The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1928-11-15

them.
There was still danger for the men
at Tuilerie farm when day dawned
and, with Germans on both sides, they
prepared to defend themselves against
the expected attack. But it never
came. The Eightieth and Eighty
ninth divisions, on the right and left
of the Second attacked theoretically
at dawn. A bewildered enemy, falling
back, suddenly found an American
force in its very center, blocking it's
retreat up the road that led to Beau
mont Ridge. In other days the Ger
mans might have stood their ground
and made things decidedly uncomfor-
table for the party at Tuilerie farm,
but today they gave up the ghost and
by nightfall the Second was trium-
phantly in undisputed possession of
the heights of Beaumont.
The backbone of the German de-
tense was now broken, though the re-
treat, for the most part, was quite or
derby, more orderly perhaps than the
advance of the Americans, whose for
ward rush at some points brought
confusion that might have resulted Sc
riously had the enemy been in any
shape to counter attack. 1t was an
odd sort of advance with artillery at
some points crowding close upon the
heels of the infantry.
Brig.-Gen. W. C. Neville, of the ma
rines, pushed on ahead with an aide
into what passed as village, consist
ing of an inn and a couple of houses
that had just been hastily evacuated
by the Germans, so hastily in fact
that they had left some food behind.
The general had only recently receiv-
ed from the United States his marine
greatcoat, for the weather was get
ting mighty cold in the Argonne. He
dropped it on bench and with his
aide entered the inn to make short
work of the food the Germans had
abandoned.
Along came an intelligence sergeant
Of one of the American units, regi-
mental or brigade, it cannot be re-
called at the moment. Now marine
greatcoat with rigadier-general's
inc he cloo1yO &c
sight worth seeing but it was at that
time almost an unknown thing in
France. The intelligence sergeant
gazed in wonderment. General Luden-
dorff at least must have just left the
spot, fleeing so hastily that he left
his overcoat. So the sergeant opened
his jackknife with trembling fingers
hacked off that whole sleeve with the
gorgeous insignia and hustled back
to divisional intelligence for report
Divisional intelligence, so the story
goes, was just as much at sea. The
sleeve, so some say, travelled clean
back through corps to army headquar.
tiers before it was properly identified
General Neville? Oh, no, he coulc
never see the joke, though he was
famuos as wit and story-teller thru,
: out the Marine Corps and the whole
: army.
) The advance pushed on throughout
November and 5, swinging TOWARD
Sedan. Now there began to come
complaints from the French on oul
left that the Americans were en-
croaching on their territory. Along
with this the report ran around tina
the honor of taking Sedan was to bt
surrendered to the French, because i
I, was there that, in the war of 1870
2 had come their great disaster.
I But on the night of November 5 thu
two American corps commanders
4 Dickman and Summerall, received
3 messages from First Army Headquar
t tiers, signed by the Chief of Staff, de
;. claring that the commander in chic
: desires that the honor of entering
e Sedan should fall to the First Ameri
S can Army"
: "He has every confidence" the mes
sage continued, chat the troops O
= the First Corps (Dickman's), assisted
e on their right by the Fifth Corp
T (SummeralPs) will enable him to re
e alize his desire"
: So on November 6 the American
continued to push on toward Sedal
while French murmurs grew loude
as our troops continued to cross int
n zones originally assigned to tn
French, outstepping our Allies in tn
n last lapse of the race.
1t was on the night of the 9th, how
ever, that began the famous march o
: the First division, which had just gon
d into line in the Fifth Corps. Genera
e Pershing's orders to the America
e Army to capture Sedan were trans
l. mitted to the First Division by thei
e corps commander, General Summeral
l. and without further ado they set GU
n in the darkness and rain to carry GU
= Instructions Swimming directly acros