aumont, Beaumont, Louvemont, Douaumont. Others follow the
watercourses, making it easier to defend them--Malancourt, Bethincourt
and Cumieres, to the west of the Meuse; Vaux to the east.

These hills, then, as well as the ravines, the woods, and the favorably
placed villages, all facilitated the defense of the countryside. On the
other hand, the assailants had one great advantage: the French positions
were cut in two by the valley of the Meuse, one kilometre wide and quite
deep, which, owing to swampy bottom-lands, could not be crossed except
by the bridges of Verdun. The French troops on the right bank had
therefore to fight with a river at their backs, thus imperiling their
retreat. A grave danger, this, in the face of an enemy determined to
take full advantage of the circumstance by attacking with undreamed-of
violence.

[Sidenote: Troops selected in October.]

The German preparation was, from the start, formidable and painstaking.
It was probably under way by the end of October, 1915, for at that time
the troops selected to deliver the first crushing attack were withdrawn
from the front and sent into training. Four months were thus set aside
for this purpose. To make the decisive attack, the Germans made
selection from four of their crack army corps, the 18th active, the 7th
reserve, the 15th active (the Muehlhausen corps), and the 3d active,
composed of Brandenburgers.

[Sidenote: Artillery and munitions made ready.]

These troops were sent to the interior to undergo special preparation.
In addition to these 80,000 or 100,000 men, who were appointed to bear
the brunt of the assault, the operation was to be supported by the Crown
Prince's army on the right and by that of General von Strautz on the
left--300,000 men more. Immense masses of artillery were gathered
together to blast open the way; fourteen lines of railroad brought
together from every direction the streams of arms and munitions. Heavy
artillery was transported from the Russian and Serbian fronts. No light
pieces were used in this operation--in the beginning, at any rate; only
guns of large calibre, exceeding 200 millimetres, many of 370 and 420
millimetres.

[Sidenote: Reliance on heavy artillery.]

The battle plans were based on the offensive power of the heavy
artillery. The new formula was to run, "The artillery attacks, the
infantry takes possession." In other words, a terrible bombardment was
to play over every square yard of the terrain to