Evening Star Newspaper, March 17, 1931, Page 4

CONNER DESCRBES AR WIHN VAR Former Colonel With Per- | shing Tells of Opposition to F. Separate U, S, Army. BOSTON, March 17 (NANA)— ‘The “Col. Conner” frequently men- tioned in the memoirs of Gexn. Persh! —the officer who delivered to Marshal Foch the uitimatum the American commander rejecting the “new plan” on the eve of the St. Mihiel offensive— is a Boston resident now. » He is Maj. Gen. Fox Conner, 1st Corps Area commander, with headguar- ters at the Army base in South Boston. During the war he was assistant chief of staff, G-8, chief of operations, American general headquarters. ““The night of August 30, 1918,” Gen. Conner said, “a call came to me at general headquarters, Chaumont. It was from Gen. Pershing at Ligny-en- Barrois, where that day he had as- sumed command of the seetor desig- nated as the American area of oper- ations. Summoned by Pershing. “The general summoned Gen. Mc- Andrew, chief %mfl, and me to join him at Ligny. THere we learned of the _so-called ‘new plan’ for the impending battle. The day before Gen. Foch and Gen. Weygand, his chief of staff, had visited Gen. Pershfi and presented an entirely new disposition of forces for the American Army. It amounted to virtual dispersal of the American Army, mewly formed after many difficulties and disappointments, “Gen. Pershing had " re; proposition in & conference with Foch the day before. It had been a stormy session, we gathered from the general's account. “There was an edr], 0rRing con- ference, and then f)leyumwas g\'nu‘ Gen. Pershing’s formal letter to Foch rejecting the ‘new plan’ and insisting that the American Army remain intact ‘The general’s memoirs contain the text of that leiter, and his determination on this_score may be measured by the wording ef that communication. ‘Gen. McAndrew and I took the let- ter to Foch's headquarters. There we conferred with “Gen. Weygand. and English - and , Frensh phrases punctuated our discussion. We reached no definite understanding, but returned to.Ligny with word that- Foch. wished to ~confer the ~day with Gens. the next i g and Petain. And that day there was an agreement. “The American Army ‘would remain intact.” Campaign -Was Organized. h&?ovemm to- e{?fls oihfi lllksntg erican-, troops, el dy ded wit obviously organized ed, began °before campaign, and. cohstantly Gen. Pershing &nd United States; fn May, 4917, and per- sisted to the day of the armistice. “Foch's last-minute aftempt-to dis- ggc’tiu Army on the e\'ebol operation climaxed, but did not ferminate, the ‘war within the “Why, Jon the mornng of Sep- - T g A bad- been led, Foch reiterated his queition Gen. - Pershirg: ‘Do you want t9 1in this pattle?" But it did the American commander, ‘We Wwetit ahead with our plans for fight- ing the hg’;. Mihiel battle and the cone Meusc-Argonne offensive. hever could quite understand 's pétsisterice in opposing our plan of an Army g: our own. HeE Aagree it would a great thing, if 3 comld be done,.as'Be would say; ‘would .set’ about to do it he gould some objection to it. Were Sincere. to “The e exerted from all quar- terson Pershing in opposition to jon ‘to build a distinct ‘was great and unceas- ©f this opposition was. po- mili There 1s no knew could be had forts of Ame: . “Of course, is. no doubt Cle- menceau frequeniyembarrassed Foch by forcing him to advance suggestions to Gen. Pershing in utter opposition to the American commander’s well kuown ideas. Not infrequently also must these ‘suggestions® have seemed impolitic to Foch. “Certainly Foch was aware that his strongest atm, as generalissimo, was the American Army, whether unitzd or di- “American ‘people cannot realize how dificult it was for the American high command to prosecute successfuily the St. Mimiel operation and then, within two weeks, transport divisien after divi- sion marching by night and maintained with supplies and furnished ammuni- tion brought to them along darkened roads—to & new front 60 miles away. It was a prodigious task to prepare for the Meuse-Argonne. attack. “When the attack slowed up, finally, Clemenceau found fault with the Amer- ican effort, but it can be justly eaid that his criticlsm was that of a politician. There is no doubt the French prime minister took advantage of our tempo- setback to press again for ‘bri- g’ the American troops. “The very faet that American troops did take over the toughest sector on the Western front, fight the Ge: & standstill and dominate the arly Noyember, s n. Pershing was 1ight SEAY GIVES ADDRESS 8478 Modern Business Opens Wide Field for Accountants. - | front. ing to Hardie S the Southern Railv dressed the weekly voca !urumh at the Central Y t e intricacies of railroad accounting were outlined to the group of young men. Railroads employ frong 500 to tants in their fr de- partm alone, for the. number of freight bills to be checked totals & mil- lion a month on some roads, it was pointed out H. Lawrence Choate insuratice man will address the next forum, to be held Monday night in the Central “Y” Building, 1736 G street 1censes. and Dorothy C. M ollinger. Oleta M. Huf Judge M avid W. Livels both of Taicott, W. Va. William F_ Rogers rs, 24, 18, both of Baltimore, ) Md'; Charles J. n. jr. and Elizabeth B, H, #1.D. Bterrett 26, and Lucy Smith, £y 21, and Corine both of Theological Seminary, Howard Barne on_Rondes, 35, 26; Judge Mary O Hubert Brook Green, 19, Va Rev and. Valentine Cojonnex, "oole. d Hattle Crouch, 35: Mildred W, ‘Thomas. Aod Wiilie ¥, Earion, b 1 Cle: nd Vivian Bright, 21; Rey. Richard F. Carter. Qeorge P. Reese, 33, and Helen L. Mere- th, 24, both of Richmond, Va.; Rev. Allan . Poare. yborg Benson. 32. and Lillian Smith, j oew? Rexander :{qé‘gm 2 and Bertha Digon, 25 ni . and of ; - :n Dorothy - { heard distinctly. his staff left the | ploding Whole St. Mihiel Salient Reduced as Americans Pass Their Objectives in Great Victory. A. E. F. CASUALTIES REACH 7,000 IN DRIV Allies’ and Enemy’s Lowered by Outcome of First | Offensive by U. S. complete,” reads my [ l y of September 13, written at Ligny-en-Baxrrois. “Qur troops behaved splendidly, The Secretary of War visited two corps headquarters; returned to Ligny much delighted at our success, | | “Petain and I went to the town “of | st. Mihjel today and ‘werc warmly | grected by the people. . THis is my brthday, and & very happy ona.” The attack of the infantry on the southern face of the St. Mihicl salient | started at 5 in'the morning, and before | that I-went with several stafl oRicers to old Fort Gironville, situated on a commanding height overlooking " the | battlefield from the south. The secon- | dary attack, on the west, was !mnched at 8 am., as en element of ‘surprise | and. in order to give more time for | artillery preparation there. Picturesque and - Terrible. A drizzling rain and mist prevented us from getting a clear View, but the g;ozress of our troops could be followed the barrage which preceded them. rainfall the Morale Boosted CHAPTER LXV. HE First Army attacked yes- terday, and the reduction of the St. Mihiel salient is Notwithstanding: a heavy night of Séeptember 14-12, the weather {gave Us" en advantage, as the mist partly screened our advance from the | enemy. There was a chill breeze blow- | ing and s direction was such that no sound of firing could be heard from the artillery in ‘our immediate front, although the more distant artillery bombardment on the western face was The sky over the battlefield, both be- fre and after dawn, aflame with ex- shells, star signals, burning supply dumps and villages, presented a ‘scene at once picturesque and terrible. “The exultation in our minds that Tere, at last, after 17 months of effort, an American Army was fighting under | its own . was tempered by the Tealization of the sacrifice of life on both sides, and yet fate had willed it thus and we must carry through. Con- fidence in our troops dispelled every coubt of ultimate victory. | As we returned from Gironville groupe of prisoners were already being | marched to our stockades i the rear. About 9 o'clock Teports began to come in to Army headquarters.at Ligny from all portions of the 25-mile front that eve ing was going well, with losses light. Mr. Baker returned from his ob- servation point near the battlefield much elated over the success of the troops. He had been a witness to the first effort-of an American Army and it was a proud day for him to feel that as Secretary of War his directing hand had led to such results. He took much pleasure in going about to all parts of the Army, and scopned being treated as a guest. Penetrated Entanglenient. Thanks to,the thorough preparation beforehand, ‘the ' wire entanglements were more easily overcome than we had expected. Trained teams of pioneers and en- gineers, with bangalore torpedoes, wire cutters and axes, assisted in opening gaps in the masses ©f barbed wire cov- ering the German positions. The lead- ing troops themselves ' carried along rolls of chicken wire, which was thrown across entanglements here and there, | forming a kind of bridge for the in- fantry. In all their offensives the allies had spent days destroying entanglements | with_artillery fire, or had used a large | number of heavy tanks, but we had | only a few light tanks, ineffective for such work. The fact that we had smothered the enemy artillery was an advantage, as it enabled the leading | waves deliberately to do their work | without serious loss. | The quick pessage thraugh these en- tanglements by our troops excited no little surprise among the French, who sent a large number of officers and non-commissioned officers to St. Mihiel several days later to see how it had | been done. One of these officers, after | his reconnoissance, remarked in all| seriousness that the Americans had | the advantage over Frenchmen because | of_their long legs and large feet. In making our dispositions for bat- | tle our older divisions, the 1st, 2d and 424 had received positions on the southern face opposite’the open spaces to enable them to flank the wooded areas quickly, thus aiding the advance " |of less experienced units ‘assigned to these arees. The whole lme, pivoting, as planned | on the 82d Division on the right, ad- vanced resolutely to the attack. The entire operation was carried through | with dash and precision. { Fought Into Open. =‘ By afternoon the troops had pushed | | beyond their scheduled objectives, and | {by evening had reached the second ay’s objective on most of the sopthern divisions of the 4th Corps man) and those on the left of 1st Corps (Liggett) overwhelmed { tlie hostile garrisons, and quickly over- their positions, carrying the fight | ing into the open. The German re. sistance on this part of the front w ! disorganized by the rapidity of our a | vance ‘and was soon overcome. Al though the enemy was expecting an | attack, he did not think it would take ce 50 soon, and it therefore came as | | & surprise. |~ When the 1st Division, on the march- ing flank of the southern aitack, had | brok through the hostile forward ! | positions the squadron of cavalry at- | tached to the 4th Corps w passed | through the breach. At 1:45 pm. it | pushed forward to reconnoiter the roads | toward Vigneulles, but encountering| machine guns in position, was forced o | | retire. | On' the western face of the salient progress was not so satisfactory. » The | | 26th Division, in its attempt to make | | a deep advance toward Vigneulles, met considerable resistance, and except for talion of the division reserve had ached ‘the day’'s objective, The French at the tip of the salient | had attempted to follow up the fanks |0 our successtul penetrations, - but { made only small advances. Upon the request of Gen. E. J. Blondlat, com- | manding the Prench 2d Colonial Corps, | a_regiment of the 80th Division (Cronkhite), in reserve, was sent to| his assistance. g Ordered Troops Forward. On the afternoon of the 12th, Jearning that the roads leading out of | the sallent between the two attacks were filled with retreating enemy | treops, with their trains and artillery, I gave orders to the commanders of the 4th and 5th Corps to push forward | without delay. Using the telephone myself, I directed the commander of the 5th Corps to send at least one regiment of the 26th The (Di ‘THE EVENING PERSHING, STAR, WASHINGTON, Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces. - SN NN 2, D. C., TUESDAY, MARCH 17. 1931 My Experiences in the World War | BY GEN.JOHN J. ST. MIHIEL OFFENSIVE SEPT.12-16, 1918 s, AT Siea Mumerals indicate Americer Divivns ; 2 Division toward Vigneulles with all pos- | headquarters and we went togéther to I found all jubilant over the victory and jeondition of his unit, to which be re- mmn the men were very tired upen I remarked that there coul be no reason for that, as they had bee; in the line only a short time, and I added, with some emphasis, that it was probably the division commander who was tired. First Task Completed. Not long afterward his division lost its cohesion in battle and became much disorganized, and he was relieved, An- other commander was appointed who, was tireless and efficient, and under him the division served with exceptional distinetion. The reduction of the St. Mihiel sa-~ became avallable for our use in the greater offensive to be undertaken im- mediately. ‘We had restored to Prance 200 square miles of territory and had placed our’| Army in a favorable situation for fur- ther operations. The new American po- sition in the Woevre, almost within reach of Metz, now stood as a threat against the great fortress on the Mo~ selle that defended Germany on that part of the front. I was somewhat famillar with the strength of the fortifications, having visited Metz and the surrounding coun- try, including the battlefields of 187 some years before, little dreaming, how- ever, that one day an American Army would be so near and so eager to meas- ure swords with the defenders. This striking victory completely dem- onstrated the wisdom of building up a distinct American Army. No form of propaganda could overcome the depress- ing effect of the enemy's morale of the fact that a new adversary had been able to put ormidable army into the fleld against him which, in its first of- fensive, could win such an important engagement. This result, after nearly & year.and a half of working and walting, must have tremendously heartened our peo- ple at home, as it gave them a tangible reason to believe our contribution to the war would be the deciding factor. It inspired our troops with unlimited confidence, which was to stand them in good stead against weary days and nights of battle later on. Congratulations Pour In. The St Mihiel victory probably did more than any single operation of the war to encourage the tired allies. After the years of doubt and despair, of suf- fering and loss, it brought them as- surance of the final defeat of an enemy whose armies had seemed well nigh in- vincible. The French people of all {asses were loud in their praise of the Americans. Many were the messages of congrat- ulation that poured into the 1st Army headquarters from all sources, some of which are queted: From Marshal Foch: “The 1st Amer- ican Army, under your command, on this first day has won a magnificent victory by a maneuver as skillfully pre- pared as it was valiantly executed. I extend to you as well as to the officers and to the troops under your command my warmest congratulations.” Prom Marshal Hal All ranks of the British Armies in France welcome with unbounded admiration and pleas- ure the victory which has attended the initial offensive of the great American Army under your personal command. I beg you to accept and to convey to all ranks my best congratulations and those of all ranks of the British under my command.” From Gen. Harbord: “Congratula- tions on your birthday and your fine work thereon. Nearly three hundred years ago Oliver Cromwell on the 13th |of the month of September went into | battle quoting Psalm 68, now the Epi: | copal morning prayer for that dal ‘Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered; let them also that hate him flee before him. Like as the smoke va | isheth, so shalt thou drive them away.'” To the latter I replied: “Many thanks for your birthday telegram. Your old | division might well bé termed the Iron- | sides, though I doubt whether went to battle quoting Psalm 68.” ‘Tomorrow: Pershing reviews St. Mi- hiel accomplishments. (Copyright. 1931, in all countries by the North American Ne . World rights reserved. includi Reproduction in wi hole or in part prohibited.) Officials of Jail And Prisoners Play “Hide and Seek” Trio Who f)'rd!:é Out Re- cently Again Disappear % From Cell. Spectal Dispatch to The Star. BERKELEY SPRINGS, W. Va, March 17.—Robert and Marvin Wills, brothers, and Harry Swanson aj 0 he played hide and seek with ]lfl of- ficers here. o ‘Some weeks ago they were arrested and entered pleas of guilty to chicken- thieving in the county and werecom- mitted to jail for the April grand jury. A week later they sawed their way to liberty. Last week they were arrested as fugitives and not only recommitted to jail, but put in a steel cell. _Yester- day morning Sheriff Newbraugh found their cage door opened with a key and the men missing. \ Alsp missing is James Pogell of Penn- sylvania, arrested a feW days .,50 charged with a lquor violation. Of- ficers think he furnished the key that through the opening in the window that had been made by the trio for thelr first escape. s | Sponges are now being tanned like | leather and used for industrial laboratory purposes. The tanning in- Creases the strength and resistance to lecay. New Fabrics East {opened the steel cage. Al four climbed | and | An LIST SOVIET PURCHASES Amtorg Says lil_laol Received $150,000,000 in Busiress. NEW YORK, March 17 (/).—The bulk of the $150,040,000 worth of goods the Soviet government purchased in the United States in the fiscal year of 1939 was obtaiped in six Siates, the Amtorg Trading Corporation revealed yesterday. Tllinois led the list with $38,900,000 distributed among approximately 15 , Amtorg sald. thers in order were: Michigan. $14.000,000; New York, $13,100,000: Ohio. $10.500,000; Wiseon- (S, 49,000,000, and Californis, $3,100,+ ‘The purchases cover the .fiscal Foar ended September 30, 1930. N WAIT TO SEE FLOWERS New Yorkers Form Block-Long Line at Show Opening. NEW YORK, March 17 (#).—It may be that with the increase in the num- ber of penthouses and balconies and roof terraces, with their window boxes, New York is becoming garden con- sclous. At any rate there was a walth |line a block long when the eighteen Tnternational Flower Show, with $40,000 | in prizes to be awarded to amateur and | professional gardeners, opened in Grand Central Palace yesterday. Three floors of the building are filled with flowers and plants to on d%- play until Saturday night, | e Of 55 talkies theaters in all Poland, 33 have American equipment. New Colors er Feature W, B, NMoses & Sons f Anr, you $15 Spring Coats QPPORTUNITY SHOP SECON D FLOOR Misses’ and Women's Sizes Solves Your | Rental Problem they | faced with increabing the size of your present office quarters without in- creasing your present rent? to reduce your rent but retain the present size Or do you wish | and delayed the greater Meus sible speed. |~ That evening a strong force from the | 51st . Brigade pushed boldly forward | and reached Vigneulles at 2:15 a.m. the | 13th. It immediately made dispositions that effectively closed the roads leading out of the salient west of that point. In the 4th Corps the 2d Brigade of the 1st Division adyanced.in force about dawn of the 13th, its. leading elemenits reaching Vigneulles by 6 am. The salient was closed and our troops were masters of the field. The_troops continued to advance on the 13th, when the line was estab- lished approximately along the final objectives set for this ofensive. In view of the favorable situation created just west of the Moselle River by our successes farther to the left, a limited attack was made on that part of the ! elements of the 82d and 90th | front b; Divisions, with good results. During the night our troops all along the line were engaged in organizing their new positions for defense, pre- paratory to the withdrawal of divisions and corps troops for participation in the Meuse-Argonne battle. September 14, 15 and 16, lbcal operations con- tinued, consisting of strong recon- noissance, and occupation of better ground for defensive purposes. Begin- ning the 13th several counter attacks were repulsed. The line as finally established was: Haudiomont, Fresnes- en-Woevre, Doncourt, Jaulny, Vandieres. Retreated in Disorder. Reports received the 13th and 14th indicated that the enemy was retreat- ing in considersble disorder. Without doubt an immediate continuation of the advance would have carried us well beyond the Hindenburg line and pos- sibly into Metz, and the temptation to press on was very great. But we would probably have become deeply involved rgonne operation, to which we were wholly committed. During the fighting from September 12 to 1€, the German 125th, 8th Land- wehr, 88th and 28th Divisions reinforced !the enemy’s line and several other di- visions arrived in reserve positions. Sep- tember 16, in front of the 1st Army. there were 10 Germin divisions and 2 | brigades in line, and 7 divisions in re- serve. b ly 16,000 prisoners were taken and some 450 enemy guns had fallen into our hands. Our casualties num- besed about 7,000. As the enemy re- treated he set fire to many large supply dumps and several villages. The few rem:ining French inhabitants who found themselves within our lines were overjoyed to be released from the domi- nati‘n of the enemy, but many were left destitute by the burning of their homes at the very moment of dell On the 13th, Gen. Petain smouo Go by 5™ HOUR Musterole safe “counter-is ally dri it ™ and bein by Notice to Subscribers in Apartment Houses Subscribers wishing the carrier boy to knock on the door when delivering The Star will please tele- phone circulation depart- ment, National 5000—and instructions will be given for this service to start at once. \ = | St. Mihiel, where the people, including children carrying French flags, gave us a welcome which may well be imagined | when one realizes that they had been held as prisoners, entirely out of touch with their own countrymen, for four years, though always within sight of the | French lines. They had heard only such vague reports of the war as their cap- tors cared to furnish them, which were mainly accounts of German successes. All Jubilant -Over Victory. Hotel de Ville, where we talked with the assistant mayor. He told us that in | away all the Prenchmen between 16 and that these prisoners were abandoned after a 10-mile march and returned to St. Mihiel the following day. The as- sistant mayor said the Germans had | treated the inhabitants well, but he remarked that we should nct be too se- { vere in our judgment under the circum- overflowing with incidents of the fight- | ing, reciting many cases of individual heroism amcng the troops. ‘The 24 Division (Lejeune) and the 89th (Wrignt) both claimed the honor of capturing Thiaucourt. In assigning cbjectives, while that village was in- cluded in the sector of the 2d Division, the town was to be taken by the 89th should it arrive first. The result was & keen rivalry between these divisions as Harvard Instructor Dies. BOSTON, March 17 (#).—Eugene L. | Rauche, 58, instructor in French at | Harvard University and Radcliffe for | here yesterday and died while being | rushed_to_a_haspital 20 years, was stricken with a heart| attack while crossing Boston Common | Th= people were assembled at the | | their retreat the Germans had taken | 45. Fortunately the fight was so rapid | | eriticized the conduct of & few of his | countrywomen, at whieh Petain kindly | | stan | "on my visit to several corps and di- | vision headquarters the following day to_which should have the honor. Both units were equally insistent in upholding their claims, and I never undertook to decide the question. Dis- | tinctions in achievement among the at- | tacking units on the southern face| could not be made with any assurance, | as all had done more than expected. | It is never difficult to discover the | attitude of a commander, as it is al- most, certain to be reflected in his unit. | If the comm2nder lacks aggressiveness | or is disloyal there will be grumbling | and criticism of orders from higher au- thority among his officers and men. If he is aggressive and loyal his ccmmand will show it. I recall one incident which illustrates the point. In conversation with one dl-t vision commander he was asked the ; . 5o anD SEE Fince: Gardens MAGNOLIA anNp MipDLETON PLACE Near Charleston, S. C. $20.00 Round Trip io Charleston from Washington, D. C., March 27, 28, April 3 and 4 Atlantic Coast Line GEO. P. JAMES, G P. A. 1418 “H” St., N. W. Tel. 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