Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-17

II 4
80 terday, and the reduction
of the st. Mih:el salient Is
complete" reads my diary
of September 13, written at
Iigny -Barrois.
"Our troops behaved splendidly. The
! Secretary of War visited two corps
| HEADQUARTERS returned to Ligny much
delighted at our success.
"Petain and I went to the town OF
| st. Mihiel today and 'were warmly
! greeted by the people. This is my
/ birthday. and a very happy one
The attack of the infantry on the
southern face of the st. Mihiel salient
started at 5 in the morning, and before
! that 1 went with several staff officers
! to old Fort Gironvlse, situated on
commanding height overlooking the
battlefield from the south. The secon,
Diary attack, on the west, was Launched
at s am, as an element of surprise
and. in order TO give more time Tor
artillery preparation there.
Picturesque and Terrible.
A drizzling rain, and mist prevented
! us from getting a clear view, but the
! progress of our troops could be followed
J by the baFrage which preceded them
Notwithstanding a heavy rainfall the
/ night of September 1a-l2, the weather
! partly screened our advance from the
enemy. There was a chill breeze blow
| ing and its direction was such that no
sound of firing could be heard from
| the artillery in our immediate front,
4, Although the more distant artillery
1 bonn bardment on the western face was
heard distinctly.
The sky over the battlefield, both be-
/ fore and after dawn. afiame with ex-
/ ploding shells, star signals, burning
| supply dumps and villages, presented
| scene at once picturesque and terrible.
The exultation in our minds that
| here. at last, after II months OF effort,
an American Army was fighting under
its own flag, was tempered by the
realization OF the sacrifice Of life on
both sides, and yet fate had willed it
thus and we must carry through. Con-
fidence in our troops dispelled every
doubt of ultimate victory.
AS we returned from Gironvllle
groups of prisoners were already being
marched to our stockades in the rear.
About 9 O'Clock reports began to come
in to Army headquarters at Ligny from
all portions of the 25-mile front that
everything was going well, with losses
light.
MIR. Baker returned. from his OBJ.
servation point near the battleheld
much elated over the success OF the
troops. He had been a witness to the
first effort of an American Army ana
it was a proud day for him to feel
that as Secretary of War his directing
hand had led to such results, He took
much pleasure in going about to all
parts Of the Army, and scorned being
treated as a guest.
Penetrated ENHANCEMENT.
Thanks TO the thorough preparation
beforehand. the wire entanglements
were more easily overcome than we had
expected.
Trained teams Of pioneers and en-
gineers with bangalore torpedoes, wire
cutters and axes. assisted In opening
gaps in the masses CT barbed wire COW
ering the German positions. The lead
ing troops themselves carried along
rolls of chicken wire. which was thrown
across entanglementS here and there,
forming kind of bridge for the in
In all their offensives the allies had
spent days destroying entanglements
with artillery fire, or had used large
number Of heavy tanks, but we had
only a few light tanks, ineffective for
such work The fact that we had
smothered the enemy artillery was an
advantage. as it enabled the leading
waves uGliDeIdtE4y W w bAAC1A wa n
without serious loss.
The quick passage through these en-
tanglements by our troops excited no
little surprise among the French, who
sent a large number of officers and
non cornmissioned officers to st. Mihiel
several days later to see how 1t had
been done. One Of these officers, after
his reconnaissance, remarked in all
seriousness that the Americans had
Of their long legs and large feet.
In making our dispositions for bat
tie our older divisions. the 1st, I'd and
42d had received positions on the
southern face opposite the open spaces
to enable them to flank the wooded
areas quickly, thus aiding the advance
of less experienced units assigned to
these areas.
The whole line, pivoting, as planned
on the 82d Division on the right, ad-
vanced resolutely to the attack. The
entire operation was carried through
with dash and precision.
Fought Into Open.
BY afternoon the troops had pushed
beyond their scheduled obiectiyes. and
by evening had reached the second
! days objective on most Of the southern
| front.
The divisions Of the 4th Corps
| CDickman) and those on the left Of
! the LIST Corps (LiggetD overwhelmed
! tie hostile garrisons, and quickly over
/ ran their positions. carrying the fight
| ing into the open. The German re-
| sistance on this part Of the front was
: disorganized by the rapidity Of our adj
| vance and was soon overcome. Al
though the enemy was expecting an
attack, he did not think It would take
: place so soon, and it therefore came as
| a surprise
When the lst Division, on the march
+ ing flank of the southern attack, had
F.. broken through the hostile forward
/ positions the squadron OF cavalry at
| tached to the 4th Corps was passed
| through the breach. At l:45 pm. it
| pushed forward to reconnciter the roads
toward Vigneulles. but encounterlng
machine guns in position, was forced to
/ retire.
On the western face of the salient
! progress was not so satisfactory. . The
goth Division, in its attempt to make
a deep advance toward Vigneulles, met
| considerable resistance, and except for
! battalion of the division reserve had
not reached the days objective.
The French at the tip OF the salient
had attempted to follow up the TANKS
Of our successful penetrations but
made only small advances. Upon the
| request of Gen. E. j. Blondlat, COM
handing the French I'd Colonial Corps,
! regiment of the 80th Division
! (Cronkhite). in reserve, was sent to
his assistance.
Ordered Troops Forward.
On the afternoon of the 18th,
learning that the roads leading out of
the salient Between the two attacks
were filled with retreating enemy
troops, with their trains and artillery
| I nnun nrcars To the comma :, core ~