The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1919-03-19
Wars Greatest Deed
Breaking of Hindenburg Line by
9th and 30th Divisions.

In a speech in the senate Tuesday
Senator Wadsworth, Of New YORK
who had returned from a visit IL
! France, where he inspected the bat
.itlefelds and especially studied the'op
erations of the 9TH and the Goth dl
visions which broke the Hindenburs
4 line, referred TO the achievement ol
these two units as..s one OF the Sreaa
events of the war. Senator Wads'
I; worth said:
1.-The two American divisions th1
were left with the British served viii
the British during their entire service
in France. They were the 9th and
30th. divisions, the first made up 81
1.-THE New York national guard division
and the second the national guard dl-
vision from Tennessee and North Car
olina and South Carolina.
Those two divisions, in a sense
We're an integral part Of the British
army They did not even have thei1
own supply trains with them. Their
artillery. too, had been sent to the
st. Mihie1 sector to operate with the
| American FRS, Army and later with
! the American Second Army in Ar
Gonne.
Those two divisions consisted only
of infantry, the machine sunners, the
engineers, and the signal corps bat
taIlons, all, practically. foot soldiers
Everything was supplied by the Brit
ish They. served for many weeks in
Belgium in the trenches. 1t Was they,
Mr.. President, who reoccupied Ken1-
mel Hill. But in the middle Of Sep
tember they were moved down fartf1-
cr 10 the south On September % thSy
were thrown against the Hindenburs
line:
q have attempted TO descri''e
laonething Of the Arsonne country;
perhaps Senators will bear with me II
/ attempt 10 describe. inadequately. i
fear, something Of the nature OF the
defense which these two divisions
fornd confronting them and which
they attacked and captured. The Ca
nal iu Nord which, if l remember cor
rectly. connects the Oise river and the
Sheldt running approximately north
and south passes through the towns
OF St. Quentin and Cambria. st
Quentin and Calnbrai, senators will
remember, were towns situated upon
or close 10 the famous Hindenbufg
line Midway between those two
towns the canal Itself runs under q
hill through tunnel which is ap-
proxiii,ately three miles long. The
Hindenburg line IN that sector was
based upon that canal along. most or
that distance between st. Quentin
and Cambria Itx strongest point Was
the point where the canal pierced THIS
hill and ran through this long tun1it'i
The Germans haG established two In.
mensely strong lines out in front CT
the hill pierced by the tunnel, and an
Immensely strong defensive posl'loA
along the top OF the hill pierced .by
the canal From the tunnel itself they
had cut long pasSaseways, biiflt IN tie
form OF Stairwa.S, at least hVe IeEt:
wide, az frequent intervals, whIch en-
:.hIed their troops, taking refuge IN
this tllree-rnile tunnel. OH naomen; $
notice, to climb the stairways anfs
get into the trenches on top OF the
hill and in front Of the hill. 1t was
4 vast maze Of underground passage
ways. The tunnel was lighted. with
electricity. and, the German troops
lad their kitchens there: Canal
hargcs. had been backed into the tnn-
nerby the, Germans: the German
troops living in hunks built into the.
barges: Each end Of the tunnel WIS
blocked by an enormously. thick con-
cretesWall, with sits in it for machine
guns
:, "On September. 90 the 27th and S0th
divisions of American troops Wee
launched against that position. 1t re-
aufred three days for them to over
come il: Their losses were very Sc
we're. Frankly, senator's, ! do not see
how men could have gone through
such position and come out alif,.
The achievement was astounding.
think it would seem so to any civil
ian afteS seeing that maze of trencht )
and underground pass1l :cs. acres aad
acres OF harbed wire, and the canal
itaeIf The men were subjected TO u
fearful enflading fire from their left
flank as they pushed their way into
this position A British division as
sisted upon the right flank: a famoss
division. the 46th Hiehlanders.
they crossed the open canal south q:
the, tunnel. The American objectives
were three kilometers away from
their starting point. but they reached
them on the first day:
Then ensured q terrific hand-to
hand contest to hold what they had
taken. /. An Australian division was
thrown in to help them. and the Aus
trtlians and Americans fought side
BY side there for two days. One bat
talon. the l01th infantry-which SEN
arors may be Interested in Knowing is
the old 1th New Yofk-Was for two
and half days, separated. far out IN
advance, having reached the objective
assigned to them. and was reached by
airplanes. which dropped cartridges
and chocolate to the .&1Ten. At the
end OF two and half days support
reached those men, and the action
was complete.
Gen. Haig and Gen. Rawiinson