y resisted all efforts
of the Allies to oust them.

The salient was shaped like a triangle. The apex of the triangle--the
point of the dagger--thrusting southward, rested on the town of St.
Mihiel, on the river Meuse. The western flank of the triangle extended
northward from St. Mihiel to points beyond Verdun. The eastern flank of
the triangle extended in a northeasterly direction toward
Pont-a-Mousson. It was the strongest position held by the Germans in
Lorraine--if not on the entire front.

The geographical formation of the salient was an invitation for the
application of a pincers operation. The point of leverage of the
opposing jaws of the pincers was, most naturally, the apex of the
triangle at St. Mihiel.

One claw of the pincers--a claw some eight miles thick, bit into the
east side of the salient near Pont-a-Mousson on the west bank of the
Moselle River. The other claw of the pincers was about eight miles thick
and it bit into the western flank of the salient in the vicinity of the
little town of Haudiomont, on the heights of the Meuse and just a little
distance to the east of the Meuse River.

The distance across that part of the salient through which the pincer's
claws were biting was about thirty miles, and the area which would be
included in the bite would be almost a hundred and seventy-five square
miles. This, indeed, was a major operation.

The battle began at one o'clock on the morning of September 12th, when
the concentrated ordnance of the heaviest American artillery in France
opened a preparatory fire of unprecedented intensity.

At five o'clock in the dim dawn of that September morning, our infantry
waves leaped from their trenches and moved forward to the assault. The
claw of the pincers on the eastern flank of the salient began to bite
in.

One hour later the claw of the pincers on the western flank of the
salient began to move forward.

On the east, our men went forward on the run over ground that we had
looked upon with envious eyes from the day that the first American
troops reached the front. Before noon we had taken the villages of
Lahayville, St. Baussant, Vilcey and the Bois de Mortmare and we were
still advancing. By nightfall, our lines were still on the move beyond
Essey and we were holding the important town of Thiaucourt and claimed
Villers sur Penny for our own.

The seemingly impregnable fortress of Mont Sec had been surrounded, our
tanks had cleared the way through Panne