Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1916-03-08
G,ea' Piles Of Dead
Nothing Like Such an Expenditure Of Mu-
nltions Ever known Before.

! SEMI cmclRlly 6na6 the basele q
Verdun continued yesterda
throughout TIE day with tFe sam
. intensity and without causing an,
f change in the respective position
Of the opposing armies, FighsinI
is still going on for definite pcs
session of the village of Douau
; mont.
The situation as result of thi
second phase of the German often
sive. is regarded a. altog& ther diff
ferent from that of ths first days
battle. The only progress made
by the Germans was daring the
first two days of the second attack
For the last 46 hours they have
not advanced. This information
FROM semi.ofdcisl sources points
out that it must be demorallzlng
TO the Germans to see 10000 TO
$4,000 oorpsss ef their comrades,
lying before the French lines.
Renfoirosmsnts brought up by
the Germans since the inaugura-
tion of the se:ond phase of the
bat lie On Wednesday are estimat.
ed here at 25O,O0O men, raising
the total forces utilized by ths as
sailarss to more than 100000.
Estimates Of ltsses show wide
varlance. Details of local actions
and the size of the reserve forces
brought up cause French obssrv.
ers TO make the deduction that
ths Germans have paid a very
heavy price for the six square
miles OF ground they have gained.
In front cf the village of Vaux,
alone, 1000 German oorpses were
counted after the eighth unsuccess.
ful attack. This pars of the bat
tie overshadowed b. the fight for
Dauaumont 10 regarded In Paris
as serious check fer the ATTACK.
ers. TIE Germans carried on the
assault With great courage until
tie dead lay thick o. the field.
Then tie off cers, it is said, were
compelled TO urg, OH the troops
ss they olambered over the corpses
of their fallen comrades for she
last sssaulss.
The attack Oh Vaux began on
the evening of March 2. after
farooious shelIing, AID continued
until the following night Columns
of Germans advanci simulsane-
ously fro n the north aud north .
west tried to eavslop the village.
French artillery Immediately
otened a heavy fire which seper
ated the 6rst wave of Germans
from their reiuforcements. Never.
theless the fresh troops came on
ard observers saw plainly the
tragic spectacle of liz es of men
plunging into that storm of steel
and emerging thinned to half
their strength. Some contlngents
lost six out of every tea men be-
ore even having fred shot. The
survivors undau ted, resolutely
ktormed she French trenches and
fought hand.to-hand in fierce
melees at the outskirts of the
village. The bitterest fighting
was for possession of the road
leading to Dauaumont, the advan.
tage of which was obvious. The
Germans charged eight times
there. The supreme effort vas
carried out by his hix regiments.
advanoing in close formation.
French machine guns did grue-
some execution in the mass and
French infantry, held carefully
under cover until the advancing
force approached the trenches,
leaped out to meet the onEush
with cold steel. The fighting was
finished in a few minutes. The
Germans retired, leaving hun
dreds torn and tangled in the
barbed- wire defenses and thous
ands laid low by machine gun
shots and bayonets.
| Az the battle procssds, the
strategy of General Petsln, French
commander at Verdun, is being
compared more and more careful.
ly with that of General Oastelnau
in the battle of Nsnoy. Genera
Petsin's withdrawal of the Dauau,
mont plateau was like Genera
Castsll.su's withdrawal to the
plateau of Amance, away from
the heaviest blows of the sdyer
sary to a dominating position
from which all afforka failad n