New-York tribune., 1918-12-09
TIFFANY & Co!
ANTIQUE ENGLISH SILVER
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Daniels Tells H0w Marines
At the Marne Saued Paris

rines raked the woods and ravines in
which they had taken refuge with ma
chine gun and rifle to prevent them
making another attempt to advance by
lnflltrating through. Above, a French
alrplanc was checking up on the artil-
lery fire.
German Drive Stopped
"SurIprised by the fact that men
should deliberately set their sights,
adjust their range and then fire de-
liberately at an advancing foe, each
man picking his target, instead Of
firing merely in the direction of the
enemy, the aviator sgnalled below
Bravo!' In the rear that word was
echoed again and again. The German
drive on Paris had been stopped.
"For the next few days the fighting
IN Belleau Wood took on the character
of pushing forth outposts and deter
mining the strength of the enemy. Now
the fighting had changed. The Ger
run against stone wall of defence
just when they believed that their ad-
vance would be easiest, had halted
amazed then prepared to defend the
positions they had won with all the
stubbornness possible.
"ln The black recesses of Belleau
wood the Germans had established nest
after nest of machine guns. There in
the jungle of matted underbrush, of
themselves in positions they believed
lmpregnable. And this meant that un-
less they could be routed. unless they
could be thrown back, the breaking of
the attack of June would mean moth
ing. There would come another drive
and another. The battle of Chateau
1hicrry was therefore not won and
could not be won until Belleau Wood
had been cleared of the enemy.
at was June 6 that the attack of the
American troops began against that
wood and its adjacent surroundings,
with the wood itself and the towns of
lorcy and Bouresches forming the OBJ
jectives. At 5 o'clock the attack came,
and there began the tremendous sacri-
fees which the Marine Corps gladly
suffered that the German fighters might
be thrown back.
Fought in American Fashion
"The marines fought strictly accord
ing to American methods rush, a
halt, a rush again, in four-wave forma-
ton, the rear waves taking over the
work of those who had fallen before
them, passing over the bodies Of their
until they, too, should be torn to bits.
Eut behind those waves were more
waves. and the attack went on
"'Men fell like f1ies-the expression
is that of an officer writing from the
field. Companies that had entered the
battle 25O strong dwindled to fifty and
sixty, with a sergeant in commands but
The attack did not faltcr. At 9:45
o'clock that night Bouresches was taken
by Lieutenant James +. Robertson and
twenty-odd men Of his platoon. These
were soon Joined by two reinforcing
platoons. Then came the enemy coun-
ter attacks, but the marines held.
Charging Machine Gun Nests
been literally from tree to tree, strong
hold to stronghold; and it was a fight
which must last for weeks before its
mpllshment in victory Belleau
Wood was a jungle, it's every rock for
nation forming German machine gun
nest almost impossible to reach by ar
tilery or grenade fire. There was only
one way to wipe out these nests-by
the bayonet. And by this method were
they wiped out for United States ma
rines, bare chested, shouting their bat
charged straight into the murderous
fire from those guns, and won.
"Out of the number that charged, in
more than one instance, only one would
reach the stronghold. There, with his
bayonet as his only weapon, he would
either kill or capture the defenders OF
the nest, and then swinging the gun
about in its position, turn it against
the remaining German positions in the
lighting in Belleau Wood; fighting
which continued until July 6, when
after a short relief the invincible
Americans were finally taken back to
the rest billet for recuperation.
Line Held Many Days
" In adj the history of the marine
corps there is no such battle as that
one in Belleau Wood Fighting day
and night without relief, without sleep,
often without water and for days with
out hot rations, the marines met and
defeated the best divisions that Ger
many could throw into the line. The
heroism and doggedness of that bat
tie are unparalleled.
"Time after time officers, seeing their
lines cut to pieces, seeing their men
SO dog tired that they even fell asleep
under she'll fire, hearing their wounded
calling for water that they were unable
to supply, seeing their men fight on
after they had been wounded and
until they dropped unconscious; time
after time officers seeing these things.
endurance had been reached - would
send back messages to their post COM
mand that their men were exhausted.
But in answer to this would come
the word that the lines must hold, and
IT possible those lines must attack.
And the lines obeyed. Without water
without food, without rest they went
forward-and forward every time to
victory. Companies had been so torn
and lacerated by losses that they were
hardly platoons; but they held their
lines and advanced them. In more
than one case companies last everv
offlccr, leaving a sergeant and some
times corporal to command. and
Alter thirteen days in tt is inferno
or ire captured German officer told
with his dying breath of fresh d.
vision of Germans that was about ~
be thrown into the battle to attemnt
20 wrest from he maroine that part IF
he wood they had gained. The MS
rlnes, who for days had been fpbt;nc
only on their sheer nerve, who had