On Oct. 4 the attack was renewed all along our front. The 3d Corps,
tilting to the left, followed the Brieulles-Cunel road; our 5th Corps
took Gesnes, while the 1st Corps advanced for over two miles along the
irregular valley of the Aire River and in the wooded hills of the
Argonne that bordered the river, used by the enemy with all his art and
weapons of defense. This sort of fighting continued against an enemy
striving to hold every foot of ground and whose very strong
counter-attacks challenged us at every point. On the 7th the 1st Corps
captured Chatal-Chênéry and continued along the river to Cornay. On the
east of Meuse sector one of the two divisions, co-operating with the
French, captured Consenvoye and the Haumont Woods. On the 9th the 5th
Corps, in its progress up the Aire, took Flêville, and the 3d Corps,
which had continuous fighting against odds, was working its way through
Brieulles and Cunel. On the 10th we had cleared the Argonne Forest of
the enemy.
It was now necessary to constitute a second army, and on Oct. 9 the
immediate command of the First Army was turned over to Lieut. Gen.
Hunter Liggett. The command of the Second Army, whose divisions
occupied a sector in the Woevre, was given to Lieut. Gen. Robert L.
Bullard, who had been commander of the 1st Division and then of the 3d
Corps. Major Gen. Dickman was transferred to the command of the 1st
Corps, while the 5th Corps was placed under Major Gen. Charles P.
Summerall, who had recently commanded the 1st Division. Major Gen. John
L. Hines, who had gone rapidly up from regimental to division commander,
was assigned to the 3d Corps. These four officers had been in France
from the early days of the expedition and had learned their lessons in
the school of practical warfare.
Our constant pressure against the enemy brought day by day more
prisoners, mostly survivors from machine-gun nests captured in fighting
at close quarters. On Oct. 18 there was very fierce fighting in the
Caures Woods east of the Meuse and in the Ormont Woods. On the 14th the
1st Corps took St. Juvin, and the 5th Corps, in hand-to-hand encounters,
entered the formidable Kriemhilde line, where the enemy had hoped to
check us indefinitely. Later the 5th Corps penetrated further the
Kriemhilde line, and the 1st Corps took Champigneulles and the important
town of Grandpré. Our dogged offensive was wearing down the enemy, who
continued desperately to throw his best troops against us, thus
weakening his line in front of our allies and making their advance less
difficult.
DIVISIONS IN BELGIUM
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account