New Britain herald., 1919-02-19
WAR Time PHRASES
ARE NOW FAMOUS
'"They Shall Not Pass" and LA
iayette, We Are Here

, slater entS. LOOKING pdth oNNA
perspective of four years OF tghtlng
it appears that the majority OF these
! grew out of tense crises In battles or
! marked historic moments when the
fate of nations hung in the balance.
Take for example the slogan
They shat not pass During the
tremendous fighting il front OF Verr
/ dun when the Germans made their
great desperate drive to break
! through the French battle lines in
| 1916, this saying passed from lip TO-
! LID among the French soldiers gath
| cred there in a long drawn battle to
check the terrific onslaught Of the
Germans How it originated is not
clear Some have attributed it tol
Marshal Joffre, others to Marshal
Petain who was in command of the
French fighting forces at Verdun.
Others believe the saying originated
with the men in the ranks At any
event they adopted it and for months
while the Germans Yainly threw THEN
oattalions upon the stubbor1ly de-
Tended forts around the French city,
the saying, They shall not pass be-
came the watchword at Verdun And
| they did not pass.
To Americans the sententious utter
ance of Gen. Pershing when he
placed a wreath on the tomb of La
fayette in the Picpus cemetery in
Paris conveyed a significance and an
inspiration. Lafayette, we are
here was all he said, but to the
American as we'll as to the French
man it was better than oratory. II
| meant to the American, I'VE are here
Cin nd 11JSf fc 10
| fight" 1t thrilled the hearts of Gen.
| Pershing's people at home and the
! modesty of it filled them with q glow
of satisfaction.
Another dramatic phrase which
| stirred the patriotism of the Ameri-
| can people was that attributed to al
| American commander at Chateau
| Thierry when he responded to the
advice Of French commanders to re-
! treat by declaring: The American
| flag has been compelled to retire.
| This is uncomfortable. We are going
to couater-attack." These statements
| have been attributed to both Major
Gen. Robert L. Billiard and to Major
Gen. Omar Bundy. Some observers
| have regarded this incident as the
turning point Of the war. From that
time the Americans advanced. The
victory of ChateauThierry followed
and thereafter the German army re-
! treated.
Vice Admiral William S. Sims,
commanding the American naval
forces in European waters was asked
when the first Yankee warships ar
rived in England early in May, 1917,
! When will you be ready for BUSH
ness?" He replied, I'VE can start at
once We made our preparations on
; the way over"
! There was a dramatic moment, a
! great crisis in the worlds history
when Gen. Pershing placed the Am
erican army under the command of
/ the then Gen. Foch who had just
! been made commander of the Allied
! forces, but none OF the phrases that
! Gen. Pershing used were widely
! quoted as epigrammatic. One which
| might so have been selected was the
| words, "All that we have are yours.
Dispose of them as you will"
The retort Of Major Charles Whit
| tlesey, commander of the lost bat
| TALON" of the American army in the
Argonne Forest when the Germans
! surrounded his isolated command and
their commander demanded it's sur
render was one of the wars historic
phrases. Go to hell" he replied.
The first great battle of the war, the
battle that stopped the Germans at
the Marine, elected from the lips Of
Marshal Joffre the words: The hour
has come to advance at all costs; to
die where you stand rather than to
give way"
General (afterward Marshal) Petain
inspired his weary troops at verdun
by an order of the day concluding
get Them
General Foch. commanding the
French army in the first battle of the
Marine, had been almost overwhelmed
by the onward sweep of the German
forces In memorable message to
Joffre he said: MY right is crushed |
My left is in retreat. I am attacking |
with my CENTER He did attack and !
drove a wedge through the German |
lines that started their retreat to the |
Aisne. The people of Paris were
stunned by the rapidity with which |
the Germans advanced in their first |
rush toward the French capital. The |
railway stations we're besieged, but the /
great majority of the people knew |
they must remain. In this tragic mo- |
ment General Gallieni, military COM
mander of the city, inspired confidence !
and cheered the faint hearted with his |
watchword, "Jusqua bout or ITO the |
very end" The populace took up the |
cry, and Gallieni with his army played |
signal part in hurting back the 1e- !
gions of Won Kluck at the Marine.
No less inspiring, but born of less |
tragic circumstance was the saying |
Of General Gouraud, who, upon enter |
ing Strassburg after the liberation of |
Alsace and Lorraine, declared The |
day Of glory has come" |