SECOND VERDUN

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 September 1917, Page 8

SECOND VERDUN

La.ua L cGjUmj GliEMliN Luo iUiiMUO. SIGNAL FKEisUI VICTOR!. LUXUOiN, September 1Reuter's coi respondent, al r until headipiar Let's suites Uuu-Tlie bmuu oi Chennii dcs Lames, m which me lM«neh to my lias been engaged tor five months, is at least as severe a te;t us, war Verdun last year. The length oi fronts is approximately Uio same. Forty-nine German divisions were engaged at Chemin des Lames from May u l«> August “JO, compared with Jo at Verdun for the same )\ riod last year, when the light hi g at Vcultm was at it s ; heaviest.

The fact that the . French have taken 8,55 J prisoners, at Chemin des Dames for the period mentioned, compared with odd for the corresponding I - riod at Verdun, clearly suggests that the wastage of German effectives on the Chemin des Lames is almost twice a,si great ns it was at Verdi,<l. Even allowing for the fact that the fighting strength of a German division is considerably less, than it was hist year, it is: evident that the Battle of Chemin Ties, Dames has been more cosllv to the enemy than was Verdun.

EFFECT ON GERMAN NERVES

Tin? strain, of the battle at Chemin dos Dames on (lie nerve of the tierman troops isi shown b}' the fact that only one out of -1!) German divisions re-appeamf in the fighting line after their withdrawal. Divisions, which participate in fighting never remain for more than 12 days on (he• f! out. There i s every reason to believe that ilia Germans have between lot) and 000 batteries on the Chemin des Dames. They certainly ha-ve as many as they had at Verdun last year. They have It) or 12 batteries oU every thousand yard* of front, and they have often employed 200 batteries, on a narrow sector for a single attack.

BLOODIEST FIGHTING EVER SEEN.

There have been forty big attacks

--hint' German and half Flench —on the Clicmin des Games in 107 clays, besides minor attacks a'ucl counterattacks. The bloddiest hand-to-hand fitilitiii” - ever seen occurred oh the crest-line at Cerny and Oraonne, where the area to be won isi so narrow aiid the necessary adva’nce is so short that 50 defeats have not yet cured the Boche of the; illusion that he can reconquer it. Probably the enemy's strongest motive for keeping the Battle of Chemin dCs Games/ alive is the vain hope of wearing down the courage of the French, who have beaten him signally on t lu> Cheniin dcyi Games as they did at Verdun.