Show 12 inq qs s ston stora of the ae A E t F V 0 v Capy 1931 I 1 to ill all countries tt the h north amerino Nv lamper alliance world dil an t 0 d including the th S ilan ain za red buc 0 o io in whole bol or w put art T 1 y I 1 r john J persan Pers hn service aj CHAPTER L I 1 the germans had a preponderance of rifles march 21 1018 and although this number had decreased they still lind find a superiority of about may 27 july 15 13 MIS hla was changed and the rifles allies then had find the superiority by the same number to ID other words the Gerni germans fing were relatively worse oft off by rilles rifles in july than in march this was ac courted for almost entirely by the great increase in the numbers of americans the french anil and british had not been able to add to their strength but on oil the contrary they hey were being reduced faster than the germans the Gerni german fin offensive south of rheims july 1510 1516 15 10 16 having been checked the moment was favorable for an allied counteroffensive the selection by the germans of tire he champagne sector and the eastern and southern faces of the marne pocket on which to make their offensive ans fortunate for the allies as it favored the counterattack already planned we shall now see the reason for the concentration of several american divisions southwest of soissons some of them were available for use in the main to be dOl delivered vered by the french tenth army under mangin the american first and second divisions were hastily assembled to form the amerlean american amer lean third corps under general bullard bollard but his big corps staff had not yet been fully organized and these divisions by his direction under discretionary authority given by me became a part of 0 the french twentieth corps commanded by general berdou lat form spearhead of attack tills this corps then was composed of these two divisions and the french first moroccan division which bad a fine reputation and was assigned to the most important position la in the attack on tile the left center of the tenth army the three divisions mentioned had the honor of being the spearhead of the thrust against the vulnerable flunk flank of the salient the line of advance ran eastward over the commanding am plateau just south of sols sola sons bous and across the main road rand leading from that place to chateau thierry Th lerry the first had recently been relieved from the Canti goy sector and was en route to a rest area it was scattered throughout the Da Dammart ln area just north of meaux when it received orders july 13 to move hy by truck to the front after a hurried departure the advance troops arrived at dawn the octh tit at the forest of retz or forest of 0 villers and during the night the division moved to the front ot of the forest fares the right of july 17 it went forward over muddy and congested in roads the columns of infantry working their way to the front where they arrived in the nick of time the S second division was at mont reull aux allons jn in reserve of the first corps recuperating when the order escame ame on the to move by truck toward the front dawn july 17 found the infantry and machine gun elements arriving at the forest of villers Cott erets the night of the the movement toward the front through gli the forest was made with extreme difficulty fi the narrow roads became jammed troops lost their direction and there was serious doubt whether they would be at their line of departure at the appointed hour briar 0 of a in the esth proceed against odds with most commendable energy and initiative the officers led their commands forward during the night winding in and out oat through the almost inextricable snarls of wheeled vehicles one of the battalions assigned to lead in the attack though on tile the march most of the night was forced to wave move on the run for the lust last few hundred yards and just reached its place as the barrage started the second dilston dil Blon slon headquarters found itself july 10 16 with no knowledge linow ledge of the terrain and little obtainable from any source harbord and his chief of staff col preston crown brown started tor for the front and accidentally ran into the headquarters of the twentieth corps they there found the directive for tile the attack from which they issued the divisions orders ordera tire the country over which the twentieth corps attacked consisted of a succession of wooded ravines that lay across the line of advance with scarcely any roads leading toward the front the main defenses along the ridges of the Sols song pla pin lean were vere naturally strong and with the added entrenchments ments the enemy evidently felt himself reasonably se be cure lt it was harvest time anil and the ripening wheat that covered the rolling landscape gave excellent cover tor for the infantry and machine guns but it also helped to tilde hide our li advance advance enemy caught by surprise without the usual preliminary ar tillery preparation the assaulting bat lotions accompanied hy by light lanka plunged forward behind the barrage the enemy was caught by surprise nod the first and second divisions gallantly wp supported ported by the moroccan division in the center soon ovelan ovel an his forward positions ant nicil brae through tire zone of his light artillery though constantly confronted hy by fresh enemy troops tills this corps took tile lead in the adv advance rince and its progress wait vm i most satisfactory by noon it hall had captured halt half of the great plateau intent in its front with many prisoners and a little later forward elements reach reached ed the days objective the second division encountered strong opposition at clerzy in a determined ter mined ried effort launched after 6 p in the town was captured and a line over looking the valley of the criso was ric oc coupled the first division had ried everything before it capturing defended farm houses and other points where it met stiff resistance finally taking alessy aux bols and holding a front line slightly beyond that town the line ran diagonally across the paris soissons rond road the attack of the corps dav wa s re the morning of july 10 li hut but dur trig tile the night the german lines directly in front of soissons Sols sons had open been heavily reinforced with machine guns and ar tillery in their advance tile the french one hundred fifty third division am ami the first division met with much resistance si the second brigade of the first encountering ire fire of the enemy both from the front and the left flank tanks were sent to its assistance and with close artillery support the division was enabled slowly to gain ground hut but at considerable cost the second division with the re serves of tile the first jay day la in the lew forged ahead to the soissons Sols sons chateau thierry road but was compelled to withdraw to tile the vicinity of la ra ha perle it finally established a line just west of tigny digny with tile road under its guns the division was relieved liy by the french fifty eighth division the night of the I 1 alth having advanced six and one halt half miles captured prisoners and seventy five guns and sustained about casualties first division makes advance july 20 the first division continued its fid advance vance doggedly against a desperate stand by the genning Ger niang on tire lie knoll la in front runt of demy le see sec tile the french had been ordered to take berzy te le sec but failed in the after n u Siim Surn merall directed that it ft be assaulted a cited by his fits second brigade but the attempt did not succeed that flint day assisted by the skillful use of artillery and with consummate dash under prig brig gen B B buck in the face of intense artillery and machine gun tin tire fire the second brigade captured the town on the Mell meanwhile nIlle tile the firt first brigade and the french eighty seventh division had relieved the M mo roc cans had crossed the soissons Sols sons chateau highway and readied reached tire the chateau of buzancy Bux Buz ancy the line now ran parallel to the crise with Sols soissons sons commanded by our artillery the first division throughout four days of constant lighting fighting had wi nl danced nearly seven miles taken prisoners and sixty eight guns guna from seven different german germa divisions em eat played aloyed against it and had bad about casualties the thrust of the twentieth corps was wag conducted with such magnificent dash and power that the po hytlon within the salient was rendered rende reil untenable the dangerous character charac tei of the threat caused the crown prince to begin a general withdrawal front from the marne this operation snatched the initiative from tile the enemy al algil nil in ao an instant and from rom that moment lie he was on the defensive our first and second divisions with the like Moro moroccan velin division between them had struck tile the decisive blow that turned tile the tide of the war retain said it could not have been done with out our divisions on the other side the german chan bellor von hurtling hertling said guld later laier we expected grave events lo in paris for the alie end ena ol of july that was on the lath on tile the esth even the most optimistic among vs va understood that at all was lost the history of tile I 1 lie world was played out in three days CHAPTER ll LI 11 l l american participation in the second secand ond mame offen offensive she which begun began july 18 1018 and turned the tille tide of wn wile in favor of the allies was not limited to tire operations of the lie first arid and sec ond divis divisions lons while tills bitter contest was being waged fur fior ill alii posses sion of the lie crucial point near dear the troops around tile the rim hill of tile sill tent lent had been steadily driving aliende the fourth division barneron Cai Car neron lesi its artillery tit at first with the french ren cli tile the seventh brigade was at al inched to tire second corp french sixth army tile the forty seventh infantry in III reserve and tire lie thirty ninth rs signed to the french thirty third division in tile the attack of july IS tills this regi ment cleaned up tip the wood in its front captured noroy boroy and extended et ended tile I 1 lie if hutto tire the south on the isali isili the regiment went forward about two and one half miles on a front 1000 yards north of the onrea it wits was relieved I 1 alie 11 e morning of tile the and went to tile the icrene the eighth irl ale was assigned to the french one hundred sixty si ity fourth division the lie fifty ninth regiment lit in reserve in the attack of tile lie istl ohp fifty eighth regiment assisted in the capture of and cour took and made inside further substantial gains the fifty ninth regiment was put in the front line during the night of july 1310 1819 13 18 10 19 the fifty eighth and on tile ath with the division gained two miles on tile lie fill two battalions of the fifty ninth tit in line the advance was carried well to the east of sommelans Som the br brIen leaile tle was wag relieved train from the front line july 21 twenty sixth division participates coincident with these advances on oil the esth the first corps liggett serving with the french sixth army ill dl vision and composed of our 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 hall had taken over from froin the second division july 10 the plan for or the july IS offensive contemplated a deep penetration south of soissons Sols sons by tile french tenth army supported on tile the right by the french sixth army extending the lie attack as far south as the fifty second brigade Tv twenty kenty sixth division captured the villages of torey and belleau Cel leau and one battalion readied reached the base of the dominating bating elements of the brigade reached the railroad but severe flink flach fre r re drove thern them to the starting point on the the advance of the twenty sixth was contingent upon the necess fc F cess tf of the french one hundred anity saty sev rith nth division on its left but flint aliat division failed to tale its objectives anti and the twenty sixth not attack on tile the the one hundred sixty seventh was field up again exposing the left of the division to heavy flank tire fire and preventing inure inore than a slight gain farther to the right the twenty sixth succeeded in taking Co netrie farm and got of a foothold or on hill ino reach new german line nhen hen tile the attack attach began on the aist it was visa found that the germans had the night before and the twenty sixth moved forward with little or no opposition until it reached the new german lines at mont mom st pere eust east of 0 tile sols sola sons chateau thierry highway on tile alir it captured trugny anil and got a foothold in elleds but was forced by a strong german counterattack to retire to bredull wood the fifty 84 second cond brigade was also driven back to its starting point the attack renewed on the was successful one regiment reaching the elleds 11 a at st vere road but bat in the afternoon it was forced to retire that night tile the fifty second was replaced by the fifty axt brigade eighth division when the lat ter launched its attack the morning of the it was aund found that eliat tile the ene enemy y lint withdrawn ith drawn and lie he was nul not again encountered until the pursuers ing part of tile the fifty first brigade alith division reached croix rouge farm during its offensive action beginning with will the esth the twenty sixth division had progressed nearly eleven elenc n miles and had captured capture il ZO prisoners and four pieces of artillery since its occupation of the sector july 10 it find suffered about casualties disunities dis unities the division was wn relieved together with the fifty sixth brigade twenty eighth division by the alie lighty e fourth arfa de forty second which took over the sector on the 2 ich the eighty fourth brigade forty second division replaced two french divisions chien were pinched out by the shortening of the line ou on the the forty sec ond anti division occupied the entire front of 0 the first corps about two iwo miles in extent enemy fights desperately tile the crien lys defeat in front of the twentieth corps american first and second divisions and first moroccan ellsion was the principal cause of the withdrawal of his arni armies fes but lie he fought desperately from position to position and its ills retirement was bahi beans skillfully conducted to save men ana and material from capture in the of july 18 19 no operations were ordered for french or american troops troop east cast of chateau Th thierry lerry leaC leaving vIng them an opportunity to readjust their lines on the patrols front from third division discovered that the germans had withdrawn across the marne the night before arid and the di division vision at brice once advanced its line to the river the night of july ath the germans further WIL withdrew horew to the line ridge north of 0 mont st SL pere connecting with their line of resistance in front of our first corps july 21 the fifth brigade crossed the marne in pur pursuit sult ca capturing mont st pere and driving machine guns out fit f charter Chart ekes es the sixth brigade waited for the bridge to be completed at and the morning of the one regiment crossed the river and captured jaulgonne Jaul gonne the germans were contesting every step and while the first battalion of this regiment reached le charmel channel it was compelled to retire by successive positions lons to Jani gonne on oil the aith operations planned la in operation cooperation co with tire the french thirty ninth nod and the american forty second on its left were only partly successful the forty second captured the strong ly held croix rouge farm arm but the french thirty ninth |