Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1919-02-21
ARGONNE BATTLE WAS
STAGED TO BE FOUGHT
IN 1919 INSTEAD OF 1915
Retnrned ARnay officer Declares Grsat
Battle mas Psaght MohAAs Ahead
OF Tinae ne End Ths war

OF Tinae ne End The Var
FightinE il September. 1918. = hat
Tie originally Intended for the summer
lof 1919. the American army ii France
brought the war 10 ! quick endiag.
said Major Frederick Al Palmer, chief
censor for the Expedition force. yes
terday IN New York.
iii don't think we at home quite rea~
lixe the Importance 81 the Argonne
battle. be said. The original plans
we're that Ii should be fought In 1913.
After ST. Mehiel we were 70 spend the
winter in forming our new army and
wait for ali the supplies which were
to arrive from America, where We
were Just getting our stride IN the
manufacture og guns, tanks and am
Tnunition We were In the midst Of the
ST AEihiei preparations when Marshal
Foch and General Pershing decided TO
begin immediate preparations for the
Areonne offensive which was 10 conn
mence on September 70. All the Older
divisions we're iii the Sc. MihieI salient.
We had To use new divisions for the
initial attack; two OF them had never
been under. IRE before We were short
of guns and supplies II seemed defy
ing og fate TO make the attempt. But
there was chance that II we could
drive through to the German lines Of
communication, the war might he over
last autumn. The Germans expected
an attack. but did not think that we
could prepare so great an attack 30
promptly on the heels Of ST. Mihiel
Originally the So Mihiel was meant to
20 TO Metz But the decision to
strike In the Argonne limited the oper-
alton to the salient The Germans
were expecting us at Metz and we
fooled them.
They put In forty divisions against
us iii the Argonne, and their best d.
visions still wonder how we won
that battle. but we did win it, and
against positions 90 strong that the
allies had never considered attacking
them before. Speed, will, endurance
and John Pershing's determination
conquered ali obstacles. The battle
cost us 10000 casualties and per-
haps saved US million that 1t would
have cost lis II the war had lasted till
next spring Nothing In our history
approaches It, either as an operation
as q whole or La detail.
'It was General Pershing's plan.
which he made Id 1917, that the Amer
ican army should first take the St
Mihiel salient, and then as men and
material arrived the American army,
operating on the right flank OF the old
French line. wonid keep on hammer
Ing until IT broke through TO Metz and
and the Rhine, and he brought conyic-
ton to the Germans III the Argonne
that he could make good with the plan.
Another strong thing which do
not think is quite realized, while We
were driving the Germans In front
was the effect Of President Wilson n
propaganda In the rear His phrases,
NO quarrel with the German people
and his Peace without victory, and
his continual iteration that we were.
fighting against militarism as incar
mated BY the kaiser and Ludendorff,
gradually infiltrated into the German
mind We had launched an offensive
which convinced the German soldiers
that they were losing the war. The
German people took note and dismiss
ed the kaiser and LudendorH and
trusted 10 the fourteen points The
Germans set out for world conquest or.
ruin, and they got ruin
81 have seen General Pershing's
eyes full Of tears when be spoke Of the
losses: but he put his own emotions
under command as well as his men III
his determination to drive through to-
victory, the sooner to end the fearful
sacrifice of blood and of material
which the war entaiied.
Another thing have heard is that
we continued lighting with unneces
sary loss Of life on the morning Of
November IL Our army had no Of
fetal information that Il was to stop
fighting until word was sent from
Marshal Foch's headquarters after the
armistice was signed Even after the
allies had submitted their terms To
the Germans the oficers and men or
the army doubted that there would be
peace They felt that they had been
tricked too many times by German
peace talk Ii was our business as an
army to go on lighting until the nag
fell a small attack had been plan
ned for dawn on the morning 81 the
eleventh by the Second army II was
carried out III the Germans were
stiil hesitating about the armistice Il
might have been q convincing argu-
ment. The attack stopped instantly
that word OF the signing of the arms
tice was received.
The Third and Fifth corps Of our
First array were across the Meuse.
They were advancing very rapidly Ii
took some time for messeng -Es to
reach groups Of troops Who we're snr-
rounding German mas ine gun nests
There was little Afantry tlre By
cur men who could not be reached
until after eleven o'clock The men
far the nana9 mart SwesM werv aRa@r Cd