The Story of the Great War, Volume 3: History of the European War from Official Sources
History
The Story of the Great War, Volume 3: History of the European War from Official Sources
World War, 1914-1918
the first line of German trenches. The two hundred and fifty survivors
of two German battalions were made prisoners. The German reserves in
the ravine on the Tout Vent farm made a dash to aid their fire line;
but the French artillery shells accounted for them before the reserves
ever reached those whom they would have relieved. Thus in less than an
hour 2,000 Germans were put out of the fight. The French who had been
selected for this work included Bretons, Zouaves, and Chasseurs.
The Zouaves then made a dash for the ravine on the Tout Vent front.
There they came upon a field work equipped with three guns. This work
was protected by wire entanglements. The German artillerymen retreated
to their dugouts, but the Zouaves captured them and their
fortification. At that stage of the fighting the French aviators saw
German reenforcements on their way to take part in the battle. The
aviators signaled to their troops this information. Two German
battalions were being hurried in motor cars from Roye to the east of
the Oise; but before they reached the scene of the fighting the
Germans managed to mass for a counterattack. It was ill-planned and
executed. French shrapnel and machine guns annihilated those making
the counterattack. In the meantime the French sappers were fortifying
with sacks of earth the ends of the salient, so that by night the
French were in a position to hold what they had gained. The
precautions which the French had made were shown to be extremely
timely, for that night the reenforcements from Roye made eight
desperate attacks.
The lack of success throughout the night did not prevent the Germans
from making a reckless attack on the French works at both ends of the
salient on the morning of June 7. The Germans made their advance along
the lines of the communicating trenches. They were greeted with a
shower of hand grenades. By nightfall the Germans seemed to have
wearied of the attacks. The total German loss in killed in this
engagement was three thousand. The French had lost only two hundred
and fifty killed and fifteen hundred wounded. They captured a large
amount of equipage and ammunition, besides twenty machine guns.
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