New-York tribune., 1918-07-05
Combative Qualities Are
Demonstrated at Belleau
Wood and Vaux
''Bois Americaine"
Put on French Map
Allies Gain Freedom OF
Action ON Thirty
Mile Line
By Wilbur Forrest
Spec,ol Cable In 7'se Tribune

Copyright. 1918. by The Tribune Associat,on)
WITH THE FRENCH ARMIES, July
Al visited headquarters of one OF
the French armies to-day, where
found French and American generals
marking up the Franco-American score
against the enemy from June 6 through
the first two days of July on the line
running roughly from south of ths
River Asne, west OF Soissons, TO
Chateau Thierry.
IT you trace this line on the map
YOU will find it is where the German
crown prince came to a rude halt in
his attempted march on Paris in the
offensive of May %. Roughly, it is
thirty miles from the village of Am
bleny to Just west of Chateau Thierry
line, which is quite the one main pas
capital. 1t has been rebuilt and
strengthened to suit the Franco Amer
icans, and the enemy units opposite
the line are now strategically domi-
mated, leaving the Allies free to con-
unue operations or to hold with best
advantage in case Of an enemy attack.
5000 Prisoners Taken
Practically every one Of the obser-
Natlon heights or strongholds over
looking or threatening the Franco
American lines in this sector has been
the thrcatre Of intermittent localized
Franco-American assaults, wherein all
operations were happily ended on June
,, with the score figured to-day as
follows:
More than 5000 German prisoners.
many guns and war material captured.
Six or seven German divisions badly
mauled.
Six so badly as to be unable to con-
tlnue fighting until the reformed ranks
are filled up.
Freedom of Allied activity along
a thirty-rnile front systematically taken
from the enemy, though in many places
not without severe fighting.
Americas share in this series of
brilliant actions. which must be put
down as the most prolonged and gal
liant fighting we have yet experienced
IN this war, covered comparatively
small sector northwest of Chaeau
Thierry at the southern end of a
thirty mile line where the strongly
fortified village of Vaux was the last
TO fall to the Americans in completion
of their part of the entire series Of
operations.
Americans Still Going
saw aerial photographs of Vaux
to-day showing it before and after
being taken. The artillery fire in the
latter had left it rabble of stones.
The same photograph showed American
lntantrymen we'll beyond it and still
going. White flags placed on the ground
Tor aerial cameras traced the Sine. An
other photograph was that of an enemy
barrage tearing UP the ground in the
rear OF the Americans, whose dash was
too fast for the enemy artillery OBJ
servers.
A French general who commands a
part OF the American army praised
them to the skies at headquarters when
The Tribune's correspondent called TO-
day.
"They've got the DASH" he said, land
they're chic"
He repeated "chic" several times. He
also announced that Belleau Wood. the
scene Of heavy American fighting dur
ing the series OF operations ending
IN the complete capture of that quarry
OF machine gun nests on June II. has
now been rechristened on the man
"bols Amerlcaine," and thus it will be
on all French maps in the future
There also will be monument ir
the wood after the war, dedicated tc
those who have fallen so that it coulc
be christened thus by the general, who
added ne was extremely proud to com
mand such Americans.
American newspaper readers to remem.
per while American troops are passing
through their first small battles Of the
war is that greater actions are yet to
come which will completely dwarf
those fought to date. With the scores
OF American writers now in France fo1
hundreds oil American newspapers nat
urally concentrating their verbal activ-
ltles exclusively on the American fights
IN France, the readers perspective of
the war as whole is likely to become
twisted.
More words have been cabled to
America about the battles of Beileu
Wood and Vaux than were dispatched
during the historic Battle of the
Marne. The real significance of these
small battles, | believe, is not in the
villages or ground taken, but in their
concrete demonstration of the com.
batlve qualities of Americas average
youthful citizen who has been called
upon to throw his weight into the bal
ance against the injustice of Prussian
world domination.
Doughboys Win Fame
l have made this point to illustrate
what occurred in part on the remainder
Of the thirty-mile line between the
Aisne and Chateau Thierry during the
days when American troops were val
iahIiy Dattlln& In Belleau Wood, Vaux
and the neighboring stronghold.
French troops, in a series of whirl-
wind attacks, captured many villages
notably Cutry, southwest of Soissons
with big enemy troop concentration
at the quarry adjoining, simultaneously
taking the German observation hill a
mile away. They fought a series of
actions ousting enemy units from the
last fringes of the big forest of Villers
Catterets, Strengthened the saIients at
various points and co0perated on the
left and right with the American sector
IL nuraber Of actions where poilus
and doughboys fought side by side.
With the end of this series of Franco
American actions, in which approx
mately one-hfth of the thirty-mile
front was held by doughboys, a trihe
over tfth of the total number of
prisoners fell to the Americans.
Every American doughboy who has
fought with the poilus will tell you
that he aspires to be the poilu'g fight
ing equal. Proper recognition that he
held up his fifth with the French vet
Grams in the Aisne- Chateau Thierry
series CT attacks is as high rraise as
he'll ask. That he has got "dash and
is chic" has been proven beyond u
doubt
talked to-day to some German pris-
sners taken by Americans at Vaux.