Now followed a period of bitter fighting. It was for the French a matter of staying until the last possible moment and repeating the process in a position slightly in the rear. The bombardment was intense. Nothing like it had been seen in any other battle of the war. On the intervening trenches had not always been constructed and there was a lack of scientific engineering by which full advantage was taken of the natural features of defense. For an ordinary assault the preparations were adequate, but for the effort the Germans were about to make there were neither fortifications nor sol diers adequate to the defense. An investigation conducted by General Pitain pronounced Gen eral Herr guiltless of the sad state of defense of the position.
The storm broke on 21 Feb. 1916 during a heavy fog which favored the Germans. A deluge of fire accurately ranged by the map descended on the French positions. The first lines were held thinly, as was the French cus tom, and fell back as well as they could 22 February Haumont was won by the Germans after a heroic defense. Its loss Imperiled Bra bant which was evacuated on the night of the 22d. Next day the attacics were renewed with unflagging violence. The heavy German guns could not be moved easily and•their aim became less efficient as the target became more removed. The French artillerists handled their 75's brilliantly; the Territorials did all that was de manded of them; and as the enemy came on in massed formations a great toll of life was taken. On this day attacks were made on the French line in the Woevre, and it was decided to draw them back to the foot-hills of the Heights of the Meuse, so that Ornes was given up. At this time the French line had been driven back on an average of a mile and a half in three days' fighting. In the centre it made a loop around Beaumont and there throughout most of the 24th the tide of death rose high. In the afternoon the Germans surrounded the place but the French managed to escape capture. On this day there was a general retirement.
February 25th was a decisive day in the battle. When General Joffre realized on the 24th how serious was the attack on Verdun he sent thither General Castelnau with authority to act as he saw fit. He had previously ordered up reinforcements, among them the famous 20th corps which had saved Nancy under Castelnau. Only two brigades had arnved by the morning of the 25th and the 20di corps was not on the field until afternoon of that day. The first act of Castelnau on arriving at Verdun was to direct General Petain, commanding the second army, to come to Verdun with his staff. His immediate response and the vigor he infused into the operations perhaps saved Verdun for the French.
The retiring army. reached the reserve sitions during the night of the 24th. The trenches were well constructed and afforded comfort to men who had been fighting inces santly with little cover during four days. They began on the Meuse near Vacherauville, fol lowed the crest of the ane du Poivre (Pepper Hill), passing south of Louvemont and Cham brettes Farm, and turning southeastward until they reached the edge of the Heights at the gorge of Vaux. The tired French troops stood
in them on the morning of the 25th awaitmg the onslaught of the German, himself conscious that before him were exhausted troops in their last line of defense and that reinforcements were about to arrive. He massed his superior forces for a final crushing blow, believing that victory was in his grasp. The dogged defense made by the Territorials that day cannot be forgotten in French history.
When day broke it was snowing and bitterly cold, a bad thing for the attacking parties, since it made them more distinct against the horizon. But the Germans showed little caution that day. They had men in abundance and thought little of losses. A few miles to the north the kaiser and his staff stood on the twin peaks near Ornes watching the operations through glasses, and no one dared falter under such conditions. His troops attaciced at each end of the new line, at the COte du Poivre on the west and at Douau mont on the east. At Poivre the Germans came up time after time and were driven back con tinually by the 75's and the riflemen. The place was never in danger. At Douaumont the attacks were heavier and more stubborn; for the position was rightly believed to be the key of Verdun. Once fortified with German guns the French lines would be forced back from the surrounding hills. With reckless regard for their men the kaiser's officers sent up unit after unit against the well placed French lines. They seem to have thought that each blow that failed would weaken the defense to some extent, and that eventually it would be so weak that the attack would carry through. It would be diffi cult to describe the slaughter endured by the brave Germans that day as wave after wave was urged forward into the French barrage. The valley through which they approached was cov ered with the dead and wounded. At its exit Cie prostrate bodies lay in piles where the fugitives were caught trying to get away. But they ever came on. As evening fell they were rallied for a final attempt. The kaiser was waiting to announce victory, and already per sons in the government confidence in Berlin were waiting at the telegraph wires for the word that would confirm the good news. This last charge was the most violent. The infantry of two corps was sent forward against the crest of Douaumont on a line nvo miles long. They fell in swaths at the crest as they tried to cross the narrow plateau in front of the French lines. Wave after wave had thus been mowed down and the mowers were tired and sickened with their work, when at the very close of the day came the 24th regiment of Brandenburgers, one of the crack units of the German army. In nar row formation it plowed its way through the de fenses east of the town of Douaumont and broke through the lines at the site of the ruined fort, and here it stood during the night, behind it the lines forming anew. The kaiser seized the moment to announce to his people that Douau mont was taken.