Evening Star Newspaper, March 22, 1931, Page 4

MARNE HERD LAUDS STORY OF PERSHING Maj. Gen. U. G. MoAlexander| Praises Clear Account of War by Commander. NEW YORK, March 21 (NAN.A)— Maj. Gen. U. G. McAlexander, retired, called “The Rock of the Marps" after commanding the 38th Infantry in its spectacular defense of a Marne River | sector in July, 1918, and who has ar- rived here after a 15,000-mile moto» trip through the American snd Cana- disn Rockies, praises the war story of Gen. Pershing et the same time he de- rides the fictional writings of other returned soldiers who experiences in the war led them to believe that com- Plzte disarmament would lead to ever- lasting peace. In a recent instaliment of his memoirs Gen. Pershing described Gen. McAlex- ander as the writer “of one of the most brilliant P*ICS in the annals of military history,” because of his suc- cess in commanding the regiment that repulsed the Germans in & 13-hour battle at the Marne on July 15, 1918, throwipg two German divisions into complete confusion. Referring to the battle, Gen. McAlexander praised his menwm.:fily Texans—and added with a & I did was transfer the knocks in the knees of our boys to the German hoys across the river.” * Praises Pershing Style. “Gen. Pershing is writing an excellent his of the war,” said Gen. McAlex- ander. “He is wflun! it in the cryptic style of & soldier, and there was never & soldier who could write a better dis- ;:v.ch than Gen. Pershing. As a soldier, was known s & man who used no unneceseary words in giving or writing orden. He has used thil.:mnlyle in writ- ng of experiences every point 1e wishes to make is clear and mcupr‘:u ‘n a soldierly way, he followed the ournalistic advice of Joseph Pulitzer, 7ho called for ‘accuracy. terseness, ac- curacy. of course he has the facts right and VEYY article I have read dovetails with own experiences. People who are not soldiers: do not understand what happens to &8 man when he = soldier through active service. change takes place in & man’s heart vhen he realizes that he is pari of the backbone of his country. rlme of troul world would be today. “ci'ng oppression. I wish there ctier way, but nations are made > of Fuman beirgs, and human beings s-n»fl»m‘ g0 insane and are Ted to !rmzy. Took “Shake” Out. “T am mot in faver of soldiers com- °g task mmm-h-menmm-m- 'y of the terrors and futility of 1 have bemlnthnhudhlfle en major campaigns, and the same about war in umu of a ¥'t'e and after the battle was over. Hand-to-Hand Fighting Marks Resumption of Second Phase of Drive | on Argonne Front. ! {AMERICANS ARE SENT| \TO AID FRENCH ARMY Casualties Increase and‘ Influenza Takes Tolli in Midst of Hardest| Strain of War. CHAPTER LXX. muwnn phase of the eus ne operation, from October 1 to 11, involved :!h;: heaviest strain on me and Army. ‘There was little time to make read- Justments emong the troops, heavily engaged, without giving the enemy & respite in which to strengthen his de- fenses and bring up reserves. The battle eould not be delayed while roads were being built or re- and supplies brought up. The weather was cold and rainy and not the kind to inspire energetic action by troops unaccustomed to the damp, raw A few commanders lacking in those stern qualities essential to baitle lead- ership. or in physical stamina so necasury under these conditions were inclined to pessimism or inertia. An exhibition of either of these hndencies was quickly reflected troops. ‘The real leaders, those mdomfl.nble characters whoce spirits rose to mas- ter every Mculty. stood forth, a tower of strength to me during this period. For the thing to do was to drive forward with all pmlble force. Enemy Strongly Fortified. Our Army in the Meuse-Argonne was confronted by the enemy strongly fortified on his main ition of de- fense, the Hindenburg line. Gen. von der Merwits of the Germans, in an order issued to his army Octcber 1, sald: “The fate of a large portion of the Western front, perhaps of our nation, depends on the firm holding of the Verdun front.” Romagne Heights was a defensive area, and its do Cote Dame Marle, ing fea- west of artillery and observa points. ’nm Cunel Heights were flanked by fire on the east from the Heights of the Meuse, and on the west from the Heights of Romagne. The latter posi- tlons were supported by fire from Cunel Heights nnd the heights of the Forest al Arsonne about 1-Chehery an curnly‘ the German posi- | 5th (Cameron), acting were to take the heights of Cunel and Romagne. Their main to made against the Cunel Heights, in order to avoid the fire the enemy from east of the Meuse here are awful T but airaculous - LS ¢ man when he becomes a “oesn't scem near as bad as it ofter. War l? ® living experience, roung men of courage f_fnlutd i‘!" ““1‘" ge have never been iy quite useless attem Cescribe the courage wlfich a man pt cum up just before a battle. I hn'e recn knees shaking, figuratively and iiterally, and as a general I could sym- vathize with my soldiers in what they eneral’s biggest and Jo id it well.” 5 m (Copyrignt, 1531, by Morth Ameriean News- er Alliance.) —_— D. C. AIR LEGION HAS BIRTHDAY TOMORROW Noted Flying Club Will Be Three Years Old—Has Record of Avoiding Injuries. ‘The D. Alr ion, Washington's. first flving “chub, x:!‘nch recently was chosen by the American Soclet; for the | “rcmouon of Aviation as the leudkng fly- portion Its plans involved a drive against the enemy east of Fleville to gain space for an attack northwest through Cornay and clutel Cheber;b which wonld vub- flank the co-operation Our order of battle to the west of the Meuse trom right to left was as follows: corg: (Buliard), with the 33d Dlflmon (Bell), the 4th (Hines), :nd 80th (Cronkhite) in the fronf une, the 5th Corps (Cameron), wm.h the 3d Division (Buck) and the 32d (Haan), both fresh, in line, with the 42d (Menocher) and the 91st (Johnston) reserve; the 1st Corps (Liggett), with the 1st Division (Summerall), ume‘ 28th (Muir), and the 77th (Alexander) in line, and the 82d (Duncan) d the of this | % . | effort of the division to relieve Yankees in ambush. My Experiences in the World War BY GEN. JOHN J. PERSHING, Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces. French Eth Cavalry Division in reserve. The army reserves were the 29th Di- vision (Morten), the 35th (Traub), and the 92d (Ballou). East of the Meuse the order of battle remained unchanged except that the 42d Division had been transferred to the reserve of the 5th Corps. The general attack was resumed at 5 am. on Ocmber 4, meeting desperate resis y the enemy. In th nmck, the Clh Dlvidon of the 3d three dn.ys bitter fllhtlnl urf.d md held the Fays, g & gain of over a mue Advences into tre Bols de Peut de Faux were forced back by viclous , counter-attacks. In similar hard fighting, the 80th Division gained a foothold in the Bois des Ogons, egainst very heavy machine gun fire. In the attack of the Fifth Corps the 3d Division pushed forward in fbe face of strong resistance. During the next two days this division extended its gains, against the Bois de Cunel. The 32d Division, which had taken Cierges Oc- tober 1, advanced to just south of Gesnes on the 4th despite very severe hostile fire, and next day captured that wn. On the left of the Army the 1st Corps was very successful. The 1st Di- vision in a fine display of power Oc- tober 4 drove a deep into enemy’s line. This was of great nlue in affording space for the attack to- ward the Argonne, to be,launched later. The Lost Battalion. The fighting here was characterized | 83d by the stubborn nature of the German resistance and the offensive spirit of the division. In spite of heavy casual- tles, its determination was in no way weakened, and by the evening of the great courage capture gains at this time totaled 3 'l'he right of the 28th Dlvlllon (oucht way down the Alre River 1n vm.h the 1st, and enwunhered The left of the di much tion and ide but slight gain notwithstanding repeated at- lu. ‘The division was now facing west for nearly 3 miles along the Aire River. The 77th Division between Se tember 29 and October 4 continued attacks in the nne‘ Mv-nctng about a mile over di n. In the essault of ocmber 2 a mixed battalion of the division moved forward more rapidly than the troops on its right and left and Became completely mm)undgd y the enemyk.n i popularly known as the Loat Bnuuon For four days evmerg beleaguered force was unsuccessful, and every effort of the to force its surrender was without avail. Throughout_this period the fighting was severe, with innumerable hand-to- hand combats. On the whole our new divisions were showing greater skil their interior communications much improved. By October 6 the tack had reached the general line, Boi de la Cote Lemont-Fleville-Le Chene ‘Tondu. The enemy’s lines were being rein- forced by his best divisions, the total number then confronting the 1st Army having been increased to 27 in line and 17 in reserve. The Germans sul the defense by the use of innumerable machine guns and intense artillery fire from dominating crests and forests. The danger they foresaw from our vio- lent onsl -u‘hu was shown by their contin withdrawals of troops from other p-m of the front for use against us. Although we were attacking, our HOME OF SMITH SMART SHOES but could make no headway | W estimate was that the enemy losses lty least equaled our own. In t meantime the French 4th Army, on our left, had been held up at Blanc Mont. As a consequence Mar- shal Foch appealed to me for assistance. Although I was loath to spare any troops from our front, so our own replacement situation, I sent, in accordance with my promise, the 2d Division (Lejeune), wl was followed later by the 36th (W. R. Smith). October 3 the 2d Division, accompa nledbymnd\unb.inlbrfllhnt maneuver against rx machine-gun resistance, stormed a: captured the dominat German positions on the Medeah Farm-Blanc Mont Ridge and continued on toward St. Etienne, which was taken on October 8, with the aid of one brigade of the 36th Division. This success carried forward the French divisions on its re) by Gen. aud, enabled the 4th Army to advance. ‘The imj nce of this aid to the French 4th Army is indicated by fi:e following _extracts from French Resume ol’ Operations: “The two brigades were side by side, the 4th Brigade of Marines on the left ltn{(: amnum a battalion of “lht “After s short but mmfl! 'lo- lent l.n‘.lllery preparaticn, the started at 5:50 a.m. October 3. mplh e eommmue number of machine guns and heavy artillery fire, the two bfl- es with admirable dah attained the assigned objectve, Blanc Mont-Medeah. In the course of its advance the 5th Regiment of Marines sent a detachment to the 11th Corps to help it clean out the German trenches. During this time :‘\};gvg:m was ll;xbiscud to violent n:r'- as well as mi -gun fire, upon its left flank. “At 4 pm. the attack started anew. In the woods, '.he advance continued, and at 6:30 the forward movements of the Ammnn 2d Division reached the line marked by the Ferme Scay and the cross-roads at a point 1 kilometer south of St. Etienne-a-Arnes. Advance Remarkable. “The advance realized by the Ameri- ht and left and, 85 | hic] filled Wwith machine guns, e 28th-20th, when it was relieved by the French. Although all classes of transporta- tion were badly needed, it was impera- tive at this time to increase the rail (u:tuv.laln'.helonzn!wmy ck trains were now being handled Rguhrly and efficiently, yet the enor- mous pa, of artillery ammunition that had be brought up was begin- ning to bear heavily on them. The French were the return of - | thelr trucks for use bei\ind their own lines, ferther to the west, where trans- | cess. portation was also being overtaxed. Influenza Spreads. Our supply system was on & well regulated basis under the able co-ordi- nation of Brig. Gen. Houley and his assistants at G. although we sorely feit the dkncwncles in motor ve- cles, operations were hard on horseflesh, but our losses were being partially replaced from the limited numbers in the Prench armies, mainly through Marshal Foch's direct orders, and some were obtained from the Brit- ish. Col. John L. De Witt, as the co- ordinator of supplies for the 1st Army, displayed rare ability in meeting the demands and nvercumlna in some groups. The cases of influenza treated in hospitals was nemy 70,000, of whom many de- veloped a grave form of pneumonia and did pot recover. ugh short of equipment and y nurses, the medi- nl units” ot the ha Am;ygu |gl¢n- can 2d Division during the course of | jig the day was remarkable, and reached a depth of about 6 kilometers. Numerous prisoners, canron, machine guns and materials of all kinds fell into its hands. “The rapld advance of the 21st Corps, and in p&rflculu that of the American 2d Division, October 3 brought about the most favorable results. “The enemy, placed by this rapid ad- varce of the center of the 4th Army in & very difficult position upon the Monts, as well as in Valley of the Suippe, nd | decided to evacuate the Monts and to retreat upon the Arnes and the Suippe. “October 8 & new attack took place upon the whole army front; the 21st Corps, strengthened by unn was di- rected to advance in the direction of Machault. The attack started at 5:15 am. The American 2d Division occu- pled St. Etienne-a-Arnes.” The 2d Division was relieved by the 36th the t of ‘Oh:wbe'r 9-10. Dur- in pursuit, rmhtnfil the lSlhl.nduIAb hm‘luumonuu south bank. The division maintained its position there unw the night of the were some of our best, made it neces- keep units in line on our front mv}um the normal withdrawal for rest and refitting, Five of our divislons were kept in line on the active front for an average of 24 days of uous service. Losses Mounting Daily. Once ocur army was committed to continuous attacks. the replacement of men became a problem of vital tance. The losses were mounting d-fly and the number of effectives was de- creasing at a rapid rate. Casualties ;l:&em September 2€ hwd grown to nearly and our need for replacements had increased to 80, WD It was neces- sary at this stage to reduce the size of our infantry companies from 250 to :;I’.': -| New Baltimore Man Dies £5WORLD STILL LIVES, Prencl (Claudel) Monday, to give flnll directions con- cerning attack next day. progressing well. “Liggett dined with us today on my train. &'un-mber olnfleen,m- tall of hl.s task. Important gains made during last few days.” ‘The higher commanders and their staffs of the 1st Army. as well as the troops—Infantry, Artiliery and Avia- tion—were gaing in efficiency with every day of actual experience in battle. Nevertheless, during my friequent visits to the various headquarters I insisted wherever necessary that eomnund should make closer examinations of the detalls of plans and give greater per- lol;ll u:)f.unuon to their execution. well ‘The broadening of the front of attack to the east of the Meuse, and the prob- ability that we should soon become en- gaged along our whole line, made it advisable to establish another Army. Accordingly, the 2d Army was formed, with its front extending the Moselle to Presnes-en-Woevre, and placed_under the command of Woevre to the Argonne clusive, was left under the 1st Army, to wh!ch Maj. Gen. Liggett was assigned. comamnders were recommended by m for promotion to lieutenant gen- Mymmmhcmeuutormn mnnder of a up of armies. Ma). was placed in com- mdo(mnmcwpwnlknlh) Gen. Cam glven com- mand of lhe “-h Dlvman Maj. l-unet was promoted to the eommnd of Corpl in place of Gen. Bullard. m’cm"‘“' given the 15t Gorpe, and was given and M;lh()en hh:ulr the 4th. S ese changes generally took effect October 12, but I retained direct com- the 1st Army until the 16th. ‘Tomorrow—*"Lost Battalion” relieved. t J9SL, in sl countries [{ Gflwflfli ol Hateeas Meipdber RHARE, Reotld Reproduction in whole fll'ellll D.ll’( Dloh;‘i.lw KILLED LIFTING HORSE When Tackle Pole Breaks. N, Va., March 21— SAYS ROY HOWARD Declares Ochs Had Chance to Buy Paper Long Before He Purchased It. - By the Assoclated Press. MIAMI, Fla, March 23.—Roy W. Howard, chairman of the board of the | CAPONE HENCHMAN SLAIN N CHICAGD Police Find Johnny Genaro, Shot Seven Times, in Auto- 1 7. mobile on Street. By the Associated Press. CHICAGO, March 21.—Gangland as- sassins caught up with Johnny Genaro !mnlghL Police found the body of I-he Capone Southside henchman, seven times, in an automobile n Twenty-ninth and Normal avenues. Genaro had been suspected of kill- | ing Prankie Uale, Brooklyn rn' lm, whose slaying in 1928 has lvu!fllmllewYoflpouu udnf shooting James Belcastro, bomber and terrorist. Eastern authomjties investigaling tba ‘with | Usle killing came o Chicago and ques- he had been in New York at the time, he is confident he would have saved the | ‘World newspapers for the employes. “I am afraijd Mr. Ochs, like several others, waited for the World to die and waited too long.” Mr. Howard -id. “They wanted it for The oid wcrnl: isn't E& It isn't or the press that makes the newspapers, it is the spirit of its writers. The Pulitzers, with a view to properties. “Mr. Ochs may be entirely right in his statement that the sale of the World properties was ‘an unfortunate calamitous chapter in the history American journalism.’ But it wo -mbehn:lnn:lmmm After time tioned Genaro at but lpparmny had insufficient ev! ce to make case against him, and he was l’eletlld_ Usle once was associated with Capone |:nd underworld rumor Nad it the two had a faliing out. Soon atfer, Uale was killed. Genaro was known' As & super- visor of Capone’s Calumet City beer business. One theory was that Oonm have been 1mpllnlld in the ll-?b( “wild Bill” n«mey.nwmsm Jabor leader, earlier this week. Police also said Genaro may have been slaim’ by some surviving member of the old Moran-Alello-Zuta combine. Genaro and Tony (Mops) Volpe, Cavcne gunner awaiting deportation to Italy, had attempted to kidnap Zuta. 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