Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-10-01
ONWARD, AND YET ON,
IS SLOGAN
British Iron Division" Sharing the Enthusiasm OF
P~ershing's Men, Defes Hottest Enemy
Fire and Biting Gales
By PHILIP GIBBS

themselves In one Of the trucks. and
there are bitter accounts among the
men as to the reason of their dcbacle.
Their spirit is breaking. All that
said recently about the deterioration OF
the German morale. the partial cracking
of their discipline and their war ma
chine is borne out by German orders
captured by English and Canadian
troops. One of them, issued before the
beginning OF the battle On last Friday
morning. stated that the Hindenburg
line was their winter position ana tnat
not a foot Of ground must be lost. THAI
roves the absolute intention of the GER
man to hold out on this line
and the greatness Of the defeat mat
came to them.
Other orders reveal dismay at the
state OF mind among their soldiers. and
that is our best knowledge. In one
order. issued to the ls7th Division,
which the Canadians met and shattered,
II says:
The morale and discipline Of our men
have plainly decreased. owing In the
first place to the system of elastic de-
Tense, which leads men to believe ground
Is of no value. and secondly, TO the lack
of control and example among officers.
There Is also lack OF personality among
men. shown by unnecessary retirements,
general conduct of the men on leave and
riots. such as those in Cambria. where
officers joined in the same crimes as
the men. similar to those OF which we
accused the Russians"
American Morale stagEers Foes
Another staff order, issued three days
ago by the chief OF staff OF the Seven.
teenth German army. says:
Holding positions lightly leads to
failure and encouragement OF troops and
this feeling grows as the thinnoss OF our
garrisons increases. Unfortunately, in
addition. the morale Of our men has
decreased considerably"
One of the German surprises Sunday
was to meet American troops in the at
, tack against them on this front. It was
no surprise to one who had seen them
moving UP, day by day. nearer the
l fighting zone. so that as the British
passed them, they said to each other:
, These men are out for business, and.
I by Jove. how we'll they look"
These two divisions. with men from
New York State and North and South
Carolina and Tennessee. were duartered
l in shell-broken villages. full of history
. made by English troops during these
p four years of war. so that every ruined
cottage in them Is scrawled over with
English and Scottish names.
The Americans had come newly to
these places and had the look OF new
: men-so fresh, so keen. so unscarred
by the tregedy Of war. which leaves its
imprint on mems faces and gives them
q certain look in the eyes, not to be
c mistaken.
II They looked very Young. many OF
r these American boys. but hard and fit
& and I watched them putting up thei'
y camps and their pup tents ana COINS
IN with their guns and transport 10 tn'
t, edge of the battlefield. They drew nearer
and went further into the stricken lant
y among the shell craters and all tn
l. vreckaTe Of human life, and then OF
the first day of this new battle ! sa"
= some Of them coming down with theil
prisoners escorting them proudly ant
If smiling back to the Tommies. who said
We'll done. Yanks that's a good begin
IT ming. Keep it up"
"A They came marching through thu
Il white fog which yelled everything sun
= day morning, and 7 saw their stan or
!, Hcers driving up the roads this side q
the Scheldt canal and the American
= guns and transport treadine their wa,
. through the British streams OF trafhc.
..Toumy- Marvel. At yankee Pep
- InfN were htth ~ "N'NN" 500
conhdence and enthusiasm because the
" believed that the would do well an
T. HIN in the day of the big victory. an
10 they led the assault on one sector G
n the canal by Bellecourt, where the Aus
IN t~rslians we're to pass through them |
I'd the extension of the attack.
v, Later in the day they stormed throug
@, the German lines, secured the cam
crossings and struck on toward Gou
re and Nauroy. and the only fault to mn
rs with then, was the laughing criticls'
he from vi trans in the British ranks th'
re they sS the pace too hard and wei
es too eager to get forward. That is
nd fault on the right side, the gift OF u
re freshmen In this hard old universit
or Of war. where men learn to be ca
ne tious Of possible snags and make vel
sure OF the ground behind them befo
they tread on again.
Their courage Sunday was magnihce
use and they went straight into deadly ris
IN. without Sinking the hazard. They hi
nd done and learned enough In one day
re-. call themselves veterans. for a bat'
nd like this crowds much into a rev hou'
ic- one cannot distinguish between troo
cir i'm courage and III audaciouS endeav'
na- for the whole Allied line swept forwa
nd with mar, elous valor. each man bel
vas hidden from his fellows in those III
a hours of attack by q fog SO dense tn
ads as I said Sunday. one could not see I
yht gun team ahead. Yet each man.
ISL spired by the spirit of the crowd abe
rec him. was borne forward OH its wa
,rs. of electric emotion, for it was one
no the big days and 1t was a battle VIII
ain may nave a f~ar-reaching result.