The weekly Alaska citizen., 1920-01-19

ulHc "I.e entaile,vniSLts cvaSuu to DS !ebafuSu as hiipassaD.e Ga!.ie,s a!Gu oreh Ma4Ia., t.aIuil.S, ,A4... lida Ueen sU urgently liiaIstIu upon. Uur ultislons conCiuueu tic attacn wltn sucn sIiall losses anu ill suc.. nigh spirits that without the usual rest they were Immediately avaliaule tor employment in heavy fighting in new theatre Of operations The strength of the First army in this battle total approximately 500.000 men. of whom about 10000 were French.
 ltnour pausinS u recupeiat Lnv now VeLeian uIpislvns, rei suIue for lne Meuse-AiSonne uIive, the stiategic importance oI when ne De- lleveu to De second to none on the western front" Tor 'snouiu tnls sys- tenn (oI supply thru Sedan Mt ezleresJ
 
 uraw ms forces thru the narrow neck between Mezieres and the Dutcn iron tier. the luln of hls armies ln trance anu belglum would be complete"
 Inc eutIie I.outaI Loue WAS "eIa- Dorateiy IoitIneu," consisting ui pIac ucaIly a continuous seIles or posi- uons ZU kliUlueteIs or more in uepLn anu sti en6 tneneu, moreoNe Dy tne natuIal features ot the telraln. me story ot the hanu-to-hand stlugsle mnlcn ensued Is told ulspasslonately Dy the report which says continuous ugnting Was maintained along tne ell contesung every foot of our front put by the end Of October; 'tne en- including the Hindenburg line, in our front had been broken; the almost impossible Argonne Forest was in our hanus; an advance Of 21 kilometers had been effected; 1S600 prisoners, 37O cannon, 1000 machine guns, and mass ot material captured; and the great railway artery thru Carignan to Sedan was now seriously threatened"
 With the enemy graualiy breaking before him, Pershing found that hls n tn al the effects ot the terrific attrition. After careful review of the situation, the report recites that the decision to continue the attack" was reached on the theory that the enemy divi- sions were suffering even more.
 "Once a German division was en- gagged in the light it was practically impossible to effect it's relief" the general says.
 From November l to 6, three Ameri- can army corps battered their way to Sedan and, to quote the official record:
 oy thC fIh thC il6At Ol tiiC I III VI corps had exploited its river crossing of the Mouse, completely ejecting the enemy from the wooded heights anu | driving him out into the swampy plain of the Woevre; the Fifth ana First corps had reached the line oi the Mouse river along their respeo- tive fronts and the left of the latter corps held the heights dominating Sedan, the strategical goal of tht Meuse-Argonne operation, Il kilo- meters from our point of departure on November 1. We had cut the enemy's main line of communications Recognizing that nothing but cessa ton of hostilties could save his armies from complete disaster, he appealed for an immediate armistice on November 6.
 Meanwhile general plans had been prepared for the further employment of American forces in an advance between the Mouse and the Moselle to be directed toward Longwy by the First army, while the Second army was to assume the offensive toward the Briey Iron basin. Orders direct ing the preparatory local operations involved in this enterprise were is- sued on November s.
 "Bewteen the 7th and 10th of No vember the Third corps continued its advance eastward to Remeiville, while the Seventeenth French corps, on its right, with the Seventy-ninth, Twcrty sixth and Eighty-frst American divl- sions, and French divisions, drove the enemy from his final foothold on the heights east of the Mouse. At g p. m. on Noveber appropriate orders were sent to the First an | Second armies in accordance with tho following telegram from Marsha, Foch to the commander of each Of the allied armies:
 "The enemy, disorganiZed by ou repeated attacks, retreats along tll entire front.
 Tt is important to coordinate rne expedite our movements.
 "I appeal to the energy and the