| Show FA FATE TE ot Of NOT jOT YET DECIDED Bombardment Goes on jn in Awful Fury Infantry Infantry Infantry try Attacks Not Continued Continued Con Con- by the Germans FRENCH SATISFIED general Says Situation Is Largely to His Liking Campaign Followed F Precedents pr Today's War I t News in lna a Nutshell After the desperate battling on the plateau In the renewal renewal renewal re- re newal of the German drive for Verdun there ha has hac come a second halt Paris announced today that there had been a cessation of Infantry In In- j fantry attacks by the Germans although al at- though though artillery is still keeping up ia a heavy bombardment EA The Doua mont sector is pointed point point- red ed out by French military critics 1 as a key position essential to the thet t German purpose of taking the fortress f There have been advances on onit it both the French flanks and are are- furnished of contemplated contemplated K plated thrusts at vital points In the thet t lines about the curving Verdun front iT L Confidence In the the Verdun struggle has been expressed expressed expressed ex- ex pressed by General the French minister of war according to a Paris dispatch The Russian occupation of Bitus Bit- Bit lis us In Turkish Armenia is declared by by Petrograd correspondents to tot toE E separate th the Turkish force operatIng I t Ing in the vicinity of Mush from that In the L Lake ke district The German admiralty announceS announces an an- the sinking by German submarines of two French auxiliary auxiliary iary lary cruisers and a British patrol boat It Is unofficially declared Jin r In Paris that the German claim to I Ithe the the sinking of two auxiliary cruisers cruis- cruis I L ers era off Havre i is unfounded 1 PARIS March 4 me The bombardment born bom cont continued with con con- con I activity last night in inthe I the She various sectors of the region pf of f Verdun It was not however followed by any actions of infantry II according to the announcement by bythe the French war office this afternoon At the French prevented I German German troops from occupying a crater crater cra era ter tr made by the explosion of one of their mines I The rhe customary artillery artiller fire was continued d along the remainder of the front fronte I e The statement follows I The bombardment which was maintained main main- tamed with considerable activity last ight light on the different sectors In the region of Verdun has not been fol- fol owed by any action on the part of the of the enemy f At we have prevented the enemy from oc occupying a crater pro pro- I by the explosion of ode orie of their I nines Lines There Is IB nothing to report x from the of the front ex excepting eptIng the cannonading General minister of war as las told the commission on military affairs of the chamber lamber of deputies hat he Is satisfied with the situation it t t Verdun He gave details of the serveS of men and stocks of ammu ammu- now available tf Military j writers say that it was In keeping with all an the precedents that tho iho Germans should attempt to reduce reduce re- re I duce Iuca salient of plateau for this thin key position must bo hO taken before dore solid soUd progress could be made I elsewhere The attack began after ra a L long preliminary bombardment bombardment- on oti Wednesday German columns started to 0 deploy from wood on Continued i on page e 2 FATE OF VERDUN Continued from page 1 the right and at the same time a division division di dl- vision advanced on the village of ot Vaux The latter attack failed with heavy losses to the Germans French Fe is Fierce The French artillery fire was so fierce that evening that the Germans were unable to push attack on any point of the plateau They profited by the night however to bring up masses of reserves and the fighting began with renewed fury on Thursday During the morning and the afternoon the desperate onslaughts were made by Pomeranian and Brandenburg Brandenburg Bran Bran- Brandenburg denburg regiments In Jn the first and second attacks the assailants who fought with great bravery bravery brav bray ery reached the French barbed wire but so BO fierce was the hail of bullets from the machine guns and rifles that the gray coated legions melted away The rallied them again and again until no more were left to rally The third attack began about 3 o'clock in the tho afternoon It was even more violent than those which have preceded For more than an hour the G Germans came on in ia serried ranks hurling themselves regardless of cost against the tile ridges held by the FrenchI French French- Frenchmen I men At last the defenders' defenders line war wavered wa wa- vered at two points but only momentarily momentarily momen r and the counter attack driven home with the bayonet drove the Germans back to the shelter of the I of the ral ra- ra l vines nes Rocks Are Are- Pulverized The Germans then resumed the bombardment bom born ploughing up tnt tn ground and pulverizing the rocks with hundreds hun hun- of big shells The fourth advance Sad ad ad advance vance was made after fter dark by fresh Prussian brigades who had replaced the troops engaged in the morning and afternoon attacks After desperate fighting they managed to get a footing footing foot foot- ing on the extreme edge of the plateau they pushed forward into the houses on the north side of the village The Germans now hold village but the French dominate them fro from i commanding heights As the sides are fairly evenly mat matched hed it is likely that the village will change hands more than once before the battle battle bat bat- tle tie ends The experts say that German German Ger Ger- man possession of it is only temporary and that the technical advantage remains remains remains re re- re- re mains with the French whose whoso lines I continue unbroken |
