Don
Martin diary entry for Saturday, July 20, 1918: [Edwin] James [New York Times], [Sam] Johnson and I
went to Second division; also visited hospital at Pierreponds, shadow of famous
chateau. Saw many British soldiers on their way to the front. Franco-American
offensive proceeding well. May not get very far but it will demoralize the
Germans for the time being and put them in the position of having to wonder
what the allies are doing.
Don Martin probably wrote the following dispatch, dated Saturday, the night of July 19-20. It was published
in the New York Herald on July 21.
HUNS FLEEING WITH THEIR GUNS BEFORE FRANCO-AMERICANS FROM CHÂTEAU-THIERRY
TO SOISSONS
Don Martin Says
Boches Are in Retreat and Their Artillery Has Ceased to Bother Towns in the
Allied Rear—Brilliant American Fighting in Sector South of the Aisne—Double
Lines of Men on Roads to Battle
By DON MARTIN
Special Correspondent of the Herald with the American Armies in France
[Special Cable to the
Herald]
WITH THE AMERICAN
ARMIES IN FRANCE, SATURDAY
A big eastward movement of guns and paraphernalia east of
Chateau-Thierry and the villages surrounding it and in the vicinity of Soissons
is a pretty clear indication that the Germans are frightened over the virility
of the Franco-American assault from Soissons to Belleau. The silence of the
German guns, which usually are pounding at French points well back of the
lines, suggests that General Foch’s offensive is attaining some of its ends by
forcing the Germans to evacuate positions which they had expected to hold easily
for use as bases in their advance on Paris.
It is possible the crisis of the war will be reached soon,
although it is inadvisable to be too optimistic. The German is sagacious in war
and may have a trump card up his sleeve, which is possible, for he had upward
of fifty divisions which were available when the offensive started on Monday,
and so far as known thirty-five divisions have been used in the attack so far.
Moreover, he has between eighty and ninety divisions with which it is possible
to make a swift attack at some new point. However, from what I have seen, I
would say there is little need to worry. The most vital points are well
protected and the French are able to throw splendid reserves wherever they
choose and they are able to move swiftly.
Pride Is Justified
Americans at home will be justified in their pride in the
boys, for the fact is Americans have done wonderful work in this offensive.
They were put in places where the stoutest and pluckiest conduct was essential
to success, and they failed nowhere. They held the line which was assailed by the strongest of the German shock troops.
More than ten divisions were opposite the sectors held by
us, and despite the increasing vigor of their resistance we went stoutly and
steadily ahead. It is amazing what the American soldier has accomplished.
France opens its eyes in wonder when it sees these soldiers pass constantly
marching with rolling camions to the front and returning bandaged and in
ambulances. To-day I saw an endless line on the roads; soldiers fresh and
snappy in their swinging stride on their way to the front; and it was more
picturesque and more thrilling to see them grimly tramp onward rather than
back—onward where they will face the tremendous power of a military machine
fifty years in the making.
The combined strength of France, Great Britain and America,
which now are firmly united, will deal a staggering blow to the Boche, who,
while minimizing the strength of America, is believed to have added to the
force he brought from the Eastern front to insure victory.
Allies Have All the Arms
The Allies are provided with ample artillery, gas and
machine guns, and they are the instruments that are decisive in this modern
warfare, where personal courage, valor and strength count for comparatively little.
The valor, brilliance and tenacity with which the
Franco-Americans are fighting southwest of Soissons equals anything in military
history and has compelled the speedy summoning of the German crack regiments. One
of these was from the Prussian Guards, and five of their men were taken
prisoner in the first hour of the engagement. A crack
American unit was thrown into the line at the end of two
days and two nights of riding in camions. By the end of the fighting last night
they had gone forward ten kilometers (a mile and a quarter), part of it in face
of the resistance of German shock troops. They captured nearly three thousand
prisoners, including sixty-six officers. No unit of any army, except perhaps
the historic Bourlon Wood group of English soldiers, have been plunged
into a more hellish hole, yet the
Americans took every objective punctually. Some companies were commanded by
sergeants in the absence of commissioned officers. This unit is furnishing a
glorious page of history which is recognized by the English and French.
Tales of the Wounded
I talked with many fresh from the fight in hospitals
suffering from gas and slight wounds. They told amazing stories, of which I
repeat a few, because of their personal touch, like echoes of those from the
dead.
Robert Bunten, a storekeeper, of Rock Springs, Wyoming, a
sturdy young man, showed me a watch taken from a German captain containing on
the dial a picture of the Kaiser and Ludendorff. Bunten said:--
“I came upon six Boches in a shell hole. The captain fired a
pistol, but missed. I killed him with the bayonet. The lieutenant attempted to
shoot me and I killed him with my revolver. Four privates I killed in the same
way. If you write the story, please send the paper to my mother, Mary Bundy, at
Rock Springs.”
Al Neimoff, known as a boxer, of St. Louis, of husky German
ancestry, said:--
“The captain named me the “Flying Dutchman” for my new
soldiering to-day over the top. In the second wave I got to the third line of
the Boche trenches. I crawled back to the second line and stopped in a shell
hole. I found Germans there. They tackled me, but I killed them all.”
Grant Rhodes, a leader in the six mile run of Pennsylvania
University, said:--
“I went over at dawn. I was shaky at first and thought I
could not stand it, but had no trouble. I forgot my fear just as soon as I was
over. Now it is time to eat.”
Russell Young, of Lawton, S.D., said:--
“It was the first time over for me. I am a farmer at home. I
went eight kilometres [five miles.] Shells were everywhere. Some of the boys
were knocked twenty feet. Some shells struck close to me. I was almost
unconscious and only wanted to get at the Germans and clean them up. They stay
in the back or cry ‘Kamerad’.”
Other soldiers I saw to-day were back for a day’s rest. It is
remarkable that they admit the war is merciless, volcanic and continuous and
may mean certain death, yet they all came through to a man.
On the Way to the Hospitals
I saw twenty camions full of wounded, their feet dangling,
riding for ten miles over a crumpled road in clouds of dust. Some had their
arms and legs in splints. They were grave, but not disheartened. I talked with
them at a point where the traffic was blocked for half an hour. There was not a
word of complaint. One said he would like a month to rest, when he would return
and surpass his record.
I saw a large number of another unit in a hospital yard
awaiting treatment fresh from the front. The inability to provide many
ambulances and transfer surgeons necessitated immediate treatment. There was a
long wait. I asked one of the men if he was discouraged at the delay. He said,
“No; they can’t help it. They are doing the best they can.”
Clark Williams, of New York, a banker and once Insurance
Commissioner, did noble work for the Red Cross at this hospital close to the
line in the shadow of a magnificent château. He said: --
”I love the boys. They are the bravest in the world. They
suffer in silence and fight like Spartans.”
The devotion of the surgeons and attendants to their duty in
the hospitals, which are inevitably rushed for time in a great engagement, is
splendid. The array of men in this hospital worked for thirty-six hours
continuously until they fell asleep over their tasks. A nurse, sleepless for
thirty hours, told me that they refused rest and sewed bandages which were
needed for the surgeons, who had been working twenty or thirty hours
consecutively with their attendants.
The heroes are not all in the fighting line. The Red Cross
is marvelous. On Wednesday night they opened a resort hotel in the shadow of
the château which was taken for a hospital for Americans. The rooms were bare,
but by Thursday noon it was fully equipped by the Red Cross. It is the same
story of miracles elsewhere. Surgeons famed at home are working on the edge of
the line.
I saw two hospital ambulances preparing to be rushed to
Paris. They had been hit by fragments of bombs dropped by the barbarous Huns
directly over the field hospitals. They apparently intend to continue their
inhuman practice on the theory of anything to terrify the world and bring the
war to an end while Germany is on top.
As I write the offensive is continuing satisfactorily. The
German offensive east of Château-Thierry is checked temporarily at least. A
huge smoke screen thrown over the Marne yesterday was a mystery. Perhaps it
means the withdrawal of the Germans opposite Dormans, possibly the beginning of
a new offensive. Air observers reported last night huge explosions in Soissons
followed by flames.
The German numerical strength is superior, though there has
been an important change in the situation owing to General Foch’s offensive,
which may force a German abandonment of the advance on Epernay.
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