New-York tribune., 1918-12-06
What We Did
By Frank II. Simonds
cop,ish'. 1919. New York r.ihrne rne

"a scores OF narratives OF the First
Battle Of the Somme, the sim
plest and the best account is that con.
tanned in the official report of Field
Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, and it MAJ
be doubted if Americas share in the
winning CT the final campaign Of the
war will ever be more concisely or i'm
pressively presented than in the modest
and straightforward statement of Gen
eral Pershing.
1t is, too, wonderful story. On April
20, at Seicheprey, we had skirmish.
memorable only for a certain quality
which it disclosed in our young troops
On April 26 our first division went into
action and took Cantigny, held it, broke
the counter attacks. Cantigny is the
beginning We arrived there after the
first flood of the German rush had been
checked; we opened the process of re-
gaining lost ground.
A little more than a month later Lu-
dendorf wins his last victory and bursts
across the Aisne In that critical hour
American divisions, gathered up from
rest camps, seized upon in the moment
of supreme necessity, appear on the road
to Paris and south Of the bridge across
the Marne at Chateau Thierry. In both
places we hold The marines win new
glory and the road to Paris is barred
We were the last reserve in that mo
ment, and, little as we had to give, it
was just enough.
Another month, and the tide turns.
While divisions of ours share the bur
for success, others are with Mangin in
the spearhead of Foch's counter often
sive. Ours is only a smaller share. 1t
is Gouraud who breaks the German at
tack, the pick Of the French storm troops
are with Mangin. But we are a part
Then at last the greater chance comes:
we have an army, and in mid-September
our army fights its first battle at St
Mihiel. 1t marks the first recession Of
the German from ground held since 1914
He loses towns and territory, ne loses
$4,000 prisoners, while our casualties
are but 1000. This is our first real
blow, but more is to core shortly.
AS it stands in the last days of Sep
tember, the German is hard pressed on
all fronts His retreat has begun, and
for this retreat ne has two routes that
northward through Liege, that south
ward through Sedan. 1t is to be our
mission to close the southern door. If
we can, then so great is the concentra-
tion of men, material and munitions
which the Germans have in four years
accumulated in France and Belgium
disaster is bound to follow. The Liege
neck of the bottle is too narrow to serve
the purpose.
SO from September 26 to November
II we fight to close that Sedan gateway.
One army grows to two, and besides We
lend divisions TO help in Flanders and
Champagne. We lack tanks and war
material, for our allies need all their
resources elsewhere. We have to make
men serve for machines The German
perceives the peril and sends his best
troops to face US, forty divisions first
and last For more than month he
holds his ground but his strength begins
to ebb, he cannot keep up the pace and
on November 1. we break through and
in the next days cur troops reach the
edge Of Sedan; the southern gateway is
closed There is left surrender or d
supreme disaster, and Ludendorf
chooses to surrender.
The thing that happened to Napoleon
has then happened to William H. In
the end the young troops of the aroused
nationalities of Europe wore out his
veterans. To the end his troops fought
we'll and the skill of his command was
unmistakable, but he lacked the force
His victories were local and of passing
Importance, his defeats were heavy and
his battle losses irreplaceabe. SO finally
we had the abdcation Of Fontainebeau
companion piece to the armistice OF
Senlis
When Ludendorff began his last cam
paign our allies were outnumbered by
upward of forty divisions. and we had
one division ready. When it ended We
had forty divisions, thirty in the field
ten serving as material to replace vast
age. More than all else this tells the
story of the campaign Of 1913. Selehe-
prey with a regiment, Cantigny with a
division, not more than three divisions
at the Marnc in June perhaps twice as
many in July; and then-one army at
st. Mihie in September, two between
the Seille and the Bar in October.
We were the last reserve of civilizs-
ton; we arrived terribly late upon a
field on which disaster had been avoided
! ...l.. H.. tha .unroron a1ad nnholievahle