| Show cheveral Ci everal LL w S eltho f rm of the A ea E F VIN W 0 1931 in ill all toun countries eo until tries hyth north ath Amel amilca icso alliance Al llo world lill Cler ann teral ami T ats ferid er ved In dudins the 1 R ro la in whole or la in putt part proW prohibited bIl i ervie john bonn J pershing inq CHAPTER L the germans had a preponderance of rifles march 21 1018 and although this number had decreased thoy they still and n superior it y of about may 27 july 15 his fills was changed and tile the allies then had thu the superiority by the same ennio number in other words tho the germans Gern inns were relatively worse off by rifles in july than in bearch this was accounted for almost entirely by the great increase la in the numbers of americans the french and british had not been able to add to their strength buts but on the contrary they yvore vere heln reduced faster than the germans ler mans the german offensive south of rheims july 1516 as 10 having been cherod checked the moment was favorable for an allied counteroffensive the selection by the germans of tile tho cham chain pogue sector and the eastern find southern faces of tho the marne pocket on which to make their offensive was fortunate for the allies as aa it favored tile the counterattack already planned wo we rhall pow now see the reason for the concentration of several american divisions southwest of soissons Sola sona some of them were available for use in a ile hie ninin main counterstroke to be delivered by the french tenth army under the american first and second divisions were hastily assembled to form tile tho american third corps under gon gen erni but bui his 1118 corps staff hart had not yet been fully organized organised sed and these dIvis divisions lons by his direction under dla authority riven given by me bo be came a part of the french twentieth corps corpa commanded by general berdou lat form spearhead of attack this corps then was composed of these aimse two divisions and the french ffrench first moroccan division which lind a 0 fino reputation and nd was assigned to uie tile lhost important position in the attack ort the left center of tho the tenth army tho the three divisions mentioned had the honor of beang the spen spearhead of tile the thrust the vulnerable flank of the salle salient fit the line of ad innee ran eastward over tile the corn com Ini andini plateau just south of anis sons nod across the main road leading ins from that place pince to chateau thierry Th lerry tito the first lind had recently been relieved from the Cant cantieny cantigny igny sector and was en route to d n rest area it was scattered throughout the Da dammartin area just north of meaux alvaux when it received orders ordera july 13 to move by truck to the front after a hurried the advance troops arrived at dawn tile the at tile the forest of retz hetz or forest of and durilin tile the tile th e division moved to the front of the forego forbat the night of july 17 it went forward over mudd muddy v and cong congest st ed ronda roads the columns of infantry working their way to the front where e they arrived in the nick of time tile the dIv division Islon was at it I 1 mont reull reuh aux lions in reserve of the F first arst corps recuperating when tile alie order cattle came on ha ath to move by truck track toward the front dawn july 1 17 i found the infantry and machine gun elements arriving nt at the forest of villers Cot Cott tereta erets tito the night of the the movement toward tile the front through throng 11 the forest was made with extreme dlf fleurty tile the narrow roads became jam ined troops lost their direction and there was wag serious doubt whether they would bo be nt at their line of departure nt at the appointed hour of 4 15 n m the proceed against odds with aielli most commendable energy and lie he officers led their corn com 1 mands forward during the night winding ln in and out through the almost in r snarls of wheeled vel delm one or of the hat battalions assigned to lend lead in tile the attack though on the march most of the night was forced 0 to o move on tile lie run ran for the last tow few hundred yards and just reached its place as the th barrage started alip tl second division headquarters lien aqua alerd 1 found itself july 10 with no knowledge of tile the terrain and little from tiny any sourer source and hla his chief of staff col preston brown sorted for the front and accidentally ran into tile the headquarters of tile lie twentieth corps they there found the lie directive for the from which they issued the divisions orders the country over which tile the aleth corps attacked consisted of i I 1 succession of wooded ravines tint that lay aarom the line of advance gitil scarcely any roads leading toward tin front tile the main defens defense ef 4 alting the ridges of tile the snip sons pin benu were naturally strong arid and walh tile the added tie the enemy evidently felt himself reasonably se me cure it was harvest time and wheat that covered the roll ing IHK landai e gave anve excellent cover for abo infantry and machine guns guna hut hilt tt it also helped to hide our adv advance anve enemy caught by surprise without ole itie usual preliminary nr ar tillery lery preparation tion the ns bat by tanka danl plunged fo behind the har barrage rage tile the letitna was bv sur surprise prist nad and tile the first st bind and second 1110 slon gallantly by uie the ii hl division in the center soon ovel overran mn tits forward positions and broe broc through the zone of his light artl artillery artiller ller though constantly confronted by fresh enemy troops this corps took the lead in the he advance and its progress was most satisfactory by noon lt it had captured half of tho the great plateau in its front with many prisoners and a 0 little later forward elements reached the days objective the second division encountered strong opposition at clerzy vierzy in it a d determined ter mined effort launched after 0 p m mr the town was captured and a line overlooking tile the valley of tile the crisp crime was oc coupled the first division had find carried everything before it capturing defended farm houses and other points where it met stiff resistance finally taking messy aux bola and holding n front line slightly beyond that town the line ran diagonally across tile the perls carls soissons road the attack of the corps was resumed the morning of july 1 10 but during the night the german lines directly in front of had been heavily reinforced with machine guns and artillery in belr advance tho the french one Yf hundred undred fifty third division and the first division met with much resistance si al the second brigade of the first encountering ire fire of the enemy both from the front and tile tho left lef t flank tanks were sent to its assistance and with close artillery support tile the division was enabled slowly to gain ground but at considerable cost the second division with the ro serves of tile first day in the leal leaf forged ahead to the soissons chaten thierry road lut but was compelled compel icil to withdraw to the vicinity of la ia rn ra perle it finally Illi ally established a line just west of migny tigny with the roud road under its guns the division was relieved relieve by tile the french fifty eighth division tho night of tile the having advanced ol 01 six x and ono one half miles captured capture prisoners and seventy five guns and sustained about casualties first division makes addan advance ce july 20 tile the first vision division continued its advance doggedly against a desperate stand by the germans Jern ians on the lie knoll in front of berzy le fe sec the V rench french had been ordered to take berzy lesec but failed in tile the afternoon Sumine su mineral rall I 1 directed that it be no aa faulted by his second brIg brigade nde hut bill the attempt did not succeed that day assisted by tile the skillful use of artillery artill ea y find and with consummate dash under grig brig gen 13 13 buck back in the face of intense artillery and machine gun fire the second brigade captured the town town on the Alean meanwhile while the first brigade and the french eighty seventh division which had flat relieved the mo roc cans had crossed tile the soissons Sols sons chateau thierry IlIg hwaY and readied reached tile the chateau of buzancy Buz ancy the line now ran parallel to the crise with soissons Sols gois sons song commanded command ed by our artillery the first division throughout four days of constant fighting had advanced nearly seven miles taken prisoners and sixty eight guns from seven different german divisions em cm aloyed against it and had about casualties the thrust of the twentieth corps was conducted with such magnificent dasland dash and power that the po lio within the salient was rendered antei untenable able the dangerous cha character charac tei of alie threat c caused aused the crown craw n prince to begin a n general withdrawal from the marne alaene this operation snatch snatched eti tile the initiative from the enemy algios in an instant and from that moment lie was on the defensive our first and second divise divisions ons fitl the lie modoc nn division between them thein had struck tile the decisive blow tha turned the tide of the w war a r said it uld not have been done with out our divisions s on the other side lie hie german clinn chat bellor von Ifert herding lin 9 sald said later wp expected grave event a Il irli for the end of july vint that ans tin nn th ohp iett i on the evert even the most OPtImIst I among vs understood that thai all was lost the history of the world wai was played out in three days CHAPTER LI american participation in the see second offensive which began july 18 1018 1918 and turned tile the tide of war in favor of the allies was not limited to the operations of the first and second divisions while this bitter contest was being waged for the possession of the crucial point near soissons Sols sona the troops around tile the rim of the sai gal lent had been steadily driving ahead the fourth division cameron less its artillery fought bought at first with the french the seventh brigade was attached to the second corps french sixth army the forty seventh infantry q in reserve and the thirty ninth sIgned fis to the french thirty third division in the attack of july IS 18 this regiment regie cleaned up th the e wood in its front captured noroy boroy and extended tile the line to the south on the the degl regiment went forward about two and one half miles on a front 1000 yards north of the it was relieved the morning of the and went to tile the reserve the eighth brigide brigade was assigned to the french one Il hundred blundred sixty fourth division the fifty ninth regiment in reserve lothe in the attack of the te the I 1 fifty drifty eighth regiment assisted in the capture of hautevesnes and cour champs took chevillon and made further substantial gains tile fifty ninth regiment was put in the front line during the night of july 1810 18 10 relieving the fifty eighth and on the advancing with the division gained two miles on tile the with two battalions of the fifty ninth in line the advance was carried well to the east of einns the brigade was relieved from the front line july 23 21 twenty sixth division participates coincident with these advances on tile tho lath the he first corps liggett ligget serving with the french sixth arm army division and composed of our twenty sixth division and the french one hundred sixty seventh division also became a part of the movement the twenty sixth division occupied the line it had taken over from the second division july JO 0 the plan for the july IS offensive contemplated a deep penetration south of soissons Sols sons by the french tenth army supported on oil the right by the french sixth army extending tile the attack as far south ns as bouresches Boure the fifty second brigade awen twenty ty sixth division captured tile villages of torcy dorcy land and belleau Bel leou and one battalion readied reached the base of the dominating 1111 1 elements of the brigade reach edthe railroad but severe clant 11 anre re drove them to tile the starting point on the the advance of tile the twenty was contingent upon the pvc cess of tile the french one hundred sixty seventh division on its left but that division failed to take its objectives and the twenty sixth ild did not attack on tile the the one hundred sixty seventh was held field up again exposing the left of the division lz heavy hank flank lire fire and preventing more than a might gain farther to the right tile the twenty sixth succeeded in taking Go netrie farm and got a foothold on oil neach new german line when tile the attack began on the it was found that tile lie germans hart had withdrawn the night before and ali the twenty sixth moved forward with little or no opposition until it reached tile the new german lines at mont st pere east cast of the sots sols sons chateau thierry highway on the it captured trugny and j tot ro a foothold tn in elleds but was forced by a strong gernian german counterattack to ro rl tire to wood the fifty E efty second brigade was also driven back to its starting point the attack renewed on the was successful one regiment re ament reaching tile the elleds mont st per pens road but in abl afternoon after neon it was forced to retire that night the lie fifty second brigade was replaced by tile the fifty sixth brigade eighth division when the latter laun clied its attack the morning of 1 t tie e 2 th it was found chri tile the enemy find and lie he was not again encountered until tile the pursuers in ing part parl of tile the fifty first brigade ty division reached croix rouge farm during its offensive action beginning with the the twenty sixth division had progressed fessel nearly eleven miles and find and captured 2 00 prisoners and four pieces of artillery since its occupation of the sector july 10 it find suffered about casualties the division was relieved together with will the fifty sixth brigade twenty eighth division by tile the eighty fourth brigade forty second division which took over the sector on the the eighty fourth brigade forty second division replaced two french divisions which chien were pinched out by the shortening of the line on the the forty sec ond division occupied the entire front of the first corps about two miles in extent enemy fights desperately the defeat in front of the twentieth corps XA american merican first nod and second divisions and first moroccan division was wag the principal cause of the withdrawal of his armies but he be fought desperately from to position and his bis retirement was being skillfully conducted to save men and material r a from capture in the counteroffensive of july IS 18 no operations were ordered for french or american troops east of thierry Th crry leaving them an opportunity to readjust their lines on 6 the patrols from the third division dis covered that the germans had withdrawn across the marne the night before and the division at once advanced its line to the river the night of july tile tha germans further withdrew to the line judge north of mont st pere connecting with their line of resistance in front of our first corps july 21 the fifth brigade crossed the marne in pursuit capturing mont st pere and driving machine guns out of Char teves the sixth brigade waited for the bridge to be completed at and the morning of the lie one regiment crossed the river and captured jaulgonne Jaul gonne the germans were contesting every step and while the first this regiment reached le lc charmel channel it was compelled to retire by successive positions to jaulgonne Jaul gonne on the operations planned in operation cooperation co with the french thirty ninth and the american forty second on its le left ft were only partly successful the forty second captured the strong ly held |
