Don Martin diary entry for Saturday, September 14, 1918:
Tried to get to Thiaucourt which was
evacuated by Germans yesterday but got caught in congested traffic and had to
turn back. Rode through fields for considerable distance. All our men and
supplies are moving north on heels of Germans. Rode with Battersby of Reuters
and [Edwin] James [New York Times]. Wrote 1,200 words for N.Y. Dined with
Bailey of the Daily Mail at the Stanislaus. Had splendid dinner. Air Alert.
Don Martin's dispatch continuing his report on the St.-Mihiel success, dated September 14, was published in the New York
Herald on Sunday, September 15, with only 270 words. His dispatches, below, for Paris were much larger.
20,000
PRISONERS TAKEN,
WITH 50,000 MORE BELIEVED SURROUNDED BY PERSHING’S ARMY
Closing Of St.
Mihiel Salient One Of The Neatest And Swiftest Victories Of The War, Says Don Martin, Describing How It
Was Done After The Pincer Method
GERMAN HIGH
COMMAND ALARMED AT ABILITY OF AMERICANS TO CARRY OUT SUCH OPERATION
Depth Of
Thirteen Miles Attained In Pershing’s Drive And 20,000 Prisoners Taken, With
More Coming In, While Huns Further North Retire In Haste.
By DON MARTIN
Special Correspondent of the Herald with the American Armies in France
(Special Cable to the Herald)
NANCY, Saturday
In
closing the St. Mihiel salient the Americans undoubtedly achieved one of the
neatest and swiftest victories of the war. The Germans were bewildered by the
swiftness of the attack.
The German
high command, I am informed, is alarmed at the ability of the Americans to
carry out an operation of this kind. I have talked with men in position to
know, who say the whole thing is illustrative of American efficiency applied to
war. It was figured that the way to lick the Germans in this highly important
salient was to put three to one against ends of the pincers, which they did.
The ends were bent so swiftly that they were welded by Friday.
Some of the best American troops fought
at both ends and drove everything before them. Both encountered resistance
which ordinarily would have caused delay till the enemy troops evacuated the
salient, but not in this case. The Americans plunged in the face of everything
and swept machine guns out of their way. They drew their artillery up to the
very front.
Meantime
troops at the bottom of the salient were quiet, not hurrying the Germans. Next
morning they rushed in and caught the Germans dragging their supplies along
muddy roads and scampering over the fields to get away. Many surrendered and
many were killed.
There was a
touching picture when Generals Pershing and Pétain entered St. Mihiel. The
civilians embraced and hailed General Pershing as their great liberator. They
always loved General Pétain who, with Marshal Foch, is the hero of France.
Many
guns and a vast quantity of supplies have been captured in the salient.
One of Don Martin's dispatches for Paris dated September 14 was his daily battle front update. It was published in the Paris Herald on Sunday, Sept
15.
THREE COUNTER-ATTACKS
REPULSED BY THE AMERICANS; 15,000 PRISONERS AND VAST STORES LEFT BY ENEMY
Americans Scour Woods
North-West of Saint-Mihiel, Gathering in Prisoners—Cavalry Routs German
Forces—Conflans Bombed from Air
(Special Telegram to the Herald)
By DON MARTIN
With The American Armies, Saturday.
Three times
last night and this morning the Boche made counter-attacks on the line formed
by the Americans since the Saint-Mihiel salient was wiped out. Each time he was
repulsed, practically with no damage being done to our forces. The Germans lost
prisoners and killed each time they attacked and were quiet after three
failures in a row.
A large force
of the enemy is entrenched in foxholes just ahead of the wire which faces the
Hindenburg line. Light forces of American cavalry were engaged in a skirmish
this morning and routed a party of
German grenade-throwers and infantrymen. Later they dismounted and engaged a
battle on foot, forcing the enemy to withdraw.
The large
woods northwest of Saint-Mihiel are believed to contain Germans. The Americans
this morning began scouring the woods and found stragglers who were glad to be
captured.
Germany’s
pressing need for men is shown by the fact that a large number of Austrians are
actually engaged with the Germans on the front which has been retreating. About
thirty Austrian prisoners belonging to an artillery regiment were taken by the
Americans. They say that many other Austrians have been engaged in the
fighting. The captured men declare that they had been in Italy, where they were
told they were to be sent home, but were hurried here instead. Four Italians
and several Poles were captured. They
wore German uniforms and said they had been forced to fight with the Germans.
This morning
I saw 2,000 prisoners grouped on a plateau near Headquarters. They formed a
remarkable picture, all smiling and waving to one another. It was like a family
reunion. I talked to one young officer, who spoke perfect English, having been
to school in England. I asked him what he thought of the outlook for the end of
the war, and he said it would end soon, or at any rate he hoped so. “With
America in the war, we know the Entente is bound to win,” he said. “That’s why
our soldiers are ready to surrender. They know nothing is to be gained by continuing
the war.”
A major who
was captured with his staff was disgruntled because he could not retain his
orderly. An American officer said, “We’ll teach you a little democracy; it will
be a good lesson for you all.” A noted prisoner was taken in the person of
Professor Otto Schmeerkase, an expert in poisonous gases, especially chloride.
He was arranging a huge gas-projector attack when the pincers closed with him
inside. He has little to say.
The Americans
this morning made a daylight bombing raid on Conflans, accompanied by French
machines. In the midst of the operation a squadron of sixty Fokker machines
swooped down from the clouds and attacked the bombers. The Americans and French
sent several enemy machines to earth disabled, and the bombing was carried out
successfully. Many direct hits were observed. Other places were also bombed.
It may be
stated that the American fliers during the closing hours of the Saint-Mihiel
operation performed wonderful feats, which did much to swell the number of
prisoners. The movement of the Germans out of the salient had to be swift, and
our fliers for seven hours “strafed” the Vigneulles-to-Chambley road, which was
the main outlet from the salient. They killed many horses and soldiers and
wrecked scores of camions and wagons. They greatly delayed the exodus and kept
the German troops from getting to the only outlet before the compressing forces
joined.
Don Martin also wrote a lengthy dispatch for Paris dated September 14, published
in the Paris Herald on Sunday, Sept 15, which gave more of the details for which he is noted.
PERSHING’S BLOW HAS FREED
150 SQUARE MILES OF FRANCE
(Special Telegram to the Herald)
By DON MARTIN
With The American Armies, Saturday.
In reducing
the Saint-Mihiel salient, which for four years has been a sinister menace to
Nancy and the surrounding region, General Pershing’s troops have achieved a
success of which every American in France and at home will be proud. Fighting
with the same spirit, dash and perseverance which characterized them in the
fighting on the Marne, the boys, west and east, attacked with the French on
Thursday at daybreak. At the end of thirty hours they had attained every
objective, and last night and to-day they have been digging themselves in to
resist any counter-attack the Huns may launch.
The whole
operation has been one of the cleanest and quickest on record. There was not a
single hitch in the general programme. The enemy was surprised—not because he
was unaware that the big American attack was coming, but because he was unable
to judge where it would take place, and was unable also to move his troops
expeditiously because of muddy roads and the lack of adequate channels of
transportation. The Americans had French troops fighting with them, all under
American command. General Pershing was in full charge of the operations,
naturally under the supreme command of Marshal Foch, who is carrying out the
policy he inaugurated on July 18 to give the Boche no rest.
It is
impossible yet to state the total number of prisoners, but there were more than
13,000 last night, and it is known that there will be more than this number
captured in the salient. These have not yet been counted.
Terrific Barrage
An entire
regimental staff was captured. Its members say they were surprised and
overwhelmed by superior numbers plunging amidst them, following the most
terrific barrage they ever experienced.
Many square
miles of territory have been reclaimed for France, and may villages, some of
them large, have been recaptured.
The Germans
did not put up a vigorous fight except at a few points where orders had been
received to fight to a finish. The captured officers say they fought until they
saw no possibility of stemming the tide of advancing Americans and French, and
then decided to surrender. One unit which was captured was completely
surrounded when the pincers formed by the two convergent lines of troops met.
The Americans
sent shock troops against the extreme ends northwest and northeast of
Saint-Mihiel. They encountered resistance, but quickly swept past the outer
defences of the Germans, stormed the second line and stunned the enemy by the
quickness and fierceness of their advance.
On Friday
morning, the two ends effected a liaison. The Germans in the south continued to
retreat toward the north, followed by the Americans and the French. Suddenly
they found themselves confronted by Americans on both sides, and they gave up.
It was in the Bois de Thiaucourt that a regimental commander and his entire
staff were captured. There was at no time a lengthy pause in the advance either
of the French or the Americans.
Great Work by Tanks
Scores of
barbed wire entanglements were destroyed by the French tanks, many of which
were operated by Americans, and the infantrymen cut swaths through many other
stretches of wire. It is known that scores of machine-guns and small cannon
were captured, as well as trainloads of ammunition, wearing apparel and
supplies of all kinds. One army corps took thousands of rounds of ammunition, a
train of caissons, which had been abandoned on a muddy road, and any quantity
of other material. It was evident everywhere that the Hun had suffered a surprise
approaching that while he was resting smugly in the Marne salient.
 |
| Barbed wire entanglements National Archive Photo No. 165-WW-287 A20 |
The same is
true of the village of Hattonville.
The story of
Sergeant Graham is one of the masterpieces of the war—the capturing of a battery
of “seventy-sevens,” heavy machine-guns, light machine-guns and seventy-five
prisoners. He was alone in a tank when the Germans at the entrance to the
village blazed away.
He paid no
attention and kept the cumbersome vehicle moving on. The Germans started to
flee, when they saw there was no chance to escape collision with the armored
car. Graham emerged from his tank, mounted the turret and commanded them all to
surrender. All obeyed, except a few who were later captured in other places.
The tanks and
platoons of infantry found large groups of Germans who refused either to fight
or surrender, and were apparently bewildered.
General
Pershing with General Pétain, both thrilled by the bravery and dash of the
troops, were both at Saint-Mihiel and visited scores of places where they
talked with folks who had remained during the occupation by the Germans during
four years.
The people
showed them interesting scraps of German paper money, also the receipts that
some of the Germans gave in return for electricity and other services furnished
by the residents. Some shops, which the owners were allowed to retain, were not
looted, but others were emptied. Private homes which were occupied by their
owners were left as they were, but the others were stripped bare. General Pershing
and General Pétain both made short speeches to the residents, who were
overflowing with gratitude.
The American
soldiers swarmed the shops as soon as they got a moment of leisure and bought
up practically the entire stock of the shopkeepers as souvenirs.
There was a
sad picture, the natives say, when the Germans decided to abandon the city.
They had planned a stout resistance, but they saw it was hopeless to face the
steady massed advance of the enemy. So they ordered that all men of military
age should line up and prepare to accompany the Germans when they marched from
the city. All but the weaklings were taken. They bade good-bye to their
relatives and turned their backs on the city just as the outer patrols of the
French forces arrived in the outskirts of the city.
From the
hills I am able to see our own soldiers coming in to establish themselves in
the city, which has been in the possession of the Huns for four years. The
story of Saint-Mihiel is practically the same as that of other places rescued
from the Hun.
German
prisoners are marching seemingly in an endless stream, coming from many points
to the north. I passed five lines yesterday afternoon. At one place of the
line, half a mile long, the Huns were four abreast. They were singing a song of
joy, while people in the city through which they passed shouted “Vive
l’Amérique!’’ No doubt the prisoners are glad that they are through with the
war.
I saw one
group of 400 Wurtembergers. Young and evidently good fighters, they had put up
no resistance, saying: “It is no use.”
Dejection of
Prisoners
From the
attitude of the prisoners it seems certain that the German morale has lowered.
Some of the officers say that Germany is merely shortening the line so as to be
able to keep up the stiffest resistance. Practically all who talk at all say
that she is not likely to make another offensive, but will be able to hold a
shorter line against any assault. The privates expressed various views, but all
agree that in Germany there will be a sad state of affairs in the coming
winter, unless the high command is able to carry back news of new victories, so
as to hold before the people the prospect of victory next summer.
The reduction
of the Saint-Mihiel salient is the first operation undertaken by Americans
acting as an army. Heretofore they have been under French command. The result
of this initial operation on a large scale shows that Americans are applying
the same degree of efficiency in war as has been used in the industrial system
at home, which to any person of intelligence will spell continued trouble for
the Hun.
Last night
the Germans continued their movement backward. They are now practically, so far
as the region north of the Saint-Mihiel region goes, on the old Hindenburg
line, where they will presumably make a firm stand.
While the
average observer has been slow to believe that the Germans are suffering from a
lowered morale and that their stiffest blows have already been delivered, it
seems assured now, after their reverses north of the Marne, their recent
humiliation on the British front and their latest reverse at the hands of the
Americans, that they are not the Huns of a few months ago and that, while
undoubtedly able to continue a vigorous defensive warfare, they are on the down
grade. This is the more important and significant because of the
steadily-increasing strength of the Allied forces.
Finally on September 14, Don Martin sent to Paris a short, interesting story about St.-Mihiel. It was published
in the Paris Herald on Sunday, Sept 15.
Enemy Deported All Males
From Saint-Mihiel
(Special Telegram to the Herald)
By DON MARTIN
With The American Armies, Saturday.
General Pershing and General Pétain
to-day entered St. Mihiel and were greeted with affectionate welcome by the
civilians who were left when the Germans retired from the city.
The Huns, it is known, long ago
broke open the two leading banks in the place and rifled them of valuables.
They also looted all the shops and homes, showing the same vandalistic spirit
displayed by them in Château-Thierry, Fère, etc.
The startling statement was made by
the remaining citizens also that the Germans had taken away with them
practically all the male inhabitants between the ages of sixteen and a half and
forty-five. Huge quantities of supplies also were taken. During their stay in
Saint-Mihiel the Germans levied indemnities amounting to 1,000,000fr,
The Germans have lost vast numbers
of captured, wounded and killed. The line last evening ran through Norroy,
Jaulny, Xammes, Saint-Benoit, Hattonville, Hannonville and Herreville.
The French have occupied
Saint-Mihiel. They have also occupied Vigneulles.
The Germans narrowly escaped even
greater losses in men captured.
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