ber of men engaged were the minimum losses of the German infantry
during the first forty days of the battle, or 150,000 men of the first
fighting line alone.

Concerning the German losses before Verdun, Col. Feyler, a Swiss
military expert, wrote on April 10 as follows: "It is certain that the
first great attacks in February and March caused the German assailants
very exceptional losses. The 18th army corps lost 17,000 men and the 3d
corps lost 22,000. These are figures which in the history of wars will
form a magnificent eulogy on the heroism of these troops. It will become
a classic example, like that of the Prussian Guard at St. Privat,
France, August 18, 1870. It is probable that before Verdun, as at St.
Privat, the leaders underestimated the defenders' strength, especially
in cannon and machine guns.

"There are other examples. In the unfruitful attack on Fort Vaux, the
7th reserve regiment was literally mowed down by machine guns, while the
60th regiment lost 60 per cent of its effectives. In the attack on the
Malancourt and Avocourt woods, March 20, three regiments of the
11th Bavarian division, whose record in this war seems to have been
particularly praiseworthy, lost about 50 per cent of their men."

LOSSES OF THE FRENCH.

While the greater bulk of the total losses in killed and wounded before
Verdun was sustained by the Germans, however, it must not be imagined
for an instant that the French defenders of the fortress escaped
lightly. On the contrary, their losses were likewise enormous, being
estimated by the German general staff at a total of not less than
110,000 from February 20 to April 1. A considerable number of French
troops, officers and men, were also captured by the Germans during the
numerous attacks in February, March and April upon the French trenches
and other positions before Verdun.

A MILLION MEN ENGAGED.

Some idea of the tremendous forces engaged on both sides in what will
probably be called in history "the Siege of Verdun," may be gained from
the brief summary made on April 1 by an observer present with the
army of the Crown Prince of Germany on the north front of the Verdun
battlefield, from which point of vantage he telegraphed as follows:

"Probably not far from a million men are battling on both sides around
Verdun. Never in the history of the world have such enormous masses of
military been engaged in battle at one point.

"On the forty-mile semicircular firing-line around th