The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-12-05

expeditionary forces was given to the public yesterday by Secretary Baker. It is in the form of a preliminary report to the Secretary, covering operations up to November 20, after the German collapse. It closes with these words from the leader of the great army i'll France, expressing his feeling for those who served under him:
 'I pay the supreme tribute to our officers and soldiers of the line. When I think of their heroism, their pa- tience under hardships, their un- f1inching spirit of offensive action, am filled with emotion which I am unable to express. Their deeds are immortal, and they have earned the eternal gratitude of our country"
 The report begins with General Pershings departure for France. Its striking feature is the section de- voted to "combat operations"
 General Fershing views the en- counters before March 21 of this year in which American troops par ticipated as part of their training, and dismisses them briefly. On that date, however, the great German of- fensive was launched and a crucia. situation quickly developed in the Allied lines which called for prompt use of the four American divisions that were at that time "equal to any demands of battle action"
 The Crisis in Picardy.
 The first crisis of the German drive s, r5I
 "The crisis which this offensive de- veloped was such," General PersAAng
 says," that our occupation of an American sector must be postponed. On March 2S I placed at the dis posal of Marshal Foch, who had been agreed upon as commander in chle1
 of the Allied armies, all of our forces to be used as he might dictate. At his request, the first division was transferred from the Toul sector to
 a. position in reserve at Chaumont-en-
 Vixen. As German superiority iR
 numbers required prompt action, an
 agreement was reached at the Ape vile conference of the Allied Pre-
 miers and commanders and myself, on May 2, by which British shipping
 was to transport ten American dtvts- ions to the British army area, where thev were to be trained and equip- ned. and additional British shipping
 was to be provided for as many dl-
 visions as possible for use elsewhere "On April 26, the First Division had gone into the line in the Montdidter 1 salient on the Picardy battle front.
 Tactics had been suddenly revolution ized to those of open warfare, and our men, confident of the results of their training, were eager for the test. On ! the morning of May 28, this division attacked the commanding German po- sition in it's front, taking with splen- did dash the town of Cantigny, and all other objectives, which were organ1z- ed and held steadfastly against vicious counterattacks and galling artillery
 fire. Although local, this brilliant &C.,
 tion had an electrical effect, as it demonstrated our fighting qualitie5 under extreme battle conditions, and also that the enemy's troops were not altogether invincible."
 There followed immediately the German thrust across the Aisne to- ward Paris.
 Allies Position Grave.
 '"The Allies" General Pershing says, faced a crisis equally as grave as that of the Picardy offensive in March. Again every available man was placed at Marshal Foch's disposal, and the Third Division, which had just come | from it's preliminary training in the 1 trenches, was hurried to the Marne. Its motorized machine gun battalion preceded the other units and success 1 fully held the bridgehead at the
 Marne, opposite Chateau-Thierry. The Second Division, in reserve near
 Montdidier, was sent by motor trucks and other available transport to check 1 the progress of the enemy toward Paris. The division attacked and re-
 took the town and railroad station at
 Bouresches and sturdily held it's
 ground against the enemy's best di- visions.
 i Tn the battle of Belleau Wood, which followed, our men proved their superiority and gained a strong tact
 icaI position, with far greater loss to
 the enemy than to ourselves. On July Fl, before the Second was relieved, it i captured the village of VauX with
 most splendid precision.
 l Meanwhile our Second Corps, un-
 der Maj. Gen. George W. Read, had
 been organized for the command of | our divisions with the British, which
 were held back in training areas or assigned to second-line defenses. Five 1 of the ten divisions were withdrawn
 from the British area in June, three
 to relieve divisions in Lorraine and
 the Vosges and two to the Paris area
 to join the group of American divis-
 ions which stood between the city and , any further advance of the enemy in
 that direction"
 By that time the great tide of
 American troops movements to France
 was in full swing and the older di- visions could be used freely. The 42d, in line east of Rheims, faced the | German assault of July 15 and "held
 their ground unf1inchingly',,;s, the : right flank four companies of the i 18th Division faced advancing waves
 of German infantry" and the Third l Division held the Marne line opposite ! Chateau-Thierry against powerful ar 1 tiTery and infantry attack.
 "A single regiment of the Third wrote one of the most brilliant pages 1 in our military annals on this occa- sion," General Pershing says. ''It pre- vented the crossing at certain points
 on it's front while, on either flank,
 the Germans who had gained a foot
 ing, pressed forward. Our men, fir ing in three directions, met the Ger
 man attacks with countera ttacks at
 critical points and succeeded in | throwing two German divisions into complete confusion, capturing 500 prisoners"