"The first boche shell hit our front line at 7:06—the Colonel has twenty prisoners—the right flank is sending back about a hundred—balloon reports grenade fighting west of Cantigny where our men are mopping up the trenches—two of our stretcher bearers are returning with an empty stretcher—one tank returning from Cantigny—our men are seen walking around the street of Cantigny—flame throwers can be seen through the smoke clearing out the dug-outs—enemy fire beginning on Cantigny Wood at 7:30, three-quarters of an hour after zero."
After that come other reports of German batteries at last able to operate, though haltingly. Shortly afterward the officer reported, laconically, "There goes my observation post. Steve's gone to capture Cantigny single-handed. Couldn't keep him there."
The French and Americans were jubilant. There were mutual handshakings, then silence, and in came a grimy, sweaty, but happy soldier, the first of the men who'd been over the top into Cantigny. He saluted punctiliously: "Sir, I have brought back twenty prisoners."
PEN READY FOR PRISONERS
Sure enough, there they were outside, about to be herded into a detention pen that was already prepared for them. They were dull-looking men, still half stunned, in dirt-gray uniforms, looking like slugs or earthworms, sullen and angry at being captured by Americans. The officer said 120 had been counted up above already, and added: "Hope we get enough to even up for Seicheprey."
The soldier was triumphant. "I went with the first wave," he said. "We got to a sort of trench, and all of a sudden the boches jumped right up in front of us and started to throw grenades. We went at 'em with grenades, bayonets, rifles, pistols, whatever came handy. I spitted one big fellow on my bayonet, but the bayonet stuck. So I pulled out my trench knife and went for another, but he yelled 'Kamerad!' so I grabbed his gun and hit a third over the head with it. There were grenades busting all around, but I could hear our fellows shouting 'Go to it, Yanks!' the same as they did all the way over No Man's Land.
"Pretty quick all the boches were yelling 'Kamerad!' and putting up their hands. The Captain told me to herd these together and get them down quick so they could be questioned. There's about a hundred more up in the woods cut off by the barrage."
A little later the wounded began coming back to the dressing stations which had been specially prepared. The wounded were all cheerful, saying, "We went right through 'em—nothing to it—go back and do it again tomorrow." Every man asked only two things: "How many boches did we get?" and "Have you got a cigarette?"
These are the real victors of Cantigny. When all's said and done, the staff may plan, guns may fire, tanks may crawl, but the common infantry soldier is the real hero of all.