FIRST PHASE OF VERDUN BATTLE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLII, Issue 12823, 15 April 1916, Page 3 (Supplement)

FIRST PHASE OF VERDUN BATTLE.

Paris. .March "J (delayed). Historv alone will tell the full tale of the battle ot Verdun, but it is now possible to give a iairly complete account of the first phase of this titanic conflict which ended on lebruarr 29, two days ago, with, the repulse of the Germans from the J*>oauinont height, four miles north of vertlunY -Military men here expect, a resumption of the olfensivc south-oast ot Verdun, with perhaps a supplementary attack from the north-west along the West bank of the Meuse. The assault from the north, judging from all m- . formation at hand at this time., has fa The' first phase of the battle, began on February 21 and lasted ten days. Iu that time, according to the German statement*, which have just been received here from London, the enemy captured about 17,000 prisoners, <o cannon, and 86 machine guns. Jhe Germans gained territory north of V eidiiii to a depth of about five miles, while thev captured' about the same area on the Woevre plain, east ot Verdun. This is considerably more territory than the French gained/m Champagne last September, where the attack was made oyer a Iront of about, twenty-five miies. but the inench at that time took '25,000 prisoners and 1 >46 guns, not including mitrailleuses. The attack north of Verdun was made on a front of about six miles on a difficult wooded plateau, which narrows in width to a mere bottle neck as it approaches the fortress. —Germans Lost Almost 150,000 Men.— As for losses, it is impossible at this time to give figures with any degree of accuracy, but all accounts ot t toe battle given by wounded officers who have returned to Talis agree that the slaughter of the Germans was terrinc. Of about 400,000 men engaged they are believed to have lost close to IaU,WU. and nearly 100.000 of these were killed or so badlv wounded that they died on tho battlefield. For the first tew days of the battle it was impossible to rescue the wounded owing to the intense arid continuous artillery fire. A heavy snow and bitter cold added to their miseries. The figures on French losses are now in tho hands of the military committee of the Chamber of Deputies, but the censor will allow no estimates to be published, it is believed here—it the cpnsor will let it pass—that about 300,000 French troops -took part in the defence of the fortress. This is likely to be an overestimate, as it is known General Joffre has not weakened 1 any other part of the Jong battle line, intending to be prepared for any surprise which- the Germans may be planning. Verdun lies in a basm in the \ alley of the Mouse, flanked on both sides with high hills. Those on the east, known as the Heights of the Mouse: are the most important. These heights consist of a long range of hills trom •200 to 300 metres high which with the wide river serve as a natural barrier to an attack from the east. Hence they are surmounted with such important defensive works as Verdun, Tool, Epinal. and Belfort. This range of hills slopes in the east down to the Woevre plain, which is widest on a line drawn from Fresnes east to tinfrontier. The plain narrows to a width of about eight miles at Vignoulles, which is situated within the so-called St. Mihiel salient. The cftv of Verdun is protected by sixteen" principal forts and many smaller works. These fortifications protect the two principal railroads running roughly north and south along the Meuse. They command, as well, all roads loading' into Verdun, particularly from the cast, where the nature of the AVoovre plain makes the roads absolutely necessary for military operations.

The Verdun forts wore rebuilt after the capture of the city by the Germans in IS7O and at the beginning of this war represented the latest- word in concrete fortifications. The lessons of Liege, Xamur, and Maubeuge. -however, were brought home to the French General vStaff and these concrete works have been dismantled, sand! fortifications and movable guns, on railways protecting the city with the aid of a large field army.

—Douaumont Xot a Fortress. — In the case of Fort Douaumont, the capture of which was the high mark of the German assault, it is not, as claimed bv the Germans, a "powerful armored fortress which is the key position to the defences of Verdun." Tho foit consists of a series of armored tunnels.

There is a central turret-, but it contains only mitrailleuses and some small revolver cannon. All the big guns have been removed. At the most northerly point of the fort there is a heavily armored observation post.' The importance of Douaumont lies in the fact- that it guards the narrowest pointin the high plateau leading down to Verdun from the north. The position has an altitude .of 388 metres and is flanked on each side by deep ravines. Putting together the various tales of wounded officers and viewing them in the light of the official communiques, the story of the battle is about as follows :

The battle opened at 8.30 on the morning'of February 21, with an intense artillery fire, which soon rendered untenable the first line French trenches, stretching from a point a short distance north of Brabant to L'Hcrbebois, a front of a little more than five miles. The ground was ploughed up in every direction by German shells of all calibres, while the barbed wire entanglements and parapets literally disappeared in clouds of dust and smoke. "While the French withdrew to their second line trenches their artillery replied effectively to the German challenge, but it was soon realised that this mighty artillery battle was in preparation' for a military action of first importance. The commandc-r at Verdun, whose name the Paris public does not yet know, thereupon issued orders for a gradual retirement, leaving strong rearguards to delay the German advance as much as possible. The Germans on the same day delivered a heavy attack against the British lines in the neighborhood of Ypi-es and gained some ground. On the following day, February 22, they attacked in the Artois'district with effectives estimated at about 10,000 men, thinking in this way to throw the Frennb off their guard as to where tho principal attack was to be made. But since the early part of last December General Joffro had kept his eye on the situation north of Verdun because aviator scouts had reported preparations for an offensive in that region and the massing of large numbers of troops. —German <sain Was Costlv.—

The first heavy Gorman blow fell on February 22, when- by massed attack after a most extraordinary artillery preparation, they penetrated the French front to n depth of about two miles at one point north of the village of Beaumont. During this attack.the German artillery kept up a-heavy bombardment over the entire front from

irelancourty on the- west bank of the Meuse, to. Etain, about halfway between Verdun and Metz, a distance of about twenty-five miles.

In these preliminary attacks the Germans, according to .wounded officers who have returned from the front, employed about'- 200-000 men massed twelve deep.' No soonendid the French

seventy-fives: tear huge holes in this line than the gaps were: filled up from the rear ranks. The methodical advance, in which the Germans died like'flies.

continued despite the concentrated fire of the French batteries, which according to one participant in the Rattle firod literally to the inch. Time and again the Germans ploughed through .the storm of explosive shell and shrapnel until they were so close that the artillery of both sides had to ceasa. firing: Then the French turned their . machine guns on" the onrushing mass of gray, cutting huge swathes in it. .This" did .not stop them. Rifles were of.no use except as holders for bayonets, and in this way the - French succeeded in temporarily stemming the Teuton tide. When such an assault failed the German-artillery began -again its methodical-preparation, and then .the attack was renewed' on a greater scale. _.':..... ; ;Mn these three days the Germans had 'gained more 'than two miles on either

wing and ;i largo mfmbcr of i>risoners. come ot the I- iciicli defenders fought until they were overwhelmed, others were cut off in the retreat.' By a quick advance down a decline south of Samogneux known as the Nameless Ravine, the French forces defending Brabant and Samogneux were cut off. • The swollen condition of the Melise prevented their retirement across the river, and they fell into the hands of the enemv.

Sweeping southwards _ the German right wing on the following day, February 25, drove the French back across the Meuse peninsula, so called because of the loop in the river at this point, and hurled itself against the' French positions on the Cote du Taloa, a height lying just east of Champeuville. Here the Germans met .-with a. check. Tho latest reports indicate that this -height now lies between the opposing sides, while to the east the .Germans have pushed as far as the Cote du Poivre, against which they have battered in vain for several days.

BRANDENJ3URGERS STORMED FORT. The crisis in the first phase of the battle came on February 2G, when the Germans, heavily reinforced, captured the chills south-west of Louvemont in the face of a. hurricane of artillery fire and pushed their lines as far soutii as the village, of Douaumout. The village, consisting of not more than fifty houses, situated at tho intersection of three roads, stands on a plateau which is the narrowest point of the Meuse heights. The fort* of Douaumont, which overlooks the village at a height of not more than 100 feet, commands the village as well as the approaches along the road. A short distance south and closer to Verdun, the forts of Sauville and Vaux com-

mand Douauniont. After several unsuccessful attempts to take Fort Douaumorit Count von Haeseler, the German commander who made himself famous a few years ago

by capturing .the Kaiser in manoeuvres, ordered the Brandenbtirrj regiments forward. As they dashed up the slope, the, French machine-guns on the crest rainetl a murderous fire upon them, cutting them down like wheat. The Brandenburgers, their heads bent as if to jrrotect them from' their hail of lead, Kept on, and gained the height. They were masters of the fort, or rather the ruins of what was once n fort, for the big German guns had battered it to pieces. It was just at this moment that the French commander issued the order to launch a counter-attack. It was led by a full army corps, one that n>.jde its name famous in Champagne but which we arc not allowed yet even to designate by number. Dashing up the hill tho French instead of throwing themselves on tho Germans sheltered in the ruins of the fort, divided into two columns and swept around the position, retaking the village of Douauniont, and thereby cutting off the Brandcnburgors in their clearly won position on the spin- above. Furious attacks were made by the Germans to relieve their comrades, but the French held their positions against every assault.

All the reports from Verdun agree that the slaughter in this day's fighting was terrible. Every possible route of approach to the French positions was commanded by artillery and ma-chine-gun fire, so that the Germans debouching from wood or ravine immediately became easy targets for the French guns. BARRICADED BY THEIR OWN DEAD.

So many were killed that they oven clogged "the streams in tho ravines which seam the plateau running in every direction. Finally the advancing Germans were able to barricade themselves behind the bodies of their cwn dead and in this way receive some

protection. During the night of February 25 and 28 the Freneh General Staff decided upon a retirement from their advanced positions on the Woovro plain. There were indications that Count von Unescler intended to attempt an assault on Verdun from this direction, and under cover of darkness the French fell back to the railway line that skirts the ileuse heights on tlie east. Here they were heavily attacked on the following day at the railway station of Fix, which changed hands several time, at Manheulles. and at Fresnes. The Germans succeeded in taking the village of Manheulles, butwere repulsed at Eix and Fresnes, the former position lying the closer to Verdun. South of Fresnes the Germans carried the village of Champion, and at last reports it still remains ia their hands.