant du Picq: Charles Jean Jacques Joseph Ardant du Picq (19 October 1821 – 18 August 1870) was a French Army officer and military theorist of the mid-nineteenth century whose writings, as they were later interpreted by other theorists, had a great effect on French military theory and doctrine.
Document 5: Guy Pedroncini: Guy Pedroncini was a French academic and military historian specialising in the First World War, and notable as the biographer of Philippe Pétain and for his work on the French army mutinies of 1917. He was born in Paris on 17 May 1924 and died on 11 July 2006, at the age of 82.
Document 6: Battle of the Bulge: The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg, towards the end of World War II. The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard. American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war. The battle also severely depleted Germany's armored forces, and they were largely unable to replace them. German personnel and, later, Luftwaffe aircraft (in the concluding stages of the engagement) also sustained heavy losses.
Document 7: Vauquois: During World War 1, Vauquois was the site of violent mine warfare, also in connection with the Battle of Verdun (1916). From 1915 to 1918, French and German tunneling units fired 519 separate mines at Vauquois, and the German gallery network beneath the village hill (the "Butte de Vauquois") grew to a length of 17 km . Vauquois was completely destroyed and many huge craters and dugouts remain.
Document 8: Ernst Jünger: Ernst Jünger (29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a highly decorated German soldier, author, and entomologist who became famous for his World War I memoir "Storm of Steel". The son of a successful businessman and chemist, Jünger rebelled against an affluent upbringing and sought adventure in the Wandervogel, before running away to briefly serve in the French Foreign Legion, an illegal act. Because he escaped prosecution in Germany due to his father's efforts, Jünger was able to enlist on the outbreak of war. During an ill-fated German offensive in 1918 Jünger's World War I career ended with the last and most serious of his many woundings, and he was awarded the Pour le Mérite, a rare decoration for one of his rank.
Document 9: Philippe Pétain: Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain (24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), generally known as Philippe Pétain (] ) or Marshal Pétain ("Maréchal Pétain"), was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and later served as the Chief of State of Vichy France also known as Nationalist France or the French State "(Chef de l'État Français)", from 1940 to 1944. Pétain, who was 84 years old in 1940, ranks as France's oldest head of state. Today, he is considered the French equivalent to his contemporary Quisling in Norway. Because of his outstanding military leadership in World War I, particularly during the Battle of Verdun, Pétain was viewed as a national hero in France and was not executed. He was sometimes nicknamed "The Lion of Verdun".
Document 10: Émile Driant: Émile Augustin Cyprien Driant (11 September 1855 – 22 February 1916) was a French writer, politician, and army officer. He was the first high-ranking casualty of the Battle of Verdun during World War I.
Document 11: Battle of Fort Driant: The Battle of Fort Driant was a constituent battle in the 1944 Battle of Metz, during the Lorraine Campaign and the greater Siegfried Line Campaign. The battle was on occupied French territory between the forces of the United States Third Army under the command of General George S. Patton and the forces of Nazi Germany under General Otto von Knobelsdorff.
Document 12: Battle of Hürtgen Forest: The Battle of Hürtgen Forest (German: "Schlacht im Hürtgenwald" ) was a series of fierce battles fought from 19 September to 16 December 1944 between American and German forces on the Western Front during World War II in the Hürtgen Forest about 50 mi2 east of the Belgian–German border. It was the longest battle on German ground during World War II, and is the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought.
Document 13: Noël Garnier-Duplessix: General Noël Marie Amédée Garnier-Duplessix (sometimes Duplessis) was a French army officer. Whilst still a colonel he commanded the 2nd Infantry Division in the Allied victory at the First Battle of the Marne before seeing service in the Zaian War in the French protectorate of Morocco. Garnier-Duplessix returned to France in October 1916 and received command of the 37th Infantry Division for the 15 December offensive of the Battle of Verdun and the Nivelle Offensive of April 1917. He received command of the 9th Army Corps in June 1918 and led that unit to victory in the August Battle of Amiens and the autumn Meuse-Argonne Offensive. After the war he was posted to Cilicia in the Franco-Turkish War of 1920-1 where he argued against early withdrawal of troops following the March 1921 Cilicia Peace Treaty.
Document 14: Erich von Falkenhayn: General Erich Georg Anton von Falkenhayn (11 September 1861 – 8 April 1922) was the Chief of the German General Staff during the First World War from September 1914 until 29 August 1916. He was removed in the late summer of 1916 after the failure at the battle of Verdun, the opening of the Allied offensive on the Somme, the Brusilov Offensive and the entry of Romania into the war. He was later given important field commands in Romania and Syria. His reputation as a war leader was attacked in Germany during and after the war, especially by the faction which supported Hindenburg. Falkenhayn held that Germany could not win the war by a decisive battle but would have to reach a compromise peace; his enemies said he lacked the resolve necessary to win a decisive victory. Falkenhayn's relations with the Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg were troubled and undercut Falkenhayn's plans.
Document 15: Battle of the Hills: The Battle of the Hills (French: "Bataille des Monts" ) also known as the Battle of the Hills of Champagne and the Third Battle of Champagne, was a battle of the First World War that was fought from April–May 1917. The French Fourth Army offensive against the German 4th Army was intended to be auxiliary to that of the "Groupe d'armées du Nord" (GAN, Northern Army Group) along the Chemin des Dames, in the Second Battle of the Aisne. General Anthoine, commander of the Fourth Army planned a supporting attack but this was rejected by Nivelle and Anthoine planned a frontal attack by two corps on an 11 km front, to break through the German defences on the first day and commence exploitation the following day. The battle took place east of Reims, between Prunay and Aubérive, in the province of Champagne, along the Moronvilliers Hills.
ground_truth: from 21 February to 18 December 1916