THE NEW GERMAN DRIVE AROUND RHEIMS—THE NEW BATTLE OF THE MARNE—THE ALLIES LAUNCH A GREAT OFFENSIVE MOVEMENT

It was shortly after midnight on June 15, 1918, while in some parts of the fighting front British, French, and Americans were still fÊting the national holiday, that the German guns from the Marne near ChÂteau-Thierry heralded the new offensive. Soon along a front of sixty miles, extending to the Argonne, the German artillery was thundering. Men who had seen fighting since the war began describe the artillery preparation for the drive as beyond anything the Germans had attempted up to that time on the French front. Not only were the Allies' lines front and back shelled, but behind the lines to a distance of twenty and thirty miles.

About daybreak the German infantry attacked. East and west of Rheims a large number of tanks assisted the advance. The French had already anticipated the drive and were fully prepared. On the whole front east of Rheims they held up the German hordes for five hours. It was only in the neighborhood of the Souain Road and Prunay that the Germans made any notable advance. Here on a narrow front they succeeded in penetrating for about one and a half miles.

The most important achievement in the morning of the first day was the crossing of the Marne of 15,000 German troops, and an advance of a mile beyond on a ten-mile front.

East of Rheims, and east and west of ChÂteau-Thierry, American troops received the full force of the German blows in those sectors. The success of our soldiers in stemming the German advance is described in detail in another place.

In the first day's fighting the Germans employed fifty-six or fifty-seven divisions of their best troops, fourteen on either side of Rheims in the front line, and as many in the second line. General von Einem commanded in Champagne, Fritz von Below around Rheims, and General von Boehm on the Marne.

By noon the Germans had begun to throw bridges across the Marne where the river makes a salient northward with the point at Jaulgonne. Three times the American guns shattered the pontoons that the Germans were trying to throw across the river, but the fourth time they succeeded in bridging the stream and made an advance of about two miles, the Americans falling back to the base of the salient made by the river.

Comparative quiet reigned on the fighting fronts during the night following the offensive. The only explanation of the Germans' failure to push on must be attributed to their fear of failure. They had not achieved the success they hoped for in the first onrush and their losses had been far heavier than they anticipated.

From early dawn until dark on the second day of the German offensive (July 16, 1918) the battle raged with unabated fury from ChÂteau-Thierry to the Argonne, Southwest of Rheims the Germans started a heavy drive, which they hoped would enable them to reach Epernay, by pushing forward to St. Agnan, La Chapelle and Monthodon. Here they were attacked in force by French and American troops and driven out of the villages of St. Agnan and La Chapelle and from the heights to the north dominating the Marne Valley at this point.

Where the battle front crossed the Marne south of Chatillon intense fighting took place for the possession of Mareuil-le-Pont on the southern bank of the river. General PÉtain's troops were heavily reenforced by Americans at this point, but the Germans were in overwhelming numbers, and the Allies were forced to fall back fighting every foot of the way to positions two miles southeast along the river toward Epernay. Later in the day the Germans occupied Chatillon, which marked some progress in the carrying out of their plan to flank Rheims from the west.

Prunay, about five miles southeast of Rheims, was won by the Germans from the French by a strong thrust. The French intrenched themselves on the southern bank of the Vesle River and the enemy was unable to make any further advance in this sector. West of Rheims the Germans attacked in very considerable strength at two places, by way of the Marne railway and in the region south of Dormans. In this region they succeeded in throwing six bridges across the Marne, between Reuilly and Dormans, but at no point on this twenty-five-mile front did they succeed in penetrating more than four miles into the French positions.

At the close of the second day of the offensive the Germans according to their official report, claimed to have taken only 13,000 prisoners, a small number indeed considering the large forces they had employed in the advance. In the fighting around Prunay, where the struggle was especially intense, they used up 65 per cent. of their effectives and were forced to bring up reserves into the battle area, which they had been holding back for later attacks.

The third day of the offensive (July 17, 1918) the fighting continued along the whole front and ends, under rainy skies, and occasional showers. The German gains in territory were unimportant except to the southwest of Rheims, where they made an advance of about a mile and a half. East and west of the martyred city most of their attacks were broken up, and the whole Champagne line remained intact.

In the morning, Germans in a determined thrust broke through at Oeuilly on the Marne and captured Montvoisin, seven miles west of Epernay. In the regions west of this they were heavily reenforced by fresh troops, but were unable to make any advance against the magnificent defense of the French forces, who held them firmly on the southern outskirts of Bouquigny and ChataigniÈres. North of St. Agnan the Germans were better favored by fortune, for they succeeded in penetrating La Bourdonnerie. Here the French had the cooperation of American troops and the enemy was held in check.

A decisive blow was struck by the Allies in the morning of July 18, 1918. The mighty counterattack was launched without any preliminary artillery preparation, and proved to be a complete surprise to the enemy. The drive was made on the twenty-eight-mile front from the Aisne to the Marne and in the course of the advance more than twenty villages were captured and the Allies' lines were pushed to within a mile of Soissons.

The ground regained at its extreme width was about six and a half miles in the region to the south of Soissons. The attacking troops drove forward as far east as the little river Crise, an advance especially important, because it gave the Allies possession of high ground that dominated the German supply lines to the city.

To the west of Soissons, American troops carried out successful operations against the enemy, capturing over 4,000 prisoners, 30 guns, and much war material. Farther south on the same side of the German salient the Americans cooperating with French forces captured the town of Vierzy and made an advance of three miles to the east of it.

North of the River Ourcq the Germans fought with desperate and stubborn energy, but they were more than outmatched by the French, who broke down their resistance and drove forward into the western outskirts of Chouy and Neuilly-St. Front, and on to Belleau Wood, an average depth of advance of about three miles.

The magnitude of the French and American effort will be appreciated when it is understood that they had achieved more in this operation than the Germans had accomplished in their hard drive on both sides of Rheims. In six hours French and Americans working together had advanced double the distance it had taken the Germans three days to cover.

South of the Marne, the French lost some ground, but nowhere else could the Germans make gains, while several of their attacks broke down with appalling losses. Montvoisin, which the enemy had captured on the previous day, was recovered by the French. ChÊne-la-RÉine was also occupied to the west, and what was even more important, the heights west of these villages overlooking the Marne. Other victories of importance were won by the French north of the Marne, where they captured the forest known as Bois du Rois and the village of Venteuil.

French and American forces continued their advance on July 19 between the Aisne and the Marne, gaining ground of about two miles at some points. Since the drive of the Allies began 17,000 Germans had been captured and 860 guns.

In a desperate attempt to stem the tide of the advance, the Germans had brought great numbers of fresh troops into the fighting area. The plateau southwest of Soissons in the Crise River region, which the Germans lost on the previous day, was the scene of an intense and bitterly fought struggle. Despite the Germans' determined efforts to regain the plateau, the Allies firmly held their positions, and in the afternoon began a further advance.

To the south the Germans were driven from the plateau northwest of Bonnes, but not before they had fought with determined resistance that was deserving of better fortune. Progress was also made by the Allies southwest of Rheims, where the French and Italians fought together.

The British, who had so far been spared in the recent German offensive, had a small victory to their credit on the same day (July 19, 1918) that the French, Americans, and Italians were pushing back the enemy all along the front. Meteren, a valuable observation point in the Bailleul sector, was captured by Scottish and Australian troops. Four hundred Germans were taken and a number of machine guns.

Heavy fighting was resumed late in the afternoon of July 19, 1918, along the Aisne-Marne front. The French were fighting uphill, but the Germans could not keep them back, and were slowly pushed out of their strongest positions in this region.

The large numbers of fresh troops thrown into the battle to support the crown prince made it necessary for the French to fight every foot of the way. On a twenty-eight-mile front the average advance of the Allies was only one mile, and they fought hard from noon on July 19, 1918, to 9 o'clock on the following morning to accomplish this.

The Germans, violently attacked on their right flank and south of the Marne, were forced to retreat and recross the river. The whole southern bank of the Marne was now in French possession.

In the three days' fighting the Allies had captured over 20,000 prisoners and over 400 guns. On the following morning the Allies resumed the offensive, forcing the Germans to give way gradually on both sides of the deep pocket of which Rheims and Soissons mark the edges. In this pocket the Germans suffered heavy casualties from the long-range guns and airplane bombers of the Allies.

ChÂteau-Thierry was occupied by French and American troops on July 21, 1918, the Germans evacuating the place under strong pressure. In their withdrawal from that pivot point on the Marne salient they were closely followed by the Allies' forces, who, cooperating with troops at Vaux and to the northward, swept the Germans back for miles, and beyond the highway to Soissons.

Farther north and almost reaching to Soissons, French and American forces drove on to the Soissons-ChÂteau-Thierry highway at Hartennes, and gaining the railway under the Allied guns, threatened Oulchy. As a result of these operations the entire front was straightened out and a gain was made of over seven miles of territory.

On the east side of the salient, between Rheims and the Marne, French and British troops fighting shoulder to shoulder were driving back the Germans, who, opposing a strong resistance, and supported by reserves, were unable to stem the Allies' advance. In the course of the fighting in this sector the French and British occupied the village of Bouilly.

The heavy artillery of the Allies continued on July 21, 1918, to hammer German positions in the districts north of the Marne. Indian scouts who were with Pershing in Mexico were active in gathering information in the river region.

In all sections of the line, from Soissons to Rheims, the hard struggle continued with undiminished intensity. Although the Germans maintained a desperate resistance at the bottom of the Marne salient, it was evident that they would be forced soon to make a wide retreat. This was indicated by the great concentration of German troops at the top of the salient which could only mean that they were making preparations to retire to a new line.

The entire ChÂteau-Thierry-Soissons highway from the Ourcq south was now occupied by the Allies. Epieds was captured and territory gained northeast of Mont St. PÈre, and east of La Croix, and Griselles. Near the last place named the Germans gained some slight temporary advantage, but it had no effect on the continued advance the Allies were making.

Having cleared the Germans out of the district south of the Marne, the Allies were busy constructing bridges and getting troops and supplies across the river. On July 22, 1918, the enemy were trying to keep a hold on the river bank extending from Mont St. PÈre to east of Reuilly. In the face of a furious fire the French succeeded in getting two strong bodies of troops across the stream at MÉzy and Courcelles, who at once started the construction of footbridges while under the grilling fire of the German guns.

The Allies continued to make progress in the Soissons-Rheims salient on July 23, 1918, although the Germans with the support of fresh troops developed stubborn resistance. The most important operation of the day was the advance of the French forces on both sides of the Ourcq southward toward FÈre-en-Tardenois, the great German supply center. North of the river General PÉtain's troops occupied Montgru on the bank of the stream and two other towns.

South of the Ourcq the Allies were even more successful in gaining ground. Here the French and Americans, cooperating, drove the Germans back nearly a mile beyond the ChÂteau-Thierry-Soissons road. Meanwhile, in the Montdidier sector, Foch struck a hard blow at the enemy and achieved a brilliant success. The French troops, attacking on a four-mile front north of Montdidier, made a forward drive of two miles, capturing Mailly-Raineval, Savillers, and Aulvillers. The heights commanding the Avre River were also won, and over 1,500 Germans were captured.

At other points, notably east and northeast of ChÂteau-Thierry, at the bottom of the great salient, the French troops, ably assisted by American forces, gained ground. Along almost the entire line between the Ourcq and the Marne German resistance was broken by the resistless onward sweep of the Franco-American forces. During the night of July 23-24, 1918, the Germans delivered a terrific counterattack in the neighborhood of Epieds, where they were opposed by American troops. The Germans succeeded after a hard fight in recapturing the village, and another in the neighborhood, but they were unable to hold their gains. On the following day the Americans drove them out of these villages and pushed on beyond Courpoil, more than a mile to the northeast.

North of this fighting area French troops had penetrated as far as Brecy, while to the southeast French and American troops drove forward through the woods on a wide front beyond Preloup on the Marne. The advance of the Allies at several points was about two miles.

The Germans had nearly half a million troops concentrated in the Marne salient. Attacked on three sides by British, French, and American forces, their position was extremely perilous. To continue resistance in a position so threatened might appear to be an act of madness, yet it was a maxim of Napoleon's that, where forces are about equal, the inside fighters have the advantage over an adversary in concentric formation.

The Allies continued to bend in the salient, the French and Americans on the west, and the French and British on the east. The most important point held by the Germans, and the Allies' main objective, was FÈre-en-Tardenois, the junction of several roads, and a chief distributing point.

This nerve center of the German front, subjected to constant cross fire from French and American guns, was fast becoming untenable. Indeed there was no corner of the salient where the Germans were not constantly harried by the artillery of the Allies.

The most important gain made by the Franco-American forces on July 25, 1918, was below the Ourcq River. In the course of this advance the Allies captured Hill 141 southeast of ArmentiÈres, and the village of Coincy on the south, and pushing ahead in a northeasterly direction they occupied most of Tournelle Wood, which is only three miles from FÈre-en-Tardenois. Farther to the south an advance was made as far as the forest of FÈre and to the general line of Beuvardes-Charmel. Ground was also gained north of Dormans on the Meuse.

As a result of these advances the Allies had taken about forty miles of territory from the Germans, and had acquired almost a straight line running southeast from ArmentiÈres to Vincelles, on the Marne.

In the sector west of Rheims, British and French troops had advanced to Guex and Mery-Premecy, which meant a push of two miles in the direction of Fismes, and the narrowing of the mouth of the salient to that extent.

Ten divisions of reserves had been rushed to the aid of the German crown prince, drawn from the army of Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria in the course of the week's fighting, but the new forces were unable to stay the victorious advance of the Allies.

As the result of the last week's operations the whole situation on the western front was transformed. The Germans had used up sixty-five divisions on the Champagne front and all of the crown prince's reserves. They had only about thirty divisions left belonging to Prince Rupprecht's Army to draw on.

The Germans were certainly in an awkward situation, but it was no worse than that which confronted the British Army in the Ypres salient before the capture of Messines Ridge. The Ypres salient was about five miles wide, and five miles deep, and the German guns commanded it. The German salient was at this time about twenty miles wide by twenty deep, and the artillery of the Allies could sweep every corner of it.

From documents captured from the Germans, it was learned that on the day after the Allies assumed the offensive a retirement was ordered to a line either along the Avre or the Vesle Rivers. These orders were subsequently canceled, because an orderly retreat could not be made in such a pinched salient, so the Germans had been commanded to maintain their positions as long as possible.

Unable to further withstand the tremendous pressure of the Allies' armies, the Germans began a retreat along the whole front north of the Marne late in the morning of July 27, 1918. They relinquished the strong grip they had held on the north bank of the river, which extended from Vincelles nearly ten miles east to Reuil, and also fell back on both flanks.

It was the purpose of the Germans to reach the Ourcq, on a line reaching from FÈre-en-Tardenois to the northern top of the De Riz forest which lies before Charmel.

In the course of the day the French, British, and American troops, pressing hard on the heels of the German rear guards, had reached the line of BruyÈres, Villeneuve-sur-FÈre, and Courment, all within a few miles of the great German supply center of FÈre-en-Tardenois, which was now so hemmed in that its evacuation must soon follow. The advance of the Allies in a northeasterly direction from ChÂteau-Thierry had now reached ten miles. Since the beginning of the counteroffensive 30,000 German prisoners were taken.

The Allies continued their triumphant progress on July 28, 1918. The Germans in the Soissons-Rheims salient were forced to accelerate the speed of their retirement northward, closely followed by tanks, cavalry, and infantry patrols of the Allies.

French cavalry, supported by some infantry elements, had, reached in the morning of July 28, 1918, the district south of Villers-sur-FÈre, a little over a mile from FÈre-en-Tardenois and Sergy.

The success of the Allies along the whole front was now complete and about half of the pocket in which the enemy had been cornered was retaken.

The Germans were retiring as swiftly as they could, but their losses were tremendous, as French and American troops harried them on the center, and French and British were dealing hammer blows on both of their flanks. While the cavalry were hard at it, the tanks had pushed their way in among the retreating forces, where they did effective work. The Allies' aviators meanwhile, flying a few hundred feet overhead, were machine-gunning columns on the march and bombarding German batteries.

In the Soissons area the Germans had massed a large number of heavy guns on the heights around Juvigny and Chavigny, and from these points they bombarded the western wing as far south as Oulchy-le-ChÂteau. Yet the Allies in the Oulchy region continued to make progress, though facing some of the finest German divisions, and the concentrated fire of a vast number of machine guns.

On the eastern wing the Allies were gradually gaining control of the whole road leading from Dormans to Rheims. The Germans had assembled on this side a strong array of artillery near St. Thierry, which served to protect their left flank, and which delayed, though it could not stop, the Allies' advance.

The German retreat, it should be noted, was conducted in an orderly manner and was in no sense a rout. The method of retirement employed at this time, and which the Germans indeed adopted on other occasions, was as follows: One company withdraws from every two on the first line; the remaining troops redouble their fire to give the impression that the line is still strongly held. Out of each remaining company two sections are then taken out, leaving but one section in the line. When this last section is ordered to withdraw, a few men are left behind to occupy small posts well furnished with machine guns and these keep up a vigorous fire to protect the retreat. The few men left behind for this work seldom escape death or capture, but they are sometimes able to regain their own lines.

The retreat continued on July 29, 1918, with the Allies in close pursuit. The Germans had brought more heavy guns into play and succeeded in slowing up the advance, though they could not stop it. In the course of twenty-four hours the Allies had pushed their lines forward from two to three miles on a twenty-mile front. The Germans had been forced to abandon the line of the Ourcq and proposed to fall back to a line beyond the Vesle between Soissons and Rheims.

One of the most important operations at this time was the French drive east and northeast, from the neighborhood of Oulchy-le-ChÂteau, at the salient in the German line, which opened the way for the advance of the Allies to FÈre-en-Tardenois and beyond. Grand Rozoy and the heights to the north of it were occupied and also Cugny, which stands one mile east of Oulchy. Farther north of Grand Rozoy the troops of General PÉtain were pushing forward to capture the hills that dominated a wide area north and south. In these operations the French captured nearly 500 Germans.

The fighting around Sergy on the north bank of the Ourcq was of a specially violent character, the place changing hands no less than nine times in twenty-four hours. Here, where the Americans had only the assistance from the French of a few armored cars, they fought practically "on their own" with distinction and bravery. (Details of their achievements in this struggle are noted in another place.)

To the east, and just north of the Ourcq, the Allies won possession of the villages of VallÉe and Givray. Toward Soissons a hard fight was in progress for the possession of Buzancy. It had twice been won by the Allies and then the Germans captured it. New Scottish troops, aided by a few British columns, attacked the town and it was won for the Allies.

After defeating the Prussian Guards and Bavarians, the American forces made an advance of two miles beyond Sergy on July 30, 1918. The German resistance to the Allies' thrusts now became increasingly vigorous. Along almost the entire front to the east they launched fierce counterattacks, but only succeeded in gaining a little ground near St. Euphraise to the southwest of Rheims.

The main advance of the Allies on the westerly side of the front was near Grand Rozoy, where the French were pushing north to the crest of the plateau between the Vesle and the Ourcq.

The intense struggle which had continued without pause for two weeks on the Marne battle front now showed signs of slackening. The only fighting worthy of note took place in the FÈre region, on the front held by American troops around Seringes and Sergy. Here the Germans made a hard fight during the night and morning of July 30-31, 1918, to dislodge the forces of General Pershing, but were badly beaten. (Details of the struggle are described on another page.)

The hope of the Germans that the Allies were in a state of exhaustion, and that the offensive had broken down for the present, was rudely shattered on the first of August, 1918. On this date the Allies attacked on a ten-mile front from Buzancy to FÈre-en-Tardenois and Seringes. They drove forward nearly two miles at one point, and carried important heights, including Hill 205 north of Grand Rozoy, which resulted in wiping out the angle of the battle line east of Oulchy.

Where the Allies marked their greatest advance was in the region northwest of FÈre-en-Tardenois. The villages of Cramoiselle and Cramaille were occupied, as well as Bordeux to the north, and Servenay to the northeast. As a result of this thrust the victors captured 600 prisoners. In the course of the operations from July 15 to July 31, 1918, the Allies had taken 34,400 Germans.

These successful operations on the Buzancy-FÈre front, carried out by French forces with the support of British units at the north, linked up the gains made by the Americans on the previous day and night in the area east and southeast of Seringes.

Farther to the east in the Ville-en-Tardenois region, on the left flank of the fast decreasing German salient, French forces, after an especially murderous and close struggle, drove the enemy out of the village of Romigny and occupied the place.

Apart from the important gains in territory made by the Allies in the two weeks' offensive operations, the result of the victories was to shake the belief of the German army in their own invincibility. They had failed in their objectives, first in the thrust toward Rheims, and afterward in their efforts to hold out against a counterassault. Twice they had made determined and exhaustive attempts with large forces of men to stem the advance of the Allies, and had failed in each instance. They had employed their best troops, who fought with courage and daring and with reckless disregard for life, but were unable to build a barrier that the Allies could not shatter. It was not believed by the Allied High Command that the morale of the German fighters had been seriously sapped by their forced retreat, but the news would drift back to Germany in soldiers' letters and in other ways, creating a feeling in the Empire that their army was not equal to its task, and a consequent loss of faith in the flamboyant promises of victory proclaimed by Hindenburg and Ludendorff.