t least 70,000 men, were hurled
against Fleury, which they held from the 23d to the 26th. The French,
undaunted, returned to the charge. On August 30 they reoccupied
Thiaumont, lost it at half-past three of the same day, recaptured it at
half-past four, and were again driven out two days later. However, they
remained close to the redoubt and the village.

[Sidenote: Battles in July.]

The Germans then turned south, against the fortifications which
dominated the ridges and ravines. There, on a hillock, stands the fort
of Souville, at approximately the same elevation as Douaumont. On July
3, they captured the battery of Damloup, to the east; on the 12th, after
insignificant fighting, they sent forward a huge mass of troops which
got as far as the fort and battery of L'Hopital. A counterattack drove
them away again, but they dug themselves in about 800 metres away.

[Sidenote: Germans cannot win Verdun.]

After all, what had they accomplished? For twelve days they had been
confronted with the uselessness of these bloody sacrifices. Verdun was
out of reach; the offensive of the Somme was under way, and the French
stood before the gates of Peronne. Decidedly, the Battle of Verdun was
lost. Neither the onslaught of the first period nor the battles of
fixation had brought about the desired end. It now became impossible to
squander on this field of death the munitions and troops which the
German army needed desperately at Peronne and Bapaume. The leaders of
the German General Staff accepted the situation. Verdun held no further
interest for them.

[Sidenote: French take the initiative.]

[Sidenote: General Nivelle's blows.]

Verdun, however, continued to be of great interest to the French. In the
first place, they could not endure seeing the enemy intrenched five
kilometres away from the coveted city. Moreover, it was most important
for them to prevent the Germans from weakening the Verdun front and
transferring their men and guns to the Somme. The French troops,
therefore, were to take the initiative out of the hands of the Germans
and inaugurate, in their turn, a battle of fixation. This new situation
presented two phases: in July and August the French were satisfied to
worry the enemy with small forces and to oblige them to fight; in
October and December General Nivelle, well supplied with troops and
material, was able to strike two vigorous blows which took back from the
Germans the larger part of all the territory