people at home into believing that they had really won a victory.

The attack took place on the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille, or to be exact, in the early morning hours of the day after, the Germans supposing, no doubt, that after the celebration of their national holiday the French would be unprepared. The armies of the crown-prince flung themselves at the Allied lines on a front which extended from Château-Thierry east and north around Rheims, and on through the Champagne country half-way to Verdun. The attack was almost a total failure. From Rheims eastward the French, assisted by British, American, Italian, and Polish troops, did not budge an inch. On the contrary, under the brilliant leadership of General Gouraud, they threw back the attacking columns with tremendous losses and in some places succeeded in gaining ground.

In this fighting east of Rheims General Gouraud introduced new tactics. When the German bombardment of his front-line positions began, he withdrew his men to the rear. Then, when the Germans advanced over the shattered trenches expecting the French to be annihilated, they were first met with a terrific curtain of fire, or "barrage," as it is called, after which the Allied troops swept forward and cut them to pieces with the bayonet.

These barrages, first introduced by the French,

soon became an important factor in infantry advances. By carefully regulating the fire of a large number of guns, usually of the French 75-millimeter type, stationed far in the rear, it was found possible to place ahead of the advancing troops a wall of exploding shells, usually shrapnel, through which it was almost certain death to advance. Sheltered behind this curtain of fire the men formed for the attack, and when the barrage was "lifted," that is, when the range was increased so that the line of exploding shells was placed further ahead, the troops swept forward. When this movement of the fire curtain was continuous, the curtain slowly advancing, it was called a "creeping" or "rolling" barrage, and the attacking troops were expected to follow behind it, taking care not to advance too rapidly and thus be caught in the fire of their own guns.

General Gouraud's success prevented the Germans from driving another great salient into the Allied lines between Rheims and Verdun, and thus taking the French and American lines south of Verdun in the rear. But it was in the loop west of Rheims, the wedge projecting down to the Marne at Château-Thierry, that the danger lay. In spite of the brilliant work done by the American machine-gun detachments in holding the bridges across the Marne at Château-Thierry in June, the Germans had been able to effect crossings of the river further to the east, and were making

a desperate attempt to work their way behind the city of Rheims and thus surround and capture it. As a result, the troops at Château-Thierry had been obliged to withdraw. Then came the final German effort to reach Paris.

The drive across the Marne was no more successful than had been that further east. The concentration of German troops at the point of the wedge was large and the crown-prince, in the hope of breaking the Allied lines, threw into the attack his very best men. The Germans were now about forty miles from Paris, and to the general public the situation looked dark, although Marshal Foch was about to afford the enemy a great surprise, of which the public knew nothing.

When the troops of the crown-prince swept across the Marne they were heavily attacked by the American and French forces south of the river, and thrown back with enormous losses. Once again the Germans were outfought. ChâteauThierry was retaken and the German backward movement had begun.

The great German offensive of 1918 came to an end at the Marne. General von Ludendorff had sacrificed a vast number of men, his reserves were greatly depleted, yet he was as far from victory as ever. In spite of the reassuring reports issued by the great general staff, reports intended to allay the growing discontent of the German people, Germany was beaten, and the kaiser and his

generals knew it. Now Marshal Foch, at last ready to strike, began his tremendous counteroffensive.

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CHAPTER XXVII

THE GREAT BATTLE OF 1918

The Allied Counter-Offensive Begins

N July 18 Marshal Foch struck his first great

blow against the forces of the kaiser, an attack along the German right flank from ChâteauThierry northwest to the city of Soissons. It was conducted by French and American troops under the command of General Mangin, and achieved a great success.

As we have seen, the Marne salient or wedge was over thirty miles broad at its base, which ran eastward from Soissons to a point north of Rheims. As the German advance progressed toward the Marne, the salient became narrower, finally ending in a point which rested upon the Marne in the neighborhood of Château-Thierry. So confident had the Germans been of success that they did not take steps to protect properly their long western flank, extending from Soissons to Château-Thierry. It was their weak point, and Marshal Foch knew it. Hence he began to concentrate his forces to the west of the German line of advance, bringing up large bodies of men and many guns under cover of darkness and conceal