It was in the course of the fighting in Flanders that the Germans employed a new kind of frightfulness in some attacks. British troops reported that they were fired on by "flaming bullets" that set the clothing afire. It was related that men struck by these bullets had to be rolled in the mud to extinguish the flames.
During these days of busy fighting on the British front in Flanders French troops along the Aisne and the Meuse Rivers were constantly engaged in local fights with the enemy, though no important operations were attempted. The French command was exceedingly careful not to waste men unless there was some highly important advantage to be gained, contented to act on the defensive until a master stroke could be delivered. The German troops were not spared in the same way, but were constantly driven forward by their inexorable masters and lost heavily in futile attacks.
On September 24, 1917, the Teutons took the offensive at an early hour in the morning. On the right bank of the Meuse four German battalions, supported by special assaulting troops, made a drive against French trenches north of Bois le Chaume, along a front of about a mile and a half. The French "75's" broke the front of the attack, but in the center some trench elements were pierced by the Germans and violent fighting ensued. It was a short, sharp struggle at close quarters, when the French forced out the invaders and reoccupied the positions. Two other German attacks on the same front were made in the afternoon in which they gained nothing, while the French took fifty prisoners.
A more ambitious attempt was made on the same day to force the French from their positions that extended from the northwest corner of Fosses Wood to the eastern fringe of Chaume Wood, in the Verdun area. The Germans began the assault with sprays of liquid flame, which was followed by a furious grenade attack and bombardment. The intrepid French troops dashed out to meet their assailants and with bayonet and hand grenade drove them in disorder back to their trenches. There were numerous hand-to-hand struggles between the lines. The Germans made extraordinary efforts to regain lost ground around Hill 352, which offered every advantage for observation, but they were unable to break through the steel wall of French resistance. At Bezonvaux, and to the south of Beaumont, attacks were made in the hope of distracting attention from the real objective, but here the French Colonial battalions were on guard, veterans known for their dash and daring, who hurled the enemy back to his own lines, leaving heaps of dead on the field.