The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-03-10
Battle Continues To Rage Along
Fep-Mile Front, With sIeutons
Z Making silght Gains AN BIG
Cost and Then Losing Ground
FRENCH COUNTER ATTACKS
B REAP APPALLING HARVEST
German Prisoners Taken BY Gal
Gailas Completely Broken and
Their Estimates sofe Kaisef's
Lssscs Increase Casualties
tAsrocis.sd Prsss by Federal wireless, ,

(AseoctRted Prsss by Federal wireisss.)
n ARTS, March 9.--The fury of the
- German offensive against the
- Verdih lines and the determita
ton OF the French counter offensites
continue unabated The hattie yester-
day raged along a ten.mile front, from
Bethjheourt to the Meuse and from the
Cote Tnlpu to the plains Of Douaumoht,
with the Germans making slight gains
sinlsome places at tremendous cost Ind
being repdlsesl disastrously along the
greater part of the hattleline.
N The French counter attack, aided by
the British guns, is developing and has
b. IN successful in reeapt0ring parts of
the trenches that were taken by the
-Gernans in the fighting of March 8,
Trenches Shelter Germans :,
North Of. yerdun, according to reports
issued by the French war Office last
night, the situation , is little il my
changed, with The terrific artillery FIR
ing continuing, but with the German
infantry holding close in its trenches.
The larger portion of the Corbeaux
woods, taken by tie Gerlnhns spme day
ago has been retaken by the French,
who report that the invaders are now
holding only small portion of the
|.western edge of the position To the
southeast Of Verdun, where there has
been some desperate fighting, the Ger
mans are reported to have reloccupiei
the Tedoubt9of abandonment, eight. miles
from the main fortress. 1F'7F|""
Fury Reigns At Douaumont - 49,"
The fighting around Douaumont fort
continues with undated fnry, the big
guns of the German army raining shells
upon the French limos which now have
retaken the plain upon which the bat,
tered and ruined fort stands. Tho
French seyentyrfves are returning the
bombardment, and strong counter Of
fensivess are being launched.
| Reports from the front say that Ger
man prisoners are completely broken
down by the tremendous campaigu
through which they have come, and til o
strain Of remaining for hours under
| artillery FIRE. Estimates of the German
losses made by these last prisoners ard
1 even higher than those reported by
| French authorities.
Whole Battahons Wiped Out
Whole battalions of infantry, they say,
have been wiped out of existence by
i the fire of the French machine-gnns.
Other infantry battalions engaged in
the assaults upon the French lines since
February 25, have lost between one
half ard one third of their numbers, and
the average of all infantry troops en-
i gagged in the various charges and at
tacks since the opening Of the present
offensive can not be less than two,
thirds of the effective strength.
Berlin Claims Successes
| Dispatches from Berlin claim further
successes by the Germans in engage
ments which are part Of the battle al
Verann, The French positions west o,
} the Meusc have been captured, on botI
/ sides Of FOrges brook and below Beth
iucourt, on a front six kiIometers wide
and three deep.
] The villages of Forges,- Regneville
the heights of Raben and the wood Of
Cumiers have been captured also. Thu
Germans today took 6fty eight officer,
AMI 3277 men and ten cannon. At Fres
mes the French were driven out and 7OI
prisoners taken. 40. |''
u #.