The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-10-09
RESCUE OF RHEIMS
REVIVIFIES FRANCE
Soldiers and Civilians Look
Upon Ruined, Long Suffer-
ing City as Shrine.
ALL WANT TO FINISH WAR
Peace Plea Regarded by ,Gou-
raud's Men as Trick to Cheat
Them Of Victory.
py GERALD CAMPBELL.
ksscial Cable Despatch 10 The sur from a
London inns Service.

By GERALD CAMPBELL.
Special Cebis DespotcA TO The sur from the
London times Service.
Copyright 1918; oil rfehts reserved.
WITH THs FRENCH ARMY, Oct. Q (de-
there been such intense enthusiasm in
the French army or such a thankfulness
IN their minds and hearts rs last night
and this morning. Their keenness to add
advance to advance Is as magnificent as
the rapidity with which they are doing
It. 1t is no exaggeration to say that
in one day they turned the arc OF which
Rheims was the centre IN a sharp salient
and the next day demolished II.
Rheims is Get free. That 10 the flrst
fruit OF their achievement II is only the
dead ruin of n city, but because of its
place in the heart OF France and because
OF the savagery with which the enemy
has treated II from the very beginning II
is 10 all French men and women a shrine
OF shrines. The day that brought It's
long drawn martyrdom TO an end will
remain sacred in the memory of the
nation forever.
Rheims IL free. One day Brimont and
Nogent Labarre. two strong forts north
and east Of the city, from which II was
yslentlessly bombarded for four tragic
years fell into French hands. On the
same day the formidable massif on the
other side was occupied and paused by
ten. Gourad's men almost as easily as
II 1t had been a collection OF mole hills
Mont Sans. Mont --enen. Mont Casu and
Mont Haul, glorious sepOlchres Of thou
sands Of the brave sons Of France. have
,aeen storm swept by hurricane after
hurricane Of shells until they look like
Sleached skeletons In the sun.
The End Comes Suddenly.
The end came suddenly. For more
man a week Gen. Gouraud's men had
been storming position after position
further east. always advancing, but
facing each day an opposition that stead
ily grew more desperate. Then came q
day when they made no attack. and Il
was easy to detect that no attack would
be needed. Thanks to fine lighting east
OF the Suippe and north of the Vesle
the enemy was forced 20 retreat north
ward. not daring to wait for an attack
north of Rheims.
The victory was brought about. flrst,
b. consummate generalship ana. sec
ond, by the extraordinary keenness and
and men In the face Of great difaculties
But now they have their reward. On
the night of September IS. q few hours
before the battle began east of the
Suippe, Gen. Gouraud went up in the
dark to the high ground north of Cha
Ions, where the long line OF flashes from
big guns told of the efforts being made
by the artillery to prepare the way for
his infantry.
should imagine-it 10 in the charac-
ter of the man-that he went there at
Q critical minute In the spirit Of prayer
and that only be thou strong and cour-
sgeous" was the answer given to him
for his army and himself.
The general situation is vastly greater
and far more important than Its details.
From Rheims to the Suippe. along the
route of the national highway. the dis
lance is ten miles. That marks the
depth of the French advance. the base
of the salient being twenty-five miles.
Both Rivers Crossed.
Both the Suippe and the Arnes al
ready have been crossed at several
points Four miles beyond the Suippe. at
smother small tributary of the Aisne, is
the Retourne River. and eight miles
further the Aisne itself. This river and
the Canal des Ardennes lie In front of
the French advance. Both these small
rivers are at places widened by, the
narshy ground on either side of them
and the country between them is thickly
wooded.
II may be the enemy will attempt to
oppose further crossings Of the Suippe
from the cover of the woods and after
ward make a stand on the Retourne.
but these can only be temporary meas
ures They can hardly hope. with the
French at their heels. to make q serious
resistance this side OF the Aisne. and
even that may be beyond their powers.
OF what lies beyond the Aisne 1t is
early to talk yet. The final victory can
only be won when the enemy's strength.
physical and moral. cracks under the
strain. This may happen at any mo-
nent. but II is our business not to think
OF this. but to give the enemy no rest
Until he yields completely.
This evening the enemy continued his
retreat, closely followed by our troops
Al late hour the Germans were re-
ported 10 have fallen back to the Suippe
along nearly the whole of Its course be-
tween the Arnes and the Aisne.
French Capture Forts.
A. present Nogent Labesse and the
h. gifts and forts are ours, and IL is not
likely the enemy has left any great
'orce Immediately beyond. 1t IL I'M
likely. however, that he was able to
take away all OF his heavy guns. In
the meantime the French soldiers are
thinking much more seriously OF the
business Immediately at hand, which IN
% exploit to the full the magnificent
success of yesterday and the day pre-
Nious. They are not misled In the least
by the enemy's attempt to talk peace
'lst~at the moment when they are more
'onhdent than ever that they have got
me Germans on the run.
The French can see only one way for
he war to end, and until II ends that
way they propose to keep on fighting
They are determined to drive the enemy
completely out OF the land he has so
scandalously maltreated from the time
his brutal hosts Awept over the Belgian
and French frontiers more than four
Years ago.
IN the four years and more OF occu-
psnoy Of territory TO which they had no
right the Germans created In the mind
ana heart of every Frenchman a bitter
ana rsmorseless enmity, and II will take
something more than peace proposals.
made not In sincerity but only In an
ffort to gain time and to obscure the
zeal Issues TO rid their memories OF
even fraction OF the 1rreparable
wrongs France has suffered.
RAIDER Won MULLER FREE.