Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-27

VIII always ne remembered Ns a mas
terpiece Of soldicrship
As was the cas- before the breaking
Of the russians on the Dunajetz, the
hills and woods were used TO conceal
the fun proportions of a colossal ac-
cumulation Of artillery and shell. The
enemy not only bettered the example
of the allies IN Champagne and Artois
during the september battles. but
went beyond il to staggering extreme
only made possible by equal audacity
and labor Roads were made through
the woods and UP the slopes, firm
foundations were laid down, the heavy
guns We're dragged up As a result Of
these weeks of incredible toll, there
We're massed on narrow sector
over thousand guns, over half
uf them aetuHlly consisting, IL is
said, Of pieces ranging from twelve
inch 20 sevenfeen-inch. when these
unparalleled batteries belched out
their drum fire AGAINST the French
the tops and slopes of the hills were
smashed and torn until the face Of
nature became dance of distortion.
The Germans had the range Of every
thing in sight before opening with
their concealed mass Of metal.
Hi.-rhe storming of Douaumont.
The progress of their infantry in
the first few days was a matter Of
course in these circumstances. The
marvel is not that the Germans hoped
to reach Nerdun itself, but that in the
first few days after the surprise by
weight they went no further. From
that point let us take up the thread.
By Friday week the Bochcs had
broken over ridge after ridge Of this
tumbled country Of troughs and
crcsts. They were at several points
within four miles Of Ncrdun ON Fri
day evening they had won the heights
overlooking the loop OF the Meuse.
They threatened Pepper hill, giving
further command of the shortest road
along the river Above all, they were
established late at night only few
hundred Yards from the shell of the
dismantled fort browning the main
hill of Douaumunt The Germans re-
solved to carry that point at any cost.
and were well placed on two sides
for the attack.
They made ready during the night.
At z O'Clock on Saturday morning the
crest was ravaged by an internal con-
centration of fire. Seventeen-inch
hoWit2ers smashed up the fixed works,
whence the French long since had
happily removed the guns. After an
hour picked corps were launched to
the assault Exalted with ether they
came on over the snow in the light
of the winter morning in heavy force
with the last degree of methodical
bravery Their foremost ranks were
rent ana mown by the French guns,
bat they SO out numbered the defend
crs that enough Germans were left
to win the head and shoulders of the
hill and the Brandenburgers carried
the fort
Then the German staff had its pre-
mature seizure in a way that suggests
the kaser's own impulse. A special
bulletin was issued declaring that
pouaumont Is fast In our hands"
The Wolff agency. with inflated rhet-
oric, announced to the world that
with Douaumont had fallen one of
the main pillars of the chief line of
foruiicauons round Nerdun. The
kaiser, remembering perhaps the
hclligerent allocutions he used to adj
dress annually to his faithful Bran
denburghcrs in the early years of his
reign. lelegraphed in praise of the
province which has been to Prussia
almost what prussia has been to Ger
many. The imperial message sug-
gested that a historic success had
been won over the hereditary enemy.
Berlin and other towns broke out into
bunting. There had been no such
moment since they thought Calais
was To be their own; or az least since
the Berlin newspapers declared last
August that IL would soon be "a Holt
day IN the east. and a triumphal pro-
cession to Moscow and Petrograd.
IN.-tn Extraordinary Sequel.
The SEQUEL was extraordinary In
the story of war. General Petain, in
temper worthy of the Iron Duke,
had stood the shock ana reserved his
utmost effort until the Germans had
made theirs The enemy was rush.
ing up fresh divisions in the hope of
seizing the decisive moment to force
progress These reinforcements. torn
by our allies guns. were ripped to bits
when the French reserves. brigade
after brigade swept out right and left
for the counter-attack. They avoid
ed the crest of Douaumont cleared
both shoulders of the Hill, advanced
beyond recovered the village, and
from the Cote du Poivre. above the
Mouse. to the sleeps Of the Woevre,
established themselves on both sides
far ana wide upon a line which the
Germans, despite their most desper-
ate efforts were never again able 10
break IN the first phase OF the bat
a