The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-03-28
UNITED PRESS MAN TELLS
THE TALE OF FIGHT
BRITISH WERE CHEERFUL
Soldiers Did Not Consider
Retreat In the Nature OF
Defeat; Strategy
PERCY M. sARL.

London, March WOO oosh
Bang!"
j looked out of my tent on the
morning oil. March 81. 1918, imagining
that some aerial humorist was bomb
ing us. But it was long range ten
inch high velocity gun, and a couple
more in quick succession, the second
shell landing about fifty yards from
me, showed that it was no stray
round / realized that the great
German offensive had started.
The night before joined the fort
ieth division artillery, which was
lying in "close reserve" just south of
Arras. was hoping for recuper-
atiye period on what was reckoned
a fairly "quiet" front.
STAND to your horses" brought us
! all on to the lines. Fortunately me
boche was shooting by the map, and
not from observation or we should
have taken little further interest in
the March show" As it was he
dropped about sixty rounds right in
the midst OF us without doing much
damage The enemy had broken
through at Bellecourt and was COM
ing on fast.
Divisional Artillery in Action.
THE divisional artillery will come
, into action at-so-Gnd so map spot
ting ard we were OFF, But when
| we got there, well-the cupboard was
MT exactly bare. because just before
we reached cur objective. we came
across an eighteen FOUNDER section
| squGtting in the open and blazing
away over open sights at the incom
| ing hordes of Boches.
We dropped back and found less
! conspicuous place from which to de-
! clare war. Then we had one solid
weeks hades, such as General Sher-
man never thought of, or he would
have used stronger language about
War" The Germans brought their
field guns on so rapidly, and in such
1 numbers, that we were shelled from
pillar 10 post. Our infantry hung on
doggedly, and were wiped out bat
batch of reserves found their prede-
iccssors positions untenable. and were
compelled to try amp hold a line a bit
| further back X
Always in Open.
Always in the open, for there was.
no time to dig oneself m and when
! one hillside became tooshot for com
fort we shifted, either TO d nank or
lslightly to the rear never saw sol
diers so Cheerful or determined. Dog
! tired, they hung on: the whole line
h?ving TO conform to some unknown
situation many miles to a flank. the
/ Third Army grii,nblingly wondered
what il was falling back for.
If the pessimists who conceded a
German victory last March could
have seen those beaten" soldiers
1retrcating, they might have taken
heart. because it never occurred to
the troops themselves that they were
being beaten The retreat, to them,
I, was all part of "somo blooming
1, strategy. COS the chaps next door
tcouldn't hold on"
/ Back Through Towns
Back through Mory, Ervillers, st.
4 Leger, Gommecourt, Courcelles, and
Bucquoy. fell my part of the line, and
! then we stopped them March 80.
saw about the end of the nightmare
as far as We were concerned, and
the Fortieth Divisional artillery
pulled off a regular BOY stood on
the burning deck stunt Ny own
brigade, the 17Sth Brigade ROYAL
Field Artlllery. composed OF London
\ citizen soldiers mostly. came into
action in the open, under heavy fire
directed by hostile aeroplanes and
lsmashed up an attack Of three batral-
ions which had been on the front
held by a company of the British
guards. One battery was practically
wiped out. gun after gun being
knocked out by concentrations of
enemy artillery. / was thankful TO
! find myself when the Cease fire.
order came through
There were many weary weeks of
routine warfare, and night alarms
1t was between Boisleux -au mont
and Boiiy ST. Martin, about four
hundred yards from the place where
that first ten inch shell landed on
March Il VIC stopped the boche.
rherc r,o rcfttcd. and planned, and
prepared for the final triumphant adj
vance of The allies ir the ensuing
summer and fall Asf-