THE STRENGTH OF VERDUN.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1574, 8 July 1916, Page 2

THE STRENGTH OF VERDUN.

IN an article describing Verdun as it was Just before the German assault upon it began, Mr .Julius M. Price says: “Nature seems to have taken the city under her ;egis and embosomed it in the shelter of a semi-circle of wooded heights which command the country for miles. All those hills are crowned by defensive works, though one had to

rely on hearsay for any information as to what they' consisted of, it being quite out of the question to get anywhere near. As a matter of fact, this mystery confronted me everywhere in and around Verdun, and all along the line from Bar-le-Duc, and 1 was not long making the discovery that unless something of an interesting character happened by accident there was really very little actually to see in connection with the military operations taking place in the vicinity. To all intents and purposes Verdun bears no resemblance whatever to the popular

conception of :i stronghold. It is purely and simply a fortified area of immense strength, the whole region, in fact, being a veritable apotheosis of modern fortification created by French military genius. At the present lime every ridge and undulation has been taken advantage of, and batteries and gun emplacements ai'e so artistically concealed that the attacking force finds itself confronted with unexpected positions and exposed to cross-lire when least expected. To capture Verdun involves the taking beforehand of every point for miles around, an operation Unit would he so costly — as has already been demonstrated by the holocaust of German dead so far —that only the desperation of a forlorn hope could possibly justify a commander in continuing the attempt."