| Show beneral qs stort of thle the a A 1 0 see fe Corrll tit at 1 11 etri ty by the h 2 1 aright A az 0 AUlin ct world hn Cle 1 liht t n esus ed include the th S di I ah or ft john 11 J 1 pershing service se CHAPTER L the Geri germans nans had a preponderance of rifles march 21 1918 and although this number had decreased they still had a superiority of about may 27 july 15 I 1 this his was changed and the allies then had the superiority by the same number in hi other words the german germani were relatively worse oft off by rifles in july than in march this was accounted for almost entirely by the great increase in the numbers of americans the F reach french and british had not been able to add to their strength but on the contrary they were v ere being reduced faster than the Ger germani maAs the german offensive south of rhelma july 1510 1516 15 10 16 inning having been checked the moment was favorable for an allied counteroffensive the selection by the germans of tile the champagne sector and the eastern and southern faces of the marne pocket on which to make their offensive was fortunate for the allies as it favored the coun counterattack tera t tack already planned we shall now see the reason for the concentration of several american divisions southwest of soissons Sols sons sonie some of them were available tor for use in the main counterstroke to be delivered by tile the french tenth army under mangin blangin the american first and second divisions were hastily assembled to forna form the american third thard corps under general bullard Kul lard nut but his corps staff had not id been fully organized and these divisions by his direction under discretionary authority glen given by me became a purl part of 0 the french twentieth corps commanded by general berdou lat I 1 at form spearhead of attack tills this corps then was composed of these two divisions and the french first moroccan division which lind had a fine reputation and was assigned to the most important position in the attack on oil the left center of the tenth army the three divisions mentioned had the honor of being the spearhead of tile the thrust against the vulnerable flank of the salient the line of advance ran eastward over the commanding platens just south of sols sons and across the main rond road leading from that place to chateau Th thierry lerry the first had recently been relieved from the Cant cantieny cantigny igny sector and was en route to a rest area it was scattered throughout the Darn Dammart martin ln area just north of meaux means when nhen it received orders july 13 to move by truck to the front after a hurried harried departure the advance troops arrived at dawn the logli at the forest of retz or forest of villers and during duran the night the division in awed oved to the front of the fores tile the night of july IT 17 it went forward over muddy and congested roads the columns of infantry working their way nay to the front where they arrived in tile the nick of time the second was at mont reull aux I lons lions in reserve of the first corps recuperating when the order came on the tha to in move by truck toward the front flout dawn july 17 found the infantry and machine machane pun gun elements arriving at the alie forest of villers Cott crets erets the night of the the movement toward the front through u gh the forest was made with extreme dlf fi culty the narrow roads became jammed jani nied troops lost their direction and there was serious doubt whether they would bp be at their line of departure ture nt at the appointed hour of a 1111 m tile the irth proceed against odds with ith most commendable energy and initiative the officers led their com coin inanda forward during the night winding in lr and out through the almost inextricable snarls of wheeled vehicles one of the hie battalions assigned to lead in the attack though on tile the march mo most st of the night was forced to move on the run for tile the last few hundred bundled yards and just reached its place as tile the bat started tim second division headquarters found itself july 1 10 16 with no knowledge of the lie terrain and little obtainable from tiny any source Ilar bord and b his is chief of staff col preston krown brown started for the front and accidentally ran into the headquarters of the twentieth corps they there found tile the directive tor for the attack from which they issued the divisions orders the country avei over which the awen aleth corps attacked consisted of n succession of wooded ravines tint that liv across tile the line of adv advance anve iiii with scarcely canely fr any bolds lending leading toward tile tho front the th en ernys ninin main de defense along tho the ridges of the soissons Sols suns sons pla were naturally strong and with the added the enemy evidently felt himself reasonably se cule cuic it was harvest time and th fit ripening wheat that covered the roll ing landscape gave excellent e client cover for the en ernys infantry and machlan guns hut but it also helped to mile hide our advance enemy caught by surprise without tile the usual preliminary ar tillery preparation tile the assaulting bat by light tanks plunged forward behind tile barrage the wits caught hv by sur prist and the first and second divisions gallantly supported by tile the cun division in the center soon overran his forward positions and broke through the zone of his light artillery though constantly confronted by fresh enemy troops this corps took the leai lead in the advance and its progress was most satisfactory by noon it had captured halt half of the great plateau in its front with many prisoners and a little later forward elements reached the days objective the second division encountered strong opposition at clerzy in a tie dc ter mined effort launched after 0 6 p in the town was captured and a line over looking the valley of the crisp cris was oc coupled the first division n had car ried everything before it capturing defended farm houses and other points where it met stiff resistance finally taking missy aux au bols and holding I 1 a front line slightly beyond that town the line ran diagonally across the paris carls soissons Sols sons road the attack of the corps was nas re fumed the morning of july 19 10 but dur ing the night tile the german lines directly in front of soissons Sols sons had been heavily reinforced with machine guns and ar tillery in their advance the french one hundred fifty third alvi division ion anti and the first division met with much re sl si stance the second abrl brigade a tie of the first encountering fire 0 of f the enemy both from the front and the left lank flank tanks were sent to its assistance and with close artillery support the slon sion was enabled slowly to gain ground but at considerable cost tile the second division with the re serves of the first day in the lead forged coreed ahead to tile the soissons Sols sons ch chateau n te a u thierry road but was compelled to withdraw to the alie vicinity of la ra ila perle it finally established a line just west of with the road under its guns the division was relieved hv by tile the french fifty eighth division tile night of the having advanced sli six and one halt half miles captured prisoners find and seventy five guns and sustained about casualties first division makes advance july 20 the first division continued its advance doggedly against a desperate stand by the ger germans lans on the benzyl knoll in fix front of beri lesec le ie sec the french had been ordered to take berzy le sec but tailed failed in the afternoon summerall su mineral 1 directed that it ft be assaulted by his second brigade but the attempt did not succeed that day assisted by the skillful use of artillery and with consummate dash under brig gen B B buck in the face of intense artillery and machine gun fire the second brigade captured the town on the meanwhile the first brigade and tile the french E eighty seventh division which had relieved the mo roc cans had crossed tile the soissons Sols sons chateau thierry highway and readied reached the chateau of buzancy Buz ancy the line now ran parallel to the crise with soissons Sols sons commanded 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 ern on the even the most optimistic among us understood that all was lost the history of the world was played out in three days CHAPTER LI american participation in the second marne offensive which began july 18 1918 and turned 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 sons the troops around the rim of the salient had been steadily driving ahead the fourth division cameron less its artillery fought at first with the french tile the seventh brigade was at inched to the second corps french sixth army the forty seventh infantry in reserve and the thirty ninth assigned to the french thirty third division in ID the attack attach of july 18 this regiment me n t cleaned up the wood in its front captured noroy boroy and and extended theline to the south on the the regiment went forward about two and one half miles on a brodt fron t 1000 yards north of the tt it was relieved the m orning morning of the and went to the le serve the eighth brigade was assigned to the french one Il hundred undred sixty fou fourth r th division the fifty ninth regiment in ini reserve in the attack of the the fifty eighth regiment assisted in the ca capture iture of and cour champs cli amps tools took chevillon and made further substantial gains the fifty ninth regiment was put in the front tine line during the night of july 1819 18 19 relieving the fifty eighth and on the logli advancing with the division 9 gained two miles on the with tir two 0 battalions of the fifty ninth in n line the advance was carried well to 0 the east cast of sommelans Som the brigade e was relieved from the front line J july y 21 twenty sixth division participate coincident with these advances on the the first F arst corps liggett serving with tile the F french rell c it sixth army dl vision and composed of our twenty sixth division and the french one hundred sixty seventh division also became a part of the nio movement the twenty sixth division occupied the line it had taken over from the second division july 10 the plan for the july 18 offensive contemplated a deep penetration south of soissons Sols sons by the french tenth army supported on the right by tile french sixth army extending the attack as far south as bouresches Boure the fifty second brigade twenty sixth division captured the villages of torcy dorcy and belleau and one battalion reached the base of the dominating fing hill elements of the brigade reached the railroad but severe lank flank F gre fre re drove them to the starting point on the the advance of the twenty sixth was contingent upon the success File cess of the french one hundred sixty seventh division ou on its left but that division tailed failed to take its fits objectives and the twenty sixth did not attack on the the one hundred i eveith was held up ag again A in exposing the left of the division to heavy flank fire are and preventing more aba than A a olgat gain farther to the right the twenty sixth succeeded in taking farm and got a foothold on oil hill reach new german line when the attack began on the 21 bt it was found that the germans had the night before and tile the twenty sixth moved forward with little or no opposition until it reached the new german lines at hermitage with tile the the twenty sixth division I 1 lad had progressed nearly eleven miles and hod had captured prisoners and four pieces of artillery since its occupation of the sector july 10 it had suffered u offered about casualties the division was relieved together with the fifty sixth brigade twenty eighth division by the eighty fourth brigade forty second division which took over the sector on the the i eighty Mighty fourth brigade forty second division replaced two french divisions which were pinched out by the shortening of the line on the the forty sec ond division occupied the entire front of the first r arst corps about two miles in extent enemy fights desperately the en eirlys defeat in front of the twentieth corps american first and second divisions and first moroccan division was the principal cause of the withdrawal of his armies but he fought desperately from position to position and his retirement was belag being skillfully conducted to save men and material from capture in the counteroffensive of july 18 no operations were ordered for french or american troops east of chateau thierry Th lerry leaving them an opportunity to readjust their jines hues on the patrols from the third division discovered 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 jul july jtb the alie germans further withdrew to the line ridge 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 aud and driving machine guns out of charte Cliar teves es the sixth brigade waited tor for the bridge to be completed at and d 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 F 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 left were only partly successful the forty second captured the strong ly held croix rouge farm but the french thirty ninth division could not advance the leading battalions of the lie fifth brigade entered le charmel but not being able to debouch front from the town they were withdrawn afeei dark during the night the hard pressed germans retired to the leaving in machine guns behind to delay our advance july 27 the french thirty ninth division took up the pursuit followed by the fifty fifth brigade twenty eighth division which relieved the french thirty ninth that night nt at courmont fourmont Cour mont the fifth brigade third division advanced on the right to protect this movement and occupied a line running yunlung southeast from courmont fourmont Cour mont through Vill ardelle during the morning of tile the the fifth brigade captured Rone Ron heres cheres and the twenty eighth division reached tile the but was unable to hold its gains north ot of the river on the the third division occupied an irregular line beyond Rone beres hut but neither that unit por nor the twenty eighth division on its lt left was able to make material progress against the bols bois des Grim pettes that day third division relieved the third division was relieved by the thirty second on the and retired south of the marne it had jakell and and 2nd divisions 0 A N july 18 I aa at 1 front lines ap T t e N division B et wa vass p 5 R A y t wa A 4 chaldu iff 1 I CM tea U aa ij g 1 I 1 buz I 1 X F 3 1 wa a 15 0 f ta retz 1 46 16 1 6 TI y 0 1 amiles P rcy aloyed against ag ainest it and hail had about casualties the thrust of the twentieth corps was conducted with such magnificent dash and power that the po within tile the salient was as rendered untenable the dangerous cliar acte of the threat caused tile the crown prince to begin a general withdrawal frow froin the aarne tills this operation snatched the initiative froni from the enemy almost in an ail instant and from that moment lie wits was on the defens defensive lve our first and second divisions with the moroccan division between then them |
