The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1919-04-25
Correspondent Reveals How
'Beaten" Troops Turned
Tide Against Foe.
SIDELIGHTSONMARCH SHOW
Allied Troops Believed Retreat Wac
apart of Some Blooming Strategy
Cos the Chaps Next Door
Couldn't Hold On"
BY PERCY M. SARL.

~ ,<United Press STAFF CorrespondenO
London.-"Woo-oos Bangw
IlookAd out Of my tent on the morn.
ing Of March 81, 1918. imagining that
some taerlak humorist was bombing us.
;, But it was d, long-range, ten-inch, high.
velocity gun, and couple more In
quick succession. the second shell land.
Ing about fifty yards from me, showed
that It was no stray round. I realized
that the great German offensive had
started.
t The night before I had Joined the
Fortieth division artillery. which was
lying in "close reserve" Just south OF
Arras. / was hoping for. recupera.
tive period on what was Seckoned a
fairly "quiet" front.
"Stand by your horses |" brought US
all onto the lines. Fortunately, the
Boche was shooting by the map and
not from observation. or we should
have taken little further interest in
the "March show" AS It was, he
. dropped about sixty rounds right 10
the midst of us without doing much
damage. The enemy had broken
through at Bellecourt and was coming
% fast
Blazing Away At Foe.
/ ~The divisional artillery will come
Into action at-so-and-so map spot
Ting" and we were off. But when we
got there-well, the cupboard wasn't
exactly bare. because Just before we
reached our objective we came across
IN 18-pounder section sQuatting in the
open and blazing away over open
sights at the oncoming hordes Of
Boches. TO-
We dropped back and found q less
conspicuous place from which to de-
clare war. Then we had one solid
weeks hades, such as General Sher-
man never thought of. or he would
have used stronger language about
"war." The Germans brought their
field guns on so rapidly. and in such
numbers. that we were shelled from
pillar to post. Our infantry hung on
doggedly. and were wiped out. battal-
ion after battalion. Each batch Of re-
serves found tffefr predecessors posi-
lions untenabiss and were. compelled to
y try to,hold q iine a, bit farther back.
H. H'gAlwayssin the open. for there was no
i$tirhe to dgioneseIf in; and when one
hillside bccameetOo hot for comfort we
shifted, either to flank or slightly to
the rear. I never saw soldiers 80
cheerful or determined. DOg-tired.
they hung on: and while the great
game OF "tactics" went on, the whole
line having to conform to some IN
known situation many miles to flank.
the Third army grnmbIingly wondered
Whit /, was falling back for.
re- the pcssimlSts who conceded 9
German victory last March could have
seen those "bcatpn" soldiers retrent-
ing. they might have taken heart. be-
cause ii never occurred to the troops
themselves that they were being beat
en-. The retreat. to them. was all part
Of some bloc ming strategy cos the
chaps next door Couldn't hold on"
Back through Mory, Ervillers. St.
Lrcar. GOmmecourt, Courcelles and
Buc1uoy fell my part of the line. and
then we stopped them. March, 30 saw
about the end Of the nightmare as far
as we were concerned. and the FOrtf-
eth divisional artillery pulled off a
regunr hoy stood on the burning
deck" stunt My own brigade, the One
Huntired and Sevcnty-eighth brigade
royal field artillery. composed of Lon
tie,p- citizru soldiers mostly, came into
acIi6n in the open, under heavy fire
directed by hostile airpanes and
smashed mp an. attack OF three bat
taiions which had been on the front
held by a company OF the British
guards. One battery was practically
wiped out. gun after gun being Knocked
out by concentrations Of enemy artil-
iery, was thankful to find myself
when the Cease fire" order came
through.
There were many weary weeks Of
routine warfare and night alarms. II
was between BoiSleux-au u Mont and
Boi,y,St Martin, about 400 yards from
the place where that first ten-inch shell
landed on March q. We stopped the
Boche.
There, we refitted and planned and
prepared for the final triumphal ad
vance of the allies in the ensuing SUM
uer and fall.
IL.