The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-11-02

Ninety-first and the Thirty-seventh
while the Third, fresh from the Marine
fighting. took the place of the Seventy
ninth. The Americans now had eight
divisions In line. With the exception OF
the Second Division, then on its way to
Champagne to fight an isolated but
brilliant action at the taking of Mont
Blanc. a German stronghold In front of
Gouraud's army. and the Forty-second,
still resting. the best that America could
place on the fields of battle was ar
rayed against the Germans for the sec
ond phase.
On the morning of October 4 the gen.
eral attack was resumed. The Germans.
however. refused to be shocked into re-
tirement this time. They stood where
they were and fought, coolly, skilfully
and resolutely. Their machine guns,
cleverly placed and artfully concealed,
poured the deadliest of fires into the
American lines. Tho total advance for
the day was barely kilometer, the
heaviest fighting taking place around
Exermont and Gesnes. The American
First Brigade of Tanks astonished the
infantry by their reckless contempt of
danger and surprising audacity.
One American officer, leading his tanks
and was captured by the Germans A
few minutes later he was rescued by
the sudden arrival of another detach-
ment of tanks. and then set out on foot
to find his own tanks. On his way he
was knocked unconscious for about an
hour by a shell. and later, his mask
being torn Off by conclusion. he inhaled
the fumes from a gas she'll. Slowly his
lungs were being burned away. but he
fought on, until at in the evening he
returned in pitiful state to report to
his commanding officer.
Gee, wouldn't have given two cents
for my life out. there !" was all he re-
marked before being sent to a hospital,
But his endurance and pluck were not
exceptional among those tank men. They
were in truth the lest of Americans,
The infantry, too, on that memorable
day fought with a bravery that the
heavy losses could not subdue. But when
night fell the losses of the First Division
had been terrible.
In the centre of the line the Thirty
second Division had found that the Ger
mans had no intention OF giving up the
kr!emhilde Stellung without a costly
struggle. They had endeavored to take
the village Of Gesnes. which once before
had been entered by the men Of the
ated. But the Thrty-second suffered a
similar fate. Tho village became theirs.
but under the encircling fire that the
Germans thrust upon them they were
forced to retreat. Meanwhile on the
extreme right the Eighth Division was
surprising the Germans in the Bots des
Ogons with a combined tank and infan-
try attack which succeeded completely.
Feat of the seventy-seventh.
But it was to the Argonne Forest itself
that all the eyes OF the command now
turned. The Americans there were in
the greatest Of difficulties. The Seven
ty-seventh Division, composed Of every
possible nationality and recruited prin-
cipally on the East Side of the city of
New York, had been called upon to fight
under the most difficult circumstances
imaginable. They had started off from
La Harazee near the -Four de Paris in
| the forest just to the east Of where the
road from Les Islettes to vienne lie
Chateau crosses that from varennes
There they found a steep wooded ra-
vine and the lines of trenches climbed
through the trees to the opposite
heights. The Germans had constructed
complete system Of light railways
running through the entire forest, and
their dugouts. snugly claspng the sides
or the ravines or nesting away in shell
tered valleys, resembled miniature and
picturesque villages
1t swas obvious that any frontal at
ia cks through such a wilderness would
demand the heaviest OF costs, and in
fact the French had found the Argonne
an insoluble problem by direct attack.
1t was the plan, OF course, to let the
forest fall like ripe plum to the Sew
enty-seventh Division, but the Germans
realized that II they held any of the
two forces on each side of the forest
nothing could eject them from the forest
itself.
Left Flank Was Exposed.
The spirit of the early settlers of
America was there, varied though the
nationalities of the troops appeared to
be, and the uncanniness and adventure
of a forest fight appealed to many who
had lived close to nature In America, Yet
the Americans In the forest progressed
as the two wings moved forward At
last. however. they were ensnared The
Germans. under cover of night, had put
their infltration tactics into effect. Know
ing every nook OF the forest, acquainted
with every trench, they passed through
the American lines at night and the next
morning poured disconcerting fire into
the Americans backs. The men of the
Seventy-seventh Division were forced to
withdraw and. reorganized. attacked the
isolated German forces.
But almost before the withdrawal had
taken place the Germans had retreated
by the way they had come, and re-
served themselves for another pene-
tration OF the American lines the follow
ing night Every attempt was made to
close up these mysterious avenues by
which the Germans entered and left at
their free will. But to the immediate
left of the American Seventy-seventh
Division was "a regiment of black troops
of the Nlnety-second Division COM
manded by black officers
Gen. Pershing had expressed his doubt
as to the efficacy of negroes commanded
by negroes. and his provision unhappily
proved to be correct. The unknown of
the forest had no attraction for negro
troops and the strongest discipline was
needed to keep them there. The Ger
mans, with a swift insight into the sit
uation, and measuring all the latent pos
sibilities OF forest fighting the moment
they discovered that the negroes were In
the forest. commenced what was prob
ably the most wonderful yet one of the
most effective manoeuvres of the war
They merely 1T UP the forest with Very
flares and lights, fired occasional shells
into where they thought the negroes
| were and made occasional night raids.
With the aid of a few gas alarms they
soon had the negroes contemplating the
murkiness OF the forest with staring
eyes and gaping mouths, Under white
of11nara the neproea might haya fought