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 a mass of debris. The principal French defense, a redoubt of concrete, was smashed, and some eighty men were buried in the ruins. A number of machine guns were also lost, and the ammunition dump was destroyed. About 5 o'clock in the evening a German battalion attacked Haumont, advancing in three columns. The remnant of French troops manned the trenches. The few remaining machine guns were brought into action and, being well served, wrought havoc in the enemy's ranks, but the deadly advance continued, regardless of the heavy losses incurred. The French then assembled every survivor in some trenches southeast of Haumont, and with three machine guns continued the fight. But the Germans had the advantage of numbers. They penetrated to the center of the village, and finally surrounded the French battalion headquarters.