arfare and
attacked the strongly held wooded hill of Blanc Mont, which they captured
in a second assault, sweeping over it with consummate dash and skill.
This division then repulsed strong counter attacks before the village and
cemetery of Ste. Etienne and took the town, forcing the Germans to fall
back from before Rheims and yield positions they had held since
September, 1914. On Oct. 9 the 36th Division relieved the 2d, and in its
first experience under fire withstood very severe artillery bombardment
and rapidly took up the pursuit of the enemy, now retiring behind the
Aisne.

The allied progress elsewhere cheered the efforts of our men in this
crucial contest, as the German command threw in more and more first-class
troops to stop our advance. We made steady headway in the almost
impenetrable and strongly held Argonne Forest, for, despite this
reinforcement, it was our army that was doing the driving. Our aircraft
was increasing in skill and numbers and forcing the issue, and our
infantry and artillery were improving rapidly with each new experience.
The replacements fresh from home were put into exhausted divisions with
little time for training, but they had the advantage of serving beside
men who knew their business and who had almost become veterans overnight.
The enemy had taken every advantage of the terrain, which especially
favored the defense, by a prodigal use of machine guns manned by highly
trained veterans and by using his artillery at short ranges. In the face
of such strong frontal positions we should have been unable to accomplish
any progress according to previously accepted standards, but I had every
confidence in our aggressive tactics and the courage of our troops.

On Oct. 4 the attack was renewed all along our front. The 3d Corps,
tilting to the left, followed the Brieulles-Cunel road; our 5th Corps
took Gesnes, while the 1st Corps advanced for over two miles along the
irregular valley of the Aire River and in the wooded hills of the Argonne
that bordered the river, used by the enemy with all his art and weapons
of defense. This sort of fighting continued against an enemy striving to
hold every foot of ground and whose very strong counterattacks challenged
us at every point. On the 7th the 1st Corps captured Chatel-Chenery and
continued along the river to Cornay. On the east of Meuse sector, one of
the two divisions, co-operating with the French, captured Consenvoye and
the Haumont Woo