The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-02-25
FicrccSt Battle Since That
Of lprcs in 1914 Rages
on Western Front.
GERMANS FIVE MILES
FROM GREAT FORT
Easy Range for HOwitzers.
but Hills May Make BOm-
harlmcnt Futile.
:OO.OOO IN BIG DRIVE
SPURRED BY KAISER
Whole Units Wiped Out by
Machine Gun Fire, but
Attacks Persist.
,pec,a ,obie Despatch to TuE sr>.


LoxpoN. Feb. 24.--rhe German drive
against the French fortress Of Nerdun
won further successes last night and to-
d,v with the capture of the four villages
Of Brabant- sur Meusc. Haumont. Samog-
neux and Ornes The capture Of Samog-
neux brought the Germans within five
miles of the nearest fort of the Nerdun
vroup, Fort Sauville. and at Ornes they
are about the same distance from Fort
UoIaumont.
The battle line. which the recent Ger
man gains had bent in the centre in
the wooded country north OF Beaumont
in,il It resembled a loosely drawn letter
NJ" has now been Strengthened. the
French Withdrawing under pressure from
Brabant-sur- -Meuse. Haumont and sam
orueuN on the western flank and from
crnes on the eastern. Beaumont. which
forms the basis of the present French
centre in this salient. is still holding out
againSt repeated desperate attacks.
The Germans are now in positions
from which their artillery fire might
reAch the Nerdun forts. and at the same
time they are withln range OF 'he rre"'h
fortress artillery. The country. however.
. 80 hilly that effective bombardment
would he difficult il not impossible. They
have been Withln range oi 'he Neiuui'
forts before. earlier IN inc war ana the
guns of the Verdun fortifcations were
men in action.
Germans Multiply Attacks.
Tn. official commuuiatI, issued by the
r>.,.,, w.. ,,fHc. ,n-nipb, follows
We executed a concentrated fire on
IT, enemy organizations west of the
Mtisons de- Champagne ana south oil
sautc Marie-a-{S.
Va tie Argonne destructive hre
w. directed AGAINST 'he 'erfhah
~> AZ LA fllIe Nor'e'
'h ih" region hort" oi ,e'uu'. ''e
e'int '"hthued 10 op'i'"aIu 'u'
go" '"e HtuSe 10 pom Hou'N 20
tu'"| VIVA ,he sahN I'M, ia,
a'''''' a. uN"! ~, 10. na,1s
eh ,'"''"''ur. ,r anu Wv, ',, haan
." IN ,hIs r.g;op
,,,h, harl, of tho
-. 80 ,.,,,,, dtsn,avea
- ,,,,,' ns an ,ha nrcccdire day
AL ,,,,,,,iniisd his violent attacks.
i..,,n n,' ,ha ground heans of dead
lt..in All "a II.
l,. H.. wings W.. hay, brought back
rc.,> o, ,h, o,hc, to a point south
o. 'iN'S. 'ur aIti'ie'! i"S ''P"
"'t'l' rest 10 the enemy
'ii l-'i anne we repu'Se" anu p
-" "H enemy TcVo'ino''' nus ~
'.a' "iicuhted 10 approach o'% 20 ""
~ 's"d posts horth "i 81 M"''''''
'nrr"dt"ie reT"c'''
PN.f4 accounts +. ceived from Neldun
to-, pit Aid little TO the official COM
,,,,r.,pas Thev state that the fighting
can, .ri,,I,v increasing and that its
f.roc.,,. 10 incr.dihle
r..,. ~ pa,,.g., u,i,ipp In the
yn,.5, r.'n,,, ,b., Tho Germans will
.,o, .,..L ,I, -, a,,,oLs e.s,ward and
ao,,,o uhich ha
,, t ,,,,aoass,riIy nor.
49, ,,, - 49,, ,d,an,age
.,. on ir,a,io,
"'' !"
, TO-, ,oo,
'''' 'S'""'' op''''o',' M"'N' " i,,,,r
'.''" '' ''Tdr" ''e ',a",n go,
'.' ''"' oi r'e'" ''"'
I''0''N'' IN ''ahc'a' ,o,'"H
"'- '' '"Hht tne Poss.p,'''E VI
'" .'. fuoh' commence =,
."''. mere nave pe.n II" r''"'H VI
"ou'I'0 iu unusual numbers yet
"""'""" "'rm""s ." ""'"'
H. Iars correspondent of TIE SrS
'elceranb- th4, tho consensus in Paris
!. t.r rho German attempt at Nerdur
A. d.,. ,.r,,.d int, III. ,pnsi SoriDuS bat