Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-09-16
AMERICANS IN
DARING MOVE in
LORRAINE AREA
Take Les Eparges, Key to the
Woevre Plain, From
Germans

With the American Army in Lor-
raIne, Sept. 16-The performance of
the Americans stationed on the west
ern side of the st. Mihiel salient. with
the assistance of the French. consti-
tutes one of the most brilliant pages
of American history thus far in the
great struggle.
1t was this unit which accomplish
ed two of the most notable strategic
moves of the offensive. The first was
the taking of Les Eparges hill which
had cost the French many casualties
in the last four years. The second
was the daring march of an American
regiment at night through woods in
tested with Germans to Vigneulles.
there to effect a laiason with troops
working from the eastward.
In carrying out these two moves
the allies encountered the stiffest op-
position of the offensive. The Ger
mans cherished Les Eparges because
they knew it was the key to the
Woevre plain. They fought desper-
ately to hold it and counterattacked
repeatedly after they had been eject
ed.
Similarity the Germans knew the
dire results they would suffer If they
permitted the Americans to meet at
Vigneulles and in some cases fought
like demons to prevent such a ca
lamity. The Americans. neverthe-
less, marched steadily onward
through the night with fixed bay
onets. killing or making prisoners all
the Teutons who opposed them They
took the prisoners ahead with them
for they were too busy to send them
back.
Among the prisoners captured were
several hundred from two Austrian
divisions who were cut off when the
Americans advanced to the attack
from the behind after the Germans
had broken. They were bitter against
the Germans, who. they said, had
given way before the Americans, al
lowing them to be surrounded, and
they had no chance to fight.
me advance of the victorious first
army continued yesterday but on
restricted front near the Moselle
river. There was little opposition on
the whole.
In the edge of a wood where the
Germans had concentrated there was
some smarting machine gun resist
ance offered, but q smashing artil-
lery fire silenced the enemy. A few
additional prisoners were taken.
The Germans gave further evidence
yesterday that they intended to re-
sist on that part of the HindenburS
line running through this sector. A
detachment was digging in about
Dommartin (four and half miles
north of ThiaucourD. while between
I.achaussee (two and a half miles
northwest of ommartin) and DOM
martin squad trenches had been es-
tablished. German detachments We're
also in the woods above Wool, (tour
miles north of Hatonville).
The German airplanes were un-
usually active Saturday night, but the
defensive batteries drove them off be-
fore they had done great damage
Allied airplanes flew over the Ger
man positions, dropping tons or
bombs in the back areas.
New Trenches Built
From various sectors new wire has
been strung in enormous quantities
and in big stretches far to the rear
and in front of the old trenches
which have been brought up-to-date
and are supported by new concrete
dugouts at intervals of about a hum
dred yards, and in some cases at
smaller intervals.
The aviators who reported these
conditions returned not only with
verbal statements of what they saw,
but with photographs showing we'll
equipped defenseS.
+ The big iron mines near Briey. an
important industrial nerve center or
the German military machine, are
jeopardized, and even Metz, one of
the most strongly fortified points be-
hind the enemy lines, is menaced. 1t
is not expected that any immediate
struggle for its possession will take
place, hut the success which attended
the first big American operations has
undoubtedly brought the Germans
face to face with more serious condi-
tions en- this part of the front than
for the past four years.
The clearing up of the woods and
ravines was the most important part
of the work carried out by the Amer
lean troops Saturday. Where the
barrage had caught the enemy away
from the shelter of dugouts and
trenches piles of dead were encount-
cred by the scout patrols and in many
places additional supplies of ordnance
and ammunition were discovered.
An American airplane observer,
Horace Lake, from Washington, D.
c., accounted for four Germans early
Saturday back of the enemy lines.
His pilot, Bertram Niedecker, brought
the plane at one point within few
feet of the ground. The pair then
discovered that they were the target
for a sharp fire from four of the
enemy in a shell hole. The observer
quickly wiped out the quartet, how
ever, with his machine gun.