Semi-weekly herald., 1916-12-28
The Herald Press Report Reaches You II Hours Earlier Tha

retaining supreme command Of the
French forces, became counsellor of
the war council. General Nivelle, de,
fender of Nerdun and one of the
popular heroes of the army was made
commander of the French forces in
the north andsnortheast.
While the French victory at Yer
dun take entirely by itself, stands
out as an unparalleled achievement
in the military history of the world,
yet its real significance in the pres
ent war, is orIY apparent when it is
view in connection with all that had
preceded it.
When the Germans launched their
great offensive at Verdun on Feb
ruary 2l, no secret was made of at
least two Of the objects which the
Germans had in view. One of these
was to prevent the Allies from start
ing their combined unique offensive
and the other was to deliver an alb
solute death blow to France.
While the Germans failed to reach
Verdun, and while their great effort
failed to prevent the launching of the
Allied offensive, yet they openly
hoasted that at least one Of their OBJ
iectives had been attained - namely
that they had caused France to bleed
utter exhaustion before Verdun and
that henceforward she would be in
capable of further military effort.
Despite this boast and despite the
losses which France undeniably sus-
tanned before yeidun, she launched
ON July lst, in connection with the
English the offensive on the Somme.
which has never been checked for a
single instant, and in which, in addi
tion TO all of the villages and ground
regained, all the losses in dead and
wounded inflicted On the enemy, the
French themselves. independent Of
what the English have done, have
captured over 5000 prisoners, over
800 cannon. and d--sssis eao--snfichins'
guns.
1t was while still conducting this
vigorous offensive on the Somme,
which the Germans had boasted
France would never be able to launch
as result of her losses at Verdun
that France on October "a, launched
even a second offensive this time
choosing the Germans own ground ar
Verdun where all of Germany's great
infantry and artillery strength had
been concentrated for eight months.
This offensive France launched
all alone, without the slightest help
from any of her allies and carried IL
to such a successful conclusion that
the Germans withdrew from the Fort
of Vaux without even fighting.
While this great operation at Yer
dun revealed to the entire world the
present military strength of France
after over two years of unprecedent'
ed warfare, it revealed also to the
more expert eyes of the military crit
les of Europe, something equally i'm
portant, and that is the present mil
itary genius of France. Almost with
out exception compentent military
critics and authorities in Europe are
unanimous in declaring the French
offensive at Verdun one of the most
remarkable military operations in
the worlds history.
The offensive as planned, included
the taking Of over half dozen po-
sitions, such as Haudromont Quar-
ries, Thiaumont and Douamount,
every one of which would ordinarily
be considered an objective in itself
for great offensive movement. The
including of all these objectives in a
single movement and the attainment
of them in six hours of fighting, is
conceded by European military crit
les to have only been possible by the
attainment of degree of co-ordina-
tion between infantry, artillery and
aerial service never before attained
and by the development of degree
of genius on the part of the French
commanders which shows France con-
clusively at the highest point of the
military power she has developed in
the present war.
OF the morale of the men who ac-
complished this great achievement, !
can speak personally. A few days
after the re-ocupation of Vaux,
visited the troops in their front line
trenches before the fort. They had
been there for days under terrific
bombardment suffering harships that
it seemed inconceivable that human
beings could sustain, living an exis-
tence that seemed to make the lot Of
their comrades whose dead bodies lay
wind and rain beaten in the adjacent
Oh all boIau oy,a IN ba dacirad and Dre-