Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-12-05
GIVES
o. PRAISE TO ARMY
cONrrNuED rNoM rAnE nNE

bridg"head NJ the Marnr, opposite
Chateau -Thlerry The second dIyls-
ION, IN reserve near Montdidler, WaR
sent hy motor trucks and other avail
able transport 10 check the Drogross
or IN" enemy toward Paris. The dl.
vision attacked ana rstOoK thc@Owu
ana railroad station at BOurcsC hcH
and siurdily held Its ground against
the cnemy's best guard divisions.
In tho battle of lIclleau wood,
which followed. our men proved their
HIpcriorlty ana gained u strong taCii-
cal position, with far groater lOT 10
The enemy than ~ ourselves on July
J, before the second was relieved, II
captured tho village of Vnux with
most splendid precision.
Meanwhile our second corpE.
under Mai Gen. George W. Read.
had been organized for tho com.
fnand Of our divisions with the Brit
lsh. which were held hack in train
Ing areas or assigned to second
line dsfensea. Five ~ the 10 divis-
ions were Withdrawn from the Brit
ish area In June. there to relieve
divisions In Lorraine and the Nusgcs
and two 20 the paris area tO Join the
group Of American divisions which
stood between tho city and further
advance OF the enemy In that dlrcc-
tion"
EOrty-sccOnd Holds Ground.
by that time the great tide OF
American troop movements to
France was In fun swing ana the
older divisions could be used freely
Tho 42d. In linc east of Rhioms,
faced the German assault Of July
! Z and "held their ground unflinch-
inRly" ON the right flank four
companies OF tho 2Sth division faced
advancing waves Of German In
fantry." and the 81 division held the
Marnc line opposite Chateau -Thlcrry
against powerful artillery aud In
fantrv attack. "a single regiment Of
the third wrote one of the most
brilliant pages In our military annals
on this occasion" General Pcrshing
nys, 1T prevented the crossing at
certain points on liz front while. on
either flank, the Germans who had
gained footing, pressed forward
our men, firing In three directions,
met the German attacks with
cOunter-attncks at critical points and
succeeded In throwing two German
divisions into complete confusion,
capturing 800 prisoners"
ihuS was utt HhRts N't IOT tic
counter offensive which beginning
with the smashing OF the cncmy's
MariIc snllcnt brought Ovcrw helm
Ing victory to the allies and the
United States In tho eycntful
months that have followed. The
intimation IL strong that General
Pcrshing's advice helped Marshal
Foch 20 reach his decision to
strike. General Pcrshlng con-
unucs:
The great force Of the German
Chateau-Thierry offensive estab-
llshed the deep Marnc salient, but
the enemy was taking chances. and
the vulnerabllity Of this pocket to
attack might be turned to advantage.
Selling this opportunity to support
my conviction, every division with
any sort OF training was made avail
able for use In a counter offensive.
| The place OF honor in the thrust to-
ward Soisaons on July IL was given
to our first and second divisions In
company with chosen French dlvis-
IONS
1000 Prisoners Taken.
with the usual brief warning Of
preliminary bombardment, the
massed French and American nrtil-
lery. firing by the map, laid down
Its rolling barrage at dawn while tho
infantry began Its charge. The tactt-
cal handling OF our troops under
these trying conditions was excellent
| throughout the action. The enemy
brought up large numbers OF reserves
hand made stubborn defense both
with machine guns and artillery. hut
through five days fighting the first
division continued to advance until
II had gained the heights above Sois-
sans and captured the village OF
Rerzy-le.sec The SECOND division
took Beau Repalre farm and Vierzy
In a very rapid advance and reached
a position In front of TiEny at the
end Of It's second day. These two di-
visions captured 1000 prisoners and
over 100 pieces Of artillery"
The report describes In some de-
tail the work OF completing the re-
duction of tho salient, mentioning
the operations OF the 26th, Sd. lthAI
42d. 82d and 2Sth divisions. with
the situation on the Marne front
thus relieved, General rershing
writes, he could turn To the organi-
zation OF the first American army
and the reduction OF the St. Mihiel
SALIENT long planned as the initial
purely American enterprise, A troop
concentration, aided by generous
contributions Of artillery and air
units by the French, began, involv-
ing the movement. mostly at night,
OF 100000 men. A sector reaching
from Port sur Scille, east OF the Mo-
selle, westward through st. Mthiel
to Nerdun and later enlarged to
carry ir to the edge OF the forest OF
Argonne, was taken over, tho sec
ond colonial French holding the tip
OF the salient opposite ST. Mihiel.
and the French 18th corps on tho
heights above Nerdun being trans
ferrcd TO General Pershlng's COM
mand
Tho combined French. British
and American air forces mohiliZed
for the battle, the report says, was
the largest aviation assembly ever
engaged on the western front up TO
that time I'm n single operation.
or the reduction Of the St Mihiel
salient, General Pershing says:
Enemy DcmornliBcd.
".kftcr four hours artillery
preparation the seven American
divisions In the front line nd-
vanccd at 3 "a. M, on September
IL, assisted bY u limited number
nf tanLs r,nnncI nartlN nv Amor.