The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1920-12-10
THIRTIETR DIVISION BROKE
THRU HINDENBURG LINE

soldiers 10 WIGu6iS O'SA SA
of victory. We find Senator Simmons
of North Carolina sending to the war
Department a protest from Colonel
Albert L. Cox, president of the Old
Hickory Association, which declares
that "there has been continuous Ell
fort on the part of the people OF New
York State to gain to themselves ana
to the soldiers who in France repre-
scented them the entire credit for
breaking the Hindenburg line"
Colonel Cox demands that the WAR
Department, In placing the American
cemeteries in France, give proper
credit to the men Yho were NANNY
responsible for the American onen-
siye in Flanders"
AS only two divisions of the A.E.F.
were present at the breaking OF the
Hindenburg line Colonel Coxs con-
tention is manifestly that the glory
of the occasion, so far as American
soldiers are concerned, belongs to the
Tbirtieth Division, recruited from
Tonnassee the Carolinas and the DIS
trict of Columbia, rather than to the
.Tcwenty-seventh Division, which was
made up of New York men and com
manded by General O'Ryan.
The New Yorker who turns for
comfort in this controversy to the
final report of the Commander In
Chief of the A. E. F. will not find
much. General Pershing disposes Oh
the smashing of the Hindenburg line
in less than 200 words, and these
words of the calm, measured style
which charactcrizes all his ofticlal
writings:
THE Second Army Corps. Major
General Read commanding, with the
Twenty-seventh and Thirtieth DlVl-
sions on the British 'front.' was as
sioned tho task, in cooperation with
the Australian Corps, of breaking the
uindenburg line at LIE Cateau, where
the St. Quentin Canal passes through
a tunneI under a ridge. In this at
tack, carried out on September ~ ano
October /. the Thirtieth Division
sneedily broke through the nrain line
of defence and captured all OF lts
ohiectiyes. while the Twenty-sev-
enth progressed until some OF its Ell
ements reached Gouy.'
The Southern division seems te
have it in the Pershing report. Gen
eral organs men progressed
rather vague verb, not half so inspr
ing to the reader Gs phrase nK'
..spoedily broke through" or cap
tured all its detectives.
The admirers of the Twenty-seV
enth must find warmer historian
than General Pershing. We sugges
Cir Arthur Conan Doyle, author Q
"Tbe British Campaign in Franc
and Flanders" Sir Arthur was pres
ent at the battle in question.
The main attack on what Doyi
calls "this Chinese Wall of Germany
was assigned to the Australian corps
tho Second American Corps and tn
Ninth British Corps. The American
were to go ahead, the Australians
move forword through them after tn
line had been taken. The Brltls
were to mop up. The offensive be
qan at $50 am. on September q
1918, with the preliminary operatio
necessary for the jumping off place
"This was done by General Lewis
Tbirtieth American Division on tn
right with little difficulty
But. as Sir Arthur remarks,
was different with the Twenty-se'
entb on the left" Two days prev
ously Organs men had taken oyt
front of 4,50O yards opposite
Gouy, relieving two British div
sions:
"The dcfenses Immediately pefo'
them were particularly strong, II
cluding the notorious danger polnt
the Knoll, Quinnemont Farm al
Guillemont Farm"
Furthermore, the area "hiSh -
Twenty-seventh was ordered to tai
was of such nature that the me
had to proceed 1,1o0 yards befo
they could receive any protectit
from the British artillery. Viii
the Thirtieth Division dashed tn
the main Hindenburg line in u
most gallant fashion, capturii
Bellecourt on the way" the Ne
Workers found strongly posted e
envy in front of them. The Thi
Australians, who were to reenfor
o,Ryan's division, were held up .
tween the Knoll and Guillsmo,
Farm, two of the German stron
holds. OF the fierceness OF the bait
into which the Twenty-seven
plunged Sir Arthur says:
..A ur;fiah divisional General s