The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1916-03-15
Alleges Lord N0rthcliffe,
Who Saw Fighting.
THE GERMAN TYPE OF SOLDIER
Is Deteriorating, He Says
Gambling With Life To In.
precedented Extent.
FIERCE FIGHTING AT vERDUN

| London, March 11.-L0rd North
cliffe, who has just visited the Yer
dun battlefield, in a message to tn,
Weekly Dispatch declares that Yer
dun is a great deal more interesting
than important. The newspaper pub
Usher continues:
at does not need a personal visit
to the battlefield to realize this. II
the Germans think that an attack
on the unarmed and dismantled
forts of Verdun opens the road to
Paris, they have a yer, faint notion
of the French preparations and the
French power of resistance"
Comparing the present German
troops with those who fought early
in the war, Lord Northcliffe says:
Last week / saw German pris-
oners who had escaped the hellish
fire of the French ISIS at Verdun.
Where had gone those splendid stall
warts captured at the battle of the
Marine? Much of the rank and file
now left of the Germans is under
sized and badly dressed, with faces
that bear a look of fright that seems
as if it would last a lifetime. Their
appearance is such as to move a
heart of stone. With two
excetions among those with whom I
spoke, all were utterly weary of
warfare and begged to be told when
peace could be expected.
1.-THE fact about the whole war is
that Germany is in the position of
besieged city, and she is striking
out blindly by land at Verdun. She
will presently, l am convinced,
strike out by sea-
Turning to the actual fighting at
verdun, Lord Northcliffe says:
Not a word is limited in anything
sent out from Germany of the horri-
Bile slaughter to which the German
.roops have been subjected this,
week. Thursday was black day
'or Germans when, drugged with
ether, the men came on in mass for
nation to be moved down by the
French ISIS and machine guns, as
Usual.
Reports published in the Eng
ish newspapers from Paris are to
ny personal knowledge on the
Whole most accurate. and they show
hat for one or many reasons the
Irown Prince is gambling with hu-
nan life to an extent unprecedented
wen in this war"
Lord Northcliffe asserts that IF
he Germans possess a number of
runs of greater calibre than those
Ised by the English and French,
hey have no weapons in their army
quail to the French IS, or gunners
t all comparable to the French
men,"
Discussing the Western theater as
whole, Lord Northcliffe says that
he "allied defensive wall right
cross France. insofar as attaining
ny definite military position is con-
erned, is absolutely impregnable
his remark may equally apply to
he German line across France and
Belgium"
A German Report.
Berlin, March 10.-The German
osses in the Verdun operations up
o the end of last week, though ac-
urately and officially still unknown.
re said to reach a total of only a
ew thousand in killed, wounded
md missing, according to state
nent obtained through an authori-
alive source.
This total includes the losses in
Irving the first breach in the
French position north of Verdun,
he capture of successive ridges of
his wood and the forest region
lown to the actual works of the
'ortress and the storming of Fort
but not the operations
IN the west bank of the river.
1t is interesting to contrast these
iRures, military officials point out,
With the fantastic accounts in some
" the French and English newspa-
'ers Of men being moved down so
hickly by machine gun and shrap-
lei fire that they had no room to
all and We're left standing in