Evening star., 1918-06-30
BY LINCOLN EYRE.
Cnblegram to The Sunday Star and II
New York World. Copyright, 1913.

BY LINCOLN EYRE.
Cnblegram to The Sunday Star and the
New York World. Copyright. 1918.
WITH THE AMERICAN FORCES
ON THE MARINE, June 29.-French
and American artillery, French and
American machine guns and French
and American snipers are turning the
northern part of the city of Chateau
Thierry into German cemetery.
Operating in even more perfect unison
than ever before, the poilus and the
drenching the foe with a downpour
of lead and high explosives wherever
and whenever he raises his head.
In the strangest kind of fighting
that ever this war has produced, it
was the Americans to whom fell the
heroic role of stemming the enemy
onrush at the ChateauThierry
bridges four weeks ago, and they are
still demonstrating daily and nightly
the spirit of initiative and adapt
ability that is in their blood.
Tactics New to All.
There was little the French could
teach us about the tactics employed
in Chateau-Thierry nowadays, for 1t
was as new to them as it was to us.
How thoroughly our greenhorn
youngsters have familiarized them
selves with the needs of the entirely
novel situation I learned last night
and early this morning in the course
of four-hour tour through the
southern quarter of the city. Accom-
panied by a captain on the staff of the
forces in this sector and another cor
respondent, I essayed to see what it
was like.
Despite warnings to the effect that
roaming about Chateau-Thierry is
about as safe as toying with rattle
snakes rattles, we had a charmingly
placid visit. Neither shells nor ma
chine gun fusillades. both of which
evils were fairly plentiful. interfered
with our seeing the most peculiar
sights have ever beheld during three
years fairly intimate acquaintance
with this war.
What we saw was neither trench
tions, nor yet the "Injun fighting"
that prevails in Belleau woods. 1t
was something of all three with a
touch of the barricade of the Paris
commune and a reminiscent hint OF
Philadelphia street car strike.
River Marne Changes Conditions.
The element that makes it radically
different from all these is the River
Marne, the most ticklish no mans
land to fight across that could well
be devised And fight across it they
do, for both French and American pa
trolls have reached the German bank
and engaged enemy groups in hand-to
hand encounters in the eastern sub
urbs Of the town.
How they manage to cross and re-
cross the deep, swift-f1owing stream
is best not disclosed. but l may say
that more than one American has
been mighty glad he practiced the
Australian crawl so assiduously in the
old swimming hole back home.
1t is the machine gunners and expert
rif1emen who harass the Germans most
in Chateau Thierry, however. Imagine
Haq1em river and our soldiers holding
Manhattan Island with single snipers
or little knots of machine guns and
automatic rifles hidden away in the
cellar or perched on the roof of every
building. industriously combing the
with bullets The Marne is about as
wide and runs through Chateau Thierry
in about the same way as the Harlem
does through northern Manhattan. OF
course. the enemy spatterS our side of
it quite as busily. but we have reason
to believe we know more about his
whereabouts and movements than he