"Stray cats furnished many a delicate 'wild rabbit' supper. A species

of grass was cooked as a vegetable and it gave a relish to the

horseflesh. Tea being exhausted, the soldiers boiled bits of ginger

root in water. Latterly aeroplanes dropped some supplies. These

consisted chiefly of corn, flour, cocoa, sugar, tea, and cigarettes.

"During the last week of the siege many Arabs made attempts to escape

by swimming the river and going to the British lines, twenty miles

below. Of nearly 100, only three or four succeeded in getting away.

One penetrated the Turkish lines by floating in an inflated mule

skin."

Another intimate description was furnished by the official British

press representative with the Tigris Corps and is based on the

personal narratives of some of the British officers who, after having

been in the Kut hospital for varying periods of the siege on account

of sickness or wounds, were exchanged for wounded Turkish officers

taken by the relief force. According to this the real privations of

the garrison began in the middle of February and were especially felt

in the hospital.

"When the milk gave out the hospital diet was confined to corn, flour,

or rice water for the sick, and ordinary rations for the wounded. On

April 21, 1916, the 4 oz. grain rations gave out. From the 22d to the

25th the garrison subsisted on the two days' reserve rations issued in

January; and from the 25th to the 29th on supplies dropped by

aeroplanes.

"The troops were so exhausted when Kut capitulated that the regiments

who were holding the front line had remained there a fortnight without

being relieved. They were too weak to carry back their kit. During the

last days of the siege the daily death rate averaged eight British and

twenty-one Indians.

"All the artillery, cavalry, and transport animals had been consumed

before the garrison fell. When the artillery horses had gone the

drivers of the field batteries formed a new unit styled 'Kut Foot.'

One of the last mules to be slaughtered had been on three Indian

frontier campaigns, and wore the ribbons round its neck. The supply

and transport butcher had sent it back twice, refusing to kill it, but

in the end it had to go with the machine-gun mules. Mule flesh was

generally preferred to horse, and mule fat supplied good dripping;

also an improvised substitute for lamp oil.

"The tobacco famine was a great privation, but the garrison did not

find the enforced abstention cured their craving, as every kind of

substitute was there. An Arab brand, a species similar to that smoked

in Indian hookahs, was exhausted early in April. After that lime

leaves were smoked, or ginger, or baked tea dregs. In January English

tobacco fetched forty-eight rupees a half pound (equal to eight

shillings an ounce).

"Just before General Townshend's force entered Kut a large consignment

of warm clothing had arrived, the gift of the British Red Cross

Society. This was most opportune and probably saved many lives. The

garrison had only the summer kit they stood up in.

"Different units saw very little of each other during the siege. At

the beginning indirect machine-gun and rifle fire, in addition to

shells, swept the whole area day and night. The troops only left the

dugouts for important defense work. During the late phase when the

fire slackened officers and men had little strength for unnecessary

walking. Thus there was very little to break the monotony of the siege

in the way of games, exercise, or amusements, but on the right bank

two battalions in the licorice factory, the 110th Mahratas and the

120th Infantry, were better off, and there was dead ground here--'a

pitch of about fifty by twenty yards'--where they could play hockey

and cricket with pick handles and a rag ball. They also fished, and

did so with success, supplementing the rations at the same time. Two

companies of Norfolks joined them in turn, crossing by ferry at night,

and they appreciated the relief."

A personal acquaintance of the heroic defense of Kut-el-Amara drew in

a letter to the London "Weekly Times" the following attractive picture

of this strong personality:

"A descendant of the famous Lord Townshend who fought with Wolfe at

Quebec, and himself heir to the marquisate, General Townshend set

himself from boyhood to maintain the fighting traditions of his

family. His military fighting has been one long record of active

service in every part of the world. Engaged first in the Nile

expedition of 1884-85, Townshend next took part in the fighting on the

northwest frontier of India in 1891-92, when he leaped into fame as

commander of the escort of the British agent during the siege of

Chitral. He fought in the Sudan expedition of 1898, and served on the

staff in the South African War. In the peaceful decade which followed

Townshend acted for a time as military attache in Paris, was on the

staff in India, and finally commanded the troops at Bloemfontein,

Orange River Colony.

"The outbreak of the Great War found him in command of a division in

India, longing to be at the front in France, but destined, as events

turned out, to win greater fame in Mesopotamia. All accounts agree as

to the masterly strategy with which he defeated Nur-ed-Din Pasha at

Kut-el-Amara, and subsequently fought the battle of Ctesiphon. Those

two battles and his heroic endurance of the long siege of Kut have

given his name a permanent place in the annals of the British army.

"Townshend has always attributed his success as a soldier to his

constant study of the campaigns of Napoleon, a practice which he has

long followed for a regular period of every day wherever he has

happened to be serving. He has mastered the Napoleonic battle fields

at first hand, and is an ardent collector of Napoleonic literature and

relics. Everyone who knows him is familiar with the sight of the

paraphernalia of his studies in peace time--the textbooks and maps,

spread on the ground or on an enormous table, to which he devotes his

morning hours. During the present campaign his letters have been full

of comparisons with the difficulties which confronted Napoleon.

"But Townshend possesses other qualities besides his zeal for his

profession, and one of them at least must have stood him in good stead

during these anxious months. He is indomitably serene and cheerful, a

lover of amusement himself and well able to amuse others. In London

and Paris he is nearly as well known in the world of playwrights and

actors as in the world of soldiers. He can sing a good song and tell a

good story. Like Baden-Powell, the hero of another famous siege, he is

certain to have kept his gallant troops alert and interested during

the long period of waiting for the relief which never came. Up to the

last his messages to the outside world have been full of cheery

optimism and soldierly fortitude. No general was ever less to blame

for a disastrous enterprise or better entitled to the rewards of

success."

CHAPTER XLI

SPRING AND SUMMER TRENCH WAR ON THE TIGRIS

After the surrender of Kut-el-Amara a lull of a few weeks occurred.

The Turkish forces seemed to be satisfied for the time being with

their victory over their English opponents for which they had striven

so long. The English forces below Kut-el-Amara likewise seemed to have

ceased their activities as soon as the fall of Kut had become an

established fact.

Almost for three weeks this inactivity was maintained. On May 19,

1916, however, both sides resumed military operations. The Turks on

that day vacated an advanced position on the south bank of the Tigris

at Beit Eissa, which formed the southern prolongation of the

Sanna-i-Yat position. On the north bank the latter was still held

strongly by the Sultan's forces.

Immediately following this move the English troops, who under General

Sir Gorringe had attempted the relief of Kut-el-Amara, attacked.

Advancing about three miles south of the Tigris and south of the

Umm-el-Brahm marshes, they threw themselves against the southern end

of the Turkish position at Es-Sinn. The latter is about seven miles

west of the former and about the same distance east of Kut-el-Amara.

It began on the north bank of the Tigris, a few miles north of the

Suwatcha marshes, continued between these and the Tigris and for

almost five miles in a southeasterly direction. On its southern end

the Turks had erected a strong redoubt, known under the name Dujailar

Redoubt, from which a strong line of six lesser redoubts run in a

southwesterly direction to the Shatt-al-hai. This body of water is the

ancient bed of the Tigris. In the first half of the year it is a

navigable stream, carrying the waters of the Tigris across the desert

to the Euphrates near Nasiriyeh, a town which British forces have held

since the spring of 1915. It was against the key of this very strong

line of defense, the Dujailar Redoubt, which General Gorringe's

battalions attacked. At various other times before English troops had

attempted to carry this point, but had never succeeded. This time,

however, they did meet with success. In spite of strong resistance

they stormed and carried the position.

On the same day, May 19, 1916, it was officially announced that a

force of Russian cavalry had joined General Gorringe's troops. This

cavalry detachment, of course, was part of the Russian forces

operating in the region of Kermanshah in Persia. Inasmuch as these

troops were then all of 200 miles from Kut-el-Amara and had to pass

through a rough and mountainous country, entirely lacking in roads and

inhabited by hostile and extremely ferocious Kurdish hillmen, the

successful dash of this cavalry detachment was little short of

marvelous. The difficulties which had to be faced and the valor which

was exhibited is interestingly described by the official British press

representative with the Mesopotamian forces:

"The Cossacks' ride across country was a fine and daring achievement,

an extreme test of our Allies' hardness, mobility, and resource. Their

route took them across a mountainous territory which has been a

familiar landmark in the plains where we have been fighting for the

last few months.

"The country traversed was rough and precipitous and the track often

difficult for mules. They crossed passes over 8,000 feet high. Enemy

forces were likely to be encountered at any moment, as these hills are

infested with warlike tribes, whose attitude at the best might be

described as decidedly doubtful.

"Their guide was untrustworthy. He roused their suspicions by

constant attempts to mislead them, and eventually he had to point the

way with a rope round his neck. Nevertheless, they met with no actual

opposition during the whole journey other than a few stray shots at

long range.

"They traveled light. For transport they had less than one pack animal

for ten men. These carried ammunition, cooking pots, and a tent for

officers. Otherwise, beyond a few simple necessaries, they had no

other kit than what they stood up in, and they lived on the country,

purchasing barley, flour, rice, and sheep from the villagers. Fodder

and fuel were always obtainable.

"For ambulance they had only one assistant surgeon, provided with

medical wallets, but none of these Cossacks fell sick. They are a hard

lot.

"Their last march was one of thirty miles, during which five of their

horses died of thirst or exhaustion on the parched desert, and they

reached camp after nightfall. Yet, after a dinner which was given in

their honor, they were singing and dancing all night and did not turn

in till one in the morning.

"The ride of the Cossacks establishing direct contact between the

Russian force in Persia and the British force on the Tigris, of

course, has impressed the tribesmen on both sides of the frontier."

On the next day the Turks withdrew all their forces who, on the south

bank of the Tigris, had held the Es-Sinn position. Only at a bridge

across the Shatt-al-Hai, about five miles below its junction with the

Tigris, they left some rear guards. On the north bank of the Tigris

they continued to hold, not only the Es-Sinn position, but also the

Sanna-i-Yat position, some eight miles farther down the river. This

meant that General Gorringe not only had carried an important

position, but also that he had advanced the British lines on the south

bank of the Tigris by about ten miles, for on May 20, 1916, the

British positions were established along a line running from the

village of Magasis, on the south bank of the Tigris, about five miles

east of Kut-el-Amara, to a point on the Shatt-al-Hai, about equally

distant from Kut.

The withdrawal of the Turkish forces on the south bank of the Tigris

naturally left their positions on the north bank very much exposed to

British attacks. It was, therefore, not at all surprising that English

artillery subjected the Turks on the north bank to heavy bombardments

during the following days, nor that this fire was extremely effective.

However, in spite of this fact, the Turks continued to maintain their

positions on the north bank of the Tigris.

Throughout the balance of May, June, and July, 1916, nothing of

importance occurred in Mesopotamia. The temperature in that part of

Asia during the early summer rises to such an extent that military

operations become practically impossible. It is true that from time to

time unimportant skirmishes between outposts and occasional artillery

duels of very limited extent took place. But they had no influence on

the general situation or on the location of the respective positions.

During the early part of the month the British trenches on the north

bank of the Tigris were pushed forward a short distance, until they

were within 200 yards of the Turkish position, Sanna-i-Yat, where they

remained for the balance of midsummer. To the south of Magasis, on the

south bank of the river, British troops occupied an advanced position

about three and one-half miles south of the main position. Then they

stopped there too. About the same time, June 10, 1916, Turkish guns

sunk three barges on the Tigris, the only actual success which the

Sultan's forces won since the fall of Kut-el-Amara.

Along the Euphrates, where British troops had held certain positions

ever since 1915, there was also an almost entire lack of activity,

except that occasional small and entirely local punitive expeditions

became necessary in order to hold in hand the Arab tribes of the

neighborhood.

Climatic conditions continued extremely trying, and enforced further

desistance from military activity until, toward the end of July,

relief in the form of the _shamal_ (northwest wind) would come and

once more make it possible to resume operations.

CHAPTER XLII

RUSSIAN ADVANCE TOWARD BAGDAD

Coincident with the Russian advance in Armenia and the English attempt

at capturing the city of Bagdad by advancing up the Tigris, the

Russian General Staff also directed a strong attack against this

ancient Arabian city from the northeast through Persia.

Before the Mesopotamian plain, in which Bagdad is situated, could be

reached from Persia the mountains along the Persian-Turkish frontier

had to be crossed, an undertaking full of difficulties.

Just as in Armenia, here completed railroads were lacking entirely.

Such roads as were available were for the most part in the poorest

possible condition. The mountains themselves could be crossed only at

a few points through passes located at great height, where the

caravans that had traveled for centuries and centuries between Persia

and Mesopotamia had blasted a trail. At only one point to the north of

Bagdad was there a break in the chain of mountains that separated

Persia from Mesopotamia. That was about one hundred miles northeast of

Bagdad in the direction of the Persian city of Kermanshah. There one

Russian army was advancing undoubtedly with the twofold object of

reaching and capturing Bagdad and of submitting the Turkish army

operating in that sector to an attack from this source as well as from

the British army advancing along the Tigris. A Russian success at this

point would have meant practically either the capture of all the

Turkish forces or their ultimate destruction. For the only avenue of

escape that would have been left to them would have been across the

desert into Syria. And although there were a number of caravan routes

available for this purpose, it would have been reasonably sure that

most of the Turkish forces attempting such a retreat would have been

lost. For a modern army of the size operating around Bagdad could not

have been safely brought across the desert with all the supplies and

ammunition indispensable for its continued existence.

In order to prevent the escape of these Turkish forces in a northerly

direction along the Tigris and the line of the projected but

uncompleted part of the Bagdad railroad, the Russians had launched

another attack from the north. This second army advanced to the south

of the region around Lake Urumiah, a large body of water less than

fifty miles east of the Turko-Persian border. This attack was directed

against another important Arabian city, Mosul. This town, too, was

located on the Tigris, and on the line of the Bagdad railroad, about

200 miles northwest of Bagdad.

Still another Russian attack was developed by a third army, advancing

about halfway between the other two army groups and striking at

Mesopotamia from Persia slightly north of the most easterly point of

the Turkish frontier.

Broadly speaking the Russian attack through Persia covered a front of

about 200 miles. It must not be understood, however, that this was a

continuous "front" of the same nature as the front in the western and

eastern theaters of war in Europe. The undeveloped condition of the

country made the establishment of a continuous front not only

impossible, but unnecessary. Each of the three Russian groups were

working practically independent of each other, except that their

operations were planned and executed in such a way that their

respective objectives were to be reached simultaneously. Even that

much cooperation was made extremely difficult, because of the lack of

any means of communication in a horizontal direction. No roads worthy

of that name, parallel to the Turko-Persian frontier, existed.

Telegraph or telephone lines, of course, were entirely lacking, except

such as were established by the advancing armies. How great the

difficulties were which confronted both the attacking and the

defending armies in this primitive country can, therefore, readily be

understood. They were still more increased by the climatic conditions

which prevail during the winter and early spring. If fighting in the

comparatively highly developed regions of the Austro-Italian

mountains was fraught with problems that at times seemed almost

impossible of solution, what then must it have been in the more or

less uncivilized and almost absolutely undeveloped districts of

Persian "Alps!" The difficulties that were overcome, the suffering

which was the share of both Russians and Turks make a story the full

details of which will not be told--if ever told at all--for a long

time to come. No daily communique, no vivid description from the pen

of famous war correspondents acquaints us of the details of the heroic

struggle that for months and months progressed in these distant

regions of the "near East." Not even "letters from the front" guide us

to any extent. For where conditions are such that even the transport

of supplies and ammunition becomes a problem that requires constantly

ingenuity of the highest degree, the transmission of mail becomes a

matter which can receive consideration only very occasionally.

Whatever will be known for a long time to come about this campaign is

restricted to infrequent official statements made by the Russian and

Turkish General Staffs, announcing the taking of an important town or

the crossing of a mountain pass, up to then practically unknown to the

greatest part of the civilized world.

It was such a statement from the Russian General Staff, that had

announced the fall of Kermanshah on February 27, 1916. This was an

important victory for the southernmost Russian army. For this ancient

Persian town lies on the main caravan route from Mesopotamia to

Teheran, passing over the high Zaros range, as well as on other roads,

leading to Tabriz in the north and to Kut-el-Amara and Basra in the

south. It brought this Russian army within less than 200 miles of

Bagdad. Toward this goal the advance now was pushed steadily, and on

March 1, 1916, Petrograd announced that the pursuit of the enemy to

the west of Kermanshah continued and had yielded the capture of two

more guns. The next important success gained by the Russians was

announced on March 12, 1916, when the town of Kerind was occupied.

This town, too, is located on the road to Bagdad and its occupation

represented a Russian advance of about fifty miles in less than two

weeks, no mean accomplishment in the face of a fairly determined

resistance.

[Illustration: The Russians in Persia.]

On March 22, 1916, it was officially announced that a Russian column,

advancing from Teheran, to the south, had reached and occupied Ispaha,

the ancient Persian capital in central Persia. This, of course, had no

direct bearing on the Russian advance against Mosul and Bagdad, except

that it increased Russian influence in Persia and by that much

strengthened the position and security of any Russian troops operating

anywhere else in that country.

Fighting between the northernmost Russian army and detachments of

Turks and Kurds was reported on March 24, 1916, in the region south of

Lake Urumiah. Throughout the balance of March, 1916, and during April,

1916, similar engagements took place continuously in this sector. On

the Turkish side both regular infantry and detachments of Kurds

opposed the Russian advance in the direction of Mosul and the Tigris.

Russian successes were announced officially on April 10 and 12, 1916,

and again on May 3, 1916.

In the meantime the advance toward Bagdad also progressed. On May 1,

1916, the Russians captured some Turkish guns and a number of

ammunition wagons to the west of Kerind. On May 6, 1916, a Turkish

fortified position in the same locality was taken by storm and a

considerable quantity of supplies were captured.

Up to this time the Russian reports were more or less indefinite,

announcing simply from time to time progress of the advance in the

direction of Bagdad. From Kerind, captured early in March, 1916, two

roads lead into Mesopotamia, one by way of Mendeli, and another more

circuitous, but more frequented and, therefore, in better condition,

by way of Khanikin. Not until May 10, 1916, did it become apparent

that the Russians had chosen the latter. On that day they announced

the occupation of the town of Kasr-i-Shirin, about twenty miles from

the Turkish border, between Kerind and Khanikin. Not only were the

Russian forces now within 110 miles of Bagdad--an advance of

forty-five miles since the capture of Kerind--but they were also

getting gradually out of the mountains into the Mesopotamian plain.

At Kasr-i-Shirin, they took important Turkish munition reserves,

comprising several hundred thousand cartridges, many shells and hand

grenades, telegraph material, and a camel supply convoy laden with

biscuits, rice, and sugar.

Five days later, on May 15, 1916, another important Russian success

was announced, this time further north. The Russian forces that had

been fighting for a long time ever since the early part of 1915 to the

south of Lake Urumiah, and whose progress in the direction of Mosul

was reported at long intervals, were now reported to have reached the

Turkish town of Rowandiz. This represented an advance of over 100

miles from the town of Urumiah and carried the Russian troops some

twenty-five miles across the frontier into the Turkish province of

Mosul. Rowandiz is about 100 miles east of Mosul, and in order to

reach it it was necessary for the Russian forces to cross the

formidable range of mountains that runs along the Turko-Persian border

and reaches practically its entire length, a height of 8,000 to 10,000

feet.

CHAPTER XLIII

TURKISH OFFENSIVE AND RUSSIAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE IN ARMENIA AND PERSIA

On the last day of May, 1916, the Turks scored their first substantial

success against the Russians since the fall of Erzerum. Having

received reenforcements, the Turkish center assumed the offensive

between the Armenian Taurus and Baiburt and forced the Russians to

evacuate Mama Khatun. This was followed by a withdrawal of the Russian

lines in that region for a distance of about ten miles.

For the next few days the Turks were able to maintain their new

offensive in full strength. The center of the Russian right wing was

forced back continuously until it had reached a line almost

twenty-five miles east of its former positions.

In the south, too, the Turkish forces scored some successes against

the Russian troops, who had been pushing toward the Tigris Valley from

the mountains along the Persian border. On June 8, 1916, Turkish

detachments even succeeded in crossing the border and occupied

Kasr-i-Shirin, just across the frontier in Persia. By June 10, 1916,

these troops had advanced sixteen miles farther east and fought slight

engagements with Russian cavalry near the villages of Serpul and

Zehab.

In the north the Turkish advance continued likewise. An important

engagement between Turkish troops and a strong Russian cavalry force

occurred on June 12, 1916, east of the village of Amachien and

terminated in favor of the Turks.

Fighting continued throughout the balance of June, 1916, all along the

Turko-Russian front from Trebizond down to the Persian border

northeast of Bagdad. At some points the Russians assumed the

offensive, but were unable to make any impression on the Turks, who

continued to push back the invader and, by quickly fortifying their

newly gained positions, succeeded in maintaining them against all

counterattacks.

By June 30, 1916, Kermanshah in Persia, about 100 miles across the

border, was seriously threatened. On that day Russian forces, which

retreated east of Serai, could not maintain their positions near

Kerind, owing to vigorous pursuit. Russian rear guards west of Kerind

were driven off. Turkish troops passing through Kerind pursued the

Russians in the direction of Kermanshah.

On July 5, 1916, Kermanshah was occupied by the Turkish troops after a

battle west of the town which lasted all day and night. The first

attempt of the Russians to prevent the capture of the city was made at

Mahidesst, west of Kermanshah. Here the Russians had hastily

constructed fortifications, but the Turks, by a swift encircling move,

made their position untenable and forced them to retreat farther east.

A strong Russian rear guard defended the village for one day and then

followed the main body to a series of previously prepared positions

just west of the city. Here a terrific battle lasting all day and all

night was waged, and resulted in the retreat of the Russians to

Kermanshah. Three detachments of Turks, almost at the heels of the

Muscovites, drove them out before they could make another stand.

On July 9, 1916, Turkish reconnoitering forces came in contact with

the Russians who were ejected from Kermanshah at a point fifteen miles

east of the city, while they were on their way to join their main

forces. After a fight of seven hours the Russians were compelled to

flee to Sineh.

By this time, however, the Russians had recovered their breath in the

Caucasus. On July 12, 1916, they recaptured by assault the town of

Mama Khatun. The next day, after a violent night battle, they occupied

a series of heights southeast of Mama Khatun. The Turks attempted to

take the offensive, but were thrown back. Pressing closely upon them,

the Russians took the villages of Djetjeti and Almali.

The Russian offensive quickly assumed great strength. By July 14,

1916, the Russians were only ten miles from Baiburt, had again taken

up their drive for Erzingan and had wrested from the Turks some

strongly fortified positions southwest of Mush.

Baiburt fell to the Russians on July 15, 1916. From then on the

Russian advance continued steadily, although the Turks maintained a

stiff resistance.

On July 18, 1916, the Russians occupied the town of Kugi, an important

junction of roads from Erzerum, Lhaputi and Khzindjtna. On July 20,

1916, the Grand Duke's troops captured the town of Gumuskhaneh,

forty-five miles southwest of Trebizond.

The next day, July 21, 1916, these forces had advanced to and occupied

Ardas, about thirteen miles northwest of Gumuskhaneh. The West

Euphrates was crossed the following day. On July 23, 1916, Russian

troops on the Erzingan route, in the Ziaret Tapasi district, repulsed

two Turkish counterattacks and occupied the heights of Naglika.

East of the Erzingan route they captured a Turkish line on the Durum

Darasi River. After having repulsed several Turkish attacks Russian

cavalry has reached the line of Boz-Tapa-Mertekli.

[Illustration: The Russians in Armenia.]

Closer and closer the Russians approached to the goal for which they

had striven for many months, Erzingan. On July 25, 1916, this strongly

fortified Turkish city in Central Armenia, fell into the hands of the

Russian Caucasus army under Grand Duke Nicholas.

Erzingan, situated at an altitude of 3,900 feet, about one mile from

the right bank of the Euphrates, manufactures silk and cotton and lies

in a highly productive plain, which automatically comes into

possession of the Russians. Wheat, fruit, wines, and cotton are grown

in large quantities, and there are also iron and hot sulphur springs.

With its barracks and military factories, the city formed an important

army base.

Erzingan has frequently figured in ancient history. It was here that

the Sultan of Rum was defeated by the Mongols in 1243, and in the

fourth century St. Gregory, "the Illuminator," lived in the city.

Erzingan was added to the Osman Empire in 1473 by Mohammed II, after

it had been held by Mongols, Tartars, and Turkomans.

With the capture of Erzingan the Russians not only removed the

strongest obstacle on the road to Sivas, Angora, and Constantinople,

but also virtually completed their occupation of Turkish Armenia.

Throughout the Russian advance, considerable fighting had occurred in

the region of Mush, which, however, resulted in no important changes.

The main object of the Russian attacks there was to hold as large a

Turkish force as possible from any possible attempt to relieve the

pressure on Erzingan.

In the south, near the Persian border at Roanduz, and in Persia, near

Kermanshah, there were no important developments after the fall of

Kermanshah. Considerable fighting, however, went on in both of these

sectors without changing in any way the general situation.

PART VIII--OPERATIONS ON THE WESTERN FRONT

CHAPTER XLIV

RENEWAL OF THE BATTLE OF VERDUN

In another part of this work we have followed the intense struggle

that marked the German assault that began on February 21, 1916, and

continued without cessation for four days and nights. Despite the

tremendous force employed by the Germans and the destruction wrought

by their guns, the French by incessant counterattacks had held back

their opponents and, by depriving them of the advantage of surprise,

had undoubtedly saved Verdun for the Allies. Though losing heavily in

men and material, they held the Bras-Douaumont front until they could

be relieved by fresh forces. The German advance was stayed on the

night of the 24th.

In the morning of February 25, 1916, the Germans succeeded in

penetrating Louvemont, now reduced to ruins by fire and shell.

Douaumont village to the right seemed in imminent danger of being

captured by the Germans, who were closing in on the place. But the

French infantry attacking toward the north, and the vigorous action of

the Zouaves east of Haudromont Farm, cleared the surroundings of the

enemy. At the close of the day they occupied the village and a ridge

to the east. Though they were in such position as to half encircle the

fort, yet a body of Brandenburgers succeeded by surprise in forcing

their way into its walls, from which subsequent French attacks failed

to dislodge them.

East and west of Douaumont the Germans made incessant efforts to

break through the new French front, but only succeeded in gaining a

foothold in Hardaumont work. Douaumont village was attacked with fresh

forces and abundant material on the morning of the 27th. The struggle

here was marked by hand-to-hand fighting and bayonet charges in which

the Germans were clearly at a disadvantage. They won a French redoubt

on the west side of Douaumont Fort, but after an intense struggle were

forced out and retreated, leaving heaps of dead on the ground.

Douaumont became again the center of German attack, and though driven

off with terrible losses, they brought up fresh troops and renewed the

fray. Advances were pushed with reckless bravery, but in vain, for

their forces were shattered before they could reach the French

positions. Their losses in men must have been enormous, and for two

days no further attacks were made. The French knew that they had not

accepted defeat and were only reorganizing their forces for a fresh

onslaught. On March 2, 1916, the Germans renewed the bombardment,

smothering the village under an avalanche of shells. Believing that

this time the way was clear to advance, they rushed forward in almost

solid ranks. French machine-gun and rifle fire cut great gaps in the

advancing waves, but this time the brave defenders could not hold them

back, and Douaumont was penetrated.

The Germans occupied the place, but they were not permitted to leave

it, for the French infantry were posted only a hundred yards away and

every exit was under their fire.

On the day following, the 3d, the French, after bombarding the ruins

of Douaumont and working havoc in the ranks of the enemy, rushed two

battalions during the night against the German barricades, and after a

stubborn fight occupied the place. But their victory was short lived.

Before dawn the Germans, attacking with large reenforcements, after

four or five hours of intense and murderous struggle, again occupied

the village. The French, somewhat shattered in numbers but by no means

discouraged, fell back some two hundred yards to the rear, where they

proceeded to reestablish their line and there await their opportunity

to strike again.

Some idea of the great courage and devotion displayed by the French

troops during the intense struggle around Douaumont village may be

gained from the statement made by an infantry officer which appeared

in the Army Bulletin, and from which some quotations may be made.

The Germans on March 2, 1916, at 3.15 a. m. had attacked the village

simultaneously from the north by a ravine and on the flank, where they

debouched from the fort, and certain covered positions which the

French had not had time to reconnoiter.

"The Germans we saw first were those who came from the fort. They were

wearing French helmets, and for a moment our men seemed uncertain as

to their identity. Major C---- called out: 'Don't fire! They are French.'

The words were hardly out of his mouth before he fell with a bullet in

his neck. This German trick made us furious, and the adjutant cried:

'Fire for all you're worth! They are Germans!' But the enemy continued

his encircling movement with a view to taking the village.

"The battalion which was charged with its defense had lost very

heavily in the bombardment, and most of its machine guns were out of

action, but they were resolved to make any sacrifice to fulfill their

trust. When their left was very seriously threatened, the Tenth

Company made a glorious charge straight into the thick of the oncoming

German masses. The hand-to-hand struggle was of the fiercest

description, and French bayonets wrought deadly havoc among the German

ranks. This company went on fighting until it was at length completely

submerged in the flood, and the last we saw of it was a handful of

desperate heroes seeking death in the heart of the struggle."

An attempt at this time was made by the Germans to debouch from

Douaumont village on the southwestern side, with the evident purpose

of forcing their way to the top of the crest in the direction of

Thiaumont Farm.

[Illustration: Western Battle Front, August, 1916.]

"The commander of the Third Company," to continue the French officer's

narrative, "immediately made his dispositions to arrest their

progress. A machine gun was cleverly placed and got to work. In a

short time the hundred or so of Germans that had got through were so

vigorously peppered that only about twenty of them got back. This gun

was in action until nightfall, dealing with successive German parties

that attempted to advance from the western and southwestern sides of

the village."

After describing how the French built barricades during the night and

adjusted their front in such a way as to present a solid wall facing

the east, the narrator continues:

"Our counterattack took place at nightfall on March 3, and was

undertaken by two battalions (the Four Hundred and Tenth and the Four

Hundred and Fourteenth) of consecutive regiments. After an intense

rifle fire we heard the cry of 'Forward with the bayonet!' and night

rang with the shouts of the men. Our first line was carried beyond the

village.

"The Germans returned to the attack about 8 o'clock, but were stopped

dead by our rifle and machine-gun fire. Two hours later another attack

was attempted, but was likewise dashed to pieces before our unshaken

resistance. The Germans came on in very close formation, and on the

following morning we counted quite eight hundred dead before the

trench.

"At daybreak on March 4 the Germans launched a fresh counterattack

against Douaumont after an intense bombardment accompanied by the use

of aerial torpedoes. No detailed description is possible of the

terrible fighting from house to house, or the countless deeds of

heroism performed by our men in this bloody struggle, which lasted for

two hours. The gaps in our ranks increased from moment to moment.

Finally we were ordered to retire to a position about 200 meters south

of the exit from Douaumont. The enemy tried in vain to dislodge us and

exploit the success he had so dearly won."

On March 4, 1916, an Order of the Day issued by the crown prince was

read to the troops in rest billets in which they were urged to make a

supreme effort to conquer Verdun, "the heart of France." For four days

following the German command was busy organizing for an onslaught on a

gigantic scale, which they hoped would so crush the French army as to

eliminate it as a serious factor in the war.

In order to clear the way for this great attack the German General

Staff decided that it would be necessary first to capture the French

positions of Mort Homme and Cumieres on the left bank of the Meuse.

At this time the French line to the west of the Meuse ran by the

village of Forges, the hills above Bethincourt and Malancourt, crossed

Malancourt Wood and passed in front of Avocourt. The Germans held

positions on the heights of Samogneux and Champneuville, and their

operations were threatened by the French artillery in the line west of

the river.

On March 6, 1916, the Germans began to bombard the French positions

from the Meuse to Bethincourt. They pursued their usual methods,

smashing a selected sector, demolishing advance works, and keeping a

curtain fire over roads and trenches. The village of Forges during the

first half of the day of attack was literally covered with shells.

Crossing the Forges Brook, which ran through a ravine, and where they

were protected from French artillery fire, the Germans advanced along

the northern slopes of the Cote de l'Oie. Following the railway line

through Regneville, at all times under heavy fire from French guns,

they attacked Hill 265 on the 7th. An entire division was employed by

the Germans in this assault, and the French, overwhelmed by weight of

men and metal, were forced out of the position.

In the morning of March 7, 1916, the Germans began a furious

bombardment of Corbeaux Wood. At first the French enjoyed every

advantage, for though the Germans had penetrated the position, the

French by a dashing attack occupied almost the whole of the wood. A

mass attack made by the Germans against Bethincourt having failed,

they counterattacked at Corbeaux Wood, during which their force was

almost annihilated. By evening of March 8, 1916, the French had

recovered all the wood but a small corner.

[Illustration: First Attack on Verdun.]

The Germans were persistent in their attempts to gain the wood,

despite many failures and heavy losses. On the 10th, after being

reenforced, they threw three regiments against the wood. The French

defense was broken when they lost their colonel and battalion

commanders during the opening bombardment. The brave defenders,

badly hit, were forced to yield ground and retire, but they held the

enemy in the wood, thus preventing him from advancing on Mort Homme,

the next objective.

This is a double hill, having a summit of 265 meters at the northwest

and the main summit of 295 meters at the southeast. The road from

Bethincourt to Cumieres scales Hill 265 and divides it in two. When it

reaches Hill 295 it encircles it and bends toward the northeast.

After a lull that lasted for four days the Germans at half past 10 in

the morning began a terrific bombardment to capture Bethincourt, the

Mort Homme, and Cumieres. In this they employed a great number of

heavy guns, and all the points of attack and the region around was

flooded with shells of every variety. They were said to have fallen at

the rate of one hundred and twenty a minute.

In the afternoon about 3 o'clock the German infantry attacked. They

succeeded in capturing the first French line, where many soldiers had

fallen half asphyxiated by the gas shells, or were buried under the

debris. Hill 265 was occupied, but the highest summit, owing to the

valor of its defenders, remained in French hands. During the night the

French succeeded in stemming the German advance by executing a

brilliant counterattack which carried them to the slope between Hill

295 and Bethincourt, where they came in touch with the enemy.

The French at once proceeded by daring efforts to improve their

positions, and were so successful that when during the 16th and 18th

the Germans after prolonged bombardments resumed their attack on Hill

295 they were repulsed with appalling losses.

Having failed to capture Mort Homme from the front, the Germans now

attempted to outflank it. They enlarged the attacking front in the

sector of Malancourt and tried to take Hill 304. In order to do this

it was necessary for them to take the southeastern point of the

Avocourt Wood which was held by the French. On March 20, 1916, the

crown prince threw a fresh division against these woods, the Eleventh

Bavarian, belonging to a selected corps that had seen service in the

Galician and Polish campaigns with Mackensen's army. This division

launched a number of violent attacks, making use of flame throwers.

They succeeded in capturing Avocourt Wood, but in the advance on Hill

304 they were caught between two converging fires and suffered the

most appalling losses. According to the figures given by a neutral

military critic, Colonel Feyler, between March 20 and 22, 1916, the

three regiments of this division lost between 50 and 60 per cent of

their number.

This decisive result had the effect of stopping for the time at least

any further attacks by the Germans in this sector. A period of calm

ensued, which they employed in bringing up fresh troops and in

reconstituting their units. Their costly sacrifices in men and

material had brought them little gain. They had advanced their line to

Bethincourt and Cumieres, but the objective they had been so eager to

capture, Mort Homme, was in French possession, and so strongly held

that it could only be captured at an exceedingly heavy price.

CHAPTER XLV

THE STRUGGLE FOR VAUX FORT AND VILLAGE--BATTLE OF MORT HOMME

On the right bank of the Meuse the Germans on March 8, 1916, resumed

their offensive against the French lines to the east of Douaumont

Fort. The advance was rapidly carried out, and they succeeded in

penetrating Vaux village. A little later by a dashing bayonet charge

the French drove them out of the greater part of the place except one

corner, where they held on determinedly despite the furious attacks

that were launched against them all day long. Vaux Fort had not been

included in this action, or indeed touched, yet a German communique of

March 9, 1916, announced that "the Posen Reserve Regiments commanded

by the infantry general Von Gearetzki-Kornitz had taken the armored

fortress of Vaux by assault, as well as many other fortifications

near by."

At the very hour, 2 p. m., that this telegram appeared an officer of

the French General Staff entered the fort and discovered that it had

not been attacked at all, and that the garrison were on duty and quite

undisturbed by the bombardment storming about the walls.

During the following days the Germans attempted to make good the false

report of their capture of the fort by launching a series of close

attacks. The slopes leading to the fort were piled with German dead.

According to what German prisoners said, these attacks were among the

costliest they had engaged in during the entire campaign. It was

necessary for them to bring up fresh troops to reconstitute their

shattered units.

At daybreak on March 11, 1916, the Germans renewed their attack on

Vaux village with desperate energy. The French had had time to fortify

the place in the most ingenious manner. The defense was so admirably

organized that it merits detailed description, if only to illustrate

that the French are not inferior to the Germans in "thoroughness" in

military matters.

The French trenches ran from the end of the main street of the village

to the church. Barricades had been constructed at the foot of

Hardaumont Hill at intervals of about a hundred yards. Around the

ruined walls of the houses barbed wire was strongly wound and the

street was mined in a number of places. The houses on the two flanks

were heavily fortified with sandbags, while numerous machine guns with

steel shields were set up in positions where they could command all

the approaches. Batteries of mountain guns firing shrapnel were also

cunningly hidden in places where they could work the greatest

destruction.

The French had so skillfully planned the defenses that the Germans

twice fought their way up and back the length of the main street

without discovering the chief centers of resistance.

For nine hours the German bombardment of Vaux Fort and village was

prolonged. Enormous aerial torpedoes were hurled into the ruined

houses, but in the chaos of dust and flame and smoke the French held

fast, and not a position of any importance within the village or its

surroundings was abandoned.

The first regiments to attack were drawn from the Fifteenth and

Eighteenth German Army Corps. At daybreak, when the German hosts

debouched from the plain of the Woevre, there was a heavy white mist

which enabled them to reach the French trenches. Owing to the enemy's

superiority in numbers, and fearing that they might be surrounded, the

French retired from their first positions. The Germans pushed their

way as far as the church, losing heavily, and could go no farther.

They found some shelter behind the ruined walls of the church and

neighboring houses. Each time that they attempted to leave the

protective walls the French guns smashed their ranks and slew

hundreds.

When the mist vanished and the air cleared, the French batteries of

75's and 155's opened a heavy fire on and behind the foremost German

regiments, which not only cut gaps in their formations, but shut them

off from any help. The German commanders were in a desperate state of

mind, for they could not send either men or ammunition to the relief

of the troops under fire. The Germans did not start any new attacks

after that for a day and a half, although their artillery continued

active.

Vaux Fort the Germans claimed to have captured, when after four days

of the bloodiest fighting they had not succeeded in reaching even the

entanglements around the position.

The struggle in the village was of the most desperate character, but

while it lasted there was no more terrible fighting during the Verdun

battle than that which raged back and forth on the outskirts of the

fort. French officers from their commanding positions on the

neighboring heights afterward testified that they had never seen the

German command so recklessly and wantonly sacrifice their men. Column

after column was sent forward to certain death. Giant shells hurled by

the French burst in the midst of the exposed German battalions, and

the dead were piled in heaps over acres of ground.

[Illustration: The Crown Prince, who commands the German forces on the

Verdun front, giving Iron Crosses to men who have distinguished

themselves for valor.]

While this slaughter was going on the German artillery was trying to

destroy the French batteries on the plateau, but being cunningly

concealed few were silenced. The French freely acknowledged the

great bravery displayed by the Germans, who, after gaining the foot

of the slope, fought splendidly for an hour to get up to the fort.

Then reserve Bavarian troops were brought forward and endeavored to

climb the slopes by clinging to rocks and bushes. Many lost their

foothold, or were struck down under the rain of shells. At last even

the German command sickened of the slaughter and ordered a retreat.

It was an especially bitter fact to the Germans that they had incurred

such great losses without gaining any advantage. The French positions

before the fort and in Vaux village remained intact, and the enemy had

failed utterly in their attempts to pierce the Vaux-Douaumont line.

After some days' pause for reorganization, on March 16, 1916, the

Germans made five attacks on the village and fortress of Vaux. After a

bombardment by thousands of shells they must have believed that their

opponents would be crushed, if not utterly annihilated. But the French

soldiers clung stubbornly to the shell-ravaged ground, and though

sadly reduced in numbers, held their positions and flung back five

times the German horde.

Two days later, on the 18th, the Germans resumed their offensive, and

no less than six attacks were made, in which flame projectors were

freely used and every effort made to smash the stubborn defense. But

the French wall of iron held firm, and in every instance the Germans

were beaten back with colossal losses. Again they were compelled to

pause and reorganize their lines. The calm that succeeded the storm

was no less welcome to the French defenders in this sector, for they

too had been hit hard, and it was questionable if they could have held

their positions against another strong attack.

[Illustration: Verdun Northeast District in Detail.]

Attacks on the sector north of Verdun having failed, the Germans began

on March 20, 1916, and continued during succeeding days to turn the

French by their (German) right in the Malancourt sector. The woods of

Montfaucon and Malancourt, where the Germans were strongly

established, crown a great island of sand and clay. The southeastern

portion of Malancourt Wood forms a sort of promontory known as

Avocourt Wood, and was the objective of the next German attack. The

main purpose in this operation was to extend their offensive front.

On March 20, 1916, after intense bombardment in which their heaviest

guns were employed, the Germans sent a new division that had been

hurried up from another front against the French positions between

Avocourt and Malancourt. The attackers were thrown back in disorder at

every point but a corner of Malancourt Wood. During the night, though

strongly opposed by the French, who contested every foot of ground,

and despite heavy losses, the Germans penetrated and occupied Avocourt

Wood, from which they could not be dislodged. The French were,

however, in a position to prevent them from leaving the wood, and

every attempt made by the Germans to debouch met with failure.

On March 22, 1916, the Germans having bombarded throughout the day,

made a number of attacks between Avocourt Wood and Malancourt village.

The French defeated every effort they made to leave the wood, but they

obtained a foothold on Haucourt Hill, where the French occupied the

redoubt.

For five days the Germans were engaged in filling up their broken

units with fresh troops and in preparing plans of attack. On March 28,

1916, strong bodies of German infantry were thrown against the French

front at Haucourt and Malancourt. In numbers they far outmatched the

French defenders, but they gained no advantage and were thrown back in

disorder. Emboldened by this success, the French on the 29th

counterattacked to recover Avocourt Wood, and occupied the southeast

corner, which included an important stronghold, the Avocourt Redoubt.

The Germans attacked and bombarded throughout the day. Their attempts

to regain the captured position in the wood failed, but they secured a

foothold on the northern edge of the village of Malancourt.

This place was held by a single French battalion. It formed a salient

in the French line, and the Germans appeared to be desperately eager

to capture it. In the night of March 30, 1916, they launched mass

attacks from three sides of the village. The fighting was of the most

violent character and raged all night long. There were hand-to-hand

struggles from house to house; the losses were heavy on both sides.

Finally the French were forced to evacuate, the place now a mass of

ruins. They occupied, however, positions that commanded the exits to

the place.

Early in the evening of the following day, the 31st, the Germans

launched two violent attacks on French positions northeast of Hill 295

in the Mort Homme sector. Tear shells and every variety of projectile

were rained upon the French defenses. The attacks were delivered with

dash and vigor, and in one instance they succeeded in penetrating a

position. But the German success was only temporary. The French

rallied, and fell upon the intruders in a counterattack that drove

them from the field.

During the evening and all night long the Germans violently bombarded

the territory between the wood south of Haudremont and Vaux village.

Twice they attacked in force. The French defeated one assault, but the

second carried the Germans into Vaux, where they occupied the western

portion of the place.

On April 2, 1916, the fighting was prolonged throughout the day. The

Germans employed more than a division in the four simultaneous attacks

they made on French positions between Douaumont Fort and Vaux village.

Southeast of the fort they succeeded for a time in occupying a portion

of Caillette Wood, but were subsequently ejected.

On the same day the Germans on the northern bank of Forges Brook, to

the west of Verdun, made a spirited attack on the French lines on the

southern bank, but it was not a success, and they lost heavily. They

also failed on the following day in an attack on Haucourt.

During the night between March 5 and 6, 1916, the Germans attacked two

of the salients of the Avocourt-Bethincourt front with a large body of

troops. On the French right they failed entirely, and suffered heavy

losses. In the center, after many costly failures, they gained a

foothold in Haucourt Wood. On the other hand, the French delivered a

strong counterattack from the Avocourt Redoubt and succeeded in

reoccupying a large portion of the so-called "Square Wood" and in

capturing half a hundred prisoners.

During the night of March, 6, 1916, new German attacks were launched

along the Bethincourt-Chattancourt road. Part of the French first line

was occupied, but was later lost.

On the 7th the Germans attacked on a front of over a mile. The

assailants lacked neither dash nor daring, and were strong in numbers,

but they were shattered against the wall of French defense and driven

back with slaughter to their own line. Attempts on the French

positions south and east of Haucourt during the night of the 7th

failed, except in the south, where the Germans occupied two small

works.

As a result of the fighting between March 30 and April 8, 1916, the

Germans had possession of the French advanced line on Forges Brook and

were in a position to strike at the most formidable line of French

defense, the Avocourt-Hill 304-Mort Homme-Cumieres front.

The French General Staff during this gigantic struggle was constantly

guided by the following rule: Make the Germans pay dearly for each of

their advances. When it was believed that in order to defend a certain

point too many sacrifices would have to be made, they evacuated that

point. As soon as the Germans took hold of the point, however, they

were the target of a terrific fire from all of the French guns, which

were put to work at once. This was what General Petain, commanding the

Verdun army, called "the crushing fire."

[Illustration: Verdun Northwest District in Detail.]

On April 9, 1916, a general attack was made by the Germans on the

front between Haucourt and Cumieres, and simultaneously assaults were

delivered north and west of Avocourt and in Malancourt Wood and the

wood near Haudromont Farm. The struggle for the possession of Mort

Homme developed into one of the most notable and important battles of

Verdun. The attacking front of the Germans ran from west of Avocourt

to beyond the Meuse as high as the wood in the Haudromont Farm. This

general attack, one of the most violent that the Germans had made at

Verdun, failed completely. On the left of the French, a little strip

of land along the southern edge of the Avocourt Wood was won, but in a

dashing counterattack the French recaptured it. In the center the

Germans were repulsed everywhere, except south of Bethincourt, where

they succeeded in penetrating an advanced work. On the right bank, at

the side of Pepper Hill, the Germans only gained a foothold in one

trench east of Vacherauville. The main summit of Mort Homme, Hill 295,

as well as Hill 304, the principal positions, remained firmly in the

hands of the French.

A captain of the French General Staff, and who was an eyewitness, has

described in a French publication some striking phases of the fight:

"It is Sunday, and the sun shines brilliantly above--a real spring

Sunday. The artillery duel was long and formidable. Mort Homme was

smoking like a volcano with innumerable craters. The attack took place

about noon. At the same time, from this same place, lines of

sharpshooters could be seen between the Corbeaux Wood and Cumieres and

the gradient at the east of Mort Homme. They must have come from the

Raffecourt or from the Forges Mill, through the covered roads in the

valley-like depressions in the ground. It was the first wave

immediately followed by heavy columns. Our artillery fire from the

edge of Corbeaux Wood isolated them.... At times a rocket appeared in

the air; the call to the cannons, then the marking of the road. The

regular ticktack of the machine guns and the cracking of the shells

were distinctly heard even among the terrific noises of the

bombardment.

"The German barrage fire in the rear of our front lines is so

frightful that one must not dream of going through it. Where will our

reenforcements pass? The inquietude increases when at 3.15 p. m. sharp

numerous columns in disorder regain on the run the wood of Cumieres.

What a wonderful sight is the flight of the enemy! The sun shines

fully on these small moving groups. But our shells also explode among

them, and the groups separate, stop disjointed. They disappear; they

are lying down. They get up--not all of them--but do not know where to

go, like pheasants flying haphazard before the fusillade.

"With a tenacity that must be acknowledged the enemy comes back to the

charge, but the new attacks are less ordinate, less complete, and

quite weak. Even from a distance one feels that they cannot succeed as

well as the first. This lasts until sunset."

To honor the French troops for their brilliant defense General Petain

issued the following Order of the Day:

"April 9, 1916, has been a glorious day for our armies. The furious

assaults of the crown prince's soldiers have been broken everywhere;

infantry, artillerymen, sappers, and aviators of the Second Army have

rivaled each other in heroism. Honor to all!

"The Germans will attack again without a doubt; let each work and

watch, so that we may obtain the same success.

"Courage! We will win!"

Far from showing the effects of their defeat, the Germans on April 10,

1916, attacked Caillette Wood, but were repulsed. Further attempts

made in the course of the night to eject the French from the trenches

to the south of Douaumont also failed. These futile assaults by no

means weakened the Germans' determination, and on March 11, 1916, they

attacked in force the front between Douaumont and Vaux. At some points

they succeeded in penetrating the French trenches, but were driven out

by vigorous counterattacks.

On March 12, 1916, the French learned that the enemy was making

elaborate preparations to the west of the Meuse for a great assault.

Before the Germans could make ready for the attack the French

artillery showered their trenches and concentration points with

shells, and the assaulting columns that were in the act of assembling

were scattered in disorder. The French fire was so intense that the

Germans who occupied the first line of trenches were unable to leave

them.

Artillery duels continued for several days, marked on the 15th by a

spirited attack made by the French on the German trenches at

Douaumont, during which they took several hundred prisoners and

wrested from the enemy some positions.

The German bombardment now reached the highest pitch of intensity, and

the sector between Bras on the Meuse and Douaumont was swept by a

storm of fire. Poivre (or Pepper) Hill, Haudremont, and Chaufour Wood

especially, were subjected to such destruction that old landmarks were

wiped out as by magic, and the very face of nature was changed and

distorted.

Having, as they believed, made the way clear for advance, the Germans

launched an attack in great force. It was estimated that the attacking

mass numbered 35,000 men. Believing that their guns had so crushed the

French forces that they would be unable to present any serious

defense, the German hordes swept on to attack on a front of about

three miles. Their reception was hardly what had been anticipated.

Great ragged gaps were torn in their formations as the French brought

rifles, machine guns, and heavy artillery into play. Their dead lay in

heaps on the ground, and along the whole front they were only able on

the right to penetrate a French trench south of Chaufour Wood. The

greater part of this was subsequently won back by their opponents in a

counterattack. On the 19th a German infantry assault launched against

Eparges failed.

There was a lull in the fighting during most of the day of April 28,

1916, but in the twilight the Germans attacked at points between

Douaumont and Vaux and west of Thiaumont, but were forced back by the

French artillery.

During the following day the Germans incessantly bombarded French

positions and made a futile attack. On the 30th the French forces

north of Mort Homme were on the offensive, and carried a German

trench. East of Mort Homme on the Cumieres front on the same day they

captured from the Germans 1,000 meters of trenches along a depth

varying from 300 to 600 meters.

The Germans reattacked almost immediately with two of their most

famous corps, the Eighteenth and the Third Brandenburgers, which had

suffered so severely at Douaumont that they had been relegated to the

rear. It was estimated by the neutral military critic, Colonel Feyler,

that the first of these corps had lost 17,000 men and the second

22,000. After the fight in which they had been so hard hit the two

corps had spent seven weeks resting and were now drawn again into the

battle. Both were in action in the evening of April 30, 1916, the

Third north of Mort Homme and the Eighteenth at Cumieres.

According to the evidence given by German prisoners, the Third Corps

again received heavy punishment. Of one regiment, the Sixty-fourth,

only a remnant survived, and one battalion lost nearly a hundred men

during the first attack.

The Eighteenth Corps of Brandenburgers succeeded in penetrating one

point in the French lines, but a French regiment rushed the trench

with fixed bayonets and destroyed or captured all the Germans in

occupation.

Some futile attempts were made by the Germans to retrieve their

failure, but the French firmly maintained their positions.

In the evening of May 1, 1916, the French again assumed the offensive

and successfully stormed a 500-yard sector south of Douaumont. On the

front northwest of Mort Homme, between Hills 295 and 265, the French

made a brilliant attack in the evening of May 3, 1916, which was

entirely successful, the Germans being pushed back beyond the line

they had won early in March, 1916.

The position of the French front on May 5, 1916, was as follows: It

was bounded by a line that ran through Pepper Hill, Hardaumont Wood,

the ravine to the southwest of the village of Douaumont, Douaumont

plateau to the south, and a few hundred yards from the fort, the

northern edge of Caillette Wood, the ravine and village of Vaux, and

the slopes of the fortress of Vaux.

On May 5, 1916, this line was on the whole intact. Only in one place

had the Germans gained a small advance; they had captured Vaux

village, which consisted of a single street, but the French occupied

the slopes near by that commanded the place.

There was no change on the French line on the left bank, where the

character of the ground was favorable for defense. For two months the

French line had remained fixed on Hill 304 and on Mort Homme. Only the

covering line, which extended from the wood of Avocourt to the Meuse

along the slopes of Haucourt, the bed of Forges Brook, and the crests

north of Cumieres, had been broken by the terrific attacks of the

enemy.

The crown prince's army, which had been badly punished and suffered

heavy losses in this area in March, renewed the attempt to capture

Mort Homme and Hill 304 in May, 1916. It was evident from the

elaborate preparations made to possess these points that the Germans

considered them of first importance and that their conquest would

hasten the defeat of the French army.

CHAPTER XLVI

BATTLES OF HILL 304 AND DOUAUMONT--THE STRUGGLE AT FLEURY

It will be recalled that on April 9, 1916, the crown prince had

launched a general attack on the whole front between Avocourt and the

Meuse, the capture of Hill 304 being one of his chief objectives. The

onslaught, carried out on a huge scale, was a failure, and another

attempt made on the 28th also collapsed. Since then the Germans had

been held in their trenches, unable to engage in any action owing to

the vigilance of the French artillery gunners.

On May 3, 1916, the Germans began a violent bombardment as a prelude

to another attempt to capture Hill 340. On the following day, about 2

p. m., their assaulting waves were hurled against the French positions

on the counterslope north of the hill. The bombardment had been so

destructive that large numbers of French soldiers were buried in the

trenches. The active defenders that remained were not strong enough in

numbers to repel the masses of Germans thrown against them, and the

slopes were occupied by the enemy. During the night there was a French

counterattack; it was directed by a brilliant officer of the General

Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Odent, who had at his own request been

assigned the duty of defending this dangerous position. Rallying the

men of his regiment, he threw them against the foe. The French

succeeded in reaching the edges of the plateau facing northeast. This

advance was not gained without considerable losses, and during the

charge Lieutenant Colonel Odent was killed.

On May 5, 1916, the Germans after an intense bombardment, in which gas

shells were lavishly used, tried to turn Hill 304, and also attacked

the Camart Wood and Hill 287. On the northern slope of Hill 304 the

French trenches were so badly damaged that they could not be held. But

the Germans, caught by the French artillery fire, found it impossible

to advance. Having failed to reach the plateau from the north, an

attempt was made through the ravine and behind the woods west and

northwest of Hill 304. This plan was frustrated by the French, who

repulsed them with the bayonet.

The German attacks having failed everywhere, Hill 304 was subjected to

continuous and violent bombardment. In the afternoon of the 7th they

attacked again. With the exception of a strip of trench east of the

hill, which was retaken the following night, they did not register any

advance.

Among the German regiments participating in these attacks the

following were identified: Regiments of the Eleventh Bavarian

Division, a regiment of the Hundred and Ninety-second Brigade, the

Twelfth Reserve Division, the Fourth Division, and the Forty-third

Reserve Division.

From the 13th to the 16th of May, 1916, the Germans continued their

attacks on the Camart Wood west of Hill 304. In these operations they

employed a fresh corps, the Twenty-second Reserve Corps, for the first

time.

After a lull lasting a few days the battle assumed an increasing

violence on the left bank. In the afternoon of the 20th the Germans

threw four divisions to the assault of Mort Homme. During the night

and on the following day the battle raged with undiminished fury. At a

heavy cost the Germans succeeded at last in capturing some trenches

north and west of Mort Homme. At one time the French second lines were

seriously threatened, but a spirited defense scattered the attackers.

After intense fighting the French won back some of the ground they had

lost on Hill 287, and during May 21 and 22, 1916, succeeded in

regaining other positions captured by the enemy.

The recovery of Fort Douaumont which had been occupied by

Brandenburgers since February 25, 1916, was now the aim of the French.

General Mangin, one of the youngest officers of that rank in the

French army and commanding the Fifth Division, directed operations.

The French brought into action their heaviest artillery, which opened

a terrific fire on the German lines.

The French soldiers accepted it as an omen of success when about 8

o'clock in the morning of May 22, 1916, six captive balloons stationed

over the right bank of the Meuse exploded, thus depriving the German

batteries of their observers on whom they counted to get the range.

At about 10 in the morning the French infantry by a brilliant charge

captured three lines of German trenches. The fortress of Douaumont was

penetrated, and during the entire night a fierce struggle was

continued within its walls. In spite of the most violent efforts of

the Germans to dislodge the French they maintained their positions

within the fort.

Throughout the morning of May 23, 1916, the Germans rained shells on

French positions defended by the Hundred and Twenty-ninth Regiment.

The bombardment spread destruction among the French troops, but they

still clung to the terrain they had won and refused to yield or

retreat.

Throughout the night of May 23, 1916, the bloody struggle continued

unabated. On the morning of May 24, 1916, the fortress was still in

the hands of the French, with the exception of the northern salient

and some parts to the east. On the following day two new Bavarian

divisions were thrown into the fight and succeeded in retaking the

lines of the fortress, driving back the French as far as the immediate

approaches; that is, to the places they occupied previous to their

attack.

On the left bank of the Meuse the fighting slowed down, decreasing

gradually in intensity. The Germans were reacting feebly in this

territory, concentrating their greatest efforts on the right bank.

Throughout the whole region of Thiaumont, Douaumont, and Vaux they

pressed the fighting and were engaged in almost continuous attacks

and bombardments.

[Illustration: The Mort Homme Sector in Detail.]

On the 1st of June, 1916, all the French front in this sector was

attacked. The Germans, disregarding their heavy losses, returned

repeatedly to the charge. It was ascertained through a document found

on a prisoner that General Falkenhayn, chief of the German General

Staff, had given the order to advance at all costs.

The Germans attacked fearlessly, but the only progress they succeeded

in making was through the Caillette Wood to the southern edge of Vaux

Pool.

For five days this battle continued, one of the most desperately

fought around Verdun, and yet the Germans made insignificant gains,

out of all proportion to their immense losses. The Bavarian Division

which led the attack displayed an "unprecedented violence," according

to a French communique issued at the time. The Germans, repulsed again

and again, returned to the charge, and succeeded in obtaining a

foothold in the first houses of Damloup.

The struggle was continued without pause during the night from June 2

to June 3, 1916. By repeated and vigorous attacks the Germans at last

entered the ditches to the north of the fortress of Vaux, but were

unable to penetrate the works occupied by the French.

About 8 o'clock in the evening of June 3, 1916, the Germans attempted

to surprise the fortress at the southeast by escalading the ravine

which cuts the bank of the Meuse near Damloup. This was foiled by the

French, who drove them back in a sharp counterattack. The Germans did

not make the attempt again at this time, but continued to bombard the

fort with heavy guns.

On June 4, 1916, at 3 in the afternoon, several German battalions

advancing from Vaux Pool attempted to climb the slopes to the wood of

Fumin, but were swept back by French machine-gun fire. In the evening

and during the night the Germans repeatedly attacked without gaining

any advantage. The wood of Fumin remained in French possession.

[Illustration: Verdun to St. Mihiel.]

There were no attacks on the following day, owing to weather

conditions and the general exhaustion of the German troops. But

the Sixth German Artillery resumed its firing on the fortress,

throwing such an avalanche of shells that every approach to the place

became impassable. Inside the works a mere handful of French under

Major Raynal firmly held its ground.

[Illustration: The thoroughly organized French Aviation camp near

Verdun, as seen by an aviator flying at a height of 500 meters (about

1640 feet). As the war continues, the daring and skill of aviators win

more and more admiration.]

In the evening of June 6, 1916, the garrison of the fortress of Vaux

repulsed a savage German attack; but during the night, owing to the

tremendous bombardment which cut off all communication with the

fortress, the position of the French became serious indeed. The brave

garrison was now entirely surrounded. Finally by means of signals they

were able to make their condition known to French troops at some

distance away. Unless they could get speedy assistance there was no

hope of their holding the fort. The struggle continued more

desperately than ever as the Germans realized how precarious was the

French hold on the place.

On June 6, 1916, the French gunner Vannier, taking with him some

comrades, most of whom were wounded, succeeded in escaping through an

air hole and tried to reach the French lines.

The heroic garrison had now reached the limit of human endurance.

Without food or water, it was hopeless for them to continue their

defense of the place. When the last hope was gone, Major Raynal

addressed this message to his men:

"We have stayed the limit. Officers and men have done their duty. Long

live France!"

On June 7, 1916, the Germans took possession of the fortress and its

heroic garrison.

Major Raynal for his brave conduct was by order of General Joffre made

a Commander of the Legion of Honor. According to a German report

Raynal was permitted by the crown prince to retain his sword in

appreciation of his valorous defense of the fort. It must be conceded

that the capture of Fort Vaux, though costly, was a valuable

acquisition to the Germans, and served to hearten and encourage the

troops who had met with so many disasters in this area.

By this victory they were brought into contact with the inner line of

the Verdun defenses, and now if ever were in a position for a supreme

effort which might decide the war, as far as France was concerned. But

if this desired end was to be obtained, the crushing blow must be

delivered at once, for time threatened. Russian successes on the

southeastern front had created a new and serious problem. It was known

that a Franco-British offensive was imminent. The Germans were in a

situation that called for heroic action: the capture of Verdun with

all possible speed.

During the month of June, 1916, the Germans used up men and material

on a lavish and unprecedented scale. On June 23, 1916, they started a

general attack against the French positions of Froideterre, Fleury,

and Souville. From papers taken from prisoners it was learned that a

very great offensive was intended which the Germans believed would

carry them up to the very walls of Verdun. The German troops were

ordered to advance without stopping, without respite, and regardless

of losses, to capture the last of the French positions. The assaulting

force that was to carry out this program was estimated to number

between 70,000 and 80,000 men.

Preceded by a terrific bombardment the Germans attacked at 8 o'clock

in the morning of June 23, 1916, on a front of five kilometers, from

Hill 321 to La Lauffee. Under the fury of the onslaught the French

line was bent in at a certain point. The Thiaumont works and some

near-by trenches were carried by the Germans. One of their strong

columns succeeded in penetrating the village of Fleury, but was

speedily ejected. To the west in the woods of Chapitre and Fumin all

the German assaults were shattered. During the night the French

counterattacked; they recaptured a part of the ground lost between

Hills 320 and 321 and drove the Germans back as far as the Thiaumont

works.

[Illustration: Verdun gain up to August, 1916.]

The battle raged with varying fortunes to the combatants all day long

on June 24, 1916. The village of Fleury in the center was directly

under fire of the German guns, and they succeeded in occupying a group

of houses. The French delivered a dashing counterattack, and were

successful in freeing all but a small part of the place. On the 25th

the Germans doubled the violence of their bombardment. Not since they

assumed the offensive had they launched such a tornado of

destructive fire. Another objective of the Germans besides Fleury was

the fortress of Souville. In the ravines of Bazile they suffered

appalling losses, but succeeded in gaining a foothold in the wood of

Chapitre. The French, counterattacking, regained most of the lost

ground, and still held the village of Fleury.

The struggle around Thiaumont works continued for days, during which

the place changed hands several times. It was recaptured by the French

on June 28, 1916, lost again on the following day, retaken once more,

and on July 4, 1916, it was again in German hands. The struggle over

this one position will give some impression of the intensity of the

fighting along the entire front during this great offensive which the

Germans hoped and believed would prove decisive.

The general tactics pursued by the Germans in these attacks never

varied. They made their efforts successively on the right and on the

left of the point under aim, so that they could encircle the point

which formed in this manner a salient, and was suitable for

concentration of artillery fire.

The Germans failed to make any serious advance in the center of the

French lines, being halted by vigorous counterattacks.

On July 12, 1916, the Germans attacked with six regiments and pushed

their way to the roads to Fleury and Vaux within 800 meters of the

fortress of Souville. This advance during the next few days was halted

by the French.

The Germans claimed to have captured thirty-nine French officers and

2,000 men during their attack. They did not, apparently, attempt to

pursue their advantage and press on, but returned to bombarding the

French works at Souville, Chenois, and La Lauffee. As the Allied

offensive on the Somme developed strength, the German attacks on

Verdun perceptibly weakened, and beyond a few patrol engagements in

Chenois Wood, no further infantry fighting was reported from Verdun on

July 16, 1916. But the French continued to "nibble" into the German

positions around Fleury three miles from Verdun, and had improved and

strengthened their positions at Hill 304. Fleury was now the nearest

point to Verdun that the Germans had succeeded in reaching, but here

their advance was halted.

The British had meanwhile been pressing forward on the Somme, and by

July 23, 1916, had penetrated the German third line. The Russians too

were winning successes, and had dealt a destructive blow in Volhynia.

The pressure from the east and west forced the Germans to withdraw

large bodies of troops from the Verdun sector and send them to the

relief of their brothers on other fronts.

In the closing days of July, 1916, the Franco-British "push" became

the principal German preoccupation. The great struggle for Verdun, the

longest battle continuously fought in history, from that time on

became a military operation of only second importance.

The magnitude of this great struggle may be illustrated by a few

statistics. In the six months' combat some 3,000 cannon had been

brought into action. About two millions of men had attacked or

defended the stronghold. No correct estimate can be made of the losses

on both sides, but it is stated that at least 200,000 were killed, and

the end was not yet in sight.

The second anniversary of the war found the Germans on the defensive.

Twenty million fighters had been called to the colors of twelve

belligerent nations; about four million had been killed, and over ten

million wounded and taken prisoners. For all this vast expenditure in

blood and treasure no decisive battle had been fought since the German

defeat on the Marne in September, 1914.

CHAPTER XLVII

SPRING OPERATIONS IN OTHER SECTORS

While greater issues were being fought out in the Verdun sector, from

the beginning of the second phase of the German attack during March,

there was considerable sporadic "liveliness" on other parts of the

western front. Though the main interest centered for the time around

the apparently impregnable fortresses of which Verdun is the nucleus,

a continuous, fluctuating activity was kept in progress along the

whole line up to the opening of the big allied offensive on the last

day of June. March 1, 1916, found the battle line practically

unchanged. From Ostend on the North Sea it ran straightway south

through the extreme western comer of Belgium, crossing the French

frontier at a point northwest of Lille. From there it zigzagged its

way to a point about sixty miles north of Paris, whence it then

followed an eastern tangent paralleling the northern bank of the River

Aisne; thence easterly to Verdun, forming there a queer half-moon

salient arc with the points bent sharply toward the center. From the

south of Verdun the line extended unbroken and rather straight south

and a little easterly to the Swiss frontier.

In the Ypres sector during the first four days of March the fighting

was confined to the usual round of violent artillery duels, mine

springing, hand grenade skirmishing, intermittent hand-to-hand attacks

and effective aircraft raids. On March 1, 1916, twenty British

aircraft set out seeking as their objective the important German lines

of communication and advanced bases east and north of Lille.

Considerable damage was inflicted with high explosive bombs. One

British aeroplane failed to return. From all parts thrilling, tragic

and heroic aerial exploits are recorded. While cruising over the

Beanon-Jussy road a German Fokker observed a rapidly moving enemy

transport. Reversing his course, the pilot floated over the procession

and dropped bombs. The motor lorries stopped immediately, when the

aeroplane dropped toward the earth, attacked the transport at close

range and got away again in safety. On the same day also a French

biplane equipped with double motors encountered an enemy plane near

Cernay, in the valley of the Thur, and brought it down a shattered

mass of flame. North of Soissons, near the village of Vezaponin, a

French machine was shot down into the German lines; another French

aero was struck by German antiaircraft guns; with a marvelous dive and

series of loops it crashed to earth. Both pilot and observer were

buried with their machine. During the evening of March 1, 1916, the

German infantry, after a furious cannonading north of the Somme,

delivered a sharp assault on a line of British trenches, but were held

back by machine-gun fire. Along the Ypres sector the same night

violent gunfire took place on both sides with apparently small effect

or damage. In a previous volume it was mentioned that the Germans had

once more recaptured the "international trench" on February 14, 1916.

For a fortnight the British artillery constantly held the position

under fire and prevented the consolidation of the ground. At 4.30 a. m.

the British infantry suddenly emerged from their trenches. The

grenadiers dashed ahead, smothering the surprised Germans with bombs.

The general disorder was increased by the fact that the trench parties

were just being relieved. In a few minutes the lost ground was

recovered, the German line dangerously pushed in and 254 prisoners,

including five officers, fell to the British. At midday the Germans

bombarded the line with fifty batteries for four hours. Then waves of

assaulting columns were let loose against the British. The latter

noticed that the front line of infantry hurled their bombs several

yards _behind_ the British trenches and rushed forward with hands up.

Immediately a hurricane of shells from their own guns burst among the

German infantry. The survivors flung themselves on the ground and

crawled into the British trenches for protection. This action was the

more significant in that the men who thus surrendered were all very

young and belonged to a regiment which, until then, had fought with

conspicuous bravery. At the end of the day the British counted more

than 300 corpses, while their own losses were slight and their entire

gains maintained.

Most of the combats in the Artois and Ypres sectors consisted of mine

springing and crater fighting. What was once the Hohenzollern Redoubt

was particularly the scene of some vigorous subterranean warfare. What

happened there on March 2 is thus described by an eyewitness: "Many

huge craters have been made, won, and what is more, retained by a rare

combination of skill, courage, and endurance. Men who fought all

through the war have seen nothing comparable with the largest of

these craters. They are amphitheaters, and cover perhaps half an acre

of ground. When the mine exploded at 5.45 p. m. on March 2, 1916, a

thing like a great black mushroom rose from the earth. Beneath it

appeared, with the ponderous momentum of these big upheavals, a white

growth like the mushroom's gills. It was the chalk subsoil following

in the wake of the black loam. With this black and white upheaval went

up, Heaven knows, how many bodies and limbs of Germans, scattered

everywhere with the rest of the debris. And the explosion sent up many

graves as well as the bodies of the living. One of the British bombers

who occupied the crater and spent a crowded hour hurling bombs from

the farther lip found that he was steadying himself and getting a

lever for the bowling arm by clinging on to a black projection with

his left hand. It was a Hessian boot. The soil of the amphitheater was

so worked, mixed, and sieved by the explosive action and the effects

of the melting snow that it was almost impassable. A staff officer,

among others, who went up to help, had to be pulled out of the morass

as he was carrying away one of the wounded. There is no fighting so

terrible and so condensed as crater fighting. The struggle is a

veritable graveyard, a perfect target for bomb and grenade and the

slower attack of the enemy's mine. The British held a circle of German

trenches on a little ridge of ground north of Loos. The capture meant

that they could overlook the plain beyond and win a certain

projection. At 6.00 p. m. on March 2, 1916, the engineers exploded

four mines under the nearer arc, and within a few minutes, while

artillery thundered overhead, the British infantry advanced in spite

of terrible mud and occupied each crater. Not a single machine gun was

fired at them as they charged--probably the mines had destroyed them

all--and their casualties were very small indeed."

Germans counterattacking hurried up their communication trenches, and

as they came on some examples of prompt handiwork stopped their

advance. A sergeant and one man stopped one rush; a color sergeant and

private, well equipped with sandbags, each holding a score of bombs,

performed miracles of resistance. Every night the Germans came on,

capping a day of continuous bombardment with showers of bombs, rifle

grenades, and artillery, mostly 5.9 howitzers, and with infantry

onsets at close quarters. They stormed with dash and determination,

backed by good artillery and an apparently inexhaustible stock of

grenades. The tale of the German losses was high. One communication

trench packed with men was raked from end to end with a British Lewis

gun till it was a graveyard. On this occasion the British artillery

was overwhelming in amount and volume; shells were not spared, and

they fired ten to the Germans' one. Within less than a mile and a half

there were eight groups of mines.

On March 3, 1916, an intense artillery duel progressed for possession

of the Bluff, an elevated point above the Ypres-Comines Canal. The

Germans evidently regarded the point as important, for they flung

great masses of troops over the Bluff, when the British attacked and

captured more than their lost lines of trenches running along an

eastern hillock by the canal. The next night and morning the British

heavy artillery poured a continuous stream of shell on the Bluff in

well-marked time. The men in the front trenches began cheering, as

always before an attack, but instead of advancing they shot over a

heavy shower of bombs. One soldier alone was credited with having

flung more than 300 bombs into the German trenches. In the obscurity

of the gray dawn British troops quietly and suddenly dashed into the

Germans and cleared the trenches with bayonets. This was accomplished

in two minutes, when the large guns spread a curtain of fire over the

Germans, inflicting severe losses. The German soldiers then attempted

resolute counterattacks, but were repulsed with machine-gun fire.

Between the 1st and 4th of March, 1916, there was sharp grenade

fighting southeast of Vermelles, in some mine craters. After severe

bombardment the Germans attempted to recapture the craters by infantry

attacks, but apparently without success. In Artois they endeavored to

drive the French from a crater they occupied near the road from

Neuville to La Folie, and failed in the enterprise. In the Argonne the

French bombarded the German organizations in the region southeast of

Vauquois and demolished several shelters, while in Lorraine, in the

neighborhood of the Thiauville Ponds, the French carried sections of

German trenches after artillery preparation, capturing sixty

prisoners, including two officers, and some machine guns. On March 4,

1916, a serious explosion occurred in the powder magazine known as

"Double Couronne," St. Denis, a fort used by the French as a munitions

store. The concussion was so terrific that a car a considerable

distance away and containing thirty-two passengers was overturned and

nearly all were injured. Altogether the casualties amounted to about

thirty-five killed and 200 wounded.

In the Ypres sector during March 4 and 5, 1916, the fighting came to a

standstill and the positions remained unchanged. In the Champagne

vigorous artillery action continued on both sides with occasional

infantry attacks and counterattacks of little consequence. In the

district about Loos and northeast of Ypres heavy cannonading endured

all day on the 6th, the Germans hurling quantities of large caliber

shells over the enemy's trenches without any apparent object. On the

Ypres-Comines Canal the British still held the positions gained by

storm on March 2, 1916. Near Soissons the French heavily bombarded the

German works, and their terrific fire at Badenviller in Lorraine

compelled a German retirement from the positions established there

February 21, 1916. In the Flanders sector, on the Belgian front,

concentrated artillery fire silenced German bomb throwers in a futile

attempt to capture a trench. In the Woevre district the German troops,

after a fierce assault, stormed the village of Fresnes and captured

it, the French retaining a few positions on the outskirts. The German

infantry advanced in close formation and literally swarmed into the

village, while the French 75's and machine guns tore great gaps in

their ranks. Northeast of Vermelles small detachments of British

troops penetrated the German trenches on March 6, 1916, but were

compelled to retire. Active engagements and furious hand-to-hand

fighting centered around Maisons de Champagne. The positions the

French had taken on February 11, 1916, were recaptured by surprise

bayonet attacks, the Germans taking two officers and 150 men

prisoners. In the Argonne region attempts on the part of the Germans

to occupy some mine craters were repulsed.

CHAPTER XLVIII

BATTLE OF THE SOMME--ALLIED PREPARATIONS--POSITIONS OF THE OPPOSING

FORCES

Picardy, where the great battle of the Somme was staged in the summer

of 1916, is a typical French farming region of peasant cultivators, a

rolling table-land, seldom rising more than a few hundred feet, and

intersected by myriad shallow, lazy-flowing streams. Detached farms

are few, the farmers congregating in and around the little villages

that stand in the midst of hedgeless corn and beet fields stretching

far and wide. Here the Somme flows with many crooked turns, now

broadening into a lake, now flowing between bluffs and through swamps.

There is, or rather was, an inviting, peaceful look about this

country. Untouched, remote from the scene of battle it seemed, yet

here in the spring of 1916 preparations were already going forward for

what was to prove one of the fiercest struggles of the Great War.

In July, 1915, the British had taken over most of the line from Arras

to the Somme, and had passed a quiet winter in the trenches. The long

pause had been occupied by the active Germans in transforming the

chalk hills they occupied into fortified positions which they believed

would prove impregnable. The motives for the Allies' projected

offensive on the Somme were to weaken the German pressure on Verdun,

which had become severe in June, and to prevent the transference of

large bodies of troops from the west to the eastern front where they

might endanger the plans of General Brussilov.

The British had been receiving reenforcements steadily, and were at

the beginning of 1916 in a position to lengthen their line sensibly.

In the neighborhood of Arras they were able to relieve an entire

French army, the Tenth. The French on their side had by no means

exhausted their reserves at Verdun, but it would prove a welcome

relief to them if by strong pressure the long strain were lifted in

Picardy. Sir Douglas Haig, it was stated, would have preferred to

delay the Somme offensive a little longer, for while his forces were

rapidly increasing, the new levies were not as yet completely trained.

In view, however, of the general situation of the Allies in the west

it was imperative that the blow should be delivered not later than

midsummer of 1916.

The original British Expeditionary Force, popularly known as the "Old

Contemptibles," who performed prodigies of valor in the first terrible

weeks of the war, had largely disappeared. In less than two years the

British armies had grown from six to seventy divisions, not including

the troops sent by India and Canada. In addition there were large

numbers of trained men in reserve sufficient, it was believed, to

replace the probable wastage that would occur for a year to come. It

was in every sense a New British Army, for the famous old regiments of

the line had been renewed since Mons, and the men of the new

battalions were drawn from the same source that supplied their drafts.

The old formations had a history, the new battalions had theirs to

make. This in good time they proceeded to do, as will be subsequently

shown.

In the Somme area the German front was held by the right wing of the

Second Army, once Von Billow's, but now commanded by Otto von Below a

brother of Fritz von Below commanding the Eighth Army in the east. The

area of Von Below's army in the Somme region began south of Monchy,

while the Sixth Army under the Crown Prince of Bavaria lay due north.

The front between Gommecourt and Frise in the latter part of June was

covered in this manner. North of the Ancre lay the Second Guard

Reserve Division and the Fifty-second Division (two units of the

Fourteenth Reserve Corps raised in Baden, but including Prussians,

Alsatians, and what not), the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-eighth Reserve

Divisions, and then the Twelfth Division of the Sixth Reserve Corps.

Covering the road to Peronne south of the river were the One Hundred

and Twenty-first Division, the Eleventh Division, and the Thirty-sixth

Division belonging to the Seventeenth Danzig Corps.

[Illustration: Sector where Grand Offensive was Started.]

The British General Staff had decided that the Fourth Army under

General Sir Henry Rawlinson should make the attack. General Rawlinson

was a tried and experienced officer, who at the beginning of the

campaign had commanded the Seventh Division, and at Loos the Fourth

Army Corps. His front extended from south of Gommecourt across the

valley of the Ancre to the north of Maricourt, where it joined the

French. There were five corps in the British Fourth Army, the Eighth

under Lieutenant General Sir Aylmer Hunter-Weston; the Tenth under

Lieutenant General Sir T. L. N. Morland, the Third under Lieutenant

General Sir W. P. Pulteney, the Fifteenth under Lieutenant General

Home, and the Thirteenth under Lieutenant General Congreve, V. C. The

nucleus for another army, mostly composed of cavalry divisions, lay

behind the forces along the front. Called at first the Reserve, and

afterward the Fifth Army under the command of General Sir Hubert

Gough, it subsequently won renown in some of the hottest fights of the

campaign.

The French attacking force, the Sixth Army, once commanded by

Castelnau, but now by a famous artilleryman, General Fayolle, lay from

Maricourt astride the Somme to opposite Fay village. It comprised the

very flower of the French armies, including the Twentieth Corps, which

had won enduring fame at Verdun under the command of General

Balfourier. It was principally composed of Parisian cockneys and

countrymen from Lorraine, and at Arras in 1914, and in the Artois in

the summer of 1915, had achieved memorable renown. There were also the

First Colonial Corps under General Brandelat, and the Thirty-fifth

Corps under General Allonier. To the south of the attacking force lay

the Tenth Army commanded by General Micheler, which was held in

reserve. The soldiers of this army had seen less fighting than their

brothers who were to take the offensive, but they were quite as eager

to be at the enemy, and irked over the delay.

During the entire period of bombardment the French and British

aviators, by means of direct observation and by photographs, rendered

full and detailed reports of the results obtained by the fire. The

British and French General Staffs thus followed from day to day, and

even from hour to hour, the progress made in the destruction of German

trenches and shelters.

During the bombardment some seventy raids were undertaken between

Gommecourt and the extreme British left north of Ypres. Some of these

raids were for the purpose of deceiving the enemy as to the real point

of assault and others to identify the opposing units. Few of the

raiders returned to the British line without bagging a score or so of

prisoners. Among these raiding parties a company of the Ninth Highland

Light Infantry especially distinguished themselves.

Fighting in the air continued every day during this preliminary

bombardment. It was essential that the Germans should be prevented

from seeing the preparations that were going forward. The eyes of a

hostile army are its aeroplanes and captive balloons. Owing to the

daring of the French and British aviators the German flyers were

literally prohibited from the lines of the Allies during all that

time. In five days fifteen German machines were brought to the ground.

Very few German balloons even attempted to take the air.

On June 24, 1916, the bombardment of German trenches had reached the

highest pitch of intensity. The storm of shells swept the entire enemy

front, destroying trenches at Ypres and Arras and equally obliterating

those at Beaumont-Hamel and Fricourt.

By July 28, 1916, all the region subjected to bombardment presented a

scene of complete and appalling devastation. Only a few stumps marked

the spot where leafy groves had stood. The pleasant little villages

that had dotted the smiling landscape were reduced to mere heaps of

rubbish. Hardly a bit of wall was left standing. It seemed impossible

that any living thing could survive in all that shell-smitten

territory.

As the day fixed upon for the attack drew near the condition of the

weather caused the British command some anxious hours. The last week

of June, 1916, was cloudy, and frequent showers of rain had

transformed the dusty roads into deep mud. But in the excitement that

preceded an assault of such magnitude the condition of the weather

could not dampen the feverish ardor of the troops. There was so much

to be done that there was no time to consider anything but the work in

hand. A nervous exhilaration prevailed among the men, who looked

eagerly and yet fearfully forward to the hour for the great offensive

from which such great things were expected.

In the afternoon of the last day of June, 1916, the sky cleared and

soon the stars shone brightly in the clear, blue night. Orders were

given out to the British commanders to attack on the following morning

three hours after daybreak.

CHAPTER XLIX

THE BRITISH ATTACK

The first day of July, 1916, dawned warm and cloudless. Since half

past 5 o'clock every gun of the Allies on a front of twenty-five miles

was firing without pause, producing a steady rumbling sound from which

it was difficult to distinguish the short bark of the mortars, the

crackle of the field guns, and the deep roar of the heavies. The

slopes to the east were wreathed in smoke, while in the foreground lay

Albert, where German shells fell from time to time, with its shattered

church of Notre Dame de Bebrieres, from whose ruined campanile the

famous gilt Virgin hung head downward. At intervals along the Allies'

front, and for several miles to the rear, captive kite balloons,

tugging at their moorings, gleamed brightly in the morning light.

The Allies' bombardment reached its greatest intensity about 7.15,

when all the enemy slopes were hidden by waves of smoke like a heavy

surf breaking on a rock-bound coast. Here and there spouts and columns

of earth and debris shot up in the sunlight. It seemed that every

living thing must perish within the radius of that devastating

hurricane of fire.

At 7.30 exactly there was a short lull in the bombardment--just long

enough for the gunners everywhere to lengthen their range, and then

the fire became a barrage. The staff officers, who had been studying

their watches, now gave the order, and along the twenty-five mile

front the Allies' infantry left the trenches and advanced to attack.

In this opening stage of the battle the British aim was the German

first position. The section selected for attack ran from north to

south, covering Gommecourt, passing east of Hebuterne and following

the high ground before Serre and Beaumont-Hamel, crossed the Ancre

northwest of Thiepval. From this point it stretched for about a mile

and a quarter to the east of Albert. Passing south around Fricourt, it

turned at right angles to the east, covering Mametz and Montauban.

Midway between Maricourt and Hardecourt it turned south, covering

Curlu, crossing the Somme at a marshy place near Vaux, and finally

passed east of Frise, Dompierre, and Soyecourt, to leave east of

Lihons the sector in which the Allied offensive was in progress which

we are describing.

The disposition of the British forces on the front of attack was as

follows: The right wing of Sir Edmund Allenby's Third Army and General

Hunter-Weston's Eighth Corps lay opposite Gommecourt, and down to a

point just south of Beaumont-Hamel. North of Ancre to Authuille was

General Morland's Tenth Corps, and east of Albert General Pulteney's

Third Corps, a division directed against La Boiselle, and another

against Ovillers. Adjoining the French forces on the British right

flank lay General Congreve's Thirteenth Corps.

The Allies' attack was not unexpected by the Germans, and they were

not entirely wrong as to the area in which the blow would be

delivered. From Arras to Albert they had concentrated large forces of

men and many guns, but south of Albert they were less strongly

prepared. Their weakest point was south of the Somme, where the Allies

had all the advantage. In recording the history of the day's fighting

two separate actions must be described, in the north and in the south.

The Allies failed in the first of these, but in the second they gained

a substantial victory over the German hosts. The most desperate

struggle of the day was fought between Gommecourt and Thiepval.

Three of the British divisions in action here were from the New Army;

one was a Territorial brigade and the two others had seen hard

fighting in Flanders and Gallipoli. They confronted a series of

strongly fortified villages--Gommecourt Serre, Beaumont-Hamel, and

Thiepval--with underground caves that could shelter whole battalions.

A network of underground passages led to sheltered places to the rear

of the fighting line, and deep pits had been dug in which, in time of

bombardment, the machine guns could be hidden. The Germans had also

direct observation from the rear of these strongholds, where their

guns were massed in large numbers.

Occupying such strong positions with every advantage in their favor,

it is easy to understand why the British troops that attacked from

Gommecourt to Thiepval failed to attain their objective. If the

British bombardment had reached a high pitch of intensity on the

morning of July 1, 1916, the German guns were no less active, and

having the advantage of direct observation, their explosive shells

soon obliterated parts of the British front trenches, compelling the

British to form up in the open ground. A hot barrage fire of shrapnel

accurately directed followed the British troops as they advanced over

no-man's-land. Into a very hell of shrapnel, high explosives, rifle

and machine-gun fire they pushed on in ordered lines. Soon the

devastating storm of German artillery fire cut great gaps in their

formation, yet not a man hung back or wavered. And this destructive

German fire, accurate and relentless, the British soldiers faced

unflinchingly from early dawn to high noon. Here and there the German

position was penetrated by the more adventurous spirits, some

detachments even forcing their way through it, but they could not hold

their ground. The attack was checked everywhere, and by evening what

was left of the British troops from Gommecourt to Thiepval struggled

back to their old line.

The British had failed to win their objective, but the day had not been

wholly wasted; they had struck deep into the heart of the German defense

and inspired in the enemy a wholesome respect for their fighting powers.

In this stubborn attack nearly every English, Scotch, and Irish regiment

was represented--a Newfoundland battalion, a little company of

Rhodesians, as well as London and Midland Territorials--all of whom

displayed high courage. Again and again the German position was pierced.

Part of one British division broke through south of Beaumont-Hamel and

penetrated to the Station road on the other side of the quarry, a

desperate adventure that cost many lives. It was at Beaumont-Hamel,

under the Hawthorne Redoubt, that exactly at 7.30 a. m., the hour of

attack, the British exploded a mine which they had been excavating for

seven months. It was the work of Lancashire miners, the largest mine

constructed thus far in the campaign. It was a success. Half the village

and acres of land sprang into the air, blotting out for a time the light

of the sun on the scene and hiding in a pall of dust and smoke the

rapidly advancing British troops.

In the day's fighting the Irish soldiers were especially distinguished

for many remarkable acts of bravery. The Royal Irish Fusiliers were

the first to leave the trenches. To the north of Thiepval the Ulster

Division broke through the German position at a point called "The

Crucifix," holding for a time the formidable Schwaben Redoubt, and

some even penetrated the outskirts of Grandcourt. The Royal Irish

Rifles swept over the German parapet, and, assisted by the

Inniskillings, cleared the trenches and destroyed the machine gunners.

Through the enemy lines they swept, enfiladed on three sides, and

losing so heavily that only a few escaped from the desperate venture.

But the gallant remnant that struggled back to their own line took 600

prisoners, one trooper alone bringing in fifteen through the enemy's

own barrage.

The village of Fricourt, as will be seen by the map, forms a prominent

salient, and the British command decided to cut it off by attacking on

two sides. An advance was planned on the strongly fortified villages

of Ovillers and La Boiselle. The British on the first day won the

outskirts and carried all the intrenchments before them, but had not

gained control of the ruins, though a part of a brigade had actually

entered La Boiselle and held a portion of the place. To complete the

operation of cutting off Fricourt it was necessary to carry Mametz on

the south; this accomplished, the forces would unite in the north at

La Boiselle and Ovillers and, following the long depression popularly

known as Sausage Valley toward Contalmaison, would be able to squeeze

Fricourt so hard that it must be abandoned by the enemy. The British

plans worked out successfully. A division that had been sorely

punished at Loos and was now occupying a position west of Fricourt had

now an opportunity to avenge its previous disaster. With grim

determination to clean up the old score against the Germans, they

advanced rapidly into the angle east of Sausage Valley, carrying two

small woods and attacking Fricourt from the north and occupying a

formidable position that threatened Fricourt.

The strongly fortified village of Montauban fell early in the day of

July 1, 1916. Reduced to ruins, it crowned a ridge below the position

of the British lines in a hollow north of the Peronne road at Carnoy.

The British artillery had done effective work, and the attack on

Montauban resulted in an easier victory than had been expected. The

Sixth Bavarian Regiment which defended the place was said to have lost

3,000 out of the 8,500 who had entered the battle. Here for the first

time in the campaign was witnessed the advance in line of the soldiers

of Britain and France.

It was a moving sight that thrilled and heartened all the combatants.

The Twentieth Corps of the French army lay on the British right, while

the Thirty-ninth Division under General Nourisson marched in line with

the khaki-clad Britons.

Only after surveying the captured ground did the French and British

realize what a seemingly impregnable stronghold had been won. Endless

labor had been expended by the Germans not only in fortifying the

place but in constructing dugouts that were well furnished and

homelike. The best of these were papered, with linoleum on the floor,

pictures on the wall, and contained bathrooms, electric lights and

electric bells. There were also at convenient points bolt holes from

which the occupants could escape in case of surprise. Some of the

dugouts had two stories, the first being reached by a thirty-foot

staircase. Another stairway about as long communicated with the lower

floor. Every preparation seemed to have been made for permanent

occupation. The Germans had good reasons for believing that their

position was impregnable. The utmost ingenuity had been employed to

fortify every point. Carefully screened manholes used by the snipers

were reached by long tunnels from the trenches. The most notable piece

of military engineering was a heavily timbered communication trench

300 feet long, and of such a depth that those passing through it were

safe from even the heaviest shells.