Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-10-12

Special Gable to Evening Public Ledger
copv'icst, iSis, opsaNc.c York Times COT
With the American Armies In France,
Oct. 10 (Delayed).
In the capture of nearly all Of the
Argonne s.forest,. 6e American troops
pa'S MeNcd ope.ef The NmSst notable
achievements of the world war;. It is
by far the biggest thing our troops have
yet done In a word, they have taken
what was regarded SO long as an i'm
pregnable position, and one for the nos
session Of which hundreds of thousands
Of men have died in the last four years
and two months.
Tie possession OF the A-gonne forest
has vast potentialities. 1t is the strong
est Defense on the eastern wing Of the
great German salient from the sea to the
,Mosells. Perhaps It is the most impor-
taht position of .alI'tt the Germans It's
less Is most serious for the German COM
mand, TO the Allies 1t, is a position no
less vital ..'"F ." .t3It
glance at a map showing the battle
front of the last two weeks between
Rheims and the Meuse River will in
dicate the deep dent that has existed in
the f)rward moving Allied line. That
dent VAS because or the German strong
hold in Argonre. The whole eastern half
Of ;Eefterafl Foch's move has beeh held
up by the Argonrfe position Now the
Germans. sbaye been driven out of It by
the first SHiericans army.: .Fn n.
.... Planned PinchIng Drive
meters long, extending from Grand-Pre
on the north 10 .Thiaucourt on the south.
Beforesour attack on September 90 the
line, crossed the forest about twenty
kilometers south ,of Grand-Pre through
Chatade wood. The Americans had been
told that the Argonhe forest could not
-ee tsken frontally, and so, when aour
driVe started, the plan was to advance
up me Are valley on the east and up
tneTAisne valley on the west Of the for
est, pinching it out.
Inc story Of how they did 1t. Is one
or the most stirring of the war, Across
the Forest. which hides a series of hills
and rayipes and dense jungles, ran the
famed HlndenbIrg ling, four kllometers
deep' with trenches by the hundreds and
with lines of wire at short intervals for
a 'deptha OF two and a half miles. The
rocks and trees and holes formed
shelters Tor the thousands of machine
guns. The roads had been mined or
blown up. Artillery could not be used
with effect. The Germans were protected
by uncounted piu boxes, dugouts, and
ready-made positions, running always
togthe 1acuthern side and the crests of
the hills and on these hills the mos,
OF our advance was made. The Ger.
mans mad every cross-trail and road
under the exact range Of guns further
back. 1t was veritable hell through
which Ethe boys from New York. were
ordered to go, and they went.
Daily dispatches and communicates
nave told how slow and ,tortuous our
progress was. Some days we gained a
klioneter; some days nothing some
DAYS more as the battle went on, Be-
cause or the exact machine gun aim our
doughboys had to advance through the
wire at.night, cutting II with pliers, and
they were fired on by boche snipers and
MACHINE gunnerss when they made the
slightest noise. There were Virtually
no roads. What roads there had been
four years ago had been neglected by
the Germans. who used the ~ra ilroads.
and the wagon road had become filled
WITH tnndergrawth. y,e. .,, ~.
Advance In single File
1t was case Of cutting "a path
through the wire and filtering through
single nle. This gave the Germans a
-chance which they took advantage of a
number OF times to- get around behind
the americans and engage in bitter
hands ethahd fighting. On and on our
ooEs worked their way through ,Gruerie