Don Martin diary entry for Wednesday, September 18, 1918: Stayed in Nancy. Our front very quiet.
Preparations being made for attack at new point probably west Verdun. Walked
around the city for exercise. At night hotel filled with aviators who drank far
too much.
Don Martin on September 18 continued his reporting on the situation in the reclaimed Saint-Mihiel salient, which was published in the New York Herald on Thursday,
September 19.
AMERICAN BOMBERS IN GIANT
HANDLEY-PAGE MACHINES CAUSE TERROR IN RHINE
VALLEY TOWNS
Daily Raids Also
Damage Hun Lines
of Communication Around Metz
ENEMY CONFUSED BY
ALLIED BLOWS
Prisoners Tell Don
Martin Germany Hopes
to Regain Friendship of America
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, Wednesday
Towns and villages east of the Moselle
and those west of that river held by the German armies are receiving their full
share of bombs from American and British Squadrons. American and British flyers
are operating as far as the Rhine valley and are giving the Germans no rest by
day or night
When one squadron returns to its base
another one goes out. Many direct hits have been scored, and we have positive
evidence that several large German factories have been destroyed.
Enormous Handley-Page airplanes, whose
wings have a spread of 150 feet, are making regular pilgrimages and are bombing
with deadly effect the enemy lines of communication and towns. These airplanes
are veritable dreadnoughts of the air, which the ordinary fighting airplanes
are totally unable to cope with.
Five Missing Flyers
Prisoners
Today we received information through
Switzerland that five American flyers who failed to return to their hangars
after a bombing expedition a few weeks ago are prisoners in Germany. They made
a long flight into enemy territory and dropped many tons of bombs. When
returning to the American lines, however, they encountered a heavy head wind
and their gasoline gave out. They were forced to descend.
Scores of German guns were active today
throwing projectiles eastward from their positions along the Moselle. Aside
from this enemy shelling and patrol clashes it was quiet along this front.
Indications are that the Germans are settling down on a line built up of
reinforced concrete in what is a devilish wilderness. From all visible
indications they now are determined to make a firm stand against any further
American advance in the direction of Metz.
Americans Upset Hun
Plans
However, there is no doubt that the
German morale has lowered to a point where it is causing profound uneasiness to
the enemy’s high command. That is the inevitable inference from captured
documents and the statements of prisoners.
The Germans previous to General
Pershing’s thrust felt that the British and French were powerless to launch
another immediate successful offensive and they discounted the ability of the
Americans to do it. But now that the Americans have turned the trick
successfully and General Pershing’s troops are swarming over territory that the
Germans were confident of being able to hold, the Hun high command is puzzled
regarding which way to turn.
The confusion that existed in the enemy
ranks and among his officers in the retreat from the St. Mihiel salient shows
better than anything how the military machine which was built to crush all
Europe beneath its iron wheels has been wrenched and broken in spots. While it
is unwise to assume that the war will end soon, it is time to concede that
complete victory is in sight for the Allies if they insist on pushing on with
the war vigorously despite the insidious peace proposals which Germany is
certain to continue to make.
Rapid Blows Confuse
Germans
The change of the situation in our favor is
conclusive and we are sure of victory if we press on energetically. Several
things go to make up the reasons for this change that insures an Entente
victory. They are found in that Marshal Foch first showed what a single handed
management, coupled with great genius, can do; in our ever growing supremacy in
the air; in allied artillery efficiency, and in the valor and the very ferocity
of the American fighting man, who when told to reach an objective gets there
regardless of obstacles.
One of the foremost military experts in our
army here, speaking to me of the situation in the German armies, reflected the
view of many competent observers here when he declared that “the Boche is
temporarily running around in circles, not knowing where the next blow will
come, but at least certain that he will get one blow after another until he is
finished.”
It is hard to describe adequately the
new spirit of all the allied armies here. America’s brave youths have set a new
pace for the fighting and high morale and every man in every allied army is
eager to show what is in him—that he is well able to keep up with the new pace.
Allies Are Confident
In a word, the most gigantic and efficient
military machine the world has ever seen has sprung up in France, and it is
going to crush the Hun. Their insignia mingling, America, France and Great
Britain are moving forward relentlessly. The armies of these Powers know that
they will never turn back.
Today the Americans, the British and
the French officers and men are cooperating with one another and helping one
another, like true comrades in mind and spirit and body. If there ever were any
animosities between them these animosities now are gone forever. Officers and
men of these armies are satisfied—more, they are confident—that they are
marching on the road to victory.
However, they are not deluding
themselves with a false hope that they will terminate the war before the end of
next year. Perhaps it will be two years before peace, since at this time
Germany is only trembling in the shadow of disaster—she has not quite been
overtaken by it. However, she is very far from living in her old time glow of
confidence.
Defeat Affects German
People
Recently I talked with German prisoners who
had been in Berlin, Munich, Leipzig and some of the smaller cities of Germany
since the Hun retreat from the Marne. They said that business is about as usual
in the cities there and that the villages are in a normal condition except for
the dearth of men of military age. They said that Berlin restaurants are open
and apparently have sufficient food, although the size of the portions have
been reduced and prices are high. They declared that the wealthy men and women
are able to get everything they need.
These prisoners added that there has
been a notable change in the attitude of the crowds in German restaurants and
public places since the extent of the German retreat from the Marne became
known to the people. Previous to the retreat they were happy and exuberant and
talked of how the superiority of the German military machine over the whole
world had been proved.
Since the Marne defeat the crowds no longer
are loquacious. They read the newspapers greedily and try to take an optimistic
view of the situation. The populace supports the Kaiser, but groups are
beginning to doubt the foresight of the men they had regarded invincible.
The prophetic word “America” is on the
lips of every man and woman.
Seek America’s
Friendship
While many of them still talk of
victory, they say that if America—at a time when Germany thought she could do
nothing—was able to have a million trained soldiers in France able to make an
offensive like that of Marshal Foch on the Marne, what will she be able to do
next year.
A German prisoner, who formerly was a banker,
said that while the Germans will be able to fight for a long time, their
troubles will come later this winter when there will be a scarcity of food and
much illness. He declared that the Germans now are hoping for the friendship of
the Americans after the war.
German prisoners who were one-time teachers,
professors and business men have expressed the opinion that the world will
forgive the German people if Germany shows a spark of repentance. They
evidently are proceeding on the mental theory that the world has, indeed,
forgiven the most hideous crimes.
Along this line is already beginning a
propaganda to try to convince us that she regrets that she was compelled to
fight America. A prisoner of a high order of intelligence outlined this scheme
to American officers when he was told that American friendship would come when
the Hohenzollerns were dethroned. He declared that he had never defended the
Kaiser, thus proving what I have found elsewhere among the educated class of
Germans.
On the other hand, the illiterate Huns
are for the Hohenzollern government and think that the Kaiser is a demigod.
In the vast wood between Nonsard and
Heudicourt (the Bois de la Belle Oziere), where 10,000 Germans were encamped
for four years, there are buildings miles in length which contained sleeping
quarters for 100,000 men. There were elaborate officers’ quarters and bowling
alleys. I counted thirty pianos in the officers’ quarters. Dugouts had been
made sixty feet underground. The hospital had room for thousands of beds.
The Germans built many excellent roads
through the woods and I saw many gardens, promenades, playgrounds, pagodas and
arbors.
When the enemy was routed from the wood by our
troops he left stores of supplies. Virtually everything except his personal
effects were abandoned. Seven of the thirty pianos that I saw were of French
manufacture and probably were stolen from private homes. Many of them were
packed and ready to be moved.
Our salvage corps found more than ten
thousand new woolen uniforms and leather boots and gloves of the best quality,
which seemed to contradict reports that Germany is suffering from a lack of
materials.
There are unmistakable evidences
throughout the entire region which we wrested from the Germans that during the
four years the enemy was there he lived a life of idleness and luxury, playing
cards and drinking beer.
Virtually the only damage done by the
retreating Huns is in the villages. The very haste of their flight prevented
systematized destruction. They attempted to blow up some bridges, but were
compelled to run away before their mines were completed and set off.
And Don Martin on September 18 recounted stories for New York which he had collected, published in the New York Herald on Thursday,
September 19.
FRENCH WOMEN, FREED FROM
HUN SLAVERY BY AMERICANS,
BEG TROOPS TO KILL BEASTS
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, Wednesday
Many
interesting stories are told by New York men who were among the first to enter
Essey (about five and a half kilometres southwest of Thiaucourt), where twenty
German officers were captured. One relates to three young and pretty French
women who, when our troops reached Essey, ran frantically to them and pointed
to three of the Germans, demanding that they be killed.
Men
who witnessed it told me it was one of the most dramatic incidents they had
seen in the war. When our officers explained to them that prisoners could not
be disposed of in any such way, the women tried to attack the Huns. Later, amid
tears, they explained that two years ago the Germans had seized them in
Northern France. Since that time they had been forced to serve them as menials.
Many such sordid stories are told of the Germans.
From
the village of Pagny-sur-Moselle, just inside the German line, there has come
to us from reliable sources many accounts of German brutality. The Huns
recently shot a seventeen-year-old boy to death. No reason for this act has
ever been given to the boy’s relatives. French civilians in the town have been
placed on meagre food rations and to-day all of them are greatly emaciated.
Occasionally, we have been informed, German soldiers have exhibited a little
decency and have smuggled food to some of the aged and infirm women and the
children.
In
the excitement in the German garrison following General Pershing’s offensive a
few of the French civilians in Pagny-sur-Moselle escaped to a neighboring town,
which now is in the hands of the Americans. They told us that the French
inhabitants were wild with joy when they heard that the American troops were
coming. They first heard this last Thursday and they sat up all that night,
praying that they would be released from slavery.
In his daily dispatch for Paris, Don Martin recounted interesting stories, published in the Paris Herald on Thursday, September 19, 1918.
In his daily dispatch for Paris, Don Martin recounted interesting stories, published in the Paris Herald on Thursday, September 19, 1918.
GERMAN AMMUNITION TRAIN,
STEAMING INTO VIGNEULLES,
SEIZED BY THREE AMERICANS
Enemy In Charge Were Ignorant
of General Pershing’s Rapid Advance
(Special Telegram to the Herald)
By DON MARTIN
With The American Armies, Wednesday.
The
Germans are giving no indication of a formidable counter-attack along the line
formed after the Saint-Mihiel salient had been reduced, and are continuing to
move back behind the Hindenburg line.
Their
artillery was more active last night and to-day than during the last few days.
Apparently they have some big guns emplaced. During the night, in a clash with
patrols, we captured five prisoners. All were non-commissioned officers who had
been attending the officers’ school at Conflans. They said that the orders
given when they were put into the line were to hold as long as they could, and
then go back.
Here
is a story which is true in every detail, despite the fact that it sounds like
a Wild Western melodrama. The Americans advanced toward Vigneulles with such
ease that the commander decided the town had been evacuated and took his
chance. Three lieutenant-colonels sped to the village with an automobile and
found the place deserted. There was not a sound nor a soul until the Americans
heard the toot of a locomotive whistle. With a glass they saw a train
approaching the village from the north. They jumped from their automobile and dashed
toward the train, which stopped. The train was filled with ammunition. The
Germans in charge said they had received no word that the Americans were
advancing. The train crew, ten in all, was marched back to the village.
Dangerous, But Stirring
One
lieutenant-colonel went ahead and snooped around a house and its cellars. He
had a dangerous but stirring pastime. In one cellar he found the entire crew of
a machine-gun hiding, all ready to surrender.
As
the American entered they all shouted “Kamerad!” The American said that suited
him. So the machine-gun crew was added to the other prisoners.
In
another village a German mess-sergeant who had been ordered to destroy his whole outfit and burn all the food
supplies, had started in, but was too late, the Americans entering the town
while he was in the midst of his task. He stopped to cut a cheese, which was
the bulk of his supply of food, small pieces of which he served to the
Americans with a glass of beer when they came into the town.
The
beer delayed the advance for a short period, but was a welcome treat, as the
boys were both thirsty and hungry.
A Veritable Beehive
One
of the most interesting spots in the whole region which the Germans have just
abandoned is in the woods on the north side of the road between Nonsard and
Heudicourt. The Germans had had a great army quartered there practically
throughout the whole period of occupation. The salient was a veritable beehive.
While they were there the Americans saw wooden barracks more than mile in
extent, bowling alleys, arbors, chairs, rustic seats, promenades, patches of
garden and tiny lawns. It seemed a sort of Paradise where one would at least
expect to find practically everything. All had been left—foodstuffs,
ammunition, clothing and bedding.
The
officers had had sumptuous quarters there, with pianos, phonographs,
reading-rooms and writing-tables in the buildings, which were similar to those
maintained by the Y.M.C.A. for Americans. There was every indication that the
Germans had settled there for a life of luxurious idleness, which they
apparently had until the Americans burst upon them.
More
than forty pianos were found by the American salvage officers in the various
places that had been occupied by the Germans. About five were of French
manufacture, indicating that they had been stolen from French homes. The rest
had been brought from Germany.
In
one place the American “doughboys” cleaning up, came to a building which
contained a piano. They had several German prisoners helping in the work of
cleaning up and found that one of the Germans was a good pianist. Thereupon
they seated him at the piano and made him cheer them on their work with various
melodies. Singularly enough he knew many tunes popular in America.
On Their Heels
Lieutenant
V. A. Terrill, from Franklin, Ind., who was in charge of a squad of salvage
workers, said, “We have been right on the heels of the retreating Germans. They
had certainly been taken terribly by surprise. I have been on the trail before,
but never saw such unmistakable evidence of a precipitate retreat. They had
tried to pack up some of the pianos and had got about a dozen boxed up, but had
to leave. We have a German warehouse filled with clothing. It is all made of
good wool, indicating that Germany is not so bad off for clothing as she wants
the world to believe. We found shoes, boots and all kinds of apparel.”
In
several of the villages which the Huns occupied cinema theatres were found.
And also for Paris, Don Martin on September 18 told what American soldiers think about peace. It was published in the Paris Herald on Thursday,
Sept 19, 1918.
Yank’s Laugh at Austrian
‘Squeal’
(Special Telegram to the Herald)
By DON MARTIN
With The American Armies, Wednesday.
The American
doughboys have interesting views regarding peace. They want peace, but want
Allied peace. I have talked with infantrymen, artillerymen, privates in every
branch of the army, and find they are practically all of the same sentiment.
Epitomized, their general idea is:--
“We came here
to lick the Boche. Let’s lick him! This Austrian squeal is ridiculous. If the
Austrians and Germans have any sense, they know how they can get peace—a just
one.
“The way they
are getting hurt! Now they begin to whine. We’ll get a yelp out of Germany
pretty soon that will be heard all over the world. That may be expected when
she realizes how her ox is being gored. Leave it to the doughboys!”
The foregoing
is perhaps not verbatim, but it is a fair paraphrase of the expressions of most
privates. They all sneer when asked what they think of the overtures for a
secret conference.
The American
“doughboy” is an interesting character. He is not only a good fighter, but at
least a high-school graduate, with ideas on everything. He knows what he is
fighting for and is willing to continue until a clean job has been done.
I have talked
with Americans generally. They are all agreed that the only time to talk peace
is when Germany is licked, or when she evacuates all alien territory and shows
a spirit of honor and decency. Many say that Germany and Austria are merely
taking preliminary steps in a campaign to convince the German and Austrian
civil populations that the Allies are mercilessly and selfishly carrying on a
war of annihilation.
The situation
on the American front remains about as it was. The patrols meet with no
important clashes. The artillery on both sides is active, the Germans to-day
shelling many of our back areas, while our guns are barking incessantly and
giving them vastly more than they send.
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