El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-10-06
FIGHT Battle
EVE3Y4DAYS
FOR ROADWAY
French Gain Possession of
Road Germans Need for
Retreat North.
MEN WHO FOUGHT
FOR ROAD HEROES

- RENCH FRONT. Oct. ito say =
X come from the battlefield Of the
4 Chemjn des Dames'-the Ladies
Road-stamps a French soldier in the
popular mind today as a hero. Verdun
lad seized the popular imagination,
owing TO its position as the door
through which the Germans hoped TO
break TO reach the heart Of France
Even the battle OF Verdun, in which
the French. by their long suffering
determination 20 resist, succeeded in
thoroughly defeating the Germans, is
considered by some observers a lesser
operation than that Of the Chemin des
Danes. whose possession means the
command Of the great road to the
north by which the Germans must re-
treat
The French. after their first cap
ture Of che famous road with all its
observatOries as q result Of their Of
fensive begun on April 10, have been
able TO hold all their gains, to inflict
almost unbelievable losses on the
picked troops Of the crown princes
army and 70 resist successfully all the
furious counter attacks of the Ger
mans.
Battle Every Four Days.
During the months OF April, May,
June, July and August the fighting
has been incessant. In the first attack
by the French. when they started
their offensive on the Aisne, about
10000 German prisoners and 200 can
non were captured. Since then attack
has followed attack. either from the
French or the Germans, and when the
total OF these operations is summed
Up the result IS shown that every four
days during the -FOUR months there
has nanm hattie less
extensive scale The net result Of
these fights is that the French today
hold all they gained at their first as
sault
The Germans have utilized on this
battlefront - divisions, which have
been sent I'm 10 the combat and with
drawn when eXhausted-that is 10
say, when division has lost in cas-
ualt5es at least 1000 men. This gives
roughly on the German side 10000
casualties among the front lire
troops, without taking into account
the killed and wounded caused by the
extremely heavy artillery fire direct
ed on the lines Of communication in
the rear in the period since the first
French assault on April 10. This is
almost double their losses before Yer
dun during the similar period OF 1916. I
when severe fighting was going on
there
Is Hand to Hand Fighting.
4 ne GAALAE-EL OF L4E LlE4LlL4 on LlE
Chemin des Danes is totally different
from that at Nerdun. At Verdun il
was always impossible to retire with
out great disadvantage for a certain
distance-which may be called the
maneuverinE area-OwinE TO the ma
ture Of the ground with its successive J
ranges Of hills and intervening val
levs- On the Chemiu des Danes it'll
has been necessary TO hold on. for
should either side retire for more than
a few feet the other side gained the
advantage OF the obserVatOries. per I
hitting a close watch over all that
went on in the adversary's lines. ]
There are here no definite lines Of I
trenches, no fields of barbed wire and I
no shelters. and the two adversaries !
are always open to sudden iuroads
and have to fight hand to hand to I
hold their positions.
The crest on which the Chemin des /
Danes runs is like a knifeblade at /
many parts, over the edge Of which .
the enemy may not be allowed to /
peep. TIL now the French have al
WAYS been able TO retain their out
look over the edge, full Of confidence
in themselves, they intend to keep il I
until the time comes for o further ad- /
Correspondents OF the Asso-
ciated Press)