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Show oo GREAT COURAGE Of IHE FRENCH One of the Defenders of Verdun Ver-dun Describes First Days of the Battle. Paris, March 5. Tales of French heroism continue to come In from the battlefield of Verdun. How the German Ger-man infantry divisions withered under tho 'fire of Verdun's defenders was related re-lated today by Due de- Rohan, who, with his "nose and right ear shot through, came to Paris for treatment. He said: "On March 2, over a front of five kilometers, the Germans made a furious fur-ious attack to seize Doua.umont. At 4 in the afternoon, after a terrible bombardment, they attacked with parts of two fresh divisions, which showed a courage that cannot be too highly praised, but our chasseurs once more covered themselves with honor, and the Germans recoiled, leading their dead piled right up against our barbed wire entanglements "In some places where hand-to-hand fighting occurred the slaughter was even worse. There was not enough left of these two divisions to try again with them, and at 6 o'clock the Germans Ger-mans came once more with fresh troops, but they were no more successful suc-cessful than the first. Compelled to Leave Field. "I was wounded in tho-second attack at-tack and had to leave the field when the struggle was over. "We lost men In these attacks, you understand, but not half what the Germans Ger-mans lost. Our losses were sustained chiefly in the bombardments. We did not even have to bring up supportB to help repel the second assault. We entered en-tered the battle on February 21, when at midnight we took sixty-three prisoners pris-oners as soon as we arrived upon the ground, and they seemed very glad to be through with the war. There was an officer among them, who tried to escape. A Bentlnel killed him with his bayonet. The Bois de L'Herbebois consisted of a thick growth of young saplings, with big trees scattered among them, and behind this a simple hedge. The German bombardment cut down the trees and transformed the wood Into an abattls, behind which we had to organize into trenches and into holes made by shells, and throw up palisades. It was snowing heavily, and I leave you to imagine the kind of night our men passed. Frightful Precision. "On the night of February 22 the Germans renewed the bombardment, with a precision that was frightful, but when it came time for the infantry infan-try to assault they couldn't gain an Inch. "Worse yet was the day of the 23rd, when, after another terrific cannonade, cannon-ade, the Germans sent a battalion against us. This attack In mass excited ex-cited our men to the highest courage. They waited until the Boches were within fifty yards, then fired in regular regu-lar volleyB, mowing them down by ranks. "The seventy-fives meanwhile made a barrier behind the Germans which made a retreat impossible and the attackers at-tackers practically all fell under our fire. This did not prevent the Germans Ger-mans from attacking four times again that day. Each time they got the same reception, .with the same result Four Men Hold Trench. "Four of our men stood at the entrance en-trance to an old communication trench leading to our former first lino, now occupied by the Boches, and for twenty twen-ty hours held the position with hand grenades against attacks. Wha.t can I say too high In praise of such men? "Our troops maneuvered aa though at exercise In time of peace. They saw their comrades fall beside them and continued to fire tranquilly, aa though at practloe on a rifle range. When we finally ordered them to fall back, because our position on the right had been taken and wo might be flanked, they went and bogged to be allowed to die where they were. The defense of L'Herbebois will bo one of tho most glorious pages of the history of my regiment. "Thousands of Germans, in wave after wave, broke against our line and we finally gave up our position voluntarily, vol-untarily, leaving the bodies of hundreds hun-dreds of Germans to testify to our resistance. re-sistance. Neither the bombardments bombard-ments nor the fatigue nor the snow difficulties could weaken the courage of our brave men." |