The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-10-04
CHEMIN-DES.DAMES
GREAT BATTLEFIELD
French Continue to Hold the Vantage
Points, Although They Are Very
Hard Pressed.

French Front, Oct. 4 correspondence
Ito say, 81 come from the battlefield
of the Chemin DIES Danes the Ladies
road-stamps a French soldier in the pop
ular mind to-day as hero. Verdun haC
seized the popular imagination owing t.
its position as the door through whicl
the Germans hoped to break to reach tn,
heart of France. Even the battle of Yer
dun, in which the French, by their long
suffering determination to resist, sue
ceeded in thoroughly defeating the Ger
mans, 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 retreat.
The outcome of this great battle has at
the date of writing not been finally de.
termined All that the correspondent of
The Associated Press, who has followed
the operations closely can affirm is that
the French, after their first capture of
the famous road with all its Observable
ries as result of their offensive 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 to resist successfully
all the furious counter attacks of the
Germans.
During the months of April, May, June,
July and August, the fighting has been
incessant. In the first attack bv the
French, when they started thei offensive
on the Aisne, about 10000 German pris.
oners and 200 cannons were captured
a. ho ell
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 four months there
has been a battle on a more or less ex.
tensive scale. The net result of these
fights is that the French to-day hold all
they gained at their first assault
The Germans have utilized on this bat
tlefront 40 divisions, which have been
sent in to the combat and withdrawn
when exhausted-tha is to say, when
division has lost in casualties at least
4 900 men. This gives roughly on the
German side 100000 casualties among
the front line troops, without taking into
account the killed and wounded caused
by the extremely heavy artillery fire d.
EGAtu bn lIC tIUts Oh communication IN
the area, in the period since the first
French assault on April IT, This is al
most double their losses before Verdun
during the similar period of 1916, when |
severe fighting was going on there
The character of the fighting ON the !
Shemin DIES Danes is totally different |
rom that at Verdun At Verdun it was
always possible to retire without great !
for certain distance
which may be called the manGvring area
owing to the nature of the ground
With its successive ranges of hills and
intervening valleys On the Chemin des
Danes, ii has been necessary to hold on
or should either side retire for more
han a few feet the other side gained the
dvantage of the observatories, permit
ing close watch over all that went on
n the adyersary's lines. There are here
10 definite lines of trenches, no fields of
arbed wire and no shelters, and the
wo adversaries are always open to sud
en- inroads and have to fight hand to
and to hold their positions.
The crest on which the Chemin des
lames runs is like a knife blade at
lany parts, over the edge of which the
nemy may not be allowed to peep. Till 81,
ow the French have always been able }
. retain their outlook over the edge :
nd, full of confidence in themselves, +,
hey intend to keep it until the time :
lmes for further advance.