Headstone of Second Lieutenant J. Aitken, Royal Air Force, died July 16, 1918, buried in Dormans National Cemetery, Dormans, France. © 2014 by John M. Shea
Second LieutenantJ. AitkenRoyal Air Force16th July 16, 1918
"To the French and American Soldiers of the Army:We may be attacked from one moment to another. You all feel that a defensive battle was never engaged in under more favorable conditions. We are warned, and we are on our guard. We have received strong reënforcements of infantry and artillery. You will fight on ground which by your assiduous labor you have transformed into a formidable fortress, into a fortress which is invincible if the passages are well guarded.The bombardment will be terrible. You will endure it without weakness. The attack in a cloud of dust and gas will be fierce, but your positions and your armament are formidable.The strong and brave hearts of free men beat in your breasts. None will look behind, none will give way. Every man will have but one thought—'Kill them, kill them in abundance, until they have had enough.' And therefore your General tells you it will be a glorious day."
The official appeal of General Gouraud to the soldiers of his 4th Army on July 16, 1918. The German's had launched their fifth and final offensive of 1918, the Champagne-Marne Offensive, the prior day. German commander Erich Ludendorff called his offensive Friedensturm, Peace Assault, which would bring peace through victory. The United States did not yet have an Army in Europe; its units were incorporated into British and French forces. In his History of the A.E.F., Shipley Thomas dates this quotation to July 7.
The Great Events of the Great War in Seven Volumes by Charles F. Horne, Vol. VI, 1918, pp. 243–244, copyright © 1920 by The National Alumnia, publisher: The National Alumni, publication date: 1920
1918-07-16, 1918, July, Gouraud
