Paris, March 4. The French commander at Verdun is General Petain, who was on the eve of retiring with the rank of colonel when the war broke out.
Physically he is very active and he is adored by his soldiers, March 5.
The official communique issued this afternoon reports:
In the region of Verdun the struggle which hitherto has been localized to the village of Dousumont has extended. The Germans, at dusk yesterday, very vigorously attacked our lines from Bois Haudremont to Fort Douaumont. Their attacks Were repulsed by our curtain fire and rifle-fire.
The bombardment continued the whole night long, with the same intensity, on the whole front eastward of the Meuse and westward of Mont Homme and Odte de Lolo.
There was a very violent bombardment north of Verdun, notably between Bois Haudremont and Fort Douaumont. The enemy, however, did not renew the attack. There was no change at the village of Douaumont, of which we hold the immediate outskirts. A German tack on our advanced positions in the wood cast of Vacherauville was completely repulsed.
There was a heavy bombardment in the Woevre, in the region of Fresnes, and east of Haudremont.
Our artillery was very active along the whole front and cannonaded the enemy marching north of Vacher-an-Ville, near Bois Fosses and on the outskirts of Louvemont.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.