29 Mar 1918
Page 1
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Newspaper
Waterloo Evening Courier
Location
Waterloo, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Mar 29, 1918
Page
1
In daylight, six American officers and men crawled from shell hole to shell hole for four hours, entering German trenches and dugouts, gathering intelligence despite machine gun fire and eventual discovery. One Texas sergeant was shocked by a wire while attempting to breach a belt, drawing enemy attention.
Washington March 29 An official dispatch from France says the chaplain and two nuns of St Elizabeth hospital in Antwerp were executed by German forces. They were killed in the courtyard of the barracks alongside Belgian oculist Dr de Mets.
Phelps Collins of Detroit Michigan a Lafayette Flying Corps member was killed on March 13 during an air fight on the French front. On patrol he downed one German plane before being struck and falling inside enemy lines. Collins served about five months at the front and had two German aircraft to his credit. He was regarded as one of the best airmen and was one of 24 Americans commissioned in the American Army in France last December under General Pershing.
A West 28th street theatrical boarding house fire early today left three burned to death and one killed by a fall, with two others seriously injured. Identified victims were Catherine Warrington and Edward Swanson. Fire officials pursue incendiary theories as the building has suffered six fires since January, though monetary loss is reported as small.
Canadian Army Headquarters urges courage as operations loom on their right flank. Paris notes evacuations for refugees and Red Cross relief chain. London discusses a proposed broad conscription revision for Ireland and home defense. Kursk offensive movements are reported from Petrograd. Fort Worth reports Royal Flying Corps casualties. Berlin notes a major new front thrust. Paris long range bombardment resumes. Buck ad and delivery notice follow.
Paris report says Gen Pershing told Gen Foch at headquarters that the full resources of the American army are at disposal for the battle now in progress. He stated the American people would be honored to fight, delivering the greatest battle in history with infantry artillery and aviation to be used as needed. Foch presented the offer to the front council including Clemenceau Petain and Loucheur.
Reports from London indicate Gen Foch may be named to coordinate British and French forces. The Daily Chronicle hinted at an influential role for Foch and a possible immediate announcement. Meanwhile 27 American soldiers gas wounded near the Chemin des Dames are moved to Paris hospitals to free space for British cases. The group includes New Englanders and a Bridgeport, Conn., private awaiting action.
The German southwest wedge into allied lines was stopped before Montdidier, with French troops enclosing the town in a pocket. British and French forces along the Scarpe and Oise rivers repelled center breakthroughs and shifted focus to the wings as Haig’s artillery blunted German attempts.
Washington March 29 An increase of 1 426 000 in the number of women employed since 1914 is shown by figures issued by the bureau of labor statistics The greatest rise is 530 000 in industries while 214 000 more women are in government service Women have replaced 14149 000 men since 1914 Domestic service and dressmaking have employed 400 000 women previously"}
Camp Dodge Iowa March 29 Everything is ready for the arrival of 4600 white men from North Dakota and Illinois and 1900 negroes from Alabama who report in the next days. First arrivals expected tonight. These recruits form the last increment of the first draft for this cantonment, with Iowa and Minnesota quotas already mobilized. A few Minnesota men remain unreported. Division headquarters reports 100 former Camp Dodge transfers who joined an engineer regiment have arrived in France, mostly from Minnesota with a few from Iowa.
Official reports from Paris say violent fighting continued near Montdidier with French and British forces repelling German counterattacks. French troops captured Moncel after heavy combat, while German efforts to seize Plessier-de-Roye were repulsed by stiff French resistance.
British forces report maintaining lines and gaining ground north and south of the Somme through counter attacks while inflicting heavy losses on German forces. Prisoners and machine guns captured. enemy reserves repelled. After a day of intense hand to hand fighting, British outposts held with some withdrawals from advanced positions.
Amsterdam March 3 German soldiers use nicknames for gear and roles. A rifle is called a betrothed bayonet a cheese knife and the food dictator names the quartermaster. Big guns bear feminine titles while initials become phrases like Fahrtalles-kaput and the identity disk is a ticket for heaven.
American units in France report capturing prisoners near the front northwest of Toul during last night or early today. It remains unclear whether the prisoners were detainees from a German raid or seized during a direct attack on American positions as heavier artillery fire, including a two barrage, weighed on the lines.
An official Vienna denial asserts Odessa remains in Austro German hands and not retaken by Bolsheviks. The report from Amsterdam dated March 29 notes the city is still under occupation, countering recent Bolshevik claims.
In late March German forces pierced toward Mareelev, Hamel, and Mareeleave, driving a costly push south of the Somme. British troops in the Arras region fought fiercely along Telegraph Hill and Neuville-Vitasse to stem the line, with ongoing heavy fighting and attempts at encirclement.
New York reports the eighth day of the Picardy battle shows improvement on the Allied front between Arras and Noyon but two alarming developments raise anxiety. The Germans leap north of Lassigny and west of Roye, capturing Montdidier, and artillery prep grows east of Arras signaling a possible new thrust. The German advance wedges between French and British lines, threatens Amiens and cuts one Paris–Amiens railroad, risking major Allied communications and possibly dividing Britain from France. The wedge is narrow yet dangerous, with the German position exposed to attacks on both sides. Continued coverage on page seven.
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