Evening Star Newspaper, March 28, 1931, Page 4

My Experiences in the World War BY GEN. JOHN J. Meuse-Argonne . Offense " Continues_With Force Until _Germans’ ‘Applyl for Armistice. Wl TWO U. S. DIVISIONS IN RACE FOR SEDAN Other American Trosss Advance in lj‘llnders and Plans Are Made to Carry on Fight. CHAPTER LXXVL UR success had been so striking since the beginning of the No- | vember 1 attack that I felt | should “1, 'The energetic action of the 1st Army should - completely expel the enemy from the region between the Meuse and_the Bar within ‘the next few days. The results obtained by this Army have been felt on the entire front from the Moselle to Holland. * * * situation. “2. The 1st and 2d Armies will at to undertake tions once with the him beyond the existing frontier in ti region of Briey and Longwy. * ) 14 New Attack Prepared. Between the Meuse and the Chiers Rivers, north and northeast of Stenay, there was a very strong position which commanded the crossings in that vicin- ity. I believed that if we should cross the river south of Stenay and move in the direction of Montmedy we could turn this position and have an excel- lent opportunity to capture large num- bars of German troops driven back om the ime Sedan-Montmedy. By this maneuver we would also be in an ad- van! position to advance on the t supply areas of Longwy and An attack by the 3d Corps to the east across the Meuse, south of Dun- sur-Meuse, in conjunction with the northward movement by the French l}:-:p-red as a prelim- of advance to the the | Sedan. Part of these divisions had en- PERSHING, Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces. posed on the 4th north and east of Oches, but on the 5th its line was pushed forward to the north of Stonne and La Besace. By night of the 6th the 77th had reached the Meuse Rem- flly and Villers being entered by its patrols. The 78th Division on the 4th cap- tured Les Petites Amoises, and on the following morning advanced more than & mile to the north. Th> 424 Division relieved the 78th on this line and by the 6th established itself north of Bul- son. ' November 6 the 1st Division. 5th Corps, took over the front of the 80th Division, 1st Corps, And at onc> made a rapid advance to Yoncg, reaching the general line of the Meuse in the vicinity of Villemontry. 1t was the ambition of the 1st Army, and mine, that our troops should cap- ture Sedan, which the French had lost in a decisive battle in 1870. I suggested to Gen. Maistre 'that the prescribed boundary line between our 1st and the French 4th Army might be ignored in case we should cutrun the French, to| which he offered no objection, but on | the coptrary warmly apptroved. To reach the objective the loft bound- ary cf the 1st Army would have to be ignored, es Sedan lay to the northwest beyond that limit. The aftirnoon of November 5 the 1st Corps was directed to bend its energies to capture Seda “aszisted on its right by the 5th Corps.” A misconception in the 5th Corps of th: exact intent of my orders re- sulted in the 1st Division erroneously going beyond thé left boundary of the 5th Corps and marching directly across the sector of the 1st Corps during the late afternoon of the 6th and through- out the night. Th> trocps of the lst Division carried out this unnecessary forced march in fine spirit, despite their tired condition. Considerable _confusion resulted in the 42d and 77th Divisions, and their advanc: was delayed as roads became blocked by th> columns of the 1st Di- vision. The 42d and tige 1st then be- gan a race for the honor of capturing tered the zone of the Prench 4th Army and were waging a fight with the for the possession of the heights Sedan. The motning of November 7 found men of the 42d and the 1st Divisions on the heights overlooking the ecity. Under normal conditions the action of the offider or officers ible for this tablished its line from thcre south to the Bo's de Chatilon. By night of the d to Remoiville and 1o exicnded to the south, and by November 10 an excellent line of departure was sezured for an offensive in the direction of Montmedy. The 79th Division (Kuhn), in the French 2d Colonial , met decided oppositicn in its attacks of the 4th, 5th | and 6th, cgainst the Borne de Cirnoutl- int was finally * Tth. m the following | day the 79th, with units of the 26th Division (Bamford) attached, advanced on its entire front, and on the 9th took | Wavrille. { Artillery Without Hoerses. | Between November 3 and 7 the 26th Division, on the right of the 79th, made no attack. On the 8th it took up the pursuit of the retiring enemy, s:nd by night of the 9th occupied a line which | included Ville-devant-Cnaumont. ‘The 81st Division (Bailey) entered the line as the right division of the French | 2d C:lonizl Corps November 7, relieving | the 35tn Division (Traub). Attacking on the Sth against stff defense, ft cap- | tured Manbeulies and Moranville, i In these last days of the fighting some of our troopr, including the 81st, oper- | ated with a great shoriaze of animals, | which made it impossible to employ | all their artillery in cl°s2 support of the Infentry, and often reguir:d the men | to drag their guns by hand. The 6th Division (Gordon). whichh unfortunate)y did not get into battle, pulled a large past of s trensportation many miles by | and in attemp#ing to re: th= rapldly | mov ng boattle front south <f Sedan, where it was planned to use this di- | vis'an in (22 of necessity. T>k'n tp rgain e account of our | great drive northward, the 89th Divi- | Ci overcoming stubborn op- | red Beauicry on the 4th | d the Meuse. t de Jaulny ves clocred up the following | day rnd C was ccoupled, The 2d | Division in 15 - tack of the 4th suffered | heavy los e ~nd made slight headway, but durinc e noxt two days it con- tinued ranidl by night cf the 6th | reach-d the M 15> south of Villemontry. | In the 1st Cocps, the 80ih Division on the 4th, in spite of the enemy's | stand, captured Vaux-en-Dieul:t and Sommautbe. ‘The enemy retired dur- ing the night, and the division took up th® pursuit, overcoming vigoious rear guard resistance until reaching a line nerth and west of Beanmort. During the n'ght of the 5th its progre: X 2 ‘nucd, the division bring relie Boxt mam'ns “.'n- 7th Division was efizclively o9+ movem®nt of the 1st ucross the secfors of two other divisions would not have been overlooked, but the MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE NOV. I-11 splendid record of that unit and the proach of the end of hostilities sug- gest>d leniency. | enemy's mam line of com- munications was now within range of | the machine guns of the 1st Army, | which had driven him 24 miles since | November 1. His position on the west- | ern front was no longer tenable and | he urged immediate consideration of an_armistice. | Between November 1 and 7 the west- | ern boundary of the 1st Army was changed several times by Marshal Foch, and the notification in more than one instance reached Army headquar- ters too late to be transmitted to the | tioops in time to bocome effective. November 7, the left of our Army was | limited by Mouzon, the original bound- | ary not having been definitely fixed as far north as Sedan. However, this | change was not effected until after the armistice, as the French 4th Army was not prepared before that time to take over that sector. | .Late on November 9, Marshel Foch, then in conference with German rep- | sentatives regarding the terms of the | armistice, sent telegraphic instructions | to all nllied commanders in chief from which it might be inferred that he wes uncertain Tegarding the out- come of negotiations and wished to let | the enemy know that there could be no further delay. No Respite for Enemy. The following was the message re- ceived: “The enemy, disorganized by our r peated attacks, retreats along the en- tire froi “It is portant to co-ordinate and expedite our movements. | appeal energy and the initiative of t manders in chief | and of their armies to make decisive the results cbtai Orders in response to this appeal were immediately issued and their ex- ecution by the 1st Army was under way November 10 and 11. Yet here mln no sort of urging was necessary. r troops were determined not to give the enemy any respite. Already the crossing of the Meuse had been planned for the whole Army, and the 5th Corps got over during the ll:;{\l of the 10th-11th. Part of the n Division crossed on rafts just west of Poullly, and othirs in the rear of the Divis! (Allen). ‘The 2d Divis'on was unable to force | & crossing dcuzon, as planned, but about a mile scuth of Villemontry the engineers of the division. with except- rapidity and skill, threw two asress, over which one regi- ment passed. The 77th Division, now on the left of the 5th Corps, only sent over patrols on the 10th and 11th, the low ground north of the river opposite its front being flooded by heavy rains and damming operations by the Germans. ‘The 1st Corps from November 6 to 10 was withdrawing its divisions to points on the Meuse between Dun-sur- Meuse and Verdun prepargtory to & general attack which would have as its object the turning of the enemy’s strong position in front of the 5th Corps. East of tne meuse the 1st Army ad- vanced in conjunction with the 2d Army, which had been earnestly pre- paring for this moment ever since its ol ization. . e 2d Army, from left to right, composed - of the French 17th Corps, with the 33d Division (Beil) in line and the ‘35th (Traub) in reserve; the 4th Corps (Mulr) with the 28th Division | (Hay) and the Tth (Wittenmyer) in |line and the 4th (Hersey) in reserve, and the 6th (Menoher), with the {924 (colored) Division_ (Bailow) in line | and the 88th Division (Weigel) in the 1 Army reserve. Advanced Last Three Days. Under the instructions issued by-me November 5 for the advance of the 1st and 2d Armies, which received approval of Marshal Foch in a personal note ot November .8, the 2d made ad- vances along its Entire front in the di- | rection of the Briey Iron Basin during !the last three days of hostilities. In view of the stubborn resistance encoun. 10" H™™ F anp G STREEYS . On division moved forward until stopped llzvl;elvy fire from east of the Thinte er. In the French 2d Colonial Corps, 79th Division (Kuhn) engaged ‘;E: emy on the 10th and captured Chau- mont-devant-Damvillers, while the 26th Division (Bamford) took Ville-devant- Chaumont. The 81st Division (Bailey) continued its attack on the 9th, clean- ing up the remainder of the Bois de Moranville and taking Abaucourt. After hard fighting Grimaucourt was cap- tured, but was later evacuated, the line being established west of the town. Made Gains in Flanders. Meanwhile other of cur divisions were engaged on distant fronts, In Flanders our 37th and 91st Divisions, which had been sent to the French 6th Arm&' at Marshal Foch's request, en- tered the battle October 31, The, Cruyshautem ridge was taken by the 37th Division (Farnsworth) on the first day, while the 9lst (Johnston), ad- vancing against intense fire, seized the strongly defended wooded area in its front. Both divisions moved forward rapidly to the Escaut River on the fol- lowing day in pursuit of the enemy. Despite resistance, crogsings of the river were effected by the 37th November 2 and 3, the division being relieved the following day. - Audenarde was occu- pled by the 91st Division on the 2d and the division was relieved on the 3d by the French. Both divisions re-entered the line for the general attack of the French 6th Army November 10. The 37th Division was directed to relieve two French di- vislons east of the Escaut the morning of the 10th, but these divisions had been unable to cross, and were relieved on the west bank. Despite severe losses the 37th succeeded in again crossing the river and moved forward the fol- lowing day, advancing 2'¢ miles east- ward. The 91st Division met slight op- position on the 10th and none on the morning of the 11th, reaching a line east of Boucle-Saint-Blaise. In the 1st Army the 5th Corps ad- vanced rapidly the mfl'MH of the 11th, Elements of the 89th vision occu- pled Stenay and established a line on the hill to the north. Poullly-sur- Meuse was mopped up early in the morning- and Autreville was occupled. ‘The 2d Division advanced to the ridge west of Moulins, while the 77th Di- vision held its line of the 10th. In the 3d the morning of tbe 11th, the 90th Division entered Baalon and” the 5th and 32d Divisions were preparing to attack. The 79th Diviston of the French 2d Colonial Corps at- tacked against the Cote de Romagnc ced hort distance, the “Cinderella”—The New Portable Clothes Woasher Weighs Only 19 Pounds ... Does an Average Size Wash... Costs Approximately Ic an Hour to Operate A new kind of electric clothes washer—small, efficient, portable. 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S demonstrator which “Bubble Action” washes without ing the clothes, it here, in the glass shows exactly how ‘wear- ELECTRICAL AprLiANcEs, Prrre FLoom. :| 26th Division made slight 81st Division again took ucourt, On the front of the 2d Army the at- tack of the 33d Division on the 1ith was held up. The 28th Division car- ried its line forward north of Marim- bois Farm, the 7th Division made no attack and the 92d Division attacked, but did not hold all its gains, Line on November 11. The line of the 1st Army November 11 extended from Fresnes-en-Woevre | to Pont-Maugis. The 2d Army line ran from Port-sur-Seille to Fresnes-en- Woevre. Thus both American. armies were now in position to carry out the offensive as directed by my orders No- vember 5, which was what I had plan- ned and advocated when Marshal Foch insisted that there should be a converg- ing movement of all the armies west of the Meuse, with Mezieres-Sedan as the objective of the American 1st Army. As noted in my diary of November 7, Marshal Foch had requested that six American divisions be held in readiness to join in a Pranco-American offensive in the direction of Chateau-Salins, to start from the sector east of the Moselle River. The plan was agreed to, but with the understanding that our troops should be employed as a group undfir our own command. This combined attack was to begin November 14, with 20 French divisions under Gen. Mangin and a force of six American divisions under Gen. Bullard. It was my purpose that this force should be known thereafter as Army. I then expected to give Gen. Dick- man the command of the old 2d Army, which would become the 3d, to take over the St. Mihiel front. Of the divisions designated for the operation to 3d, 4th, 29th the 2d | PENDING REHEARING “And I Won't Be Back,” She De- clares on Leaving Los Angeles Jail. By the Assoclated Press. LOS ANGELES, March 28 —Dai Boe, blonde ex-sesr:tary and lgmni. companion of Clara Bow, was at home :fl-m py': n':mu‘ crnu!;mnl her sixth ate gain release from ”vmdbloni e “Ang won't be back,” sho s 1, * can't lose.” - i The girl who promised to “ell all” about her former actress employer, from ‘whom was convicted cf stealing $825, and stopped telling only when she was ordered to do so by the court, was elated at her release. She held up her hands and smiled broadly at camera- men as she left the jail. “Gee, I feel like singing,” She had served morergun 60 days of her 18 months’ term. Her release was ordered by the District Court of A on a habeas us action brwm P dlorney Blerne stackea: rney attacked the tion statute, contending the mm"fi‘i county jail term as a provision ofvwo- bation was unconstitutional, since - in- terfered with the right of a defendant The petition to o was without comment March 24, An plication for rehearing then Miss De Boe's release on bond. She will be given a hearing March 31. WALTER LIPPMAN HIRED NEW YORK, March 28 (#)—Walter L) an, mo.:l:‘;re‘:lug:lof the World and wrote ledictory, yes- terday joined the staff of the Herald- ne. Mr. Li , on his return from & trip to Greece and the Balkans, become a r contributor of the Herald-Tribune, with freedom to write on any topic, the paper announced last yward Chateau-Salins, the and 36th, then in reserve, were scheduled to move eastward No- , while the 28th and 35th withdrawn from line on the 2d Army front. ‘Tomorrow: The armistice is signed— conclusion, she sald. (Copyright. n all conntries 1931, 1, by the Notth American Newspaser ‘Allance:, "World rights reserved, including the Scandinavian. Beproduction {n whole or in pari prohib- LAWS TO HALT WASTAGE OF GAS AGAIN HELD 0. K. California Court Declares Constitu- tional Acts Aimed at Oil Companies. By the Associated Press. SAN FRANCISCO, March 28. State Supreme Court today had reaf- firmed its stand that State laws aimed at preventing wastage of natural gas are constitutional. The court sustained a Los Angeles Superior Court injunction against the two Twin Bell oil syndicates and the Star Petroleum Co. yesterday. These companies, enjoined with approximately 43 ofl-produci anizations, ‘unconstitutional. ‘The court reiterated its ruling that legislation intended to prevent natural gas 'nuge in oil flelds was sound and that the Superior Courts were empow- ered to enforce the laws. 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