The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1918-05-17
Quick Work On Part Of Chief
Prevented Teut Invasion
ECHO OF NOYON FIGHT
Germans Were Beaten In Their
Attempt to Reach Somme
River
HENRY WOOD

With the French Armies Afeld,
April 25.-[By Mail1-In every great
battle there comes always psy
Geological moment when victory oft
en- depends on the momentary gent
us or inspirational flash of one or
the other commanding generals.
History will establish what was
| the psychological moment in the
great French battle before Noyon
which defeated Ludendorff's "Kolos-
sal conception" of driving a wedge
between the English and the French
armies. and then while one German
army by a rapid march to the coast
should completely pen in and crush
| the English army, second German
column should march on Paris.
| Until, however, history establishes
this psychological moment the writer
| will champion and support the
candidacy of the following particular
moment.
| Following the breaking of the
English front in the vicinity of ST.
Quentin on March 81, 1918, all of the
German armies in the immediate
vicinity began general advance to-
purpose not only of separating the
English and the French armies but
of filtering into the valley Of the
Disc for a march on Paris by way
of Compiegne, Creil and Senlis.
Ordered to Support Line
| AS a consequence, during the after
moon of March %, a French army
corps under the command of one of
the most distinguished French
generals whom French military
etiquette will not allow to be named,
was ordered to support the broken
English right wing by establishing
itself on the Crozat canal between
Tergnier and Saint Simon.
| In the meantime the Germans were
advancing rapidly-too rapidly in
fact to make it possible for. the
French generals army to reach the
positions it might attain before it
could relieve the two English divi-
sions that it was to replace.
| The contest rapidly developed into
one of whether or not the Germans
before the French army could attain
! the positions assigned it. Late in
the afternoon of March %, it became
quite apparent that unless something
most extraordinary happened to de-
lay the advance of the Germans, the
French army could not arrive in
time to check their progress. The
moment was the most crucial one
! that had yet arrived. Failure to stop
, the Germans Immediately meant
almost an open march for them on
Paris.
This situation was hurriedly re-
ported TO the French commander in
chief on the evening Of March %
The further information was COR
veyed to him that the German army
was concentrated in great numbers
at Ham for the continuation of the
advance on Paris.
Without an instant's hesitation and
with the same flash Of genius with
which he saved Verdun by conceiv-
ing and putting into instantaneous
execution an endless chain of auto
mobile transports between Verdur
and Barbecue, the general turned to
his chief of staff and gave substan-
TALLY the following order:
! Orders to AirpIane Squadron
= Every airplane squadron within
striking distance on the French
front, whether it be a fighting or a
bombarding squadron, will proceed
Immediately to Ham and lombard
and machine gun the German con
centrations there"
The telephone order flashed Out
Immediately along the entire French
front and within few moments
scores of airplane squadrons number
ing hundreds of machines were
headed for Ham Throughout almost
the entire night they arrived there
in what was practically a continuous
stream, raining down bombs and
pouring a constant hail of machine
gun fire into the German army that
was ready to advance.
! The full effect of this deluge from
hcaven-a deluge without precedent
in the worlds history-was only
learned afterwards from prisoners
Enormous losses were inflicted on
> Tie GCTIldu LTOOpSs Tie 0Etllc dlHly
thrown into dismay and confusion,
and two divisions especially prac-
tically put out to action.
Advance of German Invasion
Above all, the advance of the Ger
man invasion was delayed and when
only on the morning of March %,
! he Germans at last succeeded in
crossing the Somme the French
army was in position, the exhausted
English mad been relieved, and the
French were able to begin the battle
before Noyon that resulted eventu
ally in the complete checking of the
German plans for the Russianization
tof the allies on the western front.
Although throughout the entire re-
mainder of the battle before Amiens
both the French and the English con-
tinued to use this newly developed
tactic of bombing and machine gun
ming with airplanes the advancing
German army, yet the conception OF
it came purely from the French
commander in chief at a moment
when the whole future issue of the
war lay at stake.
{ ATTORNEY Albert r. Hall of Mime