The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1919-01-03
line. had the assurance to re-

front line, naQ the assurance TO re-
mark.
-'If you expect to keep me much
longer. YOU had better send me to the
rear; my men will retake this place
within two hours"
True to expectations, just two hours
after the capture of the town, the
enemy's counter attack was seen com.
ing over from his reserve trenches in
Lalval woods, protected by q Darrage
whose accuracy was carefully check
ed by experienced German aviators
flying overhead. The attack fell upon
the End and Bird battalions Of the 2Sth
infantry. But, gallantly though they
advanced. the enemy made the error
OF following the barrage at distance
of about 200 meters instead of so
meters. The artillery fire passed
over the American front line and gave
the infantry chance to get into ac-
tion before the assaulting line was
upon them. Waiting until the latter
was within 100 yards, the Americans
opened fire with one burst of flame,
and in a moment the Germans were
fleeing toward Framecourt Wood,
leaving upon the ground not less
than 500 killed and wounded
But, though the attack was thus
decisively repulsed. 1t was only the
first of six successive counter attacks
which were launched within the next
4S hours. AS each was repulsed the
enemy became more exhausted, more
desperate in his efforts to retake the
lost positions.
value TO him in themselves; the ac-
cumulating evidence of the dash and
doggedness of the American troops,
as they continued to maintain them
selves triumphantly against the ut
most efforts that their adversaries
could make was giving the lie so
plainly to the German thesis that the
American troops were no good and
never could be made good; that it
was impossible for the American ef-
fort ever to become a decisive factor
in the war. that the enemy dared not
let them retain their advantage. If
they did retain it, the news was sure
to leak out to the German army and
people and to strike chill of fore
boding to their hearts as they thought
of the millions of other equally sturdy
Americans who were on their way to
France, in fact so potentially.
SO. for two narrowing days the
enemy continued to smother Cantigny
in shell fire and gas and to hurl the
best troops he could gather upon the
stubborn American line. But, from
- 49, sslv's-sssst--, tt S,'s--. --..ss, hos.
come $500 miles across the sea to
fight for human freedom and their
own outraged rights upon a foreign
soil stood firmly to their task, and it
was here that such men as Lieut.
Flanagan. who, also mortally wound
continued to direct the movements of
his men until he died: Carp. Robert
Flanagan, who, also mortally wounud-
ed, concealed the fact and encourage
ed his squad and fired his automatic
until exhausted from loss of blood,
and Lieut. Clarence Drumm. who
walked up and down the line to en-
courage his men under the terrific fire
until he was struck by shell gave
to their own names the immortality
of herOism and to American history
fresh examples of the valor OF the
race to place beside those of Lex
ington, the Alamo and the Wilderness.
At length. after 4S hours OF night
mare, the German attempts relaxed
Convinced by the loss of about 800
men killed. 500 wounded and 255 pris-
'ncrs captured, and the loss CT sew
eral pieces of light and heavy caliber
artillery, many machine guns and
rifles and a great quantity of anlmuni-
ton and material that no sacrifice
would recover their lost positions,
ana that the moral effect of the situ-
ition upon their own troops anL peo-
pie must be discounted BY other
means, if possible, the Germans set
tied back into their new lines. which
they continued to hold until finally
forced from them by the great allied
counter offensive of mid July
Opposite to them, the First Divis-
ion also remained on the ground it's
arms had won until the night Of July
80. when it was at last relieved by
French troops, and went back for a
few brief days of rest before going
into sector where it was to win fer
itself fresh and even greater laurels.
on the fields of the Marne salient be-
tween Scissors and -Thierry.
But at Cantigny it had taught to
the world the significant lesson that
the American soldier was fully equal
to the soldier of any other nation on
the field of battle. Who can estimate
the extent of the subtle influence
which this proof exerted uron the
gigantic armies locked in battle along
the Western front, heartening the
warriors of the Allies, dismaying
those of the Central Powers rs they
struggled literally for the mastery of
the world upon the fields of the Marne
and Picardy and Flanders through
the weeks of June and July, 1918
perhaps the most momen-uous weeks
in al history?
Among the army units in France
that are scheduled for an early return
appears the 346th Field Artillery. Two