Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-06-01
FRENCH GAIN HOLD
ON GERMAN LINES
Take 400 Meters of Trenches
to the Southeast of
Dead Man Hill.
MOMENTOUS BATTLE
CONTINUES UNDATED
Paris Insists That First Line West
of the Meuse Is Still
Unbroken.

LONDON, June 1.-The momentous
battle at Verdun shows no sign OF
slackening in violence, but the latest
official reports. in contrast with most
of those issued during the last rev
days. record no further advances from
the Germans. but gains for the French.
In an attacg on German positions
southeast of Dead Man hill, on tne Yer
dun front. the French obtained foot
hold in the German first-line trenches
over an extent of 400 meters, the Ber-
lin war office admitted today. The
French made repeated assaults on the
German lines, but other than that at
the point mentioned were beaten on
The center of the bitterest fighting
has shifted somewhat to the southwest
of the front. between Cumleres ana
Dead Man hill, west of the Meuse.
where the Germans have scored most
Of their recent gains.
Dead Man hill. or tie ground In It's
Immediate vicinity. has been the scene
of the latest infantry engagements.
The Germans attacked the French po-
sitsons here last night, but were com
plstely repulsed. according to this aft
er7foon's bulletin from Paris, the Ger
man defeat following success Tor the
French achieved yesterday when they
position southwest of the hill.
Unoficial reports from Paris point to
the growing intensity OF the desperate
struggle at Verdun. They declare, how
forts of the Germans the French first
line west of the Meuse is still un-
broken and that the Germans must
score further advances before they can
force the main issue by carrying the
battle to the opposite bank of the
Meuse, where the Bras-Douaumont-
vaux line continues to bar a direct ad-
vance upon the fortress.
French omcial Report.
The text of the French statement of
today follows:
"On the left bank of the River Meuse
the bombardment continued with great
violence last night in all the territory
around Dead Man hill. A determined
German attack, delivered yesterday
evening at o'clock, against our posi-
tions upon the eastern slopes of the
hill. was completely repulsed by our
fire.
"On the right bank of the river the
artillery fighting has become exceed
ingly intense to the west and also east
of Fort Douaumont.
THE night passed in relative quiet
along the remainder of the front.
During the night of May 31-June 1
a French air squadron threw down
twenty shells on the railroad stations
of Thiaonville. Audun and LIE Roman.
and fifty other shells upon the commits
sary headquarters of the enemy at
Azannes."
British Communication.
The following British official communi-
cation was issued early this morning:
Despite the unfavorable weather Tues
day our aeroplanes did good work. Tues
day night the enemy bombarded our
trenches about Fricourt, north and south
of Neuve Chapelle and east of Laventie.
The bombardment about Neuve Chapelle
was very heavy. 1t lasted eighty min
utes and was followed by an infantry
raid which penetrated our trenches and
took some of our men prisoners. The
raiding party subsequently was driven
out. East of Laventie another raiding
party attempted to enter our trenches
but was driven back by our bombers.
During the night the enemy sprang
mine just north of the Bethune-La Basse
road and our troops occupied the near lip
Of the crater. There also was some un-
important mining activity about Loos
"wednesday hostile artillery was active
against our position about Fricourt An
thuelle, Souchez, Arras, Neuville, ST
Vast and Loos. Our artillery effective
ly engaged hostile batteries in the neigh
borhood of Souchez and Lieuvin and bonn
barded enemy positions south Of the Bois
Grenier. Our trenches about Ypres were
shelled intermittently during the day."
Greatest Teutonic Effort.
PARIS. June More complete ac-
counts reaching here from Verdun
show that the battle which ragged from
ing to a statement of the French war
office, in a costly check for the Ger
mans, was the greatest effort made by
the Teutonic forces in the whole Yer
dun operations. More and heavier
guns and denser masses of troops were
assembled along the three miles of the
French front from Hill 3O4 to the
Meuse than in any previous attack.
The French stood firm under an ava
lanch of shot and she'll and drove back
wave after wave of flood of Teutonic
infantry. They only surrendered about
100 yards of ground at Little eau
rettes wood, where a trench had been
obliterated by the terrific fire of the
German big guns.
According to information given by
prisoners the German forces consisted
of two fresh brigades with three COM
the latter troops was to work around
Cumieres and reach the Chattancourt
village by the road running parallel to
the railroad.
Proves Costly Failure.
In the meantime two other regiments
were ordered to creep along the bank
of the river and seize the Chattancourt
railroad station. to the west of the viii
lage Another brigade was instructed
to storm the woods and hedgerows
which border Chattancourt to the west
while other detachments, acting still
farther to the west, were to support the
attack In the opinion of French mill
tary critics the result was not only a
costly failure for the Germans, but a
success for the French, such as they
have rarely attained.
The Germans suffered SO heavily that
they ceased further attacks, while the
French, by a prompt counter attack. re-
themselves again south of
Cumieres and won an important point
of vantage on the southwestern slope
Of Dead Man hill.
1t develops that during yesterdays
battle west of the Meuse the Germans
sent back the French line between Dead
Man hill and Cumieres for a distance of
three quarters of mile. The French
however, which had retired
before the unprecedented artillery fire,