Viewing page 14 of 236

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

looked north and saw that the old Fourth Army not only had completely broken through the German line but had crossed No Man's Land with its artillery and trains - a truly marvelous achievement. Not on[[strikethrough]]l[[/strikethrough]]y had they crossed but at that moment were attacking on a concentrated front with their artillery equally well disposed and all in action. South of Mezieres the German Sixth Army was deployed in excellent order, with its artillery ranged in depth and all firing. It was easy to see at a glance that they were on the defensive and needed reinforcement, if they were to make any counterstroke. It was a battle in the open - the first and last great one on this front, where both forces were maneuvering. The French were extending their right to occupy the gap in the Argonne Forest, which led to Grand Pre, and their cavalry was pushing on with the hope of effecting a junction with our First Army Corps, which formed the left of our army. We knew that, if they could, the Germans would assemble reserves south of Mezieres to hit hard in come one place, but I could detect no evidence of their presence or use. To help the junction of the French Fourth Army and our own army, our aviation attacked vigorously all the depots and concentration points around Grand Pre. The bombardment aviation made three trips over the lines on that day.
After seeing this wonderul battle to the west of the Argonne, I turnedd sharply to the right or east. Our aviation was everwhere; very few enemy balloons were up, and theywere ten miles or more behind their lines. On this day, the Germans, forced to such a defensive not only on the ground but also in the air, were somewhat demoralized. The German planes we saw were nervous, and we had no trouble in executing our mission. As we crossed the Argonne Forest, where the "lost battalion" of the 77th Division was surrounded, the first thing that caught our eye was the effect of our air bombardment in the form of fires in stations and at German troop con-centration points near Grand Pre.