The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1919-06-06

Bots de Cierges. But there was also
method prescribed for dealing wit
such attacks. Two companies wei
'echelnned back on the right an
promptly throwing the Germans GU
= pursued them into the Bots de Gle
ges while the 28th Division procee,
!. ed northeast to Cierges village an,
\ finding it evacuated by the German
! but full Of gas, took up line on hig
ground juts outside Of it.
n The enemy may have heard tina
: in front of them was division of ne,
troops. to whom night attacks ar
T. supposed to be especially disconcer
ing; at any rate they tried one abou
10 o'clock, dashing out of the grea
Bots Meunier to sweep the handful o
Americans, from the Bots de Cierges
The Americans however, met then
with bayonet, and after half an hOul
of wolfish hand-to-hand combat undel
the trees it was the Germans who
fed back northeastward, leaving q
large proportion of their number dead
on the ground.
While this was going on through the
night in the right of the sector, the
63rd Infantry Brigade, in consequ.
lence OF the progressive narrowing
of the front and squeezing out of div.
ision on the left, thus relieving the
28th Division on the left, thus extend
ing the front of the 32nd Division
across nearly four kilometers. Ahead
of it lay now, to the right, Cierges and
the creek valley in which it lies and
to the left, the long, opens slope of
the Ourcq valley reaching up to the
small wood of Les Jomblets, on Hill
212, a spur Hill 220.
Across Open Slopes
By the fire from this wood the right
of the And United States Division
was being held up and severely pun
ished in Sergy, about /. kiIometer to
the west. Consequently, by order of
the 3Sth (French) Corps, another
methodical artillery preparation began
at 80 pm. and at o'clock the 63rd
Brigade proceeded northward across
two kilometers of open sloping ground
and drove the enemy out of the Bots
de Jomblets, with the 42nd Division,
now able to leave Sergy behind, well |
up on the line.
On the right Cierges was taken |
promptly and the troops went far up
he hillside northeast of it. But I'M |
the 9TH French Division,
IN the right, had been as yet unable |
o take the Bots Meuniere, while in
he center of the sector of the 32nd |
Division, at distances northeast of
Jierges respectively of one and two !
the enemy had two exceed
ngly strong centers of resistance in !
he fortified walls and buildings of i
Farm and Reddy Farm.
80 the 64th Brigade, by driving for I
yard, merely got itself further into a
'alient swept by cross fire, and was
obliged to fall back early in the /
light to a position between Cierges Z,
nd Bellevue Farm.
By this item the German positions
o the west Immediately along the d
)uroq itself, were pretty we'll shaken l
tut on the fronts of the 42nd and 32nd
the stornest part of their t
ne, along the hill crests north of t
ne valley, were still securely held il
ill 230, Bellevue and Reddy Farms, il
lie bits of woodland called the Bots C
e Planchette and the Bots Pelger, L
lie village and chateau of. Neales,
nd the Fort de Neales. il
Struggle for Watershed
If these places could be taken and
of them were now within two o
lometers of the American front line v
the height of land between the O.
urcq and the Vesle rivers would be a
'ached and it was not probable 1
at the enemy could offer 30 strong a B
sistance on any other line for some a
stance northward. General HAN F
both Infantry brigades to advance c.
cordinaly ordered an attack on the Il
tire divisional front, the outer tanks Of
given detectives while the right al
mpanies of the 63rd Brigade should b
helon to the rear just west of Bell 81
ue Farm and the left of the 64th
'igade should endeavor to envelope Sc
is strong point. p
The maneuver was started early on CT
e morning of August l. The enemey h'
sisted desperately. About o'clock q
rec counter-attack drove the troops tr
the lit out Of the Bots de Jomblets
their positions of tn previous after
on and at the same time, the troops th
the right, after once capturing in
II gao, were Obliged to give it up al
ain on account Of the maching gun ca
9 from Bellevue and Reddy Farms. TO
Furious artillery fire covered all M
, American areas, hostile airplanes isl