Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 May 1919 — When the “Rainbows” Broke the Prussian Guards—and the Hun Morale [ARTICLE]

When the “Rainbows” Broke the Prussian Guards —and the Hun Morale

TOWNER, ol low.

By REPRESENTATIVE HORACE M. ’

When Foch not only stopped the well-conceived offensive of the Germans, which was to be their final and triumphant march on Pans but immediately launched a counter-offensive with what seemed reckless abandon against the German lines, he met with unexpected success. By hard and well-directed fighting he forced the Germans to retire on both sides of the Chateau-Thierry triangle. So rapidly was the assault pressed that the Germans, in danger of a disastrous rout, called into action their strongest reserves. It was’then that the Germans determined to send the invincible Prussian Guards against the advance. It was the “Rambo division that met this onset of the Prussian Guards. The Prussian Guards have been regarded by the German people for more than a century as the ideal of the German army. They have been considered not only as the best that German military science could produce but vastly superior to any other military organization in the world. They were not called into action except upon extraordinary occasions.. They were sent against the Americans to demolish them, to put them to shame, to show their lack of training and incompetency. The Fourth, their crack division, the best of the best, hitherto undefeated, led the attack. . The guards charged in due form, but, strange to say, the Americans refused to yield. The “Rainbow” boys met the onset calmly and resolutely. and with such a well-directed storm of rifle and machine-gun fire that it blinded and stunned and finally stopped the fierce assault. And then the boys from Camp Creek and Smoky Hollow countercharged with a swiftness and ferocity that took the breath away from the wondering guards. The Americans simply went through the front ranks of the invincible guards as if it were an everyday diversion. Time and a< r ain the officers of the guards rallied the men to stop the American onset. Some say four times, some six, and others say nine times the. guards tried to re-form and re-attack, but the Americans pressed them so hard they could not find a chance. The Americans pressed them not only in front but soon attacked their flanks. The Germans were in danger of being surrounded, and. so there was nothing to do but retreat in order to prevent surrender or destruction. This they did, with difficulty preserving their organization. •It was a glorious victory for the Forty-second division. It was a terrible defeat for the guards. It gave confidence to the allies all along the line. It did more to break the morale of the Germans than any other single action. —±