The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-10-23

Not once but again and again 1t
 was inflicted upon us. We got so that we could no longer reason. We
 felt that we were following the fu-
 neral of France along endless roads leading drearily toward the south 1 On September 5 an order was read 1 calling on us to attack. We listened. | but faith was lacking. We said to one another. We are going to att | tack tomorrow morning. We shall win, but tomorrow night we shall 1 again withdraw"
 Rage In Hearts
 l We fought furiously nevertheless. | to vent upon the Boche the rage that was in our hearts. We kept 1t up that evening-then through l the night--then through the nex.
 dayl We were weary. but we were no longer retreating, After two
 days, we found that we were advanc- 1 ing At first no one believed it.. | How could the soldier understand But scon the joy of making head way spread through the ranks-we were advancing. Of that there could be no doubt. So we had" them. t.n avant! In Jagged and silent columns we passed through villages and over | plains. Victory was ours! Victory l born in pain, In toll, in doubt! It was only later that we understood | The idea of victory pieced itself to- | gether bit by bit. as we pushed the 1 enemy back to the north. We had | been told to die where we stood l rather than give way. We had been l asked nothing more. But of sud 1 den, as we fought we felt within l our grasp the tickle goddess of vic- | tory, who for three weeks had l eluded us We had been the army 1 of illusions. We had been the army l of retreat From now on, we were | the army of confidence. The name | of Joffre was in the hearts of his l soldiers.
 | More Than Four Years 1 But before reaching the end, we | had more than four years to wait. l At first we had hoped 1t would De only a few weeks. After the Marne, l Ypres, a titanic struggle less known l but not less great. had strengthened | our homes We expected to leave | the trenches in the spring It was l the first winter. We thought 1t would be tho only one and bore 1t as a short and nasty test of our patience. Four winters instead of | one passed.
 | As early as 1915. the men in the | trenches realized that it would go l on like this so long as strength 1 material was not added to the | strength of numbers and courage The men higher up were slower tc 1 understand We attacked often. w.
 never broke through. Neither di,
 the enemy. We lived face to fac, rifle in hand. between attacks There were local engagements in 1915 Then came 1916 and yerdun. Yer dun, the supreme test after so many | tests--verdun. whore. as at the
 Marne, France saved the world or I land as the British fleet saved 1t or
 the seas.
 Once more Germany believed sht
 could force the road to Paris. Si,
 months of carnage overcome, oul troops are at a fighting edge. Ma
 tional in spirit 1t as in origin, tho
 French army has acquired the tech. nical qualities of professional armies It has experience, it has self-pos-
 session. it has adaptability and Il
 has science, It Is ready for the wal of movement now inaugurated by thi
 fluctuations of the battle front. The
 lack of training from which so many
 troops suffered at the start has dis
 appeared. War material is in abund-
 ance. Confidence reigns. The sterI
 and serious spirit of war is at it'
 height It Is no longer as in lsl
 an army of heroic youth rushins
 light hearted into danger. It Is al
 army of men--for youth nature
 rapidly in the school of wai-wht
 do their duty calmly and do 1t t'
 the end. It is the army of vic tory.
 France behind the lines was worthy