Clearing
the Marne woods
July 26, 1918
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The Frenchmen on the spot
consider that the German private soldiers have greatly lost heart during the
present offensive, and they themselves are full of confidence
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North of the Ourcq, on his left, General Mangin’s Army met with such tremendous opposition from the enemy’s machine-guns that in the last 24 hours they have found it extremely difficult to get on. The explanation is simple enough. Once the enemy had made up his mind to fall back from the Marne it was absolutely essential for him to hold his two flanks on the Reims side, on the Ardre, and on the Soissons side, north of the Ourcq, in order to gain time for the withdrawal of his troops in the centre. That is why the British divisions southwest of Riems, with the French right and left of them, and General Mangin’s army between Soissons and Armentieres have had such specially hard fighting.
To guard, so far as he was able against this grave peril the enemy has strengthened the rear of his right flank by pushing in a new army under von Eben between von Uttier and von Bohm, opposite to General Mangin, so that there are now between 40 and 50 German divisions in the Soissons-Marne-Reims pocket, whereas on July 17 there were only between 25 and 30. The addition cuts both ways, since it means that there are now about 15 more divisions to withdraw when their turn comes, and a consequent increase in the overcrowding of the whole district. But for the moment it greatly adds to the difficulties with which the Allies have to contend, and it may serve its purpose of securing the retreat of the armies further south. It is therefore obvious that the obstacles in the way of a French advance north of the Ourcq are more formidable than they are between the Ourcq and the Maine, and even on General Degoutte’s front they are more serious on his left flank than on his right, because it was more important for the Germans to be able to protect their retreat in its last stage than in its beginning on the Marne. But that does not in the least detract from the merit of the splendid work which his Army has done. The advance of the French yesterday was magnificent. Except on the extreme left, where the enemy still had some batteries south of the Ourcq, in the angle east of the Soissons-Chateau-Thierry read, at Bruyeres, and Nanteuil, they were not much troubled by artillery fire, as most of the German guns are being moved backwards as quickly as possible. For there is now no question about it. The Germans are in retreat. South of Fere-en-Tardenois, the one railhead that is left them - and that has been heavily shelled by the French for some days past - they have been busily burning stores of all kinds too bulky to be quickly removed, and not only most of their guns but the greater part of their infantry have gone. Some of those who have for the present been left behind seem to have little stomach left for fighting. One member of the Staff, who had seen long columns of troops and supply convoys moving. away to the north, told me of a little incident which gives a pretty good, or a pretty bad, picture of the state of: mind to which some of thom have been brought. The trouble was that they did not appreciate the efforts of the French gunners. A number of them near whom a shell fell scattered in all directions, as he said, like a flock of sparrows, and refused to come back to their battle posts till their Unteroffziere had beaten them with their canes. That he saw with his own eyes, and it happened not once but four or five times to the same lot of men. In the main, however, it was a more dangerous enemy than infantry of this frame of mind that the French had to deal with yester. day. In villages and in every possible hole or corner in the woods the Germans as they fell back had left squads of machine-gunners to act as rearguards and gain delay of a few hours or a day for the troops in retreat. To attempt to clear out these nests of wasps by frontal attacks in wholesale fashion would have meant great loss of life. The alternative was to go on with the advance in the open on each side of these woods, leaving them for other troops to deal with later on from the flank and from the rear. And that is what is being done. To-day, east of Grisolles and five miles north of Chateau-Thierry, the Bois de Chatelet, and east of that again the Bois de la Tournelle, which were passed in yesterday’s advance, will be taken in hand and cleaned up by battalions of Americans and tirailleurs who did not take part in the fighting during which the attack swept past them.
I went up yesterday past Courchamps and Monthiers, and Licy and Bezu-St Germain, and some other of the villages that have been knocked to pieces in the recent fighting, and stopped on the near side of the Bois de Chatelet, and though I did not get right up to it, I was near enough to appreciate one striking proof of the difference of the fighting in this open warfare from what it was even a year ago. The whole of the country over which the French are advancing is heavily ploughed by shell holes, especially, of course, along and by the sides of the roads. But whereas the woods in the old days, like the Bois Le Pretre, near Pont-A-Mousson, and Apremont, near St Mihiel, and hundreds of others were shelled and shelled till there was not a stick left standing in them, the Chatelet Wood and others that I passed yesterday had still got their coating of leaves, and though here and there a trunk was cut through, or some branches smashed, you would hardly, unless you looked closely into them, have suspected that war had passed their way. And yet the plan of turning them during an advance and clearing them out afterwards with grenades and bayonets from the rear is far more effective than the old-fashioned shelling and far quieter in ridding them of their destructive occupants. Between the Bois de Chatelet and the Bois de la Tournelle there is a little village called Brecy, now in the hands of the French again, in which some 30 of the inhabitants stayed on through the German occupation. I was told by an officer, whose word I believe to be beyond dispute, that some of these poor women and children suffered at the hands of the soldiery who happened to be there all the brutal and disgusting outrages of robbery and violation and deportation of the old infamous days at the beginning of the war, of which, I am bound to confess, I have not elsewhere come across traces for nearly four years. While I was talking to this officer in a house in one of the villages we were suddenly deafened by a great outburst of “Archies” firing for all they were worth at four Bacho aeroplanes which were attacking one of our balloons close by. They did not succeed in hitting the “sausage,” but its two observers very wisely took to their parachutes and landed unhurt. Later it the evening three or four more enemy airmen tried to come over, but were quickly frightened away, and that was all that I saw to show that there were any Germans about. They were not doing any shelling, presumably for the reason I have given. Every now and then a tall column of black smoke shot up high into the air as some dump was exploded by a chance shell; but, on the whole, the wide semicircle of rolling wooded plateaux, in which lay Armentieres and Courcy and Rocourt and other villages that the French had taken a few hours before, looked extraordinarily quiet and peaceful, except for the shattered houses and old German camouflage on the sides of the road. Out of sight, round the corner, were Trugny and Epieds, which tho Americans had just retaken after the Germans had rushed it in counter-attack, and I saw a large number of their troops - wiry, healthy, keen soldiers - in cantonments behind the lines and moving up to the front. Also I passed some splendid squadrons of French cavalry trotting in the same direction, a moving forest of slender, wicked-looking lances, the second new element in the picture. They, more than anything, gave one the feeling that the enemy are really falling back. The Frenchmen on the spot consider that the German private soldiers have greatly lost heart during the present offensive, and they themselves are full of confidence. I should not be astonished to see the Germans falling back stage by stage. For all the fighting they are doing seems to have only one object - to delay as long as possible, the advance of the French, so as to get away as many of their troops as they can. 1.45 P.M. Last night the enemy counter-attacked north of Dormans and momentarily gained a footing a mile north of the villages of Chassins and Treloup, on the right bank of the Marne, from which, however, he was soon driven back again. The Germans also counter-attacked south-west of Reims. on the British sector, and on the west, south of the Ourcq, from the direction of Beuvardes and Le Charmel. In the Vrigny district they were. at first successful in making a small advance, but the British and French are resisting well, and the battle is still going on. On the part of General Degoutte’s front which had been carried forward some distance from the line given in last night’s communiquei the French resisted the attack and made some advance. I do not consider that these three counter-attacks disprove the truth of the conclusion which was stated in the dispatch sent early this morning to the effect that the Germans definitely intend to retreat in the Soissons, Reims, Marne pocket. They seem to me only intended to maintain the policy of delaying the Allies’ advance as long as possible, in order that the retreat may be made in good order.
I went up yesterday past Courchamps and Monthiers, and Licy and Bezu-St Germain, and some other of the villages that have been knocked to pieces in the recent fighting, and stopped on the near side of the Bois de Chatelet, and though I did not get right up to it, I was near enough to appreciate one striking proof of the difference of the fighting in this open warfare from what it was even a year ago. The whole of the country over which the French are advancing is heavily ploughed by shell holes, especially, of course, along and by the sides of the roads. But whereas the woods in the old days, like the Bois Le Pretre, near Pont-A-Mousson, and Apremont, near St Mihiel, and hundreds of others were shelled and shelled till there was not a stick left standing in them, the Chatelet Wood and others that I passed yesterday had still got their coating of leaves, and though here and there a trunk was cut through, or some branches smashed, you would hardly, unless you looked closely into them, have suspected that war had passed their way. And yet the plan of turning them during an advance and clearing them out afterwards with grenades and bayonets from the rear is far more effective than the old-fashioned shelling and far quieter in ridding them of their destructive occupants. Between the Bois de Chatelet and the Bois de la Tournelle there is a little village called Brecy, now in the hands of the French again, in which some 30 of the inhabitants stayed on through the German occupation. I was told by an officer, whose word I believe to be beyond dispute, that some of these poor women and children suffered at the hands of the soldiery who happened to be there all the brutal and disgusting outrages of robbery and violation and deportation of the old infamous days at the beginning of the war, of which, I am bound to confess, I have not elsewhere come across traces for nearly four years. While I was talking to this officer in a house in one of the villages we were suddenly deafened by a great outburst of “Archies” firing for all they were worth at four Bacho aeroplanes which were attacking one of our balloons close by. They did not succeed in hitting the “sausage,” but its two observers very wisely took to their parachutes and landed unhurt. Later it the evening three or four more enemy airmen tried to come over, but were quickly frightened away, and that was all that I saw to show that there were any Germans about. They were not doing any shelling, presumably for the reason I have given. Every now and then a tall column of black smoke shot up high into the air as some dump was exploded by a chance shell; but, on the whole, the wide semicircle of rolling wooded plateaux, in which lay Armentieres and Courcy and Rocourt and other villages that the French had taken a few hours before, looked extraordinarily quiet and peaceful, except for the shattered houses and old German camouflage on the sides of the road. Out of sight, round the corner, were Trugny and Epieds, which tho Americans had just retaken after the Germans had rushed it in counter-attack, and I saw a large number of their troops - wiry, healthy, keen soldiers - in cantonments behind the lines and moving up to the front. Also I passed some splendid squadrons of French cavalry trotting in the same direction, a moving forest of slender, wicked-looking lances, the second new element in the picture. They, more than anything, gave one the feeling that the enemy are really falling back. The Frenchmen on the spot consider that the German private soldiers have greatly lost heart during the present offensive, and they themselves are full of confidence. I should not be astonished to see the Germans falling back stage by stage. For all the fighting they are doing seems to have only one object - to delay as long as possible, the advance of the French, so as to get away as many of their troops as they can. 1.45 P.M. Last night the enemy counter-attacked north of Dormans and momentarily gained a footing a mile north of the villages of Chassins and Treloup, on the right bank of the Marne, from which, however, he was soon driven back again. The Germans also counter-attacked south-west of Reims. on the British sector, and on the west, south of the Ourcq, from the direction of Beuvardes and Le Charmel. In the Vrigny district they were. at first successful in making a small advance, but the British and French are resisting well, and the battle is still going on. On the part of General Degoutte’s front which had been carried forward some distance from the line given in last night’s communiquei the French resisted the attack and made some advance. I do not consider that these three counter-attacks disprove the truth of the conclusion which was stated in the dispatch sent early this morning to the effect that the Germans definitely intend to retreat in the Soissons, Reims, Marne pocket. They seem to me only intended to maintain the policy of delaying the Allies’ advance as long as possible, in order that the retreat may be made in good order.
The German
retreat from the Marne
July 28, 1918
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Though the Germans are on
the run, we have still to discover how far the Allies can force them to run
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Though the Germans are on the run, we have still to discover how far the Allies can force them to run. That they have been able to withdraw methodically is in their favour, but the muddled confusion behind their fighting line must greatly hamper them. Obviously their stand on the Ourcq was meant to enable their forces farther east to extricate themselves and to get once more into line. But after this purpose has been served, what then? The Upper Ourcq was no sort of line for a prolonged resistance, and the country farther east is even less favourable. The Germans must either fight the issue out in the spacious uplands enclosed by the Crise, the Ourcq, the Ardre, and the Vesle, or they must withdraw to the line of the Vesle, which would probably mean, among other things, the abandonment of Soissons. While we have given the enemy credit for the military qualities so far shown in their retreat, the relative incapacity of their Higher Command in the earlier stages of the present, offensive grows mole astonishing as the truth becomes known. They were outwitted by General Gouraud east of Reims on the very first morning, they were swiftly held south of the Marne, and they were crushingly surprised on the fourth day on the western side of their salient. These aspects of the battle have already been sufficiently commented on. But what are we to say of the subsequent military policy which first poured great reinforcements into the “pocket” until the troops were packed like sardines in a tin, and then decided on a swift withdrawal when the salient was so crammed that, according to our Paris Correspondent, the main road to Fismes was blocked by lorries and troops for eleven hours? There has been no such spectacle of German military indlecision since the war began. Is it the outcome of the amateur generalship of the Crown Prince? Or are we to regard it as the first-fruits of the master mind of Ludendorff, working at last unchecked by the massive simplicity of the conceptions of “our Hindenburg”?
Opinions differ as to the precise causes which led to the German decision to retreat. Our Paris Correspondent inclines to the view that it was due to the fall of Oulchy-le-Chateau, which enabled the French and the Americans to close in upon the vital point of Fere-en-Tardenois. The Petit Parisien holds, on the other hand, that “the brilliant English attack upon Marfaux and Chaumuzy,” on the Ardre, had much to do with the precipitate withdrawal of the enemy. We have heard far too little of the fine work of the British divisions in this difficult area. Their advance is of importance, because it is pointed directly at Fismes, the key of the whole salient. The probability is, however, that the retreat is due, not to the success of the Allies at any particular point, but to the irresistible pressure directed against the Germans around the whole of their very vulnerable battlefront. They have been squeezed out of the valley of the Marne, and the process of squeezing still continues. They owe their misfortunes chiefly to their inveterate tendency to regard their opponents with contempt. They thought that on the Marne they could repeat their easy sweep southwards across the Aisne, and they refused to believe that General Foch was strong enough to attempt a counter-stroke. The attempts of the enemy to conceal the truth from the German civil population are sufficiently indicated by the impudent statement in yesterday’s German bulletin that “on the battle front the day passed off quietly.” A succession of such “quiet days” would suit us very well.
Opinions differ as to the precise causes which led to the German decision to retreat. Our Paris Correspondent inclines to the view that it was due to the fall of Oulchy-le-Chateau, which enabled the French and the Americans to close in upon the vital point of Fere-en-Tardenois. The Petit Parisien holds, on the other hand, that “the brilliant English attack upon Marfaux and Chaumuzy,” on the Ardre, had much to do with the precipitate withdrawal of the enemy. We have heard far too little of the fine work of the British divisions in this difficult area. Their advance is of importance, because it is pointed directly at Fismes, the key of the whole salient. The probability is, however, that the retreat is due, not to the success of the Allies at any particular point, but to the irresistible pressure directed against the Germans around the whole of their very vulnerable battlefront. They have been squeezed out of the valley of the Marne, and the process of squeezing still continues. They owe their misfortunes chiefly to their inveterate tendency to regard their opponents with contempt. They thought that on the Marne they could repeat their easy sweep southwards across the Aisne, and they refused to believe that General Foch was strong enough to attempt a counter-stroke. The attempts of the enemy to conceal the truth from the German civil population are sufficiently indicated by the impudent statement in yesterday’s German bulletin that “on the battle front the day passed off quietly.” A succession of such “quiet days” would suit us very well.
Dauntless
US troops
August 1, 1918
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After the recapture of
Sergy, American troops advanced up the narrow valley and succeeded, after a
hand-to-hand fight, in which the bayonet and butt almost alone were used, in
taking Meurcy Farm
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JULY 31. No man can contemplate the vigour and heroism with which the Americans have fought at every stage of the battle without profound admiration. And if bravery were the only test for winning our affections, then the Americans merit the highest possible esteem. But it is not bravery alone which has given the Americans during the last 10 days their repeated successes. Fiercely as they fight, they nevertheless fight intelligently and profitably. There are units which have had more experience of battle than others, but when battalions which have manned quiet sections are thrown into the furnace they fight as well as their more experienced comrades. There is one unit here which since the German offensive beg4n has, fighting at tvo of the most important points of the line, won undying renown. It had previously experienced only trench raids and gas attacks. During the last 10 days it has helped to slaughter the 4th Prussian Guard. Such an achievement gives a vivid indication of the fighting value of Americans. And almost daily such men are arriving from the United States.
THE FIGHT FOR SERGY
Yesterday on the American front was a day of ceaseless fighting in which little actual progress could be made. It was plain that the Guard Division had been bitterly chagrined by the loss of Sergy on the previous evening, after having four times retaken it, and it came as no surprise when, shortly after dawn, they launched a fresh attack, debouching from both sides of the southernmost angle of. the Forest of Nesles. The attack was backed by the fire of field guns, with a ragged barrage on our second line and batteries from the 105’s and 150’s, the enemy’s gun positions above Cierges being well placed for a flanking fire, which the holders of Sergy found most trying. They were at last forced to withdraw from it and fall back across the river. The enemy was permitted a few unpleasant hours of occupation, during which he did his best to better his defences. He even daringly brought some field guns towards the brow of the hill above it, but they vere detached, and apparently found the price of their daring a good deal too high and the American gun fire a good deal too accurate, for their disappearance was more rapid than dignified. It was as they fell back that what one hopes may have been the last American attack on Sergy developed, but. the Guardsmen had apparently been shaken by their last exploit, and though in a few instances they stayed to face the bayonet, the fighting was less desperate than it had been the day before. Shortly after the recapture of Sergy, American troops to the left of it, who had forced the passage of the Ourcq the night before, advanced up the narrow valley which divides the hill behind Fere from that behind Sergy, and succeeded, after a hand-to-hand fight, in which the bayonet and butt almost alone were used, in taking Meurcy Farm, which lies about a mile up the valley. This was a preliminary to the attack on Seringes, since from the farm it is possible to outflank the Seringes defences and to approach them up a less steep curve of the hill, which is some 600ft. high. The enemy held Seringes in great strength, and the village was also protected by machine-gun nests on either side. The attack was really an almost incredible affair for the coolness with which it was carried out and for the mere fact that it could be carried out under such conditions. It was a wonderful performance for any troops, astounding for troops who have only so recently been blooded, and was as fine as any test to which the American Army has been put, since the men went steadily up the slopes, silenced one after the other the German machine-gun nests, swept on to the top of the hill, and then, wheeling eastward, stormed the village.
THE FIGHT FOR SERGY
Yesterday on the American front was a day of ceaseless fighting in which little actual progress could be made. It was plain that the Guard Division had been bitterly chagrined by the loss of Sergy on the previous evening, after having four times retaken it, and it came as no surprise when, shortly after dawn, they launched a fresh attack, debouching from both sides of the southernmost angle of. the Forest of Nesles. The attack was backed by the fire of field guns, with a ragged barrage on our second line and batteries from the 105’s and 150’s, the enemy’s gun positions above Cierges being well placed for a flanking fire, which the holders of Sergy found most trying. They were at last forced to withdraw from it and fall back across the river. The enemy was permitted a few unpleasant hours of occupation, during which he did his best to better his defences. He even daringly brought some field guns towards the brow of the hill above it, but they vere detached, and apparently found the price of their daring a good deal too high and the American gun fire a good deal too accurate, for their disappearance was more rapid than dignified. It was as they fell back that what one hopes may have been the last American attack on Sergy developed, but. the Guardsmen had apparently been shaken by their last exploit, and though in a few instances they stayed to face the bayonet, the fighting was less desperate than it had been the day before. Shortly after the recapture of Sergy, American troops to the left of it, who had forced the passage of the Ourcq the night before, advanced up the narrow valley which divides the hill behind Fere from that behind Sergy, and succeeded, after a hand-to-hand fight, in which the bayonet and butt almost alone were used, in taking Meurcy Farm, which lies about a mile up the valley. This was a preliminary to the attack on Seringes, since from the farm it is possible to outflank the Seringes defences and to approach them up a less steep curve of the hill, which is some 600ft. high. The enemy held Seringes in great strength, and the village was also protected by machine-gun nests on either side. The attack was really an almost incredible affair for the coolness with which it was carried out and for the mere fact that it could be carried out under such conditions. It was a wonderful performance for any troops, astounding for troops who have only so recently been blooded, and was as fine as any test to which the American Army has been put, since the men went steadily up the slopes, silenced one after the other the German machine-gun nests, swept on to the top of the hill, and then, wheeling eastward, stormed the village.
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