on the front. Only
that intense and thorough training made it possible for our oversea
forces to play the veteran part they did play in the great Second Battle
of the Marne.

The battle developed as a third phase of the enemy's Western Front
offensives of the year. The increasing strength of the American forces
overseas forced Germany to put forth her utmost efforts in the forlorn
hope of gaining a decision in the field before the Allied lines could
have the advantage of America's weight.

On March 21st, the Germans had launched their first powerful offensive
on a front of fifty miles from Arras to Noyon in Picardy and had
advanced their lines from St. Quentin to the outskirts of Amiens.

On April 9th, the German hordes struck again in Flanders on a front of
twenty miles from Lens northward to the River Lys and had cut into the
Allied front as far as Armentieres.

There followed what was considered an abnormal delay in the third act of
the demonstration. It was known that the Germans were engaged in making
elaborate arrangements for this mid-summer push. It was the enemy hope
in this great offensive to strike a final effective blow against the
hard-pressed Allied line before America's rising power could be thrown
into the fight.

The blow fell on the morning of May 27th. The front selected for the
assault was twenty-five miles in width, extending from the Ailette near
Vauxaillon to the Aisne-Marne Canal near Brimont. The Prussian Crown
Prince was the titular chief of the group of armies used in the assault.
One of these forces was the army of General von Boehm, which before the
attack had numbered only nine divisions and had extended from the Oise
at Noyon to east of Craconne. The other army was that of General Fritz
von Buelow, previously composed of eight divisions and supporting a front
that extended from Craconne across the Rheims front to Suippe, near
Auberive. On the day of the attack, these armies had been strengthened
to twice their normal number of divisions, and subsequently captured
German plans revealed that the enemy expected to use forty-five
divisions or practically half a million men in the onslaught.

The battle began at dawn. It was directed against the weakly held French
positions on the Chemin des Dames. It was preceded by a three hour
bombardment of terrific intensity. The French defenders were outnumbered
four to one. The Germans put down a rolling barrage that was two miles
deep. It destroy