Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-12-13

my's front line and suppof; reaches
IN irresistible waves on schedule time,
breaking down all defense of an en-
emy demoralized by the great volume
of our artillery fire and our sudden
out of the fog.
"Our First corps advanced to Thiau-
court, while our Fourth corps curved
back to the southwest through Nom
sard. The Second Colonial French
corps made the slight advance re
quired of it on very difficult ground,
and the Fifth corps took its three
ridges and repulsed a counter-attack.
"a rapid march brought reserve reg
imentS of division of the Fifth corps
into Vigneulles in the early morning.
where it linked up with patrols of our
Fourth corps, closing the salient and
forming a new line west of Thiauco'irt
to Vigneulles and beyond Fresnes-en-
Woevre
5000 Prisoners Taken.
"At a cost of only 1000 casualties.
mostly light, we had taken 10000 I'ris~
oners and 443 guns, great quantity
of material, released the Inhabitants
of many villages from enemy dom'na-
ton and established our lines in d pc
sition to threaten Metz.
'gThis signal success of the Ameri-
can First army in its first offensive
was of prime Importance. The allies
found they had a formidable army TO
aid them, and the enemy learned tinal-
ly that he had one to reckon with"
The report shows for the first time
officially that with this brilliantly exc
.cuted coup. General Pershing's men
had cleared the way for the great ef-
fort of the allies and American forces
to win conclusive victory. The
American army moved at once toward
its crowning achievement, the battle
of the Meuse.
The general tells a dramatic story
of this mighty battle in three distinct
phases, beginning on the night OF
September q, when Americans quick
ly took the places of the French on
the thinly held line of this long. qnicr
sector. The attack opened on Septem-
Der 26, and the Americans drove
through entanglements. across No
-frst-line positions.
Barrie of the Meuse.
Closing :he chapter, General Per
shing says:
'On November 6 division of the
| First corps reached a point on the
Meuse opposite Sedan, % miles from
our lines of departure. The strategi-
cal goal which was our highest hope
was gained. We had cut the enemy's
main line of communications, and
| nothing could save his army from
complete disaster.
"In all forty enemy divisions had
been used against US in the Meuse-
Argonne battle. Between September
| 26 and November we took 26,059
prisoners and 46S guns on this front.
Our divisions engaged were the
First, Second. Third. Fourth, Fifth,
ninth, Thirty-second, Thirty-third,
| Thirty-flfth, Thirty-seventh. Seventy
eighth, Seventy-ninth, Eightieth.
Eighty-second, Eighty-ninth, Nihetfeth
and Ninety-first.
MANY ofsour divisions remained in
line for length of time that re
quired nerves Of steel, while others
were. sent in again after only few
days of rest. The First. Fifth, Twen-
ty-sixth, Forty-second, Seventy-ser-
enth, Eightieth, Eighty-ninth and
Ninetieth were in the line twice.
! Although some of the divisions
were fighting their first battle, they
soon became equal to the best.
/ Other Corps Active.
The commander in chief does not
lose sight of the divisions operating
with French or British armies during
this time.
He tells of the work of the Second
corps, comprising the Twenty-seventil
and Thirtieth divisions, in the British
the st. Quentin canal passes through
a tunnel.
Of the total strength of the expedi-
tionary force, General Pershing re-
ports:
"There are in Europe altogether, III
. Guiding a regiment and some sanitary
units with the italian army and the
organizations at Murmansk, also in
Guiding these en- route from the States
approximately 2,O53,347 men. less ouI
losses"
First U. S. Planes in May.
. "The first airplanes received from
! home arrived in May, and together
/ we have received 1879. The frs
American squadron completely
equipped by American production, lin
cluding airplanes. crossed the German
, lines on August Z, 1918.
"As to tanks, we were eompellts
. to rely upon the French. Here
however, we were less fortunate, fol
the reason that the French produc
ton could barely meet the require
ments of their own armies.
at should be fully realized that tii'
French government has always taker
; most liberal attitude and has beer
most anAlOuS 10 give us every pOSSi
BILE assistance in meeting our deficien
cies in these as well as in othel
respects. Our dependencies upol
France for artillery, aviation ana
; tanks was, of course, due to the fac
/ that our industries had not been ex
clusively devoted to military produe
: ton"