LA N I) A .\ 1) W A I I. k 
March 16, 1016. 
French line, 5;hoiild not withdraw our attention from the 
main point of attack whkh has ail this week been the 
ravine of Vaux and the two heights conmiahding it to 
the north and the south. 
The Goose Crest. 
tnc 
/<•// 
The other contemporary attack was du 
wiuf,'. that of " the Goose ("rest." 
Tiie exact situation of the spur known as the (ntc de 
I'Oie or Goose Crest, which is the most advanced position 
north of Verdun upon the west of the Mcuse, its military 
value, and the progress of the enemy again^ it, merit a 
detailed study. 
The reader is acquainted with the general situation. 
The successful retirement of the French ujwn tiie east of 
the river from the original line of Brabant to the main 
position upon the crest of I.ouvemont had left the French 
positions upon the west of the Meuse intact. The French 
guns from the west of the Meuse, th(>refore, could play 
upon the belt the Germans had occupied east of the river 
and impeded all the German efforts to carry and turn tlie 
left of the French main position ujjou the ("oto du Poivre. 
On this accoimt it was important for tlic enemy succes- 
sively to carry the series of lieights upon the west f)f the 
Me\ise, which at once concealed the French batteries 
there and gave them posts of observation on the summits 
whence they could correct and direct their fire. 
All this we saw last week. 
Of these heights the first range or ridge was the crest 
of the Goose, the Cote de I'Oie. with its surroundings. 
There would be mithing decisive or hnal in the occupation 
of this crest by the enemy. He would have at last to 
deal with the main position of the Charny Ridge, 6,000 
to 8,000 yards behind, before he could etfect anything ; 
but the Goose Crest in its entirety must be seized as a hrst 
preliminary to any advance upon the ridge of Charny. 
Let us see at what rate and with what success the 
enemy has effected this, his preliminary object. 
The Crest of the Goose runs south-west from the 
valley of the Meuse and is isolated from the hills further 
west (which are heavily wooded and reach to the Argonne 
about 7 miles away) by the upper part of the brook of 
Forges. This same brook of Forges taking its rise in the 
ridge of Charny, Hows northward to Bethincourt, there 
turns sharply to the right, and thence Hows a little north 
of westward, reaches the village of Forges and imme- 
diately afterwards flows into the Meuse. It is marshy 
below Bethincourt and all its valley down as far as Forges 
is subject to .slight floods. To the north and to the west of 
its course are rather confused high lauds and to the 
south, as we have seen, this main ridge of the Goose. 
The Goose Ridge may be compared in shape to a 
palm tree, the summit of the ridge itself forming the 
trunk, and a series of spurs radiating out from its south- 
western end, the leaves. The general height of the 
ridge is 250 metres above the sea, which is roughly speak- 
ing, 150 feot or rather more abov<- tlie level of the river 
Meuse at this part of its course. Lut there are two dis- 
tinct summits rising above the g' neral level of the ridge. 
Tliat at the north-eastern end n<'arcst the Meuse is 
known from its height in metres above the sea as Hill 265. 
Tlie other, just on too feet highei (not sixty as I wrote 
by error last week) is at the south-western end of the 
ridge in the middle of the " leaves " of the palm, and is 
called the Mort Homme. Between the two the ridge 
narrows and sinks slightly to a central point marked 
B on Sketch III. On the Northern side the Cioose Crest 
slopes away, not very rapidly, towards the valley of the 
brook of Forges. There are a few steep bits hV re and 
there, notably just above Forges village, but in the main 
it is an easy slope of one in twenty to one in thirtv or so. 
In the prolongation of the ridge towards the Meuse 
is the hamlet of Regneville, hardly a score of Jiouses, 
standing just on the river, and in front of Cumieres is a 
stone causeway laid on the bed of the river, which can be 
used as a ford in dry seasons, but which has no value 
at all at the present moment. The southern edge of the 
Goose Crest above Cumieres is everywhere very steep. 
Just at the end of the " trunk " of the " palm tree " 
on the northern slope, in the shallow valley at C between 
the first " leaves " and the trunk, there is a little wood 
about a mile long, and at its broadest a quarter of a mile 
across, which bears the general name of the Wood of 
Crows or Crow Wood, but of which the eastern portion 
is also called the wood of Cumieres. It does not climb 
to the top of the ridge, but lies on the slope. The main 
F'rench batteries lay, of course, behind the mass of this 
height, sheltered ; and in order to dislodge them, as well 
as to carry the advanced position represented by the 
crest, the whole of the ridge must be carried, Mort 
Homme and all. 
It is clear from the map that there are three ways of 
doing this. One may turn the ridge by way of the valley 
of the Meuse ; but this would ivolve a final assault up 
its steep side ; and there i^ . .: oded belt also just now 
between Cumieres and Regneville. One may rush it up 
the northern slopes, pushing one's way ultimately to the 
Mort Homme itself, the occupation of which culmina- 
ting point would involve the loss of the whole position. 
Or thirdly, one may turn it by an advance through 
Bethincourt and along the upper valley of Forges Brook 
beyond at D — D. 
The enemy has attempted the second and the third 
of these methods. 
He began, as we have seen (exactly a fortnight after 
the opening of the main battle for Verdun) by an intensive 
drabdut 
III 
Loavemoixt 
Homme 
d MUes ^ 
The Contours of (lie Gonse Crcvt with Cerman Advance Shaded. 
