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Show I; Germans Report Capture of Ten Thousand I French Prisoners in Great Verdun Fight I LOSSES OF BOTH FRENCH AND I GERMANS EXTRAORDINARILY HEAVY K j i I1 I ? Armies of Crown Prince Push Vast Wedge Into French Lines I j North of Great Fortress Until Guns Are Within Five and I a Half Miles of Verdun Itself Nine Villages and Fortified Farms Captured Fighting Is Dimin- j ishing in Violence Russians Have j Pushed Turks Back Forty Miles. , i . Paris. Feb. 25, 2:30 p. m. The fighting north of Verdun is diminish Ing in violence, the war office an- j nounced today. No attack by the Ger- j mans was attempted last night The $ official statement admits that the I French have fallen back to the rear jj, of Beaumont j The text of the statement follows: "East of Vaquois we have launched i fresh attacks against the enemy's : works in the region of the forest of 3 Cheppy. Intermittent artillery has ) been carried on between Malancourt and the left bank of the Meuse. In 1 the district north of Verdun, the can-I can-I nonade has diminished in violence and 4 the enemy made no attack on our po-' po-' sitions during the night. We have 1 established organized positions In the ) rear of Beaumont on the heights stretching to the east of Champneu- l ville and south of Ornes. The night - was calm on the remainder of the front." Berlin, Feb 25, via London, 3 32 p j m. The German war office announc ed today the capture of all French ! positions in the region north of Ver-3 Ver-3 dun as far as the ridge of Louden- mount, just south of Beaumont. Tho . number of prisoners has been increased increas-ed bv more than 7,000 to over 10,000 Capture of the fortified villages and farms of Champneuville, Cotellate, Marmou, Beaumont, Chambrettes and Ornes was announced. I The text of the German official statement follows: -ri "Western theater- On the right 1 bank of the river Meuse our successes f previously reported were exploited I vesterdav in different directions. The fortified village and farms of Champneuville, Champ-neuville, Cotellate. Marmont. Beaumont, Beau-mont, Chambrettes and Ornes were "In addition all the enemy's posi- i tiong as far as the ridge of Loude-- Loude-- mont were captured by storm Sanguinary Losses of Enemy. "The sanguinary losses of the en- emy again were extraordinarily heavy 1 while our losses were normal, 2 "The number of prisoners taken was Increased by over 7,000 to more than 10,000. "No information can yet be given 1 with regard to the booty in materials 1 which we captured. "Eastern and Balkan theater: There j is nothing to report." !In their driving offensive for Verdun, Ver-dun, the armies of the German crown prince have pushed a vast wedge into the French lines north of the fort-1 fort-1 ress until they are almost under the j guns of some of the outlying forts nnd j within five and a half miles of Verdun Ver-dun Itself. " Both Sides Suffer Heavy Losses. j In tho sector stretching from Bra- "' bant to Beaumont, where the heaviest "j fighting has taken place, the German 1 center already has battled its way i more than three miles south from its 3 former position. Both sides have suf-3 suf-3 fered tremendous losses in killed and J wounded. 'I In their southward drive the crown ! prince's forces have captured no less M j than nine villages and fortified farms. 1 I The German lines along the ridge $M I between Champneuville and Loude- fl! 3 mont. are but 8llshtly more than two M 5 mileB from Fort de Vacherauville iS 3 ur,A oinoxrhpra are about the same dls- m j tauce from Douumont, outlying de- I feuBes of Verdun. Tetrograd unofficially reports the " Turks to have been forced back some i . forty miles "west of Erzcrum where f the arrival of reinforcements may indicate in-dicate that a new battle will develop shortly. J Review of War Situation. K The French have been forced back 1 still farther on the defenses of Ver- ' dun in the face of the great German drive for tho fortress. The German war office today announces the cap- l ture of all French positions north of Verdun as far as the ridgo of Loude- mount, south of Beaumont The an-l an-l nouncement says the number of prls- oners has been Increased by more I than 7000 to more than 10,000. The fortified villages and farms of CbamP- neuville, Cotellate. Marmont, Beau-i Beau-i mont, Chambrettes and Ornes have I. fallen into German hands, it says. .' German Offensive Halts. The Paris official statement on the other hand, says the Germans have i halted In their offensive for the rao- 1 ment at least. No fresh attack was : made during the night on the French 1 ' lines sava this announcement and the 1 i artillery fire has diminished in vio- 1 lence. ,, 1 Operations in othor war fields are 9 overshadowed by the great German j offensive in the west, but there is in- ' terest In tho Turkish announcement M of an attempt by the BrltlBh to ad- vance below Kutel-Amara on the Tl-m Tl-m grls. The attacking forces were re-I re-I pulsed with heavy losses, Constantl- nople declares. I Final German Offensive. I Pads, Feb. 25, 5:05 a. m. German iir troops taking part In the operations before Verdun, were given to understand under-stand that this was to be the last and the great offensive against France, ac-croding ac-croding to statements made by prisoners prison-ers reported in the Paris newspapers this morning. The following phrase Is quotedfrom an order published by General von Deimling, on the eve of the Verdun battle. "In the course of the last offensive against France I hope that the fifteenth fif-teenth army corps will distinguish Itself It-self as It has done In the past" General Berthold Karl Adolf von Deimling Is commander of the fifteenth fif-teenth German army corps, with headquarters head-quarters at Strassburg. In March, 1915, ho took part In the operations in Alsace and personally directed three German counter attacks against the crest of Reich-Ackerkopf, which had been captured by French Chasseurs and Alpine troops ' oo |