e French built barricades during the night and
adjusted their front in such a way as to present a solid wall facing
the east, the narrator continues:

"Our counterattack took place at nightfall on March 3, and was
undertaken by two battalions (the Four Hundred and Tenth and the Four
Hundred and Fourteenth) of consecutive regiments. After an intense
rifle fire we heard the cry of 'Forward with the bayonet!' and night
rang with the shouts of the men. Our first line was carried beyond the
village.

"The Germans returned to the attack about 8 o'clock, but were stopped
dead by our rifle and machine-gun fire. Two hours later another attack
was attempted, but was likewise dashed to pieces before our unshaken
resistance. The Germans came on in very close formation, and on the
following morning we counted quite eight hundred dead before the
trench.

"At daybreak on March 4 the Germans launched a fresh counterattack
against Douaumont after an intense bombardment accompanied by the use
of aerial torpedoes. No detailed description is possible of the
terrible fighting from house to house, or the countless deeds of
heroism performed by our men in this bloody struggle, which lasted for
two hours. The gaps in our ranks increased from moment to moment.
Finally we were ordered to retire to a position about 200 meters south
of the exit from Douaumont. The enemy tried in vain to dislodge us and
exploit the success he had so dearly won."

On March 4, 1916, an Order of the Day issued by the crown prince was
read to the troops in rest billets in which they were urged to make a
supreme effort to conquer Verdun, "the heart of France." For four days
following the German command was busy organizing for an onslaught on a
gigantic scale, which they hoped would so crush the French army as to
eliminate it as a serious factor in the war.

In order to clear the way for this great attack the German General
Staff decided that it would be necessary first to capture the French
positions of Mort Homme and Cumieres on the left bank of the Meuse.

At this time the French line to the west of the Meuse ran by the
village of Forges, the hills above Bethincourt and Malancourt, crossed
Malancourt Wood and passed in front of Avocourt. The Germans held
positions on the heights of Samogneux and Champneuville, and their
operations were threatened by the French artillery in the line west of
the river.

On March 6, 1916, the Germans began to bombard the French