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Show Great German Drive For Verdun Is 1 I Being Pushed With Tremendous Force I i BATTLE IS RASING ON FRENCH LINES WITH INCREASING FURY :: Wave After . Wave of German Infantry Rolling Against !' Strongest of French Positions and Further Gains Claimed ,J at Berlin While Paris Reports Enemy Unable to Dis- ;; " lodge Them French Troops Retreat at Cer tain Points to Avoid Useless Losses I Italians Fighting on the Isonzo. 1 London, Feb. 24, 3:32 p. m. Emperor William has es tablished his headquarters at the German positions facing Verdun, Ver-dun, according to information received from Berlin by the I Evening News by way of Copenhagen. New York, Feb. 24. Possibility that a German sea raider is at large in the North Atlantic was suggested when the Italian liner Guiseppe Verdi arrived today and reported she had received a wireless warning from Halifax to be on the outlook for such a vessel. Paris, Feb. 24, 2:40 p. m. A squadron of French aero-r aero-r planes yesterday bombarded a railway station on the outskirts of Metz and a gas tank. A great fire was observed, the war office reports. The announcement follows: "One of our airship squad rons last night bombarded with 45 projectiles some of which j were of large caliber, the Metz railway station at Salblon (on the southern outskirts of Metz) and a gas tank in the region of which a great fire was observed." V ) Paris, Feb. 24, 4 : 50 p. m. At the war office today it was i pointed out that although some ground had been lost by the French north of Verdun where a German attack in enormous ! -f orce-,has-beeninprogress-,f ortheliisff bur"daysTtnV French lines have not been broken at any point. Great confidence was expressed that the lines would continue to hold. 1 - Berlin. Feb. 24. via London. 3:12 p. m. Further gains for the Germans In the region north of the French fortress of Verdun were reported by the war office today. The statement says the entire wooded district north-wast north-wast and northeast of Beaumont and j the forest of Herbe are in possession 1 ol the Germans. 1 Announcement also was made of the capture by the Germans of the villages 1 of Brabant and Samogneux, in the Verdun region. fjw Samogneux is about one mile south ff of Haumont, the loss of which was I admitted yesterday by the French war office. It is six miles north of Verdun. The statement -follows: "Western front: The success we obtained east of the Meuse has been exploited further. The village of Bra- been captured. The entire wooded district northwest, north and northeast north-east of Beaumont and the forest of Herbe are in our possession. "South of Metz and advanced French post was taken by a surprise attack. The entire garrison of fifty men was captured. "Eastern front: On the northern sectors of the front there were lively artillery duels and at numerous points patrol engagements occurred. There have been no Incidents of special Im- portance. 'Balkan front: There is nothing to v report," Intense Fighting Undiminished 1 Paris, Feb. 24, via London, 3:56 p. ra. pightlng is continuing with undiminished un-diminished intensity in the region north of Verdun, the French war office of-fice announced today. Loss of the village of Brabant is admitted by the I Avar office. IS 1 French Line Unbroken. ft The war office announces that the 1 French line has not been, broken at 1 any point. The statement follows: -- "In Artols a struggle with grenades , is in progress oast of Souchez. North t of Verdun the struggle continued all i night with the same Intensity along r the high bank of the Meuse as far as 1 , Ornes. south of Ordes. Owing to the f violence of the bombardment of our f advanced positions at Brabant-sur- ) Meuse our troops have evacuated this i village under cover of night protected ' by the flanking fire of our positions f on the left bank of the Meuse. r "An attack directed on Samogneux if has been repulsed." I "A strong attack which was particl- ' rated in by at least one brigade, was j made by the enemy in the forest,, of " Cares. This attack succeeded in tak- ing one part of the forest. We still i hqld the southern end. Another of.- I-' fenalve was directed against Beaumont Beau-mont in front of which weare estab- I llshed whero they have failed to dls- v lodge us. East of tho front attacked, we hold our own in front of Ornes I where our forces are still holding a K ravine south of Herbe forest. Retreat to Avoid Useless Losses. JBS "The retreat of our troops In cer- vjff tain sections, which were ordered to 2Sff avoid useless losses, waa effected in m perfect order and without permitting the enemy who advanced slowly and 1 at the price of considerable sacrifice. to break our front at any point. The bombardment continues in the region between Ortes and Fomizey. "In Lorraine the enemy has buc-ceeded buc-ceeded in gaining a footing in one of our advanced posts In the forest of Cheznet. We have driven some advance ad-vance parties east of Reillon." EmpePor Leaves for Front. Petrograd. Feb. 23, via London, Feb. 24, 8:54 a. m. Emperor Nicholas, who visited the duma at its opening session yesterday and delivered a brief address to the members, has left for the front. Serbian Colonel Dies. Marseilles, Feb. 24, via Paris, 4:30 a. m. The Serbian colonel Yosan Cugrinovitch has died in the military hospital here after a month's Illness. In 1913 he was the first to enter A drlnnnnla nf tVio VionH rf Vitft rPfTl- ment and it was he who captured the Turkish commander During the advance ad-vance of the Teutonic allies he undertook under-took the defense of Nish with 3200 men and retreated only after his force had been reduced to 200. Review of War Situation. The greatest German drive for Verdun Ver-dun is being pushed with tremendous force. Tho Teutonic lines are being steadily drawn nearer the fortress, according to the Berlin war office, which today announces the driving of another wedge into the French line. It claims a German advance through the village of Haumont and the cap-lure cap-lure of Samogneux, about six miles from Verdun. The Germans have occupied oc-cupied the wooded 'district north of Beaumont, the woods of Herbe and the village of Brabant. The French war office, on the other hand, announces that the French lines have not been broken. It admits the loss of the village of Brabant, which is characterized as an advanced position, posi-tion, but says an attack on Samogneux Samog-neux was repulsed. Desperate Fighting Continues. Along the 25-mile front on which the German attack is being directed the fighting has been of the most desperate character. Apparently h. has been particularly intensive near t-i ..nf nnrk -f tVi i afrnnirnci nf the French positions, but wave after wave of German infantry rolling against the defenses have failed to dislodge the French. They have been driven out of part of the wood of Caures, but their linos are holding further to the east In front of Ornes. Tho French explain their retreat in certain sectors by declaring it waa to avoid useless losses. The withdrawals with-drawals are declared to have been effected in perfect order. Emperor William, it Is reported, has established headquarters opposite Verdun and to be making daily speeches to his troops. The great battlo on the western front where more than 250,000 Germans Ger-mans under the German crown prince arc assaulting the French lines along a 25-mile front north of Verdun, is tho outstanding feature in the cur-" rent war news. At last accounts tho battle was raging rag-ing with great fury, both sides keeping keep-ing up a continuous artillery fire and throwing masses of troops into the fray. Losses on each slde( have been extremely heavy. In the fighting during the second day of the great battle, the Germans pushed their way at points two miles Inside the former French lines, pene-Iraling pene-Iraling as far as the village of Haumont, Hau-mont, less than eight miles from the fortress. The French claim to have checked the advance there. Portuguese Seize AustroGerman Ships. An unexpected war development Is reported from Lisbon, where thirty-six thirty-six German and Austrian vessels in the Tagus river were seized yesterday yester-day by the commander of tho Portugese Portu-gese naval division. |