The sun., 1918-10-14
YANKS FACE DEADLY
TRAPS IN ARGONNE
Reconquering Of Forest Ac-
compished in Spite Of Ter
rifle Resistance by Foe.
PRAISED. FOR GALLANTRY
Other Units Luckily Escaped
From Experiences Similar to
"LOst" BattaliOn's.
ny HERBERT BAILEY.
special Gable Despatch to THE Sun from the
London Times Serrice.

BERT
spscioi Cable Despatch to The Sun from the
London Times Service.
Copyright. 1918; all rights reserred.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN FRANCE,
Oct. 13.-The reconauest of the Argonne
forest reflects great credit upon the
American army and particularly upon
the American unit which fought Its
way through the wilderness From where
the men now stand they can look back
on the vast stretch of forest and feel
well satisfied that they have accom-
plished a feat that nothing but steady
persistence, cheerful endurance and
readiness to fight at any moment could
have brought to completion.
The Germans used literally all the
fighting ingenuity they possess, which
is OF no mean quality. to prevent the
reconquest Of this district. On both
tanks, the right in the Aire Valley and
the left at Binarville, they fought with
determination and even with despera-
ton. which indicated the Importance
they placed upon the operation.
But the Americans on the right and
the French on the left, by steady and
persistent fighting. by a process of rest
less movement under which the Ger
mans were forced to fight without a
not to let all the massed machine guns
or atrocious weather stay their progress.
forced the Germans back. leaving a long
stream of German dead to mark the
path of their advance.
While the most important operations
were those on either side Of the forest
for the Germans endeavored to prevent
the pinching out process by holding up
the two tanks, thus blocking, as they
the most adventurous and spectacular
fighting was in the forest itself. There
the Americans did not expect the Ger
mans would offer such heavy resistance
az was encountered.
Forest Fighting Heavy Task.
The tanks were prepared to advance
slowly, Just penetrating the wilderness
&c the Germans withdrew, but the Ger
man resistance on the tanks imposed
upon the unit fighting through the forest
q singularly heavy task. They found as
they moved forward that the Germans
had stationed snipers and machine gun
ners at every conceivable spot. Wher-
ever there was a clearing or road they
had to face a barrage of machine gun
fire. both direct and indirect.
1t was curious how distinctly these
deadly spots are marked by splintered
trees, churned ground and the refuse
that all fighting men leave behind after
a local action. There was a cross
roads corner where gigantic German
signs direct one TO every conceivable
place. Through this corner there runs
one of the amazingly numerous light
railroads which the Germans have built
all through the forest This crossroad
n in the Bots d'Aprenons and some of
the heaviest fighting occurred there.
Then there were trench systems about
Binarvile which. as in the case of the
Lost American Battalion" gave the
Germans an opportunity. should there be
any defect in the liaison. to infiltrate be-
hind the men in the forest. This &C.
CURED not merely once but again and
again.
II is easy to realize what a task faced
the Americans. Not only Is the under
growth almost impossible, with the trees
thickly entwined, but the Argonne con
sists of one long range of hills with nu
merous ravines. some so steep that II 1:
impossible to obtain a foothold on the
downward slope. One looks down from
the heights upon these ravines into thu
most forbidding of valleys> where tn
marsh lands are traps Of DEATH
The Germans organized most of thes'
valleys into little singapore villages.
The concrete houses they built and TIL
light railways they constructed are Ger
tainly picturesque.
II was through such places, infeste'
by the enemy, that the Americans ad
vanced. The barbed wire was so thicl
that from above it looked like a soli
wall. But the ingenuity of the German
and the treacheries OF the wilderness
could not stoD the Americans