South Bend news-times., 1918-09-15
FRENCH sUCCEssFTL.
Associated Press service

IN the course me Gay We
made progress between Savy and
the Ham-st. Quentin road.
South Of the Ailette river We
advanced our positions 20 the north
Of Nanteuu-la- -Fosse.
Two German counter attacks In
: the region o. LaffauX and Noisy
\ farm We're repulsed.
Near East. Sept l., there was
lively reciprocal artillery actions
and patrol activity at numerous
points along the front
T West Of the Naraar river an enc
my attack against the new positions
j OF the British were repulsed with
heavy losses A number Of prison
ers were captured.
/ Aviation: British airplanes
I bombed enemy works iE the valley
/ Of the Struma river
German Weakness Increases.
Nothing could better illustrate
the increasing weakness OF the Ger
man arms than the ease with which
I the Franco-American force entrust-
ed with the task. advanced in the 81.
Mihiel salient. II is true the oper-
I
carried out, but one rarely has wit
messed anything like the ease of that
/ first days fghting.
There was, Of course. a barrage.
but not "a very terrific affair as bar
RACES 60. After the berrage there
was nothing very startling in the
way OF gun fire and the machine
gun rattle produced quite an effect
10y only coming now and then.
All the while the Americans were
going forward with the steadiness Of
flood trickling into woods on one
side and passing out Of them on
the other, spreading about a village
and Overwhelming il, and breaking
against a hill or a mountain and
gradually working over the top.
They moved like something worked
by a clock, but always we'll ahead
of schedule. Rain soaked and slip
ping about in the mud, they still
went forward while back along the
Hood came long lines of gray blue
creatures who had been swamped IN
its course.
Prisoners Bedraggled.
were sure TO be /Germans-men as
fine as you could wish for. or crea-
lures SO poor that their presence in
the line afforded the most damning
proof OF German insufficiency in
Elan IOwer.
me mud had proved too much for
many of the tanks and the rain
storms had swept the airplanes out
of the sky, but still! the Americans
went on. with just the booming OF
few big guns behind them and a
melting away of the enemy in front.
There was, however, plenty of
fierce aghting. The Bois (name Of
wood 0e4eted) was not cleared with
out a struggle which for a time held
back that part of the line. There
had been d throwing out of mus
tard gas and some sharp machine
gun firing before some Of the sur
rounded villages could be left be-
hind and the attack resumed.
But even these things did not
check the steady movement OF the
whclo army Notwithstanding the
furious storm the guns got along
without mishap.
BOches Make Poor Showing.
There is no disputing that the
toche made a poor showing. but he
was for the first time up against an
American army, lighting division
beside division on "A solid front. and
he liked neither its pace nor its de
termination IL was a great victory
for "a new army with new staffs, in
a new country. because IL was a vic
tory for eXactness. in thinking, and
precision in working.
That the bOche was meeting better
men we knew: that the new ma
chine was doing better work than
the cid We did not know. We are
mighty glad TO know IT,
huge Stocks OF Material
Aside from the strategic value OF
The reduction of TIE ST Mihiel
salient. the operation oy the Ameri-
ca-s has taken vast mum bers of pris-
OneTs and huge quantities Of guns,
ammunition and general stores.
The desperate efforts of the en-
cmy 10 escape through the forest
near NigneulIes partially succeeded;
hut not so well as to detract from
the brilliant result. Before the
American line stretched across the
edge Of the woods frightened. il is
estimated that thousands escaped
from the trap. Those who did not
escape were small units barely
greater than companies. and never
offered co night unless encountered
by some patrol. and even then re-
>istance was slight
The spirit of retreat had entered
that part Of the German army and
there were scores of instances where
the men. and even officers. professed