Salt Lake Telegram | 1916-02-27 | Page 1 | Verdun Runs Rivulets of Blood Slaughter is Worst in War's History

Verdun Runs Rons Rivulets of 0 f Blood K it it t it Slaughter Is W Worst in oW Wars War's ars ar's s History tf Cannon Obliterates Line After Lin Lini 3 in rill Terrible Conflict I By Unit United d Press ARIS Feb 26 French French officer officers officer's officers P PARIS cers cers wounded in the first first forty-eight forty hours of the thet t German rush toward Verdun Ver dun have reached Paris They agreed that shell fire and the human human hu hu- hu man slaughter was the greatest they had seen since the beginning beginning begin begin- ning of the war The French losses under the first terrific rain of fire were terrible terrible ter ter- ter- ter some regiments losing more than 60 50 per cent of their effectives effectives tives before the Germans left their trenches in a mad rush Of course we knew it was com coming corn com ing lug said one wounded French French- man The thing had been in theair the theair theair air and when the roll of guns began began be be- gan gail growing steadily louder the word passed all along our front that the Germans were coming coining OU out The heaviest st The cannonade must have lasted about thirty-six thirty hours shells tearing up big clouds of dirt and stumps of trees and trench dugouts Whole sections of our advanced trenches were just flattened flattened flat out The Bouches Pouches did not find muc much fighting to do when they rushed them The attack began on our front about dawn The Germans were nearly on us before we could see them the smoke and dust was so heavy heay C They were coming on the run so thick and close together it looked like their elbows touched what what we saw of them Then our guns began to cut through them They bit big h holes les In that German line and in what seemed only a second or two a whole German regiment had been wiped out One Bouche came stumbling on toward our trenches unhurt until un until until un un- til he was so close we could seethe see the frightened look on on his his face faces Then he went down on his face A French surgeon back bacle from the Verdun front brought a similar similar simi simi- lar story The German cannonade cannonade cannonade cannon cannon- ade he said wiped out the French front trenches burying dead and wounded r The occupied these without resistance but rushing forward found themselves in corridors corridors corridors cor cor- of death Shrapnel and high explosive shells machine guns and rifle fire blotted out the German lines as if it by magic I