OCR Text |
Show FRENCH GAIN 60AL SET BY GENERALS SHARP SMASHING ATTACK AT VERDUN OVERCOMES POWERFUL POWER-FUL DEFENSE OF GERMANS. Thousands of German Prisoners Poured Into the French Lines, During Day's Fighting, Many Cannon Being Captured. Paris. A short, sharp battle brought to the French on Saturday their third smashing victory withii two months in the vicinity of Verdun. Ver-dun. Every objective of the French commanders was. obtained. Although the Germans offered a desperate des-perate defense the attack was so pow-' erful there was no withstanding it, with the result that the Germans were pushed back along the line by the French, who only ceased on orders when the objectives had been gained. Thousands of German prisoners poured into the French lines during the day, including 200 officers, and are still arriving. The total count already is 7,500. One division alone captured more than 1,200 Germans within an hour. iMore than eighty cannon were captured or destroyed. The villages of Vacherauville, Lou-vemont Lou-vemont and Besonvaux and Hardau-mont Hardau-mont Wood now are in French hands. The front was ten kilometers long. When the fighting ceased, owing to the darkness, the French advance had exceeded an average of three kilometers kilome-ters along the whole front, at various points rushing further out. The battle began at 10 o'clock in the morning with the left flank of the French opposite Vacherauville and the right flank on Fort Vaux. General Mangin was again the principal prin-cipal organizer of the victory, in which he followed his own example at Douau-mont Douau-mont and Fort Vaux by delivering irresistible ir-resistible blows at the chief point in the German lines and hammering until his opponents were forced to give ground. Generals Nivelle and Petain' watched the engagement, in which only four French divisions participated, participat-ed, although it is known the Germans had five divisions engaged, from every regiment of which prisoners were taken. It is reported without confirmation that several of the German divisions which took part in the fighting were hurried from Roumania to rejoin the crown prince's army, and that they were among those suffering defeat. |