Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-08-07
GEN. MANGIN DESCRIBES
GREAT ALLIED VICTORY
Carefully Planned and Executed, He Characterzes Of
fensive As Regular Classic Battle of Maneu.
ver-Sudden Attack Shocks Foe
By WALTER DURANTY

ing from the vantage point Of heights
broken by ravines, where the concen-
tration of troops can be hidden. is. a
very different thing from being forced
to conquer the same positions before
the assaulting force can be properly
launched.
The month preceding July Is was
thus occupied, and care was taken to
vary operations by local strokes fur
ther north toward the Aisne in order
to lull the enemy's suspicious
At the same time. the general ma.
ture of the Allied movements could
not fail to be remarked. and, indeed.
1t Is known from seized German pa
pers. that the enemy thought 1t likely
that a stroke would be attempted
either on the Fourth or July IA. He
strengthened his line considerably
against such an eventuality. no less
than eight divisions, with six in re-
gins army.
Germans Underestimated Blow
But the Germans never expected a
blow of such magnitude, and their high
command especially seems to have
utterly underestimated the Allied
strength and aggressiveness.
What followed is already history.
On July Is the storm broke east and
west of Rheims. and, thanks to Gour
aud's magnificent defense. the princi
| pal strategic result of the first three
days was just the deepening to a sui
cidal extent of the already dangerous
and overnarrow pocket. Foch realized
that the moment was ripe for the exc
cution of the plan for which Mangin
and DeGoutte had prepared under the
direction of Fayolle and Petain. The
credit belongs not to any one man. but
| to the whole French organization
| from troops and local commanders
who carried out the preliminary spade
| work and the corps commanders ano
army generals who laid down the
lines on which the plan was executed
| to the headquarters staff and the AL
| lied generallisimo. who WITS RESPONSE
BILE for its inception.
BY noon of July Is Foch's decision
had been taken and the hour OF the
counter-offensive had been appointed.
To resume, those three days were
employed in putting finishing touches
on the preparations by the assemblage
Of a mass of troops, guns, tanks anc
material behind the screen Of the VII
| lers-COtterets Forest.
! The blow took the Germans complete
ly by surprise, not so much by lts
coming when and where it did, but oS
its extent and, above all, its character
Never did they think the Allies woule
dare assault without artillery prepara
ton with infantry solely supported by
tanks and a creeping barrage.
The first day the Allied success wa
greatest in the northern sector wher'
the Franco. o.Americans, debouchlnl
from vantage points in the region o
Coeurves. swept forward eight fui
kilometers, gathering rich booty II
guns and prisoners and in the raVine
around Pcrnana, Missy.au-Bois ant
Longpont.
Ten Kilometers in Two Days
The right wing made slower prog
ress against the strong positions o
Hautwison and Troesnes Woods. bu
once those were passed by the mrs
evening they. too, advanced rapidly
and By the end of the second da,
the whole line had gone forward t.
an average depth of ten kilometers
You may Judge the dismay of TIL
enemy from the fact that capture,
Bavarian officer of the Eleventh divi
sion. which fought bravely. said bit