I frequently noticed my nurse standing there at the window listening to him. Then I would notice that her shoulders would shake convulsively and she would walk out of the room, wet eyed but silent. And the song the little fellow sang was this:

"Just try to picture me Back home in Tennessee, Right by my mother's knee She thinks the world of me. She will be there to meet me With a hug and kiss she'll greet me, When I get back, when I get back To my home in Tennessee."

American doctors and American nurses, both by their skill and care and tenderness, nursed that little fellow back to complete recovery, made him remember everything and shortly afterward, well and cured, he started back, safe and sound, to his home in Tennessee.

Nothing I can ever say will overstate my estimation of the credit that is deserved by our American doctors and nurses for the great work they are doing. I am not alone in knowing this. I call to witness any Canadian, Englishman or Frenchman, that, if he is wounded, when in the ambulance, he usually voices one request, "Take me to an American hospital."

I knew of one man who entered that United States Military Base Hospital near Paris, with one bullet through the shoulder, another through an arm, an eye shot out and a compound fracture of the skull, and those American doctors and nurses by their attention and skilfulness made it possible for him to step back into boots and breeches and walk out of the hospital in ten days.

It so happens that I am somewhat familiar with the details in that case because I am the man.



CHAPTER XIX

"JULY 18TH"—THE TURN OF THE TIDE

Through the steady growth of Marshal Foch's reserves, by the speedy arrival of American forces, the fourth German offensive of 1918, the personally directed effort launched by the Crown Prince on May 27th, had been brought to a standstill.

The German thrust toward Paris had been stopped by the Americans at Chateau-Thierry and in the Bois de Belleau. It would be an injustice not to record the great part played in that fighting by the French Army attacked, but it would be equally unjust not to specify as the French have gallantly done, that it was the timely arrival of American strength that swung the balance against the enemy. For the remainder of that month of June and up to the middle of July, the fighting was considered local in its character.

The German offensive had succeeded in pushing forward the enemy front until it formed a loop extending southward from the Aisne to the Valley of the Marne. This salient was called the Chateau-Thierry pocket. The line ran southward from a point east of Soissons to Chateau-Thierry, where it touched the Marne, thence eastward along both sides of the river to the vicinity of Oeuilly where it recrossed the Marne and extended northward to points beyond Rheims.

Chateau-Thierry was thus the peak of the German push—the apex of the triangle pointing toward Paris. The enemy supplied its forces in this peak principally by the road that ran southward from Soissons and touched the Marne at Chateau-Thierry. To the west of this road and just south of the city of Soissons, is the forest of Villers-Cotterets. The enemy occupied the northern and eastern limits of the forest and the remainder of it was in the hands of the French.

This forest has always been considered one of the sentinels of Paris. It was located on the right flank of the German salient. It was a menace to that flank, and offered a most attractive opportunity for an Allied counter offensive from that direction. The Germans were not unmindful of this.

The enemy knew that in the forest of Villers-Cotterets it would be possible for Marshal Foch to mobilise his much-feared reserves by taking advantage of the natural screen provided by the forest. That Foch reserve still remained a matter for enemy consideration in spite of the fact that the successive German offensive since March 21st had met with considerable success with regard to the acquisition of territory. The Germans, however, had been unable to ascertain whether Foch had been forced to bring his reserves into the fight.

The situation demanded a full realisation by the enemy of the possible use of this reserve at any time and they knew that their lines in Villers-Cotterets Forest offered an ever present invitation for the sudden application of this reserve strength. Their lines at that point were necessarily weak by the superiority of the Allied position and, as a consequence, the Germans guarded this weak spot by holding in reserve behind the line a number of divisions of the Prussian Guard.

For the same reason, the enemy maintained constant observation of the French position. Their planes would fly over the forest every day taking photographs. They sought to discover any evidences indicating that Foch might be preparing to strike a blow from that place. They made careful note of the traffic along the roads through the forest. They maintained a careful watch to ascertain whether new ammunition dumps were being concealed under the trees. Their observers tried to ascertain whether any additional hospital arrangements had been made by the French at that point. Any of these things would have indicated that the French were preparing to strike through the forest but the Germans found nothing to support their suspicions.

Nevertheless, they maintained their lines at maximum strength. A belief existed among the German High Command that an attack might be made on July 4th, out of consideration to American sentiment. When the attack did not develop on that day, they then thought that the French might possibly spring the blow on July 14th, in celebration of their own national fete day. And again they were disappointed in their surmises.

This protracted delay of an impending blow worried the enemy. The Germans realised full well that they were fighting against time. Their faith in the capacity of their submarines to prevent American strength from reaching the line, had been abandoned. They now knew that every day that passed meant just that many more American soldiers arriving in France, and the consequent strengthening of the Allied forces during a season when the Germans, through their repeated offensives, were suffering terrible losses and were consequently growing weaker.

So, on July 14th, when the Allied counter-offensive had still failed to materialise, the German forces, by the necessity for time, moved to a sudden and faulty decision. They convinced themselves that they had overestimated the Allied strength. They accepted the belief that the reason Foch had not attacked was because he did not have sufficient strength to attack. With this, then, as a basis for their plans, they immediately launched another offensive, hoping that this might be the one in which they could deliver the final blow.

This action began on Monday morning, July 15th, and extended from Chateau-Thierry eastward along the valley of the Maine, northward to Rheims and thence eastward. By a remarkable coup, one small patrol of French and Americans deprived the enemy of the element of surprise in the attack. On the morning of the previous day, this patrol successfully raided the enemy lines to the east of Rheims and brought back prisoners from whom it was learned that the Germans intended striking on the following morning. The objectives of the offensive were the French cities of Epernay and Chalons. The accomplishment of this effort would have placed the Rheims salient in the hands of the enemy and brought the German lines southward to positions straddling the Marne, down the valley of which they would thus be able to launch another offensive on a straight road to Paris.

The Germans needed considerable strength for this new effort. To muster the shock divisions necessary for the attack, they had to weaken their lines elsewhere. The first reserves that they drew for this offensive were the Prussian Guard divisions which they had been holding in readiness in back of the weak spot in their line in the Villers-Cotterets Forest. Those divisions were hurriedly transported across the base of the V-shaped salient and thrown into the attack to the east and the southwest of Rheims.

The Germans found the Allied line prepared to receive them. Their attacking waves were mowed down with terrific machine gun fire from French and American gunners, while at the same time heavy artillery barrages played upon the German back areas with deadly effect in the massed ranks of the reserves. The fighting was particularly vicious. It was destined to be the Germans' last action of a grand offensive nature in the entire war.

On the line east of Rheims, the German assault was particularly strong in one sector where it encountered the sturdy ranks of the Rainbow Division of United States National Guardsmen, drawn from a dozen or more different states in the Union. Regiments from Alabama and New York held the front line. Iowa and Ohio were close in support. In the support positions, sturdy youngsters from Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota manned the American artillery.

The French general commanding the sector had not considered it possible that this comparatively small American force could withstand the first onslaught of the Germans. He had made elaborate plans for a withdrawal to high ground two or three miles southward, from which he hoped to be able to resist the enemy to greater advantage. But all day long, through the 15th and the 16th and the 17th of July, those American lines held, and the advancing waves of German storm troops melted before our guns. Anticipating a renewal of the attack on the next day, General Gouraud issued an order on the evening of July 17th. It read:

"To the French and American Soldiers of the Army.

"We may be attacked from one moment to another. You all feel that a defensive battle was never engaged in under more favourable conditions. We are warned, and we are on our guard. We have received strong reinforcements of infantry and artillery. You will fight on ground, which, by your assiduous labour, you have transformed into a formidable fortress, into a fortress which is invincible if the passages are well guarded.

"The bombardment will be terrible. You will endure it without weakness. The attack in a cloud of dust and gas will be fierce but your positions and your armament are formidable.

"The strong and brave hearts of free men beat in your breast. None will look behind, none will give way. Every man will have but one thought—'Kill them, kill them in abundance, until they have had enough.' And therefore your General tells you it will be a glorious day."

And so the line held, although the French General had in preparation the plans for withdrawal. When, at the end of the third day, the American line still occupied the same position, the French General found that his labour in preparing the plans for withdrawal had been for nothing. He is reported to have thrown his hands up in the air and remarked, "There doesn't seem to be anything to do but to let the war be fought out where the New York Irish and the Alabamans want to fight it."

There was one humorous incident worthy of record in that fighting. Great rivalry existed between the New York regiment and the Alabama regiment, both of which happened to be units of the same brigade. Both the New Yorkers and the Alabamans had a mutual hatred for the German but, in addition to that, each of them was possessed with a mutual dislike for the other. There had been frequent clashes of a more or less sportsmanlike and fistic nature between men from both of the regiments.

On the second day of the fighting, the Germans had sent over low-flying airplanes which skimmed the tops of our trenches and sprayed them with machine gun fire. A man from Alabama, who had grown up from childhood with a squirrel rifle under his arm, accomplished something that had never been done before in the war. From his position in a trench, he took careful aim with his rifle and brought down one of the German planes. It was the first time in the history of the Western Front that a rifleman on the ground had done this.

When the colonel of the New York regiment heard this, he was wild with envy and let it be known that there would be trouble brewing unless his regiment at least equalled the feat. So, on the following day, an Irishman in the ranks stood up and brought one German plane down to the credit of the old Sixty-ninth.

* * * * *

To the southwest of Rheims, Germans, who succeeded in breaking through the lines at one place on the south banks of the Marne, encountered American reinforcements and were annihilated to the number of five thousand. At no place did the enemy meet with the success desired.

The Germans had launched their attack at six o'clock on the morning of July 15th. At Vaux their demonstration was considered a feint, but along the Marne to the east of Chateau-Thierry, between Fossy and Mezy, the assaulting waves advanced with fury and determination. At one place, twenty-five thousand of the enemy crossed the river, and the small American forces in front of them at that place were forced to retire on Conde-en-Bire. In a counter attack, we succeeded in driving fifteen thousand of them back to the north bank, the remaining ten thousand representing casualties with the exception of fifteen hundred, who were captured.

Further eastward, the Germans established bridgehead positions on the south bank of the river at Dormas. The enemy enjoyed a minor success in an attack on the line near Bligny to the southwest of Rheims, where Italian troops fought with remarkable valour. Everywhere else the lines held solid and upon the close of that first night, Marshal Foch said, "I am satisfied—Je suis content."

At dawn the following day, the enemy's futile efforts were resumed along the river east of Chateau-Thierry. The Germans suffered appalling losses in their efforts to place pontoon bridges at Gland and at Mareuil-le-Port. St. Agnan and La Chapelle Monthodon fell into the hands of Americans on the same day.

On the 17th, the enemy's endeavours to reach Festigny on both banks of the river came to naught, but to the southeast of Rheims, his assaulting waves reached the northern limits of Montagne Forest. The Germans were trying to pinch out the Rheims salient. This was the condition of the opposing lines on the night of July 17th,—the night that preceded the day on which the tide of victory turned for the Allies.

Foch was now ready to strike. The Allied Commander-in-Chief had decided to deliver his blow on the right flank of the German salient. The line chosen for the Allied assault was located between a point south of Soissons and Chateau-Thierry. It represented a front of some twenty-five miles extending southward from the valley of the Aisne to the Marne. Villers-Cotterets Forest was the key position for the Allies.

It was from out that forest that the full strength of the blow was to be delivered. To make the blow effective at that most vital point, Marshal Foch needed a strong and dependable assaulting force. He needed three divisions of the hardest fighting soldiers that he could get. He had a considerable army to select from. As Commander-in-Chief of all the Allied armies, he was in command of all of the British army, all of the French army, all of the American army, the Italian, the Belgian,—all of the military forces of the Allied nations of the world. Marshal Foch's command numbered eleven million bayonets.

The Commander-in-Chief had all of these veteran fighting men from which he could select the three divisions necessary to deliver this blow upon which the civilisation of the world depended.

The first division he chose was the Foreign Legion of the French army. In four years of bloody fighting, the Foreign Legion, composed of soldiers of fortune from every country in the world, had never been absent in an attack. It had lived up thoroughly to its reputation as the most fearless unit of shock troops in the French army.

And then for the other two divisions that were needed, Marshal Foch selected, from all the eleven million men under his command, the First and the Second Regular United States Army Divisions. The Second Division included the immortal Brigade of United States Marines, that had covered themselves with glory in the Bois de Belleau.

It was a great distinction for those two American divisions to have thus been selected to play such a vital part in the entire war. It was an honour that every officer and man in both divisions felt keenly.

I have in my map case a torn and much folded little piece of paper. I received it that night of July 17th in Villers-Cotterets Forest. A similar piece of paper was received by every officer in those two American divisions. To me this piece of paper represents the order which resulted in victory for the Allied world. It reads:

Headquarters Third Army Corps American Expeditionary Forces,

France, July 17, 1918

Memorandum:

The Third Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces has been created and consists of the 1st. and 2nd. Divisions, two divisions that are known throughout France.

Officers and men of the Third Corps, you have been deemed worthy to be placed beside the best veteran French troops. See that you prove worthy. Remember that in what is now coming you represent the whole American nation.

R. L. BULLARD, Major General, Commanding 3rd. Corps.

* * * * *

The German planes flying high over Villers-Cotterets Forest all day during the 17th, had seen nothing. The appearance of all the myriad roads that cross and recross the forest in all directions was normal. But that night things began to happen in the forest.

For once at least, the elements were favourable to our cause. There was no moon. The night was very dark and under the trees the blackness seemed impenetrable. A heavy downpour of rain began and although it turned most of the roads into mud, the leafy roof of the forest held much of the moisture and offered some protection to the thousands of men who spent the night beneath it. Thunder rolled as I had never heard it roll in France before. The sound drowned the occasional boom of distant cannon. At intervals, terrific crashes would be followed by blinding flashes of lightning as nature's bolts cut jagged crevices in the sombre sky and vented their fury upon some splintered giant of the forest.

The immediate front was silent—comparatively silent if one considered the din of the belligerent elements. In the opposing front lines in the northern and eastern limits of the forest, German and Frenchmen alike huddled in their rude shelters to escape the rain.

Then, along every road leading through the forest to the north and to the east, streams of traffic began to pour. All of it was moving forward toward the front. No traffic bound for the rear was permitted. Every inch of available road space was vitally necessary for the forces in movement. The roads that usually accommodated one line of vehicles moving forward and one line moving to the rear, now represented two streams—solid streams—moving forward. In those streams were gun carriages, caissons, limbers, ammunition carts and grunting tractors hauling large field pieces.

In the gutters on either side of the road, long lines of American infantry plodded forward through the mud and darkness. In the occasional flash of a light, I could see that they were equipped for heavy fighting. Many of them had their coats off, their sleeves rolled up, while beads of sweat stood out on the young faces that shown eager beneath the helmets. On their backs they carried, in addition to their cumbersome packs, extra shoes and extra bandoliers of cartridges.

From their shoulders were suspended gas masks and haversacks. Their waists were girded with loaded ammunition belts, with bayonet hanging at the left side. Some of them wore grenade aprons full of explosives. Nearly all of them carried their rifles or machine gun parts slung across their backs as they leaned forward under their burdens and plunged wearily on into the mud and darkness, the thunder and lightning, the world destiny that was before them. Their lines were interspersed with long files of plodding mules dragging small, two-wheeled, narrow gauge carts loaded down with machine gun ammunition.

Under the trees to either side of the road, there was more movement. American engineers struggled forward through the underbrush carrying, in addition to their rifles and belts, rolls of barbed wire, steel posts, picks and shovels and axes and saws. Beside them marched the swarthy, undersized, bearded veterans of the Foreign Legion. Further still under the trees, French cavalry, with their lances slung slantwise across their shoulders, rode their horses in and out between the giant trunks.

At road intersections, I saw mighty metal monsters with steel plated sides splotched with green and brown and red paint. These were the French tanks that were to take part in the attack. They groaned and grunted on their grinding gears as they manoeuvred about for safer progress. In front of each tank there walked a man who bore suspended from his shoulders on his back, a white towel so that the unseen directing genius in the tank's turret could steer his way through the underbrush and crackling saplings that were crushed down under the tread of this modern Juggernaut.

There was no confusion, no outward manifestations of excitement. There was no rattle of musketry, shouting of commands or waving of swords. Officers addressed their men in whispers. There was order and quiet save for the roll of thunder and the eternal dripping of water from the wet leaves, punctuated now and then by the ear-splitting crashes that followed each nearby flash of lightning.

Through it all, everything moved. It was a mighty mobilisation in the dark. Everything was moving in one direction—forward—all with the same goal, all with the same urging, all with the same determination, all with the same hope. The forest was ghostly with their forms. It seemed to me that night in the damp darkness of Villers-Cotterets Forest that every tree gave birth to a man for France.

All night long the gathering of that sinister synod continued. All night long those furtive forces moved through the forest. They passed by every road, by every lane, through every avenue of trees. I heard the whispered commands of the officers. I heard the sloshing of the mud under foot and the occasional muffled curse of some weary marcher who would slip to the ground under the weight of his burden; and I knew, all of us knew, that at the zero hour, 4:35 o'clock in the morning, all hell would land on the German line, and these men from the trees would move forward with the fate of the world in their hands.

There was some suspense. We knew that if the Germans had had the slightest advance knowledge about that mobilisation of Foch's reserves that night, they would have responded with a downpour of gas shells, which spreading their poisonous fumes under the wet roof of the forest, might have spelt slaughter for 70,000 men.

But the enemy never knew. They never even suspected. And at the tick of 4:35 A. M., the heavens seemed to crash asunder, as tons and tons of hot metal sailed over the forest, bound for the German line.

That mighty artillery eruption came from a concentration of all the guns of all calibres of all the Allies that Foch could muster. It was a withering blast and where it landed in that edge of the forest occupied by the Germans, the quiet of the dripping black night was suddenly turned into a roaring inferno of death.

Giant tree trunks were blown high into the air and splintered into match-wood. Heavy projectiles bearing delayed action fuses, penetrated the ground to great depth before exploding and then, with the expansion of their powerful gases, crushed the enemy dugouts as if they were egg shells.

Then young America—your sons and your brothers and your husbands, shoulder to shoulder with the French—went over the top to victory.

The preliminary barrage moved forward crashing the forest down about it. Behind it went the tanks ambling awkwardly but irresistibly over all obstructions. Those Germans that had not been killed in the first terrific blast, came up out of their holes only to face French and American bayonets, and the "Kamerad" chorus began at once.

Our assaulting waves moved forward, never hesitating, never faltering. Ahead of them were the tanks giving special attention to enemy machine gun nests that manifested stubbornness. We did not have to charge those death-dealing nests that morning as we did in the Bois de Belleau. The tanks were there to take care of them. One of these would move toward a nest, flirt around it several minutes and then politely sit on it. It would never be heard from thereafter.

It was an American whirlwind of fighting fury that swept the Germans in front of it early that morning. Aeroplanes had been assigned to hover over the advance and make reports on all progress. A dense mist hanging over the forest made it impossible for the aviators to locate the Divisional Headquarters to which they were supposed to make the reports. These dense clouds of vapour obscured the earth from the eyes of the airmen, but with the rising sun the mists lifted.

Being but a month out of the hospital and having spent a rather strenuous night, I was receiving medical attention at daybreak in front of a dressing station not far from the headquarters of Major General Harbord commanding the Second Division. As I lay there looking up through the trees, I saw a dark speck diving from the sky. Almost immediately I could hear the hum of its motors growing momentarily louder as it neared the earth. I thought the plane was out of control and expected to see it crash to the ground near me.

Several hundred feet above the tree tops, it flattened its wings and went into an easy swoop so that its under-gear seemed barely to skim the uppermost branches. The machine pursued a course immediately above one of the roads. Something dropped from it. It was a metal cylinder that glistened in the rays of the morning sun. Attached to it was a long streamer of fluttering white material. It dropped easily to the ground nearby. I saw an American signalman, who had been following its descent, pick it up. He opened the metal container and extracted the message containing the first aerial observations of the advance of the American lines. It stated that large numbers of prisoners had been captured and were bound for the rear.

Upon receipt of this information, Division Headquarters moved forward on the jump. Long before noon General Harbord, close behind his advancing troops, opened headquarters in the shattered farm buildings of Verte Feuille, the first community centre that had been taken by our men that morning. Prisoners were coming back in droves.

I encountered one column of disarmed Germans marching four abreast with the typical attitude of a "Kamerad" procession. The first eight of the prisoners carried on their shoulders two rudely constructed litters made from logs and blankets. A wounded American was on one litter and a wounded Frenchman on the other.

A number of German knapsacks had been used to elevate the shoulders of both of the wounded men so that they occupied positions half sitting and half reclining. Both of them were smoking cigarettes and chatting gaily as they rode high and mighty on the shoulders of their captives, while behind them stretched a regal retinue of eight hundred more.

As this column proceeded along one side of the road, the rest of the roadway was filled with men, guns and equipment all moving forward. Scottish troops in kilts swung by and returned the taunts which our men laughingly directed at their kilts and bare knees.

Slightly wounded Americans came back guarding convoys of prisoners. They returned loaded with relics of the fighting. It was said that day that German prisoners had explained that in their opinion, the British were in the war because they hated Germany and that the French were in the war because the war was in France, but that Americans seemed to be fighting to collect souveniers.

I saw one of these American souvenier collectors bound for the rear. In stature he was one of the shortest men I had ever seen in our uniform. He must have spent long years in the cavalry, because he was frightfully bowlegged. He was herding in front of him two enormous German prisoners who towered head and shoulders above him.

He manifested a confidence in his knowledge of all prisoners and things German. Germans were "foreigners." "Foreigners" spoke a foreign language. Therefore to make a German understand you, it was only necessary to speak with them in a foreign language. French was a foreign language so the bowlegged American guard made use of his limited knowledge.

"Allay! Allay! Allay veet t'ell outer here," he urged his charges.

He was wearing his helmet back on his head so that there was exposed a shock of black, blood-matted hair on his forehead. A white bandage ran around his forehead and on the right side of his face a strip of cotton gauze connected with another white bandage around his neck. There was a red stain on the white gauze over the right cheek.

His face was rinsed with sweat and very dirty. In one hand he carried a large chunk of the black German war bread—once the property of his two prisoners. With his disengaged hand he conveyed masses of the food to his lips which were circled with a fresco of crumbs.

His face was wreathed in a remarkable smile—a smile of satisfaction that caused the corners of his mouth to turn upward toward his eyes. I also smiled when I made a casual inventory of the battlefield loot with which he had decorated his person. Dangling by straps from his right hip were five holsters containing as many German automatic pistols of the Lueger make, worth about $35 apiece. Suspended from his right shoulder by straps to his left hip, were six pairs of highly prized German field glasses, worth about $100 apiece. I acquired a better understanding of his contagious smile of property possession when I inquired his name and his rank. He replied:

"Sergeant Harry Silverstein."

Later, attracted by a blast of extraordinary profanity, I approached one of our men who was seated by the roadside. A bullet had left a red crease across his cheek but this was not what had stopped him. The hobnail sole of his shoe had been torn off and he was trying to fasten it back on with a combination of straps. His profane denunciations included the U. S. Quartermaster Department, French roads, barbed wire, hot weather and, occasionally, the Germans.

"This sure is a hell of a mess," he said, "for a fellow to find himself in this fix just when I was beginning to catch sight of 'em. I enlisted in the army to come to France to kill Germans but I never thought for one minute they'd bring me over here and try to make me run 'em to death. What we need is greyhounds. And as usual the Q. M. fell down again. Why, there wasn't a lassoe in our whole company."

* * * * *

The prisoners came back so fast that the Intelligence Department was flooded. The divisional intelligence officer asked me to assist in the interrogation of the captives. I questioned some three hundred of them.

An American sergeant who spoke excellent German, interrogated. I sat behind a small table in a field and the sergeant would call the prisoners forward one by one. In German he asked one captive what branch of the service he belonged to. The prisoner wishing to display his knowledge of English and at the same time give vent to some pride, replied in English.

"I am of the storm troop," he said.

"Storm troop?" replied the American sergeant, "do you know what we are? We are from Kansas. We are Cycloners."

Another German student of English among the prisoners was represented in the person of a pompous German major, who, in spite of being a captive, maintained all the dignity of his rank. He stood proudly erect and held his head high. He wore a disgusted look on his face, as though the surroundings were painful. His uniform was well pressed, his linen was clean, his boots were well polished, he was clean shaven. There was not a speck of dust upon him and he did not look like a man who had gone through the hell of battle that morning. The American sergeant asked him in German to place the contents of his pockets on the table.

"I understand English," he replied superciliously, with a strong accent, as he complied with the request. I noticed, however, that he neglected to divest himself of one certain thing that caught my interest. It was a leather thong that extended around his neck and disappeared between the first and second buttons of his tunic. Curiosity forced me to reach across the table and extract the hidden terminal of that thong. I found suspended on it the one thing in all the world that exactly fitted me and that I wanted. It was a one-eyed field glass. I thanked him.

He told me that he had once been an interne in a hospital in New York but happening to be in Germany at the outbreak of the war, he had immediately entered the army and had risen to the rank of a major in the Medical Corps. I was anxious for his opinion, obvious as it might have seemed.

"What do you think of the fighting capacity of the American soldier?" I asked him.

"I do not know," he replied in the accented but dignified tones of a superior who painfully finds himself in the hands of one considered inferior. "I have never seen him fight. He is persuasive—yes.

"I was in a dugout with forty German wounded in the cellar under the Beaurepaire Farm, when the terrible bombardment landed. I presume my gallant comrades defending the position died at their posts, because soon the barrage lifted and I walked across the cellar to the bottom of the stairs and looked up.

"There in the little patch of white light on the level of the ground above me, I saw the first American soldier I have seen in the war. But he did not impress me much as a soldier. I did not like his carriage or his bearing.

"He wore his helmet far back on his head. And he did not have his coat on. His collar was not buttoned; it was rolled back and his throat was bare. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow. And he had a grenade in each hand.

"Just then he looked down the stairs and saw me—saw me standing there—saw me, a major—and he shouted roughly, 'Come out of there, you big Dutch B——d, or I'll spill a basketful of these on you.'"

All through that glorious day of the 18th, our lines swept forward victoriously. The First Division fought it out on the left, the Foreign Legion in the centre and the Second Division with the Marines pushed forward on the right. Village after village fell into our hands. We captured batteries of guns and thousands of prisoners.

On through the night the Allied assault continued. Our men fought without water or food. All road space behind the lines was devoted to the forwarding of reserves, artillery and munitions. By the morning of the 19th, we had so far penetrated the enemy's lines that we had crossed the road running southward from Soissons to Chateau-Thierry, thereby disrupting the enemy's communications between his newly established base and the peak of his salient. Thus exposed to an enveloping movement that might have surrounded large numbers, there was nothing left for the Germans to do but to withdraw.

The Allied army commander, who directed the Americans on that glorious day, was General Joseph Mangin. His opinion of the immortal part played on that day by those two American divisions may be seen in the following order which he caused to be published:

Officers, Noncommissioned Officers, and Soldiers of the American Army:

Shoulder to shoulder with your French comrades, you threw yourselves into the counter-offensive begun on July 18th. You ran to it as if going to a feast. Your magnificent dash upset and surprised the enemy, and your indomitable tenacity stopped counter attacks by his fresh divisions. You have shown yourselves to be worthy sons of your great country and have gained the admiration of your brothers in arms.

Ninety-one cannon, 7,200 prisoners, immense booty, and ten kilometres of reconquered territory are your share of the trophies of this victory. Besides this, you have acquired a feeling of your superiority over the barbarian enemy against whom the children of liberty are fighting. To attack him is to vanquish him.

American comrades, I am grateful to you for the blood you generously spilled on the soil of my country. I am proud of having commanded you during such splendid days and to have fought with you for the deliverance of the world.

The Germans began backing off the Marne. From that day on, their movement to date has continued backward. It began July 18th. Two American Divisions played glorious parts in the crisis. It was their day. It was America's day. It was the turn of the tide.



CHAPTER XX

THE DAWN OF VICTORY

The waited hour had come. The forced retreat of the German hordes had begun. Hard on their heels, the American lines started their northward push, backing the Boche off the Marne.

On the morning of July 21st I rode into Chateau-Thierry with the first American soldiers to enter the town. The Germans had evacuated hurriedly. Chateau-Thierry was reoccupied jointly by our forces and those of the French.

Here was the grave of German hopes. Insolent, imperialistic longings for the great prize, Paris, ended here. The dream of the Kultur conquest of the world had become a nightmare of horrible realisation that America was in the war. Pompously flaunted strategy crumpled at historic Chateau-Thierry.

That day of the occupation, the wrecked city was comparatively quiet. Only an occasional German shell—a final parting spite shell—whined disconsolately overhead and landed in a cloud of dust and debris in some vacant ruin that had once been a home.

For seven long weeks the enemy had been in occupation of that part of the city on the north bank of the river. Now the streets were littered with debris. Although the walls of most of the buildings seemed to be in good shape, the scene was one of utter devastation.

The Germans had built barricades across the streets—particularly the streets that led down to the river—because it was those streets that were swept with the terrific fire of American machine guns. At the intersections of those streets the Germans under cover of night had taken up the cobblestones and built parapets to protect them from the hail of lead.

Wrecked furniture was hip deep on the Rue Carnot. Along the north bank of the river on the Quai de la Poterne and the Promenade de la Levee, the invader had left his characteristic mark. Shop after shop had been looted of its contents and the fronts of the pretty sidewalk cafes along this business thoroughfare had been reduced to shells of their former selves.

Not a single living being was in sight as we marched in. Some of the old townsfolk and some young children had remained but they were still under cover. Among these French people who had lived for seven weeks through the hell of battle that had raged about the town, was Madame de Prey, who was eighty-seven years old. To her, home meant more than life. She had spent the time in her cellar, caring for German wounded.

The town had been systematically pillaged. The German soldiers had looted from the shops much material which they had made up into packages to be mailed back to home folks in the Fatherland. The church, strangely enough, was picked out as a depository for their larcenies. Nothing from the robes of the priests down to the copper faucet of a water pipe had escaped their greed.

The advancing Americans did not linger in the town—save for small squads of engineers that busied themselves with the removal of the street obstructions and the supply organisations that perfected communication for the advancing lines. These Americans were Yankees all—they comprised the 26th U. S. Division, representing the National Guard of New England.

Our lines kept pushing to the north. The Germans continued their withdrawal and the Allied necessity was to keep contact with them. This, the Yankee Division succeeded in doing. The first obstacle encountered to the north of Chateau-Thierry was the stand that the Germans made at the town of Epieds.

On July 23rd, our infantry had proceeded up a ravine that paralleled the road into Epieds. German machine guns placed on the hills about the village, swept them with a terrible fire. Our men succeeded in reaching the village, but the Germans responded with such a terrific downpour of shell that our weakened ranks were forced to withdraw and the Germans re-entered the town.

On the following day we renewed the attack with the advantage of positions which we had won during the night in the Bois de Trugny and the Bois de Chatelet. We advanced from three sides and forced the Germans to evacuate. Trugny, the small village on the edge of the woods, was the scene of more bloody fighting which resulted in our favour.

Further north of Epieds, the Germans having entrenched themselves along the roadway, had fortified the same with a number of machine guns which commanded the flat terrain in such a way as to make a frontal attack by infantry waves most costly. The security of the Germans in this position received a severe shock when ten light automobiles, each one mounting one or two machine guns, started up the road toward the enemy, firing as they sped. It was something new. The Germans wanted to surrender, but the speed of the cars obviated such a possibility. So the enemy fled before our gasoline cavalry.

The Germans were withdrawing across the river Ourcq, whose valley is parallel to that of the Marne and just to the north. The enemy's intentions of making a stand here were frustrated by violent attacks, which succeeded in carrying our forces into positions on the north side of the Ourcq. These engagements straightened out the Allied line from the Ourcq on the west to Fere-en-Tardenois on the east, which had been taken the same day by French and American troops.

By this time the German withdrawal was becoming speedier. Such strong pressure was maintained by our men against the enemy's rear guards that hundreds of tons of German ammunition had to be abandoned and fell into our hands. Still the retreat bore no evidences of a rout.

The enemy retired in orderly fashion. He bitterly contested every foot of ground he was forced to give. The American troops engaged in those actions had to fight hard for every advance. The German backed out of the Marne salient as a Western "bad man" would back out of a saloon with an automatic pistol in each hand.

Those charges that our men made across the muddy flats of the Ourcq deserve a place in the martial history of America. They faced a veritable hell of machine gun fire. They went through barrages of shrapnel and high explosive shell. They invaded small forests that the enemy had flooded with poison gas. No specific objectives were assigned. The principal order was "Up and at 'em" and this was reinforced by every man's determination to keep the enemy on the run now that they had been started.

Even the enemy's advantage of high positions north of the river failed to hold back the men from New York, from Iowa, Alabama, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota and Indiana, who had relieved the hard fighting Yankees. These new American organisations went up against fresh German divisions that had been left behind with orders to hold at all cost. But nothing the enemy could do could prevent our crossing of the Ourcq.

On July 30th the fighting had become most intense in character. The fact that the town of Sergy was captured, lost and recaptured nine times within twenty-four hours, is some criterion of the bitterness of the struggle. This performance of our men can be better understood when it is stated that the enemy opposing them there consisted of two fresh divisions of the Kaiser's finest—his Prussian Guard.

After that engagement with our forces, the Fourth Prussian Guard Division went into an enforced retirement. When our men captured Sergy the last time, they did so in sufficient strength to withhold it against repeated fierce counter attacks by a Bavarian Guard division that had replaced the wearied Prussians.

But before the crack Guard Division was withdrawn from the line, it had suffered terrible losses at our hands. Several prisoners captured said that their company had gone into the fight one hundred and fifty strong and only seven had survived. That seven were captured by our men in hand to hand fighting.

While our engineer forces repaired the roads and constructed bridges in the wake of our advancing lines, the enemy brought to that part of the front new squadrons of air fighters which were sent over our lines for the purpose of observation and interference with communications. They continually bombed our supply depots and ammunition dumps.

After the crossing of the Ourcq the American advance reached the next German line of resistance, which rested on two terminal strongholds. One was in the Foret de Nesles and the other was in the Bois de Meuniere.

The fighting about these two strong points was particularly fierce. In the Bois de Meuniere and around the town of Cierges, the German resistance was most determined. About three hundred Jaegers held Hill 200, which was located in the centre of Cierges Forest, just to the south of the village of the same name. They were well provided with machine guns and ammunition. They were under explicit orders to hold and they did.

Our men finally captured the position at the point of the bayonet. Most of its defenders fought to the death. The capture of the hill was the signal for a renewal of our attacks against the seemingly impregnable Meuniere woods. Six times our advancing waves reached the German positions in the southern edge of the woods and six times we were driven back.

There were some American Indians in the ranks of our units attacking there—there were lumber jacks and farmer boys and bookkeepers, and they made heroic rushes against terrific barriers of hidden machine guns. But after a day of gallant fighting they had been unable to progress.

Our efforts had by no means been exhausted. The following night our artillery concentrated on the southern end of the woods and literally turned it into an inferno with high explosive shells. Early in the morning we moved to the attack again. Two of the Kaiser's most reputable divisions, the 200th Jaegers and the 216th Reserve, occupied the wood. The fighting in the wood was fierce and bloody, but it was more to the liking of our men than the rushes across fire-swept fields. Our men went to work with the bayonet. And for six hours they literally carved their way through four kilometres of the forest. Before ten o'clock the next morning, our lines lay to the north of the woods.

In consolidating the gains in the woods, our men surrounded in a small clearing some three hundred of the enemy who refused to surrender. American squads advanced with the bayonet from all sides. The Germans were fighting for their lives. Only three remained to accept the ignominy of capture.

Our forward progress continued and by August 4th the Germans were withdrawing across the Vesle River. The immediate objective that presented itself to the Americans was the important German supply depot at Fismes. It was in and around Fismes that some of the bloodiest fighting in the second battle of the Marne took place. The capture of Fismes was the crowning achievement of one American division that so distinguished itself as to be made the subject of a special report to the French General Headquarters by the French army in which the Americans fought. In part, the report read:

"On Aug. 4th the infantry combats were localized with terrible fury. The outskirts of Fismes were solidly held by the Germans, where their advance groups were difficult to take. The Americans stormed them and reduced them with light mortars and thirty-sevens. They succeeded, though not without loss, and at the end of the day, thanks to this slow but sure tenacity, they were within one kilometre of Fismes and masters of Villes, Savoye and Chezelle Farm. All night long rains hindered their movements and rendered their following day's task more arduous. On their right the French had, by similar stages, conquered a series of woods and swamps of Meuniere Woods, to the east of St. Gilles, and were on the plateau of Bonne Maison Farm. To the left another American unit had been able to advance upon the Vesle to the east of St. Thiebault.

"On Aug. 5th the artillery prepared for the attack on Fismes by a bombardment, well regulated, and the final assault was launched. The Americans penetrated into the village and then began the mean task of clearing the last point of resistance. That evening this task was almost completed. We held all the northern part of the village as far as Rheims road, and patrols were sent into the northern end of the village. Some even succeeded in crossing the Vesle, but were satisfied with making a reconnaissance, as the Germans still occupied the right bank of the river in great strength. All that was left to be accomplished was to complete the mopping up of Fismes and the strengthening of our positions to withstand an enemy counter attack.

"Such was the advance of one American division, which pushed the enemy forward from Roncheres on July 30th a distance of eighteen kilometres and crowned its successful advance with the capture of Fismes on Aug. 5th."

The German line on the Vesle river fell shortly after the capture of Fismes. The enemy was forced to fall back to his next natural line of defence on the Aisne. Between the Vesle and the Aisne, the Americans assisted the French in the application of such persistent pressure that the enemy's stubborn resistance was overcome and in many places he was forced to withdraw before he had time to destroy his depots of supply.

On August 9th, General Degoutte, commanding the Sixth French Army, issued the following order:

"Before the great offensive of July 18th, the American troops, forming part of the 6th French Army, distinguished themselves by clearing the 'Brigade de Marine' Woods and the village of Vaux of the enemy and arresting his offensive on the Marne and at Fossoy.

"Since then they have taken the most glorious part in the second battle of the Marne, rivalling the French troops in ardour and valour.

"During twenty days of constant fighting they have freed numerous French villages and made, across a difficult country, an advance of forty kilometres, which has brought them to the Vesle.

"Their glorious marches are marked by names which will shine in future in the military history of the United States: Torcy, Belleau, Plateau d'Etrepilly, Epieds, Le Charmel, l'Ourcq, Seringeset Nesles, Sergy, La Vesle and Fismes.

"These young divisions, who saw fire for the first time, have shown themselves worthy of the old war traditions of the regular army. They have had the same burning desire to fight the Boche, the same discipline which sees that the order given by their commander is always executed, whatever the difficulties to be overcome and the sacrifices to be suffered.

"The magnificent results obtained are due to the energy and the skill of the commanders, to the bravery of the soldiers.

"I am proud to have commanded such troops."

* * * * *

Through the month of August and up to the first days of September, the Americans participated in the important operations to the north of Soissons, where on August 29th they played a big part in the capture of the Juvigny Plateau.

In this fighting, which was marked by the desperate resistance of the enemy, the Americans were incorporated in the 10th French Army under the command of General Mangin. Violent counter attacks by German shock divisions failed to stem the persistent advances of our forces.

A large hill to the north of Juvigny constituted a key and supporting position for the enemy. In spite of the large number of machine guns concealed on its slopes, the Americans succeeded in establishing a line between the hill and the town. At the same time the American line extended itself around the other side of the hill. With the consummation of this enveloping movement, the hill was taken by assault.

On Labor Day, September 2nd, after bitterly engaging four German divisions for five days, the Americans advanced their lines to Terny-Sorny and the road running between Soissons and St. Quentin. This achievement, which was accomplished by driving the Germans back a depth of four miles on a two mile front, gave our forces a good position on the important plateau running to the north of the Aisne.

Our observation stations now commanded a view across the valley toward the famous Chemin des Dames which at one time had been a part of the Hindenburg line. Before the invasion of the German hordes, France possessed no fairer countryside than the valley of the Aisne. But the Germans, retreating, left behind them only wreckage and ashes and ruin. The valley spread out before our lines was scarred with the shattered remains of what had once been peaceful farming communities. To the northwest there could be seen the spires above the city of Laon.

The American units which took part in this bitter fighting that had continued without a day's cessation since July 18th, were mentioned specifically in an order issued on August 27th by General Pershing. The order read:

"It fills me with pride to record in general orders a tribute to the service achievements of the First and Third Corps, comprising the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-eighth, Thirty-second and Forty-second Divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces.

"You came to the battlefield at a crucial hour for the Allied cause. For almost four years the most formidable army the world has yet seen had pressed its invasion of France and stood threatening its capital. At no time has that army been more powerful and menacing than when, on July 15th, it struck again to destroy in one great battle the brave men opposed to it and to enforce its brutal will upon the world and civilisation.

"Three days later in conjunction with our Allies you counter-attacked. The Allied armies gained a brilliant victory that marks the turning point of the war. You did more than to give the Allies the support to which, as a nation, our faith was pledged. You proved that our altruism, our pacific spirit, and our sense of justice have not blunted our virility or our courage.

"You have shown that American initiative and energy are as fit for the tasks of war as for the pursuits of peace. You have justly won unstinted praise from our Allies and the eternal gratitude of our countrymen.

"We have paid for our successes with the lives of many of our brave comrades. We shall cherish their memory always and claim for our history and literature their bravery, achievement and sacrifice.

"This order will be read to all organisations at the first assembly formations following its receipt.

"PERSHING."

* * * * *

August 10th marked a milestone in the military effort of the United States. On that day the organisation was completed of the First American Field Army. I have tried to show in this record how we began the organisation of our forces overseas. Our first troops to reach France were associated in small units with the French. Soon our regiments began to reach the front under French Division Commanders. Then with the formation of American divisions, we went into the line under French corps commanders. Later still, American corps operated under French Army Commanders. Finally, our forces augmented by additional divisions and corps were organised into the First American Field Army.

Through these various stages of development, our forces had grown until on August 10th they had reached the stage where they became practically as independent an organisation as the British armies under Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig and the French armies under General Petain. From now on the American Army was to be on a par with the French Army and the British Army, all three of them under the sole direction of the Allied Generalissimo, Marshal Ferdinand Foch.

The personnel of this, the greatest single army that ever fought beneath the Stars and Stripes, is reproduced in the appendix. It might not be amiss to point out that an American division numbers thirty thousand men and that an American corps consists of six divisions and auxiliary troops, such as air squadrons, tank sections, and heavy artillery, which bring the strength of an American army corps to between 225,000 and 250,000 men. By the 1st of September, the United States of America had five such army corps in the field, martialling a strength of about one and one-half million bayonets. General Pershing was in command of this group of armies which comprised the First American Field Army.

It was from these forces that General Pershing selected the strong units which he personally commanded in the first major operation of the First American Field Army as an independent unit in France. That operation was the beginning of the Pershing push toward the Rhine—it was the Battle of St. Mihiel.

It was a great achievement. It signalised the full development of our forces from small emergency units that had reached the front less than a year before, to the now powerful group of armies, fighting under their own flag, their own generals, and their own staffs.

The important material results of the Battle of St. Mihiel are most susceptible to civilian as well as military comprehension. The St. Mihiel salient had long constituted a pet threat of the enemy. The Germans called it a dagger pointed at the heart of eastern France. For three years the enemy occupying it had successfully resisted all efforts of the Allies to oust them.

The salient was shaped like a triangle. The apex of the triangle—the point of the dagger—thrusting southward, rested on the town of St. Mihiel, on the river Meuse. The western flank of the triangle extended northward from St. Mihiel to points beyond Verdun. The eastern flank of the triangle extended in a northeasterly direction toward Pont-a-Mousson. It was the strongest position held by the Germans in Lorraine—if not on the entire front.

The geographical formation of the salient was an invitation for the application of a pincers operation. The point of leverage of the opposing jaws of the pincers was, most naturally, the apex of the triangle at St. Mihiel.

One claw of the pincers—a claw some eight miles thick, bit into the east side of the salient near Pont-a-Mousson on the west bank of the Moselle River. The other claw of the pincers was about eight miles thick and it bit into the western flank of the salient in the vicinity of the little town of Haudiomont, on the heights of the Meuse and just a little distance to the east of the Meuse River.

The distance across that part of the salient through which the pincer's claws were biting was about thirty miles, and the area which would be included in the bite would be almost a hundred and seventy-five square miles. This, indeed, was a major operation.

The battle began at one o'clock on the morning of September 12th, when the concentrated ordnance of the heaviest American artillery in France opened a preparatory fire of unprecedented intensity.

At five o'clock in the dim dawn of that September morning, our infantry waves leaped from their trenches and moved forward to the assault. The claw of the pincers on the eastern flank of the salient began to bite in.

One hour later the claw of the pincers on the western flank of the salient began to move forward.

On the east, our men went forward on the run over ground that we had looked upon with envious eyes from the day that the first American troops reached the front. Before noon we had taken the villages of Lahayville, St. Baussant, Vilcey and the Bois de Mortmare and we were still advancing. By nightfall, our lines were still on the move beyond Essey and we were holding the important town of Thiaucourt and claimed Villers sur Penny for our own.

The seemingly impregnable fortress of Mont Sec had been surrounded, our tanks had cleared the way through Pannes, we had taken Nonsard and the towns of Woinville and Buxieres had fallen into our hands.

On the west side of the salient the day had gone equally well for us. The western claw of the pincers had pushed due east through the towns of Spada and Lavigneville. Our men had swept on in the night through Chaillon, we had taken St. Remy and had cleared the Foret de Montagne. By midnight their advanced patrols had reached the western part of the town of Vigneulles. In the meantime, our forces on the eastern side of the salient were pushing westward toward this same town of Vigneulles. At three o'clock in the morning the forces from the east were occupying the eastern part of the town. The pincers had closed; the St. Mihiel salient had been pinched off.

Our forces actually met at nine o'clock on the morning of September 13th. The junction was made at the town of Heudicourt to the south of Vigneulles. We had pocketed all of the German forces to the south of that town. Our centre had moved forward at nine o'clock the night before and occupied St. Mihiel on the heels of the retreating Germans. But the withdrawal was too late. Large numbers of them found themselves completely surrounded in the forests between St. Mihiel on the south and Heudicourt on the north.

We closed in during the afternoon and started to open the prize package. Located in the area, encircled by our troops, was the Bois de Versel, the Bois de Gaumont and the Bois de Woeuvre. Each one of these little forests gave up its quota of prisoners, while much material and rich booty of war fell into our hands.

The principal avenue that had been opened for the Germans to make a possible withdrawal led through Vigneulles and before our pincers had completely closed, the fleeing enemy had poured out through that gap at the rate of several thousand an hour. The roads were blocked for miles with their transportation, and when the American artillery turned its attention to these thoroughfares, crowded with confused Germans, the slaughter was terrific. For days after the battle our sanitation squads were busy at their grewsome work.

In conception and execution the entire operation had been perfect. Confusion had been visited upon the method-loving enemy from the beginning. By reason of the disruption of their intercommunications, faulty liaison had resulted and division had called to division in vain for assistance, not knowing at the time that all of them were in equally desperate straits. The enemy fought hard but to no purpose.

One entire regiment with its commander and his staff was captured. With both flanks exposed, it had suddenly been confronted by Americans on four sides. The surrender was so complete that the German commander requested that his roll should be called in order to ascertain the extent of his losses. When this was done, every one was accounted for except one officer and one private.

As his command was so embarrassingly complete, the German commander asked permission to march it off in whatever direction desired by his captors. The request was granted, and there followed the somewhat amusing spectacle of an entire German regiment, without arms, marching off the battlefield under their own officers. The captured regiment was escorted to the rear by mounted American guards, who smilingly and leisurely rode their horses cowboy fashion as they herded their captives back to the pens.

Tons upon tons of ammunition fell into our hands in the woods. At one place twenty-two railroad cars loaded with large calibre ammunition had to be abandoned when an American shell had torn up the track to the north of them. But if the Germans had been unable to take with them their equipment, they had succeeded in driving ahead of them on the retreat almost all of the French male civilians between sixteen and forty-five years that had been used as German slaves for more than four years.

The Americans were welcomed as deliverers by those French civilians that remained in the town. They were found to be almost entirely ignorant of the most commonly known historical events of the war. Secretary of War Baker and Generals Pershing and Petain visited the town of St. Mihiel a few hours after it was captured. They were honoured with a spontaneous demonstration by the girls and aged women, who crowded about them to express thanks and pay homage for deliverance.

One of our bands began to play the "Marseillaise" and the old French civilians who, under German domination, had not heard the national anthem for four long years, broke down and wept. The mayor of the town told how the Germans had robbed it of millions of francs. First they had demanded and received one million five hundred thousand francs and later they collected five hundred thousand more in three instalments. In addition to these robberies, they had taken by "requisition" all the furniture and mattresses and civilian comforts that they could find. They took what they wanted and usually destroyed the rest. They had stripped the towns of all metal utensils, bells, statues, and water pipes.

The St. Mihiel salient thus went out of existence. The entire point in the blade of the dagger that had been thrust at the heart of France had been bitten off. Verdun with its rows upon rows of sacred dead was now liberated from the threat of envelopment from the right. The Allies were in possession of the dominating heights of the Meuse. The railroads connecting Commercy with Vigneulles, Thiaucourt and St. Mihiel were in our hands. Our lines had advanced close to that key of victory, the Briey iron basin to the north, and the German fortress of Metz lay under American guns.

The battle only lasted twenty-seven hours. In that space of time, a German force estimated at one hundred thousand had been vanquished, if not literally cut to pieces, American soldiers had wrested a hundred and fifty square miles of territory away from the Germans, captured fifteen thousand officers and men and hundreds of guns. General Pershing on September 14th made the following report:

"The dash and vigour of our troops, and of the valiant French divisions which fought shoulder to shoulder with them, is shown by the fact that the forces attacking on both faces of the salient effected a junction and secured the result desired within twenty-seven hours.

"Besides liberating more than 150 square miles of territory and taking 15,000 prisoners, we have captured a mass of material. Over 100 guns of all calibres and hundreds of machine guns and trench mortars have been taken.

"In spite of the fact that the enemy during his retreat burned large stores, a partial examination of the battlefield shows that great quantities of ammunition, telegraph material, railroad material, rolling stock, clothing, and equipment have been abandoned. Further evidence of the haste with which the enemy retreated is found in the uninjured bridges which he left behind.

"French pursuit, bombing and reconnaissance units, and British and Italian bombing units divided with our own air service the control of the air, and contributed materially to the successes of the operation."

And while this great battle was in progress, the Allied lines were advancing everywhere. In Flanders, in Picardy, on the Marne, in Champagne, in Lorraine, in Alsace, and in the Balkans the frontier of freedom was moving forward.

Surely the tide had turned. And surely it had been America's God-given opportunity to play the big part she did play. The German was now on the run. Suspicious whisperings of peace began to be heard in neutral countries. They had a decided German accent. Germany saw defeat staring her in the face and now, having failed to win in the field, she sought to win by a bluff at the peace table.

The mailed fist having failed, Germany now resorted to cunning. The mailed fist was now an open palm that itched to press in brotherhood the hands of the Allies. But it was the same fist that struck down the peace of the world in 1914. It was the same Germany that had ravished and outraged Belgium. It was the same Germany that had tried to murder France. It was the same Germany that had covered America with her net of spies and had sought to bring war to our borders with Mexico and Japan. It was the same Germany that had ruthlessly destroyed the lives of women and children, American citizens, non-combatants, riding the free seas under the protection of the Stars and Stripes. It was the same Germany that had drugged Russia with her corrupting propaganda and had throttled the voice of Russian democracy. This Germany, this unrepentant Germany—this unpunished Germany, launched her drive for peace.

Germany was willing to make any concessions to bring about negotiations that would save her from a defeat in the field. There was one thing, however, that Germany wanted to save from the ruin she had brought down upon herself. That thing was the German army and its strong auxiliary, the German navy. Neither one of them had been destroyed. The army was in general retreat and the navy was locked up in the Baltic, but both of them remained in existence as menaces to the future peace of the world. With these two forces of might, Germany could have given up her booty of war, offered reparation for her transgressions and drawn back behind the Rhine to await the coming of another Der Tag when she could send them once more crashing across friendly borders and cruising the seven seas on missions of piracy.

Germany was in the position of a bully, who without provocation and without warning had struck down from behind a man who had not been prepared to defend himself. The victim's movements had been impeded by a heavy overcoat. He had been utterly and entirely unprepared for the onslaught. The bully had struck him with a club and had robbed him.

The unprepared man had tried to free himself from the overcoat of pacifism that he had worn so long in safety and in kindliness to his fellows. The bully, taking advantage of his handicap, had beaten him brutally. At last the unprepared man had freed himself from the overcoat and then stood ready not only to defend himself, but to administer deserved punishment. Then the bully had said:

"Now, wait just a minute. Let's talk this thing over and see if we can't settle it before I get hurt."

The bully's pockets bulge with the loot he has taken from the man. The victim's face and head are swollen and bloody and yet the bully invites him to sit down to a table to discuss the hold-up, the assault, and the terms of which the loot and the loot only will be returned. The bully takes it for granted that he is to go unpunished and, more important still, is to retain the club that he might decide to use again.

The rule of common sense that deals with individuals should be the same rule that applies to the affairs of nations. No municipal law anywhere in the world gives countenance to a compromise with a criminal. International law could be no less moral than municipal law. Prussian militarism made the world unsafe for Democracy, and for that reason, on April 6th, 1917, the United States entered the war.

We wanted a decent world in which to live. And the existence of the Prussian army and its conscienceless masters was incompatible with the free and peaceful life of the world. We entered the war for an ideal. That ideal was in the balance when Germany made her 1918 drive for peace.

Our army in France knew that if peace came with an unwhipped Prussian army in existence, the world would be just as unsafe for Democracy as it had ever been. Our army in France wanted no compromise that would leave Germany in possession of the instruments that had made possible her crimes against the world. Every man that had shed blood, every man that had paid the final price, every woman that had shed tears, every cherished ideal of our one hundred and forty years of national life, would have been sacrificed in vain, if we had condoned Germany's high crimes against civilisation and had made a compromise with the criminal.

Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, spokesman of the Allied world, sounded the true American note when, in his reply to the insincere German peace proposals, he referred the German Government to Marshal Foch, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied armies. War by the sword was to bring peace by the sword.

And as I write these lines in the last days of October, 1918, unconditional surrender is the song of the dove of peace perched on our bayonets as we march into the dawn of victory.

* * * * *



APPENDIX

PERSONNEL OF THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES IN FRANCE

1ST ARMY CORPS

Major Gen. Hunter Liggett, commanding.

1st and 2nd Division, Regular Army; 26th, (New England), 32d, (Michigan and Wisconsin), 41st, (Washington, Oregon, North and South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Minnesota), and 42d (Rainbow, troops from twenty-six States) Divisions, National Guard.

1ST DIVISION—Major Gen. Charles P. Summerall, commanding; Lieut. Col. Campbell King, Chief of Staff; Major H. K. Loughry, Adjutant General.

1ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Major John L. Hines; 16th and 18th Regiments; 2d Machine Gun Battalion.

2D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Major Gen. Beaumont B. Buck; 26th and 28th Regiments; 3d Machine Gun Battalion.

1ST BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—(Commanding officer not announced); 5th, 6th, and 7th Regiments; 1st Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—1st Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—2nd Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—1st Machine Gun Battalion.

2ND DIVISION (U. S. M. C.)—Brig. Gen. John E. Le Jeune, commanding; Brig. Gen. Preston Brown, Chief of Staff.

3RD BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Hanson E. Ely; 9th and 23rd Regiments; 5th Machine Gun Battalion.

4TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY (MARINES)—Brig. Gen. John E. Le Jeune; 5th and 6th Regiments; 6th Machine Gun Battalion.

2D BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig Gen. A. J. Bowley; 12th, 15th, and 17th Regiments; 2d Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—2d Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—1st Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—2d Division Headquarters Troops; 4th Machine Gun Battalion.

26TH DIVISION—Major Gen. Clarence R. Edwards, commanding; Lieut. Col. Cassius M. Dowell, Chief of Staff; Major Charles A. Stevens, Adjutant General.

51ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. George H. Shelton; 101st and 102d Regiments; 102d Machine Gun Battalion.

52D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. C. H. Cole; 103d and 104th Regiments; 103d Machine Gun Battalion.

51ST BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. D. E. Aultman; 101st Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—101st Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—101st Field Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—26th Headquarters Troop; 101st Machine Gun Battalion.

32ND DIVISION—Major Gen. W. G. Haan, commanding; Lieut. Col. Allen L. Briggs, Chief of Staff; Major John H. Howard, Adjutant General.

63D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. William D. Connor; 125th and 126th Regiments; 120th Machine Gun Battalion.

64TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. E. B. Winans; 127th and 128th Regiments; 121st Machine Gun Battalion.

57TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. G. LeRoy Irwin; 119th, 120th and 121st Regiments; 107th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—107th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—107th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—32d Headquarters Troops; 119th Machine Gun Battalion.

41ST DIVISION (Sunset)—Major. Gen. Robert Alexander, commanding; Colonel Harry H. Tebbetts, Chief of Staff; Major Herbert H. White, Adjutant General.

81ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Wilson B. Burt; 161st and 162nd Regiments; 147th Machine Gun Battalion.

82D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Edward Vollrath; 163rd and 164th Regiments; 148th Machine Gun Battalion.

66TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—(Commanding officer not announced); 146th, 147th, and 148th Regiments; 116th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—116th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—116th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—41st Division Headquarters Troop; 146th Machine Gun Battalion.

42D DIVISION (Rainbow)—Major Gen. C. T. Menoher, commanding; (Chief of Staff not announced); Major Walter E. Powers, Adjutant General.

83D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. M. Lenihan; 165th and 166th Regiments; 150th Machine Gun Battalion.

84TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. R. A. Brown; 167th and 168th Regiments; 151st Machine Gun Battalion.

67TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. G. C. Gatley; 149th, 150th and 151st Regiments; 117th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—117th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—117th Field Signal Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—42d Division Headquarters Troop; 149th Machine Gun Battalion.

2ND ARMY CORPS

Major Gen. Robert Lee Bullard, Commanding.

4th Division, Regular Army; 28th, (Pennsylvania,) 30th, (Tennessee, North and South Carolina, and District of Columbia), and 36th (Missouri and Kansas) Divisions, National Guard; 77th (New York) and 82d (Georgia, Alabama, and Florida) Divisions, National Army.

4TH DIVISION—Major Gen. George H. Cameron, commanding; Lieut. Col. Christian A. Bach, Chief of Staff; Major Jesse D. Elliott, Adjutant General.

7TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. B. A. Poore; 39th and 47th Regiments; 11th Machine Gun Battalion.

8TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. E. E. Booth; 58th and 59th Regiments; 12th Machine Gun Battalion.

4TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. E. B. Babbitt; 13th, 16th and 77th Regiments; 4th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—4th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—-8th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—4th Division Headquarters Troop; 10th Machine Gun Battalion.

28TH DIVISION—Major Gen. C. H. Muir, commanding; (Chief of Staff not announced); Lieut. Col. David J. Davis, Adjutant General.

55TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. T. W. Darrah; 109th and 110th Regiments; 108th Machine Gun Battalion.

56TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Major Gen. William Weigel; 111th and 112th Regiments; 109th Machine Gun Battalion.

53RD BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. W. G. Price, 107th, 108th, and 109th Regiments; 103rd Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—103d Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—103d Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—28th Division Headquarters Troop; 107th Machine Gun Battalion.

30TH DIVISION (Wild Cat)—Major Gen. Edward M. Lewis, commanding; Lieut. Col. Robert B. McBride, Chief of Staff; Lieut. Col. Francis B. Hinkle, Adjutant General.

59TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Tyson; 117th and 118th Regiments; 114th Machine Gun Battalion.

60TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Samuel L. Faison; 119th and 120th Regiments; 115th Machine Gun Battalion.

55TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—(Commanding officer not announced); 113th, 114th and 115th Regiments; 105th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—105th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—165th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—30th Division Headquarters Troop; 113th Machine Gun Battalion.

35TH DIVISION—Major Gen. Peter E. Traub, commanding; Colonel Robert McCleave, Chief of Staff; Major J. M. Hobson, Adjutant General.

69TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Nathaniel McClure; 137th and 138th Regiments; 129th Machine Gun Battalion.

70TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Charles I. Martin; 139th and 140th Regiments; 130th Machine Gun Battalion.

60TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. L. G. Berry; 128th, 129th, and 130th Regiments; 110th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—110th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—35th Division Headquarters Troop; 128th Machine Gun Battalion.

77TH DIVISION (Upton)—Major Gen. George B. Duncan, commanding; (Chief of Staff not announced); Major W. N. Haskell, Adjutant General.

153D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Edward Wittenmeyer; 205th and 306th Regiments; 305th Machine Gun Battalion.

154TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Evan M. Johnson; 307th and 308th Regiments; 306th Machine Gun Battalion.

152D BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Reeves; 304th, 305th and 306th Regiments; 302d Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—302d Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—302d Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—77th Division Headquarters Troop; 304th Machine Gun Battalion.

82D DIVISION—Major Gen. W. P. Burnham, commanding; Lieut. Col. Royden E. Beebe, Chief of Staff; Lieut. Col. John R. Thomas, Adjutant General.

163D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Marcus D. Cronin; 325th and 326th Regiments; 320th Machine Gun Battalion.

164TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Julian R. Lindsay; 327th and 328th Regiments; 321st Machine Gun Battalion.

157TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. Charles D. Rhodes; 319th, 320th and 321st Regiments; 307th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—307th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—307th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—319th Machine Gun Battalion.

3D ARMY CORPS

Major Gen. William M. Wright, commanding.

3d and 5th Divisions, Regular Army; 27th (New York) and 33d (Illinois) Divisions, National Guard; 78th (Delaware and New York) and 80th (New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia) Divisions, National Army.

3D DIVISION—Major Gen. Joseph T. Dickman, commanding; Colonel Robert H. Kelton, Chief of Staff; Captain Frank L. Purndon, Adjutant General.

5TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. F. W. Sladen; 4th and 7th Regiments; 8th Machine Gun Battalion.

8TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—(Commanding officer not announced); 30th and 38th Regiments; 9th Machine Gun Battalion.

3D BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. W. M. Cruikshank; 10th, 76th and 18th Regiments; 3d Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—6th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—5th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—3d Division Headquarters Troop; 7th Machine Gun Battalion.

5TH DIVISION—Major Gen. John E. McMahon, commanding; Colonel Ralph E. Ingram, Chief of Staff; Major David P. Wood, Adjutant General.

9TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. J. C. Castner; 60th and 61st Regiments; 14th Machine Gun Battalion.

10TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Major Gen. W. H. Gordon; 6th and 11th Regiments; 15th Machine Gun Battalion.

5TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. C. A. F. Flagler; 19th, 20th, and 21st Regiments; 5th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—7th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—9th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—5th Division Headquarters Troop; 13th Machine Gun Battalion.

27TH DIVISION (New York)—Major Gen. J. F. O'Ryan, commanding; Lieut. Col. Stanley H. Ford, Chief of Staff; Lieut. Col. Frank W. Ward, Adjutant General.

53D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Alfred W. Bjornstad; 105th and 106th Regiments; 105th Machine Gun Battalion.

54TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Palmer E. Pierce; 107th and 108th Regiments; 106th Machine Gun Battalion.

52ND BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. George A. Wingate; 104th, 105th and 106th Regiments; 102d Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—102d Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—102d Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—27th Division Headquarters Troop; 104th Machine Gun Battalion.

33D DIVISION—Major Gen. George Bell, Jr., commanding; Colonel William K. Naylot, Chief of Staff; (Adjutant General not announced).

65TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Edward L. King; 129th and 130th Regiments; 123d Machine Gun Battalion.

66TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Paul A. Wolff; 131st and 132nd Regiments; 124th Machine Gun Battalion.

58TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. James A. Shipton; 122d, 123d and 124th Regiments; 108th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—108th Battalion.

SIGNAL TROOPS—108th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—33d Division Headquarters Troop; 112th Machine Gun Battalion.

78TH DIVISION—Major Gen. James H. McRae, commanding; Lieut. Col. Harry N. Cootes, Chief of Staff; Major William T. MacMill, Adjutant General.

155TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Mark L. Hersey; 309th and 310th Regiments; 308th Machine Gun Battalion.

156TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. James T. Dean; 311th and 312th Regiments; 309th Machine Gun Battalion.

153D BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. Clint C. Hearn; 307th, 308th and 309th Regiments; 303d Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—303d Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—303d Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—78th Division Headquarters Troop; 307th Machine Gun Battalion.

80TH DIVISION—Major Gen. Adelbert Cronkhite, commanding; Lieut. Col. William H. Waldron, Chief of Staff; Major Steven C. Clark, Adjutant General.

159TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. George H. Jamerson, 317th and 318th Regiments; 314th Machine Gun Battalion.

160TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Lloyd M. Bratt; 319th and 320th Regiments; 315th Machine Gun Battalion.

155TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. Gordon G. Heiner; 313th, 314th and 315th Regiments; 305th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—305th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—305th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—80th Division Headquarters Troop; 313th Machine Gun Battalion.

4TH ARMY CORPS

Major Gen. George W. Read, commanding.

83d (Ohio and Pennsylvania), 89th (Kansas, Missouri South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona), 90th (Texas and Oklahoma), and 92d (negro troops) Divisions, National Army; 37th (Ohio) and 29th (New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and District of Columbia) Divisions, National Guard.

29TH DIVISION—Major Gen. C. G. Morton, commanding; Colonel George S. Goodale, Chief of Staff; Major James A. Ulio, Adjutant General.

57TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Charles W. Barber; 113th and 114th Regiments; 111th Machine Gun Battalion.

58TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. H. H. Bandholtz; 115th and 116th Regiments; 112th Machine Gun Battalion.

54TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—(Commanding officer not announced) 110th, 111th and 112th Regiments; 104th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—104th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—104th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—29th Division Headquarters Troop; 110th Machine Gun Battalion.

37TH DIVISION—Major Gen. C. S. Farnsworth, commanding; Lieut. Col. Dana T. Merrill, Chief of Staff; Major Edward W. Wildrick, Adjutant General.

73RD BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. C. F. Zimmerman; 145th and 146th Regiments; 135th Machine Gun Battalion.

74TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. W. P. Jackson; 147th and 148th Regiments; 136th Machine Gun Battalion.

62D BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—(Commanding officer not announced); 134th, 135th and 136th Regiments; 112th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—112th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—112th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—37th Division Headquarters Troop; 134th Machine Gun Battalion.

83RD DIVISION—Major Gen. E. F. Glenn, commanding; Lieut. Col. C. A. Trott, Chief of Staff; Major James L. Cochran, Adjutant General.

165TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Ora E. Hunt; 329th and 330th Regiments; 323d Machine Gun Battalion.

166TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Malin Craig; 331st and 332d Regiments; 324th Machine Gun Battalion.

158TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. Adrian S. Fleming; 322d, 323d, and 324th Regiments; 308th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—308th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—308th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—83d Division Headquarters Troop; 322d Machine Gun Battalion.

89TH DIVISION—Brig. Gen. Frank L. Winn, commanding; (Acting) Colonel C. E. Kilbourne, Chief of Staff; Major Jerome G. Pillow, Adjutant General.

177TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Frank L. Winn; 353rd and 354th Regiments; 341st Machine Gun Battalion.

178TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Thomas G. Hanson; 355th and 356th Regiments; 342d Machine Gun Battalion.

164TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. Edward T. Donnelly; 340th, 341st and 342d Regiments; 314th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—314th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—314th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—89th Division Headquarters Troop; 340th Machine Gun Battalion.

90TH DIVISION—Major Gen. Henry T. Allen, commanding; Colonel John J. Kingman, Chief of Staff; Major Wyatt P. Selkirk, Adjutant General.

179TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. John T. O'Neill; 357th and 358th Regiments; 344th Machine Gun Battalion.

180TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. W. H. Johnston; 359th and 360th Regiments; 345th Machine Gun Battalion.

165TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. Francis C. Marshall; 343d, 344th, and 345th Regiments; 315th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—315th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—315th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—90th Division Headquarters Troop; 349th Machine Gun Battalion.

92ND DIVISION—Major Gen. C. C. Ballou, commanding; Lieut. Col. Allen J. Greer, Chief of Staff; Major Sherburne Whipple, Adjutant General.

183D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Malvern H. Barnum, 365th and 366th Regiments; 350th Machine Gun Battalion.

184TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. W. A. Hay; 367th and 368th Regiments; 351st Machine Gun Battalion.

167TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—(Commanding officer not announced); 349th, 350th and 351st Regiments; 317th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—317th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—317th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—92d Division Headquarters Troop; 349th Machine Gun Battalion.

5TH ARMY CORPS

Major Gen. Omar Bundy, commanding.

6th Division, Regular Army; 36th (Texas and Oklahoma) Division, National Guard; 75th (New England), 79th (Pennsylvania, Maryland and District of Columbia), 85th (Michigan and Wisconsin), and 91st (Washington, Oregon, Alaska, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming and Utah), Divisions, National Army.

6TH DIVISION—Brig. Gen. James B. Erwin, commanding; Colonel James M. Pickering, Chief of Staff; Lieut. Col. Robert S. Knox, Adjutant General.

11TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. W. R. Dashiell; 51st and 52d Regiments; 17th Machine Gun Battalion.

12TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. J. B. Erwin; 53d and 54th Regiments; 18th Machine Gun Battalion.

6TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. E. A. Millar; 3rd, 11th, and 78th Regiments; 6th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—318th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—6th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—6th Division, Headquarters Troop; 16th Machine Gun Battalion.

36TH DIVISION—Major Gen. W. R. Smith, commanding; Colonel E. J. Williams, Chief of Staff; Major William R. Scott, Adjutant General.

71ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Henry Hutchings; 141st and 142d Regiments; 132d Machine Gun Battalion.

72D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. John A. Hulen; 143d and 144th Regiments; 133d Machine Gun Battalion.

61ST BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. John A. Stevens; 131st, 132d and 133d Regiments, 111th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—111th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—111th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—36th Division Headquarters Troop; 131st Machine Gun Battalion.

76TH DIVISION—Major Gen. Harry F. Hodges, commanding; (Chief of Staff not announced); Major George M. Peek, Adjutant General.

151ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. Frank M. Albright; 301st and 302d Regiments; 303d Machine Gun Battalion.

152D BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. F. D. Evans; 303d and 304th Regiments; 303d Machine Gun Battalion.

151ST BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Major Gen. William S. McNair; 301st, 302d, and 303d Regiments; 301st Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—301st Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—301st Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—76th Division Headquarters Troop; 301st Machine Gun Battalion.

79TH DIVISION—Major Gen. Joseph E. Kuhn, commanding; Colonel Tenny Ross, Chief of Staff; Major Charles B. Moore, Adjutant General.

157TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—Brig. Gen. William L. Nicholson; 313th and 314th Regiments; 311th Machine Gun Battalion.

158TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY—(Commanding officer not announced); 315th and 316th Regiments; 312th Machine Gun Battalion.

154TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY—Brig. Gen. Andrew Hero, Jr., 310th, 311th and 312th Regiments; 304th Trench Mortar Battery.

ENGINEER TROOPS—304th Regiment.

SIGNAL TROOPS—304th Battalion.

DIVISION UNITS—79th Division Headquarters Troop; 310th Machine Gun Battalion.

85TH DIVISION—Major Gen. C. W. Kennedy, commanding; Colonel Edgar T. Collins, Chief of Staff; Lieut. Col. Clarence Lininger, Adjutant General.