The sun., 1919-03-16
but with burning eyeballs and drawn
faces they fought doggedly on.
Strain Begins TO Tell.

u
faces they fought doggedly on.
Strain Begins TO Tell.
The Germans brought up reserves
and stiffened their resistance. A ire
mendous and continuous artillery fire
was concentrated on the wood, Bou-
resches. and all the approaches. Gas
was poured in. the deadly insidious
yperite, that saturates the clothing
and burns the skin and hangs for days
In thickets and low places. The strain
was beginning to tell.
Gallant as had been the fighting OF
the Marines in Belleau Wood, It was
finally decided that their first opera
tons were not sufficiently decisive.
Their progress was too slow and too
| costly. The Germans were concen-
trating their forces in the northern
half OF the woods and it seemed i'm
possible to drive them out and COM
plete the occupation without more
thorough artillery support.
On June 9. accordingly. Sibley re-
ceived orders to withdraw TO give the
artillery a chance. Back TO the edge
| OF the woods he came. with the ragged
remnant Of his brave battalion. fight
Ing a rear guard action. Many Of
them were wounded; some of them
| had worn their gas masks for eighteen
hours at a stretch; they had lived
| on scanty rations and had enjoyed
7 but little sleep or rest; they were
weary spent. stated with killing: but
| every man was mad clean through
| because he could not go on and settle
| the rest of the German army then and
there.
Foes Spirit Dies.
Fifty American and French batteries
some 200 guns in all--then let loose
an internal fire on the woods. The
infantry action had given the artillery
chance to get thoroughly ready for
this storm OF fire. And they battered
the last spark OF fighting spirit out
| OF the Huns.
| On the 10th. after hours OF lombard
Inent Major Hughes went in with part
of his battalion and reported that
the woods had been reduced He and
| Wise worked steadily up from Sibley's
former position and extended the line
in the wood further to the north.
Hughes himself was later gassed and
Lad to come out.
The Germans had tried attack after
attack to drive the Marines out but
without success. Now they were I'D
, against more serious situation. The
/ combined artillery and infantry at
tack was too much for them. II must
not be supposed, however, that there
was any lack Of resistance. The enemy
Still operated numerous machine gun
nests In well selected positions, many
OF them cleverly camoufiaged which
our shells had missed. And so the
hand TO hand fighting was resumed
though against less frightful ODDS.
! Early on the morning OF the 10th the
Marines started in again, with the
artillery fire sweeping the woods
ahead OF them. and began to clean out
the rest of those machine guns witt
rlne' hand grenade, and bayonet. They
partially surrounded the woods and
J subjected the TANKS OF the German de.
l Tenders to- taste OF their own medl-
cine. The Boches began to flee, and
some Of them ran into their own ma.
chine gun fire. They were cut up and
slaughtered. They began surrender.
| ing In groups.
Wood Cleared of Gcrman,
On that day our line was advanced
two-thirds of a mile on a 900 ward
front, and all but the upper portion OF
the wood was cleared of Germans. And
behind our men came the Engineers
constructing a strong position
Our casualties 'on that day were
heavy, but if II was bad for us 1t was
inferno for the Boche. Hundreds OF
Germans were slain, and those that
were captured We're heartily glad II
was over. The wood which they hac
chosen as an impregnable fastness hal
proved to be a death trap. We took
800 prisoners that day, and found thai
many of them belonged to the Fifth
German Guard Division, including the
crack Queen Elizabe Regiment.
ON the same day-the 1Oth-th,
Germans launched an attack in forcr
to regain Bouresches. 1t was wei
planned and was executed by fresl
troops A dark. cloudy night had aided
their preparations, but they We're ex
pected. The Americans had the north,
ern side Of the town lined with ma.
I'chine guns ana, heavier guns wert
trained on the railroad emba nkmen
over which the Germans must come.
Following the usual artillery prep
aration they advanced in close forna
ton. At the edge OF the town the,
were met by the sting of the machin,
gun fire and we're checked with hsav,