Ogden Daily Standard | 1916-03-08 | Page 10 | Fighting to the West of Verdun

FIGHTING TO THE : WEST OF VERDUN i Germans Aiming to Cut Off Communication With the Great French Fortress. London, March 7. Tho great Ger-. Ger-. man drive against Vordun Is shifting to tho west, apparently. Infantry at- tacks between Bcthlncourt and the Meuse are Increasing and tho Germans Ger-mans have made some gains there today. With the aid of gas and under cover of a heavy bombardment, they advanced ad-vanced to tho outskirts of Rcgnevillo, upon the Meuse, one mile southeast of Forges and four miles northwest of Verdun. " In a tremendous attack by 20,000 men they carried hill 2C5. an essential unit In tho French defensive ring. Later they exhibited themsolvos in the Corbcaux woods, southeast of the Cole de l'Oie (Goose hill), three miles south of Forges, which the Germans captured only yesterday. This marks a great gain during the Twenty-four hours. The German guns arc now battering at Cote de l'Oie. Strike at Railway. Activity continues unabated upon, the eastern end of bo line, where tho Germans took by storm tho village of Fre8noB, in the Woevrc district, early this morning. In Champagne tho Germans are again driving against the Rhelms-Ver-dun railway and furious attacks have beon made against the French position posi-tion around Malsons de Champagne. This is part of the general scheme to throw a ring of troops around Verdun and completely cut off the fortress with its arms'. A report comes from Geneva that Austrian troops are moving into Franco to reinforce the Germans. Suspicion is growing here that when the Germans find themselves unable to make further progress against Verdun a division "will bo made against Belfort, the great French fortress, 125 miles to the southeast and close to tho frontier of Alsaco. and almost due west from Muelhauson. Reconnoiterlng Done. Color is given to this surmise by reports re-ports received from the Swiss border that numerous reconnoiterlng flights of German aeroplanes over Belfort territory have been observed.