IN THE WEST.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 March 1916, Page 5

IN THE WEST.

BATTLE OF VERDUN. GERMANS HELD UP. THE ATTACK WEAKENING. Paris, Marcli 6. Le Petit Parisien says that the Gorman* are held up on a formidable lino consisting of throe lines of works, covering Verdun and the whole of our position, which form practically a rectangle about seven kilometres across. The tiermans at the beginning of the week attempted to drive in our centre at Bois do Ilaudremont and Boudumont. On Friday they believed we had stripped our wings to reinforce the centre and attempted a violent attack on Vaux and Damloup. Their troops were caught by a raking fire from guns of all calibres and left piles of dead. Our curtain of fire prevented reinforcements from coming up, but the German high command ordered them forward all the same and regiment after regiment was sent to itheir death. Some lost forty, others sixty, per cent, of their effectives before reaching our entanglements, where the remnants were mowed down by machinegun and rifle-fire. The Germans did not succeed in gaining a foot of ground. The French right wing is firmly held and the enemy has resumed attacks in the centre. If. Marcel Hutin, in J/Echo do Paris, says that the enemy's effort at Verdun is weakening. Probably he will attempt a further advance, after reorganisation, on the positions between Talcu Hill and Douaumont fort. One thing is clear,, and that is, we hold him in check. WAVES OF MEN. ATTACK MAY LAST SOME DAYS longer. Reecived March 7, 4.5 p.m. Paris, March 6. Newspapers predict that the German offensive may last for some days yet. The enemy has accumulated three hundred thousand men on a narrow sector, and as the waves of men roll up and are annihilated, more roll up, reinforcing the depleted ranks. It is estimated that two-fifths of the battalions massed against us have already been put out of action. A communique says: No infantry action during the night is reported from Verdun. There was a violent artillery struggle on the left bank of the Meuse, and also an intermittent bombardment on the sector west of Douaumont. while in the Woevre we actively bombarded the enemy's crossing points. LORD NORTHCLIFFE'S EXPERIENCE. WHAT ARE THE GERMAN .MOTIVES? Times and Sydney Sun Services. Received March 7, 5.25 p.m. London, March 0. Lord Northcliffe, writing from Verdun, says it is doubtful what secret motives are underlying the German attempt to break the French line—whether they are financial, in view of the coming war loan; dynastic; or to influence doubting neutrals. MISERABLE PRISONERS. That the sufferings of the wounded lying between the trenches through the long nights in icy winds would be intense has not disturbed the Crown Prince is a gruesome fact. The French found many German wounded frozen to death. FRENCH EFFICIENCY. Lord Northcliffe says: I conversed with numerous prisoners, whose horror and misery was plainly depicted on their countenances. At a distance of twentyfive miles I counted two hundred different cannon voices. As we drew nearer I was astonished at the countless proofs of French efficiency and thoroughness. The abundance of reserve stores is remarkable. j A PAPER VICTORY. I "I saw Douaumont fort, and the Germans' claim about it is on a par with the sinking' of the Tiger or the Zeppelin | bombardment of Liverpool. It was a newspaper victory. A few Brandenburgers climbed into a gunless fort, and are still there, supplied vicariously with food at night-time. The Germans' announcement evinces the Kaiser's great anxiety to magnify everything about Verdun into a great event. Personal contact with the miserable creatures forming the bulk of the German prisoners was needed to convince me that such specimens of humanity really belonged to the German army, especially the 'Corps d'Elite.' "One ill-favored youth, barely five feet four and narrow-chested, and better suited to an office stool, was sent to Flanders after six weeks' training, lieginning in February, and then sent to Verdun. He said lie and his companions were .heartily glad to escape the frightful English. The only good thing about the prisoners was their footwear, stoui blucher boots, and this evidenced the ne'eessity of tightening the blockade. CONFIDENCE OF THE FRENCH. "It is impossible to estimate the duration of the battle. It is enough to say that the French are confident of holding their own and feel they have the measure of the enemy, both in men and material, and nothing justifies the belief that the Germans' spirit and stamina are equal to the task of dislodging the French from their present formidable positions." i """'ltfff! A GERMAN REPORT. ':«/ Received March 7, 10.15 p.m. Amsterdam, March 6. A German communique says:—Minor English attacks were repulsed, and things generally are calmer on the eastern bank of the Meuse. In minor encounters in the. last two days we captured 14 officers and 934 men, FRENCH ENDURANCE. " Received March 8, 12.55 a.m. London, March 7. Paris telegrams insist on the dogged endurance of the French soldier to face the German efforts to test every nart of thtlr salient