The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, May 30, 1918, Page 1

A THE BISMARCK TRII THIRTY-EIGHTH YEAR. No. 138. BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA, TH ISDAY, , MAY. 30, PRICE FIVE CENTS. ERM TOUL SECTOR YANKS ON JOB American Front Object of a Spe- cial Movement of Teu- ton Forces WANT PRISONERS ONLY Raiding Parties to Secure Infor- mation Are Promptly Repulsed With the American Army in France, Wednesday, May 29.—The Ameridan | sector northwdést of Toul si(ddenly has become very active. Last night and today the Germans threw over’hundreds of shells of all sizes and kept up a destructive and harassing fire. The American guns have been just‘as busy and are giv- ing the enemy more than he sends. The artillery duel continues strong tonight. The purpose of the German attack today against the American positions near Bremenil east of Luneville, was to capture Americans, The determined American resistance however, repuls- ed the enemy with heavy losses and no Americans were taken prisoner.’ At Three Points. The Germans attacked at three points and at one place a group of fourteen got into the American trens- ches. It never went back, Nine of ¢heid4 Germans were killed; four are prisoners and one is dead of wounds. The prisoners reported that they were ordered to capture Americans at. any cost, their superiors being anx: fous to determine where American troops were stationed and their pres- ent: fighting strength. { At a point west of Bremenil, after a heavy barrage, 50 German soldied : ‘thentntre in tee groups and. th * They were in three groups and thi two larger ones. were» held’ up andy then dispersed by, the: American ma, chine gun and rifle fire. The third group, consisting of 14 ‘hen, managed bv reason; of terrain conditions to reach the American jump into, them. * A “Hot Ride??:i De Under the leadership of a lanky youth, who was a farmer until he enlisted. a groupjof’ Americans gave the Germans @ hot ride. bayonets on the end of American rifles flashed white and then red almost as quickly as it takes to tell it and the enemy party was soon overpowered. During the engagement a big German non- i ccmmissioned offecer, who directed the enemy party. stood on a parapet. He raised his arm to hurl a grenade at an American soldier but he never threw it, Another American, who had come through a severe gas attack lest Monday morning reached the Ger- man with his bayonet. The grenade fell from the dying German’s hand and exploded. harmlcssly on the para- pet. P9OTBY DE 3 The enemy, wag reported late yes- terday tebe miabsing troops behind his lines ip, the sector of the Ameri- can attack whieh resulted in the cap- ture of Canfigny. The Germans’ ef- forts thus far to hurl back ‘the Ameri- cans havé ‘been rather fepble. They made several attempts to advance ‘but were unabl. fo withstand the American artillery fire. Many stories of indi- vidual heroism on the part of Amery cans wha. participated in. the attack are being ‘related. ‘The number of prisoners has been increased to 218. Gas Shefls Used. The gas bombardment that preced- ed the infantry advance by the enemy ‘began at 12:40 o'clock this morning. The Germans have brought up addi- tional 8 inch’ projectors to replace those that had been destroyed by the ‘American guns Monday night, and mustard, phosgene and chloride shells fel by the hundreds on the American positions, In one small area at one place hundtede of these arrived, many of the Americans, as a result, began to show the effects of slight gassing and were harboring a large grudge against the enemy on this account. ‘When the gas shells began to fall there was hardly any wind, making it certain’ that the fumes would remain in the trenches where the Germans placed them, and the. men in the American trenches hoped the enemy would follow up the shelling with an infantry attack. The hopes of the resentful defend- ers were fully realized and the result completely satisfied the Americans, for im one trench at daybreak this morning lay the nine dead Germans who perished in the bayonet attack, while to the east where the men in the trenches had gone to work with thir machine guns, the ground was dotted with gray clad bodies. Stick to Guns. Many of the machine gunners, still wearing their gas masks, stuck to! their guns throughout the preliminary ‘bombardment and when they saw the advancing forms of the Germans just outside the American wire they cut loose with their fire. The Americans evidently have been subjected to almost continuous at- tacks since they stormed their way into Cantigny. In every case the en- emy’s waves have been broken against trenches : yand|, (Continued on Page Eight.) a * WHERE ALLIES AND GERMANS +——. be ARE ENGAGED IN FIERCE COMBAT IS ACTIVE, | FROM FLANDERS 10 SWITZERLAND ALLIES AN MASSES § | ADVANCE 15 _ o PAY HOMAGE T0 DEAD Memorial Day Internat ionally Observed—Flow- ers Placed Upon Graves of Americans Who Have Fallen in Battle to Preserve Democracy and Win World-Wide Peace — With the American Army in France, May 30.—From Flanders to Switzer- land and from the battle line to the sea the American expeditionary forces today are paying homage to their dead. Wherever American flags are flying they are at half staff and before the day is over the Star Spangled Ban- ner and flowers will be placed on virtually every American grave. At some points the ceremony took place early in the morning while oth- er exercises were held at various times during the day. Daylight saw same graves decora‘ 4 At one place in the vicinity of Lune- ville the graves had been decorated in the morning darkness when the enemy could see clearly for the sol- diers performing this duty might have drawn the German fire as did the bu- rial party. Here both the American and French flags were placed on the mounds with bunches of wild flowers —great blood red poppies and yellow and white daisies. Another zarly ceremony tock place at one of the largest of the base hos- pitals where the nurses and some of the les eriouly wounded men viited the graves and sover2d every mound with a flag and crowned each with wreaths,,, The izst resting places of American women who have died in the service of- their coantry as nurs- es were honored equally with those of the soldiers who had fallen in the line of duty. Up close to the American lines ers, with the dirt of the irenches still clinging to them, lined up before the hallowed spots where the fallen steep jand participated in services in honor of the dead. : Smothered With Flowers. On the hillside between Nancy anc Luneville wheer the first Americans killed in the war are buried in a lit- tle plot of, the Franco-American cem- etery, the ceremony was also pre- sented at an early hour. Here the graves were literally smothered under heaps of flowers and wreaths brough: by the French population of the sur- rounding’ country. Many of these tributes were in place long before the services started, having been brought to the cemetery and laid on the graves the’ previous evening. From the air, men of the American flying forces swooped down and scattered flowers over the spot where Major Lufburry and other American heroes of the air lie buried. RRR RRR aaa» ‘& * WAR BULLETINS | o London, May 30.—Transport Ship Leaswoer Castle has been sunk by enemy submarine in Mediterranean May 26. 101 persons lost life, among them 13 military officers and 79 sol- diers of other rank. With American Army in France, May 30.—Another heavy gas attack launched against Americans in Lune- ville sector this morning and attempts made to reach lines in three places remulsed with comparatively heavy losses. Paris, May 30.—(Via Ottawa)—The entire front is holding firmly, accord- ing to semi-official advices. Althougi the allies still retain Rheims, their position there may become untenable if the enemy, pressure further south- ward should be accentuated, turning the position of the defenders of tie city. From Thillois, four miles west of Rheims, the front bends northward and runs along the Aisne canal, form- ing a semi-circle a little more than a mile before the city. |; Berlin, May. 30.—Number of prison- ers taken by Germans on Aisne in- creased to 25,000 'says a German offi- cial statement tonight. Prisoners in- clude one French and one British general. Paris, May 30.—An enemy airplane was brought down by French anti-air- craft guns during an attempted raid on Paris last night. None of the Ger- man machines was able to fly over the city. A few bombs were dropped in the suburbs. northwest of Toul khaki: clad trodp-| ¢ PERSHING'S HAN 1S WHIRLWIND: THRILLS CROWD Corporal Smith, One of the Fam- ous Fifty, Makes:First Ad- dress in North’ Dakota TALKS 18 TIMES . DAILY No End to Vitality of Man Who Fights as Well as He Preaches Casselton, N. D., May '30.—"We have a million men in France and every ‘one of them has vowed to stay there until this job is finished, and finished right,” said Corporal Smith, one of General Pershing’s famous fifty, in his first North Dakota address, de- livered to a packed house here Wed- nesday evening. : “If those men can fight as well as Smith talks, we’ve got the kaiser licked,” was the way one pioneer farmer put it at the close of the meet- ing. Smith is Whirlwind, Smith is a whirlwind ‘talker. He knows his subject thoroughly, and he puts it across in swift, snappy short- arm jabs that soak home. He aroused his audience to the wildest pitch of enthusiasm, and his tour in ‘North Da- kota is being relied upon to put new hep into. the Flickertail state's war work. The Pershing. man was accom- panied here by Secretary Thomas Al- lan Box of the North Dakota Council of Defense, who made a short talk which /impressed his hearers very favorably. ‘This morning he spoke at Tower City, and this evening he is billed for: Finga}; tomorrow he talks at Kathryn in the forenoon and at Lisbon in. the evening. Engagements Made. June 1, Corporal Smith talks at Al- pum sz" ate DIC imoepraane «8° at’.Medora,’ in the morning and at Beach in the ‘afternoon. June 5 he appears at Amidon in the afternoon, and the eveningof ‘June 6 he talks at Mandan. June 7 he will, be at Drake; June 8 at Penn and June 9 at Niagara. Other engagements are , | fast being» made for Smith, for whose services scores of communities are clamoring. Was in Thick of It. Corporal Smith reached the ‘French front last August, having enlisted. from Massachusetts. He has been in the thick of the fighting over there, and his descriptions of trench life and combat are vivid and_ thrilling. Before coming to North Dakota he spent several weeks in Virginia, where he was one of the biggest factors in putting the states’ Red Cross quota over the top. He is capable of mak- ing 18 addresses a day, and the North Dakota Council of Defense is anxious to book him for as many talks each day ag transportation will permit. Ar- rangements may be. made through George V. Halliday, director of pub- licity, at the North Dakota Council of Defense headquarters, Bismarck. [WAR SUMMARY | %. (By Associated -Press.) General. Foch’s reserves have come into action in the fight: against the powerful German thrudt sovthward form the Aisne and the enemy. is finding his progress increasingly difti- ult. Again the alied flanks are standing firm and while Sofssons has ben lost cn'the west Rheims is still holding out on the easterly edge of the bat- tle front. The/chief progress of the Germans revealed in today’s official reports was in the center of their advance, where three miles additiona| ground have been covered from Loupeigne, to Fere-en-tardenois. The blunt edge of the German wedge is shown to run here from Fere-en- tardenois about 10 1-2 miles directly east to Vezilly, 15 1-2 miles southwest of Rheims. Along this line the Ger- mans are about 18 miles south of the Chemin-des-Dames, giving them a pro- tection of. approximately of that dis- tance at the heeinding: of the fifth their offensive. i ba FLANKS STEADY. The steadliness of the allied flanks under the heavy German pressure is one of the outstanding indications in the Paris official report. The Germans for instance, made attempt after at- tempt to debouch from Soissons af- ter gaining .that town, but the deter- mined French in the outskirts pre- vented the Germans from occupying this objective. In the southeast the French reserves are coming into play and here the allies are resisting the enemy in engagements of extreme vio- lence along the road from Soissons to Bartennes-et-taux 7 1-2 miles south- st of Soissons. “*Pere-en-tardenois, § 1-2 miles south- west of Partennes-at-taux, apparent: ly marks the limit of the German ad- vance toward the southwest, with Ve zilly, 10 1-2 miles eastward, repre- senting the extreme southeasterly pro- gress of the enemy. From Vezilly, the front trends sharp- ly northeastward. Brouillet is the next point mentioned_in_the official —~ (Continued on Page Eight.) WARD Desperate and Fearless Fighting — Of French Fails to Halt Offensive; Soissons Falls After Fierce Combat Americans Resist Attack at Cantigny, Where Pershing’s Men in Brilliant Defensive Throw Back Huns with Strong Artillery and Infan- try Fire—Hospitals Not Spared by Vandals in Their Drive To- ward Marne—Toul Singled Out for New Movement (By ASSOCIATED PRESS) ‘“FLOOD WILL BE DAMMED” i Paris, May 30.—The German flood will soon be dammed, says a semi-official note issued today summarizing the situation - between Rheims ad Soissons. : : Allied reserves now are taking up positions in the bat- tle line. They are being thrown in to strengthen the defending forces where they are weakest, in preparation for the placing of © a barrier to a further German advance. range _ The Germans made repeated attempts to break ‘thru . the défense in the Soissons region, but were each time held up ‘*..; by the determined French resistance. ary . ‘French reserves are continuing to arrive on the front, °’ : and theGerman advance is being resisted with great. tenacity. © Tit the center of the German advance fighting is taking place in the neighborhood of Vezilly (approximately 18 miles, . south of the Chemin des Dames, where the German attack :-was launched on ‘Monday).’ °°" S@eRe" saimiidi sca The battle along the fighting front continued all night, : with the French maintaining the western outlets of Soissons, the = « war office;announced today. | RUE ! Nogthwest of Rheims the Franco-British forces broke --: all ithe Ger an‘assaults and maintained the defensive positions. «ot The’ Senti-official note says: ~~~“ he Geéritians again progressed yesterday, but while on one hand they failed to pierce our lines, on the other it is com- forting to observe that their march was slackened considerably . by the arrival of our reserves. . “As these come into play the balance will gradually be - restored, and soon the German flood will be dammed. : “The French command retains undiminished confidence based, as ‘it is, on the power of our resources, and the incompara- . ble valor of our soldiers.” Sweeping onward in densemasses the Germans have advanced 15 miles in the center of the line between Soissons and Rheims. On the allied left Soissons has fallen, while Rheims, on the right, is in grave dan- ger, the Franco-British troops having retired to within less than two miles of the famous city. Desperate as has been the resistance of the French and British, especially the French on the left, and the heavy losses suf- fered by the enemy, the German advance has not been halted greatly. Un- official reports of the allied reserves being hurried up are not confirmed officially and there is no sign of their presence in the line. Despite their forced retirement the allied troops have held together remarkably well while contesting every foot of the way. . SOISSONS FALLS TO ENEMY nee Soissons fell to the Germans after a fierce fight in the streets of the city for several hours, and the French were last reported holding tenaciously to the western suburbs. The enemy advance to Soissons has not yet affected greatly the French line eastward from Montdidier, which the Germans apparently hope to bend back by their success on the Aisne. The curve in the battle line northwest of Rheims has been wiped out and from Soissons eastward the line runs southeast and east into the Cham- pagne. BERLIN CLAIMS 25,000 PRISONERS In the center of the 47-mile front, where the German progress has been greatest, the enemy forces are now near Loupeigne, four miles north of the river Oureq and 12 miles north of the Marne. The fighting is almost entirely on territory untouched by the war /sincé 1914. Berlin, in it’s latest report, claims the number of GIRLS TO OFFER prisoners has increased to 25,000. Apparently the Germans have used a large part of their SOMETHING NEW| reserves in the offensive across the Aisne, as they have not taken | advantage of the movement here to strike elsewhere on the north- An unique and unusual program is} ern front, ‘as might have been expected. The course of the fight- promised by the “Count on Me” class|ing Wednesday indicates the possibility that the German crown of the McCabe Methodist church in| prince will try to strike westward along the Aisne, instead of the church parlors Friday evening.| attempting to force his way nearer the Marne. The nature of the entertainment is) SHARP FIGHTING AT CANTIGNY kept a prowound secret: whlch serves Except for some sharp fighting at Cantigny, where the Amer- to enchance interest. Mrs. C. E. Ver-' isang have repulsed German counter attacks against their new ilya, wife of istrict superin-} “oo se : ; a raya ie onc cothedist Kpizcopalt Positions, there has been little fighting on the line north from church, heads the “Count on Me”|Soissons. class, \ ~ “COUNT ON ME” (Coninued on page two) F