Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-09-13
THE VERDUN EPuOGUE AND
lTALY'S EFFORT.

WIitl SIZE hdu ldllGQ 10 dCCOIlPllSli az
the Marine. In its first phase. between
February II n February 26. 1916. it
was an effort to break the French line
and crush h French spirit by Il dis
aster which should exceed the proper
tions of Sedan n rival German
achievement at the Dunajec in the pre-
ceding April.
After five days the French succeeded
in pinning down the German attack,
which had temporarily forced their line
and shattered their defense. and there
after the struggle became one of trench
warfare. The Germans, no longer able
to crush their way through the French
lines. sought to pound their way foot
by GOT and yard by yard, breaking
down French numbers and preventing
the use of French effectives in the
great offensive battle which was al
ready preparing at the Somme.
1t is interesting. now that the French
have taken the offensive and are re-
gaining ground at Nerdun. to recall the
stages OF the German advance. On
February 81 they broke the French
line on the east bank of the Meuse be
tween the own of Brabant, on the
Mouse, and Ornes. at the foot of the
Meuse hills: that is, on a front OF about
seven miles. The next day they had
advanced to the line OF S~anlogneuX,
Beaumont and BebonvauX. BY the 18th
of February they We're south of LouNe-
mont: they had taken Cote de Talou.
on the eastern side of the great sweep
ing bend OF the Meuse, and they had
captured Douaumont fort. And here
their great advance was checked. Be
tween the 25th of February and the last
of August their advance. made by con-
tinuous pounding at a terrible cost. took
them only to the ditch of the Fort de
SouViile and the edge of the village of
Bras, and gained them only Fort de
VauX. Meantime, on the western bank
of the river they had forced their way
in the same tim southwark over Le
Mort Homme and Hill 304. In six
months this advance had cost them
over 500. 900 in casualties, but at the
M when the French and British
attack at the Somme compelled them
to suspend operations Nerdun was actu-
ally at it's last ditch.
The Measure Of French Achievement.
After a long pause the French took
the offensive on the 25th' of October,
and at a single bound retook Douau-
mont. Vaux and all the ground which
the Germans had captured In sight OF
the intrenched camp OF Verdun, saw
only Vacherauville and the Cote de
Talou. EARLY in the following Deem
Der a second French forward push car
ried the French line to the front of
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: that is, APP
proxilnately to the line held by the Ger
on the 25th OF February. Last
week a fnal French push carried the
French on the west bank of the river
over Hill 304 and lie Mort Homme
northword to the FORCES Brook, while
on the east side of the river the French
occupied the ront of Samogneaux-Be-
and touched the outskirts OF
Beaumont valley. They now hold all
the high ground of the French original
position at Verdun and stand where the
INronnh had Cfnnd on tho OCr1 nf Enh-
ruary, the second day of the German
attack. Thus i'm three offensives, each
OF them extending over nc more than
two days. the French have retaken all
the ground of military Importance
which had occupied the Germans six
taken more than %, 900 prisoners and
nearly 200 guns. Here, in a very brief
compass, is the measure of the French
achievement at Nerdun. and it is a plain
indication OF the growing of
the German defense.
The Marine and Nerdun remain the
two great battles of this war as the
the French defeated a supreme effort
on the part of the Germans to crush
French military power and thus win
the war. The proof of German defeat
at the Marine was immediate. Eighteen
months elapsed between the German
attack at Nerdun and the final French
offensive which retook all the ground of
importance which the Germans had
taken in their drive. But it is impor-
tant to recall that in both the great
struggles between the French and the
Germans the French have been vic
torious. 1t is equally important to re-
call that it was only by the violation
broke into France. and that the ground
they now hold in France represents
fruit not Of military triumph but of
%treachery n dishonor. On the 'front.'
Ter between France and Germany,
which was open to a German attack in
August. 1914, the Germans have no.
where penetrated beyond the first line
OF French defenses, and both before
Verdun n before Nancy they have
suffered defeats which will be MEM
orable as anon the bloodiest in human
history.
The value of Verdun today, the sig
nificance Of the recent French success,
lies in the fact that it supplies an EN-
phatic answer to the German claim
that France was finished, French spirit
broker and France incapable and un-
willing to continue the war. Moral wall
ues have often greater Importance nan
military successes III the progress of
war. Petain's victory at Verdun last
week may easily prove n of the most
effective documents presenting the al
lied ease to the German people that
have yet come to life.
And in these two actions on the
IsonZo front and at Verdun we may
very justly see the answer of the Ital-
ian and French people to the papal pro-
posai for peace by negotiation. The
Italian answer will hardly surprise
either the Austrians or Germans. That
Italy vas prepared to continue the war
and would hear OF no peace shat did