| Show Kaiser Hurls a. a Men Against French S In Verdun District S. S Bursting Shells Scatter Legs and Arms in In Midst 1 of Living Old Campaigner Describes t Battle as Wars War's Most Horrible S PARIS Feb 29 Military Military critics express the opinion that the German forces which at the beginning of the battle around Verdun half a million now exceed I I The situation atlon t is Iso now decidedly be is s the the phrase commonly u used l' l this morning in the Paris pr s regarding the struggle struggle for forthe the great l French stronghold The French Fr are ar beginning to react vigo vigorously vig vig- o oro slY against the he German strokes which are liar liar- av- av ing ng Ices lees and less effect and andare are being delivered with diminished energy energy It It is expected ted however that they will be renewed again today 3 but at new points The fact tact that that the battle is now shifting is taken as a sign sis that the German general staff has begun to d despair despairS S of a a. real impression on th the French d defense S Bought since the beginning of f says sas a soldier who has hasS S returned d to Paris and who ho was present at the fighting at Ornes I saw I saw the shambles at Suippes s and They were not to what I saw last week The enemy my advanced and we retired Binder under tinder orders but we killed them them byr b the dozen It was so terrible that I J who have watched my mr com com- fall around me mc almost with indifference shudder as as my mem memi i recalls or recalls those scenes Legs and Arms Fill Air Ak 7 As As their battalions advanced up m us they were in serried i S masses es b by files files' of twenty The rhe TheS S J from our seventy five s guns and aiRl the from front our heavy artillery fell tell among amons them and you Oll could see the great reat gaps as If it a mower had wV p ss 1 with iu a a scythe Then high highL explosive lve shells which burst on ont cOntact fell and limbs shot into 4 the thc Ir We Ve were so so close chose that pie pieces 5 s of ot their torn flesh fell fellus ng us Eventually C we reached readied and took shelter for a aume time ume ie In hI a wood Although it was 3 1 in in the morning tho the bursting shells made mado it clear as asay gay ay giving the the battlefield battlefield the as aspect aspect aspect as- as of a a fairy scene C- C From behind us the French ar- ar r- r Ulery fired tired into the German Germania U ia ses the German shells flying over our heads toward the mont l nt section Then our our machine mac lne placed In batteries every five yards began to play and we saw th he dead in groups upright where S. S there was not room to fall From rOncourt oncourt I followed the s' s supply inroad road to Fleury where I took the T. light railway toward Verdun The j teaY guns near neal Doua mont and D Damloup were firing as fast as theY hy could be loaded When we passed between the two points the sM I 1 pressure produced by the continuous continuous con con- discharges was so terrific S 7 that h t blood rushed from our ears I anSI and OUI our lungs almost ceased working 8 Sing i g in Trenches II A combatant who was in one of th hi most advanced trenches early battle of ot Verdun who whoa has ia a returned to wounded Paris i gives fives his experiences as follows At At dawn dawit we received orders to lc leave ve the trench and to retire to toa toa toa a strong position il in ha the Vaux iv In front of ot Bending low Jow we retired the four fourr or r five fi kilometers through the without much loss Joss Once in th the he trenches we could not hear one speak so great was the 5 ose of ot the cannonading and Ur when n we looked through the pen peri- H pes Pf'S we could only see heavy clouds ds' ds of ot smoke shutting out the with Jets of firo fire flashing fir bIt through h the snowflakes There were ere about a dozen of us In the trench and we ire felt the suppressed emotion so much that at last we all all burst out singing and yet none of us could hear a word spoken even by b. himself j Charge Like Sheep Then wo sc saw the Germans coming on They were ere in such masses that they looked like a flock of sheep When Then our guns gun began to speak white empty spaces space showed among the gray ray of the advancing masses but they were soon filled tilled up lip by fresh patches of gray s As they near neared d dour our barbed wire pur pun machine machino guns opened fire and we had to coyer our ears with anything that came handy the noise was so tr dous I felt no fear but I had no 10 feelings or thoughts only a sort of buzzing and vertigo When hen night came on and the flares flares' d lighted up the field the Germans seemed to be quite close chose but it was is-as an optical illusion Ih They y advanced Very Tery bravely waving their rifles or leaping as they passed over oyer the heaps of ot dead I was knocked over by a shell and nd had my arm broken and as the trench was completely destroyed I crawled away avay and fortunately met an an anar armored ar- ar r- r mored autom automobile which took me to Verdun |
