Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-06-27
WORLDS GREATEST BATTLE

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WORLDS GREATEST BATTLE
Expert Review of the Great Conflict OF
1918.
The decisive battle Of the European wal
will 60 down In history, in the opinion oi
General Debeney. the commander Of the
First French army, under the name of "tht
Battle Of 1913" In q note which appeari
in the June Issue of The Infantry Journal
\ the official publication of the officers OF
that arm of the United States Regular
army, he gives Nv reason for that view.
By Gen. MARIE EUGENE DEBENEY.
Commanding First French Army.
It Is most important that the event
which took place in 1918 should be
realized.
| AS matter Of fact many people do
not understand the sequence Of events
and are surprised that the war should
have ended so suddenly. True to his
torical tradition, they were always ex-
| pecting the decisive battle which,
named after a town or village, would
immortalize the German defeat. They
wanted an Austerlitz or Jena, Softer
ino or Sedan. They do not realize that
these battles which bear such great
names, were fought on a six, seven, or
at the very most twenty kilometer
front. Only 100000 or 100000 or
100000 men were engaged in the most
important Of these battles, which last
ed one or two days at the longest.
Now our battle extended from the
sea to the Moselle, on a 400 kilometer
front, and 100000 men were employ
ed in it. Little wonder, therefore, that
it lasted seven and one-h half months.
This, however, did not prevent II
from being one single battle. The
French, British, American, and Bel
gian armies fought incessantly under a
common leader. They formed one huge
army, which fought and won this
unique and gigantic battle, thereby OBJ
tanning the most brilliant victory in
history.
The battle Of 1918 began on March
21 and may be divided into three
phases.
Until the middle Of July-that is tc
say, during four months-the Ger
| mans took the offensive and obtained
undeniable successes, which, were how
ever, always checked and localized aft
er a short time.
On July Is the situation was revers.
ed. The great Allied offensive began
on the left bank Of the Oise carried Out
by two French armies. The battle or
the right bank was conducted by two
other armies and two British armies
In less than two months the Gerpnant
were everywhere compelled to retire to
the famous Hindenburg line, from
which they had started four months
before.
| At this moment the German attack
may be said to have failed, their men
having been driven back to their for.
mer positions at the point Of the bayo-
net. The worst that even pessimists
could say was that the battle was a
| draw.
But it was only the second phase;
the third was about to begin.
At the Hindenburg Line.
1t is we'll known that for three years
the Hindenburg line, which the Ger.
mans called "Siegfried," had been the
real line of demarkation between the
latter and the Allies. The Germans re-
garded it as impregnable and behint
this bulwark, organized and reinforced
daily, they had accumulated ammuni-
ton, constructed defenses, and brought
up a formidable amount Of material
In fact, they had stripped Germany Of
all its war equipment in order to pile
it up in France and Belgium in tht
sure protection Of the Hindenburt
line.
On September 26 the Allies attacked
the Hindenburg line at different point:
the American army and a French
army in Champagne, a French arm!
and three British armies in "the Sain'
Quentin Cambria zone.
After eight days Of terrible fighting
the Allies succeeded in breakint
through the famous lines, shatterint
them at every point.
The German morale suddenly col
llapsed, and on October 4, Ludendorff
the commander in chief, asked his gov
ernment to beg for an armistice.
It was too late, as the Allies were
progressing fast. Along the whole
front from the Escaut 10 the Meuse
their armies were engaged in widen
ing the gaps, creating fresh ones ant
precipitating the German retreat. II
Belgium q French army, a British
army and the Belgian army were oc
cupying positions in the line, thus ex
tending the battlefield as far as the
sea- at a moment when the Germans
were already lacking in reserves to de
fend the vital sectors which were mos
threatened.
Everything gave way before this for
midable advance; successive lines fel
back within a few days; artillery fire
gradually diminished and on Novem'
ber the pursuit became general
whole trains being captured in the
Meuse valley at Hirson, in Belgium
everywhere.
1t was a real victory. complete vic
tory. one beyond all expectations
Since the commencement Of the often
sive the Allies had taken about 4OO,'
600 prisoners and over 5000 guns.
Victory and Capitulation.
But there is something better still
something better than victory. There
Is capitulation. That to, was to come
| On November the German plenipo'
tentiaries succeeded, after many diff