aring to strike a blow from that place. They made careful
note of the traffic along the roads through the forest. They maintained
a careful watch to ascertain whether new ammunition dumps were being
concealed under the trees. Their observers tried to ascertain whether
any additional hospital arrangements had been made by the French at that
point. Any of these things would have indicated that the French were
preparing to strike through the forest but the Germans found nothing to
support their suspicions.

Nevertheless, they maintained their lines at maximum strength. A belief
existed among the German High Command that an attack might be made on
July 4th, out of consideration to American sentiment. When the attack
did not develop on that day, they then thought that the French might
possibly spring the blow on July 14th, in celebration of their own
national fete day. And again they were disappointed in their surmises.

This protracted delay of an impending blow worried the enemy. The
Germans realised full well that they were fighting against time. Their
faith in the capacity of their submarines to prevent American strength
from reaching the line, had been abandoned. They now knew that every day
that passed meant just that many more American soldiers arriving in
France, and the consequent strengthening of the Allied forces during a
season when the Germans, through their repeated offensives, were
suffering terrible losses and were consequently growing weaker.

So, on July 14th, when the Allied counter-offensive had still failed to
materialise, the German forces, by the necessity for time, moved to a
sudden and faulty decision. They convinced themselves that they had
overestimated the Allied strength. They accepted the belief that the
reason Foch had not attacked was because he did not have sufficient
strength to attack. With this, then, as a basis for their plans, they
immediately launched another offensive, hoping that this might be the
one in which they could deliver the final blow.

This action began on Monday morning, July 15th, and extended from
Chateau-Thierry eastward along the valley of the Maine, northward to
Rheims and thence eastward. By a remarkable coup, one small patrol of
French and Americans deprived the enemy of the element of surprise in
the attack. On the morning of the previous day, this patrol successfully
raided the enemy lines to the east of Rheims and brought back prisoners
from whom it was learned