The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1919-01-03

ljective which he was to reach. This
preliminary training being completed.
ievery company commander, together
with one other company officer and
1.-TWO non-commissioned officers, made
a daylight reconnaissance to study
the sector and select objects upon
which to march when the assault
should go off.
At length, after every conceivable
preparation had been made and every
precautiOn taken to insure success
came the momentuous night of May
|27-2S. Probably the troops did not
yet know it, but on that very morning
had occurred an event which was to
give to their own comparatively small
undertaking even greater moral sig
nificance than it would otherwise
have possessed.
| That morning the Germans had
gone over the top along the Chemin
des Danes I'm the last of their sue
cessful great offensives; an offensive
so successful at the beginning that
It was perhaps more disquieting than
any of those which had preceded It.
( carrying the enemy's lines down to
| the Marne at Chateau-Thierry and
| seeming for time to threaten Paris
with imminent attack. In the next
days news to a dismayed world, tell
ing of the armies of the German
Crown Prince striding southwark
across the Velse, the electrifying sue
cess of the First American Division
at Cantigny was the only bright spot
but it was spot of exceeding bright
Iness.
Zero hour was set for $3.50 a. M,
May %. The designated infantry
units entrucked for the front lines
at 1880 a. m. and at a. m. they were
in position in their jumping-off tren-
| ches. Twelve French tanks and the
French flame throwers were in posi-
ton, the squadron of French air.
planes detailed to make observations
| was ready to perform its part of the
complicated task. and detachment
of United States engineers was on
| hand for pioneer work. About $50
pieces of artillery. American and
French, ranging in caliber from
75mm. to 2S0mm., stood prepared to
open the bombardment at the appoint
ed second.
Each infantryman carried a shelter
half. his rifle with 220 rounds of am
munition. 2 hand grenades, one rifle
grenade, one Bengal fare, four sald
bags, -two deys' rstions, Ygn- eentnasyA1
of water and either pick or snovKl
At 4.57 a. m. every unit was In poJi-.
ton and every arrangement con'ptet-
ed. The night was calm and starsit,
admirably suited to the work in hand.
Promptly at zero hour, $3.50 a. m.,
the artillery bombardment began With
roar and the hail of missiles crash
ed down upon Cantigny and its stone
walls began to crumble and fly into
! splinters.
! The terrific fire paralyzed the Ger
mans and when, at $3.50 a. M. the
bombardment was suddenly pulled
back to the initial line of the baIrage
and the infantry went over, advancing
at the rate of 100 meters every. two
minutes and following the barrage at
a distance of so meters, the enemy
was so bewildered that he could not
offer effective resistance. Mafered
by the bayonets of the American in
lfantry and terrified by the tanfs and
fame throwers, the Germans surrend-
cred in clusters, those who attempted
to fight being shot down or caprured
as the rush OF assaulting troops mop
ped up the town and its covering
trtnches. In an incredibly shoft time
I.he objective line beyond CAntigny
had been reached, with remarkably
few losses.
II But now came the far more ditficnlt
J task of consolidating and holiing the
J CAPTURED positions. The German
counter artillery fire had c0he down
) promptly, and it was withering. 1t
: was necessary promptly to make the
new haatione~a against the counter
: attac@ Alta yards in the, as certab to be
: launcsHa sHationsi shortly.
IL First. rrEfine of shell holes was con-
:, solidath and. with tie help Of the
y Engineers, connected With hasty, shall
: low trenches, capabh Of being de-
8 Tended mainly with automatic rifles.
d Under a CALLING artillery harrage and
: la constant hail of nSchine gun and
n rifle fire, the men ten wired these
: positions in front, Fhile the third
s wave of assault, clse behind was
J. busy, under quite p difficult condi-
) tions, in consolidahg three strong
e points immediatelybehind the front
= line: one in the foods 200 meters
d east of the smokig ruins of Can
y ltigny, one in the wbds to the north
l. east of it, and onk in the cemetery
n north of the town. Each strong point
was garrisoned by4ne platoon of In
t. fantry provided WITH automatic rifles.
ell Under cover off, vigorous machine
n gun barrage, in which one captured
r., German machinl gun was participat-
III ing, the Americans awaited the Ger
IN man reaction For two hours after
es the capture of Cantigny the enemy s
to artillery fire continued with unabat-
e. ed intensity, In spite Of the powerful
x, response whict the American and
IN French guns we're making 10 1t. Tele-
es phone wires oil along the American
es front were constantly cut and II was
re. during this eriod that 1ne young
n American seIgeant earned from the
be Germans thenickname OF "the black
re snake Of Cantigny" because of his
lct successoin yiglir- over the top to
ed repair cuty'fres.
e. Though sley had lost their front
.e- line in the overwhelming rush of the
H. American ftack, the Germans were
confident cf their ability to retake it
ps indeed, ont German captain who had
ls- been taxed and turned over to the
he American officer, upon finding him.
calf hold iNriannnr fnr n t;,,,1 e., I,