Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-12-13

Maj. Gen. George w. Read. had been |
for the command of our |
divisions with the British, which were |
held back in training areas or as
signed to second-line defenses. Five of
the ten divisions were withdrawn from
the British area in June, three to re-
lieve divisions in Lorraine and the
Vosges and two were sent to the Paris
area to join the group of American
divisions which stood between the city
and any further advance of the enemy
in that direction"
By that time the great tide of Amer
lean troop movements to France was
in full swing and the older divisions
could be used freely. The Forty-sec-
ond, in line east of Reims, faced the
their ground unfiinchingly on the
right flank four companies of the
TWenty-eighth division faced "ad-
vancing waves of German infantry"
and the Third division held the Marne
line, opposite Chateau Thierry, against
powerful artillery and infantry attack.
Single Regiment Checks Enemy.
IA single regiment of the Third
wrote one of the most brilliant pages
in our military annals on this occa-
sion," General Pershing says. 1T pre-
vented the crossing at certain points
on its front while, on either flank,
the Germans who had gained a foot
ing pressed forward. Our men, firing
in three directions, met the German
attacks with counter-attacks at criti-
cal points and succeeded in throwing
two German divisions into complete
confusion, capturing 900 prisoners"
Thus was the stage set for the
counter-offensive which, beginning
with the smashing of the enemy's
Marne salient, brought overwhelming
victory to the allies and the United
States in the eyentful months that
have followed. The intimation is
strong that General Pershing's advice
helped Marshal Foch to reach his de-
| cision to strike.
counter-o Offensive Opens.
|
'"The great force of the German
Chateau Thierry offensive established
the deep Marne salient, but the enemy
was taking chances, and the vu2nera-
bility of this pocket to attack might
be turned to his disadvantage.
"Seizing this opportunity to support
my conviction, every division with any
sort of training was made available
for use in counter-offensive. The
place of honor in the thrust toward
scissors on July Is was given to our
First and Second divisions in COM
pany with chosen French divisions.
Without the usual brief warning of
a preliminary bombardment, the
massed French and American artillery
firing by the map, laid down its rolling
barrage at dawn while the infantry be.
gan its charge. The tactical handling
of our troops under these trying condi.
tions was excellent throughout the ac
ton.
"The enemy brought up large mum.
bers of reserves and made a stubborn
defense both with machine guns and
artillery, but through five days fight
ing the First division continued to ad
vance until it had gained the heights
above scissors and captured the vii
lage of Berzy-le-Sec.
'"The Second division took Beau Re
paire farm and Vierzy in a very rapit
| vance and reached a position il
/ front of Tigny at the end of its SECOND
day. These two divisions captured Z.
900 prisoners and over 100 pieces o.
artillery"
First American Army Formed
The report describes in some detail
the work of completing the reduction
Of the salient. mentioning the opera
tions of the Twenty-sixth, Third
Fourth, Forty-second, Thirty-secont
and Twenty-eighth divisions. Wit
the situation on the Marine front thu
relieved General Pershing writes, h
could turn to the organization of tn
First American army and the reductio
Of the st. Mifiel salient, long planne
as the initial purely American enter
prise.
A troop concentration, aided by ger
erous contributions Of artillery and al
units by the French, began, involvin
the movement, mostly at night. {
100000 men.
A sector reaching from Port su
: Seille, east of the Moselle, eastwar
through st. Mihiel to Verdun and late
enlarged to carry it to the edge of tn
t forest of Argonne was taken over, tn
! Second Colonial French, holding til
e tip of the salient opposite st. Mihie
1 and the French Seventeenth corps, o
i the heights above Verdun, being tran
I ferred to General Pershing's comman,
:. The combined French, British, an
e American air forces mobilized for til
: battle, the report says, was the large:
t aviation assembly ever engaged on tn
' western front up to that time in a sil
] gle operation.
: Battle of St. MihieI.
] OF the reduction of the ST. Mihit
t salient General Pershlng says:
after four hours artillery prep,
D ration the seven American division
+ in the front line advanced at q. n
i on September u, assisted by a linii
e ed number of tanks manned partly b
!, Americans and partly by the French
: "These divisions, accompanied b
+ groups of wire-cutters and Other
armed with bangalore torpedoes, wer
through the successive bands
r barhed wire that protected. the en-
sessed until that conference shall ha,