STORY OF THE SAVING OF PARIS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14448, 7 November 1917, Page 10

STORY OF THE SAVING OF PARIS.

BUND GENERAL EXPLAINS WON-

DERFUL MARNE VICTORY,

PARIS, Septempber 3. This week is the week of anniversaries of the great historic days of the battle of the Marne, reminiscences of which are avidly sought by all Frenchmen. One of the principal actors m the tremendous drama. General Manoury, has confided a few of his impressions to a, correspondent of the Petit Parisien.

The General, the victor of the Ourcq, is now blind, as the result of a wound, and lives m retirement m his estate m Beauce. He relates how General Gallieni. the Governor of Paris, sent for him iii those first days of September and exclaimed : "Manoury, Paris must be saved. I'll give you all the troops you need," and Manoeury describes the magic effect of his own short order to his army : ''Tlie retreat is ended. Now rightabout and forward." Tlie tired, discouraged soldiers sprang to the attack with irresistible dash. General Manoury has a word to say on the question so often raised : Why did the Germans retreat when Paris seemed already m their grasp? He says: — "There was no miracle. The Germans retreated for the simple reason that they were beaten. To speak of the Ourcq alone. Von Kluck retreated because on September 6 General de Lamaze, with his reserve divisions, routed the army corps which Von Kluck had left m the neighborhood of Meaux as a covering. That was what decided the victory. The Germans abandoned their march on Paris because they could not continue it. There is no mystery about that. t ENEMY CHASED 50 MILES. "Surprise has been expressed that we did not- push on our success further. Shortness^ of munitions and lack of cavalry have been mentioned m explanation. As regards the Sixth Army, whicii I commanded, that is incorrect. I was not short of munitions, and did not stop until I had pursued the enemy for more than 50 miles. ' . •

"Paris had been .saved, and Von Kluck had stopped his retreat to take shelter m positions of which the defence had been already carefully prepared m peace time.

"Of this I am certain, and I have irrefutable- proofs of it. On our own ground, m time of peace, the Germans had chosen-- and prepared positions which formed a formidable defensive b'ne. Then began the siege war. We had been privileged to fight m the open country as of yore.

'"Iv that form of warfare, which I hope will shortly recur, our troops will always be victorious, not that stupid vanity leads us to underestimate the onemy, but because our soldiers; who know why they are fighting, and who haye accepted the war as a misfortune which must be surmounted, will always be superior m open country to the enemy, whose moral depression increases m proportion to the duration of a struggle which had been represented to him as an opportunity of fruitful rapine and easy triumph."