The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1918-06-06
YANKS WIN
AT MARINE
Continued From Page One. }

continued from rage One.)
Their guns were dumped from
the Ford wagons and hastily
mounted in the streets and in the
houses of Chateau Thierry. Then
for three days they held the bridge
and prevented the Germans from
Getting pontoons across.
Silence Enemy
Despite our whitening fire, the
enemy came on repeatedly from
the other side of the stream.
Our machine guns were going
constantly. Officers aided In
picking off the boches with their
revolvers. Then the enemy mount
ed machine guns in the windows
on their side of the river, right
opposite the Americans, and open
ed fire.
One group of Americans had
guns in an old mill directly over
the water and boches we're just
across. For two days they fought,
trying to dislodge each other.
German bullets whizzed into the
windows and pumped into the
walls of the room, but the Yanks'
shooting finally won, inflictins
heavy casualties and silencing the
German guns.
Hold Hill 2O4
Our guns in this mill also COM
manded a wheat field at the edge
of town, thru which the enemy re-
peatedly attempted to advance. At
times as many as nine waves OF
skirmish lines were visible in this
field.
As the American machine guns
opened fire every German would
duck out of sight in the wheat,
then slowly, line by line, their
heads would appear, then their
shoulders, as they tried to resume
the advance, and the bullets again
whipped amidst them, reducing
their numbers, They endeavored
repeatedly to reach the river by
this means, and each time they
were driven back.
Meantime, the hottest fire was
poured in on the Americans. The
enemy held Hill 204, overlooking
our positions and made the most
of the situation, but the Ameri-
cans stuck.
Those guarding the bridge
maintained a sweeping hail of bull
lets at its approaches and pre-
vented the boches from crossing
until it had been blown up, then
tthey poured in a stronger fire,
preventing enemy engineers from
Throwing across their pontoons.
| Officer a Hero.
Automobiling past batteries
firing at the Germans, thru end
less lines of supply trains and
the other vast moving units nee
essary in open warfare, / heard
the story of the machine gunners'
fight from men and officers who
were in 1t.
They were al laughing as they
told their adventures. The ma
jority of them were apparently
recruited from the region OF
Pittsburgh and included every
thing from clerk to mill hand
but now they're the fightingest
fighters on the Marine.
Lieut.. John Bissell, Pittsburgh,
who graduated ahead of time last
year at West Point, has received
the French war cross. He cross
ed the river with machine gun
detachment and for two days and
nights saw nothing but fire.
The enemy was all around him
and his men and guns, so they
were completely cut off from the
main American force.
The only way by which they
could return was swept by both
allied and German fire. Bissell
finally walked out to the bridge
and shouted across to the Ameri-
cans whom he saw, SO AZ not to
be mistaken for the enemy. Then
he led his own men and 300
French back safely.
Describing the incident to the
United Press, Bissell said:
Old Regiment There.
/ cit wasn't so bad. but the bull
lets kept hitting the iron railinl
lof the bridge. II was night ant
sparks from the bullets striking
the rail were just like dozens Q
matches being lighted all around