Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-05-23
capture of Villers-Bre.
onneux Plateau Up to
Best Traditions
ACA1N DOES IMPOSSIBLE
Reckless Bravery Shown in Ef.
fort to Recover Captains
Body
8 BY WALTER DURANTY
'cidi Cdbie TO Epening Public Ledg
.G1rYyf0ht, 1913. bv Se,r York Times Co.
~ With the French Armies, May %.

oKnilitsry discipline, training and tra-
Z dfttcr than that furnished by the visit
which | made today to the colonel of
the Foreign Legion
was received beforehand by the gem
ersl Commanding the famous Moroccan
division in which the legion has beer
ifcorporated. He is well worthy to lead
: the bravest of the brave, for his war
\ cross ribbon bears more palms-siX or
seven at least each indicating a sep
arate citation in army orders-thar tina
Of any French soldier | have seen eN-
cept the crack airmen.
4 ~ With simple brevity he declared his
pride. in having command Of such troops
IS those who once again accomplished
the Impossible in the desperate fighting
Il that resulted in the reCapture OF tho VII
4 lers- Bretonneux plateau on April &c and
N az He also expressed warm praise 0f
enc of the American divisions that had
been its neshbor earlier in tn" year
Like him the colonel of the legion has
I fully earned the right to lead the FIRST
regiment In the French army to wear the
blood-red Legion of Honor shoulder cord.
For twenty years he has been an officer
"A In the Foreign Legion. and has fought all
K oSer the world but his figure Is slight
and agile as a boys. and there is no
A sign Of gray in his hair or his pointed
much has been said about the eyes OF
the great leaders in this war. hut
never saw anything to he compared viii
the gaze of this professional soldier.
whose blue steel fash seems to etrlke
one with force and direCtness Of a phys
'ieal impact
Fifty-six Races in Legion
Before describing the action in which
his regiment took part the colonel re-
/, marked that the legion was a living re-
sponse to President Wilson's appeal 10
!. the whole world united struggle for free
(. dom and democracy. Representatives Of
( no less than ffty-siX different races are
IN its ranks, with nothing in common
between them save the fact that they
4 have all come forward voluntarily in
strange land to fight for France and her
ideals of civilization.
EsfYou may wonder" the colonel SAID,
y sthow material so mixed can. despite diff
Equities of language. be welded into a
Z force whose cohesion is so perfect that
each intsfvidual is marked with the same
Z hnprint and ttat the word 'Legionary
3 stands throughout the French army for
the type of first-Cass fighting man.
sThe answer is simple Discipline, the
rxactice of war and tradition Of the
rGgiment Ever since its foundation the
1tEion has been making war equally
amid conditions of exceptional dlthculty.
The result has been that, no matter how
great our losses there always remained
y Framework of trained officers and SOL
diers to transmit the regimental spirit
to the strangers that came TO ill up the
ranks. As France, England and your
i own country have discovered. only the
strictest discipline can prepare men to
withstand without faltering the terrific
shock of modern war.
u Fused in Flame Of Battle
ssThe officers and noncemmissIoners Of
the legion had learned their lesson in the
hardest of schools. In the flame Of the
Artois battle of May 3, l9l5-our irst
engagement in this war, in which sue
Q9ss and losses were equally great-the
r&Rinent newcomers and old hands
alike. was fused into a unity solid
that although hardly man Of the orig
!, nal contingent remains. the legion has
elways made good its boast of accom-
pIishing what no other troops would be
called on to attempt.
s'Dake the case last month at Nillers-
Hretonneux.. A fiat plateau, devoid of
4 &N shelter or hollows. formed in ideal
e Glacis for defense by the mitrailleuses,
With which the enemy was 50 literally
rFovided II was the legions duty to
Y 4dvance across that space without the
peual artillery preparation or barrage
f IRE moving forward in front of it.
EAT one moment the battalions which
termed the leading wave We're swept by
x hail Of bullets from the front and both
dRnks at once; yet they pushed on 700
precious yards, and stopped only through
4he6r lack of men to continue. With
ffl< remainder they repealed the counter
affack which the Germans flung at them
\ ixnmediately in an attempt to retain the
position whose value they fully realized
for subsequent operations. And the
legionaries did hold until re-enforce-
( pents reached them and workeC
t f}roughout the night to consolidate the
ground their sacrifice had bought
Then it was our turn to make the
enemy face mitrailleuse fire on the open
Glacis. and he paid tenfold for the toll
he had taken on the previous day. Again
and again the German waves advanced
~ the attack Each time the only re-
<plt was added slaughter, until the
ground was covered with dead.
Spirit Of the Legion
One detail to show you what the
spirit OF the legion means Among the
fallen officers of the battalion was
f4ptain who had spent all his life in
the legion and tpyified exactly its dis.
cipIins and traditions. Stern beyond
r<<erity. but absolutely just, he never
< spared his men IL necessity demanded
13crifice. True to the last, he fell right
f ~ the very forefront of his company,
$ 1ofe than hundred yards beyond the
t@pt where our defense line was con-
f1daled.
An Through the night the survivors
614 Battalion spent their last energy
rave their lives TO recover his body
Morning the rest OF the officers had
I'M 6rouEht back, but he and one other
n 11UI the deadly exnanaa Vhera
3[h1;1E might pass and live.
3<fore noon the remnant of the bat
- lIoG was withdrawn That night some
& ~ <1<m went forward again to seek their
&&ain none of them returned. And
&5 a required my strictest orders to
E<e<<uf the last survivors from continu-
Tx fI1e Impossible attempt They re-
<4aaq 40 be satisfied until the acceptance
6t 'ha tnemy OF his defeat enabled US
~ 0r&lIy fecover the body of our COM
r&6< Can you ask a better illustra-
= |j10 ,of what is meant by the traditions
r. <tt Foreign Legion?"
VA Cross Workers in Trenches