El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-06-16

iauies. but It was itself a detail in sec
0ndarv circumstance OF the enormous
battle The German success or fall
ure in the whole operation depended
upon breaking the French line BE-
tween Reims and the Argonne. French
! resistance was predicated on defeat
ling this attack. The French were
/ prepared 10 give up more ground
1 than they did south OF the Marine II
necessary. After the German defeat
( between Reims and the Argonne. the
/ great counter offensive OF July Is
! promptly forced a German retreat
south OF the Marne-
Amerieans' Great Part.
/ Il remains To consider the fourth
phase that Of July IS. and the share
Of the Americans in this turning point
I Of the campaign and OF the war. On
: this score we may say at once that
no offensive would have been possible
[ had American troops not been avail
! kTe may say also that he would prob
O. bly, not have risked this great gam
be even with American troops had
thew not already in previous fighting
at the Chateau Thierry salient reveal
ed qualities which gave him conf
dence in them which was not mis-
taken. In the counter offensive more
French than American troops were
used. and as it developed. British and
italian troops were also used. but
many Of the French troops which
we're employed. particularly in the
first days. could not have been put in
mad not the American troops replaced
them in other sectors OF the front
We did two things. then. We
supplied FOch with n strategic re-
serve which enabled him to make
his great counter offensive, both
nv contributing four divisions 10
that attack and by releasing
French divisions whose places
NV
the reserve.
In that attack. the first and second
divisions. fighting on either side OF
the French Moroccan division the
best shock unit OF the French army.
surpassed all expectations AS a re-
suit OF this attack southwest OF Sois-
sons out Of the forest of Villers Cot
teret. the Germans were compelled to
abandon the Chateau Thierrv salient,
they lost the initiative which they
never recovered during the war. and
they began the retrOgrade movement
which carried them to the French
frontier before the armistice. and was
still in progress then
Tanks Give Deciding Weight.
To sum up. Chaeau Thierry. so far
as il was a decisive phase Of the war.
must be regarded as an action which
began on July IS and ended in the
first days OF August. when the Ger
mans had retired behind the Vesle- In
the opening phases OF this battle. four
American divisions. the First. the
Second, the Third and tbe 42nd. had
already played useful parts in the de-
feat Of the German offensive of July
Is. Three more divisions. the 2Sth.
the 32nd and at the end the nth.
were used These nine American di-
visions. amounting to something more
than 100000 men, gave decisive
weight to Foch's supreme stroke.
They fought under French army and
corps commanders. the strategy was
French, but without them there could
have been no offensive. and had they
not fought magnificentiy. the often
sive might have failed.
Legend of Chateau Thierry.
I have found in France. as in Amer
lea a general notion that in some
fashion or other the marines saved
Paris in the June fighting in the Bel
leau Wood engagement generally de-
scribed as the battle of Chateau
Thierry. Already many Americans go
TO Belleau Wood and Chateau Thierry
under the impression that on this
ground American troops saved Paris.
and the war. This is the legend Of
Chateau Thierry It finds no support
either in the records nor in the opin-
lon OF Americans in high command
On the other hand, have found
: general Aack of appreciation of
the really stuDendouS and deci-
siTe contribution made by the
American army on July Is. and
the successive days, hut ! do not
think there can be any question