The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-09-18

| tale from prisoners OF one O1VlSiou
calling to another division in vain for
aid, little knowing that the help 1T
summoned was in even more desper-
ate need of assistance. Prisoners have
| been taken from seven different d.
visions-Thirteenth LadWehr, the
Three Hundred and Fiftieth, Austro-
Hungarian; the Tenth, Ninety-sev-
enth and the Seventy-seventh, the
Two Hundred and Fifty-fifth and the
Three Hundred and Seventh and from
Lanstrum They have all told the
same tale of surprise and vain ap-
peals. If they got any reply at ali
it was to hold on to their sector at
all costs, when holding on was vir-
tually impossible.
1t was to this confusion that we
doubtless owe the very large number
of prisoners taken at such a trlftlng
cost, although the enemy was quite
we'll prepared on the whole to retire.
Regimental officers captured are free
in their criticism CT the lncompe-
tence Of the higher commands for
their lack Of foresight and practical
judgment and that triumph through
the fight has been for the American
staff work is a damning Indictment
of the German organization.
Everywhere the troops were will
ling to fght-which was not every
where-they were frequently left in
such bad shape by faulty liaison
| work that they had no option but to
surrender. One such amusing case
occurred where an entire regiment
| with it's commander and his entire
staff was captured It had been left
with both it's fanks in the air and
suddenly found the Americans on all
four sides of it.
| After surrendering the commander
requested that his roll should be call
ed so that he might discover how
heavy had been his losses. When it
name but one officer and one private.
The commander then suggested that
as his command was so disconcerting-
| ly complete he should march it off in
whatever direction his captors desire
So it came to pass that one was
met with the astonishing spectacle
Of an entire German regiment march
| ing off the battle field under it's own
officers. guarded by a few joyous an1
ridiculously inadequate troopers who
look with their cowboy seat in the
saddle and their reckless good hu-
| NOR, live highland drivers Of a by
gone century herding home a drove
| of raided cattle.
The operation, to explain it in more
| detail, was Of the pincer type always
| used to nip off salient One claw
of the pincers some IL miles thick
rested on the Moselle at about Pont-
a-Mousson. The other, about eight
| miles thick, rested on the heights Of
the Meuse at Haudimont, little to
the east of the river. The distance
to be filed up between the claws Of
the pincers was about 80 miles, and
the ground to be nipped off by them
would be about 200 square miles.
1t was thus big sort Of an opera
ton to be put through in two days on
a sector that had been as stubborn to
impression as almost any on the
whole front But the operation has
been carried out not without a hitch
Of any kind, but throughout in ad
vance of the scheduled program and
in weather conditions that were un-
favorable throughout for all arms
and especially for the tanks and the
aircraft.
Yet, despite the sodden ground and
binding rain, the infantry has been
supported by the full range Of it's ar
tillery and has triumphed even
though tank support could not be af-
forded and though the work of the
alrplanes, magnificent as it was, could
not approach the effectiveness that
might have been attained IN fine
weather
The first days fighting saw the
southern claw of the pincers ad-
vance up to the full limit assigned to
it, but the western had to face more
difficult ground and more strenuous
ones. 1t, too, however, reached it's
assigned position later in the day.
Consider how interesting was the
situation. The claws of the pincers
were but four miles APART They were
pursuing a large force Of the enemy
ahead and away from the end and
at the same time they were advanc-
ing on an unknown but certainly also
a large force of the enemy in the
200 square miles that their grip en-
braced. When the claws met then
the arms would have a big force of
the enemy on either side of the end
they then might have to fight, facing
both ways.
They took a chance. for the enemy
was reported to be escaping between
the claws at the rate of a thousand
an hour, when early Friday morning
they closed and trapped a so far un-
known number Of the enemy. a |
chance shot at the number of Ger
mans inside the salient when the OBJ
GRAFTON began 5uld be from 10000
to 100. 900. Many of the roads were
lined with them today and up to 1
midnight 13, 500 had already been
but in this number had not
been included the bulk of those be-
ieved to be trapped in the salient. =,