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September 15, 1918: Don Martin's dispatches follow up the St.-Mihiel success story

Don Martin diary entry for Sunday, September 15, 1918: 
Visited various corps and division headquarters. Went to Thiaucourt. Shells fell while there. Several struck within hundred feet of us. Decided best thing to do was to leave. Every one getting into shelters. Risky running through town in auto. Chauffeur who is one of the toughest of the whole outfit turned pale and didn’t want to take chance. We made him go. Afterward went to corps headquarters and returned to Nancy at 5. In evening was an alert. Sat around with [Ray] Carroll [Philadelphia Public Ledger], [Junius] Wood [Chicago Daily News] and [Cameron] Mackenzie [London Chronicle].
                              Back at the New York Herald office in New York, ‘Don Martin’ had become a “by-word”, according to a colleague in a letter dated September 15. Here are excerpts:
Dear Mr. Martin,
... I want to tell you we are all reading your cable and mail stories with a great deal of interest. It is making a big hit everywhere and Don Martin is a by-word throughout the office. As you know, I come in contact with the men of the composing room, where ... the expression of appreciation of your stuff is universal, “Gee,” one of them said the other day, “did you read Don Martin’s story this morning—that’s great stuff.” And that is the opinion of all. It is great stuff.  In my humble opinion, it is the best matter that is reaching this side of the globe. There is a human interest touch to everything you send which makes it different from the stereotyped reports of other correspondents ... Last night I ... [saw] Jack Regan, of the St. Lois Republic, who is now up at the Times. He gave me his unsolicited opinion that Don Martin’s stuff is superb—that is the word he used....
Sincerely yours,
Phil Dietz Jr., Syndicate Desk
              The cable with more details on the success of the St.-Mihiel salient offense success, that Don Martin sent on Sunday, September 15, to the New York Herald was published on Monday, Sep 16.
200 GERMAN CANNON CAPTURED WHEN PERSHING PINCERS WERE CLOSED ON ST. MIHIEL SALIENT
Speed With Which The Attack Was Developed On Thursday Amazed Even The Trained Observers
WINGS JOINED AT MIDDAY ON FRIDAY
Operation Produced Quickest Application 
Of Pincers Of Entire War
PRISONERS OPENLY REJOICE IN CAPTURE
Declare Situation In Central Powers 
Even More Serious Than Allies Believe
By Don Martin,
Special Correspondent of the Herald
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMIES IN FRANCE, Nancy, Sunday
                        Having wrested more than two hundred square kilometres of territory in the St. Mihiel salient from the Huns, our troops to-day occupy new trenches close up to the enemy’s new defence line.
                       The speed with which the First Army accomplished this important operation is realized everywhere here, and the haste with which the enemy troops surrendered to the Americans is in the very highest circles regarded as indicative of the inability of the Huns to withstand our attacks. Indeed, many close observers are beginning to be thoroughly convinced that the German morale now is far below the most pessimistic estimates in Entente circles.
                       The liaison of the troops moving northwestward from a point north of Pont-a-Mousson with those moving southeastward  from Vigneulles-les-Hattonchelle occurred at midday on Friday and marked the completion of the quickest pincer movement of the entire war.
                       This afternoon I saw 2,000 German prisoners who had been captured by our forces in the regions of St. Mihiel and Thiaucourt, among whom were many of the best so-called shock troops in the German army. Many of them were more than forty years old and not a few of them showed streaks of gray in their hair and beard. When I saw them they were standing in a meadow which only four days ago was well within the German lines, When one of our officers who could speak German would say a word to them in their language a smile of gladness would come into the face of every man of them – a smile and a look that told better than words how glad they were that there would be no more war for them.
Awake To Their Officers’ Lies
                       Many of these prisoners said they had learned from experience how false were the stories their officers had told them about American cruelty and how our men never took prisoners. They said that some time ago they were convinced of the falsity of this German propaganda, and therefore, they surrendered at the first opportunity.
                       They declared that they now realize that it is impossible for Germany to win the war, and that German soldiers, realizing the futility of resistance, believe that surrender is preferable, since in this way they will at least save their own lives.
                       Verisimilitude is lent to these statements by the fact that more than one hundred German officers are among the prisoners we took in the St. Mihiel salient. After talking to many of these captives I am convinced that the German troops now fear to fight the Americans.
                       Many men captured by us expressed the belief that the war will not end before late next year, but they indicated that Germany’s situation is worse than the Allies dare to believe. They declared that Germany’s troubles are certain to constantly increase until the war ends.
                       In their retreat northward from the Hindenburg line, that runs from just below St. Mihiel to Pont-a-Mousson, the Hun hordes duplicated so far as possible their looting operations in the German retreat from the Marne to the Aisne. The story of their looting of the towns and villages in this salient would be but a repetition of those, which I have told of their work north of the Marne. Indeed, in St. Mihiel, which they held for four years, they left nothing of value. French inhabitants of the towns and villages that we have taken said their premises were regularly and diligently searched by the Huns, who took every means to learn if anything in excess of the regular allotment – and especially of food – had been hidden. Through this scheme they carried out their systematic work of confiscation.
Taking Food From Aged
                       This worked a very severe hardship on the French, who, to provide for the requirements of their aged, infirm and infants, frequently were forced to put aside their regular allotments, notwithstanding the fact that in making such provision they had to curtail their own individual consumption. Whenever these ‘rainy day’ supplies were found by the Huns they promptly seized them, and, in addition, levied a penalty of some kind on the villagers.
                       Many of the French who have been rescued from German domination said that the rules which were laid down by the enemy for their government were of the most rigid kind, and that while they complied with them in every way, the Huns often compelled them to act as servants and mistreated them in many ways.
                       As soon as our troops took these villages, one of the first things they did was to give food to the inhabitants. Many of them showed the effects of long deprivations and their four years of virtual enslavement. American officers were shocked when on entering these villages they were told that every male from sixteen to forty-five years old had been taken away by the retreating enemy.
                       General Pershing spoke kindly to the aged persons in these villages and petted the children who crowded around him. He told them all that he hoped the days of their suffering were passed.
                       In his personal trip along the front, General Pershing covered much of the ground our forces had taken from the enemy and saw the effects of the American artillery bombardment and also that of our powerful bombing airplanes, which were used with great effect to increase the enemy’s confusion.
“Paris by August”
                       In many of the villages the few civilians who were left said that during the last few months the Huns there openly talked of being in Paris by August, but when August passed and instead of successes they were meeting with nothing but reverses the enemy troops became moody and gloomy. When the American forces began scoring victories along the Marne the Germans in the St. Mihiel salient, they said, became highly excited and increased their acts of spoliation.
                        Information which has just been received by us is to the effect that the Germans along the St. Mihiel front were planning a huge gas projector attack, when General Pershing launched his offensive. In proof of the correctness of these reports an immense amount of their gas projector equipment is now in our hands. In addition to this and the large number of prisoners  which we took we captured a large quantity of clothing and food supplies and many hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition. The materials and prisoners indicate better than anything else the great confusion that existed in the Hun ranks when our attack began – a confusion that was greater than that in the enemy ranks during his retreat from the Marne.
                       In Pannes, southwest of Thiaucourt, French civilians described to me the spectacle of our tanks as they came lumbering into their village, crunching through barricades, uprooting trees and obliterating the defences which the Huns had erected in the roads. They described it all as the most weird of scenes and declared that the enemy had intended resisting our advance until he saw the force of our tanks. Their appearance, however, immediately discouraged him. As five of these monsters lumbered through the main street of the village a few Germans blazed away at them with their rifles and then they fled from the place. American soldiers following closely behind the tanks, charged the retreating foe, killing and capturing many of them.
Consolidating Our Positions
                       By Friday afternoon, thirty-six hours after General Pershing’s great offensive was launched, our units had consolidated their positions and were settling down on their new line, all their objectives having been won on schedule time. In another twelve hours, or yesterday, it was possible to announce that the offensive had succeeded in every way – that our men had in this brief time been able to wipe out a salient that Germany had vigorously and successfully defended for four years.
                       All France waited with almost breathless expectation to see the result of this, America’s first great independent military operation. Every one in France knew for some time that something big was due from the Americans, but in some quarters the prediction was sadly made that our troops would be disappointed of victory in their first offensive against the Huns.
                       To-day all France is tipping its hat to America twice where she did so by once before. To-day France has gotten another proof that the American army is here to do things and that it will do them.
                        Every one in France – and especially those persons who were within hearing of our guns last Thursday – knows this. Indeed, when these guns began to roar it seemed to me that there were thousands of them in action – all of them engaged in putting down a barrage which was a prelude to the cheer of our heroes as they went over the top. In the line were men from every State in the Union. When the barrage started they were in their dugouts waiting for the word to start ahead – to carry on -- and when it came at the break of day they went ahead with an irresistible courage.
                       Simultaneously thousands of others were marching toward the front line, ready to reinforce their comrades in the attack whenever it might be necessary.
                       The haul of prisoners compares well with other important offensive operations. Two Belgian civilians were among those taken in the village of Thiaucourt. As yet we have not been able to learn what they were doing there.
                       It is now believed that the Germans are emplacing their artillery, which they have dragged back, and stiff counter attacks are regarded as likely to occur. However, we are confidant that the initiative has been permanently wrested from the Huns and that Marshal Foch will give the enemy no rest.
                       The rapid advance of the American artillery has been one of the striking features of General Pershing’s operation. Yesterday afternoon I saw American artillery hurling tremendous shells at the foe from territory the Germans has occupied the day before.
        Don Martin sent his daily dispatch to Paris on Sunday, September 15, with the results of his day's reporting activities. It was published in the Paris Herald on Monday, Sept 16. 
Germans Deceived By Communiqué 
On Army’s Flight
 (Special Telegram to the Herald)
By DON MARTIN
With The American Armies, Sunday.
          The German counter-attacks which were threatened on Saturday did not materialize. The Americans went forward a short distance this morning, and a few more prisoners were taken. The Germans are digging in in the region of Dommartin, in front of the Hindenburg line.
            Comparatively speaking, it was quiet all along the new line last night and to-day. The Germans shelled several villages. In one they dropped half a dozen shells within one hundred feet of a hospital.
            The prisoners are an odd-looking lot when seen together. Many are young, all are in good physical condition, but their spirit is unquestionably low. One officer said he had been in the war four years and had fought all nationalities, but he had never seen any soldiers start over the top with the coolness of the Americans.
        I crossed to-day the salient between Pont-à-Mousson and Saint-Mihiel, taking in all the places of importance and several of the smaller villages. Hardly a wall is standing in Saint-Baussant, Richecourt or Essey. Seicheprey is almost as bad. Loupmont and Apremont are memories. The roads in the region were ripped up badly, but the Americans now have them in fairly good condition.
Thiaucourt Is Overjoyed
          Thiaucourt, which I visited this afternoon, is not badly damaged. The civil population which resided there during the German occupation is overjoyed at the new conditions and wants to embrace the French and American soldiers for rescuing them.
          Mont Sec is a mountain of underground homes. The trench system of dugouts there is remarkable. They were electrically lighted in some sections and were furnished with all sorts of knickknacks, which the Germans in their hasty retreat were unable to remove. It is evident that the Germans had been making their underground life in that enormous fortress as pleasant as possible. Its sides were torn by shells, and some dugouts were smashed by the fire which had been poured into the mountain for months.
          It is interesting to see the effects of the French and American shelling of the German front and back lines, which began at one o’clock on Thursday morning. The narrow-gauge lines were ripped and twisted. There are holes ten feet wide in the roadways. Smashed trucks may be seen on the roadside. One road over which the Germans had by necessity to pass is now almost impassable. The bridges over the brooks are broken, but larger bridges are undamaged. The Germans evidently had not the time to destroy them.
          On some of the roads in the salient which the Huns occupied for four years the trees are all cut down, and it looks as if this had been done three or four years. German signs are everywhere.
Germans Lying Communiqué
            From the amount of ammunition and the number of guns and supplies of various kinds left behind, it is evident the German communiqué is deceiving the German people when it says the Huns withdrew from the salient without annoyance from the enemy and in accordance with plans made months ago. It is very obvious the Germans got out of the salient with all possible speed, with greater speed even than they withdrew from the Marne.
          A survey of the scene to-day, coupled with a knowledge of just what was accomplished and how it was done, is convincing that the first American operation in which the French participated was one of the swiftest, cleanest operations, small though it be in comparison, of the entire war.
           A prominent British military expert has looked over the whole situation. He says:--
         “I would criticize if I could, good-naturedly, of course, but I will say there is nothing about this last operation which can be criticized.”
            The man who said this is considered highly by military men all over Europe.

   Top banner headline for Don Martin photos, published in the New York Herald on Sunday, September 15:
DON MARTIN’S THRILLING TRIBUTE 
TO THE AMERICAN SOLDIER
7 Photos by DON MARTIN
No. 1—Shell-shattered buildings in Fere-en-Tardenois. The sign is German.
No. 2—A glance westward on the principal street in Vaux, which was taken by the Americans after one of the most violent bombardments of the war.
No. 3—A public market in Fere-en-Tardenois which the Germans, during their six weeks’ occupation of the city, used as a hospital. American soldiers who cleaned up the city are having their mess at noon time.
No. 4—This is a close range photograph of a shell hole made by one of the French heavy guns. The hole is about eight feet in depth and about thirty feet in diameter.
No. 5—Wrecked building in village of Essomes on the Marne. Shells fell in great numbers here.
No. 6—Here is what an aerial bomb did to a two story building in Fere-en-Tardenois.

No. 7—This picture gives a good idea of the force of a high explosive shell.

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