Evening star., 1916-12-16
Nivelle Man of Hour.


lief to the gloomy tidings from Rumania-
Gen. Nivelle is the man of the hour. His
latest achievement justifies. it is felt. his
choice as comma nder-in-c chief and augurs
well for the future.
The French plan of attack was drawn
up by Gen. Nivelle, now the Commander
in-chief, with the concurrence Of Gen
Petain. who at the time was his superior
officer. The assault proper was ieft 70
Cen Mangin 1t was made by five d.
visions or close to 100000 men. under
command of such leaders as Gen. dc
Maud Huy and Gen. Du Passage.
The front which the French infantry
had held since the recapture of Douau-
mont and Vaux ran thus: The southern
slopes of Pepper hill, east of the Meuse.
between Bras and Vacherauville; Hau-
dromont wood. Haudromont quarries tho
region north of the village Fort Douau-
mont. the quarries northeast OF Fort
Douaumont, the small wood southeast OF
Fort Douaumont H3rdaurlont WOOD; tne
village of Vaux and the Fort of Vaux.
Behind that line Gen. Nivelie had dis
tributed groups of powerful ba teres.
which for seventy hours before The attack
hammered the German Positions. paI,ic1-
larly tho.e on Pepper hill and at Hardau-
mont and B.zonvauN.
Necessary to Improve Line.
From the positions occupied by tho
French it may be seen tn I they were
installed on a series of heights. some
dominating the German positions, but
others being under the direct fire Of
their opponents. To improve and
strengthen their line it was necessary
to wrest from their adversaiy the
famous Pepper hill, Louvemont, the
crest of Hill 272 which com nands
Fosses wood. La Bauche ard iiasscute
wood. north of Douaumont fort. as ven
-lrE- n IN
mont. west of Doua mont and o II
of Vaux, and if possible the viliaS- CT
BeZonvauX. most OF whose houses are
in the Woevre. TIE ,hlrch of this
Hill 329, upon the o he.~ side "t h, n
lies the village of . res. one of the
first towns carried bg the Germans at
the beginning OF their victorious
advance.
Promptly at 10 a. m tn five attack
ing divisions each of which coVerel
a front OF oae and O le-Gua"fe miles.
advanced behind the screen ire oc
guns of all calihers. They sWarme1
rapidly into th. German trenches Tue
German troops in these posit'o 'ons. sur
prised by the suddennes' OF the ATTACK.
off ed comparatively little resistance.
Cheer as They Attack.
In the village of Nacherauville where
the Germans had installed quantity
of machine guns the struggle was
sharp, but none the less short. More
to the east the French formations
charged the slopes of Pepper hill.
CARRYING all before them. AS they
rushed TO the attack the soldiers
cheered and from time to time the
.MarseillaIse." roared by the strong
throated poilus. could be heard above
the chorus of the cannon.
With Vacherauville and Pepper hill
lost, it became evident to the Germans
that resistance would be futile, and
they retired in fairly good order, On
the Vacherauville-B Beaumont road how
ever French troops suddenly appeared
in the rear of the Germans. The Fiench
had crept along a small ravine running
from Pepper hill to this ROAD. On; see
ing the French the Germans bolted.
throwing away rifles knapsacks and
pouches From the top of the hill the
french could see them running, and.
shouting with joy. they dashed after
hem.
Trenches Choked With Prisoners.
Half an hour later the French
.eached the extremity of the Louve-
mont crest, close to the village of the
,ame name. There they Joined hands
With the formations which had started
rom Haudromont wood and had pro-
,ressed almost as rapidly along tho
3ras-Louvemont road. Louvelnont was
tormed out of hand and a large con-
ingent of prisoners was rounded up.
By this time the Germans were sur
endering freely - 1Aeq[ the lnA ana