Evening star., 1947-09-12

6lQler. he commanded Cne so
Corps in the second battle Of |
the Marine and led it into the |
Argonne. Then he took COM
mand of the I'd Army in October,
1918.
Sons Also Are Soldiers.
Surviving are his widow, Mrs
Ella Bullard of New York: three
sons, Robert Lee Bullard, jr., AL
pena. Mich; Col. Peter c. Bullard,
assigned to the Allied Kommanda-
tura at Berlin, and Charles K.
Bullard, New York, commander OF
the I'd Squadron, l01sr Cavalry,
mechanized, New York Guard; a
daughter, Mrs. E. B. Bellinger. New
York; six grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.
A grandson, Robert Lee Bullard
III, is an Army captain in Germany
who sevred In the 1st Division in
World War II. Another, Robert
Bullard, Alpena, also served in
World War II, and granddaughter,
Mrs. Helen Young, is the wife of
Army Capt. Mason j. Young, jrr
stationed in Tokyo.
AS commander of the 1st Division,
Gen. Billiard led America into the
World War trenches, fought the
first American battle at Cantigny
and held on in the Montdidier sec
tor against the German spring at
tacks of 1918 that had the Allies
with their backs to the wall"
Defended Chateau Thierry.
Then as commander of the Sd
Corps at the second battle of the
Marne in July, he directed the lSt
and I'd Divisions in the defense of
the Chateau Thierry salient and, as
the German attack begged down, in
the counteroffensive that forced
back the foe and proved the turn
ing point of the whole war. He led
the corps into the Argonne, took
over command of the new I'd Army
in October and directed it until the
armistice ended the fighting
Heecame out of the war with the
sobriquet "Counterattack Bullard"I
and with credit. albiet misplaced,
for having turned the tide at the
start of the second battle of the
Marne by refusing to heed French
order to retire, his alleged message
ending with the phrase I'VE are
going to counterattack." The legend
persisted for years and it took Gen.
Billiards. own book. Personalities
and "reminiscences of the War to-
put the incident in its proper
perspective.
General Describes Situation.
The affair really occurred nearly
three months before the second bat.
tie of the Marne. The German Of
fensive in March, 1918, had driven
the French and British down from
the Chemin des Danes, forcingl
back the whole front and forming
at Chateau Thierry salient which,
Gen. Bullard said, looked on the
map like the head of a bulldog,
with it's nose pointed at Paris" only
40 miles away. Billiards. division
was beyond the western side Of that
salient when it was learned that the
Germans intended to renew the at
tack in an effort to widen it. He
described the situation:
The French corps commanders
orders said, in effect, fight in the
first line to the death and then,
strange to say, allowed a retirement
to the second line. My division staff
had drawn my fighting order upon
the first part, ignoring or over
looking the second. This second
part was brought to my personal
attention only when the COM
mander of the French division on
our right proposed a concerted re-
tirement of our touching first lines.
There was no doing both things
the French corps order said. They
were in irreconcilable conflict.
Plain Talk to Commander.
In person I told our French
corps commander that after the
stern order to fight to the last in
the first line we could not under
stand how this retirement could
be made; but if the first line were
lost we were going to counter
attack from the second; that my
order had gone forth and could not
be changed.
When the fighting was over, the
French division on our right had
been driven back one or more kno-
meters, the enemy's attack had
reached. but had not taken, my first
line; we had counter attacked and
driven him back to his starting
point. His attack did not extend be-
yond my left"
The repulse of that particular
drive was of some strategic import
ance, but was only one of many pre-
liminaries to the desperate German
attempt to break through from
ReimS to scissors in July. That re-
sistance and the concerted allied
counter-att that followed under
orders of Generalissimo Foch saw
nine American divisions in the fore
front of this pivotal clash. Gen.
Billiards corps distinguished itself
by forcing the crossing of the Vesle
after several weeks of dogged fight
ing. 1t was stationed near Verdun
from September until the Argonne
battle opened on September 26.
Won Many Decorations.
Gen Bullard emerged from the
war with the distinguished service
medal of the United States and dec
orations from France, Belgium and
Italy. He retired upon reaching the
army age limit of 81 on January IS
1925.
Thereafter he devoted himself to
spreading the ideas of military pre-
paredness, adherence to the Con-
stitution of the United States and
similar patriotic efforts. Msot of
this work was done as president Of
the Rational Security League, to
which position he was elected in
1925.
Gen. Bullard was born at Youngs-
boro, Ala, January Is, 1861, the son
of a pioneer planter who twice had
been driven out of the area by
Indian uprisings. The son attended
Alabama Agricultural and Mechani-
cal College and then, like Gen PERISH
ing, Gen. Harbord and several other
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