The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-02-22
SECOND DIVISION HAS HAD BICPART
 IN CHANGING COURSE OF WAR

With The Third Army on the Rhine, Feb. 9.-In the battle that probably saved Paris in the great counter of fensive that broke and rolled back the tide of the invasion from the heart of France, in the action that pLnched off the St. Mihiel salient, in the battle that pierced the German line in the ArgOnne, in the stroke that relieved Rheims-in each of these momentous struggles the Second American Dt- vision had a large share.
 In coming years, when historians and military experts calmly and dis passiOnately unravel the tangled skein of events of the great war, they may contend that the Third Division play ed a. greater part in changing the course of the war than any other American division-perhaps any sin gle division in Europe.
 The 2nd Division captured about one-fourth of the entire number of prisoners taken by the American Ex- peditionaTy Force, captured one l fourth of the total of guns and suffer l ed about One-tenth of the total cas- ualties in the American armies. | The division landed in France in the early autumn of 1917. The officers were mostly experienced regular Army officers with regiments com | posed of a nucleus of Regulars and marines filled to full stregnth by men l from every section of the United | States but largely from the middle | West.
 l In March they moved up and went ! in with the French for six weeks | training on the Mouse heights near Verdun. Outside of exciting patrol | ling activity and a few raids the sec 1 tor was quiet" Then the Second was 1 entrusted with a. sector of it's own in l the Eparges region.
 1 About the second week of April the Germans launched a remarkable raid l Under cover of darkness about 5OC 1 Germans dressed in American anG French uniforms and spea king French J and English infiItrated into anG l through the lines. Before they were aware of the deception two com | panies of the Ninth found the enemy l among and behind them. Despite the great disadvantages and confusion o1 1 uniforms, the little groups rallied
 Then ensued a savage fight in tht
 darkness. By daybreak the lines were cleared of the enemy. The German. had suffered heavily-sixty seven deaC
 Germans were picked up in ou
 trenches, and scores Hmped or were
 carried back to the enemy trenches
 The American losses were unusual,
 light. That was where the Second
 learned it could whip the Roche.
 After six weeks in the line the divi
 sion was withdrawn for rest ant
 training.
 Then came the dark days of Ma,
 and June. The German flood brok,
 through the Chemin des Danes anc
 poured swiftly toward Paris. Tht l lr1-J,p p1a ha11 J7
 gray masses drew closer and closer t
 the capital of France. The Second wa
 called upon for the supreme test. Or
 the night of May 30 the orders reached l headquarters.
 Throughout the night the division
 prepared Teverdshly for the move
 There Was no sleep that night for tn officers. in the early morning 1onj
 columns or French motor trucks
 5000 of them-rumbled into the divi sional area.
 The entire division of 27,O0O me
 was quickly loaded and the mem orabl
 rush to save Paris started. Throug'
 the long, hot day the lines of crowde
 trucks tore along the dusty roads. A itfCv passed scores of French village
 the peasants lined the streets an ' cheered frantically and threw flower at the trucks. They knew the terribl
 significance of the coming battle. s After a fatiguing journey of aibou 100 miles the division was detrucke S directly in the path of the advancin V enemy, where he was nearest Pari. ?, The lines were thrown across the ia t nous Paris-Metz road. Then followe r a forced march of 12 miles towar }, Chateau Thierry. The broad highwa = was crammed with pitifu1 caravan
 of distracted refugees fleeing from th
 foe. On the same road were tn
 columns of French troops withdraw | ing. As the 9th Infantry was de
 ploying runners hurried up with tn : | orders to go into the line within a fe7 hours. The men were told. They i'm ! mediately unshouldered packs an = threw themselves upon the ground | e snatch few minutes of sleep. Fe7 = had slept for thirty-six hours. A grou of French officers looked on in amaze aent.