The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1918-09-09
FACE HUN ACROSS
200-YARD STRIP
Along Coucy and St. Gobain
Forests on Old Hinden-
burg Line.
FRENCH BRIDGE CANAL
Single Division Struggles and
Wins Against Five Different
German Units.

With the French Army in France
Sunday Sept. S.-Tho .troops of Gen
Mangin between the Aisne and tn,
Disc rivers now are virtually behint
their old wire entanglements in theil
old trenches of 1917. All along tn,
edge OF the forest OF Coucy ant
through the western portion of the st
Gobain forest the Germans are only
200 yards away and in some places
they are In positions in the old Hin
dcnburg line which nre plainly visible
from the heights west of Chateau
Coucy.
The Disc -Aisne canal and the river
Ailette that runs between the heights
and the chateau and which forms n
sort of advanced post OF their main
line six miles further back at Fresnes
were not abandoned voluntarily but
wrested from the enemy after a strug-
gle Of five days during which Ave diff
ferent German divisions tried to hold
or single French division.
THE divisions which tried to pre-
vent the crossing of the canal and
river" the Associated Press corre-
spondent was informed by n French
o:ticer who has participated in most
Of the campaigns OF the war, accom-
plished the greatest concentration Of
machine gun fire that has been wit
ncssed in this war"
A. Range Of Twenty Yards.
The French troops were obliged to
face that fire Mt n range of twenty
yards in order to cross the Oise- Aisne
canal and the river Ailettc. Pioneers
throwing bridges over the canal seven
teen yards wide. suffered not only
from the quick firers, but were in good
range Of German grenades. 1t re-
xu, Inv IN odx IN h,
Ailette from the village Pont st. Mard
and four days to gain five hundred
yards of ground. The machine guns
were massed thickly all along the canal
In front Of Quincy and in the woods,
thickets and marshes.
Tho French engineers finally sue
ceeded in bridging the canal and over
the first bridge an enraged sergeant
charged the Germans around ma
chine gun position and single handed
made twelve OF them prisoner Such
was the Tork that went on both along
the river, and the canal during the
Ave days. each day exhausting Ger
snany's best divisions.
twenty-five quick firers were found
In. a small thicket called Etuaraishage
wood. They were almost as thick as
In the Vache wood and the more eX-
tensive timbered land fronting Coucy-
ie- Chateau and Coucy- Vile. Where
the French could get at them they
charged and killed the German gun
ners on their pieces, but many en-
placements were too well hidden or
protected for a direct attack, and 1t
was necessary to shell them.
Left Guns and Supplies.
During several hours French projec-
tiles sent splinters flying all through
the timber and when the infantry
charged they had 20 go on to Coucy-
Ia Vile to catch the en- my who had
fed, leaving his guns and an enor-
nous amount of materials and supplies
behind. Coucy-le- Chateau and the
height on which it stands were thus
turned from the north and flanked at
the same time from the south while |
thousands of shells filled the ruins OF
the surrounding positions.
Chateau -Nogent to the southeast
ward was taken about the same time |
and with 1t the Germans lost positions |
ON which they had srentva tremendous
effort They retired behind their three |
lines OF barbed wire on the line to !
Fresnes. The booty they left behind
in two immense engineering dumps.
included locomotives, railroad material
of all sorts, and great number OF
quick firers and emplacement guns ana
one fifteen-inch gun with which they
had bombarded French towns far be-
hind the lines east of the Ailette.