The Literary digest history of the world war, compiled from original and contemporary sources: American, British, French, German, and others . who had reached France. When Ludendorffs offensive began in Picardy, in March,the Americans had in France four divisions which had hadsome experience in the trenches and all of whom, said Persh-ing in his report to the War Department in December, 1918,were equal to any demands of battle-action. Such was thecrisis at once developed by Ludendorff, that a proposed oc-cupation of an American sector at the front had to be post-poned, and Pershing on ]\Iarch
The Literary digest history of the world war, compiled from original and contemporary sources: American, British, French, German, and others . who had reached France. When Ludendorffs offensive began in Picardy, in March,the Americans had in France four divisions which had hadsome experience in the trenches and all of whom, said Persh-ing in his report to the War Department in December, 1918,were equal to any demands of battle-action. Such was thecrisis at once developed by Ludendorff, that a proposed oc-cupation of an American sector at the front had to be post-poned, and Pershing on ]\Iarch 28 had placed at the dis-posal of Marshal Foch, all of our forces, to be used as hemight decide. At Fochs request, the First Division wastransferred from the Toul sector to a position in reserve atChaumont-en-Vexin, about fifty miles southwest of ]\Iont-didier. Some of our divisions had already been engaged inlocal combats with Germans, the most important being atSeicheprey on April 20, the Twenty-sixth or New England,Division being engaged, but none had participated in actionas a unit. American participation as a unit did not occur 128. V—128 LUDENDORFFS C0L088AL DRIVE IN THE WEST until May 28, when the First Division went into action andtook Cantigny. This brilliant action, said Pershing, hadan electrical effect. Cantigny* and all other objectives hadbeen taken with splendid dash, and were organized andheld stedfastly against vicious counter-attacks and grillingartillery-fire. While a local action, Cantigny was a bril-liant one, and it demonstrated our fighting qualities underextreme battle conditions. Moreover it showed that theenemy were not altogether invincible. This German offensive reached high-water mark on May31, when the Allies, said Pershing, faced a crisis equally asgrave as that of the Picardy offensive in March. The ThirdAmerican Division, which had had preliminary training inthe trenches, was now hurried to the Marne, its motorizedmachine-gun battalion precedi
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