American troops, which straightened out the St. Mihiel
salient and showed definitely to the Germans that ultimately they were
to be defeated.

A brief description of this preparation may be of interest. Our first
intimation of this manoeuver was the bringing up of great quantities
of ammunition. This was placed in the woods and well camouflaged.
Next, heavy artillery came up in greater quantities than we had any
idea that the American army had in France. Then light artillery was
brought up in numbers proportional to the heavy guns. Then thousands
of fresh troops were marched up and placed under the cover of the
woods. These men marched up at night, so as not to be seen by Hun
airplanes. It should be stated here that during this preparation
Allied air machines had complete mastery of the aerial situation and
as soon as a Hun plane appeared on the horizon, it was pursued until
it either was brought down, or it escaped back to its lines.

While the infantry was stationed in these woods, no time was lost. The
men were given their final instructions in fighting Bosch. They were
drilled hard every day and they became particularly efficient in the
use of the bayonet, a weapon that in the hands of a Yank the Germans
fear worse than anything else that I know of. Rifle practice, of
course, could not be indulged in while in these woods, because the
noise might attract German attention, but bayonet drills never
ceased. Thorough drilling was also given in the use of machine guns.
Men were instructed how to repair guns, were told what to do in case
certain parts of the gun were injured, were shown how to take guns
apart and put them together again, and before the end of the drilling,
these men became as efficient in machine gun work as Fritz himself.

The last step of the preparation was the bringing up of the tanks.
These came up at night in great numbers. There were tanks of all
kinds, from the huge British machines to the "petite" or little French
tank. These were also camouflaged and concealed in the woods. After
the tanks were brought up, their gunners were given a final thorough
drilling in the use of their guns, their machines, etc. We had never
before seen such a vast equipment of war material.

It is difficult to express my feelings during the final days of this
preparation. I knew that something of a gigantic nature had been
planned and that the time was close at hand. I also knew that whatever
it was it would surely s