Omaha daily bee., 1919-06-15

ened in the Soissons-Rheims sali-
ent. That ugly nose of the German
army had been mashed flat, and now
the same thing was to be done to
this one.
It is not entirely correct to say
that this First American army, COM
manded by Gen. John J. Pershing,
was to begin work with no help or
counsel whatever from the other al
lies. Aside from the constant pres
ence at headquarters OF divisions,
brigades, regiments and even battal-
ions, of officers of the French mis-
sion, and aside from the fact that
most of this basic knowledge upon
which it was expanding had been
derived from the French and Brit
ish, there was little of both help
and counsel now.
Foch Ccunseled Haste. .
The counsel came from Marshal
Foch. He told General Pershing
that unless the attack on St. Mihiel
was made during the first week in
September it could not be made at
all on account of the heavy fall of
rains in that section of France,
which started at the beginning of
the second week in the month. So
the attack was set for September 7.
But as the time drew near not
everything was ready. 1t was a
gigantic business, this first attack,
and the first American army was
functioning for the first time. For
the first time its staff-the thinking
machine that plane moves and bat
ties down to the last detail-was
working ION its own" The Ameri-
can fighting soldiers had proved
themselves; there was little doubt
about what they would do, but until
now the soldiers who had done their
thinking for them had been French.
So St. Mihiel was not to be test
of the plain, everyday fighting ability
Of the Americans, but of their gen.
eralship-their staff work. And it
was tremendous test. Fear that
it would have disastrous results had
moved Marshal Foch to discourage
General Pershing in the undertaking
before he uttered his counsel about
the weather.
Rain Came Before Attack.
Transportation difficulties arose.
The movement of nearly 100000 men
to the region around Toul tied up
the means of moving up enough am
munition and supplies for the big
drive. The first American army
could not afford to make its initial
effort with a shortage of ammuni-
ton or supplies. Complete success
in the outcome was absolutely
necessary. And so as it developed
that September 7 would find the
army unready to attack, the push
was postponed to September IL, rain
or no rain.
As a weather prophet Marshal
Foch made good. But as a Judge of
the American arny's disposition to
recognize obstacles he failed.
The Rainbow division had started
forward on August so. Moving al
ways at night and resting during the
day in inconspicuous place (for the
attack was to be a surprise) it
marched 100 kilometers to the Foret
de la Refine. There it went into
camp in shelter tents. It became
division Of mud jewellers, lying quiet
ly in the sticky black muck all day
and wallowing about in it through
the night, for by daylight no move
ment of men or transportation was
permitted.
Rain fell steadily and the roads
became horrors. Though the down
pour and the absolute blackness the
Texans of the ll7th supply train and
the Kansas men of the l17th ammu-
milton train struggled forward inches
at time with the deep mud suck.
ing their trucks back and the pitch
dark roads seeming to fall away be-
meath them. Nearly always about
Is per cent of all the Rainbow's
transportation was stalled impotent-