The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1919-01-08


meantime. on March 20, the allies. fac
ing catastrophe, at last agreed upon
a unifcation Of command, and General
F0ch, the brilliant French leader, was
placed In supreme command of all the
allied armies.
A few days after the launching of
this drive. Paris was bombarded by
mystery" gun which it was known
was at least 81 miles away. On March
20. Good Friday, this long-range gun
made direct hit on a Paris church
and IS wOrshipers were killed.
On April 10. the Germans shifted
their attack and began the second
phase Of their offensive-a drive
against the British in Flanders with
the channel ports as the objective.
Here again the British were forced to
give ground, but there was no break
such as occurred earlier on the Somme
front. The British and Portuguese
were swept back along the River Lys.
The Germans took the Messines ridge
and threw 125,OOO men against the
British below Ypres. But the Ypres
defenses held firm. and in the west the
Germans failed in their efforts to reach
HazebrOuck. The terrific drive spent
itself and the Germans had failed to
threaten the channel ports seriously. .
On April % the British navy execut-
ed one Of the spectacular feats of the
war, blocking the channel of Zee
brugge, a German submarine base.
Germans Renew Offensive.
On May q the Germans renewed
the offensive with powerful attack
between the Aisne and the Marne. In
a day they swept over the Chemin-des-
Danes on the heights north of the
Aisne and crossed the river in rush.
Next they took Scissors and reached
the Vesle. On they went to the Marine,
extending their front on the river from
Chateau-Thierry to verneuil, and
threatening Reims in their advance
The drive was halted with the Ger
mans occupying front 16 miles wide
on the Marne.
In the meantime the Americans had
won attention on May % by taking
Cantigny on the Picardy front in a
brilliant attack.
On May rs, German U-boats began
operations off the coast Of the United
States, sinking II ships.
The German drive for Paris was re-
sumed but the turning point was
reached when on June and Z Ameri-
can marines were thrown across the
path of the advancing army at Chateau
Thierry. The Americans not only
stopped the Germans but drove them
back two miles, capturing several hun
dred prisoners.
In an effort to unite the Somme sail
ent with that of the Marine to provide
base for another move toward Paris,
the Germans launched another heavy
attack west of Noyon on June 10. They
made considerable gains on 2O-mile
front but the drive was halted within
| two days.
Austrian Offensive Is Fiasco.
Attention was transferred from
France to Italy when on June IS the
Austrians opened an offensive on the
italian front from Asiago plateau to
the sea. The attack proved a complete
fiascO. 1t was repulsed at all points
and the Italians pursued the fleeing
Austrians across the Plave, taking 49,.
600 prisoners.
The German commanders made one
last effort to break through to Paris
when the crown princes army group
on July Is, the morning after the
French national holiday, launched an
| offensive along front from Chateau
Thierry to Massiges, 80 miles east OF
Reims.
This fifth and last phase of the great
offensive failed most signally. being
stopped on the third day. The Ameri
can forces played a big part In this sec
ond decisive battle of the Marine. East
Of Chateau-Thierry the Germans forced
a passage across the Marine and thu
Americans who opposed them were
forced to fall back temporarily. Then
in a brilliant counter-attack, the Amer
leans drove the Germans back acros.
the Marne, taking 1900 prisoners, In
Guiding complete brigade staff.
| Allied Offensive Opens.
On July IS. General Foch assume,
the offensive. He struck the crow,
princes right flank vital blow and OF
the first day the French and Americana
fought their way for six miles alon,
the Aisne, reaching the outskirts O
scissors. For two weeks the grea
counter-offensive continued. On Jul,
% the Americans met the crack divi
sions of German guards and defeate,
them in stubborn battle at Sergy
Scissors fell to the French on Augus
. and by the following day the entlr
SOissons-Reims salient had been wine,
out.
The Indignation of the British nee
pie. aroused by the U-boat outrage
perpetrated by the Germans, was In
tensif1ed early in July when news wa
received of the sinking by subma
rine Of the hospital ship Llandover
Castle, carrying wounded men an
nurses between Canada and England
causing loss of 25S persons, inclut
Ing IL nurses. The United States COZ