Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-10-09 | Page 1 | Yankees Battle in Heavy Rains

YANKEES BATTLE IK HEAVY BUS Americans Keep Up Fight j to Wrest Argonne Forest For-est From Huns. By EDWIN L. JAMES. (New YorK Times-Chicago Trioune I'able. Copyru'ii:. ) EAR LI-; DL'C WITH TI1K A.MKKI-CAN A.MKKI-CAN AKMV. Oct. S, l'i p. in. In cold, torrential rains, varied by heavy hail, the Americans today kept up the fight to wrest from the Germans that part of the Argonnc forest remaining; in their hands. The severest fight of the day was for the posses-ion of hill --'. lying westward of Chatel Chehery. Wc captured .this position yesterday. Todav the Hermans attacked in strong force, driving us from the crest. With reinforcements the Americans swarmed up the hill in a blinding rainstorm, and, after two and a half hours of bloody fighting, put the boche off it. More than a thousand German dead were left on this position. ' The battle was largely hand to-hand, neither side being able to use artillery effectively because of the closeness of the opposing troops. Further Fur-ther south we tuade good progress against the bitter resistance towards the ljandc.lon-Chatel Chehery road. To the northwest we occupied Fleville. a position commanding the junction of the only four roads running through the northern end of the Argonne forest. Thus slowly but surely we are wearing the German determination to hold on to the north end of the Argonne. Reports have come in that the boche is damming the Aire river in the vi cinity of .Marcq. Because of heavy rains this would probably cause the inundation in-undation of a considerable area which would be a hindrance to the troops advancing ad-vancing towards the Kriemhilde Stell-i.ng Stell-i.ng vicinity. From the Aire valley to the .Mouse is a comparatively quiet, sector sec-tor of the first army. The German artillery ar-tillery did less today than for days. Concentration of Germans is observed in the vicinity of Romagne ami Clery, and they are digging a new trench southeast of Uomagne. No German balloons were up today, and the boche airplane activity is "at the minimum. Our aerial activity was hindered by bad wea t her. The German units facing nu( troops suffered very heavy casualties in the past four days, information being obtained ob-tained that four companies were wiped out and many reduced SO per cent. The Germans appear not to be throwing in s many fresh troops as last week, al-ihough al-ihough Close in line are pulling up a game struggle. The fighting in the (Continued on Pago Three.) IHPll.ipjwiinniWWIIWIWWIllllll MimM II ! I III I YANKEES BATTLE Ifl HEM NUNS j (Continued from Page One.) I " ! past three days ha been very trying to men of both side-1. Almost constant rains with col. have forccil great suffering ami tested the limit o,f physical sta mi na of the men in the front line?. No house? arc standing stand-ing in most of the socio-, and the Americans Amer-icans bivouacked in the back areas and in the front line have small chance of anv rest. This, of course, necessitates frequent reliefs. The spirit of the American fihtin men, despite till this, remains in tip-top condition. They figure fig-ure tho bocho is- as sore on the weather a? they, ami that helps.