Chapter XXVIII: The Knockout Blow

WOODROW WILSON, AN ESTIMATE--HIS PLACE IN HISTORY--LAST OF GREAT TRIO--WASHINGTON, LINCOLN, WILSON--UPHOLDS DECENCY, HUMANITY, LIBERTY--RECAPITULATION OF YEAR 1918--CLOSING INCIDENTS OF WAR.

When sufficient years have elapsed for the forming of a correct perspective, when the dissolving elements of time have swept away misunderstandings and the influences engendered by party belief and politically former opinions, Woodrow Wilson is destined to occupy a place in the Temple of Fame that all Americans may well be proud of. Let us analyze this and let us be fair about it, whatever may be our beliefs or affiliations.

Washington gave us our freedom as a nation and started the first great wave of democracy. Probably, had some of us lived in Washington's time, we would have been opposed to him politically. Today he is our national hero and is reverenced by all free people of the earth, even by the nation which he defeated at arms. Lincoln preserved and cemented, albeit he was compelled to do it in blood, the democracy which Washington founded. He did infinitely more; he struck the shackles from four million human beings and gave the Negro of America his first opportunity to take a legitimate place in the world. Lincoln's service in abolishing slavery was not alone to the Negro. He elevated the souls of all men, for he ended the most degrading institution that Satan ever devised--more degrading to the master who followed it, than to the poor subject he practiced it upon. Unitedly, we revere Lincoln, yet there were those who were opposed to him and in every way hampered and sneered at his sublime consecration to the service of his country. It takes time to obtain the proper estimate of men.

Enough light has already been cast on President Wilson and his life work to indicate his character and what the finished portrait of him will be.

We see him at the beginning of the European conflict, before any of us could separate the tangled threads of rumor, of propaganda, of misrepresentation, to determine what it was all about; before even he could comprehend it, a solitary and monitory figure, calling upon us to be neutral, to form no hasty judgments. We see him later in the role of peacemaker, upholding the principles of decency and honor. Eventually as the record of atrocities and crimes against innocents enlarges, we see him pleading with the guilty to return to the instincts of humanity. Finally as the ultimate aim of the Hun is revealed as an assault upon the freedom of the world; after the most painstaking and patient efforts to avoid conflict, during which he was subjected to humiliation and insult, we see him grasp the sword, calling a united nation to arms in clarion tones, like some Crusader of old; his shibboleth: DECENCY, HUMANITY, LIBERTY.

What followed? His action swept autocracy from its last great stronghold and made permanent the work which Washington began and upon which Lincoln builded so nobly. This of Woodrow Wilson; an estimate--there can be no other thought, that will endure throughout history.

In the earlier chapters are sketched the main events of the great war up to the end of the year 1917, when the history of the Negro in the conflict became the theme. It remains to give an outline review of battles and happenings from the beginning of 1917 until the end of hostilities; culminating in the most remarkable armistice on record; a complete capitulation of the Teutonic forces and their allies, and a complete surrender by them of all implements and agencies for waging war. The terms of the armistice, drastic in the extreme, were largely the work of Marshal Ferdinand Foch, commander-in-chief of the Allied armies.

Early in 1918 it became evident that England, France and Italy were rapidly approaching the limit of their man power. It became necessary for America to hasten to the rescue.

Training of men and officers in the various cantonments of America was intensified and as rapidly as they could be brought into condition they were shipped to France. The troop movement was a wonderful one and before the final closing of hostilities in November there were more than 2,000,000 American troops in Europe. The navy was largely augmented, especially in the matter of destroyers, submarine chasers and lighter craft.

Our troops saw little actual warfare during the first three months of the year. Americans took over a comparatively quiet sector of the French front near Toul, January 21. Engagements of slight importance took place on January 30 and February 4, the latter on a Lorraine sector which Americans were holding. On March 1, they repulsed a heavy German raid in the Toul sector, killing many. On March 6, the Americans were holding an eight mile front alone.

On March 21 the great German offensive between the Oise and the Scarpe, a distance of fifty miles, began. General Haig's British forces were driven back about twenty miles. The French also lost much ground including a number of important towns. The Germans drove towards Amiens in an effort to separate the British and French armies. They had some successes in Flanders and on the French front, but were finally stopped. Their greatest advance measured thirty-five miles and resulted in the retaking of most of the territory lost in the Hindenburg retreat of the previous year. The Allies lost heavily in killed, wounded and prisoners, but the Germans being the aggressors, lost more.

While the great battle was at its height, March 28, the Allies reached an agreement to place all their forces from the Arctic Ocean to the Mediterranean, under one supreme command, the man chosen for the position being General Foch of the French. On March 29, General Pershing placed all the American forces at the disposal of General Foch.

The Germans began a new offensive against the British front April 8 and won a number of victories in the La Basse canal region and elsewhere. The battle of Seicheprey, April 20, was the Americans' first serious engagement with the Germans. The Germans captured the place but the Americans by a counter attack recovered it.

Another great offensive was started by the Germans, May 27, resulting in the taking of the Chemin des Dames from the French and crossing the river Aisne. On the following day they crossed the Vesle river at Fismes. Here the Americans won their first notable victory by capturing the village of Cantigny and taking 200 prisoners. They held this position against many subsequent counter-attacks. By the 31st the Germans had reached Chateau Thierry and other points on the Marne, where they were halted by the French. They made a few gains during the first days of June. On June 6, American marines made a gallant attack, gaining two miles on a front two and one-half miles long near Veuilly la Poterie. On the following day they assisted the French in important victories. In the second battle northwest of Chateau Thierry, the Americans advanced nearly two and one-half miles on a six mile front, taking 300 prisoners. It was in these engagements that the Americans established themselves as fighters equal to any.

On June 9, the Germans began their fourth offensive, attacking between Montdidier and the river Oise. They advanced about four miles, taking several villages. In the operations of the following day which gained them several villages, they claimed to have captured 8,000 French. This day the American marines took the greater portion of Belleau wood and completed the capture of it June 11. The French at the same time defeated the Germans between Robescourt and St. Maur. There were other battles on the 12th and 13th, but on the 14th it became evident that the German offensive was a costly failure.

The fighting from this time until the end of June was of a less serious nature, although the Americans in the Belleau and Vaux regions gave the Germans no rest, attacking them continually and taking prisoners. The Americans at this time were also engaged in an offensive in Italy. July 2, President Wilson announced there were 1,019,115 American soldiers in France.

The Fourth of July was celebrated in England, France and Italy as well as in the United States. On that day Americans assisted the Australians in taking the town of Hamel and many prisoners. On the 8th and 9th the French advanced in the region of Longpont and northwest of Compiegne. On the 12th they took Castel and other strong points near the west bank of the Avre river. July 14, the French national holiday was observed in America, and by the American soldiers in France.

The fifth and last phase of the great offensive which the Germans had started in March, began July 15, in an attack from Chateau Thierry to Massignes, along a sixty-five mile front and crossing the Marne at several places. At Chateau Thierry the Americans put up a strong resistance but the enemy by persistent efforts finally succeeded in getting a footing on the south bank. The battle continued east and west of Rheims with the Allies holding strongly and the Germans meeting heavy losses.

While the Germans were trying to force their way regardless of cost, in the direction of Chalons and Epernay, General Foch was preparing a surprise in the Villers-Cotterets forest on the German right flank. In the large force collected for the surprise were some of the best French regiments together with the famed Foreign Legion, the Moroccan regiment and other crack troops including Americans. On the morning of July 18, a heavy blow was launched at the Germans all along the line from Chateau Thierry on the Marne to the Aisne northwest of Soissons.

The foe was taken completely by surprise and town after town fell with very little resistance. Later the resistance stiffened but the Allies continued to advance. Cavalrymen assisted the infantry and tanks in large numbers, helped to clean out the machine gun nests. The Americans who fought side by side with the French won the unbounded admiration of their comrades. Thousands of prisoners were taken with large numbers of heavy cannon, great quantities of ammunition and thousands of machine guns. By the 20th Soissons was threatened. The Germans finding themselves caught in a dangerous salient and attacked fiercely on both flanks, retreated hurriedly to the north bank of the Marne and still farther.

Meanwhile things were going badly for the Austrians. After its retreat in 1917 to the line of the Piave river, the Italian army had been reorganized and strengthened under General Diaz, who had succeeded General Cadorna in command. French and British regiments had been sent to assist in holding the line, and later some American forces.

The Austrians began an offensive June 15 along a 100-mile front, crossing the Piave in several places. For three days they made violent attacks on the Montello plateau, and along the Piave from St. Andrea to San Dona and at Capo Sile, twenty miles from Venice. Then the Italians, British, French and Americans counter-attacked and within three days had turned the great Austrian offensive into a rout, killing thousands, taking thousands of prisoners, and capturing an immense amount of war material including the Austrian's heavy caliber guns. The whole Austrian scheme to advance into the fertile Italian plains where they hoped to find food for their hungry soldiers, failed completely. It was practically the end of Austria and the beginning of the end for Germany. Bulgaria gave up September 26, due to heavy operations by the French, Italians and Serbians during July, August and September, in Albania, Macedonia and along the Vardar river to the boundaries of Bulgaria. They signed an armistice September 29 and the king of Bulgaria abdicated October 3. Turkey being in a hopeless position through the surrender of Bulgaria, and the success of the British forces under General Allenby, kept up a feeble resistance until the end of October when she too surrendered. The collapse of Austria-Hungary followed closely on that of Turkey. They kept up a show of resistance and suffered a number of disastrous defeats until the end of October when they raised the white flag. An armistice was signed by the Austrian representatives and General Diaz for the Italians, November 3.

On the anniversary of Britain's entry into the war, August 4, Field Marshall Haig, commander-in-chief of the British forces issued a special order of the day, the opening paragraph of which was:

"The conclusion of the fourth year of the war marks the passing of
the period of crisis. We can now with added confidence, look
forward to the future."

On August 4, General Pershing reported:

"The full fruits of victory in the counter offensive begun so
gloriously by Franco-American troops on July 18, were reaped today,
when the enemy who met his second great defeat on the Marne, was
driven in confusion beyond the line of the Vesle. The enemy, in
spite of suffering the severest losses, has proved incapable of
stemming the onslaught of our troops, fighting for liberty side by
side with French, British and Italian veterans. In the course of
the operations, 8,400 prisoners and 133 guns have been captured by
our men alone. Our troops have taken Fismes by assault and hold the
south bank of the Vesle in this section."

On August 8, the British and French launched an offensive in Picardy, pressed forward about seven miles on a front of 20 miles, astride the river Somme and captured several towns and 10,000 prisoners. It was in this engagement that the hard fighting at Chipilly Ridge occurred, in which the Americans so ably assisted, notably former National Guardsmen from Chicago and vicinity. Montdidier was taken by the French August 10. The British also continued to advance and by the 11th the Allies had captured 36,000 prisoners and more than 500 guns. A French attack August 19-20 on the Oise-Aisne front, netted 8,000 prisoners and liberated many towns. On the 21st Lassigny was taken by the French. This was the cornerstone of the German position south of the Avre river. On August 29 the Americans won the important battle of Guvigny. By September 2 the Germans were retreating on a front of 130 miles, from Ypres south to Noyon. By the 9th the Germans had been driven back to the original Hindenburg line, where their resistance began to strengthen.

On September 12 the American army, led by General Pershing, won a great battle in the attack on and wiping out of the famous St. Mihiel salient. This victory forced the enemy back upon the Wotan-Hindenburg line, with the French paralleling him from Verdun to the Moselle. Pershing's forces continued fighting steadily, wearing out the Germans by steady pressure. On September 26 the Americans began another offensive along a front of 20 miles from the Meuse river westward through the Argonne forest. This developed into one of the bloodiest battles of the war for the Americans. On September 29 American and British troops smashed through the Hindenburg line at its strongest point between Cambrai and St. Quentin. British troops entered the suburbs of Cambrai and outflanked St. Quentin. Twenty-two thousand prisoners and more than 300 guns were captured. Meanwhile the Belgians tore a great hole in the German line, ten miles from the North sea, running from Dixmude southward.

On October 3 the French launched three drives, one north of St. Quentin, another north of Rheims, and a third to the east in Champagne. All were successful, resulting in the freeing of much territory and the capture of many prisoners. On October 4 the Americans resumed the attack west of the Meuse. In the face of heavy artillery and machine gun fire, troops from Illinois, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, forced the Germans back to the so-called Kriemhilde line. In the Champagne, American and French troops were moving successfully. On the 6th the Americans captured St. Etienne; on the 9th they reached the southern outskirts of Xivry and entered Chaune wood. On the same day the armies of Field Marshall Haig made a clean break through the Hindenburg system on the west. Through a twenty-mile gap, they advanced from nine to twelve miles, penetrating almost to the Le Selle and Sambre rivers.

On October 12 the British General Rawlinson, with whom an American division had been operating, sent a telegram of congratulation to the commander of the division, which comprised troops from Tennessee, in which he highly praised the gallantry of all the American troops. French troops on October 13 captured the fortress of La Fere, the strongest point on the south end of the old Hindenburg line. They also entered Laon and occupied the forest of St. Gobain. On October 15 the Americans took and passed St. Juvin after desperate fighting. On October 16 they occupied the town of Grandpre, a place of great strategic importance, being the junction of railways feeding a large part of the German armies. The Germans now began a retreat on an enormous scale in Belgium. So fast did they move that the British, French and Belgians could not keep in touch with them. The North sea ports of Belgium were speedily evacuated. Northwest of Grandpre the Americans captured Talma farm October 23, after a stiff machine gun resistance. Victories continued to be announced from day to day from all portions of the front.

On November 1 the Americans participated in a heavy battle, taking Champaigneulle and Landres et St. George, which enabled them to threaten the enemy's most important line of communication. On November 4 the Americans reached Stenay and on the 6th they crossed the Meuse. By the 7th they had entered Sedan, the place made famous by the downfall of Napoleon III in the war of 1870. On other parts of the American front the enemy retreated so fast that the infantry had to resort to motor cars to keep in touch with him. It was the same on other fronts. The Germans put up a resistance at the strong fortress of Metz, which the Americans were attacking November 10 and 11.

Armistice negotiations had been started as early as October, 5, and were concluded November 11th. This date saw the complete collapse of the German military machine and will be one of the most momentous days in history, as it marked the passing of an old order and the inauguration of a new era for the world. In the armistice terms every point which the Americans and Allies stipulated was agreed to by the Germans. The last shot in the war is thus described in an Associated Press dispatch of November 11:

"Thousands of American heavy guns fired the parting shot to the
Germans at exactly 11 o'clock this morning. The line reached by the
American forces was staked out this afternoon. The Germans hurled a
few shells into Verdun just before 11 o'clock.

"On the entire American front from the Moselle to the region of
Sedan, there was artillery activity in the morning, all the
batteries preparing for the final salvos.

"At many batteries the artillerists joined hands, forming a long
line as the lanyard of the final shot. There were a few seconds of
silence as the shells shot through the heavy mist. Then the gunners
cheered. American flags were raised by the soldiers over their
dugouts and guns and at the various headquarters. Soon afterward
the boys were preparing for luncheon. All were hungry as they had
breakfasted early in anticipation of what they considered the
greatest day in American history."

The celebration, which occurred November 11, upon announcement of the news, has never been equalled in America. It spontaneously became a holiday and business suspended voluntarily. Self-restraint was thrown to the winds for nearly twenty-four hours in every city, town and hamlet in the country. There was more enthusiasm, noise and processions than ever marked any occasion in this country and probably eclipsed anything in the history of the world.