New-York tribune., 1918-10-03
By Wilbur Forrest
Especial Cable to The 7'71bunc)

Especial Cable to The 771i,unc)
Copyright. ,niS. New York Tribune Incl
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY
NORTHWEST OF NERDUN, Oct. p
For the marvellous feat of com hat tive
engineering, ON which the entire Is
suh OF the ha11ls between the Meuss
and thu Argamns, one Of the stiffcst
sea.tarrs of tho f1uni. depended, dnr-
ing our advance, ths entire army
to-day gives all dus crediS TO the
IllInais tronpsy who were supported
by Nrw York artillery The troops
assigned were advancing from the IA
mons Dead Mans Hill across a deep
swamp 200 yards wide
The brook nearby averages five yards
in width and is four feet deep, but
spreads al this time of the year into a
morass on both sides South of The
swamp lay barbrd wire entanglements
rlndnz' the slope of Dead Mans Hill in
n o0-yal;tl belt. forming barrier 1000
yards widr- North Of the swamp rises
a formidable hill, on tnr right of which,
1000 yards away, is the Forges Wood
stronghold organized by the Germans
until they believed it imrrcgnablr.
The American plan OF attack which
for lis audsrIty, will hold place in our
engineering records as we'll az our
fighting 1s,rDrds- embraced the crossing
OF this rnWrass in The shortest time. Sc
that 1rnans could food up opposite thr
hin nn11 surround Fprgrs Wood and
sw@@ on In J fAst 1urning movement
. toward the Meuss River
Plans Start al Midnight
/ Before midnight the engineers crep+
forward and cut wide lanes through
the masses of twisted, rusty wirc
without the knowledge OF the enemy
whose srntInPls paced The north side
Of the swamp of Forges Creek Then
/ IN pTtIh darkness they carried nearly
1900 faft of durkboards- lad derlike
bridges strongly bnilt-7 900 bundles O..
willow tvisS bound solid]y with wire
and 1900 feet of heavy rope TO the
rtzl.y eas.n OF the swamp, then waited
fus TIC fG1r,age from the New York
Eu1raEns, Who, By pnea11.angeda time
t.nbln, wsersn told to put q solid wall OF
bursting shalEls on the north side of the
su'u,iro and hold the fire there forty
tivn mi1rrttSs.
/ Several Thousand American dough
boys with imgarnsrts ON ,ifes waited in
thn shadow OF Dead Mans Hill for the
hnTaGe To begin and the engineers to
nave torg,s Swamp so tney could cross
ngaInst tha unknown numbers or the
enemy, Promptly at the prearranEed
nfu1nElLt the grrnS opened up The
Arnen,icaus' from the East and Middle
! West wtm.kcd together in pe1'fers. unz-
sen, New T m'kpls showp1inS shells be.
hind, While Illinois engineers rushcd
forward behind New York's wall OF fire
wadnS into the morass and stretching
( hundreds cf rupes from one side to the
ot}ler.
Schedule is Carried Out
Thry struggled through myurk anc
wadsA or swan the creeks until every
thing wl,s laid c1actly in accordance
with the blueprint plans furni sh ed be-
forehslna. Then they entered like ants
iuto an inferno OF noiGn In the weirr
4 light furnished by the bursting Shells
Of the New Yo1kers they followed
ropes lowering the1n down into thu
mud by the thousnnds Then duck.
bourds wgre carried forward and lail
! down and mnG dnckiintards we're p1ac &c
across the cn,eeS itsnlf
The job was finished in less than the
( specified time, and ignals were sem bach
10 the waiting. infMntrymrn to advance
They went ON oven the top, 1unnins
down into the valley from the hiIlsid;
and 1lnzches, through the lnnss of wirr
and then 0vEr the Torges Swamp il
singh flH ACROSS the newly lai(
bridges,
La au1nn lllnres the bridges dlsap-
peGrea IN the 1nire from the weight O
the men. but the cngineerE, wadine
wais3 deep III the mnrE 10 the sinkin.
places, held planks under the duck
boards whllA the fighting mem passed
Some OF t.h@ dough boys inpatient.
waded thn SWAMP ITSELF
The enemy 1narhine gun FIRE wax be
ginning to zIng through the barrag,
When all had reached the other side
Regau,dlesB OF thir. the doughboy
formed into The first waTe and the New
York hs11ass@, precisely at the end o.
folty-tive 1ninmi4Ey Jumped a hundre.