The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-02-25
SHOWS HOW YANKS
HELPED TO SMASH
FINAL HUN DRIVE
Col. Hayward Tells How Gou-
raud Got Information of At
tack, Took Chance and
Gained Victory.

NEW YORK, Feb. 25-The story OF
how Cen. Gouraud obtained through
prisoners word Of the exact hour AT
which the last great German offensive
OF the war was to be launched and
how. with the aid Of American troops.
he hurled back the advancing hordes
was old in an address here last night
by Col William Hayward, Of the 36ath
infantry tnegro), the former 18th New
York.
This German drive. launched on July
10, was the turning point Of the war,
declared Col. Hayward, Reinforced by
released prisoners from Russia, the
Zoe was at the zenith OF his power.
The blow came east Of Rheims.
We knew this attack was coming
and knew 1t was to be the maximum
German effort" said Col, Hayward,
About one hour before I o'clock on
the night OF July IL we captured Ger
man prisoners in a raid. They told us
when the attack would come.
The artillery preparation was to
start at midnight and last for five
hours and Is minutes. So Gen. Gou-
raud started our artillery fire five min
utes ahead Of theirs, That put them
up in the air. Fritz had to send to
Hans to ask what the change in his
plahs meant.
when the French knew when this
battle was coming their forces did not
remain a thin blue line, 1t seemed
that all the soldiers and all the cannon
in the world crawled over and tool
position back Of US.
Gen. Gouraud saved the world for
civilization. / have heard stories about
how hard he had to work to convince
Gen, Petain and Marshal Foch hat his
plan was right,
But he took a chance-the greatest
chance any soldier ever took in the
world. He took his troops out OF the
front line trenches over a front OF 50
kilometers.
Some OF these trenches had cost
thousands Of lives, Men had toiled for
weeks and months to gain these posi-
tons. He abandoned them when he
was sure where the attack was coming.
And when this occurre he had the
36eth American infantry on one end of
that 50-kilometer line and the 165th on
the other.
When the troops were withdrawn
from the front line only patrols were
left, on my regiments front, instead
OF 1900 men only 16 volunteers were
left. They were left in specially re-
inforced trenches. with signal rocket
gas shells and a few machine guns.
And so the German fire fell on
these front line trenches for five hours
and 26 minutes, and those shells fell
on empty trenches, except for those
patrols who stayed there expecting to
be killed, but who, strangely enough,
practically all came back to us in the
morning,
when the hour for the German in
fantry attack came they set off the
gas bombs and the signal rockets. Our
artillery saw the signal rockets and
cut loose on the massed German in
fantry.
Tho German masses were literally
smashed by the terrific French ahtll-
lery fire and the gas shells our BOYS
had left smothered them with the dead
~ mustard gas. They never got through
to our second fines, Our boys sat on
the parapets OF the trenches and
watched the show
But on the other end they did get
through, They crashed into the Rain
bow division and the l66th met them
hand to hand In some OF the most ter
rible fighting of the war-fighting fit
for that terrible battle.
Gen. Gouraud's army stopped the
German rush, and in an address to his
troops, Gen. Gouraud point out that
the American troops in his army were
my little old 369th. the l65th and others
of the Rainbow division and some rail-
way artillery batteries"