Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1920-02-06

FALLS HERALD, FRIDAY, FEBRU
armies in northern France were de-
pendent upon two great railway sys-
TENS one in the north, passing through
Liege, while the other in the south,
with lines coming from Luxembourg,
-Thionville and Mesz, had as it's vital
section the line Carignan-Sedan-Me
ieres. No other important lines were
available to the enemy, as the noun
famous masses of the Ardennes made
the construction Of east and west lines
through that region impracticable.
Begin Victorious Advance.
On the night Of September Is the
nine divisions to lead in the attack
were deployed> between the Mouse
rive and the western edge Of the Ar
come forest. On the right was the
Third corps, Major General Billiard
commanding, with the Thirty-third,
Eightieth. and Fourth divisions in line
next came the Fifth corps, Major Cen
eral Cameron commanding, with the
Se<enty-ninth, Thirty-seventh and
Nihety-first divisions; on the left was
the. First corps, Major General Liggett
commanding, with the Thirty-fifth,
Twenty-eighth and Seventy-seventh di.
vision. Each corps had one division in
reserve and the army held three divi-
siens as a general reserve. About
300 guns, 189 small tanks, 142
manned by Americans, and 821 air.
planes, 604 manned by Americans,
we're concentrated to support the at
tack of the infantry. We thus had a
superiority in guns and aviation, and
the enemy had no tanks.
Following three hours Of violent ar
tillery fire Of preparation the infan-
try advanced at 5 80 a. m. on Septem-
Der 26, accompanied by tanks. Dur
ing the first two days of the attack, be-
fore the enemy was able to bring up
his reserves, our troops made steady
progress through the network of the
defenses. Montfaucon was held tena-
ciouSly by the enemy and was not cap
tured until noon of the second day.
The attack continued without in
terruption, meeting six new divisions
which the enemy threw into first line
before September %. He developed
a powerful machine gun defense sup
ported by heavy artillery fire, and
made frequent counter-attacks with
fresh troops, particularly on the
front of the Twenty-eighth and Thirty
fifth divisions. These divisions had
taken Varennes, Cheppy, Baulny and
Charpentry, and the line was within
two kilometers of Apremont. We were
no longer engaged in maneuver for
the pinching 0ut-of salient, but were
necessarily committed, generally speak
ing, to direct frontal attack against
strong, hostile positions fully manned
by determined enemy.
At 5 80 a. M, October 4, the gen.
eral attack was renewed. The enemy
divisions on the front from Fresnes-en-
Woevre to the Argonne had increased
from ten in first line to sixteen, and
included some of his best divisions.
The fighting was desperate and only
small advances were realized, except
by the first division on the right of
the First corps.
On the 7th the First corps, with the
Eighty-secOnd division added, launched
a strong attack toward Cornay, to
draw attention from the movement
east of the Meuse and at the same
time outflank the German position in
the Argonne. The following day the
Seventeenth French corps, Major Gen
eral Claudel commanding, initiated it's
attack east of the Meuse against the
exact point on which the German
armies must pivot in order to: with
draw from northern France. The
troops encountered elaborate fortifi-
cations and stubborn resistance, but
by nightfall had realized an advance
of six kilometers to q line we'll within
the Bots de Consenvoye, and includ-
ing the villages of Beaumont and
Haumont. q
Foe Fought stubbornIy.
Continuous fighting was maintained
along our entire battle front, with es-
pecial success on the extreme left,
where the capture of the greater part
Of the Argonne forest was completed.
The enemy contested every foot Of
ground on our front, in order
to make more rapid retirements far
Their west and withdraw his forces
from northern France before the inter-
ruption of his railroad communica-
tons through Sedan.
We were confronted at this time
by an insufficiency Of replacement to
build up exhausted divisions. We still
had two divisions with the British and
two With the French. A review of the
situation, American and allied, espe-
cially as to our own resources in men
for the next two months, convinced
me that the attack Of the First army
and the allied armies farther west
should be pushed to the limit. But
if the First army was to continue it's
aggressive tactics, our divisions then