Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1919-04-09
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 1t.


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.
1--WE knew this attack was coming
and knew it was to be the maximum
German effort" Colonel Hayward said.
about one hour before 1 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 ever and
took position back Of us.
General Gouraud saved the world
for civilization. I 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 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
kilometers.
"Some of these trenches had cost
thousands of lives. Men had toiled
for weeks and months to gain these
positions. He abandoned them when
he was sure where the attack was
coming.
"And when this occurred he had
the Three Hundred and Sixty-ninth
American infantry on one end OF that
fifty kilometer line and the One Hun
dred and Sixty-fifth on the other.
"When the troops were withdrawn
from the front line only patrols were
left. On my regiments front, instead
of 1000 men, only sixteen volunteers
were left. They were left in specially
reinforced trenches with signal rock
cts, gas shells, and a few machine
guns.
"And so the German fire fell on
these front line trenches for five hours
and twenty-five minutes-and those
shells fell on empty trenches, except
| for those patrols who stayed there ex-
| pecting to be killed, but who, strangely
| enough, practically all came back 10
us in the morning.
Cut to Pieces.
"When the hour for the German In
| fantry attack came they set off the
| gas bombs and the signal rockets. Oul
| artillery saw the signal rockets anc
| cut loose on the massed German In
| fantry.
| ''The German masses were literally
smashed by the terrific French artll
lery fire, and the gas shells our boys
| had left smothered them with the dead
! ly mustard gas.
"They never got through to oul
| second lines. Our boys sat on the para
nets of the trenches and watched the
show
"But on the other end they did ge
through. They crashed into the Rain
bow division and the One Hundred ant
Sixty-fifth infantry (the old Sixty-nintl
New York;, met them hand to han'
in some of the most terrible tightin
of the war-fghting fit for that terri
BILE battle.
General Gouraud's army stoppe
the German rush and in an address
to his troops General Gouraud pointe
out that the American troops in nj
army were my little old Three HUI
dred and Sixty-ninth, the One Hunure
and Sixty-ffth, and Others of the Kan
bow division, and some railway a
tillery batteries"