Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-12-03

1uHuTeu anu L iliH IH6iHSciS, oShuS
the article below which he clipped
from the Stars and Stripes Of October
10. 1918. The Stars and Stripes is pub
lished in France as the official organ
Of the American Expeditionary Forces.
, Mr.. Burns thinks the article should be
republishcd for the benefit Of tie read
ers of The Enquirer and we think so
too:
4 week ago yesterday morning.
when the darkness melted away into
a heavy fog that hid even the opposite
bank OF the narrow. breast deep river
Selle. hid even the railroad bank par
man machine gunners waited. and hid
the bluff a kilomctcr away where the
Germans for two days had been dig
ging in, two American divisions that
kilomcters past the Hindenburg line
found themselves at the zero hour Of
a new attack.
These divisions fighting with the
Fourth British Army, had come to an
eager hault on the west bank Of the
| Selle south OF lie Cateau. In front Of
the newly blasted walls Of st. Martin
Riviere and Nolan.
Now artillery was masscd in the hills
behind them. There was n gun for
every IS yards. They poured down on
the opposite valley a tremendous load
OF shrapnel and high explosive shells.
and all night before the going over
time the machine guns played on the
misty slopes where the enemy lay.
When the zero hour came the dough-
boys took the riverside towns OF st.
Martin and Nolan in their first rush,
and for five kilomcters along the Selle
marched into fog-waded the river or
crossed on the bridges which the Engi-
necrs threw down.
For four hours there was fought In
that binding fog on the east slope OF
| the valley OF the Selle one OF the
strangest battles in which American
soldiers in France have yet engaged.
In front Of the douehboys a battal-
| ION Of tanks-Americans at the steer
ing wheels and Americans at the guns
I-nosed into the drizzling cloud and
numbered on toward the enemy. In the
rog they loomed large as locomotives.
tupa tiseirA, motors reared and chugged
with sound. intensified by the fog ter
rifying above all other battle noises.
GUIDED by compass and instinct, they
numbered on and on over the rough
Iopos. while the artillery barrage.lift-
ing and rolling ahead on the time ta-
HE, searched out the German lines and
ontributcd terror of its own.
Then the inevitable happened. In
| he fog the tanks. the attacking dough-
"oys and the Germans became mixed
n one confused mass rushing back
and fourth on the lower slopes. All
.,nse Of direction was lost. The flare
of guns lit the dense mist until tho
holo slope seemed aflame. Almost by
he law Of gravity prisoners began to
| filter to the edge of the river, to b"
gathered in by the fresh oncominG
waves Of attackers. The prisoners be-
-an to come even before the main IN
santry attack was launched.
| One tank. scorning to use bridE"
FOR such n stream, plunged into tho
Selle at a ford near st. Martin Riviere'
wallowed across and started ahead.
u could be heard laundering on, Its
guns rattling ceaselessly Engineers
laying down a bridge where the tank
crossed had just started their work
when they were astonished by a doz-
en- Germans appearing specter-like
with their hands held up. They shout
cd their surrender when the engineers
dropped their planks and grabbed for
their rifles.
On Toward tho Slope.
The confusion OF the blind battle
ended with the clearing Of the fog, and
the Americans pressed on toward the
slope. They kept on In spite OF ma
chine gun fire which met them from
such strongholds at rArbe de Guise.
knoll wooded and banked with re-
doubts. The advance was steady on
the whole front. At night the whole
ridge was in American hands. and ir
Arbe Guernon. a crossroads village al
the center Of the American front, a
tank was being used as an outpost
Another instance Of the speed OF the
tank advance was furnished by a
captured German marine officer. He
had left his machine gun command be-
hind the ridge to go to a telephone
post. Returning half an hour later
he was amazed to find his command
prisoners and himself squarcly In front
o. the guns Of an American tank wmcf
had settled down for rest after clean
ing a machine gun nest.
During the afternoon American
planes bombed and raked with ma
chine gun fire the advancing lines o'
q German counter attack. launched te
| recapture the northern part OF the
ridge.
In this one days work the AmeH'
cans gathered In 1000 prisoners
Among them were many from a Ger
man naval division, which had beer
thrown into the front opposite the
Americans In the hope Of checking ths
steady advance.
TIL, impctus of this battle Of Oct.
/ 49, ~ ,,o, ba1d for two more DAYS