The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-12-12

-
Ans eass q Rsiss9 tscsd q d sAs
bn assault of July ID and sse,d
- ground unHinthinkiy - On III
light nank four companies of The
1wenty-eighth division faced .'ad-
vAncing waves Of German Infantry"
shd the Third division held the Marne
line. opposite Chateau Thierry. against
powerful artillery and infantry attack.
Single Regiment Cheeks Ensmy.
"A single regiment Of the Third
wrote ope of the most brilliant pages
in our military annals on this occa-
rion." General Pershing says. ''It pre-
vented the crossing At certain points
ON its front while. o. either flank,
the Germans who had gained foot
ing pressed forward. Our men, firing
In three directions. met the German
1oAscks with counter-attacks at criti-
c4l points and succeeded in throwing
two German divisions into complete
confusion, capturing 600 prisoners"
Thus was the stage set for the
counter-offensive which. beginning
with the smashing Of the enemy's
Nnrne salient. brought overwhelming
victory to the allies and the United
States ii the eventful months that
have followed. The intimation II
strong that Gensral Pershing's advice
helped Aarshal Foch to reach his de-
cision - strike.
Csuntsr-o offsnslvs opsNa
General Pershing continues:
THE great force Of the German
Chateau Thierry offensive established
the deep Marne salient. but the enemy
was taking chances. and the vulneru-
bility Of this pocket to attack might
be turned to his disadvantage. .
Seeking this opportunity to support
my conviction, every division With any
sort Of training was made available
for use In q counter-offensive. The
place Of honor in the thrust toward
Soissons on July Is was given to our
First and Second divisions in COM
pany with chosen French divisions.
''Without the usual brief warning Of
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-
lions was excellent throughout the ac-
ton.
1.-THE enemy brought up large num-
bers Of reserves and made a stubborn
defense both with machine guns and
artillery. but through flve days flght-
ing the First division continued to ad-
vance until it had gained the heights
above Solssons and captured the vii
lage Of Berxy-le-Sec.
.'The Second division took Beau Re
paire farm and vierxy In a very rnpid
vance and reached position In
front Of Tigny at the end Of its second
day. These two divisions captured T.
600 prisoners and over 100 pieces OF
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, Torty-second. Thirty-second.
and Twenty-elghth divisions With
the situation on the Marne front thus
relieved. General Pershins writes. he
could turn to the organization Of the
First American army and the reduction
Of the st. Mihiel salient, long planned
as the initial purely American enter
prise.
A troop concentration, aided by gem
erous contributions Of artillery and air
units by the French. began, involving
the movement. mostly at night. Of
10000 men.
A sector reaching from Port sur
seille. east Of the Moselle. eastward
through st. Jnhiel to verdun and later
enlarged to carry 1t to the edge Of the
forest OF Argonne was taken over. the
Second Colonial French. holding the
Up Of the salient opposite St. Mihiel,
and the French Seventeenth CORPS. on
the heights above vertiun, being trans
ferred to General Pershing's command
The combined French, British, and
American air forces mObilixed for the
battle, the report says. was the largest
aviation assembly ever engnged on the
western front mp to that time ia sin
gle operation.
Battle Of q. Mihiel.
OF the reduction Of the st. Aiihiel
salient General Perrhing says:
AFTER four hours artillery prepn-
ration the seven American divisions
In the front line advanced at a. m.
on September 12. assisted by n limit
ed number Of tanks manned partly by
Americans and partly by the French.
'STheee divisions. accompanied by
groups Of wire-cutters and others
armed with bangnlore torpedoes, went
the successive hands Of
harhed wire that protected the enc
my's front line and support trenches
in IrresIstible waves on schedule time.
hnca king down all defense Of an en-