March 27.--I have been along the French front today, and the news is
that, although the battle broke with extraordinary violence, it found
the French prepared, and all is well.
As I watched the sun set in a crimson flood yesterday behind the Noyon
hills there seemed to be a pause in the struggle. At least, the
bombardment had slackened, and at one of the headquarters of the French
Army on the Oise there was no news of an attack then proceeding.
The result of this momentary lull was to enhance the impression of calm
order and confidence which is one's usual experience in passing from the
rear to the front. One goes up in a state of suppressed agitation over
the latest reports and rumors, and finds himself suddenly wrapped around
by an atmosphere of businesslike quietude that extends nearly to the
front trenches. Even in the firing line the stoical silence of the men
and their immobility, except in spasmodic crises, seem to dominate the
hellish roar of bursting shells.
From this point backward the machine works with a smoothness that
rebukes our anxieties. In a circuit of forty miles, ending on the hills
overlooking the left bank of the Oise, between Noyon and Chauny, I did
not see a single sign of confusion, and there were many signs of
satisfaction that the war had entered upon a decisive stage.
This is not strange. Very few soldiers hear as much of the latest news
as one does in Paris or London; but all soldiers know more of the
strength of their army than civilians can know. They may rarely see
their General and understand little of military science; they may be
unable to tell you exactly how the battle line stands, but they have a
thousand ways of learning the quality of their chiefs and of knowing far
in advance of the official bulletins whether things are going well or
ill.
So far as my information goes there is good reason for this equitable
state of mind. The German advance is remarkable, but it has been
adequately paid for. Along the successive lines of heights southwest of
St. Quentin the British, and afterward the French, who took this sector,
had excellent firing positions, and retired from one to another in good
order. The enemy came on wave upon wave, reckless of losses, as though
certain points must be reached at any cost at certain hours. The allied
troops fired upon them continuously, often exhausting their ammunition
before the moment came for falling back. The Crown Prince's troops were
at some points literally mown down. One machine gunner with a good
target got through 30,000 cartridges, and could have fired twice that
number had they been at hand. A Bavarian regiment lost half of its
effectives in this drive toward the Oise.