Paris, Feb. 26.
An eyewitness of the fighting north of Verdun, describing the fury of the German assaults, says that he saw a whole brigade ad-vaneing in massed columns on the 22nd caught by the fire of the French batteries and practically annihilated instantaneously. Nevertheless the Germans did not desist and they made eight successive at-tecks on Thursday near Hatmont, each of which was repulsed with enormous losses. Two regiment wore decimated by the fire of three batteries of 75's which suddenly unmasked. The survivors, panion stricken, fled.
High German officers estimate the German losses to be greater than any sustained in any battle on the Western Front up to the present.
London, Feb. 26.
French newspaper correspondents agree that never was a battle so minutely prepared or an army 80 abundantly supplied with materials for a victory as the Germans at Verdun. Even the tremendous cannonade of the Allies preparatory to their offensive in Champagne was only a discharge of squibs compared to the artillery bombardment at Verdun, which has distorted the local geography by throwing up hillocks and digging crevasses.
The two Army Corps commanded by the German Crown Prince have been reinforced by five fresh corps drawn from the Eastern Front.
The first phase of the battle wes fought in the air. La this the French scored, bringing down seven aeroplanes and a Zeppelin and securing their communications.
Then followed intense bombardments and infantry assault, Up to the present the net result is that the French centre yielded to the tremendous pressure and the new straightened French line is now based on a naturally strong position on the hills, which are 1,000 ft. high, supported by miles of solid field' works based on Douaumont Fort, The Germans are at present' 10 miles distant from Verdun.
Though the fury of their assault has slackened it would be premature to say that their offensive has ended after the vastness of their preparations, but the hardest fighting will be necessary before the Germans can hope to reach the main defences of Verdun.
The terror of the next German attack was so loudly proclaimed recently that the French anticipated that some monstrous invention would be revealed, but the actual event thas shown nothing nower than the Mackensen phalanx.
It is believed that fear of an approaching grand offensive by the Allies on all fronts underlies the desperate stroke of the Germans,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.