Achievements of General Pershing's Troops in
the Terrific Battles in Champagne and Picardy
[MONTH ENDED JUNE 18, 1918]
With over 800,000 American troops in France, as the Secretary of War
announced on June 15, 1918, the United States in the last month has
assumed a far greater portion of the Allies' burden and has begun
to take its full share in the large-scale fighting on the western
front. Within a year since the first American troops landed in France,
a period primarily one of preparation, the United States Army has
developed into an important military factor. Evidence of this was seen
in June in several engagements in which the Americans distinguished
themselves by their gallantry, resourcefulness, and efficient
methods. Prominent in the month's record were the American offensive
at Cantigny, and later, on a much larger scale, the operations at
Château-Thierry and in the Marne region near that town.
General Pershing directed the offensive which resulted in the capture
of the strongly fortified village of Cantigny, northwest of Montdidier,
thereby creating a small salient. The attack, which was delivered on
May 28, was on a front of one and one-quarter miles. The Americans,
supported by French heavy guns in addition to their own artillery
and French tanks, swept forward with remarkable speed and precision,
occupied the village, captured 200 prisoners, and inflicted severe
losses in killed and wounded on the enemy. Then, with equal rapidity,
they consolidated their newly won positions and were thus able to
repulse some very fierce counterattacks during the following days. The
American casualties were relatively small. The troops that captured
Cantigny were sent to that sector a month previously, after Pershing's
offer to place all his men and resources at the disposal of the
Allies. During the four weeks preceding the offensive the Americans
had held their positions under comparatively heavy shelling.
Both before and after the Cantigny engagement, the Americans in all
the sectors where they held positions were occupied in ceaseless
fighting of minor importance. There were many artillery duels, with
plentiful use of gas on both sides, many raids, and considerable aerial
activity. The Americans began to feel the effect of increased aircraft
production, and in several sectors where the Germans had previously had
the advantage the situation was now reversed and American aviators had
the upper hand.