The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-08-21
French Victors at Verdun.

positions.
French Victors at Verdun.
The drive comes exactly two weeks
after the English attack in Flanders
threatened the German northern holo
on the coast.
While these two huge offensives de-
veloped today, the battles around
Lens, Arras. st. Quentin, along the
Aisne and at Moronvillers continued
with undated intensity.
Germany made her supreme effort
in concentration of men and of artil-
lery in the 1915 assault on Verdun.
No offensive had ever reached the in
tensity of this one. But the French
assault of today, in the identical sec
tor. had surpassed it.
The combined French and German
artillery brought into the play of
death is probably the greatest concen-
tration of weapons for a single attack
the whole war has yet seen. During
Sunday nights final artillery prepara-
ton by the French, altho it was cloudy
and the French military rules strictly
forbade the slightest glimmer of arti-
fetal light. 1 was able to leave Verdun
at midnight and proceed to an obser-
walton point greater. distance from
the city than sDouaumont, as my way
was lighted by countless thousands of
gun flashes. Giant artillery kept the
night continual light. 1t was as tho
a million lightning flashes blended
into one cataclysmic Shock. The ar
tillery gave light enough for the
French artillery to advance with every
pockmark of No Mans Land visible.
Germans Use 15-Inch Guns.
The Germans brought into action
giant 800 millimeter Fifteen inch)
shrapnel shells. High in the air they
exploded with a great outburst of
flame and their brilliance outshone
even the flaming red of the countless
or 10 ~ Of
dazzling bursts the whole air seemed
filed with long dragon shaped tails
puncturing the blacklist sort of smoke
the exploding shrapnel bits.
The French had taken the German
first lines in an amazingly short time
after leaping over the parapets. The
Germans sent out hurry calls and
massed great reserves, but in vain
Later special stosstruppen units (pick-
ed storming troops) were assembled
for counter attacks-Several at Beau
mont alone.
Spectacular Aero Attack
In all the hell of fire in the air, one
picture stood out vividly, it was an
attack made by German airplane on
a French observation sausage balloon
The French observer leaped out of his
basket but his parachute caught on
the edge, leaving him suspended hun
dreds of feet over the earth. The
German flyer darted back and deluged
the air with a hail of machine gun
bullets as French soldiers down below
pulled frantically to bring the saus-
age down. When the balloon was
server was Observation-Disclosures
unframed.
$4,000 Prisoners Already.
Nearly $4,000 prisoners already
have been counted by the French and
Italians and doubtless this number will
10 io1 1xr tod xxy1A full
details of the fighting are at hand.
In addition, the Germans and Aus
TRANS lost heavily in men killed or
wounded, and in guns and machine
guns captured
The new territory taken by the
French embraces positions that have
literally weltered in French and Ger
man blood in battles that have waged
to and fro since the German crown
prince started his most costly enter
prise, the attempt to take [Verdun,
which resulted in utter failure as a
military maneuver, and cost the lives
of tens of thousands of his men.
Notable among the captured posi-
tons are the Avocourt wood. two sum-
mits of LIE Mort Homme, the Corbeaux
wood and the Champneuville, all OF
which were held Notwithstanding vi
| cious counter attacks by the Germans
which were broken up by the French
fire with heavy casualties to the
/ enemy.
Many German Deserters.
Prisoners who poured back behind
| the lines in a steady stream today
were authority for the statement that
| an average of a hundred Germans
deserted each day during the week
fearfully concentrated French artil-
| lery preparation for the attack. They
| described the effect of the French
| shells as nerve shattering. Germans
| in, ha Iira f7aI
crazed from the inferno of noise anc
| death around them. Scores crawleo
away from their positions rather thar
face the French bayonets after sucf
an artillery pounding.
-. CEI,NhNc TIIRnuN RACK