Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-24

sive from September 26 had been very
! trying on our troops and had resulted
! in a certain loss of cohesion. 1t was
! therefore, deemed advisable to take a
| few days for the replacement Of tired
troops, the renewal of supplies and the
| improvement of communications.
French Delay Attack.
October % was tentatively desig-
mated for the beginning of the next
general advance, the fourth phase of
| the Meuse- Argonne offensive, but the
French 4th army, which was to sup
port our attack on the left, could not
get ready in time. so the attack OF
both armies was fixed for November /.
In accordance with my instructions
of october Is, two important prelimi-
nary operations were carried out during
| this period-Q) operations against the
Bots deS Loges and Bots de Bourgogne
| to clear the woods east of the Aisne
| and north of the Aire and thus flank
| that part of the hostile line on the
Aisne, and ~ local operations to Sc
cure a suitable line of departure for
| the general attack
| The 1st Corps (Dickman), in. con-
| junction with the French 4th Army
wss directed to clear the Bois des
Loges and the southern part Of the
Bots de Bourgogne. An advance in this
| vicinity would flank the enemy on the
] Aisne in front OF the French and also
| turn his defenses. east OF the Bois DIES
Loges which were holding up the LIST
! Corps. The enemy realizing the i'm
/ portance of this position. employed his
best troops to defend It,
The fighting on The 18th Division
| (McRae) front, for a period Of 10 days,
was very severe, especially near the
Bots des Loges and Grandpre. FREE
qlent counter attacks, coupled with
| thanking machine-gun and artillery fire,
forced our troops back in several in
| stances. However, the 1st Corps Oc-
tober 25 succeeded in gaining footing
on the high ground west Of Grandpre,
and by october 81 had driven the
enemy from that town. The Bois des
| Loges remained in the enemy's hands.
Intense Local Battle.
This maneuver carried the right Of
! the French 4th Army forward and a
! line was thus secured on the left Of the
army especially advantageous for the
! general attack. These engagements
| had a material effect on the final phase,
as they drew some of the enemy's
! strength to the 1st Corps front and
away from the center, where our main
/ drive was to be made.
! Farther to the right, where We had
pierced the Hindenburg line on the
Cunel and Romagne heights, it was de-
| sirable to force the enemy from the
Bots des Eappes, Bots Glars Chenes
and the high ground TO the east, and to
secure the northern edge of the Bots
/ dc Bantheville. These preliminary oper-
atoms were successfully carried out by
the 3rd and 5th Corps. Some very
| intense local battles took place during
| this period.
The 3rd Division ION october Is Brig
! Gen. Preston Brown and Maj. Gen.
| Hanson e Elv took commasd of the
| Sd and 5th Divisions, respectively OF
! the Bird Corps captured, lost in coun-
ter-attack and recaptured Bois Glars
! Chenes October 20, and on the 22nd
| cleared the Bois de Foret. The 5th d.
vision was unsuccessful in its attacks
Of October 10, 19 and 20 against the
Bots des Rappes, but october 81 took
| the wood and held it,
Although the terrain was difficult and
the resistance most determined, the 32d
Division (TIaan) Of the 9Th Corps by
night of october IS had reached the
middle of the Bois de Bantheville. Here
| it was relieved by the 29th Division
| CWright), which, on october 20 and Il,
cleared the remainder of the wood.
October %, the line Of the Bird and
5th Corps ran north OF Bots Glars
Chenes, Bots des Rappes, and along the
northern and western TANKS Of the Bois
de Bantheville and Cote dc Chatillon,
and then south of Landres-et-St.
/ Georges. This gave us an excellent po-
sition in the center and on the right
from which to start the next general
attack.
Commanded From Train.
To the east Of the Meuse the French
18th Corps, re-enforced by the 29th d.
vision (Mortor) and the 26th Division
(Edwards), continued to progress local
ly, forcing the enemy to employ fresh
troops on that front.
During the Meuse-Argonne battle my
personal quarters we're on my train,
which lay partly hidden IN the woods
on a spur near Souilly. While there
i / spent a portion of each day at OFF,
cial headquarters giving directions re-
garding operations and deciding other
important questions. I usually occu-
pied the rest of the day at the front
in close touch with corps and divisions
Although I had now relinquished the
immediate command of the LIST Army
its activities and those of the %
Army, carried out under my direction
required close supervision
Farther west, our I'd Corps (Read)
with the British 4th Army, was en-
gagged October II south of lie Cateau
in the battle OF the Selle. This corps
with the 30th (Lewis) and 9th
(O'Ryan) Divisions in line from right
to left, crossed the Selle River and
advanced miles in the face of strong
resistance. capturing 1890 prisoners and
! 10 guns.
! The 30th Division captured Nolan
and st. Martain- RiViere on the 18th
but heavy IRE from Riheauytlie pre-.
a