CARNAGE AT VERDUN CONTINUES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2780, 26 May 1916, Page 5

CARNAGE AT VERDUN CONTINUES

' ATTACK ONHAUDROMONT-DOUAUMONT SECTOR SMALL FOOTING GAINED AT FRIGHTFUL COST - The High Commissioner reports:— ■ ~ . . London, May 21, i.5 p.m. ~ T J II tJ ! a Champagne region the Genu mis, favoured by 'gas, attempted to enter fne,l l rench lines west of Navarin, but were thrown back into their trenches bv our curtain of fire. . * "On the left bank of the Meuse tho Germans attempted iu the course of the night a powerful offensive east of Mort Homme. After foot-by-foot; fighting the tneray penetrated, at cost of important sacrifices, the village of Cumiercs and one ot our trenches immediately to the westward. I're»h information shows that the strength of the enemy's effectives in the of Mort Homme smce Sunday has exceeded threo divisions. On the right bank, artillery preparations and attacks have both been purBuad uith eqiiaL violence m\the Haudromont-Douaumont region. In spito of tho carnage and the sacrifice of countless human lives, the enemy's attack only succeeded in gaining a footing m some portions east of tho fork All attempts fire 0l ;F western positions and on the fort itself were shattered by our ENEMY kEOCCUPIES FORT DOUAUMONT FRENCH RETAIN THE IMMEDIATE APPROACHES. - The High Commissioner reports:— o-n , m- , London, May 25. 125 a m _ Aj French official message states that:-"Oil the left bank of the Meuse the lnfaalry action east of Mort Homme'was continued. On several occasions our artillery stopped the enemy from debouching from the village of Cumiercs Dur]>y ™ troops enabled us "(in the.right bank there was a bombardment of redoubled violence near Fort Douaianont, about which the enemy is particularly stubborn. All day, furious successive attacks, led by two divisions of Bavarians, newly arrived on this front were gushed forward, and after several unsuccessful attempts, with enormous losses,, the enem.v reoccupied .the ruins of thejfort, to which wo hold the immediate approaches. At the same moment,, an attempt to storm our positions at Cail;lette wood completely failed under our ourtain of shrapnel and infantry fire." tHE SURPRISE ATTACK ON FORT DOUAUMGNT . ' ' By Telegraph-Press Association-Copyright ("Times" and Sydney ''Sun" Services.) (Eec. May 25,' 5.20 p.m.) correspondent..it Paris reports"The attack, 011 Doutu. Mont was admirably timed. The French waited until the Germans had shifted the centre cf gravity of their attacks westwa rd, and until all tho German reserves had been committed to the desperate assault oil Dead Man (Mort Eomine) before delivering thi> blow. General Nivelle's phui s were carried out with the rarest secrecv A swarm; of air horseta were sent up to attack the observation balloons, bringin* down sixV Then, assured of privacy, General Nivelle advanced his centre de° livercd a terrific bombardment on Douaumont, and launched somo of the finest fighters cif I'rance,. who carried the positions against most stubborn resistance." A SMOKING SHELL-RIVEN INFERNO TOD PICTURE OF A GRIM- DEATH STRUGGLE. (R?c. May 25, 11.40 p.m.) The conflict at Vc-rdun shows no signs of slackening. Germans have been engaged for two days, the enemy hesitating at no sacrifice in ' the attempt to recover the gruund which they lost on Moiuluv. The bafctk- i< tl,« fiercest w;hith has yet been fought on tho Western front. The German offend™ on Tuesday night was partially success! ul Despite tho heroic resistant® of the French, the enemy entered the village of Oumicres, which consists of fortv ruined houses—an wmmportant gam, as it is wholly dominated by th* hills on cither side aud tho 1-repch are firmly dug-iu in the hills north of Clmtlancourt Tho little smoke-covered hill at Mort Homme has been flattened out liko Hill <0 at Ypres. , Sheets ot hre. have swept over it day and night; shelter trenches do not exist, ana direcdy new trendies are d ug tons of shells from 210 »iins wine them ou't. * i

Tito enemy pushed through the woods friuging tho base of Hill 301 ,nul oc cupied the nwthern, north-western, aiiil eastern slopes, but the French continue to hold the ei'osf; of the western slops. Tho Crown Prince 'then IJun," ;tt least two army corps oa Hill 287, which is-threeji ui'.dml yards behind Wert ilonnne Wave after wavemelted under the -French curtain of fire. One Frcrch officer expressed the .opinion thai; either the G crnsan General Staff had taken leave of its senses, or Jioped for great things. Jt wa* amazing to see the massed rtish"s which covered the Irench front with corpses. A French staff officcr describes the spot as a slaughter-house. Fort Douaupnont was tho storm-centro 011 AVeclnesday.. There were twelve distinct'night as£ti ults in forty-eight hours,. Tho French extensively ns»d flare bombs and star jrihells to detect 'the movements of the assaulting colunins, while hu"e electric searchlights swept the slopes before the fort. Prior to the recapture of the fort all tho. French trendies lind na rapets of tho German dead, and the officers ordered '.their men to remove tho mounds of grey-clad cornses. as Hipv were piled so liqgh that they obstructed tho field of lire. LATEST iPHA'SES OF THE BATTLE ARE FAVOURABLE. LL , Par ' S > Jfil V 2i ' A semi-official', message states:— the battle around Verdun is becoming bitter. The latent phases are favourable. Furious counter-attacks 011 the whole of our positions at Hill 30-i failed, despite the infamous use of liquid fire. The assaults 011 Mort Homme subsequently were equally unsuccessful. The enemy's obstinate and desperate counter-offensive in the Haudromont-J!)ouau-mont sector led to further French gains and enormous enemy losses." The lnessage concludes by pointing out that tho German communique persists in representing tho Germans as in occupation of Hill 3(1-1, whereas the French have never lost the* summit. 'Tlepeated efforts to take the French tronches from the positions on the east side of the hill to those at Jlort Homme failed. The .truth is that the Gorman offensive has boen stopped, and it is considered important to sliotv the Gtirmaii public, by 110 matter what means, that the armies aro still progressing." ; GERMAN OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUE. Amsterdam, May 24. A German comre unimie states:—"St rong English forces attached our new positions south-west of Givonchy. A few penetrated them, but fell in the hand, to-hand fighting. At I attneks were repulsed with very great English losses; as also were small attacks at Hullnch and Claireville. "Our Thuringian 'troops stormed and captured Cumieres village, taking prisoner three hundred. Tho enemy renew ed the attacks in the Douaumout sector, nnd suffered the sev«o)?st losses. We regained ground almost everywhere. Fight■m* continues "