The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1919-03-22
COURAUD and
YANKS WON WAR
Colonel Hayward Asserts Foe
Was Lured Into a
ShambIes.
KNEW ABOUT GERMAN PLANS
Through Prisoners French General
Learned of Exact Hour Of Huns
Great Offensive and Beat
Them to It.

New YOrk.-The story of how Gen
eral Gouraud obtained through prison
ers word of the exact hour at which
the last great German offensive of the
! war was to be launched, and how, with
the aid of American troops, he hurled
! back the advancing hOrdeS, was told
by Col. William Hayward of the Three
Hundred and Sixty-ninth infantry (col-
Ored), the former Fifteenth New York.
This German drive, launched on July
Is, was the turning point of the war,
Colonel Hayward declared. Reinforced
| by released prisoners from Russia, the
foe was at the zenith of his power.
The blow came east of Reims.
eve knew this attack was coming,
and knew it was to be the maximum
German effort" Colonel Hayward said
"About one hour before / o'clock on
the night of July IA we captured Ger
man prisoners in raid. They told us
when the attack would come.
Beat Them to It,
"The artillery preparation was to
start at midnight and last for five
hours and twenty-five minutes. SO
General Gouraud started our artillery
fire five minutes ahead of theirs
"That put them up in the air. Fritz
had to send to Hans to ask what the
change in his plans meant.
when the French knew when this
battle was coming, their lines did not
remain thin blue line. 1t seemed
that all the soldiers and all the can
mons in the world crawled over and
took position back of US.
General Gouraud saved the world
for civilization. / have heard stories
about how hard he had to work to
convince General Petain and Marshal
Foch that his plan was right
But he took a chance-the greatest ,
chance any soldier ever took in the
world. He took his troops out of the
front line trenches over front of fifty
I
"Some of these trenches had cost Z
thousands of lives. Men had toiled
for weeks and months to gain these
positions. He abandoned them when I
ne was sure where the attack was !
coming.
he Three Hundred and SiAty-ninth
American infantry on one end Of that :
fifty kilometer line and the One. Hun !
lred and Sixty-fifth on the other
"When the troops were Withdrawn :
rom the front line only patrols were :
eft. On my regiments front, instead (
f 1000 men, only sixteen volunteers
we're left. They were left in specially
enforced trenches with signal rock :,
is, gas shells, and few machine Z
uns.
"And so the German fire fell on
lese front line trenches for five hours Z
nd twenty-five minutes-and those .
bells fell on empty trenches, except q
,r those patrols who stayed there ex- (
Getting to be killed, but who, strangely q
lough, practically all came back to =
S in the morning. 4
Cut to Pieces. =
"When the hour for the German in =
lntry attack came they set off the :
is bombs and the signal rockets. Our =
'tillery saw the signal rockets and =
1T loose on the passed German in =
ntry =
1.-THE German masses were literally Z
mashed by the terrific French artil- =
ry fire, and the gas shells our boys u
id left smothered them with the dead 4
mustard gas. Z
'"They never got through to our =
cond lines. Our boys sat on the para -
is of the trenches and watched the -
loW. =.
"But on the other end they did get
rough. They crashed into the Rain -
w division and the One Hundred and <v>
xty-fifth infantry (the old Sixty-ninth =.
w York;, met them hand to hand
some of the most terrible fighting -
the war-fghting fit for that terri =
battle. ~
General Gouraud's army stopped
German rush and in an address
his troops General Gouraud pointed -
! that the American troops in his -
ny were my little old Three Hun =.
ID and Sixty-ninth, the One Hundred
/ Sixty-fifth, and others of the Rain -
v division, and some railway ar -
cry batteries" X
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