The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-25
TERRIFIC DRIVE
BENDS FRENCH
LINE AT YERDUN


erto."
the have not advanced moro
than 1000 yards on a front OF the same
extent. Nowhere have they pierced the
french line. This line. which before the
hattie Was a semi-circie. including In It's
circumference FORCES. B~rabant-sur.
Neuse and Haumont. 10 now moro or
less a straight line through ~Samogneux.
Beaumont and Ornes."
The Copenhagen correspondent Of the
rrcuing Neus tclesraphs that the
Kaiser IL now on the Verdun front wit
Messing the German offensive.
II, ~ reported" the correspondent
SAYS. that the Emperor is more ener-
se,ic than ever. making speeches TO his
troops daily and encouraging them not
TO yield their gains. Tit Emperor Is In.
.pircd az present with a desire to defeat
the French army at ANY cost"
The Kaiser has been In France and
Belgium since his return from his visit
TO the Balkans. according to Berlin re.
ports quoted by the correspondent.
The Paris correspondent OF the Times
saws:
1T would seem to the French that
dynaSic rather than strategic reasons
led the Germans to choose the verdun
section for their effort. for nowhere, per-
haps. are the defences so formidable. II
In the custom to ridiculc the Crown
Princes strategy. but 1t is generally ad.
ml,ted that his men are the best dis
ciplined Of the German armies and that
there il no delay In meeting the Crown
Princes demands for reenforccments In
men and material. He has been very
heavily REINFORCED by the Nets army.
The element of surprise has been to-
tally missing from his operations. The
French have been long preparing to meet
this move. They too have been busy
bringing reserves to tho region and they
possess an amply sufficient supply OF
mon and artillery and "A General OF great
much to do with the reputation OF the
s~eventy.fve. and who has at his disposal
an enormous reserve OF shells.
what is feared il some fresh scden-
tiac deviltr!. such as the drst surprise
gas attack. bu, there are no signs %
far of such a surprise.
The French await the future with
caim confidence. There are indications
which In some quarters have led to the
theory that the war Ia reacting against
the s%tagnation imposed by trench war
fare. Artillery Are, IL Is argued. has
become SO terrific that the trenches
have become valueless. In some cases. as
q defence. Consequently there has been
. partial return for the moment to z
war of movement. IL II certainly clear
that this has been the case to a GER
c,riing.'
Regarding the outlook the correspond
Ont says:
severe Task for Gernaans.
".,,en should the unexpected happen
az ne whole first line fall into the
e.er.y's hands he would he confronted
WI 4 second and even more powerful
In. through Froidcterrc and Donau.
mo-. Behind that are third. fourth
ani even NTH positions. increasing In
stroVs;h as one approaches the fortress
p.?.r."
t. Paris CORES ondent OF the Time!
A4y~;
"t,itcr reports Of t.,e terrible natur,
= the German losses explain the salts
Soc. ion felt in official circles with thu
;,ru Of events.
-, eGch Co.onia!s succeeded to-day b!
q ,oun:cr attack in recapturing some .
tie ground lost in the Bots des Caures
a German officer taken prisone'
stated tina, at the beginning OF the Of
fcu,!vc his regiment comprised e.toO mel
and tina, there were only forty or tft!
lC.:. Two divisions. he said. sufere'
Practically the same fate"
The French War Office. while admit
ting the withdrawal from the villages
named and the loss of considerable ter
rain. points out that the French line:
have no, been broken at any point
Paris dispatches express confidence tina
the line will remain intact.
The German advance was made onl!
a. the cost OF heavy losses. according Il
the French communicates. and was ac
comrlished slowly. thereby giving I'M
F-onch opportunity to Withdraw In goo
order from those points which II wa!
found impossible TO hold without sui
'crng useless losses.
hattie Fought In Forest.
Tho French communicate this after
noon VAS as follows
In .Artois "A struggle with ~grenades
Is in p;ogress to the east of souchez'
Ia III. region north OF Nerdun inc
struggle continued all night with the
same Intensity along the right bank OF
the Mouse as far as Ornes. south OK
ne Orne River. owing to the violence
Of the Commandment of our advanced
position at ant-sur-Meuse our
t-oops have evacuated this village
under cover of night. protected by the
Aanh.ng fire OF our positions on the
lcft bank OF the Meuse. An attack
directed on Samogneux has been re-
pulsed.
a strong attack which VAS particle
pd'ed IN ny al least one prigadc was
launched by the enemy In the forest OF
CauIos. This attack succeeded In tax.
NIX one part Of the forest. We stu
hold tho southern end. All the onen-
sives directed against Beaumont. In
iron, of which We are establisheh.
aaNe failed to dislodGe w. TO Inc
o,s' ~ the front attack we hold our
rAu ia front OF Ornes. where our
forces hold a ravine situated TO the