New-York tribune., 1918-07-21
Franco-American' Drive
Like Spectacular "Moviie :"
onrush Over Feldgrauen Made Vivid Action Picture in
Which Tanks, Cavalry, Infantry and Air
planes Featured
By Wilbur S. Forrest

from units of "holding troops" placed
in the line frorn the Aisne to the
Marine where the German High Com
mand was not expecting a counter Of
fensivc.
The German troops, the prisoners
said. had been told that the Allies
were entirely incapable of an offensive,
because reserves were lacking, and
that every available Allied soldier
would be needed to defend sectors
where Hindenburg willed to attack.
There was unanimous admission
among the captives, therefore, that the
sudden attack at 4:35 Thursday morn
ing was complete surprise
The violent storm allowed the
French tanks to take their places with
out discovery, and at daybreak, be-
hind barrages all along the battle
lines, taking up the noise where the
storm left off, the tanks preceded the
Allied waves in what in some places
was veritable 'cross-country run.
Many feldgrauen were caught in the
incidentally, had been planted by
French farmers who had fled before
the enemy's advance in June. to the
Marne.
The German High Command had
promised the soldiers in that sector
peaceful harvest, but the French
command willed differently, and
planned and prepared the big counter
drive in forty-eight hours.
The significance Of the success of
this drive is that the German COM
lnand must now begin to allow his
forces to be maneuvred at the will Of
the Allied command. The forcing of
his reserves into to-day's battle was
the first step in this direction.
Battle Stiffens
Doughboys, north Of the Ourcq, fight
ing in their shrtsleeves beside famous
French divisions, which included the
immortal Foreign Legion, began to feel
brought hastily forward Thursday
night, and the great struggle stiffened
Friday morning, especially southwest
CT Sossons and west of the big For
est Of Villers Cotterets. This inter
ference of the enemey reserve troops
only stiffened Fridays fighting. wherein
enemy forces were constantly bent
back, although slowly. before the
steady pressure of the allied troops.
BY noon Friday the main highway
between scissors and Chateau Thierry,
as we'll as the Soissons-V Viller- Cot
teretsParis railroad. were under heavy
during the afternoon told of Allied
troops having reached the highway in
one locality.
The enemy offered little artillery
resistance, most of his guns in this
region having been captured.
Passing up toward the battle line to-
day The Tribune correspondent trav-
ersed wheat fields cut by snaky lines
of trenches and wire entanglements in
which French farmers had hastened
back to take advantage of the oppor-
an American harvesting machine drawn
by four oxen in one field competed with
the drone Of Allied airplanes in the
skies above.
Elsewhere French farmers were hard
at work with scythes, paying no atten-
tion to the roads cluttered with endless
streams Of auto trucks. motor trans
ports and troops; cam OIL loads of cheer
full, lightly wounded American and
French together, en- route to the rear:
and never ending supplies of men and
material needed to keep che big battle
alive, moving up in support There
was double meaning now to khaki on
these roads, and as our car crawled
along behind big, slow moving trucks
these men Of international cloth
doughboys and Tommies- -kidded and
cheered as we passed.
Everybody Happy
1t would be impossible adequately
and accurately to describe the deafen-
ing fire from the big battle without
treadng on the toes of the censor, but
nowhere in the immense meange OF
fighters, methodically coming away
from the firing lines or going to them,
was there the slightest sign of dscon-
tent or grouchiness. On the contrary.
there was cheerfulness seldom equalled
universally under similar circum-
stances.
A gray green line Of enemy prison
ers stretched along, sandwiched in be-
tween truckloads Of wounded. Most OF
them were mere boys, still led by older
German underofficers. This morning
they had been driven into battle
against Franco-Americans, ard now, as
it not quite comprehending it, they
were being led into captivity by the
Same officers who drove them into
battle.
Comparison of their physique with
that Of the sturdy Allied troops, and
the husky. athletic Americans in par
ticular allowed small wonder that they
had been captured in such droves.