The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1918-12-12
KLAUBER'S, "The Store Of Quaty," Bamberg, S. C..

leled in all of the four years of the
war.
Men of the Thirtieth Fight Like
Tigers.
French and British officers unite
in their praise of the American SOL
der. Their only criticism is of his
overzealousness, and they agree that
in 1914 their own armies suffered
from the same trouble. Almost every
officer who commented upon the i'm
petuous desire of the Americans to
advance referred to the Thirtieth di-
vision at Bellacourt. This division,
composed of troops from South Caro-
lima, North Carolina and Tennessee
has participated in most of the Sc
we're fighting during recent months
and has won the plaudits of the AL
lied armies. But at Bellacourt, &C
cording to English officers, their over
zeal caused severe losses. Fighting
| with the Australians, the Americans
gained their objective, and instead
of waiting for the Australians to
come UP, the Americans continued
beyond the objective, pursuing the
fleeing Germans. In their haste they
failed to mop up carefully and pass
ed beyond a tunnel in which the Ger
mans were hiding. After the Ameri-
cans had passed the Germans came
out; with machine guns opened up
on them from the rear. Cut off, the
Americans fought like tigers, until
the Australians, who were to follow,
reached them.
"An Austrian officer who par
ticipated in this engagement told me
that he never saw men fight as did
those American boys; and as he re-
gretfully spoke of the casualties, his
eyes filled with tears. He said that
the boys of the Thirtieth cut their
way out and that few of the Germans
who emerged from that tunnel lived
to tell the story.
CAS- late as the 10th OF October it
was practically impossible to find an
officer in any of the Allied armies
who believed that the Germans
would in the near future surrender.
When, after conversations with Col.
House in Paris, we had reached the
conclusion that the end was approach
ing, it was difficult to find an officer
who entertained the same view.
Their statement was that there vas
nothing in the military situation to
justify the hope; that Germany's re-
treat was being skilfully conducted;
that her army was apparently we'll
supplied with munitions; that while
the individual soldiers power of re-
sistance had been %lessened, the anne
was true of the other armies which
had been fighting for four years.
American officers called our attention
to the fact that the German prisoners
taken by our troops were physically
strong, and stated that, so far as
equipment was concerned, many of
our own boys had discarded their
blankets for German blankets taken
from the battlefield.
Sudden Collapse.
"It was only in the intelligence Of
flee that we found officers who ex-
pected the end, and their hope was
based on the fear expressed by many
German prisoners that the German
people would not stand. There car
be no doubt that the sudden collapse
was due to the weakening of the
German people and not of the Ger
man army, and today in France and
England thoughtful men agree that
in October President Wilson, by his
notes to the German government, did
more than any army to cause the
sudden collapse. Within the twenty
four hours after the issuance of his
famous note to the German govern