The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1919-06-11
AMERICAN DIVISIONS RELIEVED
JUST BEFORE WARS END
9th and Goth Divisions, Relieved by British Were
Ready to go in Lines Again When Armistice Was
Signed. Casualties were 5,430. Advanced l6
Out Of 20 Miles Gained by Corps.

line was taken from the Stars and
Stripes, the Official newspaper Of the
A. 'E. f." Of May 18th. This edition
was mailed to The Advertiser by Lieut.
Marion r. Wilkes, who is now in
France.
..... 80. The New Drive.
The morning Of October found tho
seth Division just east Of Montbrehain,
between Cam,Tai and ST. Quentin,
ready to jump forward on the new
drive that was intended primarily to
carry it across the river Selle, nine
miles ahead, and eventually to take it
toward the Sambre canal and river, six
miles beyond the Selle
The division sector was three miles
wide and the direction Of advance lay
northeastward across rolling country.
Tho Germans were known to be wait
ing with strong machine gun resist
ance at villages and farms, and the
strongest defense Of the enemy behind
the Selle was anticipated.
The British front on both f1anks Of
'iiC oolil was HCll up " llS llHc dllu at
$40 o'clock on the morning Of the 8th
general attack was made by the First
French Army and the Fourth and
Third British Armies, the Fourth Army
having the Ninth Corps on the right,
the Second American in the center and
the Thirteenth Corps on the left. Be-
hind rolling barrage and accompan-
panied by tanks, the 30th Division at
tackled with the 117th Infantry on the
right and the 118th on the left.
The enemy put down counter-bar-
rage but morning mist favored the
attack and, except at the occasional
villages, farms and bits Of woodland,
the advance across country almost as
open as Western prairie met with COM
paratively slight resistance. BY noon
Brancourt AMI Fremont had been TAX
Ell in forward sweep Of about three
miles and the line rested diagonally
across the ain-Prcmont- Cambrai
road. The 9Th British Division on the
right was somewhat back, but the ad-
vance was resumed early the following
morning all along the line. The enemy
continued to retire rapidly, Offering
only rear guard opposition, and all
over the country behind his lines ap-
pearcd the smoke and llameS Of burn
ing buildings and supply and ammuni-
ton dumps which he was firing as he
went. The destruction was particular
ly great in the vicinity Of BOhain, one
Of his great depots, which lay in the
sector of the 9th British Division.
About 5 O'Clock that evening the 9Th
Division took Bohain, at the same mo-
mcnt that the Goth Division was occu-
pying Busigny and Becquigny, north
and somewhat east OF there, after a
days advance Of four miles. Just west
Of Busigny the 30th Division had come
astride the western circuit Of the
enemys most important railroad line,
the one from Metz through Mcziercs
and Hirson to Valcncicnnes and Lille.
On the morning Of the 10th, with the
25th British Division up to the line on
the left but the 9Th still somewhat
back on the right, the attack was again
taken up. Escaufourt was captured on
the left and, after an advance Of near
ly mile, the western edges OF st.
Solplet in the center and Of Vaux-
Andigny on the right, were entered.
But ST. Soup!ct was on the west bank
Of the Scllc River, almost due south
Of lie Catcau, and the enemy had es-
tablished a line OF resistance on the
crest Of the hills east OF the stream
and had brought up to it reinforce
mcnts whose fire quickly halted the
advance. The following day was spent
in cleaning up VauxAndigny, st.
Souplet and St. Benin and advancing
to the river bank commanding the
railroad which parallels the Sclc from
st. Souplct northward to lie Cateau.
On the night OF October ! the 9th Di-
vision relieved the 30th.
The front Of the Fourth Army had
now penetrated far to the east OF the
hideous dcsolation Of the Somme val
ley and the shell-heaved forefield land
scape of the old stabilized trench zones
and had conc into regions untouched
by war, where green things In fields
and gardens, where houses still had
rocks and windows and where civilians