he wood. He was never heard of again.

The retiring column, leaving the shelter of the wood, encountered
heavy machine-gun fire, and, greatly depleted in numbers, finally
gained the first line of the second position at Beaumont.

No attempt was made by the Germans to advance on the Woevre front. In
the territory of Soumazannes, La Ville Wood, and Herbebois the French
firmly maintained the supporting line.

The tactics pursued by the Germans during the first days of the battle
of Verdun were ably considered and not lacking in thoroughness. Their
favorite method was to break into defensive sectors with heavy
artillery, and then completely surround them by barrage fire. After
the destructive work of the guns they sent forward a scouting party of
a dozen or fifteen men to report on the extent of the damage.
Following them came bombers and pioneers, and then a strong body of
infantry. Theoretically, this system had merit, but it did not always
work out as perfectly as the German strategists had planned. Their
artillery fire often failed to win the ground and make it safe for
their infantry to advance and occupy it. The French artillery
endeavored to isolate the attacks, should they succeed in reaching the
French lines, and their fearless infantry by vigorous counterattacks
prevented the Germans from making any important advance.

The fighting for Haumont was continued on February 22, 1916. The
strong resistance the French had offered to the furious attacks of the
German infantry may be called a failure. But they succeeded in holding
back the Germans until their reserves had time to reach the scene and
prepare a new defensive line.

Early in the morning of the 22d the Germans had increased their
bombardment. Shells of the largest caliber fell, uprooting trees and
demolishing houses.

When the Germans attacked Consenvoye Wood with flame projectors and
advanced toward the western edge of Haumont Wood, the French could not
move out of the village, so dense was the curtain of fire around them.

Braving this blasting storm, troops of the Haumont garrison occupied
the half-ruined works on both sides and in front of the place, while
the southern exit was held by some reserves that had reached the
scene.

Haumont and the ravine to the south were flooded with German shells of
the largest caliber. Early in the afternoon they were falling at the
rate of twenty a minute. The French held on undismayed. The village
crumbled into