The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1918-07-23

Mondays deeds.
Thank God, we stood the test!
The long-expected drive came on,
the fifth of the present year. In ac-I
cordance with the expectations of
the best informed observers, it was
directed toward Paris and not to-
ward Channel Ports. The. bottllng
up of Zeebrugge and Ostend, and
the planting of an all but impassa-
BILE barrier of mines, have lessened
German interest in the Narrow Seas.
But the lust for .looting Paris is as
Unsuitable as ever. Besides, it was
known to the Hunnish High Com
mand that long stretches of the
Champagne battle front were held
by American troops, the "Yankee
pigs" whom Hohenzollern Junkers
affected to despise. It was reckoned
that they were unused to such war
fare as that which they were about
to niece; that, being Independent
citizens instead of slavish subjects,
they were lacking in discipline; and
that through their sectors, there
fore, was the line of least resistance.
How confidently the Germans,
even the High Command, expected
to break through the American lines
was strikingly disclosed at the very
moment when the attempt was being
made. The Kaiser's own particular
pet among his "reptile press" the
Lol a! Anzieger, of Berlin, thus de-
livered itself:
eff they have any n left in
the Entente capitals, they must see
that all prospect of America saving
the situation has disappeared. Any
one who knew the Americans in the
Boxer war &. must have recognize
ed at first glimpse that these troops
knew little of military discipline. A
strongly developed spirit Of indie
rendence makes an ,undisciplined
crowd of soldiers. The American.
soldier fights or marches if he wants
to do so, otherwise not"
That was the Potsdam view, not
ccmprehending that a man may be
as we'll disciplined as a machine;
that loyalty is more potent than
servility; and that soldiers who are
men, who know what they are
fighting for, and who fight because
they believe in the cause for which
they are fighting, r certain in the
end to win the victory over those
who are chattels, who know not
what they are fighting for, and who
fight merely because they fear the
punishment that would befall them
if they did not fight.
So at the very hour when the ar
rogant and contemptuous words
which we have quoted were being
published and read, the picked vet
Grams of Potsdam were being baf-
fled and checked by the troops that
sknew little of military discipline"
and were being driven back across
the glorious Marine, in bloody rout
and with fearful loss, before the
crimsoned bayonets of "an undlsclp-
lined crowd of soldiers"
The Crown Prince hurled the very:
elite of his troops against u lines,
with numerous "tanks" and close
packed infantry waves; hoping to
overwhelm our supposedly untried
men and justify the Hunnish preten-I
sion of contempt for "Yankee pigs"
But at not one point did our line
waver. Every man stood firmly in
his place, and with barrage fire and
the death-dealing chatter of ma
chine-guns, held back the Hunnish
rush and exacted a fearful penalty
for the insolent attempt. Nor were
they content with merely holding
the line unbroken. At the psyche
logical moment our troops broke
cover and rushed into the open fight
ing that has ever been dear to the
American soldiers heart, That was
too much for the Huns: Machine
gun bullets had been deadly" but