Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1916-04-24
Easter Battle Shows Ger
mans Cannot Capture
Verdun
TERRIBLE SLAUGHTER
Fer More Than Thirty Hours Slopes
of Mort Homme Have Been Drench..
cd in Blood

Paris April 2A-Nothing in this wa
so far is comparable to the stupen
dous fury of the Mort Homme batti'
which has been raging fiercely TO,
the past 80 hours.
The German Crown Prince is pilins
up regiment after regiment on the
blood-drenched slopes of that sinister
hill, which is likely to prove the
graveyard of the German hopes Of
capturing Verdun.
At the beginning of the week the
French held the crest of Dead Mans
Hill, hut the Crown Princes batter.
les swept it with such a devastating
fire that General Petain withdrew his
front line to the southwest, south
and southeast slopes.
Tho Germans, at this time, held
the north and northwest slopes and a
position similar to that at Hartman
sweilerkopf was established, with
both sides unable to occupy the sum-
nit.
On Thursday, however, General Pc
tain sprung surprise attack on the
northern slopes, which gave him the
German trenches, his troops holding
them against several sharp counter
attacks.
The Crown Prince refused to accept
the result of Thursdays battle as
final and on Friday night he deliver
cd series of staccato blows which
:i.sstcya until dawn. During this fight,
ing some of the Saxons gained pos
session of General Petain's trench or
the northern slopes, but speedy
countcr-attack threw them out.
After this repulse to his infantry
the Crown Prince ordered his guns
into action. A furious fire covered
every inch of the terrain between
Mort Homme and the Bethincourt
Brook.
One regiment leaped from then
trenches and dashed across the inter-
val between the trenches, but so COM
pletely did the French cannons and
machine guns cover the ground that
the attack was doomed to instan'
failure.
A second regiment Of Silesians was
then ordered to advance. 1t got fur
ther; than the first, only to suffer
heavier losses. The Silesians fell
thick and fast until the!A survivors
dropped to their stomachsrand crawl
cd back to their own trenches.
This brigade's losses arefestimated
at 40 per cent, or 1000 men, Gener.
nl Pctain still holds Mort Homrne in
firm grip. /.
The lesson of all the fighting in ting
latter part of the week is that th1
Germans are now powerless to quelI
the French gunfre, and probably il
is not an exaggeration to say thai
General Petain now has has dec'
siyc superiority in this vital respect
In other words, the Easter Battle has
shown once for all time that thu
Grown Prince cannot take Verdun.
A bloody episode before Fort Vau'
on the eve Of Good Friday demon
strated as clearly as the Mort HON
me battle the deadly work of tht
French batteries.
The Russian general commands
there packed his trenches with 10,
600 men in readiness for great at
tack, but a few minutes before i
was planned to open word reached tn
French commander of the impending
danger.
A swift telephone message to th'
rear unleashed every French gun ant
within 60 seconds their fire was con
centrated on the compact mass o
Germans huddled in their trenche
in momentary expectation of an orde
to attack.
Every shell took terrible toll il
this work of slaughter and the Who'll
brigade, instead of attempting t
storm Fort Vaux, had to be sent t
tho rear to reform.