Clas^ j jT ' t c Book._J_i fo[pghtN"_iiJ_^tL_ COPYRIGHT DEPOSm OUR SECOND BATTALION The Accurate and Authentic History of the Second Battalion 111th Infantry BY GEORGE W. COOPER Formerly Battalion Sergeant Major SECOND BATTALION BOOK COMPANY 616 Taylor Avenue, Northside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1\ 510 COPYRIGHT 1920 By George W. Cooper Press of SMITH BROS. CO. INC. Pittsburgh, Pa. ©CU571386 PREFACE. THERE are quite a few of the men who '■' foiio-ht in Prance who would like to have a record of every little town in which they were billeted, of every battle in which they fought, of all positions held by them, of the "resting" areas occupied by them, as well as the dates of each incident. The following pages are a brief and accurate account of those details, which will be of special interest to the men of the Second Battalion, 111th Infantry. To the othv^r members of the regiment, it should form a basis for calculating just where they were on the various dat^s. The phrase "Our Second Battalion'^ origi- nated from a Daily Intelligence Report issued by the Division Intelligence Office the latter part of August, 1918, in which it was stated that "Our Second Battalion" of the Division was holding down a certain sector of the Line in the Fismes Sector. No one but the Battalion Officers and a few others knew at that time that it referred to the Second Battalion, 111th Infantry, as the regimental designation was inadvertently omitted. In addition to a list of the regimental furls won by the regiment, citations for decorations, casualty list of the regiment, compilation of time in action of "Our Second Battalion" in IV PREFACE the Appendix, a roster containing the names of approximately sixteen hundred officers and men who served with the Second Battalion in France, copies of official reports made by the Battalion and Regimental Commanders, as well as copies of official citations. Field Orders and Letters of Commendation are also included in the Appendix. This history is short but exact. From it, each soldier who fought with the Second Bat- talion, or even the regiment, can make his own story of his part in the War. The battles can be described, perhaps, a little different by each one because one could only see his own immediate part in them. It is hoped that this will give the men of ^^Our Second Battalion," and of the regiment, a more definite idea of where they were, and, at the same time, give to those "Over Here," a little better impression of what befell "Our Second Battalion" in France. G. W. C. FOREWORD. A FTER undergoing several months training '** on the Mexican Border in 1916, the Eight- eenth Pennsylvania Infantry and the Sixth Pennsylvania Infantry returned home and were mustered out of the Federal Service. The Eighteenth was mobilized again on April 12th, 1917, six days after War was declared, and the Sixth was mobilized on July 15th. The Eight- eenth reached Camp Hancock, Augusta, Georgia, on September 10th, and the Sixth on September 14th. Shortly after the whole Divi- sion w^as encamped, the reorganization plans began to be worked out, and on October 11th, the Division was organized as the Twenty- eighth (Keystone) Division, with the Eight- eenth and Sixth merged and designated as the 111th Infantry. On Saturday, October 13th, the members of the old ^^Sixth/' under command of their offi- cers, marched from their former regimental area to the area occupied by the old "Eight- eenth" and were received into their new home l)y their comrades in a manner most fitting for the occasion. The newly organized regiment was now over war strength, both in officers and men, and the "weeding out'' process of the physically unfit and disqualified was started. Meanwhile, the schedule of sixteen weeks in- tensive training was carried out. n FOREWORD By the end of the year, the schedule was finished and all looked and yearned for orders to go to France. Keen was the disappointment when another course of training was inaugu- rated, but keener still was the feeling over the entire Division when news reached camp of the great Spring Drive of 1918 by the Germans. It seemed as though the very heart of the Divi- sion was touched because it was not in France to meet the onslaught. Fortunately, strong rumors, apparently originating from official sources, of a movement to France within a month filled the air and again the men took heart. On Sunday, April 21st, 1918, the first troops left €amp Hancock. On Sunday, April 28th, the 111th Infantry started to entrain, "Our Second Battalion" leaving on tJie 29th with Companies E and F on one train and Com- panies G and H on another. On Wednesday, May 1st, the Battalion reached Camp Upton, Mineola, Long Island, New York, and the next few days were busily spent in getting the equipment necessary for service in France and the turning in of old clothes with a view of obtaining new ones. This was not accomplished, however, and the old clothes had to be reissued. The last touch was put on the paper work, the final inspections made and the regiment was ready for its trip to France. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. Into the Billetting Area 1 II. Preparing for Action 13 III. Along the Marne 28 IV. Our First Attack 38 V. Chateau Thierry 56 VI. Almost Surrounded ,.. 65 VII. On the Heels of the Germans 76 VIII. Fismes 87 IX. The Line of Resistance 103 X. Courlandon 112 XI. Relieved at Last 126 XII. Into the Argonne 136 XIII. The Argonne Drive 143 XIV. The Thiaucourt Sector and End of the War 165 COLONKL WII.l.IAM K. DUN LAP, Commaiuler of "Our Second Battulion. THE SECOND BATTALION ONE HUNDRED AND EJLEVENTH INFANTRY TWENTY-EIGHTH DIVISION Splendid discipline, Esprit de corps, sterling leaders and high type of men made the Second Battalion, One Hundred and Eleventh U. S. Infantry, one of the most efficient fighting units in the American Expeditionary Forces. E. C. Shannon, Late Colonel, 111th U. S. Infantry. May 7th, 1920. COLONEL DUNLAP'S GREETINGS To the Officers and Men of the Second Battal- ion, 111th Infantry : I consider it a very great honor and privilege to subscribe, at this time, to the patriotism, loyalty and aggressiveness of the men who made up the rank and file of the Second Bat- talion, 111th Infantry, whom I had the honor and pleasure of commanding during their oper- ations in France until a short, time before the signing of the Armistice; for their faithful performance of duty and the meeting of every demand to which they were called, regardless of conditions of fatigue or hunger, and their spirit of comradeship and determination brought fear to the hearts of the Hun, and by their fidelity to their Commanding Officers, honor and recognition was brought to their organization. None of these things can be understood, much less appreciated, by any but those who have commanded in times such as we have experienced, and so it is with the deepest sense of comradeship and love I acknowledge to the living of my comrades an undying gratitude, and to those who gave their lives in the great cause, a solemn and holy reverence, firm in the belief that their spirit has found the refuge sought by all men ; and with the hope that the past has strengthened us, the living, in the characteristics of clean manhood and citizen- ship to the end that when the last Taps have sounded for us, we shall have reaped the same reward — honor among our fellow men and everlasting life. I also wish to take this opportunity to ack- nowledge our indebtedness to Sergeant Major George W. Cooper for the preservation of man- uscripts, records of events and official records. He has compiled them, together with his own writings done while on the field, which makes them both of historical value and intense in- terest to every officer and man who fought with the Battalion. I congratulate my comrades of the old Bat- talion that it is possible for them to have this record and commend Sergeant Major Cooper for his worthy and successful effort,. I desire at this time to express my personal gratitude and appreciation of the gallantry, loyalty and untiring work of the officers and men of this Battalion, which made for it a most enviable record, the result of which was the ultimate defeat of the enemy, and by reason of these efforts of the officers and men under my command, and not of any individual efforts of my own, I was ultimately promoted to the rank of Colonel. W. R. DUNLAP, Colonel, 109th Infantry, Late Captain and Major, 2nd Battalion, 111th Infantry. DEDICATED TO THE. MEMORY OF OUR COMRADES WHO HAVE ANSWERED THE LAST CALL OF TAPS PAL! He left me over there one day, I knew not whither led, The path stretched far before me, That stern Duty bade me tread; And when I later came again, I found that he was dead. A ruthless bullet found its mark, While my Pal toiled to save The lives of those about him, Of his other comrades brave. They lived, but he, my dear old Pal, Was laid into his grave. He^s gone, but in the twilight's glow, Now War has ceased to be, He often steals upon me. And in fond memory, We tread old trails together, While he whispers ^Tal" to me. Frederick S. Wertenbach, Sergeant^ Company G. OUR SECOND BATTALION - OUR SECOND BATTALION CHAPTER L INTO THE BILLETING AREA. AFTER we had our inspectionsi Saturday •** afternoon, we received orders to pack all surplus clothing and equipment in our barrack bags and roll our packs for departure. We knew then we were going to leave, in all prob- ability, that night. Each company collected its barrack bags in one place and that w^as the last we saw of them until we had crossed the ocean. At midnight we formed up in front of our barracks and began marching to the train. The sky was dark but the weather clear as we swung silently out of camp to the station where passenger cars awaited us. There was not a sufficient number of cars for us, but we crowded in every old way. Some of the men had even to lie down in the aisles of the train. The next morning, Sunday, May fifth, at about seven o'clock we reached Hoboken and the regiment crossed the Hudson River to New York on two ferry boats. They too were over- crowded, for there were nearly two thousand officers and men on each one. None of us could sit down and we felt glad enough for space to rest our packs beside us. At about eight o'clock the first ferry boat landed at 2 OUR SECOND BATTALION Pier No. 59 of the White Star Line. As soon as it was unloaded, the other one tied up to the dock and unloaded the rest of the regi- ment. Each Company then lined up its men on the pier in the order our names appeared on the passenger lists. As each name was called we answered and proceeded up the gang- plank and got checked off on the list. It was only a few minutes until everyone knew the identity of our ship. It was the large liner "Olympic" of the White Star Line and we were glad that we were going on a large ship, for we knew we could cross the Atlantic by ourselves and meet our escort after we got into the danger zone. The Red Cross and other organizations distributed post cards to us, announcing our safe arrival overseas. These, of course, were not to be sent until we had actually landed. By eleven o'clock the troops of our regiment were on board and we had been assigned to our different places on the ship. General William Weigel, Commander of our Brigade, and his staff came on board and they were followed by two Battalions of the 59th In- fantry under command of Major Farrell. At two o'clock every man was ordered inside and at 2 :15 we heard the grinding of the engines below and knew that at last we were started on our trip to that land across the sea, which we longed so eagerly to reach. After we had INTO THE BILLETING AREA 3 gone down the river a little, we were allowed to go out on deck and got there just in time for many of us to see the Statue of Liberty for the first time. The trip was uneventful until Thursday, the ninth, when the ship began zigzagging and some of the boys commenced to get sick from the motion. That was Ascension Day and Father Charles C. Conaty, then the Chaplain attached to the Brigade, said Mass in the Of- ficers' Smoking Room. We thought it was now about time for us to pick up our escort and ever}^one began stretching his eyes eastward. The next day the ship zigzagged more than ever and more of the boys got sick. We knew that we must be fast approaching the danger zone and whilst anxiously on the lookout for "subs," I guess we hoped we w^ould not see any. On Saturday morning, shortly after break- fast, we could see some little specks coming over the horizon. We knew that we were in the danger zone proper now and that our es- cort was coming to meet us. The specks turned out to be four American destroyers, which, after reaching us, kept darting in and out all around us, shooting across in front of us and then dropping behind and catching up again. The ship turned and re-turned so much that it was difficult to figure out in what direc- tion we were traveling. If a submarine had 4 OUR SECOND BATTALION come near us that day and its periscope had come to the surface, it would have been seen by at least half the troops on board, because both sides of the ship were covered with men looking for excitement. That night most of the packs were made up with the expectation of landing Sunday and more than one man remarked that "It would be a hell of a thing to be submarined now that we were so close to land and had our packs made up." A'bout four o'clock next morning, there was a crash and then a shot rang out through the air, which awakened most every man on board the ship. ^^There's some excitement now," we all thought and exclaimed, as we jumped up and hurriedly pulled on our clothes. In less than a minute, there was another shot and Ave were sure that we were missing something big. We ran through the corridors and up the stairs with half our clothes on and the rest on our arms, but discovered that we ciould not «:o out on deck. When asked what the trouble was, the guards replied that we had rammed a submarine and that was all they knew. iSeeing that we could not go out on deck and that there was no more shooting, we went back to bed again and once more were awakened at seven o'clock by another shot. This turned out to be one of our destroyers dropping a depth bomb. Whether or not they got a sub- marine, we never heard. INTO THE BILLETING AREA O A member of the crew described the ram- ming of tlie submarine by the Olympic, after the war was finished, as follows: ^'Tt was just about tour o'clock when the lookout man picked out of the almost total darkness, the outline of a lurking submarine, which was lying on the surface. Immediately after his warning shout, one of the forward guns blazed out, and the ship, with her helm hard over, spun around like a great racing yacht and crashed into the enemy. ^'The blow was, of course, not a clean one or there would have been few survivors from the submarine. Judging from the damage on the bow of the ship when dry-docked a few day43 later, the blow cut off one end of the sub- marine. The rest drifted past the stern of the Olympic and one of the gun crews on the poop planted a six inch shell squarely into it. One of the destroyers dropped behind and, by the light of star shells, picked up 31 survivors, three of whom died on the way to port. The total crew of the submarine was over GO.^' Some time after the Armistice was signed, 1st Lieut. N. J. Sepp, who had been Adjutant of the First Battalion, wrote to Captain Hayes, who commanded the Olympic, and re- ceived the following reply in the Captain's own handwriting: 6 OUR SECOND BATTALION "S. S. Olympic, Southampton, March 9, 1919. Dear Sir : In reply to the above, the position was Lat. 49° ir/ N., Long. 4° 51' W. The time we rammed the German submarine — U-103 — was 3 :55 A. M., May 12th, 1918. Yours very truly, (Signed) Bertram F. Hayes." The American destroyers were just in the act of being relieved by four English destroyers when all this occurred. However the Amer- ican destroyers picked up the survivors of the rammed submarine and took them to England. From that time on there was much anxiety over the entire ship for more excitement. At a quarter to eight the Isle of Wight was sighted in the distance and at 11 :30 the en- gines stopped and we lay in the harbor of Southampton, being unable to dock on account of the tide. We had already gained our first victory over the Germans. The next day (Monday, the 13th) we steamed up the harbor and tied up at the pier. At about two o'clock the troops began to leave the ship, each man grabbing a barrack bag of his company and taking it from the deck of the ship, where all barrack bags had been placed Saturday and Sunday, to a place desig- nated on the pier for that purpose. On the INTO THE BirZiETING AREA 7 other side of the pier English trains were wait- ing for us, the first one leaving at 2 :30. The others followed at regular intervals. That night after dark we arrived at Dover, and were marched up a steep hill to the English Eest Camp No. 3. It was nothing more than an old fortress and its hard cement floor was our resting place for that night. Fortunately there seemed to be enough extra blankets, but we were afraid to use them on account of our fear of cooties, which we had heard .so much of in training camp. However, the coldness of the night won over our cootie scare and we used the blankets. On the following day, Tuesday, the four- teenth, a little after eleven o'clock we left the "Rest Camp" and, as we wound our way down over the steep grade which we had ascended the night before, we could see the outline of the French coast across the Channel. We reached the docks about noon and piled into two small transports. There was a sharp cold air at the time and those of us who stayed on deck wore our overcoats but we were none too warm. Every man had to wear a life belt and this afforded a little more warmth. When all the troops were aboard, we slipped away from the docks and started our perilous trip across the English Channel. It is only twenty-one miles wide but four destroyers, two on either side of us, were our protection the whole way. 8 OUR SECOND BATTALION At three-thirty we reached the docks and on top of the railroad station beside the docks we could read the word "Calais." The first thing we saw — ^and this while we were still on the transports waiting to get on to land — was a military funeral, and as we stepped on the soil of France almost every man exclaimed, *'And this is France." While we were resting along the station waiting for the rest of the regiment to form, we saw our first German prisoners and also the first wounded soldiers. A Red Cross train arrived Avith English sol- diers who had been wounded in the March Offensive and were now being taken to a hos- pital in England. They were carried from the train to a hospital ship waiting at the pier. Around four o'clock the regiment was as- sembled and we marched through the streets of Calais for about an hour when we reached English Rest Camp No. 6, West. Here fifteen men were put into each tent^ — a tent much smaller than our squad tent for eight men. After supper the barrack bags arrived at the end of the camp and each man went down to pick his own from the Company pile and bring it up to his tent. That night — ^our very first night in France — we experienced our first air raid. It was quite a spectacle to us who had just arrived, to see the many different searchlights playing the sky in order to locate the German planes INTO THE BILLETING AREA 9 and hearing the anti-aircraft guns firing away at random, while the buzz^buzz of the German motors could be very distinctly heard. No bombs were dropped that night but we ex- pected something like that to happen at any moment. While the planes were soaring over our heads, there was shouting and cheering from some of the men, while others watched the performance in silence. On Wednesday night we were under another air raid. This time it was more interesting and more exciting. After circling over our heads for some few minutes, bombs were dropped and so close to us were they dropped that the earth shook and shrapnel hit in our camp, causing us to put on our helmets. The searchlights were unable to find any of the planes that night and one of them, after it had gone out of range of the anti-aircraft guns, turned on its own searchlights and showed its position in the air. The next day we were "stripped," that is, Ave were assembled by our Company Com- manders and told what we w^ere up against and just what to expect now that we were in France. We were further told that we had to dispose of our barrack bags and turn in all surplus clothing; that we had better go over our personal belongings and pick out the pai*- ticular articles we w^ould like to carry along with us — and that from then on it was a case 10 OUR SECOND BATTALION where every man was going to carry his stuff on his back and, ontside of his full equipment, it was entirely up to the man himself as to how many other things he put in his pack. The personal belongings, which we did not take along with us, we were to leave in our barrack bags and they would be stored away for us. The rest of the morning was spent in com- plying with these instructions. In the afternoon we hiked about four miles to have gas masks issued to us and to go through the gas drill and gas chamber the same as we had done at camp. On the way home all our rifles and ammunition were turned in and English rifles and ammunition issued in their place. In the evening we all waited up for the usual visit of the Jerries, as we had learned to call the enemy, but this time we were disappointed. We waited for our aeroplane visitors till after midnight and as none appeared we turned in for the night. On Friday, the seventeenth, we fell in at 8:45 and at 9:30 the march to the station began. By this time we had taken off our sum- mer underwear and put on woolens, as well as wool socks. In addition to this, we had our overcoats to cany. It was a fine May day and we were exceedingly warm by the time we reached the station. Here some sandwiches, which were to be our dinner and supper, and a cup of tea were issued to us. A little after INTO THE BILLETING AREA 11 twelve, the train started and after passing through St. Omer, we reached Lumbres at 2 :30, at which point we detrained and started on one of the hardest marches we had ever attempted. By this time the heat of the sun was terrific and this, with, the heavy clothes we wore, along with our overcoats and full equipment, made the journey all the harder. Man after man became exhausted and fell out along the road- side. Towards the end we could only mj^ke about one thousand feet and later five hundred between rests. When we reached the little village called Seninghem about six o'clock that evening, not more than twenty-five per cent, of the regiment was still in line. The re- mainder drifted in during all hours of the night. Billets were there for us but they were so dirty and the weather so clear that we slept in the open fields, neither taking the time nor trouble to even erect our tents. After dark the roar of the big guns on the Line could be heard by us but Ave were too tired to pay much attention to them and lost no time in lying doTMi and falling asleep. The next morning we started again at 10 :45 with the same luggage and equipment. It was only a short time when we had to rest after marching only a little distance. A'bout noon we got an order for the companies to pile the packs of their men on separate piles 12 OUR SECOND BATTAIJON as a truck would come along and carry them on to our destination. Believed of our packs, the rest of the way was easy for us. Around three o'clock we reached the village of Haut Loquin where Battalion Headquarters and Companies E, G and H were put into billets and Company F was sent on about three kilo- metres to Bas Loquin. Kegimental Headquar- ters, with Headquarters Company and Supply Company, was stationed at Alquines, the first Battalion in Bouvelinghem and the third Bat- talion in Journey. Machine Grun Company was temporarily detached from the regiment, all the Machine Gun units of the Division being located in one place. That night after dark we could see flashes of light some dis- tance away and we learned from the inhabi- tants that it was probably an air raid on St. Omer, as it was in that direction, and that town was bombed quite frequently. CHAPTER II. PREPARING FOR ACTION. CUNDAY was a day of rest. Some of us went *^to the little village church and were sur- prised and amazed at the sight presented there. Practically every woman, young and old, was in mourning and the extent to which the grim realities of w^ar had touched France was im- pressed upon us. On Monday the troops rested while some of the officers picked out the training area. On Tuesday, the Divisional program of training was begun. From Haut Loquin the training area was nearly two miles away and it was a march down one long hill and up another before the place was reached. A few sand- wiches were issued at breakfast. These, with a canteen of water, comprised the noon-day meal. We were getting English rations then and there was not very much of them, espec- ially during the first week. The 16th Royal Scots had been in the battle at Armentiers and were pretty well wiped out there. What was left of them had been brought back to this area to be re-organ- ized and train our regiment at the same time. The Scots were fine fellows and very much liked by the men of our regiment. They were good fighters, knew the game and did not go 14 OUR SECOND BATTALION about displaying their experience in a boast- ful manner. When Saturday came, the troops were only too glad to have a chance to have a few hours to themselves and rest up a little. But that morning a very sad occurrence took place in our Battalion. Sergeant Edward Agnew of Company H had taken sick the earlier part, of the week, but it did not appear to be seri- ous. On Saturday morning he became sud- denly worse and died. It was the first death in our Battalion, and in fact, in our regiment, since leaving the United States. He was given a military funeral on Sunday afternoon and buried in the corner of the little village ceme- tery at Haut Loquin. A cross with his name, rank, company and regiment was erected at the top of his grave and an American flag and flowers placed upon it. Thursday, Decoration Day, w^as declared a holiday. Word was received that General Pershing would (visit the different areas occu- pied by the Division and for that reason no man was permitted to go outside of his billet unless he had his blouse on. General Pershing did not get any farther than our Brigade Headquarters that day. In the afternoon, the first mail from the States was received and there was much joy among the troops. The mail that we got was that which had been ad- dressed to us at either Camp Hancock or PREPARING FOR ACTION 15 Camp Upton and had been forwarded to us across the sea. On Friday, the program of training was continued. We received our first pay in France on Tuesday, June 4th and on account of getting paid in francs at the rate of about five and one-half francs to a dollar, we received quite a numlier of francs and felt real rich. On Wednesday night there was an entertain- ment held in the open in the square opposite the church in Alquines, in which men from our regiment and men from the Royal Scots participated. There was singing, reciting, jigging, dancing, playing of bag-pipes, and pieces rendered by our band as well as the Scottish band. The following Saturday afternoon, the eighth, the troops of the regiment marched to Alquines, which was about a kilometre (five-eighths of a mile) from Haut Loquin, and there turned in the English rifles and am- munition, we ha\T.ng shot these rifles on the rifle range during the week, and drew the U. S. rifle Model 1917, and the ammunition for it. Orders were received that we would move from that area to a French area probably on Sun- day, or perhaps Monday, and for that reason Captain Dunlap ordered the extra rolls to be made up that night. In this extra roll we were to put one blanket, overcoat and one pair of shoes. The rest of the equipment we were to 16 OUR SECOND BATTALION carry on our backs, while the extra rolls were going to be transported by lorries, or trucks. At seven o'clock the next morning the orders were in and they called for us to move at nine- thirty. On account of Company F being so far from the rest of the Battalion, it was not at Haut Loquin at the appointed time. Captain Dunlap directed the Adjutant, Lieut. Dickson, to await Company F's arrival and lead them on, and endeavor to catch up with the rest of the column. At exactly nine-thirty, our Battalion, with Company G leading, left Haut Loquin, passed down over the hill into and through the village of Alq nines and then up the steep hill of Har- lettes where we joined the rest of our regiment. Two companies of the First Battalion had not yet arrived so that we were afforded a little rest until they came up to us. As Company F had failed to overtake us, we moved on without them. Leaving Harlettes, we marched through Coulomby and Nellies, where Division Head- quarters had been located and where General Muir and some of his Staff watched us go through the town. It was almost noon when we went through Nellies. The sun in the meantime had gotten mighty hot and we were beginning to feel weary and hungry. Even Captain Dunlap didn't know how long we were to march or when we would eat. No arrans^ements had PREPARING FOR ACTION 17 been made for a noon-day meal and it looked as though we would not eat until we had fin- ished the march. Our schedule of marching was: march twenty and rest ten minutes out of every half-hour, and this we kei)t up until four-thirty that afternoon, when we arrived at the village of Bout de la Ville. After leaving Nellies, we passed through Waudringhem, Driononville, Gloquant, Merck St. Martin and then into Bout de la Ville. As we were having our ten minutes rest just out- side Merck St. Martin, the clouds became dark and soon a heavy rain storm broke over our heads. Immediately we donned our slickers and finished the rest of the journey wearing them. At Merck St. Martin, Colonel Shannon gave us orders to leave Companies E and F in that town and take the other two, G and H, up to the next village, which was Bout de la Ville. Just as we pulled into Merck St. Mar- tin, we met Lieut. Dickson, who had come another way with Company F. We got our orders about the middle of that night for the Battalion to move from Bout de la Ville at eleven o'clock. This time we went through Fauquembergues and Fruges, where the Second Army Headquarters were then located and where we saw the most people yet in France and a fair number of French beauties. We were hoping that we would stop just outside this town so that we could get 18 OUR SECOND BATTALION doTVTi to it in the evening, but there was no such good luck for us. After leaving Fruges, we went through Lugy, Heyecques, and reached Beaumetz-les-Aire, where the whole battalion was billeted. As might be expected, it had commenced to rain before we had finished the march, 'but had cleared up again before we reached our destination. That night we received the orders for the following day, which started us off at ten o'clock on the third and last day of our hike, to meet the train which we were to board and then ride for forty-eight hours. Promptly at ten, we proceeded on our journey again, pass- ing through Lisbourg, Equire, Bergueneuse, into and out of Anvin and about a mile further went into an open field, which point we reached at four o'clock. Here we pitched our tents and went into bivouac. There was a little stream running alongside of this field where many of us took a bath or washed our feet. On our side were the First and Second Battalions, and on the opposite side was the Third Battalion. Beside the stream were some trees and under these trees we were ordered a few hours later to move our tents in order to escape the aerial observation of the enemy. The next day, Wednesday the twelfth, we ffot another batch of mail but this lot was very small. Later in the day a Canadian soldier, who had been wounded in the knee, gave us an PREPARING FOR x\CTION 19 exhibition of gymnastics and twisted himself into various positions. This, and little baseball games which we played in the open field beside us, furnished the amusements for the day. Thursday, at 9 :30 A. M., we again put our packs on our backs and marched into the town of Anvin, where the Avhole regiment entrained at regular intervals, two companies per train. ^^Our Second Battalion" moved on two trains, the first carrying Companies E and F and Bat- talion Headquarters, leaving at noon, and the second carrying Companies G and H, left at 2 o'clock. We had been told that we would ride for forty-eight hours and prepared ourselves to spend that length of time in our new puU- man cars, which were none other than the well- known "Chevaux 8, Hommes 40," meaning, of course, that either 8 horses or 40 men could be put in the box-cars. This particular time it was used for the "Hommes," for there were at least 40 men in every one of them. The next morning we passed through the outskirts of Paris about eight -thirty. Just be- fore reaching this point. Captain Dunlap re- ceived orders that we would detrain at a point just east of Paris, where he would receive further orders. Every man was ordered to roll his pack and be ready to detrain. At nine o'clock we reached Le Raincy, a few miles east of Paris, and everybody detrained. We had carried everything that belonged to the com- 20 OUR SECOND BATTALION panies of our Battalion on this train, includ- ing the kitchens, ration limbers, water carts and all animals. It took about an hour to unload all these and at ten o'clock we started through Le Kaincy. This was the biggest town we had yet struck in Prance and was the only place so far where the people seemed tickled at the sight of us. They showed their delight by 'bedecking us with flowers and presenting us with bread, oranges, and even bottles of wine. Every man had at least two or three flowers in his buttonhole or in his hat. It certainly was a splendid sight to see ^'Our Second Battalion,'' one thousand strong, marching along those streets with our packs and guns and the determined look of seasoned veterans, as well as being decorated with flowers. After leaving Le Raincy, w^e passed through Les Pavilions, Boudy, le P'd Aulnay, les Alou- ettes, Drancy, Cit out. La Coumeuve, and reached Le Bourget about two in the afternoon. In this town, which is about six miles North of Paris, was the biggest aerodrome in France and some of the Motor Mechanics Regiments, which were organized at Camp Hancock while we were there, were stationed in that place. We saw and talked to boys of tho-se regiments who had formerly been in our regiment, but who had been transferred to the Motor Mechanics. We went through Dugny, Garges, Bonneuil, PREPARING FOR ACTION 21 and then into the little village of Vaudherland, where we were T3illeted, with the exception of Company G, which went to Gouissanville. We had taken a roundabout way, but the reason for this was that we were to stay in Bonneuil at first, but there was not snfficient billetin^ij^ space there, so we were sent on over to Vaudherland. Almost as soon as we got to Vaudherland and were settled, orders were received from Regi- mental Headquarters refusing any man per- . mission to go to Paris until further authority was received. On Saturday, we rested up a little and got acquainted with, the village. On Sunday, quite a few of the boys began walking towards Paris, and most of them reached their destination by jumping on a street car at Le Bourget and riding the rest of the Avay. Others went to St. Denis, just outside of Paris, while others didn't get away from the village at all. Practically all of those who went to Paris early in the morning, returned that night and conse- quently were not missed, there being no for- mations that day after Reveille. Our band gave a concert in the afternoon at Le Thillay, where Regimental iHeadquarters, Headquar- ters Company, and the Third Battalion had estalblished themselves (the First Battalion being at Bonneuil ) . Being only ahout twelve miles from Paris, quite a few of the inhabitants of that city came to these little villages in the country for the week end, so that there was 22 OUR SECOND BATTALION a large number of French people at this Con- cert, especially young French girls, who seemed much pleased with the American soldiers. From the top of the hill, up the road albout a kilometre from Vaudherland, we could see the Eifel Tower in Paris. Looking towards the East we could see the top of the hill which the Germans held in their advance on Paris in 1914. All over the hill nearest Vaudherland and down its slope still remained the trenches which the French had dug in 1914. They were still in good condition, although grass and pop- pies were growing in the bottom of them and the grass was hanging over the sides. On Monday the companies went out on short hikes while schedules of training with the French were being prepared. The next mom- ing, the eighteenth, the training was begun again, this time with the 156th French Regi- ment. Except for the fact that we had one or two men who could speak French, we had no interpreter in our Battalion, l)ut through the untiring efforts of Sergeant Charles H. Reiter of Company H, we were able to receive the proper instructions. The training contin- ued for the rest of the week. On Friday, there was an assimilated Brigade Liaison Movement, which started at Roissey-en-France, and on Saturday another of the same character except that it was a Divisional affair, and we went in a different direction. PREPARING FOR ACTION 23 Al)out six o'clock Saturday evening, we received a copy of a Memorandum received at Regimental Headquarters from Division Headquarters, informing us that our Division wx>uld move by bus to a new area early the next morning. The next morning, Sunday, the twenty-third, at 6 :05 A. M., we received the written orders directing us to leave for our new destination at seven o'clock, but it was seven-tliirty before we got on our way. It was the first time we were transported by trucks (these particular ones being driven by Chinamen), and it was quite a novelty to us to Ibe speeding along the dusty roads of France without any exertion on our part. We went through Roissey-en-France, Le Amelot, Meaux, Annette, Lagny, Rebais and then into the vil- lage of St. Denis-les-Rebais, which we reached at four o'clock. ^^Our Second Battalion" was the first to reach the village but before six the whole regi- ment was there, the first time we had been all together since we were at Calais. The Battal- ion was bivouacked on a field on a gradual decline. Our wagon train, which was composed of the kitchens, ration carts and water wagons, had started out about the same time we did, but, of course, couldn't travel as fast as we could. The result was that it took them three days to make the trip, whereas it took us only 24 OUR SECOND BATTALION part of one day. However, our rations were ready to be issued to us Monday morning, but it was up to us to cook them ourselves. On Monday morning we lined up with, mess kits and each man drew two pieces of steak, six potatoes, coffee, sugar, and a loaf of bread for each five men. That was to last us for the whole day. We drew a similar lot of rations Tuesday and late that afternoon the cookers and the rest of the wagon train arrived at St. Denis-les-Rebais. On this day, the twenty- fifth, we received our first large mail from the States and practically everyone received quite a few letters. The next night we received orders to turn in our overcoats and one blanket apiece, which we did by piling them in piles around the village church, where they were picked up by a truck from Division Headquar- ters. While here, the regiment was trained by its own officers, each company going out over the hills and roads to any convenient location. On Friday, we had an assimilated Division ma- neuver in a Southwestern direction through Rebais, where Division Headquarters were lo- cated. Saturday, the twenty-ninth, at 8:30 A. M., the whole regiment left St. Denis-les-Rebais, the battalions marching in their numerical order in a Southeasterly direction. We wound down over the long hill into the town of Orly, CAPTAIN I.OUI8 H. 1 lEUHNCi. COMPANY K. Killed in Action September Itli, 1918. ITtEPARING FOR ACTION 25 where we rested for dinner. After a short rest, we started off again and ahout 2.00 o'clock, while we were again resting, Colonel Shannon and his Adjutant came up to Captain Dunlap and told him that he (the Colonel) had just sent one platoon from Company A and another from B up the line to serve with the French, and that he expected it would be only a short time until the whole regiment would get a chance. He also said that he might be called upon to send some more platoons up, in which event they would be from our Battalion. He said he had chosen A and B Companies be- cause they happened to be nearest him and they wanted the troops immediately. The pla- toon from Company A was in commajid of Lieut. Cedric C. Benz and the platoon from Company B was in command of Lieut. John H. Shenkel. As we learned a few days later, these platoons, the first of the regiment, and also the first of the division, to see action, made a grand attack on Hill 204 near Chateau Thierry on July 1st. The Platoon Commanders were awarded the Croix de Guerre, as well as the Distinguished Service Cross by our own Government. Each platoon was decorated with the Croix de Guerre as a unit, and several members were individually decorated for their actions. Regimental Headquarters, as well as Head- quarters Company, stopped off at Basserville 26 OUR SECOND BATTALION and established themselves there. Our Bat- talion turned to the right at this place and kept marching, Company F dropping off at one large farm house on the right about a mile up the road, Company G going into another large f ann house on the left about a half mile further, and Companies B and H and Battalion Head- quarters going almost another mile to the Ferme de Lille. At this place Battalion Head- quarters was on the second floor of the barn, the typewriter, field desk and other property being hoisted up by means of a strong rope. On Sunday we got orders to send a Captain up the line for observation and experience and Captain John M. Clarke of Company F was chosen. On Monday the drilling began again. Enemy aeroplanes came over quite frequently during the day and guards had to be placed to keep a sharp lookout for them. As soon as a plane would ;be seen, two blasts of the whistle were blown and the troops would be taken under cover of trees. After the plane was out of sight, one blast of the whistle w^as blown, indicating that all was clear. We knew we were pretty close to the Line now and after locating our- selves on the map, we found that we were about fifteen miles Southwest of Chateau-Thierry, and we fully expected to be holding down a sector in the Front Line around that city in a few days. PREPARING FOR ACTION 27 On Monday we got orders to send an officer from each Company as well as our Battal- ion Supply Officer, up the Line on a mission similar to that of Captain Clarke. On Tuesday Captain Dunlap was called away and returned about five o'clock, when he told us that he had been up the Line reconnoitering the position which he expected we would take over in a few days. He went up to the Line again on Wed- nesday. While he was gone we received an- other large mail from home. The letters could not have arrived at a better time, especially the ones from home, for it was the day before the Fourth of July and we were so near the Line that we were most anxious to see action. We could not help think of the previous Fourth of July and of how the folks back home would celebrate and here we were in a ruined farm house just behind the Lines. Had we been in the Line we would have felt much better. Not a very bright Fourth loomed up before us for the next day. For the first time nearly everyone thought seriously of what we were up against, for we realized how nice it would be to be at home the next day and also realized that we had some pretty stiff work ahead of us before we could ever think of returning to our homes. W^ith these thoughts in our minds, and feeling half sad and half- happy, we turned into our straw bunks, little dreaming what the next few hours would bring to us. CHAPTER III. ALONG THE MARNE. /^UR dreams of our loved ones at home and ^ what was just ahead of us were made a thing of the past when, at 4:15 A. M., July 4th, ^^Call to Arms'' was sounded throughout the hamlet. In an instant, everyone was up, for all knew what that meant. Shoes and leggins were hurriedly put on and packs made up and rolled. Runners w^ere immediately despatched to the other two Companies (F and G) of our battalion and we collected all our baggage and hoisted it down to the ground. It w^as 5:30 before the other two companies came along and then, while it was still dark, we started our march up to the Line. What a wonderful feeling it was the first time in and what a contrast to the feeling when going in subsequently. Every man was jubilant, as was evidenced by the fact that for the first few kilometres most of the men were singing. Those of us who were not singing were joking and laughing, never fearing what was before us — knowing only that we were going into battle with a light heart but with one that was full of courage and determina- tion. After we had marched about three kilo- metres, orders were given for absolute silence and this added more to the solemnitv of our ALONG THE MARNE 29 march. From that time on, silence reigned over the entire line of marching troops. A little after seven o'clock we reached our position, — what was called the Charly-Nogent Line of Resistance. The Battalion P. C. (Post of Command) was established in a little bunch of woods on the top of a hill, at the bottom of which ran the Mame River. The town of Charlj was on the northern bank and the town of Nogent on the southern bank of the River. The whole regiment was stretched out along the Mame, ^^Our Second Battalion'^ being a little west of the Town of Nogent and directly across from Charly. This was about eight miles behind the Front Line then, and as Captain Dunlap told us, it was the Line which must be held at all costs in case the Germans broke through at Chateau-Thierry, at which point it was expected the enemy would make an attack at any moment. The Com- panies organized their different positions and the men busied themselves getting acquainted with their new surroundings. The various dis- positions were not quite completed w^hen orders were received for the Battalion to be assembled and ready to move at one o'clock. At one o'clock, we left our positions and moved into the town of Nogent, where the whole regiment was assembling. The entire regiment then started to march in an easterly direction through the burning hot sun. It was 30 OUR SECOND BATTALION indeed a Fourtli of July never to be forgotten by us. We all had pleasant memories of the preceding Fourth and we could not but think of it as we marched along the dusty roads of France, ladened down with our heavy packs and perspiration flowing freely from our bodies. We had no idea where we were going but after three hours' marching we reached the Grande Forest, where we went into bivouac. After we were in the Forest a little while, trucks began assembling in the road near us. We felt sure that we were going up into the Front Line that night in those trucks. The cookers caught up with us and a small meal was given to all of us. Colonel Shannon was called away to Brigade Headquarters, and this increased the tension on our nerves. Every- one was high-strung, awaiting the orders that would send us into action. It was a typical camping scene, such as we had all read about in the Civil War except for the fact that there were no camp fires. Troops were lying all around the woods, some were sleeping in their tents, worn out by the hard march in the hot sun that afternoon, others were gathered to- gether singing and joking, and a few others were writing letters. Some wrote letters to their dear ones at home telling them how we were lying just behind the Line with the trucks waiting to move us up and all we ALONG THE MARNE 31 needed were the orders which the Colonel had gone down to receive. It occurred to some of us that somebody would be killed the first time in and we wanted to get a farewell letter home to the folks. The Colonel returned just as it was getting dark and he immediately called an Officers' meeting. The Orders were here now, Ave all thought, and some of us edged around the meeting which had to be held in the open, so that we might hear what the Colonel was saying. We were truly disappointed though when we heard that our orders were to remain in readiness to move at any minute, but that in all probability we would not move until the next morning. We knew that we wouldn^t go into the Line at that time of the day and felt that we had some more useless hiking in front of us. But we were tired and had to content ourselves by trying to rest a little. Most of us didn't bother to unroll our packs but just lay down on the ground using our packs as pillows and throwing our coats over our shoulders for a little warmth. During the night it got pretty chilly and a good many of us opened our packs and took out our blankets and wrapped them around us. The next morning we got up at five o'clock, had a little breakfast and at six o'clock stai-ted on our way back to our billets, disappointed and peeved for having done so much (seem- 32 OUR SECOND BATTALION ingly) useless hiking on the Fourth of July, when we might have been hack in our hillets taking it easy. Daylight was just breaking as we started and at nine o'clock we reached the Ferme de Lille, where Companies E and H and Battalion Headquarters again estab- lished themselves while Companies F and G went on down the road to their respective farm houses. Most of the men immediately turned in on their straw and hay and slept for a few hours. At nine o'clock that night, when practically every man was again resting in his bed of straw, orders were received to move again. Im- mediately the troops were rooted out of their peaceful slumbers, packs made up and rolled, and at 9 :20 we were on our way again, this time headed in a westerly direction for a few kilo- metres to Basseville, where we turned off to the right in a northerly direction. Our whole brigade was on the move and once or twice the different columns of troops were mixed up and one part of one outfit separated from the rest. It was a dark night and much confu- sion occurred but we finally got our Battalion connected up and proceeded on our way. During this march, which was our first; night march, we could hear the big shells coming through the air and breaking on the sides and in back and front of us, but none of them came anyways real close to us. ALONG THE MARNE 33 We reached tlie outside of the village of La Noue at ahout ten o'clock and were put in an orchard and field, where we were to wait for further orders. We were not allowed to unroll our packs so we just lay down, some of us not bothering to take our packs off but kept them on our backs in an endeavor to keep us warm. It did afford a little warmth at first but after a little while it became very un- •comfortalble and we managed to get only a- little snatch of sleep here and there- By four o'clock it was more than chilly and the Ser- geant Major got up and started a little fire a little ways from the rest of the troops. As soon as the little flame was seen, the rest got up and everyone started to gather wood. It was no time until we had a good fire going and every- body was crowding around it. That afternoon we got our pay for the month of May, it being the first time we drew our extra pay for overseas duty. Wlien even- ing came, no orders had been received to un- roll the packs for we were still waiting for orders to move, but a good many packs were unrolled and the men were grouped together in bunches of two and three, hugging close to- gether with their blankets w^rapped around them. The next morning, which was Sunday, the seventh. Father Conaty said Mass in another part of the field at nine o'clock, his altar being 34 OUR SECOND BATTALION constructed of a box piled on top of a table, which we borrowed from one of the houses nearby with a blanket spread on top of it. After Father Conaty was through, the Regi- mental Chaplain, 1st Lieut. Michael W. Keith, conducted Protestant Services in the same place, using the box and table, after which we returned the table to the house. In the afternoon some of us took a walk down over the steep hill to the village of Pavant, where some of our Engineers were lo- cated and where there was a Y. M. C. A., where we could purchase some cakes and cigarettes. At this time w^ere were just a little west of our former position on the Charly- Nogent Line of Resistance. Down over the hill in the valley ran the Mame River. On this afternoon and on the following afternoon the majority of us went down over the hill to swim and also bathe in the famous Marne River. From the orchard in which we were lying, we could get a fine view of the river for at this place it was curving just a little to the north and winding its way through Chateau- Thierry. The size of the river was a surprise to all of us for we had thought it was very wide, Ibut it wasn't more than three hundred feet wide, which we swam very easily. It was very deep though and difficult for troops to cross on pontoon bridges. All along the open fields just behind the river, barbed wire was stretched which was a curiosity to us. ALONG THE MARNE 35 There was no place here for us to go to a stream nearby and wash so we had our first experience of using our drinking cups to wash in and also for purpose of shaving. Up to this time, we had had some conveniences for wash- ing and shaving but now we knew we were out in the field of action and any way was the best way for such things. We also saw some aeroplane fights while lying here. It was while in this orchard that we got our first issue of wrapped leggins, which furnished us with quite a bit of amusement and trouble trying to learn to wrap them around our legs in a half decent manner. Ajt 7 :35 Monday night we got orders to take up our position on the Charly-Nogent Line once again, which w^e did, leaving the orchard at 8 :05 and arriving on the crest of the hill at 9 :20, when the companies went down over the hill and took up the positions they had held but a few days before. There was not much sleep for us that night for we had to have our positions organized as soon as possible. Tuesday was quiet all day long. Just in front of the piece of woods in which Battalion Headquarters were located, there was a small haystack in which the French had established an observation post. It afforded an excellent view down through the valley and to the sum- mit of the next hill, on which the Front Line was stretched. In the evening, it started to 36 OUR SECOND BATTALION rain awfully hard all of a sudden and kept it up for some little time. The next day a telephonic message was re- ceived from Regimental Headquarters that in all probability we would move back that night, and accordingly plans were made to vacate the position, but as night drew on, no further orders were received and we prepared our- selves to stay another night. In the after- noon, a large mail was brought up to the woods by our Battalion Mail Corporal, ^Tete'' Zulauf, and then sent down to the companies by runners. Father Conaty reported that afternoon to Captain Dunlap for duty, he having been assigned to "Our Second Bat- talion'^ that day as our Chaplain. In the evening it started to rain violently again. It rained all day Thursday, but this did not pre- vent "Pete" Zulauf from going back to Regi- mental Headquarters to get another batch of mail for the Battalion and the runners, in turn, were only too glad to distribute it among the Companies. Frequently during our stay in this position we had to adjust our gas masks for the enemy sent quite a number of gas shells over at us. On Thursday evening, the enemy started to shell the town of Charly rather steadily but inflicted no casualties on our men. Later in the night they started to send gas shells over, and especially at about two o'clock Friday ALONG THE MARNE 37 morning, when we kept our masks on a little longer than a few minutes. On Friday afternoon, one of our Naval Guns came up the railroad tracks and went into action a little northeast of our position, or just a little above Nogent. Part of the main railroad line which had been operating be- tween Paris and Metz before the war, ran along the river in this part of the country and on this track they had run this Naval Gun. We could just about make out where it was from seeing the smoke after the shell was fired, and by counting the time between the second it was fired and the second the explo- sion occurred, we could ascertain the approxi- mate distance they were shooting. It took seven seconds for the shell to explode after firing and, according to the French observers in the haystack, the shell travelled about twelve kilometres or seven and a half miles. After the gun was through firing, it withdrew down the track out of danger, leaving the country and the troops all around that vicinity waiting to receive the counter-firing by the enemy, which was bound to come and did come, although none of the shells did any damage to US. CHAPTER IV. OUR FIRST ATTACK. A FTER the gas attack, some of us were able ^ to snatch a little sleep and we never thought that it would be so long until we would have a chance to get another real sleep. The day passed by without anything unusual happening except receiving orders that we would move probably albout ten o'clock that night, but instead of that we started at about seven-thirty. The batteries located in Nogent were putting over a terrific barrage as we reached that town and we lost no time in getting out of it to escape the firing which would naturally be made against it by the enemy in an endeavor to locate the batteries. Most of our marching that night seemed to be uphill and at twelve-thirty, after going a dis- tance of eleven kilometres, we reached the Grande Tronchet Farm, where Battalion Head- quarters were established. When we came to a junction of roads about a kilometre from this farm, Companies G and H, under command of Captain Cain, turned to the right, while the rest of the Battalion moved on to the left. This position was on the same Line of Resis- tance just east of where we had been formerly and which had previously been held by the 112th Infantry. Company E was put in the OUR FIRST ATTACK 39 partly congtnie in terrible pain, for he was shouting, ^^Oh, God, take me out of here,'' "For God's sake, get me first-aid," and such expressions. The whole 42nd Division appeared to be moving into that position, for we passed nearly all the infantry regiments. It was the first time we had ever been around where that division was operating. We also passed some French regiment that was taking up positions on the right. At Courpoil w^e picked up the rest of our battalion and marched until 2 :30, when we reached the w^oods southeast of Trugny, and there, for the first and only time, a hot meal was awaiting us. The Colonel had given posi- tive orders that each company be ready to serve hot meals to the troops who were coming back immediately upon their arrival. When we reached these woods we found the Mess Sergeants asleep. Immediately a wild howl was raised and so much noise was made that the Mess Sergeants awakened, and in a few minutes we had put our packs down in the dark and were lined up, getting our "chow." After eating we had to look around the ground and find our packs. We were so tired that we just lay dow^n on the ground, wrapping our blankets around us. At about 6 o'clock it started to rain and the cookers started to get breakfast, but most of us just kept on lying on the ground and let it rain. CHAPTER VIL ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS. /^UR Division now went into the reserve and ^ later into the support, and as such, it was our duty to keep advancing with the advance of the Front Line, thus keeping right on the heels of the Germans. After sleeping and resting as long as we could in our blankets, we got up and looked around to see what kind of surroundings we had and discovered that our whole Brigade was encamped in the immediate woods. Our Regiment was stretched out, one Battalion after another on the edge of these woods, into which we, who had lain in the open the last few hours, moved our belongings and erected our tents. All the tents were erected though before another rain had started. Before this rain, however, we received another mail from the States so we had some very interesting letters to read while we lay in our tents. It was the first time in nearly two weeks that we could lie down and feel that we were rea- sonably safe and able to get a sleep that was anyways comfortable. On Sunday, the 28th, we broke camp early, getting our breakfast at five o'clock and were in column, ready to move, at six. We had rather expected this for we had been on the ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS 77 move for the past two Sundays and were now beginning to believe that a Sunday couldn't pass by without us moving. The orders to start didn't come until ten o'clock and when we did get on our way, we made long stops after making only a short distance. At six o'clock that evening, after being on the road for eight hours, we reached the Foret de Fere and had travelled only about six kilometres. In these woods, also, the regiment was kept together. There were some dugouts there with some German clothing and parts of uniforms in them and the indications were that the Ger- mans had been in those woods but a few days before we reached them. On a couple of after- noons, Father Conaty went up to a lonely part of the woods and heard confessions behind a tree, giving Communion later in the after- noons in plain view of the rest of the troops. Every morning, he said Mass, using the ingate of the Battalion Baggage Wagon as his altar. On account of the German blankets, cloth- ing and uniforms that were in these dugouts and for some other reasons the "cooties" be- came very well acquainted with a good many of the men of "Our Second Battalion." Then practically everyone suffered from an attack of dysentery and for this reason we called this place "Dysentery Woods." On Tuesday night, a French artilleryman came over and told us that the enemy had been pushed back 78 OUR SECOND BATTAUON SO far that his guns, which were located just to our right, were unable to reach them and they had to cease firing. The strangest thing that happened while we were in these woods was a mmor which started that night throughout the entire Kegiment that Germany was willing to make peace on the terms of the United States. Of course, we didn't believe it, but were hoping all the time that it might be true. On Thursday, we got an exceptionally large mail just as it was nearly dark and we were unalble to read it until the next- morning. Ai. about nine o'clock that night the alarm was given that an enemy aeroplane was overhead and we all searched the sky trying to find it. We learned later that a bomb was dropped just about this time on some troops of either the 109th or 110th Infantry, which was lying somew^here behind us, injuring quite a few men. It was said that some of the fellows were playing cards in a "pup" tent with a small light in it and that is how the plane knew the location of the troops. The first thing we did on Friday morning was to read the mail we had received the previous night. On Saturday, the 3rd of Au- gust, we got orders that we would move again that night. At 7 :30 we started and put in one of the most miserable and wretched nights we ever had on the road. As might be expected, ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS 79 it started to rain shortly after we began our march. AVe didn't think it would last long and that's why some of us just threw our slickers over our packs and shoulders, while others took their packs off and wore their slickers in the proper way. It rained contin- uously and violently practically all night long and we made very little headway on account of so much traffic on the roads. We crossed the Ourcq River and through the town of Courmont. We must have halted about half the night. We would stop for a period of an hour and an half and then be aw^akened to pro- ceed another few hundred yards or so, w^hen we would stop again and have another long rest. It was useless to hunt a dry place and we simply sat, and some even lay, right down either on the slimy, muddy road itself, or on the bank alongside of it. It didn't make much difference for one place was as good as the other. Once or twice we did march a little further than a few hundred yards but we fell almost asleep while doing so and would come to ourselves only when we walked off the road. Just as it was breaking day, we came to the town of Cierges where, just a few days before, the 110th Infantry had had such a hard and costly battle. The place was strewn with dead Germans and the odor was very bad, but the dead Americans had already been buried. The Germans were of the Prussian Guards 80 OUR SECOND BATTALION and every one of them was at least six feet tall and very well built. Right beside one of these fellows was a truck load of good bread, dropped there apparently by some truck driver who came up in the dead of night and dropped his load at the first convenient spot, never taking the time to look around. At nine o'clock, muddy, hungry, tired and nearly exhausted after the terrible night we had put through, we reached an open field northwest of Villome, where we erected our tents and crawled in and went to sleep. Later that morning we got a small breakfast and then at about one o'clock, while we were lined up getting another little bit to eat, orders came in for us to move at once. What little food was given us was hurriedly eaten, the tents taken down, packs rolled and again we were formed up, ready to keep on the heels of the Germans. We cut across the fields and passed more of the Prussian Guards, some of whom were in a very decomposed condition on account of their bodies being exposed to the sun so much. We had just gone about a kilometre when we were halted, turned around and marched back to the open field again^ the reason for this being that the Fourth Division had received the same orders as we had and they were going up the road we were to take when we reached that point. There were two slopes on this open part of the country, with "Our Second Battalion" on ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS 81 one side and the Third Battalion on the other. That evening, Father Conaty gave a little in- struction to us, his theme being to the effect that while we were to fight living Germans as Americans should fight, after they were dead, we were to respect their bodies in the proper way. This particular instruction was prompted by a big husky M. P. kicking a dead German soldier and making a cursing remark about him to Father Conaty as he had come up to look for identification on the body that morning. The next day, Monday, we started out again at eleven o'clock over the same route we had taken the day before and reached the woods Northwest of Dravegny, where we pitched our tents just in time to get a little shelter from an all afternoon rain. Those of us who had been fortunate enough not to be infested ^\dth the ^^cooties'' discovered here that these pests had made our acquaintance while we were lying in the Foret d' Fere. On Tuesday we got another mail from the States and at nine o'clock that night started following the Germans again. We had now just about decided that it was not any easier to be reserve or support than it was to be on the Front Line, for we got no more rest. The only thing was we missed the machine gun bullets and the frequent barrages, but we still got the heavy shells. This time we marched 82 OUR SECOND BATTALION until one o'clock, when we reached the side of a hill along the stream near Chery Chartreve. We called this hill "Tin Can Hill," because there were so many little dugouts constructed with sheet-iron on top as protection. There were not enough dugouts for all and some of the men went up on top of the hill to lie down in the open. They did not have time to get their packs open, w^hen a couple of shells hit close beside them and they hurried to get on the side of the hill for a little protection, but just as they reached the edge, a shell whizzed past so close to their heads that they swore they almost felt it going past. It hit at the bottom of the hill but none of the fragments did us any damage. Right at the bottom of this hill, there was a "155" and some others scattered all around this neighborhood. Between these guns firing away and numerous shells coming back in our direction in an effort to get one of these guns, we had a very shaky time of it in this locality, for those big guns of ours certainly did shake "Tin Can Hill" and all the troops on it every time they fired, and they never consulted the men of "Our Second Battalion" when was the most convenient time for the firing to be done. On Wednesday afternoon, two aeroplanes came flying over our heads from the German side of the line headed in the direction of two French observation balloons, one of which was ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS 83 in the air straight in back of us and the other a little in our right rear. As they got opposite the one on the right, one plane started out to- wards the balloon at that place, while the other started for the balloon just ahead of it. It was discovered then that they were French planes being operated by Germans and both observation balloons started for the ground. The plane got to the one on the right and hit it, setting it on fire, and the other balloon Avas just a short distance from the ground when the plane flew low and close to it and set it on fire also. The anti-aircraft guns and 75^s were firing at the planes but both planes man- aged to get out of their range and fly back to their side of the Line. Unknown to us at that time, our Division Signal Corps took pictures of these balloons burning and the aerial ob- servers dropping in their parachutes. On Thursday morning at eleven-thirty, we got orders to roll our packs and be ready to move at any moment. Night came and we hadn't moved yet so some of us unrolled our packs and attempted to get a little rest. At 10:45 the orders came in for us to move but we didn't get started until 12:30. We fol- lowed ^'Tin Can Hill" for a little ways, passing more of our large artillery guns, then cut across the open fields and reached the road leading into Fismes. At two o'clock after marching up the road for a short distance, we 84 OUR SECOND BATTALION reached the place that the First Battalion had occupied and moved into the numerous little dugouts along the roadside. It was now Friday, the 9th, the day when our Regiment first went into Fismes, the First Battalion moving in early that morning. The enemy commenced to shell the road shortly after we stopped and continued it off and on for the remainder of the night. A little later in the morTiirij:, during one of the shellings, Paul L. Omo, of Company F, was killed with fragments of a bursting shelly and many others of that Company were hit at the same time. Around noon, the wounded of the First Bat- talion were beginning to be carried back on stretchers and those, who were able to walk by themselves or with a little assistance, were coming down the road. Man after man, who had been gassed, came back, gasping and coughing from the gas in their lungs and some of them crying from having it in their eyes. The enemy continued to shell our positions throughout the entire day. In the afternoon a direct hit was made among the men of Com- pany E, killing Ludwig Galczyn instantly, and wounding John Baran so badly that he lived but ten minutes. No sooner had that shell hit, than Father Conaty was out of his dugout running to the wounded men. He covered up Galcz^Ti's body with a blanket and did all he could for Baran, but he was unconscious and ON THE HEELS OF THE GERMANS 85 was beyond all hope of recovery. The two of them were buried that night a short distance from where they were hit. In the afternoon, Captain Dunlap and some of the officers went over to the left of Fismes and reconnoitered the position "Our Second Battalion" was to take over that nig'ht, reliev- ing the First Battalion of the 112th Infantry. At about five o'clock, our minds were taken off the shelling for the time being by an aero- plane fight, which happened right over our heads. One plane was chasing another, headed for where we were lying. We thought it was a Frenchman chasing a German, but when they passed over our heads, not more than a hundred feet above, we discovered it was the opposite. The Frenchman was headed for the ground and the Jerry was about twenty-five feet in back of him. Each machine was firing away machine-gun fire at the other and we could hear the bullets strike the ma- chines and see the sparks from the strikings. Just as the nose of the French plane was about to hit the earth, it turned suddenly upward, and so sudden was it that it was able to es- cape from the German plane. Lloyd Ramsey, of Company E, was standing beside his dugout when a shell hit about three feet away from him, but it was a dud and did not explode. Ramsey turned to his buddy in his dugout and said, ^-Gee, wasn't I lucky.'' 86 OUR SECOND BATTALION Another shell hit so close to the hole in which Corporal William H. Whiteside and Sergeant Ralph H. Waugaman were lying, that it scat- tered dirt over them. Waugaman lifted his head above the level of the earth and laugh- ingly yelled over to Sergeant Roy R. Zimmers, "Is the storm over yet?" CHAPTER VIII. FISMES. AT DUSK on Friday evening, August 9th, ^*"Our SeATY Chaplain of "Our Second Battalion." FISMES 89 After the railroad was crossed instead of facing due north, as the line had on the south- ern side of the railroad, the line was stretched out in the woods, the Bois d' Chateau Diabl, facing due East, with Company G on the ex- treme right at the edge of the woods. An old and narrow road ran right beside the Southern bank of the railroad and the woods were on the Northern side of the road. The platoons of Company H were on the left of Company G and the platoons of Company F on the left of Company H. Sergeant Thompson went to Captain Schlos- ser and obtained permission to take a squad out and capture the machine gun which was still covering the railroad while Company H was getting across it. The squad started through the woods in skirmish formation. When the edge of the woods was reached, Ser- geant Thompson found that Sam Saplio, a Greek, w^ho had served in the Balkan War and had scars on his back from knife wounds in that war, was the only man still with him. At the edge of the woods they ran into a sw^amp with grass almost up to their chins. Fifty feet in front of them they could see the three Germans operating the machine gun they were after, and about ten feet to their left, towards another stretch of woods, there were about fifty German soldiers with their packs on their backs and their rifles in their 90 OUR SECOND BATTALION hands, lining up in column of squads. An officer had his blouse off and was wearing a white shirt. Thompson and Saplio got about five paces apart and as they started down through the swamp, they began a rapid fire at the machine gunners. The machine gun was turned from its course of firing on the railroad and thrown into the swamp in the direction of the two Americans. Notwithstanding this heavy ma- chine gun fire, Thompson and Saplio kept ad- vancing, firing at the gun and the men who were lined up. As soon as they fired on the fifty men, three or four of them fell and the rest ran for the woods just ahead of them. The officer in the white shirt was one of those wounded. One of the men at the machine gun fell over wounded and the other two left their gun and ran in the direction of the others. Thompson and Saplio then continued to fire on the fleeing Grermans until they were out of sight in the woods. They then glanced at the wounded Germans to see that they were not armed and looked into the numerous dugouts along the side of the railroad bank and saw some more wounded Germans and a few dead ones. They then pro- ceeded along the railroad and captured nine more machine guns. They turned around and went back to the first machine gun. Sergeant Thompson found there was about a half of a FISMES 91 machine gun belt in the gun. He switched the gun around and fired that belt and some more in the direction of the woods where the Ger- mans had disappeared, playing a sweeping fire all through the woods. When the ammunition was exhausted, Thompson went bad?: and reported to Captain Schlosser, and the rest of the line advanced across the swamp and into the woods and then as they were going across another clearing, the enemy put down a barrage and our own artillery did the same, Maurice Lazar, John B. Zmudzinski and John Skalsiky of Company G being killed instantly by pieces of shells. Walter J. Diitcher was also wounded and put on a stretcher and while being carried back was hit again. He was hit again in another battle and died from the wounds. The two barrages forced the line back to its original position, which it held until the next morning. For their work in capturing the ten machine guns, both Sergeant Thompson and Saplio were honored with the Distinguished Service Cross. Thompson also got a Croix de Guerre, and as soon as recommendations could be made for field commissions he was recom- mended for a field commission for gallantry in action. Pending the granting of this Com- mission he was sent to the Army Candidates School, which began the latter part of the war, 92 OUR SECOND BATTALION but he was deprived of receiving a commission on account of the Armistice being signed at that time. After Captain Schlosser had taken his Com- pany and the two platoons of Company H and the two platoons of Company F across the railroad and into position to advance, Captain Clarke ordered Captain Cain to take the re- maining two platoons from H Company and the other two platoons of Company F and ad- vance parallel with the railroad between the railroad and the Vesle River in conjunction \\dth the troops on the northern side of the railroad. They proceeded about three hun- dred yards and then crossed an open place and reached another stretch of woods. They then came to another clearing, which was about two hundred yards wide and upon en- tering a second stretch of woods they ran into heavy flanking fire from the opposite side of the railroad embankment, where the Germans were entrenched. Nevertheless, the men kept advancing, capturing mac^hine guns as they did so, and inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans, but the Germans outnumbered the Americans and not being able to overcome the flanking fire, Captain Clarke ordered the men to withdraw to their original positions. It was impossible for them to go back the way they had come on account of the enemy^s strong fire, but it was up to each man himself FISMES 93 to get away from those woods and back to the place from which he had started. Captain Cain and First Sergeant Raymond C. Reisker, of Company H, took it upon them- selves to cut an opening through the heavy barbed wire entanglements which were along the river bank, in order to make an opening for the men to go through to reach the Vesle Eiver. After a short time, an opening was made and the men started to jump into the River in bunches and swim down it to their original position for protection in the woods. While the men were in the River, an enemy aeroplane came over and seeing the men swimming, immediately signalled for a gas attack. The gas attack followed, causing many of our men to be gassed because their gas masks were ruined by getting wet while in the River. While Company E did not participate in this attack, it was having its own troubles. After being shelled most of the night with gas shells, it moved down to the bottom of the hill early in the morning and went over the open fields through more shelling, until it reached a gully. Three platoons remained in this gully while one platoon was sent out on patrol duty. After accomplishing their particular mis- sion on this patrol, Corporal James F. Steven- son, James R. McKenney (who was later 94 OUR SECOND BATTALION killed) and George C. Yerkins returned to the river bank and. while being observed and while the enemy were dropping shells all around them, these three men got into a skiff and drifted down the Vesle River, while the rest of Company E started to run down the railroad tracks. While leading the men along this railroad track, 1st Lieut. Ralph S. Busch was instantly killed. They got to the woods just as the men from Companies F and H were swimming down the River. That night, Company E moved across the railroad and up over the hill, where they took a position on the extreme left of the line, taking part in the gen- eral attack the next morning. Captain Dunlap had been ordered to recon- noiter the position we had taken over the previous night and the attack had started im- mediately upon his reaching the line. During the barrage which forced our line back. Cap- tain Dunlap was knocked over three or four times l^rom shells exploding near him, but he got back to his feet each time and, after much difficulty, finally got the line organized again. At about three o^clock the next morning when the Germans were shelling the woods again. Captain Clarke of Company F was sitting in a little foxhole he had dug himself. It became so terrific that Captain Clarke called his First Sergeant, Frank M. Stanley, FISMES 95 over to his foxhole and told him to report to Captain Schlosser and find ont if Company F could not be withdrawn further back in the woods into a less exposed position. As he was in the act of giving this order, with Stanley kneeling at the side of the hole, an overhead shrapnel shell burst immediately above them. Shrapnel and pieces of the shell fell in all di- rections, one piece of the shell striking Cap- tain Clarke under the left armpit and wound- ing him very severely. Another piece of the shell killed Corporal Ernest Phillips and wounded Lewis Wilham. Stanley reached for his first aid bandage at once but found that he had none, but he lost no time in getting over to his buddy, Matthew Turner, and Bugler Eli Pickell and between the three of them they bandaged Captain Clarke up and sent for a first-aid man, who came and put some more bandages on him. The Company had several stretchers with them and five men volunteered to carry their wounded Captain back. As soon as the first- aid man had finished working on Captain Clarke, the five volunteers started out, while the Germans were simply deluging the woods with high explosives and gas shells all the time. As he was being carried away. Captain Clarke looked at Stanley and said : *^Stanley get word back to Captain Schlosser to get the men out of this hole.'^ :N'otwithstanding all 96 OUR SECOND BATTALION this shelling, the men kept on and on and finally reached the Battalion Dressing Station, from which the Captain was sent on back to the Regimental Dressing Station. Word was received a few days later that Captain Clarke had reached the 112th Field Hospital at Cohan and had died there. He was huried on the side of the hill beside the road a short distance from the hospital. After Captain Clarke was carried away. Captain Cain assumed command of the entire front line, with Captain Schlosser in com- mand of all the troops of "Our Second Bat- talion'' and the troops who had been sent in on our left Hank. A general attack of the entire front line, with no supporting troops, was started early Sunday morning, and, even though stiff re- sistance was met, the line kept advancing for about three hours when a long washout of the railroad was reached. The objective set for the attack was still a few hundred feet ahead. The objective was reached and the line advanced about a hundred yards further, w^hen the troops were forced to withdraw to along this washout because of the heavy ma- chine gun fire from the enemy. Discouraging reports about the condition of the line and of our troops were being re- ceived by Captain Cain. He received a mes- sage from Captain Dunlap asking him about FISMES 97 the situation, and Captain Cain dictated a message to First Sergeant Reisker, who wrote it on his pad on his knee while in a crouched position. This message, written in this man- ner under the stress of the many difficulties, will ever remain one of the most cherished documents of "Our Second Battalion.'' It is a beautiful word picture of the spirit that animated our men, the spirit that has ever animated American troops from Washington to Pershing. It was as follows: "Send us ammunition, some grub, if possible, and we'll hold this line until hell freezes over." The line was held and, after the relief a few days later, Father Conaty told Captain Cain that there was no further need of Chaplains, as hell must surely have frozen over. About fifteen of our men were lying wounded in front of the washout. Unknown to very many of the men. First Sergeant Reisker proceeded to go out into the clearing through the machine gun fire and succeeded in bringing the fifteen men back and dressing their wounds himself under shelter of a leanto on the railroad, which had been used for haul- ing the German artillery over the railroad. For his action on this day, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He was also recommended for a Field Commission for Gal- lantry in Action and sent to the last Officers Training School, but like First Sergeant 98 OUR SECOND BATTALION Thompson, he was deprived of his commission on account of the Armistice being signed be- fore the commission could be granted him. After he had led an automatic rifle squad to a house far in advance of the line, First Sergeant Benjamin C. Praeger of Company E, otlierwise known as ^^Old Reliable," ex- posed himself by standing beside this house and while doing so, was shot in the side. At about three o'clock that afternoon, the entire front line withdrew about one hundred and fifty yards preparatory to an artillery barrage. Here they dug in and held the posi- tion until relieved by part of the 77th Division on Tuesday night, the 12th. Our men couldn't withdraw that night because it was too late but they took up reserve positions for the next day and on Wednesday night marched back through heavy shelling, in which Lieut. Frank Batta and Sergeant Harry C. Cole of Com- pany G, and Bennett L. Sebolt of Company E, were wounded. After marching nearly all night, the Battalion reached La Garenne, where it was to await further orders. On Sunday night. Corporal Raymond G. Rowbottom of Company E, and Corporal James D. Moore, of Company G, were in a little house ahead of the lines, when the Ger- mans sent a flare into the house, setting it on fire. The flame gave the enemy full Yiew of our position, and Corporals Rowbottom and FISMES 99 Moore realizing this, started to put out the flame by tearing' away the lattice work and throwing water from their canteens on it. As soon as they started to do this, the enemy ma- chine gunners and snipei'^ opened fire on them, but they continued their efforts until the fire was extinguished. They were both awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for this action. On Sunday, after the objective was reached, Essias E. Hagstrom, of Company G, was at an advance listening point, w^hen lie was hit in the stomach by a sniper. He started tO' run back but had gone only a short distance, when he fell dead. He was buried close to the rail- road and opposite the Bois de Chateau Diabl. When the line w^as going across a clearing and was advancing through the woods in line of skirmishers, John Signrolla was hit in the stomach v/ith a machine gun bullet, falling dead instantly. Henry G. Sumnerfield, who was rig^ht beside John G. Dontrick, w^as hit with a machine gun bullet, dying instantly, as well as Giovanni Camalie, who w^as a little dis- tance from Sergeant Frank McNealy. All three of these men were buried where they fell. Of Company E, Henry J. Becker was wounded severely and died several hours later; Albert Fisher died about an hour after he was wounded. His last words were ^^What will become of my children" ? Thomas Herron 100 OUR SECOND BATTALION was killed instantly, and Corporal Clifton M. Casey was killed almost instantly while at- tempting to throw a bomb into a German dug- out. First Sergeant Praeger was beside him when he was hit, and all he said was "Benny, they got me.'' Vernon C. Hoffman was in a sniper's position w^hen he was killed, and Cor- poral Clarence G. Schneider was killed by a sniper while he was attempting to obtain some German bombs. Corporal Milo C. Whitehill and Norman C. Pfleger, of Company F, were also among those killed. John C. Pressman was last seen while advancing towards the enemy under a Germau barrage. Of Company H, Ellsworth K. Davies was gassed with mustard gas and taken to the 110th Field Hospital, where he died on Au- gust 15th. Frank J. Barnes was found dead by Sergeant George J. Randle and others un- der artillery and machine gun fire, he being shot through the heart. Dominico Petrarola was shot through the head with a machine gun bullet, and Albert Watson was shot near the heart by a sniper. Those of Company E, who were wounded at Fismes were 2nd Lieut. Frank W. Mehrten, First Sergeant Benjamin Praeger, Dale S. Boyle, Corporal Clarence D. Manuel, Sergeant Rowland C. Carter (shell shocked and gassed), Tom Kelly, Sergeant Robert A. Robinson, FISMES 101 Clifford E. Yerkins, Corporal Homer J. Car- ter, Corporal James Caldron, Howard A. Dun- bar, Cloyd Gates, Edward F. Hermann, Ralph L. Mallory, Corporal Gustav F. Miehe, John Dignon (machine gun bullet), Corporal Claud J. Koontz, Corporal George F. Wagner, Ser- geant David A. Dilworth, (shell shocked), and Nelson J. Brown. Tom Smith and Gerald A. Gagle, who had distinguished themselves for their braivery as stretcher bearers, es- pecially at Crezancy on July 16th, were also wounded. Of Company F, the following men were wounded: Michael J. Durkin, Sergeant Ray- mond Leppold, Guy Paul, Antonio Sergi, Gui- seppi Brienza, Andrew Frew, Thomas Milli- gan, Thomas M. Martin, Corporal Allen G. Harley, Antonio Skronski^ Corporal Frank J. Rusch, Andrew Lott, Roy Troop, Corporal Al- bert A. Murray, Everrett R. Trakey and Ar- thur J. Palmer. 1st Lieut. William J. Schaal, of Company E, who was the Scout Officer at this time was gassed so badly that he never returned to the Regiment. 1^ Lieut. Howard Mellinger, of Company F, succeeded Lieut. Schaal, and he was also gassed, as was also Battalion Ser- geant Major George W. Cooper. Lieut. Hany A. Kurtz, 2nd Lieut. Athol G. Vadakin, First Sergeant Raymond C. Reisker, Mechanic Francis J. Cunningham, Logan J. 102 OUR SECOND BATTALION Frederick and William F. Oaputo of Company H were wounded and Charles Bongiomo was killed. Of Company G, the following were wounded: Sergeant Raymond Long, Sergeant George M. Atkinson, Sergeant John H. Opper- man, Corporal John C. Large, Henry J. Camp- bell, John L. Black, Nick Bradley, Corporal Raymond L. Rutherford, Louis A. Bregan, John Caquatto, Stefano Dematus, Harry A. Mariani, John Rerahack, Richard Simpson, Theodore E. Walters, Robert G. Weckerly and James West. CHAPTEIR IX. THE LINE OF RESISTANCE. THE next night (the 14th) we moved l)ack ^ over a couple of hills and reached the woods north of Arcis-le-Ponsart. We lay on the sides of two hills here with our kitchens at the bottom. Not far away from us were some guns of the 55th Coast Artillery Corps, whose fire kept us company the entire time we were there. The enemy shelled the woods every night and morning. During the shell- ing one morning a sihell exploded not far from where our Mail Corporal, Harold Zulauf, was wrapped in a blanket with two men from our Supply Company Detachment. The man next to Zulauf was hit with so many pieces of the shell that he died within a short time, while Zulauf escaped wdth only part of one of his large toes blown off, he never going to the hospital, but stayed with us, getting treat- ment from the first-aid men. Captain Dunlap had received his majority upon his return from the Fismes fight and was now wearing his golden leaf. On Sunday night we got orders to move again, but before all the packs were rolled the order was can- celled and we remained on the hills for an- other night. 104 OUR SECOND BATTALION On Monday, the 19th, which was a fine moonlight night, we made up our packs after supper, and a little after eight we started to cross the fields and go over the hills until we reached the side of a hill three-quarters of a kilometre northeast of Dravegny. There were numerous little dugouts on this hill, but the ground was very sandy and it was difficult to prevent the sand from falling down. Our division retained the Fismes sector and began to establish a line of resistance, that is, while some troops were holding Fismes and the sector right of Fismes, thus preventing the enemy from making any attacks towards us, trenches were begun to be dug a short dis- tance behind Fismes. It was said that Fismes was expected to be another Chateau Thierry, and our position had to be organized along that place. Each battalion of the two regi- ments of our brigade was to take its turn in Fismes of four-day stretches. The 112th Infantry was now doing its tour of duty and the men of our regiment were being sent up each night to dig these trenches and rest in the day. However, there was very little rest to be obtained, for the weather was so warm and the flies so numerous that it was practically impossible to get any sleep in the daytime. On Tuesday we were fortunate in having the Y. M. C. A. bring up a good deal of eats THE LINE OF RESISTANCE 105 for US, each company succeeding in buying enough cookies and cakes, cigarettes, smoking tobacco, cigars and chewing tobacco for all of their men. The Red Cross truck came up also that afternoon and distributed maga- zines, smoking and chewing tobacco and cigar- ettes to all of the companies. The magazines especially were appreciated, for we were in a position where we could lie in our holes and read them during the day and not be afraid we might be observed by the enemy. Our kitchens were located in a little stretch of woods about four hundred yards from the bot- tom of the hill, so we had very little distance to go for our meals. We were shelled quite a little in this posi- tion, but we had reasonably good protection on account of being on the offside of the hill furthest away from the enemy. Early Friday morning, just after we had returned from w^orking on the trenches, the shelling began again, one shell hitting a tree about four feet from its base, around wliich the men of Com- pany G were lying. One piece of the shell hit hetw^een the dugouts of William D. Wine- brenner and Lawrence Lescanac, killing Lescanac instantly and wounding Sergeant Francis J. Hans, Corporal George Hindsley, Raymond R. Moser, John Williams, James R. Wood, James D. Moore and others, Frank A. Long dying a little later from his Avounds. 106 OUR SECOND BATTALION As soon as the shell hit, Edwin B. Meese, of Company G, one of the battalion runners, started off on a run and kept running until he reached Regimental Headquarters, nearly a kilometre away, where he succeeded in get- ting an ambulance to come and evacuate the wounded men to the hospital. There was a plane overhead while this shelling was going on, and for a while many thought that we had been bombed, but a close examination the next morning disclosed the fact that it couldn't X>ossibly have been a bomb on account of it hitting the tree the way it did. That night Father Conaty, who had been sleeping in the cave at the top of the hill with the rest of Battalion Headquarters, said that it was getting too stuffy in the cave and he was going to sleep outside, so he took his blanket and started for the top of the hill. Just as he reached there the Germans began to send some shells over at us, and a few of them hit not far from where he had figured on sleeping that night. He didn't go any further, but turned around and came back to the cave, saying that he had decided not to take a chance outside that night. On Friday and Saturday we got some more mail, and on Sunday morning Father Conaty said Mass in the woods where the kitchens were located. In the afternoon all of our bat- talion went back to Abbe d' Igny, about four THE LINE OF RESISTANCE 107 kilometres in our rear, and there we got a hot shower bath, new summer underwear and our clothes put through a steam "de-cootiezer^' while we bathed. There was also a swimming jK>ol here, where many of us took a swim. A Y. M. C. A. was statdoned here, where we had lots of reading matter and music. This was August 25th and was the first chance we had to get a bath since we were lying along the Marne between the 5th and 8th of July. On Monday night at 9:30 we moved from our position on the side of this hill, and after cutting across the hill we reached a camou- flaged road which led into St. Gilles and then into Fismes. We moved up the road until we were just a short distance southwest of the town of St. Gilles, Vhere the different com- panies were scattered about in the immediate vicinity of the road and Battalion Headquar- ters went into dugouts just alongside of the road. Our kitchens didn't move up with us this time, so the rations were brought up to us on the ration wagons only at night and early in the morning all the time we lay here. On Wednesday the shelling began to get very bad around us, and from that time on it continued at different intervals. They were all big shells, for we were still a few kilo- metres behind Fismes and as soon as the shell- ing began we all took to our dugouts. The enemy sent over a quite a little bit of gas at 108 OUR SECOND BATTALION US here also, the worst attack being Thurs- day night, when we had to keep our masks on nearly all night. We had carried some of the magazines up with us that the Red Cross had given us while in the former position. The days were real hot August days, and had the Germans not shelled us so often we would have spent a restful time in this position, with a little read- ing now and then as a diversion. We were now beginning to long for more mail, and as soon as the ration wagons came our first ques- tion would be, "Is there any mail?" but we did not get any until Friday night, and then, because of the darkness, we were not able to read it until the next morning. The Third Battalion of our regiment moved up past us that night and took over the Fismes sector once again. We knew that in four days it would be our turn, and then after the First Battalion had done its turn we felt sure that we would be relieved. Every day we got our usual amount of shelling, and not until Mon- day morning (Labor Day, September 2nd) did we have any of our men killed. That morning Corporal John P. Flynn of Company H was hit and killed instantly at about 10:15 and was buried that afternoon by Chaplain Keith. S. Walter Stull of Company F was also wounded that morning. On Wednesday, immediately after darkness THE LINE OF RESISTANCE 109 had fallen, we moved from our position along the road to St. Gilles, through that town and over the fields until we reached a point about one-half of a kilometre southeast of Fismes. During the first part of the march it rained, but by the time we reached our destination it had ceased and we were able to lie down in something other than mud this time. We lay that night along the side of a road, and early the next morning we moved to the side of a hill about fiive hundred yards away, and there we leveled off places and erected our tents. The wagon train had moved up dur- ing the night, but they were unable to pre- pare breakfast right away and we did not get a meal until about noon. About noon we learned that our Third Bat- talion had captured Fismes and that the enemy was retreating towards the Aisne and that in all probability we would follow them. While waiting for orders to proceed, a German flame thrower, which had just been captured in Fismette, was brought up to the Colonel. At about the same time some rations came in, as well as a certain amount of canned heat or solidified alcohol. It was the first time our regiment had ever been issued this, and before the companies had time to distribute it among the men orders came in to move at once. "Our Second Battalion" was the advance guard in this march, during which we went 110 OUR SECOND BATTALION through the demolished toiwn of Fisines and then proceeded eastwardly up the Rheims Road until almost near Villette, when we crossed the Vesle River and again travelled in an easterly direction. Every here and there, along the Rheims Road, we passed dead Amer- icans. In the woods at the end of a certain bridge, there were quite a few dead Americans in all kinds of conditions. When we started, our mission was to fill up a gap between the right of the 55th Brigade and the left of some French troops. During a short rest Major Dunlap received a message from the Colonel that a counter-attack was expected from Romain by way of Grand Hameau, and for him to proceed with "Our Second Battalion" with all possible dispatch to connect up with the American right flank to repel any counter-attack that might take place. So, again, the march was started and this time with more speed. In a little while we left this road and then started up through a ravine. After we left the road numerous gas shells burst around us and we were obliged to adjust our masks quite frequently. We were going as fast as we pos- sibly could, for it was getting late and we wanted to get into position before dark. From the ravine we went through the woods, through some swamps, and finally one of our patrols reached some part of the 55th Brigade, THE LINE OF RESISTANCE HI At 8:06 P. M., after dusk had fallen, we reached the bottom of a plateau just north of Courlandon, where the Major dictated the message to the Colonel telling him that we had connected up with both lines on our right and left and that a French Captain was mak- ing a disposition of our troops. Companies F and H were stretched out in the front line under command of Captain Cain, and the other two companies were put in support along the side of the hill just below the beginning of the plateau. After the troops were placed Lieutenant Dickson was sent back personally by the Major to report to the Colonel. During the night the enemy sent over some shells, which hit in our position and made us take a little better cover for protection. CHAPTER X. COURLANDON. NO ONE in ^^Our Second Battalion'^ will ever forget the afternoon of Friday, Sep- tember 6th, on Fismes Heights, or just north of Courlandon. It was the bloodiest after- noon the battalion ever had, and the attack was one of the most brilliant, grandest and noblest attacks in which "Our Second Bat- talion'^ had the honor to participate. Out- side of the men who were on guard at differ- ent intervals along the crest of the plateau the rest of the men were lying on the side of the hill in the hot sun, taking it easy and wait- ing for rations to come up to them. At exactly 12 :45 P. M., while all the Com- pany Commanders were down over the hill a couple hundred feet talking of different things with Major Dunlap and Lieutenant Dickson, the following order to attaek at 1:02 was re- ceived : "From No. 1 Solo. At 288-209.3. Date, 6 September, 1918. Hour, 12:15. No. 2. Runner. To C. O., 111th Inf. We advance, general attack at 1 o'clock. Artillery preparation begins at 12:56, prog- ress of the attack 100 metres to 4 minutes, at COURLANDON 113 first line on the crest of the hill running north- east and southwest, the crest being immedi- ately in jour front, halt 30 minutes'for cover- ing fire on that line. Next advance to he at 100 metres in five minutes, next line halt about one kilometre in advance on a parallel line through Le Grand Hameau and co- ordinate 290-210. Halt on this line for one hour, with coivering artillery fire for the en- tire line, then progress at "^ the rate of 100 metres in 5 minutes, following the artillery barrage as far as possible. I am directed by the Brigade Commander to call on you for one battalion of two companies in the first line and two in support and keep in contact with the French on your right. Answer. Ham^ GoloneV The Company Commanders immediately hurried back to their respective commands and ordered the men to get ready for an at- tack. There was no time to lose. ^ Every man jumped to his place, quickly adjusted his pack, grabbed his rifle and was ready for the word to go "Over the Top.*' At 12:56 our barrage started, and at exactly 1:02 "Our Second Battalion^' leaped over the crest of the plateau and our worst and final attack in the Chateau Thierry Drive was begun. Captain Cain was in command of the front line, con- sisting of Companies F and H, and one platoon of the Machine Gun Company, under 114 OUR SECOND BATTALION Lieutenant Daniel W. Brooks, while Captain Schlosser was in command of Companies E and G, with another platoon of the Machine Gun Company under Lieutenant Edwey Z. Wainwright. The whole line advanced at the same time, the 109th Infantry being on our left and some French troops on our right. No sooner had the attack started than our line was caught with machine gun fire from all points. The enemy batteries opened up counter-battery work and simply showered the advancing ranks with shells, but our batteries kept tiring just as hard, if not harder. Sergeant John P. Morris of Company H was hit with a piece of shrapnel in his leg while he was in the act of capturing a machine gun nest and nine Ger- mans, two of whom were wounded. First Ser- geant Raymond C. Reisker of Company H was shot through the calf of his leg with a machine sgun bullet and hobbled back to the side of the hill. Neither one of these two Sergeants would leave the Line and go to the hospital. Aeroplanes came over and flew close to the attacking men, as their machine guns opened fire on them. While heroically leading "Our Second Battalion'^ through the hell it was meeting. Captain Cain was hit in the right shoulder by machine gun bullets and carried severely wounded to the rear. Captain Pol- lock, commanding the two platoons of the Ma- COURLANDON 115 chine Gun Company was carried back mortally wounded in the spine. Corporal Alvin Fer- guson of Company H w^as shot through both legs with machine gun bullets, Archie Mnk and Albert Heimann of the same Company being hit also. James Fox of H Company was shot through the knee w^hile Corporal Joseph R. Forniby of that company was shot through the head and face and while lying on the field wounded, was hit again. Lieut. Fred W. Klingensmith, who had been with Company II, but w^ho had gone over with Company F, had both his legs broken with machine gun bullets while Lieut. Thomas A. Merryweather, commanding that company, had a machine gun bullet go through his wrist. This left Com- pany F with only one officer, Lieut. Marcel von Beregy, who had received his commission on the previous Wednesday. Then First Sergeant Stanley of F Company was hit in the head above the right ear with a machine gun bullet. After the Germans had stubbornly resisted for nearly an hour, and "Our Second Battal- ion-^ kept going steadily forward through the deluge of machine gun and shell fire, the Ger- mans made strong counter-attacks and so strong were they made that the French on our right fell back. This left our right flank open and the enemy took good advantage of it, but not a man of "Our Second Battalion" would give in one single inch. Through the brave 116 OUR SECOND BATTALION efforts of Lieut. Brooks and his platoon of ma- chine gunners, machine guns were placed in position and the German counter-attack re- pulsed, but it was done at the cost of the lives of Lieut. Brooks himself, Corporal Clyde T. Seeman, Edward F. Faigley and Richard P. Woodward, and many severely wounded. The First Battalion was brought up to us as our support. The French came back to the line again and the attack was repeated and little by little the Germans were pushed back and back for over a kilometre, when our Line got orders to "dig in'' for the night. Lieut, von Beregy was lying in a little hole which he had dug himself, with his company in back of him. He gave the arm signal to move forward and the next moment, as he started to raise himself up, he was shot through the head by a sniper and died instantly. Lieut. Davenport of the Scouts had a ma- chine gun bullet graze his left side and after taking the bullet out of the shirt and having his wound bandaged up he rushed back to the Line. Of Company H the following men were killed : Clarence Bucklew and Thomas A. Flan- nery ; Paul L. Geissenheimer, shot through the head; Sergeant Robert J. Lean and Sergeant Floyd E. Ross, and Vasily Mozako died in the hospital from wounds received there. Elia Atriana of Company G, who had just COURLANDON 117 returned from the hospital, was digging in when he was hit in the head with a machine gun bullet. He was carried back to the dress- ing station at Battalion Headquarters, where he died. In another part of our line, Warren Keiser was digging in beside Morlan H. Buck, when he was hit with machine gun bullets in both legs. All he said was, "I am shot,'' and died almost instantly. Wallace Pool of Company G was beside By- ron A. Cornell digging in when a shell hit close to him and a piece of shrapnel struck him in the back. Pool said "they got me,'' and died. William Barclay and Merritt E. Montgom- ery, of Company E, were killed during the attack. Corporal Charles H. Rouch, Henry Coester, Benjamin Cook, Thomas Bradley, Sergeant George W. Kelly, wounded in the leg; Sergeant Robert A. Robinson, Joseph H. Flynn, Chester C. Wheeler, Corporal John P. Munro, Arnold O. Krebs, hit with shrapnel and machine gun bullet in left wrist and arm ; Corporal William T. Weist, Dale S. Boyle, Raymond D. Heaton, Sergeant William A. Whiteside, and Jack K. Nolan, of Company E, were also among the wounded. Of Company H, the following were wounded : Sergeant Robert C. Jones, hit with machine gun bullet in the neck and arms; Sergeant 118 OUR SECOND BATTALION Paul L. Wetzel, Thomas J. Flannery, John Bertron, Jesse A. Blakeley, Leo A. Boalo, Gio- vanni Borgi, Walter W. Dowler, David Cor- nish, hit in the left foot with a machine gnn bullet, Charles W. Mason, George A. Mitchell, Charles Soules, Royal Dunmeyer and Sergeant James H. Lindsay, hit in the leg. The following men from Company F were wounded, most all of them being hit with machine gun bullets, during the advance, and had to ibe evacuated to the hospital, some of them in very bad condition: Sergeant Harry K. Hall, Sergeant Kurt B. Nelson, John G. Frank, John Yanno, Corporal John Flaherty, Corporal Reeves W. Hendershot, Daniel P. McCormick, Stanley L. McDowell, Mechanic William M. Remus, William McCaffery, Cor- poral Leroy H. Wallace, Hugh P. Porter, George K. Rodenbaugh, Mechanic Harry Mil- ler, Corporal William V. Hull, Clarence C. Lee, Frederick G. Steinger, Mechanic Frank W. Keenan, James Longstreth, Joseph J. Ferry, Nicolay Bokunow, Harlan J. Noblit, William J. Jones, Corporal Joseph VanFos- sen, and Gustav Gonsuron. George Messina was hit with a bursting shell and died. Some of the men killed from Company F were Sergeant James H. Beasley, Lee M. Fos- ter, Sergeant James P. Herron, Corporal Har- old E. Kelly, John F. Ley, Sergeant Harry Mc- Laughlin, Corporal John G. Pedicord, Cor- COURLANDON 119 poral Thomas B. Robinson and Harold C. Todd, all by machine grin bullets. Bryan J. Clugston was hit with a hi^h explosive and died. David H. Slagle was hit with a machine gun bullet. He lay in such a position that it was impossible to get to him on account of the intense machine gun fire. Two men were killed attempting to reach him. When dark- ness came, four or five hours after he was hit, we reached him but he was dead. Of Company G, the following men were wounded: Corporal John Walters, Russel Trauger, Frank W. Gilmore, Thomas A. Scott, Jacob Trauger, and Sergeant Frederick S. Wertenbach. When the attack started, Major Dunlap moved his headquarters to the summit of the hill but the fire from the enemy's artillery was so hot that they had to move down over the hill for a little protection. The wounded were more than numerous. They continued to be brought back and some dragged themselves back. Everybody at Battalion Headquarters was busy attending to the wounded and dis- patching stretcher bearers away with the more seriously wounded. They all wanted to be taken away and it was no easy job trying to soothe them. The stretchers were limited and it was a long ways to where the ambulances were able to come, but the men were evacuated 120 OUR SECOND BATTALION in the order of the seriousness of their wounds. Some of the more badly wounded ones died be- fore they could be put on a stretcher. Men who were able to walk with a little aid were given a willing hand and helped back to the Battalion Dressing Station. Stretchers were even made of blankets and shelter halves but still there was not enough to take care of the men. After the Third Battalion had arrived and moved up in close support of the Line, Colonel Shannon and Captain Gill came up to see what the situation was and after the Major had given them a full report, the Colonel told him that our Division was finally going to be re- lieved by a French Division and that we were tO' get a rest. He said that we were to be re- lieved the next night or the morning following and that he was going back to General Weigel and see if it couldn't possibly be made that night on account of the condition of the troops. The word soon spread among the troops and those of us who had been fortunate enough to escape being wounded or killed felt sad and glad both, sad because so many of our brave men had ibeen killed and so many wounded so shortly before our final relief in the Chateau Thierry Drive. That night Companies E and G moved ahead and took over the front line, while Companies F and H took the position formerly occupied CAPTAIN AKTin R T.. SCHf-OSSER. COMPANY G. Killed in Action September 29tli, 1918. COURLANDON 121 by the other two companies. Men from Head- quarters Company were engaged in bringing up ammunition and rations. It was a long treacherous journey all the way up and very little of each could be brought up at a time. It was an afternoon never to be forgotten. Our casualties for that afternoon and the next day, when some more men were killed and wounded, were 30 men killed and 240 wounded, 4 (Officers killed and 5 wounded, and 53 men missing (this including the men and officers from Machine Gun Company) . We were then on the Heights of the Aisne aud we felt that we had done our duty in the Chateau Thierry Drive. ^^Our Second Battalion'^ had the dis- tinction of being the first in action as a unit and also the last in action in our part of this drive. Perhaps it was due to Fate that this had happened, but however it was, we had the distinction and we were proud of it. After the attack, Major Dunlap received the following letter from the Captain who was commanding the French Battalion on our right : "Hill 180, 6th September, 1918. From : Captain Bucard, 2nd Cy. of 4th Kt. To: Major Dunlap, 111th R. I. U. S. 1. I personally ask you, Major, permission to tell you how I have been happy and proud to go over the top with your valiant men. Their fearlessness of death and their gallantry 122 OUR SECOND BATTALION have excited the greatest admiration of my brave soldiers. 2. Many, alas ! of my officers and soldiers have fallen facing the Boche. Soon, I hope, we will together revenge them. 3. The second Company of the 4th Infantry Regiment offer their comrades of the 111th R. I. U. S. his sincere felicitations and assure them of his deep sympathy. Please accept, Major, my profound respects. Captain M. Bucard.'' That night the enemy sent quite a number of shells over and were fortunate enough to hit an ammunition dump just behind the hill from where the attack had started, causing a large flare to show. Immediately, German aeroplanes were over looking for troops. They dropped a few bombs in our immediate vicinity but none of our men were hit. Gas shells were sent over also, but most of them went back of us and hit around Regi- mental Headquarters. It was during this night that our Regimental Chaplain, Michael W. Keith, was gassed so badly that he died in a few days. Many other men also around Regi- mental Headquarters were severely gassed. Our kitchens, which were a little in the rear of us, were also victims of the gas shells. Cook Alfred Anderson, Cook William A. Elliott, Cook William P. O'Dea, Cook Thomas J. Ward, Harry E. Andrews, Corporal Joseph COURLANDON 123 W. Ward, Ernest Beach, James G. Lavery and Sergeant John F. Austen of Company H were gassed. Jaoob D. Ganger of Company F, Cooks Sherman T. Beatty, Irwin W. Evers- meir and Chester Friedman and James Mc- Granihan, Wiktor Monit, James J. Noon, Jr., Glenn W. Goodenow, Clarence L. Crusemire, Ernest J. Seib, and Mess Sergeant William Hopkins, of Company E, were also gassed. James R. McKenney of E Company took his gas mask off during this attack and gave it to one of the men who had been gassed. He ran around trying to administer to the gassed men and became so gassed himself that he died before he could be sent to the hospital. Every one of the bandmen, who were acting as stretcher bearers, and who had especially dis- tinguished themselves at Fismes for their brav- eiy, were gassed during this attack. The next morning the Germans put down a terrific barrage on our entire position at ^ye o^clock. It was thought sure that an attack would follow it but none came. During the day, the shelling continued, causing us some more casualties. Sergeant Albert Atkinson of Company G had remained at Battalion Headquarters over night and returned to his company at about nine o'clock. He came up to where Sergeant Frank McXealy was in a dugout and asked him if he could stay in with him. McNealv 124 OUR SECOND BATTALION told him he certainly could and Sergeant At- kinson started to widen the dugout and just as he was throwing a shovelful of dirt out, he was hit by a sniper. All he said before he died was "They got me." In the afternoon, the enemy again put down a barrage on our Line. Corporal John W. Fackenthall, of Company G, who had just come back from the hospital, was hit in both legs with a large piece of shrap- nel, while he was lying in his hole. Corporal Edward Doyle, of the same com- pany, was killed with a piece of shrapnel hit- ting him in the head, while he was very jiear Greorge Clarke. Albert Brew^er w^as wounded and evacuated to the hospital, where he died. Jacob L. Hartman was in his dugout beside George Clark also, w^hen he was hit in the breast with a piece of shell and died instantly. George R. Wiood was near Andrew E. Smith when he w^as hit with overhead shrapnel and died instantly. Richard Simpson was also killed. Robert W. Penwell, a runner from Company H, but who was with his company at the time, was hit with overhead shrapnel and died. First Lieut. Louis H. Fielding, of Company E, had received notice of his promotion to the grade of Captain at about twelve-thirty the day before while he was assembled with the rest of the officers at Battalion Hadquarters. As the COURLANDON 125 orders to attack were received fifteen minutes later, he had not time even to inform his men of the promotion. During the shelling that afternoon, he was mortally w^ounded by being hit in the back with a piece of overhead shrap- nel while he was lying in the hole which he had dug himself. He was carried to the rear im- mediately on a stretcher by four men from his Company and evacuated to the hospital, and a few days later the sad news of his death reached the men of his command. First Lieut. James C. Boden then assumed command of Company E and commanded that company until after the Armistice was signed. First Lieut. Phelps L. Gill assumed com- mand of Company H, upon Captain Cain being wounded, and remained in command of that Company until final demobilization and dis- charge. CHAPTER XI. RELIEVED AT LAST. THUS it was, on Sunday, September 8th, "■• after sixty-seven continuous days under enemy shell fire, holding down the Front Line on four different occasions and making suc- cessful attacks and advances each time, and suffering over fifty per cent, casualties, our Regiment (and in fact, the whole Division) was relieved by the 62nd French Division from its place in the Chateau Thierry Drive. "Our Second Battalion," and every unit of our Division, had made a record of which we had a right to feel proud. We had been highly commended by both French and American Generals, and felt that now we were to get that which was rightly due us — a rest in the rear. Shortly after darkness came on the night of the 7th, the Third Battalion moved out, fol- lowed shortly thereafter by the First Bat- talion, for they had been in reserve and sup- port respectively. At about ten o'clock, it started to rain but there was nothing for us to do but to sit there in the rain and await our relief. It continued to rain until about one o'clock and our relief had not shown up then. Men were despatched out around in the immediate vicinity to see if they could locate REIJEVED AT LAST 127 the French troops but none were found. That niglit was one to be long- remembered by us, for it was dark and dreary after the rain, the air was chilled, and we were on the verge of our first big relief— the relief which would take us out of the fight temporarily at least Our artillery in back of us were firing away at intervals and the enemy was sending over some shells at us. They were also sending up quite a few flares, which lightened the place very much. A little after three o'clock we were very much surprised to see some French troops come down over the hill. Our relief at last! i he French Major was taken to where Maior Dunlap was located and gi^en all the neces- sary papers and information, while the com- panies were taken to the Line by the runners. At 6 :dO the Scouts and Battalion Headquar- ters, save Major Dunlap and Lieut. Dickson left the hill aud began to find their way back to the rear. The four companies followed just as soon as the French had taken over the posi- tion. ^ We started down over the hill in column of file and just seemed to dash down over that hill, for we were all in a hurry to get away After going through the woods for a while, we came to an open place. While going across this open place, the enemy put a barrage down but we managed to get every man over it with- 128 OUR SECOND BATTALION out a casualty. It was almost daylight when we passed Regimental Headquarters and there was Colonel Shannon, the man who appar- ently never slept, standing in front of his little dugout, welcoming us back with his ever- welcome expression. It was an expression which did not have to be interpreted twice. It showed gladness and happiness for us who had been fortunate enough to come out of the Drive safely and were now to get a rest, and of sadness and sorrow for those who had been called upon to give their all. He asked where the Major was and we told him that he was coming with the rest of the Battalion. We then got on to the road we had travelled over three days before and while going along this road, the enemy started once again to Shell us. There were at least three columns of troops on the road, all going to the rear as fast as they could. When a shell would hit close by, we would have to either duck or fall to the road and when we got up again we were invariably in the wrong column and would have to get straightened out again. Frank M. Flack was wounded with shrapnel while going along this road. Once more we crossed the Vesle River at the same pla'ce as before and then went back to the position we had been in the week before along the road a short distance southwest of St. Grilles. As soon as the companies began to arrive, RELIBVBD AT LAST 129 the cookers were started and in a short time we got a meal and some mail which had come in while we had been on the Line. Every Com- pany had suffered over sixty-five per cent, casualties in the last attack, but Company F had suffered the worst. All of their officers and Sergeants were either killed or wounded and the company was led back in comi^and of a Corporal. Out of ninety men from that Company, who went over the top at 1 o'clock Friday afternoon, but twenty of them were now left. Supply Sergeant Ozro N. Barclay then took command of the Company until liieut. Martsolf, who had been on special duty at Division Headquarters, hurried back to his Company and assumed command. On the left side of the road, in the direction of St. Gilles, a hill began to rise about one hundred feet from the road. On this hill, the men of Company E had constructed dugouts while here before and into them went the men who had come back safely. At the bot- tom of this hill, on the same side of the road, were two artillery guns, which fired 155's. Lloyd Ramsey and George W. Sincox of Com- pany E, who had gone through all the battles without getting wounded, were resting in their dugout on the extreme side of the hill, when one of the guns at the bottom of the hill was loaded and fired. Something must have happened in adjusting the range for instead 130 OUR SECOND BATTAIJON of the gun firing over the hill, which it had always done, the shell hit the edge of the hill immediately on top of where Ramsey and Sin- cox were sitting, causing the earth to cave in on them. By the time the dirt was removed and their bodies reached, it was found that they were dead. We were told that we would leave that posi- tion about three o'clock the next (Monday) morning. In the evening we were only too glad to lie down again, knowing we would be awakened very shortly. At 2 :30 A. M., we were aAvakened and made up our packs and at three o'clock the Battalion was assembling on the road to meet the rest of the Regiment. A little further down the road we joined up with the rest of the Regiment and then pro- ceeded on our march to the rear. It is said that a Division, or even a Regi- ment, coming back from the Line after being relieved, is one of the saddest sights seen on the battle-fields. In our particular case, we cared not how we looked, even though our clothes were muddy and worn and shabby from the experiences we had had during the previous two months. No one was singing as we had done when we first went into action. Our thoughts were not so much on the rest we were to get in the back areas, as they were on our comrades who had fallen. Just a short time before, they had marched right alongside RELIEVED AT LAST 131 of US, and now — ^they were no more. We knew that we were still alive, but we also knew that it was due to Him alone, who had watched over us and had saved us. Perhaps we, who were now marching along in silence in the darkness of the night, would be called to the Heavenly Home within a very short time and there united, once again, with our comrades who had gone before us. We knew not what the future held for us. We only knew that now we were still alive and the many strange and apparent miracles, which had saved our lives, each and every one of us knew best. After living in the proximity of death for such a long time and having seen it in so many shapes and forms, we had come to look in- differently at it. We knew that it had come to some of us there — was bound to happen to othei-s — and we might be the ones ju^, as well as the man next to us. But we were not afraid of it. If Death were to come to us, we would meet it as only true and good Americans could meet it, and if we were spared, it would be well. Such thoughts as these and many others flooded our minds on that sad and dreary march in the early hours of the morning — thoughts that would perhaps never ent^r our minds again, but they served well to cause us to reflect momentarily, at least. 132 OUR SECOND BATTAUON Daylight came and we wound np over the road through Dravegny, down the hill and then up another hill past Cohan, where the 112th Field Hospital was located. It seemed as though our march would never end. At aibout eight-thirty, we reached the woods around Albby d' Igny, where we had had a bath a few weeks before this. We had taken a roundabout way to get there, but now we had arrived and would remain there until the next day. Some erected shelter tents in the woods that day, but others neglected to do so. The men who did not put them up greatly regretted it that night, for at about eleven o'clock it started to rain very violently and continued to rain throughout the entire night. At four- thirty, everybody was aroused and the fires began to go in the cookers. We lost no time in getting around them and trying to get warm, even though it was still raining. A little after five o'clock, after we got break- fast, we started on our march again and it rained almost continuously until six o^clock that nigiht. After going a short distance, we began to come into ruins of little villages but only once or twice were we fortunate enough to be in one of these villages when our rest came. Once an old French woman was seen and all kinds of remarks were made and shouted at her, none of which she could under- RELIEVED AT LAST 133 stand. She was about sixty-five years old and was the first woman we had seen for over two months, and such remarks as "Oh, you chicken," "Petite Mademoiselle,^^ and other similar expressions rang out from the march- ing column. The further back we marched, the more people we saw. We rested from one o^clock until two, while some other troops of the Division got ahead of us. Then we started off again and as we reached the top of the hill we had just ascended, we could see the River Marne in the distance. Going down through the valley towards the Marne, we heard the first train whistle we had heard for nearly three months, and though a French engine whistle is tame as compared to our own, it sounded very homelike to us and we remarked then that in a few days we would be riding on one of those trains. After crossing the Marne, we were held up for a few minutes while a freight train went by on the railroad. After that we proceeded in an easterly direction along the Paris road, along which the Germans had been checked in their last Offensive but a short time prev- ious. At one place, we saw the boats which the Germans had used in 1914 upon which they built their pontoon bridge across the River. We also saw a few German graves and these marked just about the furthest the Germans had advanced in 1914. 134 OUR SECOND BATTALION At five-thirty, after marching a distance of thirty-two kilometres, we reached the Bois de la Boudel. It had rained practically all the time we were marching and was still raining when we got to the woods, but it stopped in about half an hour. First Sergeant Reisker, who had his body burned with mustard gas at Fismes and was shot through the leg \s4th a machine gun bullet at Courlandon, and Ser- geant Morris, who had been hit by a piece of shrapnel at Ck>urlandon, started out on the march that morning, but it became too stren- uous for their wounded legs and they had to finish the trip in an ambulance. As soon as it quit raining, fires began to be built over the entire woods and everybody was drying out and getting warm. A supper was prepared, which we got about seven o'clock, and then as soon as the darkness began to fall, all fires had to be extinguished. It was quite a contrast to what we had had for such a long time and we surely did enjoy the camp- fire scene that was here presented. Everyone was glad and happy for here we were to get our trucks and travel back to our resting area. We knew that at last we were out of all dan- ger, except from enemy aeroplanes, and we had had enough experience with them to know that they would never find our location at night. RELIEVED AT LAST 135 The following day (Wednesday) we lay around in the woods taking it easy while some of the men went to the town of Epernay, which was not very far away. On Thursday morning we got word that we would board trucks in the afternoon about four o'clock, ride a certain distance in them and then board the train for tlie southeastern part of France to the rest area. At 3:30 we started march- ing up the road to the point, where we were to meet the trucks. It is strange that never could trucks come to the place where we were located. We always had to march a distance and meet them^ when, as far as w^e could see, there was no real reason why they couldn't come down and meet us. That is why we all decided that after we got home and wanted to take a trip, instead of getting the train where we were, we would walk half the distance and then board the train. CHAPTER XII. INTO THE AEGONNB. AT FOUR O'CLOCK we boarded the trucks and spent one miserable night on them. No sleep could be had for the riding was very rough and we were packed too tightly together to be comfortable. The next morning (Friday) , we were very much surprised to find ourselves stopping just outside of a little village and being told to get off as that was as far as we were to go. Something surely must be wrong somewhere, we thought, or else we wouldn't be getting off so soon, but then maybe this was the place we were to get the train. After a little trouble and delay, we were put into billets once again and found that we were in the little village of Mogneville, or, as we called it, "Monkey ville." We got a newspaper later in the day and read about the reducing of the St. Mihiel salient by the American Army, and upon locating ourselves on the map, dis- covered that we were directly in back of St. Mihiel. Our visions of rest, sleep and eat were shattered when we realized our position, for we felt sure that we were brought over here appar- ently to help in this drive and in a short time, no doubt, would be taking our turn in the Front Line just as we had done in the Chateau INTO THE ARGONNE 137 Thierry Drive. It was disheartening, to say the least, for we had all been filled with the hopes that we were to get a rest. We were cer- tainly S. O. L. Our kitchens had to make this journey them- selves and we were only issued canned food and a little bread. No coffee could be made and it was not until the next day that we got a sufficient supply of bread, this being done by the ambulance at Regimental Headquarters going up to the railhead and bringing the bread down for us. Besides "Our Second Battalion," Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Company were also located in this town. The Germans had been in this town in 1914 and had burned half lof it, the ruins of which we could still see for it had never been built up again. On Sunday morning. Father Conaty said Mass once again in a real church. Some of the windows had been shattered by bursting shells, but otherwise it was in. very good shape. The Padre of this church was an old man about eighty years of age and was very feeble, but he had a strong voice and it was remarkable hiow well he sang during the Mass. The Padre told Father Conaty that many years ago he had baptized the then President of France, President Poincaire, and that the President's parents had given him some fine silverware at that time. When the Germans were coming 138 OUR SECOND BATTAUON ®o fast in 1914, he fled from the village with the rest of the inhabitants and tJie Germans had stolen this silverware during their stay in the village, and he seemed very much agi- tated over the theft. We reached this village on Friday morning, the 13th. On Saturday afternoon, some of our troops were out drilling, and on Sunday we received our first batch of replacements and they were quickly assigned to the different companies. A program of training was worked out Sunday afternoon and on Monday morning the troops went out and drilled for seven hours. While the drilling was going on, a copy of a Memorandum from Division Head- quarters was received, saying that our Divi- sion should be prepared to move that night. The message was received by us at 2 :30 in the afternoon. An officer of our Battalion, who had been at Division Headquarters in the morning, said they knew it up there at that time. Yet, our troops, still tired and worn out from the Chateau Thierry Drive, had to be kept out on the drill field all day Monday, in- stead of being given a chance to rest up a little for the long night hikes which were ahead of them. Headquarters must surely have known of these orders and we were sore about it. Immediately after supper, we assembled our Battalion on the road and waited for word to start off on a night march. A good many of INTO THE ARGONNE 139 the men filled their canteens at the house in which had been the Battalion Mess. Even though we knew we were going into action again and had been deprived of our rest, we did our best to forget it for a little while by singing and joking among ourselves while we sat on the i*oad waiting for the word to start. Some of the replaicements were complaining be- cause they had been on the road for three or four days and didn't get very much sleep, and we told them that we would be only too glad to have exchanged places with them. At about eight o'clock we started, crossing a railroad at Revigny. The night was very bright until about three o'clock, when the sky began to get darker and darker. We had been marching at our usual rate, that is, march twenty min- utes and rest ten minutes. Lieut. O'Brien, who had been wounded at Crezancy on the 16th of July, had come back to the Battalion that morning. At our stop about ten o'clock, we received more replace- ments, and these men were placed in the rear of the column under command* of Lieut. O'Brien. At about three-thirty, w^e reached the Bois de Laheycourt, after a night march of about twenty-three kilometres. It was then raining only slightly, and we were so tired that we just unrolled our packs and lay on our shelter halves with our blankets wrapped around us. 140 OUR SECOND BATTALION It then commeiiced to rain harder tout we made no effort to improve our shelter. Our kitchens had not reached Mogneville by- Monday evening, when we left, but each one of the companies had a pan or pot, which they carried along with them and in which they made some coffee during the day. On Tuesday night, we began our march promptly at eight o'clock, the Third Battalion leading the column. A little after midnight, we got into some woods, which we afterwards learned was the Argonne Forest. The road kept winding and winding through the woods and it seemed that there was no end in sight. We began to grumble among ourselves at the length of the march and of how tired we were, and Major Dunlap told us that we were to stop as soon as we came out of the woods. We marched and marched and stretched our heads to see if we could see the open country once more, but none came into view. Finally, at about four o'clock, we came out of the woods and reached the town of Futeau. As far as we could see, this was a pretty large town but we kept on marching through it. It had started to rain just before we reached Futeau and a good many of us would have fallen out while going through here had not Major Dunlap told us that we would stop just a few hundred yards out of the town. Those few hundred yards, as might be expected, turned out to be INTO THE ARGONNE 141 about a kilometre past the town. At this point we cut across a field and stopped on the side of a hill, which we called the hills of Futeau. We had covered over twenty-five kilometres on our march and were just as near fatigued as could be. We thought that this would be our stopping place for at least a few days for we were, in- deed, tired and worn out, and had lost about half of our replacements in the two nights' marching, for they were not used to it as we were and they were compelled to drop out along the road. But the time for our little rest had not yet come. At about six o'clock we received word that we would again march that night. At eight o'clock, we started, this time ^^Our Second Battalion" leading the march. The march was uneventful except for the fact that it did not begin to rain until after we reached our destination. We got to Le Neufour about four o'clock, after marching about twenty-five kilometres, and then went into bivouac in an orchard nine kilometres behind the Line. It was now Thursday, the 19th, when we got to that point, and the next day we got our pay for the month of eTune, and our kitchens also caught up with us. On Saturday night, we moved up through the woods a couple more kilometres until we were three kilometres Northeast of Le :Neufour. Father Conaty said 142 OUR SECOND BATTAUON Mass right out in the open the next morning and just before he started to give Communion, it started to rain and the two altar boys, Frank Me Garry and the Sergeant Major, held a shel- ter half over Father Conaty's head and the Chalice while he gave Communion to the large number of officers and men, for there were more than usual on account of the whole regi- ment being all together. After Mass, he held Protestant Services, which were also well at- tended. We were told that this was a quiet sector and that the Line had not moved here since 1914. Part of the 112th Infantry were holding down the trenches and we were to go in next. We had an idea, though, that the sector would not remain very quiet as long as we were there, and the next day rumors began to fill the air that there was another drive coming. The sec- tor was remarkably quiet and it was a treat to us to be so near the Line and to experience only a little shelling. All this time artillery continued to move into position all around us and there was an enormous amount of shells hauled up around the guns. We heard in some way that the ar- tillery was hub to hub for a stretch of forty miles and we knew ourselves that this was true all around us. We were sure now that a drive was going to start, (but never did we think it would be of such magnitude as later devel- oped. CHAPTER XIII. THE ARGONNB DRIVE. QN THE night of Wednesday, September 25th, we were all lying in our tents with complete quietness all around us when, at eleven o'clock, we were aroused by the heavy firing of guns. ^^The Drive has started,'' we all shouted as we jumped out and put on our shoes and leggins and started to make up our rolls. Into the top of our packs we put the reserve rations which we had been issued ear- lier that day, consisting of four boxes of hard tack and a two pound can of roast beef. These rations were to last us for two days. At 11 :3a, the Regiment was assembled and we went out of the woods onto the muddy road and seemed to be traveling in an easterly di- rection. Going up this first road, we met some French troops who had just been relieved by some of our own men. As we passed them w^e would yell, "Fini, la guerre," and they would respond with the same expression and seemed tickled to death over it. We could not help but feel as we marched up that road with the guns barking away in the "Million Dollar Barrage," as it was called, that there was something fascinating about the whole thing and for the time being, we forgot all about the rest which we were to get,. 144 OUR SECOND BATTALION After going up this road for some distance, we turned to the right and were now walking parallel to the guns. The firing was terrific. Every ten or fifteen minutes it seemed as though some new and heavier guns began to fire. Every once in a while a new gun would 'begin to fire right beside us and the sudden explosion would nearly knock us off our feet for the guns were concealed and we were un- able to see them. We could not hear our- selves talk, the noise was so loud. At 3 :30 we reached some woods where the whole Regiment lay for the rest of the night. '^Our Second Battalion" was the Division Reserve in the start of this Drive and in the afternoon of Thursday, we got orders to pro- ceed to the left of the 112th Infantry (which was the extreme left of our Divisional Sec- tor), and connect up with the right of the 77th Division, the line between those two units having been broken. At four o'clock we started, going up over the side of a hill where we saw our first real dugouts. The Line had not moved in this place for four years and the French had had ample time to make good dugouts. They were regular little homes and you couldn't much blame the French for not wanting to advance the Line in that place. The side of the hill was covered with dugouts and barbed wire stretched everywhere. As we reached the top of the hill, we saw our own THE ARGONNE DRIVE 145 Artillery resting and they told us that the reason they were not firing was l>ecause the Germans were then out of their range of fire. After going along a road aibout a half kilo- metre, we came to what had been No Man's Land for four years, and it certainly was a wonderful sight. Shell holes w^re everywhere. A few trees remained standing but there was not a limb upon any of them. Our Engineers were already there constructing a road over No Man's Land for the artillery to move up, to be followed by ammunition and rations. We passed the trenches which the French had held for so many years and started across No Man's Land, jumping over shell holes and wading through some of them. As w^e crossed, we passed a battalion of the 77th Division who were just going in on our left. As we pro- ceeded further, we saw the skull of a man and about twenty feet further there was a shoe with the bone of a leg up to the knee sticking in it. Apparently, they were the remains of some soldier who had been killed out there on a patrol at night and his body had never been recovered. It was getting dark as w^e reached the Ger- man side of this No Man's Land and had passed their first line trench. We then got into the woods again and were now starting on our long journey in the famous Argonne Forest. After the whole Battalion got into 146 OUR SECOND BATTALION these woods, we rested a few moments and word was passed back tliat there would be no smoking or talking as we were getting close to the enemy. A narrow gauge railroad ran along here and this we followed and followed until we had gained contact with the enemy. It was now pitch dark and after a little dif- ficulty we got into what had been the third line Geimian trench. Battalion Headquarters lay with Company H on its left and Com- panies F, G and E on its right. We took off our packs and sat on them during the night, with our heads just below the top of the trench. It was very uncomfortable all night long. It was impossible for those of us who were not on duty to sleep in such a position. It rained a little and every now and then a stream of machine gun fire was sent over our heads by the enemy. At about five o'clock in the morning, the Germans put over a machine gun barrage, which caused us to go as close to the l)ottom of the trench as we possibly could. We thought sure that the Germans were going to make an attack, and as soon as the fire died down, we got into position and awaited their aibtack, but none developed. At six o'clock, w^e were to make an attack. When our artillery barrage was laid doT^oi, the Germans started counter-battery work. When the time came for us to go over the top. THE ARGONNE DRIVE 147 all of Campanies E, G and F, Battalion Head- quarters and three platoons of Company H had gotten out of the trench, when two shells hit directly in the part of the trench, where the remaining one platoon of Company H lay, killing the following men from that Company : Rudolph Bartlett, Sitanley Bruce, George E. Do'uard, Joseph G. Gross, Donald T. Larkin, Patrick J. Powers and James J. Scully and wounding many others. Through a terrible shelling and machine gun fire, the line ad- vanced for about a kilometre, when we were held up and forced to dig in. During the afternoon, our line tried to take a trench, not more than three hundred yards away, but the trench mortar fire and machine gun fire from the enemy were so deadly and ef- fective that we were unable to move foi'ward. The barbed wire stretched in front of our po- sition was so thick and wicked that we would have had a hard time to even go through it without any opposition, let alone with a strong enemy just ahead of us. Late in the afternoon, just before another attempt was going to be made to take this trench, the Germans started to shell the lines again. First Sergeant Matthew Turner of Company F was walking along organizing his platoon for the attack, when the shelling be- gan. He ordered every man to remain in the little dugout in which he was lying, but about 148 OUR SECOND BATTAUON a half dozen men rushed behind a large tree a few feet in the rear for protection. No sooner had they reached the tree, than a shell burst immediately in back of them, killing Clements Bischoff, Athur Dutill, Harry Large and Isaac E. Pendleton. During the enemy's shelling in the early part of the evening, a shell hit close to Captain S'chlosser, 2nd Lieut. Thomas A. Robertson and First Sergeant Thompson of Company G, wounding Lieut. Robertson so badly that he had to be evacuated to the hospital. Another piece of it hit Captain Schlosser in the right shoulder, rendering his arm useless, but he refused to leave the Lines. He didn't get his shot of anti-tetanus until reaching Varennes the next afternoon. The rest of our Division on our right had advanced considerable and it could not be un- derstood why "Our Second Battalion" could not advance its line. The Germans who were opposing us certainly must have been cut off from the rest of the enemy, who were being pushed back on our right, or else they were ordered to hold that position and hold up our advance while the rest withdrew. The result was that Major Dunlap received an order to withdraw his troops while attempting to take the trench in front, but he refused to do so, replying that to withdraw would open the flanks of both the 112th Infantry and 77th THE ARGONNE DRIVE 149 Division. When the authorities in the rear learned that ^'Oiir Second Battalion'^ was meeting such strong resistance, they sent a message that we were to advance in conjunc- tion with the 77th Division and, after reach- ing our objective — ^the trench in front of us — the Third Battalion would leapfrog over us and take up the advance. During the night, Captain Haller, who was then commanding the Third Battalion, reported his Battalion to Major Dunlap and the situation was explained to him, while his troops were put in position in the rear of our troops. Towards morning. Major Dunlap received a message from the Captain commanding the Battalion of the 77th Division on our left, say- ing that they were to advance that morning (Saturday, the 28th) and wanted to know what we would do, and the Major sent the reply, "I will advance with yon." At six o'clock, our barrage was put down, under cover of which the trench was reached, but the 77th Division did not advance with us. Scouts were sent along to explore the trench in front of the 77th Division and they reported back that the trench was all clear. This word was sent to the 77th Division by Captain Schlosser and they refused to believe it and further refused to move up to the trench at that time. A little while later, an officer from the 77th Division was seen going through 150 OUR SECOND BATTALION [fche trench in front of their position^ with pencil and pad, making notes of the different guns and material in that sector. The Third Battalion then jumped over us and we remained in the trench awaiting fur- ther orders. Orders were received in the after- noon for the Battalion to march to Varennes to report to the Chief of Staff of the Division for instructions, and Lieut. Rice, then acting as a M. P., and who was killed a few days later, led us through the Forest to Varennes. Just before we started, a tank explosion oc- curred on the road just a few hundred yards in back of us as the second of two ambulances went over a little bridge, but no damage was inflicted. Along the road we took into Var- ennes were some big Howitzers, which the Ger- mans had not had time to take back with them, and just outside of Varennes, we came to a bridge which was mined. We rested a little on the outer edge of Var- ennes, while Major Dunlap reported to the Chief of Staff and received orders to proceed up further to the Commanding General, 55th Brigade, for disposal. We started through that town and never did we see such a con- gestion of traffic. It seemed as though every- one was on the move, automobiles, trucks, wagons, artillery and troops were all trying to go through the town at the same time. Part of our own artillery was firing away on THE ARGONNE DRIVE 151 the Aght side of the Aire River as we marched through the town. Our column was broken time and time again, but we got it connected up all right and passed around the end of the town, where we saw the greatest, collection of dugouts we had ever seen. Thej were built on the reverse side of the hill and had been practically safe from all shells. We had no time to stop here, although they did look very inviting, but we wound up over the steep hill and then down again. On the road, the Major was met by General Muir, who told him to take "Our Second Battalion" into Moimtblain- ville and stay there for the night. The Bat- talion w^as put on the sides of two hills facing each other and no sooner had we got there than it started to rain again. The next morning, we moved up the road and reached the end of the ruined town of Mountblainville, from which point we were to start up and report to the Commanding Gen- eral, 56th Infantry Brigade, which was then being commanded by Colonel Conger. The Third Battalion was stretched out along an- other road, which led out to the left. Here, we waited for over a half hour. Then the Third Battalion started out over the road to the left with "Our Second Battalion,'' led by Captain Schlosser, following. Major Dunlap remained in the rear. After we had proceeded along a narrow gauge railroad for some dis- 152 OUR SECOND BATTALION tance, an order came up from the rear for the column to halt. Captain Schlosser halted us and sent word back to find out who had given the order to halt. No response came and we started again, when a second order to halt reached the head of the troops. When an- other message was sent back to learn who had given the halting order, it was found that Major Dunlap had sent it. The Major arrived and said that we were to go in another direc- tion, so the Third Battalion proceeded ahead and we cut across the open fields in a north- easterly direction and finally came to the road which led up around Le Chene Tondu. While we were proceeding up this road in column of file and were almost opposite Le Chene Tondu, the enemy started to throw machine gun fire at us and we had to withdraw about two hun- dred yards. Here, we assembled the Battalion in the woods in skirmish formation, just be- hind a little creek, and got ready to make an attack on Le Chene Tondu, which was to take place at 12 o'clock. A few minutes before twelve, our barrage was put down but we could see it falling on the top of the hill, which was our first objec- tive, and for this reason we could not start the advance on time. Word was despatched to the rear to have the barrage raised a little and after it was done, the attack was begun. Never before did we see such a steep hill to climb CAriAIN KOIJKHT S, CAIN, (OMI'VNV AVouiuled September Gtli, 1918. THE ARGONNE DRIVE 153 and upon which to make an advance. It was almost straight np and down, but we got up it all right and after reaching the top and ad- vancing a few hundred feet we came to an open place and then a sort of a ravine, where Major Dunlap established his Headquarters. It was in this open place before the ravine that we made ^^Our Second Battalion" Cemetery for the men who were killed in this vicinity. The line then kept advancing through the thick woods a few hundred feet until the ad- vancing line was held up by machine gun fire about two hundred and fifty feet in front of a road, which ran perpendicular to a road run- ning through the woods. Captain Schlosser, who was in command of the supporting troops, came up over the road carrying his Foret d' Argonne map in his right hand, to 1st Lieut. Boden of Company E, who was in command of the front line, to learn what was holding up the advance of the troops. Lieut. Boden told him that there was stiff machine gun fire coming from the brow of the little rise just in front of them. Captain Schlosser said something to Lieut. Boden, apparently that they would endeavor to find where they were, for the two of them stood in the middle of this narrow road reading the map and locating their positions on it, while machine gun bul- lets were shooting past and all around them. Captain Schlosser seemed to find the ap- 154 OUR SECOND BATTALION proximate location on the map for he lifted his right hand from the map and moved it a little to the right, pointing in the direction of the enemy fire. The next moment, the Captain uttered an "Oh !" while his two hands went to his left side and he fell dead into the arms of Lieut. Boden. Sergeants Ra;vTnond G. Row- bottom of Company E and Harold S. Gilham of Company H, who were at the side of the road, carried the Captain into the woods be- side the road. He had been hit with a ma- chine gun bullet, which had killed him in- stantly. In less than a minute, practically every man in Company G, which was about fifty feet in the rear, had learned of the death of their Captain. In another two minutes, Lieut. Davenport, the Scout Officer, came to Major Dunlap and said, '^Major, Captain Schlosser has been killed." "Killed," the Major gasped, as tears came to his eyes. "Yes," said Lieut. Davenport, "I wasn't going to tell you until I was sure of it, so I went over and saw his body." For some time Major Dunlap sat motion- less, unable to do a thing. It was the hardest blow he had yet received, and not only was it the hardest for him, but for Company G and "Our Second Battalion." The next morning Captain Schlosser's body was carried back on a stretcher and, with his THE ARGONNE DRIVE 155 raincoat stall on him, he was wrapped in a blanket and buried by Father Conaty in a grave, which had been dug for him the night before, in the orchard in the open place on top of the extreme right edge of Le Chene Tondu. We suffered other heavy casualties and the Line was forced to come to a halt. Later in the afternoon, a Battalion of the 112th In- fantry came in as our support and they were placed just in front of the ravine. Orders \vere received to make another advance that night, which would be preceded by a machine gun barrage of ten minutes. Major Dunlap designated the zero hour as 6 :45 P. M. At 6 :35, the machine gun barrage was started and at 6 :45 the advance was begun, our artillery starting a barrage at the same time. Darkness was falling and after our line had gone a little ways, our barrage fell short and our men were forced to fall back. The barrage kept falling Shorter and shorter until the men of the 112th Infantry fell back into the ravine, but the Major would not allow them to go back any further. The barrage continued for some few minutes until w^ord was linally sent to the artillery to stop it. Our casualties were much more than what they should have been and the original line before the attack was then established. That night Battalion Headquarters moved down into a large dugout, which was part of 156 OUR SECOND BATTALION a large German Base Hospital, and in which our Battalion Dressing Station had been es- ta'blished. When the Major reached there, the place was crowded with wounded men waiting to be evacuated. The line of ^'Our Second Battalion" was then on an angle of about forty-five degrees, with Company G on the extreme right, some of that company being in the edge of the woods, some in shell holes in the open and the rest of the company stretched out in some bushes further to the right. Companies H, E and F were on the left of Company G in the order named, the extreme left of Com- pany F being some distance in the rear. From this time on. Companies E, F and H tried time and again to advance their lines so as to make our line straight. The Third and First Battalions were extended on our left with the 77th Division on their left. During all that week our casualties grew and grew. Everytime anyone came up from the rear, we would ask if they had seen our relief, but none had. We had been in the Line for over a week now and had very few men left. It looked as though they were going to keep our Division in until practically every man was killed or wounded. It seemed as though we were doomed and there was nothing to do but to wait our turn. We had heard of the 35th Division which was on our right. THE ARGONNE DRIVE 157 being relieved earlier in the week and thought surely that our relief would be coming right behind it, but none came. While in this position, Ezra W. Hallock and three men from Company H, were sleeping in the front line one night when the rest of the line withdrew for a barrage. They awoke w^hen the shelling began and heard a patrol reconnoitering in front of them. ^'Hey, Mac, what the hell outfit do you belong to" yelled Hallock. Something Avas said in German and Hallock sairl to the other three men, ''By heck, they must be Dutch," and he started to hit some hand grenades on his helmet and hurl them over at the German voices. He didn't throw them far nor hard, but just threw them as if he was throwing balls for exercise. The other three men were hugging close to the ground all the time, for fragmentations of the grenades were flying around them, but Hallock kept at it until his supply of grenades was ex- hausted. The next morning, nine dead Ger- man soldiers w^ere found in the place from w^hich the voices were heard coming the pre vious night. On Thursday morning, the Germans started to make an attack across the field in mass for mation through the orchards and they were simply mowed down by our men and a com- pany of the 109th Machine Gun Battalion. That night after dark, many souvenirs were 158 OUR SECOND BATTALION gathered from the bodies of the Germans, who had been killed that morning. On Monday morning, the 7th of October, we got orders to proceed in another attack, which started at 12 o'clock. When we reached the junction of the roads at La Vergette, we en- countered machine gun fire and, after leaving Companies E and F there. Companies G and H and Battalion Headquarters came back a little ways and proceeded down over a steep hill. When we got to the bottom of this hill, we rested for a few^ minutes. There were little German houses throughout the woods and some of them were on fire. It also began to rain while we were resting there. We then went up another long hill and when we reached the top of it, we could see some troops on another hill about a half mile in front of us. At first we thought they were Germans but satisfied ourselves a little later that they were Americans. That night we lay on the side of Hill 241 all night in a steady down- pour of rain. The next day we tried to make a further advance early in the afteronon with the 77th Division. The attack did not go very far, and at five o'clock, we started our last advance in this part of the Argonne Drive. The attack was successful and we dug in for the night. That morning James G. Redding was found dead in a little wooden shack, into which he THE ARGONNE DRIVE 159 had gone the night before. He had not been well for the last few days and had been com- plaining. Some of the casualties for this action are as follows : Company E : 1st Lieut. James C. Boden, gassed September 29th; Warren C. Rumford, wounded September 27th ; Corporal Harry H. Shepherd; Corporal Frank J. Bollacker, gassed; Corporal James F. Stevenson, gassed; Coi-poral John A. Turanek^ wounded with shrapnel September 27th; Corporal Roscoe J. Waugaman ; Mechanic Joseph Mehl, foot blown off with shrapnel September 27th; James W. Anderson hit in the leg September 29th; Ser- geant Roy R. Zimmers, shot through the mouth with machine gun bullet September 29th; Corporal Alfred Zander wounded October 2nd ; George J. Georgeson; Sergeant Lon M. Kid- well, wounded in the leg Septemiber 29th; Ralph L. Mallory; Howard A. Dunbar; An- thony Mikolaitas; James E. Schilliday; Ser- geant James J. Hill, Jr., Sergeant John H. EifPler, Sergeant George C. Yerkins, one shell hitting all the last three named men; Sergeant Edward J. Bayne, gassed; Sergeant David S. Black ; Sergeant Joseph A. Schwartzer ; Corp- oral Aloysius F. Dineen, gassed; Reid W. Gil- man, wounded October 8th ; John H. Coburn, w^ounded October 1st; Frank W. Smith, wound- ed September 28th and Edward F. Hermann. 160 OUR SECOND BATTALION Company H : 1st Lieut. Harry A. Kurtz, hit with shrapnel September 28th; 2nd Lieut. Athol G. Vadakin, hit with shrapnel in the left arm; Sergeant John I. McDonald, hit with machine gun bullet in right shoulder Septem- ber 30th ; Sergeant Charles Reiter, hit wdth ex- plosive bullet in right shoulder October 8th; Sergeant George C. O'Brien, wounded Septem- ber 29th; Sergeant Roy Seigh wounded Sep- tember 28th ; Lorenzo Marsilia, wounded Sep- tember 27th; Corporal Fulton Conner, hit with shrapnel September 28th; Arthur T. Palmer, wounded September 29th; Corporal Harry M. Clifford, wounded September 30th (died in the hospital November 1st) ; John G. Fanning; Lawrence W. Fentzel; James Fox; Thomas L. Gessler; Edward Gunia; Howard F. Haag, w^ounded October 5th; William P. McCracken, wounded October 7th; James H. Achuff, wounded October 9th ; Corporal Sharp- less Rodgers, gas burns on October 5th; Corporal Ralph H. Cluey, gassed on September 29th; Joseph A. Brand, wounded September 29th; Sergeant James R. Rutledge, wounded October 8th; Eddie M. Egstad, gassed, and A. V. Hickman, wounded October 1st. Company G: 2nd Lieut. Malcolmson, Sam Saplio, Corporal George W. Freyer, Giuseppi Marioni, Giuseppi Ramello, William Rush, Robert Wenc, John F. Donahue and L. P. Steele. THE ARGONNB DRIVE 161 Company F: 2nd Lieut. Willard Ewing, shot tlirough the neck and mouth with machine gun bullet on October 8th ; Joseph E. Lybarger, wounded September 29th; John O'Learsky, wounded October 7th; 1st Sergeant Matthew Turner, hit with shrapnel October 2nd, and Rowland C. Williams, wounded September 27th. Some of the men killed are as follows : Company E : Francis M. Krall Avas shot through the head by a sniper at 10:30 A. M., September 30th. Russel G. Fulton was killed at the same time, these two men being out on a patrol at the time. Edward Eppley was hit with a trench mor- tar shell aibout six o'clock in the evening on the 1st of October. Sergeant John V. Vanaerschot died October 11th from wounds received in the Argonne. Bomgarden Kelley, Fiorenzo Travaglini, A. Diaz, Edward Eppley, C. Fratto, Charles Gar- guila, O. Grieshaber and Stanley Gromzukski, were also killed. Galop Valentine, who had been taken before Colonel Shannon at Crezancy as a German spy, because he resembled a German so much witti his long whiskers, was last seen going over the top in the Argonne with grenades in his haads. Company F : Carl N. Anderson, in the last attack on the afternoon of Octoiber 8th; Ser- geant Arnold O. Dunkle was killed Sep- 1G2 OUR SECOND BATTALION temiber 27th while in a fox hole; John J. Mul- lanej, struck \^lth exploding shrapnel Sep- tember 27th ; Howard C. Shelley had his arm blown oft* by a bursting shell on September 27th and died on the stretcher; Emanuel Tschippert was killed by a piece of shrapnel piercing his shoulder on September 27th ; Isa- dore Zeiner was hit with machine gun bullets in the right side of his body and in his leg on September 27th; Joseph Donvito, killed October 7th; Burton P. Guilefuss was struck with exploding shrapnel at about 7 A. M., on October 2nd; William A. Jones was killed at about 9 A. M., October 6th; Charlie Morris, killed October 9th at about 7 A. M. ; George E. Nelley, killed about 6 P. M., on October 3rd, and Elbert Whorton, killed about 2 P. M., on October 3rd. Company G: Corporal William B. Davis was killed September 27th with a machine bullet, which hit him in the stomach, while he was straightening out his squad. Sergeant George W. Fryling was killed the same day while out on a patrol. He ran into a machine gun nest and was hit in the breast by a sniper. Frank D. Herbert was killed the same day by a piece of a trench mortar shell, which hit near him. Frank M. Titzel was killed Sep- tember 28th by a piece of shell hitting him in the back. Sergeant Raymond Long was killed September 27th by a piece of one of six THE ARGONNE DRIVE 163 shells, which hit near him. Sergeant James Flanagan was killed October 5th, while in charge of a reconnoitering patrol. He was just starting back when he was hit in the head by a sniper. Sergeant Frank J. Hoxworth was killed aibout 8 A. M., Octdber 7th by a piece of shell. Basil T. Isherwood was killed the night of October 8th by a machine gun bullet. He was carried back to the dressing station in a blanket but died on the way to the hos- pital. John J. Moerman was hit in the neck with a machine bullet at about 10 A. M., on October 4th, while he was operating an auto- matic rifle against a German sniper. William J. Brennon, who had captured two German War Crosses and an Iron Cross, was hit in the last attack on October 8th. While being carried back on a stretcher, he was hit again, dying instantly. Company H: William Bellanger, killed with shell fire near Mountblainville on Sep- temiber 29th ; Paul T. Roman^ki, hit in the leg on Septemiber 29th on Le Chene Tondu, his wounds being dressed by Sergeant Paul L. Wetzel; Arthur F. Krueger and Philip H. Hermann, killed by machine gun bullets on Septem'ber 29th ; Francis Heidmann, killed the same day wdth rifle fire; Johnson D. Carr, killed by shell fire on September 27th; Mike V. Burns, killed by explosive bullet on Le Chene Tondu about September 29th; Harry A. Battles, struck in chest with high explosive 164 OUR SECOND BATTALION shell on October 1st; Hiram Lane killed October 1st; William H. Mason, hit in the head with a machine gun bullet a'bout 7 P. M., on October 1st ; and Andrew Bennett, hit with explosive bullet in the head at about 8 A. M., on October 1st. Our last night in the Argonne was a very chilly one. At 7 :30 the next morning, the line was taken over by a unit of the 82nd Division, and, under cover of the heavy fog we started to march to the rear. While on this march, the enemy shelled us, a piece of one shell hittiug James E. Jenning of Company F. Our kitchens had moved up and when we reached them, we got a cup of hot coffee and then kept on the march. After marching aibout eight kilometers, we reached a part of the Argonne Forest, where we were to stay for the day and night. We were not sure yet that* we were entirely relieved from the drive, for we were still wdthin shelling distance and could be moved up to the Line in a hurry again, but we had only a small number of men left and hoped we would keep on going to the rear. It was about eleven o'clock when we got to the woods and about the first thing we did was to take off our shirts and undershirts and begin to kill the cooties, which had accumulated on our bodies in the past few weeks. The kitchens followed us back and in the afternoon we were served the first hot meal we had had for two weeks. CHAPTER XIV. THE THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF THE WAR. 117HILE lying in these woods, we were told ^^ that we would start out the next morning at 7 :30, march a few kilometres and then board trucks. The next morning (the 10th) we started out through the woods, but were met by Captain Gill, the Regimental Adjutant, just as we reached the road. He told Major Dun- lap that we would have to walk a little further than was intended at first. About eight o'clock, the regiment got on its way and we passed through Mountblainville. A little distance past this town, we were given hard tack and canned roast beef, and then we followed the narrow gauge railroad into Varennes again. It certainly was a hard march and the only thing that kept so many of us from falling out was the thought that we might miss the trucks, which were to haul us "somewhere.'' We knew not where, and, as a matter of fact, cared less. We kept proceeding along in column of file at a slow pace, yet it was strenuous. The whole Brigade was on the march and, according to another soldier who saw us coming out that morning, it was one of the most pitiable sights he had seen. We were dirty and ragged and our beards were long, for we had not gotten a chance to put any water on our hands and 166 OUR SECOND BATTALION faces for two week®, let alone try to sliave. Nearly everyone was carrying a German cane or some other souvenir that had been picked up in the Argonne. After we left Varennes, we turned to the left on a little road and then turned to the right on the long road, which eventually led us to just outside of Clermont, where we boarded trucks driven by Chinese, after marching over twenty kilometres. We rode and stopped and finally, at about three o'clock the next morn- ing, which was Friday, we were told to get off the trucks and go over in the field next to the road and lie down until morning. The next morning, we marched into the town just ahead of us and were put into bil- lets once again, this town being Jouy-les- Cotes, which was directly East of Commercy. On Saturday, we rested and looked for the arrival of our kitchens. On Sunday, we got replace- ments again, this time from the 86th Division. On Monday, we were issued new underwear and overcoats and were supposed to take a cootie bath, but there was only room for about fifteen men at a time and consequently, very few men got bathed. It looked as though we were going to get a real rest here, for an officer was to be sent to Paris for the regiment, and get the trunks of all our officers stored there. Training pro- grams were made out and on Tuesday (the TIIIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 167 15th) , the drilling was begun again, but before noon had come, orders were received to prepare to move by trucks that day, and the troops were marched back to their billets and pre- pared to move. At noon, the kitchens pulled into the village and our mail was also brought in on one of the wagons, fourteen sacks in all for the men of ^^Our Second Battalion.'' It took nearly all afternoon to sort the mail and distribute it to the companies, the men of which were anx- iously awaiting its distribution, for we had received no mail since before the drive had started. We had hurried-up meals, thinking we would move right after dark, but it was eight-thirty before we left, marching in the rain to the next village of Gironville, where our trucks were waiting for us. In these trucks, we rode until we reached Pannes and from there started to march to the Line. We came back a distance of about five kilometres over the very same road and route we had trav- eled on the trucks and this was anything but pleasant for us. We then started up another road through open country. T^Hiile on this road, it began to rain and nearly everyone was disgusted. Men wanted to drop out and would have done so had there been any shelter from the rain at all. About four o'clock in the morning, we reached Thiaucourt and were there met by a 168 OUR SECOND BATTAMON guide, who guided us over the hill and down into back of the position we were to take over from the 37th Division. On account of the lateness of the time in the morning and he- cause it was just breaking daylight, we could not take over the position then and were to wait until that night. In this place there were numerous little German buildings and quite a bit of rations, which belonged to the 37th Division and we helped lourselves to them. Right after we got there, the enemy started to shell us, one shell hitting a building, in which part of Company F was located, killing Dorphin H. Hoveland, Walter Shaefifer and Paul R. Schultz. The companies were taken into their position on the Line about a kilometre in front of this place which was in the vicinity of Jaulny, throughout the day and the early part of the evening. While holding down this sector, which was the quietest place we had yet hit, so far as attacks and advances were concerned, raids were carried on nearly every night. They were made for the purpose of obtaining as much information as possible about the Germans. Very few German patrols were encountered, but much information about the position of the Germans, their strength, and other data, were gathered. Every night there was a hard shelling by THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 169 both sides, it starting about nine o'clock. The enemy sent over quite a bit of gas during the shelling, it being a very common thing to have the gas masks on for hours at a time. During one of these bombardments, an aeroplane came over and dropped two bombs on top of the cave in which Battalion Headquarters were established, but no one was wounded. Fred B. Boper, of Company F, and Corporal Fred Hagan, of Company E, were killed while in the front line trenches here, while Corporal William T. Cunningham, Ernest B. Fenton and Harry Heyman of Company H, were killed while on a raiding party at about 1 :30 A. M., October 20th, when they were hit with shell fire. Bennie Dietrick, of Company G, died at the dressing station, after being removed from the trenches. On Monday night, October 28th, we were re- lieved by the 64th Infantry of the 7th Division and after marching about fifteen kilometres, we reached the Bois de Nonsard, where we went into little barracks, which the Germans had formerly built and inhaibited. Two days after reaching these woods, October 30th, Major Dunlap was promoted to the grade of Lieut. Colonel, and he, Adjutant Dickson and Chaplain Conaty went on leave, while Captain Yates D. Fetterman, who had been command- ing Company D, was assigned to duty as com- mander of ''Our Second Battalion." 170 OUR SECOND BATTALION While in these woods, where we should have received a rest, we were put to drilling once again and the place assumed the conditions of a regular camp. We had all the calls blown, from First Call and Reveille in the morning to Taps at night. The drilling was carried on from eight to eleven -thirty in the morning, and from one to four in the afternoon on the fields just outside of the woods. Numerous aero- planes would come over, but once again, the long blast of the whistle would be blown an- nouncing the coming and two blasts, the pass- ing of the aeroplane. It rained practically all the time we were in these woods and when it began to rain rather violently, we were brought into our barracks. At 2:45 on Thursday morning, November 7th, we received orders to be on the alert and be prepared to move at any time. Everybody rolled his pack, breakfast was served and we awaited the orders to go. There was nothing else to do but to lie around and take it easy, which we did until shortly after noon, when an order came in rescinding the alert order. At three o'clock on the morning of Sunday, the 10th, we again received orders to prepare to move into the lines at once. Breakfast was eaten at 4:30, and at five o'clock we started marchiQg, reaching St. Benoit at about ten- thirty, where we rested for about two hours. We then moved through Xammes and reached THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 171 the Bois de Chary, where we took up position for an attack, with Companies E and H in the front line and Companies F and G in support. In this formation, we left the Bois de Chary and crossed a field through a most terrific bar- rage until we reached the outer edge of Bois de Donmartin. Here, we learned that the at- tack, which the First Battalion had made, was unsuccessful, and the men from the First Bat- talion were coming back through the woods. Company H had managed to get a little ahead of Company E and, after a little resistance, they drove the Germans back to their trenches. Company E came up and extended the line on the right of Company H and one platoon of Company G was sent out on the left of Com- pany H, while the remaining platoons of Com- pany G and all of Company F were in close support. While in this position, w^e received orders at 4 :10 the next morning, that the advance was not to Ih^ continued. At 9 :30 A. M., we received the big news that hostilities were to cease at eleven o'clock, but it was hard to believe that the final barrage of the war had already started. Both sides continued to throw shell after shell at each other, our casualties being four men killed and twenty-three wounded. Among those wounded w^ere Earl L. Elliott, George T. Ahrendt, Sergeant Ralph H. Wauga- man, Harry B. Frost, of Company E, Sergeant 172 OUR SECOND BATTALION Waugaman having his hand shot off at a quar- ter of eleven. Andrew R. Paul, of Company G, was the next to the last man killed, he being killed at about 9:30 while sitting in a dugout, and Charles A. Gran, of Coinipany E, was the last man of "Our Second Battalion" to be killed. He was killed from the concussion of an ex- ploding shell at five minutes of eleven. At last, the war was over, but we could not fully realize it. It didn't seem natural for everything to be so quiet in that part of the country and no one seemed to understand it. It appeared like a new world, but we were all glad that it was over, for we felt that we had played our part in it. We had been in action since July 4th, a period of one hundred and thirty-one days, and in that time we had occu- pied the Front Line 44 days, spent 63 days in Support, 15 days in Reserve, and "rested'' be- tween Drives and moving from one sector to another 9 days. We had lost 5 officers and 187 men killed, and 21 officers and 947 men wounded. We had had a strength of about 30 officers and 1,000 men when we first went into action and had received replacements twice. Not only did -^Our Second Battalion" suffer so many casualties, but the whole regi- ment as well, and our Division ranked fourth in the casualty list, the three Divisions ahead of it being in France some little time before we arrived. THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 173 At about six o'clock that evening, we started to march and marched until two o'clock, when we reached the Bois de Nonsard once again and went into the barracks. We began to drill again and those who were not drilling, were out salvaging in the immediate neighborhood within a radius of about twelve kilometres. The salvaging was continued every day, even Sundays. On Thanksgiving day. General Hay, the Division Commander, presented the D. S. C.'s to the men of our regiment, who were then present with the regiment. On December 23rd, we moved to the town of Hattonville, where we went into houses, out- houses and barns. The traiaing was kept up here, we getting Christmas and New Years off as holidays. Moving pictures were taken of "Our Second Battalion" capturing Hatton- chattel. On Monday morning, January 6th, we began a three days' march towards the South, which we were told was our first move towards home. On Wednesday, the 8th, we reached our destination. Battalion Headquar- ters and Companies F and H being stationed at Burey-en-Vaux and Companies E and G at Sepvigny. The drilling and training were carried on in the morning for four hours and one hour each afternoon for athletics. Numerous and vari- ous maneuvers and battalion combat problems, in which ta,nks, represented by men, played a 174 OUR SECOND BATTALION praminent part, were worked out during the time we were here. During the early part of February, the whole regiment marched to Domremy, the birthplace of Jeanne de Arc, where interesting talks were given by Chaplain Head, of the First Battalion, at the house in which she was bom, and by Chaplain Simoni, of the Third Battalion, at the church which had been built on the spot where she had her inspiration. After the war was finished. Chaplain Conaty had been sent home on account of his poor physical condition, he having been gassed twice. Everybody missed him and regretted to see him go, Imt were more thau glad to have him leave if it would restore his health. He was ever present with the troops, whether on the line through the hottest advance, or lying in support and reserve. No one was ever more welcome than he. The troops of ^^Our Second Battalion" will never forget their '^fighting Chaplain," as he was called. After Father Conaty left, the Battalion was without a Chap- lain. On a cold day about the middle of February, "Our Second Battalion," as w^ell as the rest of the regiment, marched to Colombey-les-Belles, where the whole Division was reviewed by Lieutenant General Robert L. Bullard, Com- mander of the Second Army, and under whose command our Division had served a good deal of the time. THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 175 When General Pershing reviewed the Divi- sion on March 10th, 1919, the troops were car- ried to Colombey-les-Belles in trucks. General Pershing also awarded additional D. S. C/s to the men of the Division and after a short talk, the troops rode back to their respective billet- ing areas. Finally the orders came for our troops to move to the embarkation center at Le Mans. "Our Second Battalion" marched to Maxey- sur-Vaise and there lioarded box cars on Sun- day night, March 16th, arriving at the For- w^arding Camp in Le Mans about four o'cliock Tuesday afternoon. We undertook to get rid of the "cooties'- forever while here, and after many brave attempts, we were successful. A little drilling was carried on here, and we also had a trip to the Belgian Gamp, where we shot on the rifle range. A three day's field meet was held in Le Mans during our stay and about a hundred men from each company a day were given passes to attend this. The final field inspections were made, and on April 10th, Troop Movement Orders No. 36, Headquarters, American Embarkation Center, were issued, directing us to proceed to St. Na- zaire. On Sunday, April 13th, we left the For- warding Camp and arrived at St. Nazaire be- tween two and three o'clock the next morning in a heavy rain. We were marched to a part of the camp, where we had another "cootie" 176 OUR SECOND BATTALION inspection and then we went over to the Isola- tion Camp. The passenger lists were com- pleted. Ciompany E, with the rest of the first half of the regiment, boarded the U. S. S. Minnesotan on Wednesday afternoon, April 16th, and on Friday afternoon, April 18th, Companies F, G and H, and the other half of the regiment boarded the TJ. S. S. Kroonland. With French people and some American sol- diers on the piers cheering and yelling at us, we pulled away from the docks and bid fare- well to France. During the voyage we wore blue denims to protect our uniforms and our life preservers for about the first three days, this for fear we might hit a floating mine. Men were detailed to help fire the boilers of the Kroonland, be- cause there was a shortage of help. At about the middle of the ocean, the ship sprang a leak and had ten feet of water in it. The vessel was listed on one side for about a day, but the water was pumped out and we finished the journey with no further mishaps. On Sunday night, the 27th, and on Tuesday morning, the 29th, we beheld "God's Country'^ once again, and we had never seen a more wel- come sight in all our lives than we did then. After landing at New York, we crossed the river in ferry boats to Hoboken, where special trains awaited us and carried us to Camp Dix, Wrightstown, N. J. THIAUCOURT SECTOR AND END OF WAR 177 On Wednesday and Thursday, we got our final cootie bath and issued some new cloth- ing. On Friday, the whole regiment was ready to come to Pittsburgh to parade, as had been arranged. The men from "Our Second Bat- talion'' who were from the eastern part of Pennsylvania were discharged at Camp Dix, while the men from outside of Pittsburgh, Ohio and West Virginia, were sent on to the camps nearest their homes to be discharged. We had our last review before Colonel Shan- non at Camp Dix, and bid goodbye to our com- rades who were going on to other camps to be discharged. On Tuesday afternoon. May 6th, we left Camp Dix and arrived in Pittsburgh at six o'clock the next morning, when we got some coffee and sandwiches from the Red Cross. We then marched to the Syria Mosque, where a fine breakfast was served. After that, we went to Forbes Field. While we were forming for the parade, an awful outburst of rain began, and in this, at four o'clock, we began our march through the city. We received a fine re- ception all along the route, and it made us feel very good. Our equipment was a light pack, helmets and fixed bayonets. Ovation after ovation was given us as we marched down through crowded throngs. After the march, we boarded the same train at East Canal Street on the North Side and went on through to 178 OUR SECOND BATTALION Camp Sherman, Ohio, arriving there the next morning. The first thing they did was to have a physical examination, and after this was through, we were put into barracks. The discharges, payrolls and final papers were prepared and signed. On Tuesday, May 13th, the first man of ^^Our Second Battalion" was discharged, and on Friday, May 16th, the last man of "Our Second Battalion'^ was dis- charged at Camp Sherman. Many farewell parties were held in the City of Columbus, while some of the men went immediately from camp to their homes. "Our Second Battalion" was now an army of civilians, but no one of the men who served with this Battalion will ever forget or regret the time we were together, going through sor- rows and pleasures side by side through those momentous days. APPENDIX APPENDIX 181 APPENDIX REGIMENTAL STREAMERS WON BY THE REGIMENT CHATEAU-THIERKY July 7-14, 1918. CHAMPAGNE-MARNE DEFENSIVE July 15-18, 1918. AISNE-MARNB OFFENSIVE July 18-August 6, 1918. FISMES SECTOR August 7-September 3, 1918. OISE-AISNE OFFENSIVE September 4-7, 1918. MEUSE-ARGONNE OFFENSIVE September 26-October 9, 1919. THIAUCOURT SECTOR — TOUL October 16-November 11, 1919. 182 OUR SECOND BATTALION KOSTER Abbreviations K.I.A. — Killed in Action, or Died of Wounds. W. — Wounded. D.S.C. — Distinguished Service Cross. Com. — rCommissioned. A.C.S. — Sent to Army Candidates School. BATTALION HEADQUARTERS BATTALION COMMANDERS Colonel WiLUAM R. Duni^ap Captain Yates D. Fetterman Major W. R. McAdams Major WiLUAM W. GuL BATTALION ADJUTANTS Captain Joseph A. Dickson First Lieutenant John H. Earl BATTALION SCOUT OFFICERS Captain Richard H. O'Brien — W. First Lieutenant William J. Schaai^— W. First Lieutenant Howard Melunger — W. First Lieutenant Walter L. Trainer— W. BATTALION GAS OFFICER First Lieutenant John S. Anderson BATTALION CHAPLAIN First Lieutenant Charles C. Conaty— D.S.C. W. (two times) BATTALION MEDICAL OFFICERS Captain Clifford H. Arnold — W. (two times) Captain William F. GuilfoylE — K.I.A. First Lieutenant Harvey S. Fontaine— W. First Lieutenant George Showalter — ^W. First Lieutenant Thomas J. Kelly First Lieutenant Robert L. Griffith— W. APPENDIX 183 BATTALION SUPPLY OFFICER First Lieutenant Paul T. LaPaze BATTALION SERGEANTS MAJOR George W. Cooper— W.; A.C.S. Donald A. Fuller BATTALION GAS NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER Sergeant Roy R. Zimmers— W. BATTALION MAIL ORDERLY Corporal Harold Zulaue — W. BATTALION MOUNTED ORDERLIES Corporal Henhy C. Haines— W. James D. Lynch BATTALION COOK Edwin C. Merrieield COMPANY ^^E'' OFFICERS Captain Louis H. Felding — K.I.A. Captain Yates D. Fetterman First Lieutenant James C. BodEn — W. First Lieutenant William E. Burch, Jr. First Lieutenant Ralph S. Busch, K.I.A. First Lieutenant William E. HelliwEll, U. S. as Instructor First Lieutenant Frank C. Johnston First Lieutenant William J. Schaal — W. Second Lieutenant Karl W. Lott Second Lieutenant Frank W. Mehrten — W. Second Lieutenant Milton R. Miller Second Lieutenant Nathaniel Muir Second Lieutenant CharlEs E. Ruhe Second Lieutenant Smith FIRST SERGEANTS Benjamin Praeger— D.S.C. ; W. James Hill, Jr.— W. 184 OUR SECOND BATTALION SERGEANTS William R. Altman— W. Alexander H. Ambrose — W. Edward J. Bayne— W. David S. Black— W. Rowland C. Carter— W. John S. Cherry Edward D. Clemmer — W. Robert Cleeland— A.C.S. David A. Dilworth— W. John H. Eiffler— W. Leo Faley — W. Wm. B. Frederick— W., Com. George A. Garry Glenn W. Goodenow — W. Walter H. Goscenski Charles E. Herbert William Hopkins — W. Floyd C. Johnston— W. George W. Kelly— W. Thomas F. Kelly— W. Lon M. Kidwell— W. Albert H. Morris— A.C.S. John E. Robinson — U. S. as Instructor Robert A. Robinson — W. Raymond G. Rowbottom — D.S.C. Joseph A. Schwartzer — W. John W. Storey Robert R. Tupper— W. John V. Vanaerschot — K.LA Ralph H. Waugaman — W. (two times) William H. Whiteside— W. Witney Wright — Com, George C. Yerkins — W. Roy R. Zimmers — ^W. CORPORALS Frank J. Bollacker— W. Peden T. Boyce— A.C.S. Joe Burton James Caldron — W. Homer J. Carter— W. Clifton M. Casey— K.LA. Gordon L. Clawson George T. Cohee— W. Charles Cooley— K.LA. John J. Dignan — W. Aloysius F. Dineen — W. John A. Dougherty Robert H. English Fred Hagen— K.LA. Wm. G. Johnston— W. Claude J. Koontz— W. Howard H. Lutz— K.LA. William McKeag — ^W. James R. MacKenney — K.LA. Clarence D. Manuel — W. Gustav F. Miehe— W. John H. Miller— W. John P. Munro— W. Bernard J, Myers James R. Patton— W. Nelson K. Ross Charles H. Rouch— W. Bennett L. Sebold— W. Clarence G. Schneider— K.LA. Harry H. Shepherd— W. James F. Stevenson — W. John A. Turanek— W. George F. Wagner — W. Roscoe J. Waugaman — W. William T. Wiest— W. Alfred Zander— W. COOKS Sherman T. Beatty— W. Chester Friedman— W. Irwin W. Eversmeir— W. Clarence Rose APPENDIX 185 Archie Burns Howard M. Kennedy MECHANICS Frank Marks Joseph Mehl — W. Lester G. Stevens BUGLERS James Watkins PRIVATES Herbert Ackers Martin F. Action — W. George T. Ahrendt— W. Wilson Altman — W. A. O. Anderson James W. Anderson — W. John W. Anderson O. P. Anderson Louis Angelis — W. Charles Arion Raoul Aubin John Baran— K.I.A. William R. Barclay— K.I.A. Albert R. Barnes— W. Henry J. Becker— K.I.A. Aaron O Beem William H. Beltz Henry Bendell George W. Bibb John Billings Adoiph Blazer Bradner Blom Gustav J. Blume— W. Earl F. Bmoison Dale S. Boyle— W. Earl S. Bowers Thoma? Bradley— W. Frank J. Brady Edward Breer John Bresselschmidt Richard Briody Ellsworth Brown George Brown Nelson J. Brown— W. Nelson Brown Robert Brown John Buchanan Hoken Burg Benjamin C. Bryan Leonard Callendar John J. Casey Thomas Cavanaugh Charles Christian George S. Clark James Clem John H. Coburn— W. Henry Coester — W. Hymen Cohen Frank Cole Louis Cole Benjamin Cook — W. Herman Conn John F. Connolly Joseph Connolly Bernard R. Connor Raymond Conrader — W. Thomas C. Conroy Roy Cox Clement Cozzi Archie Cragg Vivian Cross Burt Crum— K.I.A. Clarence L. Crusemire — W. Floyd Culler Earl A. Cunningham — W. Marion J. Daems John H. Dean Walter Deats Clarence Decker James DeLaney Stanley Detegouski Vincent Devlin A. Diaz— K.I.A. Filippo Diurazzo 186 OUR SECOND BATTAIJON PRIVATES— (Continued) Nick DiYuillius— W. William F. Donatt— W. John Dougherty Nick Doukakes — W. George Downs Helmar Dragseth— K.I.A. Hie Duits Howard A. Dunbar — W. (two times) Francis A. Earley Jesse M. Ebberts Addison Edsall Craig S. Edward David J. Edward Alfred C. Edwardson Edward E. EUars Earl L. Elliott— W. Wesley J. Englert Edward Eppley — K.I.A. Louis Erny — W. Giuseppi S. Eugenio — W. Roy R. Farver— W. Rodger J. Fay William Feldstein Albert E. Fisher— K.I.A. Roy Fisher Joseph H. Flynn — W. Nick Forsburg William Fowler Salvatore Fratto— K.I.A. Clyde W. Friend Emiel Fritsch— W. Harry B. Frost— W. Russel G. Fuhon— K.I.A. Gerald E. Gagle— W. Ludwig Galczyn — K.I.A. Charles Garguilo— K.I.A. John Gass Cloyd Gates— W. Edward F. Gatley John T. Geertson George J. Georgeson — W. Gus Geyer Ole Germundsen Vernon Gilbert James P. Gorman — W. George A. Gorseth Reid W. Gilman— W. Elmer Grabowsky Charles A. Gran— K.I.A. Floyd A. Gray Garland J. Green O. Grieshaber— K.I.A. William Groll Adam Grumczuski — K.I.A. Leon Grzebowski A. Habersleben— K.I.A. Fred Hagen— K.I.A. John Hagerman Virgil D. Hansford Charles Harris George B. Hawkins Raymond D. Heaton — W. Cloys C. Hendley James Henley Edward F. Hermann — W. Thomas Herron — K.I.A. Joseph A. Hersperger Frank W. Hetherington Lon N. Hickman — W. Arthur Hicks Roy Hiller George Hoey Albert Hoesch Vernon C. Hoflfman— K.I.A. Joseph G. Hofifmayer — W. William Hollinger Henry Holt Joseph Hornynak William Israel Peter Jacobson Felix Jatczak Harvey B. Johns Carl Johnson Harry Johnson Jam.es Johnson John Johnson William Judge David D. Kelley Walter J. Knabe APPENDIX 187 PRIVATES— (Continued) Henry J. Kohring Francis M. Krall— K.I.A. Arnold O. Krebs— W. Harry Krefner Arthur Kron Mike Lacelle William E. Lane George Lambesis Arthur Larson Merle F. Lee Joseph Leonard Harry J. Lesovitz Elmer L. Lettie Irvin M. London Hobson C. Lucas George C. MacWilliams Frank J. McGarry James McGranihan — W. John H. McKenna Walter McMaster Clarence C. Mack Llewellyn Maddon — W. Alfred Magnusson Ralph L. Mallory— W. (two times) Luigi Mamala Patsy Marcattili Donald C. Marcy Reigh A. Marietta — W. Aloysius J. Meisinger Joseph H. Mellon Carl L Merritt Clarence W Merryman Guy F. Meyers Arthur E. Mickas — W. Anthony Mikolaitis — W. Frederick Miller Frederick W. Miller— W. Max Mitalski Wiktor Monit— W. Merrit E. Montgomery — K.I.A. Joseph Moore Buddie Morgan Oscar Murphy Edmund Nelson Richard A. Nelson George Nenner Jack K. Nolan— W. Joseph R. Nolan — W. James J. Noon, Jr. — W. Edward Nowak Joseph H. Oldham Seth Olson Daniel G. O'Neil— W. William J. O'Neil Edward W. Opeldopel George F. Orzel Charles Parker— W. Carmino Pasquina John H. Patterson Kenneth Phillips Frank Pierson Sam Pistronk John Plotecki Joseph Pokrywiecki Roy T. Pongratz Peter Poulin Gerald O. Quigley Lloyd D. Ramsey— K.LA. James Rattray Albert Reath Joseph Reese Bernard C. Rice Edd Ridenour Stanley Rogowski Adolph H. Rose— W. Harold Rowe Warren C. Rum ford— W. Stanley Rogowski Angelo Scacchi James E. Schilliday — W. Bernard Schmelling George Schmidt Edward Schall John Schultz Leo Schultz Arthur Schutt Lawrence Schwartz Hugh Scott 188 OUR SECOND BATTALION PRIVATES- Ernest J. Seib — W. Alfred Selchow Charles Senkbeil Peter Sepalwski Fred Seyferth Arthur Sheridan Albert Sikorski George W. Sincox— K.LA. Daniel Slattery Charles E. Smith Frank W. Smith George F. Smith— W. Tom Smith— W. Vernon W. Smith— W. Edward B Southern Henrj' J. Sparks Peter Spoden Julius Spoon Edward St. Marie Morris Steiner Samuel S. Stevens George Stewart — W. J. Statlemeyer John R. Strockbine John Swan Al Swanson Joseph Switalski Alex Sznyter Charles C. Taylor —(Continued) Ellis Tennant— K.LA. Ben Theilke Matthew Thompson Florence Travaglini — K.LA. David L. Trax Frank Turanek — W. Otto Utterbach George C. Valant Galop Valentine — K.LA. Ernest J. Vnier Warren Vipond August C. Vitters Stephen Wagner Ivan Walker Samuel P. Watkinso— K.LA. Carl Weigle Lawrence R. Welsh Hugh Werblow Sam Weisberg Harry Weiss Chester C. Wheeler— W. Ivan White Patsy Wicki Earl T. Williams— W. John B. Wilson Barthron Wing Daniel W. Wingard— W. Clifford E. Yerkins— W. APPENDIX 189 COMPANY "F" OFFICERS Captain John M. Clarke — K.I.A. Captain William W. Harper First Lieutenant Frederick C. Martsole First Lieutenant Thomas A. Merryweather— W. First Lieutenant Charles E. Rigby Second Lieutenant William M. Brazelton — W. Second Lieutenant Willard Ewing — W. Second Lieutenant Warren M. HubEr — W. Second Lieutenant Fred W. Klingensmith — W. Second Lieutenant Harry M. Krohn Second Lieutenant William E. Petty Second Lieutenant Marcel Von Bergey — K.LA. FIRST SERGEANTS Frank M. Stanley — W. Howard Fisher Matthew Turner — W. SERGEANTS Ozro N. Barclay — A.C.S. Lawrence E. Moore — W. James R. Beasley — K.LA. Harry J. Naylor — W. Charles F. Beck— W. Kurt B. Nelson— W. Arthur Clark— W. Charles N. Nuss— W. Gordon F. Craighead — Com. Adolph J. Padofka Heber D. Davis Raymond F. Peacock — Arnold O. Dunkle— K.I.A. W. ; Com. James A. Flanagan Thomas S. Robinson— K.I.A. James I. Fratt Russell H. Sigmund — W. Harry K. Hall — W. Maurice E. Simoncini John L. Harnack Raymond J. Simmons William E. Henry— K.I.A. Albert C. Simpson— W. James P. Herron — K.I.A. Norman Sperry George Y. Keenan— W. ; A.C.S Arthur Swenson Herman Krautstrunk Willis O. Thrash Raymond J. Leppold — W. Warren B. Washington George H. List — W. George E. Weibush Harry McLaughlin — K.I.A. Alvin C. Wenzelburger CORPORALS William C. Bailey Edward Bruneel Norbert C. Beecher Paul J. Burgun Walter L. Bretall Payson L. Gardner 190 OUR SECOND BATTALION CORPORALS— (Continued) Herman Cohen Florence H. Crist (Company Clerk) John C. Danheiser Franklin A. Dutill John Flaherty — W. Fred C. Gault— W. Michael Gehrmann Allen G. Harley— W. Reeves W. Hendershot — W. William J. Hennessey Russell A. Hennig William V. Hull— W. Harold E. Kelly— K.LA. Ellis J. Kingery William C. Knott Earl Kramer — W. Thomas H. Milligan Earl C. Mitchell Albert A. Murray — W. William Myers Robert E. Netherton Frank A. Nyberg Pines Ogden John G. Pedicord— K.LA. Ernest Phillips— K.LA. Maurice E. Porter — K.LA. George Powell Julian A. Reyne George K. Rodenbaugh — W. Frank J. Rusch— W. Stanley Rybarcyk Michael Serafin Leon E. Searle Lewis W. Speer — W. Peryl H. Speer— W. Charles F. Stencel Robert R. Thomson Joseph Van Fossen — W. Leroy H. Wallace— W. Robert A. Watts Milo G. Whitehill— K.LA. Sam D. Waybright John J. Cully Ernest Dewell Jacob D. Ganger — W. COOKS Russell C. Englehart William Jones John E. Pfarr MECHANICS John J. Clark William H. Remus— W. Frank W. Keenan— W. William J. Walker Harry Miller — W. Fred W. Wandershek Raymond D. Miller Frank V. Woods Benjamin H. Dickey John H. Jardin BUGLERS Eli C. Pickell Antonio J. Almedia Joseph J. Altenhofen Carl N. Anderson— K.LA. Edgar Annis George Armstrong — K.LA PRIVATES Alfred Ashbridge John Bachman William C. Bailey Daniel L. Begley David N. Betz APPENDIX 191 PRIVATES— Harry A. Bennett— W. Herbert W. Best— K.IA. Clements Bischoff— K.IA. Milton H. Blair Nicolay Bokunow — W. Claude F. Booz Giuseppi Brienza — W. Alexander Britt John F. Brockelman Harry F. Brogan Samuel W. Brooks Irving S. Brown Jacob Bryan — W. Jacob W. Burch Walter A. Burke Augustine N. Burns Samuel E. Burns William B. Burns James S. Bush Bernard J. Carrick Filiberto Cassali Russell S. Cassel William Cassidy Harry Chandle Harold G. Chapman— W. William K. Christiansen Oscar F. Church John J. Clark Bryan J. Clugston, K. I. A. Linnie M. Cooper John Copena — W. Louis O. Cox Stephen Cravits Reuben Crouthamel Frank A. Daley Frithjof A. Davidson Joseph A. Dernback Walter Devereaux Ernest Dewell Joseph Donvito — K.IA. Kenneth M. Dunkle— W. Michael J. Durkin — W. Arthur Dutill— K.I.A. William E. Dutill Emery W. Duvall (Continued) James C. Earl— W. David M. Ellen— W. Roy M. Eldridge Joseph Ellis Charles L. Ely— W. James Evans — K.I.A. Harry W. Fat Raymond Feiser George E. Ferguson — K.I.A. Neil Ferguson — W. Joseph J. Ferry — W. Michael Fiore — W. Thomas J. Fitzgerald Francis E. Fleming Nathaniel Forbes James H. Foster— K.I.A. Lee M. Foster— K.I.A. John G. Frank— W. Andrew Frew — W. John E. Funk Serventi Germando Paul Giallongo Vito Giovaniello Frank Gollo Gustave Gonsuron — K.I.A. Joseph A. Gorman John L. Greer Albert J. Groff— W. Burton P. Guilefuss— K.I.A. Thomas Guzzaro John E. Hack Oscar G. Hagberg Harold Haigh Edward Haines Lee Hargis — W. Henry L. Harrell Benjamin Hartman Norbert J. Haven Harmer D. Hawkins — W. Russell A. Henning — W. Franklin Herman — W. Floyd L. Hines William J. Hines James Hogan btto F. Hopp 192 OUR SECOND BATTALION PRIVATES— (Continued) Ralph Houltram Myron E. Hovda Dorphin H. Hoveland — K.LA. Jacob A. Howard Charles M. Humphrey Talmage J. IngersoU Adolph R. Jaeger William R, Jardine Henry P, Jenkins James E. Jennings— K.LA. Henning P. Johnson William A. Jones— K.LA. Antoni Karzewski John B. Kersnick Louis Kesner John F. Kingren Franklin P. Kirk Emil E. Klatt Fred W. Kleinschmidt Floyd W. Knapp Fred J. Koch Demetrios Kotas Edward Krepley Will Krohn E. A. Krueger Herbert O. Krueger Walter F. Krueger John A. Kubin Robert H. Lane Harry Large— K.LA. Lonnie W. Lawrence — W. Philip H. Lawrence Richard R. Lawrence Benjamin Lawson John R. Lawson William A. Lebens Clarence C. Lee— W. John Legosky Jake Leick William A. Letzkus— W. John F. Ley— K.LA. Nickolas Liebfried — W. Edward N. Lighbown— W. Robert R. Lindsey Oscar A. Lindstrom James Longstreth — W. Andrew Lott — W. Otis C. Lovan Mason Lucas — W. Carl H. Lucht Carl A. Lundahl Joseph E. Lybarger — W. Joseph McCabe — W. William McCaffery— W. Harry B. McCarthy— W. Daniel P. McCormick — W. Stanley McDowell — W. Whitmer R. McGregor Isaac McShane— K.LA. Fred Maas — W. Otto Mahler— W. Gust Maple Louis Marabello Thomas M. Alartin — W. Anthony Mastronaridi Bennie Mellesmoen George Messina — K.LA. Severio Migiaccio — W. Harry C. Miller William J. Miskell Nicola Monaco Norman E. Moore Morris Morreale Charlie Morris— K.LA. John J. Mullaney— K.LA. Edward J. Murphy Oscar Myran George E. Neely— K.I.A. Elmer J. Nestor Paul J. Nickel Charles S. Nippes Harlan J. Noblit— W. Lewis W. Nuss— K.LA. Harry O'Hara— K.I.A. John O'Learskey — W. Paul L. Omo— K.LA. James A. Pacheli Arthur J. Palmer — W. Fred T. Palmer APPENDIX 193 PRIVATES— (Continued) Victor Parisien Louis Parks Harry L. Parsons Albert A. Paschall Raleigh Patterson Tames H. Patton Guy Paul— W. Vincent S. Pearson— K.LA. Herbert C. Pease, Mike Pedi William A. Pekarek Isaac E. Pendleton— K.LA. Arthur Peters, William B. Peters Norman C. Pfleger— K.LA. William A. Pfingston Elmer J. Pierson John F. Pitterman Hugh P. Porter— W. Peter G. Poterala Leonard Powell John C. Pressman — K.LA. Charles A. Printz— W. Salvan Professe William Queder Emil C. Rabe Ottavio Regginelli Ray E. Remington Thomas D. Reno Henry A. Rettke Frank Rimmert Andrew Ritsig Fred B. Roper— K.LA. John Rodzinkynas Arthur E. Rosing John J. Rowland — W. Justus H. Russell Joseph Sailer Joseph Sawatzki Clayton F. Schadle— W. William Scheble George J. Schilling Harry C. Schilling Armin F. Schneider Edward Schreckongost Albert E. Schultz— W. Joseph C. Schultz— W. Paul R. Schultz— K.LA. Samuel W. Schultz Bill G. Seferls Lester Seiner Antonio Sergi — W. Casper Severson Ira S. Shaeffer— K.I.A. Walter Shaeffer— K.LA. Harry W. Shafer Eddie Shaw Elliott E. Shedd— W. Howard C. Shelly— K.LA. Claude F. Shelton Milton W. Shephard Walter I. Shultis John E. Skamfor Antonio Skronski — W. David H. Slagle— K.LA. John L. Smith Michael Smith William Smith— W. Henry H. Solberg Syvert A. J. Sorum Raymond D. Sproull Joseph P. Staiger Thomas L. Stainsby Herman Stamm Carl A. Stark Frederick G. Steinger — W. William Stevennett Samuel D. Stewart — W. Frank J. Stivason Edgar Stoner— K.LA. Samuel W. Stull— W. Herbert Swanson Robert B. Swenson V/illiam L. Taubel— W. William E. Taylor Harold C. Todd— K.LA. Michael Traintafillu Paul K. Truchinski Everett R. Trahey— W. Roy H. Troop— W. 194 OUR SECOND BATTALION PRIVATES- Emanuel Tschippert — K.I. A. Ralph A. Wabiszewski Frederick Wagner Clyde C. Waitley Harry W. Warren Richard R. Walters Fremont D. West Robert Wharton Elbert Whorton— K.I.A. Lewis Wilham — W. William H. Williams —(Continued) Rowland C. Williams Bennie A. Wilson John Winniewicz — W. Leslie L. Wolcott Edwin C. Wolff Fred Wollenberg John Yanno — W. Herman Youngren Joseph Yule William Yule Isadore Zeiner — K.LA. COMPANY "G' OFFICERS Captain Arthur L. Schlqsser— K.I.A. Captain Richard H. O'Brien — W. Captain Harry D. Saddler First Lieutenant Thomas J. Cavanaugh— D.S.C. ; W. First Lieutenant John H. Earl First Lieutenant Thomas A. Robertson— W. First Lieutenant Walter L. Trainer — W. Second Lieutenant Frank Batta— D.S.C. ; W. Second Lieutenant Malcolmson — W. Second Lieutenant John Reed Second Lieutenant Gerrold E. Robinson— W. (two times) FIRST SERGEANTS John W. Thompson— D.S.C. Frank R. Malone A.C.S. SERGEANTS Frank E. Andrea — K.LA. ; D.S.C. Albert Atkinson— K.I.A. George M. Atkinson — W. Frank E. Charleton Harry C. Cole— W. Byron A. Cornell Patrick J. Cronin Douglas Earl — Com. James Flanagan — K.I.A. George W. Fryling— K.I.A. Charles C. Gruber Arthur Glennon Francis J. Hans — W. James J. Hogan Frank J. Hoxworth— K.I.A. Raymond Long Patrick S. McConville APPENDIX 195 SERGEANTS— ('Continued) Frank McNeally Harry A. Mariani — W. Harvey W. Moorehead Charles J. Opperman Raymond P. SchoUer Andrew E. Smith Fredoline C. Smith— A.C.S. William Sohrbeck Thomas H. Stover Charles Swartzlander Russell Trauger Frederick S. Wertenbach — W. CORPORALS Mathew R. Ambrose — W. Francis J. Armstrong John L. Black— W. John Bortkbitch Nick Bradley— W. John C. Brodie Frank J. Brown Floyd F. Buckell Frank Carter Guy Cates Victor A. Craig Norman C. Detweiler Edward Doyle— K.I.A. Walter J. Dutcher— K.I.A. George T. Duvall John W. Fackenthall— K.I.A. Raymond A. Flowers — W. Elmer W. Fluck— W. William J. Fonash — W. George W. Freyer — W. Goffin M. Friday Albert Fries, Jr. Alvin B. Geddes Paul Helsel— W. George Hindsley — W. Charles Hollinsworth Edward L. Kelley Herbert W. Knorr Russell F. Kolbe Grant Kunkle— W. William Madden Frank S. Merry — W. Albert Miller— W. Philip Mistrett— W. James D. Moore— D.S.C., W. VVilliam H. Peterson Cain Ross Raymond L. Rutherford — W. Robert R. Schrope Earl Seiner Lesley P. Steele Raymond Tate Philip R. Thomas Noah S. Trauger John Walters — W. William Bregan James Deleo Joseph Kostrzewski John L. Atkinson Frank Carter John W. Rose Robert G. Capes— W. Russell B. Gulick COOKS Martin J. Nowak Paul O. Weierbach Irvin B. Woosley MECHANICS Walter Sambola Nathaniel S. Seery BUGLERS Andrew H. Schott 196 OUR SECOND BATTALION PRIVATES William E. Adams Ole Allestad Jacob Alsaker Alfred N. Anderberg Elia Atriano— K.I.A. Will M. Baker Albert S. Balmforth John Earner Arthur J. Barron Thomas L. Barron John Battis Albert Beck Kinsey Bennett Oscar G. Berberich — W. Jalmer Berg Luigi Bermabei — W. Philip F. Bertles William E. Bertles Frank J. Binder Arthur Bisbing Harold Bishop George B. Little Figlia Boardio Clarence R. Bobine — W. William E. Boobel Felix J. Borths Lewis W. Boss— W. Lewis A. Bregan — W. William J. Brennan— K.I.A. Albert Brewer— K.I.A. William G. Brownlee John Bucheli— W. Morlan H. Buck Robert L. Bucktel Oledith Bullock John W. Busse John E. Calhoun Giovanni Camalie — K.LA. Henry J. Campbell— W. John Caquatto— W. Howard Case— K.I.A. Leo T. Cemka Joseph Charlton George W. Clark Frank L. Cogswell Elix Coluski Arthur H. Crossley Homer L. Dalton James Dargenezio — W. Willie B. Davis— K.I.A. Stefano Dematus — W. Rene Desmudt Norman Detweiler George Dodson John Donahue — W. John G. Dontrick— W. (two times) Wesley J. Draeger Simon Drangenis Robert Dressier Linn Dubowig Clyde I. Dugley Norman B. Dunn Dempsie D. Dye Russell F. Eastburn John B. Elmore Alfred Erdmann Wallace D. Ernest Frederick J. Evans William M. Faust Herbert Fell— W. Raymond C. Fey Frank M. Flack— W. Ernest W. Forsberg Lowry G. Foutz Clinton E. Franklin Archie C. Galiery Charles E. Garner George C. Galend— W. Peter Gallo Jesse Gehrt John S. Gibson Frank W. Gilmore— W. Roy R. Glascock Harrison M. Glover John H. Gozlick Clarence H. Gray Charles D. Green Hans P. Grimm Clifton C. Hamilton APPENDIX 197 PRIVATES— (Continued) Hugh F. Hannon — W. Norman H. Harrison Charles F. Hart Walter Harvey— K.I.A. Benjamin F. Haught Alfred Hellerman— W. Sam Hemett Emory A. Henderson Frank D. Herbert— K.I.A. Henry E. Hoak— W. Walter F. Hoff Clarence Holdsworth John E. Hoffmaster August Holmberg Jesse A. Howell Frank Hughes— K.I.A. Basil T. Isherwood— K.I.A. Jake A. Israel — W. Joseph Janocha Clarence W. Johns Andy Johnson Arthur P. Johnson Edwin J. Johnson Fred J. Johnson — W. John Johnson Claude W. Johnston— K.I.A. Julius O. Karcher Louis B. Kerns Leo J. Kern— W. Warren Keiser — K.I.A. Axel R. E. Klingborg Joseph Komeski Albert T. Korslin Jacob Kostyal— W. Frank L. Krienes Joe Kuehl Harry Kulos Oscar M. Kyrk Arthur Landes Ben Lapinski — W. (two times) Andrew Latzy Maurice Lazar — K.I.A. Fred Laubham Glen Lemler Lawrence Lescanac — K.I.A. Julius Levitan Robert E. Liddy Frank A. Long— K.I.A. Joseph Lowsky Joseph Lubin Diomid Lubonka Richard Z. Luke Oscar W. Lunbin Gavin D. Mackie John J. Malia Giuseppi Marioni — W. Robert A, Mechling Edwin B. Meese William E. Mesler Paul A. Meyer Alvin C. Michener Fred L. Miller John Miller Christ A. Moe John J. Moerman — K.I.A. John Mooney Albert S. Moore Maxwell Moore Raymond R. Moser — W. Roger L. Mumblehead Oakley McCarty Earl M. McCaskey Wilson McFadden Leo J. Nagle— W. Henry Newell Fred W. O'Neil William J. Oppold Wesley R. Palmer Harold O. Paslay Andrew R. Paul— K.I.A. Elmo Peterson Ernest S. Peterson George A. Peterson Dario Pollino Wallace Pool— K.I.A. Lewis Portugal George Powell Glen J. Powell Erich O. Prill 198 OUR SECOND BATTALION PRIVATES— (Continued) Homer E. Queen Sebastian H. Rager Giuseppi Ramello — W. James G. Redding— K.I.A. Lewis J. Reimers Karl E. Renud Roswell R. Reott John Reraback — W. Earl Ressler John O. Rhude Paul Riggs Michael A. Rindal Leland A. Rocheleau James E. Robinson Harry Roof Charles Rohrbeck Harry Rosenberger Tony Ross Giovanni Rossino Sylfest Rudser William Rush— W. Olaf Salmonson Joseph Sandora — K.LA. Sam Saplio— D.S.C.;W. James N. Saunders — K.LA. James V. Scalise George Scarborough Oscar Schaible Frederick Scheetz Noah T. Schillen Otto F. G. Schoenian Edward Scholl Louis J. Schuberth — W. Benjamin Schultz Christ Schultz Thomas A. Scott— W. Bernard C. Seeman William C. Selsor, Jr. Ivan Senia — W. Joseph R. Shaffer— W. William C. Shuff Mike Sidorowizk John Signrolla— K.LA. Richard Simpson — K.LA, Carl E. Simmons John Skalsky— K.LA. William H. Slider Andrew E. Smith Glen L Smith Walter Smith Oscar J. Solberg Philip Sooslaff Albert J. Spear John Sroka Lawrence M. Steffen Rubin Stein— W. Charles J. Stibr Robert R. Strickney Herman C. Stutzke Henry G. Summerfield— K.LA. Roy T. Swartzlander James F. Taylor Gaylord S. Thompson Frank H. Titzel— K.LA. Hyman Tonkowitz — K.LA. Vito Totone Jacob Trauger — W. John Tunis Henry Ullman Elwood Walters Theodore E. Walters— W. Peter Waskiewicz Jeff D. Watts James O. Weakley Robert G. Weckerly— W. Paul S. Weidner Elmer E. Weikel Robert Wenc— W. James West — W. John Williams — W. William D. Winebrenner George R. Wood— K.I.A. James R. Wood — W. Walter Woskowiak — W. George V. Yates— W. Alex Yonkon — W. Stanley Zavska John R. Zumdzinski — K.LA. APPENDIX 199 COMPANY "H" OFFICERS Captain Robert S. Cain— D.S.C. ; W. Captain Phelps L. Gill First Lieutenant JamEs C. Bates First Lieutenant Richard C. Dawe First Lieutenant Harry A. Kurtz— W. (two times) First Lieutenant Joseph C. MendEnhall First Lieutenant Edward A. Morris Second Lieutenant Athol G. Vadakin— W. (two times) Second Lieutenant Cyril F. SchEnck FIRST SERGEANTS John F. V. Pole-W. Raymond C. Reisker— D.S.C. ; W. (three times) George W. Jolliffe SERGEANTS Edward R. Agnew-Died Robert J. Lean-JC.IA. John F. Austen~W. James H. Lmdsay-W. Wilbert A. Bartels-W. Robert C Long Clarence A. Baxter-V/. John I. McDonald-W. C. C. Davenport ^""I^Ja .,°/"r~" John A. Davis ^ D.S.C. ;W^; Com. William A. Doubt-A.C.S. George C. O Brien-W. Myron J. Fredericks-W. George J^ R^ndle nlrold S. Gilham ^'''\%^^X''^ ' Frederick H. E. Harkins David C. Roll Joseph M. Head foyd E. R^ss-KJ.A^ Romer C. Johnston-W. James RRutledge-W. Robert C. Jones-W. Roy Seigh-W. Will E. Kelly R^^Ph ^- Zmkam— K.I.A. CORPORALS r^rl Berff Harry M. Clifford— K.I j\. Qaude H. Browne Ralph P Cluley-W. Paul M. Clayton Fulton Connor-W. 200 OUR SECOND BATTALION CORPORALS— (Continued) Roy J. Crogg Joseph Littlefair William T. Cunningham-K.I.A.Urvan E. Lloyd— W. Walter Doubt— W. Arthur J. Erdman Alvin Ferguson — W, John P. Flynn— KJ.A. Joseph R. Formby — W. Verner A. Franklin Earl Ganoe George F. Gass Rudolph Hawlik— W. Truman Humphreys Joseph T. Kaeslin— W. (two times) William M. Kaufman Henry A. Kelly Frederick W. Kelby— W. Robert H. Konopinski William Larsen Carl E. Lind John P. M'cNamara William J. Margerum Frank J. Mb ran William P. McCracken— W. Rudolp Nono Alexander Peterson Sharpless Rodgers — W. Thomas J. Ryan Pete Schultz— KJ.A. William Sheldon Reidar Sherven George Skestos George Snow, Jr. William T. Swope Joseph W. Ward— W. Anthony A. Widemann Michael F. Williamson — W. Charles G. Wilson COOKS Alfred Anderson— W. William P. O'Dea— W. William A. Elliott— W. Thomas J. Ward— W. James G. Lavery MECHANICS John A. Baserman — W. John McL Robinson Francis J. Cunningham — W. John L, Roy Harold G. Massey Charles Swanson Alrige J. Messina George J. Crumback James H. Achuff— W. (two times) Harry Ackroyd — W. Joseph Altamos Walter Anderson Harry E. Andrews — W. Edward Arnold Roy N. Barbour BUGLERS Morton Keesey PRIVATES William H. Barber Frank T. Barnes— K.I.A. Rudolph Bartlett— K.I.A. George A. Basel Harry A. Battles— K.I.A. Ernest Beach— W. William T. Bellanger— K.I.A. Michael Bennie APPENDIX 201 PRIVATES— (Continued) Andrew Bennett Westley A. Bennett Charles Bercher Charles J. Berger Peter Berry John Bertron — W. David J. Bergman Ole Bergstade William H. Bilbrough— W. Nicola Biosi — W. Jesse A. Blakely — W. Leo A. Boalo— W. William Bobier Albert F. Bogda Charles Bongiomo — K.I.A. Giovanni Borgi — W, Garret Box Hugh P. Boyle Joseph Boyle — W. Carl L, Bradley Roy L. Bradley Joseph A. Brand George H. Bricker — W. Walter A. Brodie— W. Harry J. Brown Stanley Bruce — K.I. A. Harry Brush—K.I.A. Donato Buccini — W. Clarence Buckalew — K.I.A. Herman H. J. Buerman John L. Burnley Mike Burke John J. Burns Mike V. Bums— K.I.A. Louis G. Callahan James C. Campbell William F. Caputo— W. Michael Cardone Andrew A. Carlson Johnston D. Carr— K.I.A. William H. Carroll George H. Case— K.I.A. - Robert W. Chambers Wayne Chandler Charles E. Chew— W. Frank Cinereski — W. Charles Chipman Claude E. Clark James B. Clark John C. Clarke Herman A. Cloud Frank S. Collins Patrick F. Collins Roscoe Corkran Petro Corini David Cornish — W. William E. Cosner — W. Howard Council John Cousin Herbert Cox Charles C. Craig Alexander CristoflF — W. Roger J. Crosby Samuel H. Croushore — W. Claud E. Curtis Paul F. Dawson — W. Ellsworth K. Davies— K.I.A. Louis Delansky John J. Dempsey — W. Rosaire Desharnais — W. Bennie Dieterick — K.I.A. Martin Dietz — W. Claud M. Dilley Charles B. Dobbins Sam P. Dofflow George E. Douard— K.I.A. Walter W. Dowler— W. Arthur Drayer — W. Royal B. Dunmyer — W. Franklin A. Dutill James C. Earl Walter Edwards Eddie M. Egstad— W. John Ely William J. Epstein John H. Fanning — W. Estes B. Fawbush — W. Ernest B. Fenton— K.I.A. Lawrence W. Fentzel — W. Arthur C. Fernald 202 OUR SECOND BATTALION PRIVATES- Benjamin R. Fields Archie A. Fink — W. Lewis Finley — W. Charles Fiorella Cyrus M. Fisher Thomas J. Flannery— K.I.A. Frank B. Flick— K.I.A. James Fox — W. Logan J. Frederick — W. George A. Funk Clarence T. Geibel Paul L. Geissenhainer — K.LA. Thomas L. Gessler— W. Samuel Gofstein Ernest V. Gohl— W. Everett C. Goldsmith John H. Grannell Joseph Grant Stewart H. Green Charles W. Greene Albert J. Groff Joseph G. Gross — K.LA. Edward Gunia — W. George H. Gumz John D. Gwynn Howard F. Haag — W. (two times) Frank J. Haas Ezra W. Hallock Earl N. Hanche Albert N. Hanson James E. Harden Edward F. Harkins — W. Edwin C. Harney Robert P. Harrington John L. Havey Albert Heimann — W. Francis Heidman — K.LA, Franklin Herman Philip Hermann — K.LA. Harry Heyman — K.LA. A. V. Hickman— W. Alfred Higgins— K.LA. Ernest A. Holmes Jacob B. Holmes —(Continued) William T. Holmes Leon A. Howe Ellwood G. Humphries Joseph E. Huson Andrew Irvine — W. Mathias H. Iverson — W. Efem Jemoluk — W. Archie L. Jenkins Clifford Johnson David H. Johnson Howard J. Johnston Foster J. Jones Michael Kasnlenes Ernest H. Kaufmann — K.LA, Joseph Kaufman William M. Kaufman James P. Keating Edward Kesly Oliver S. Kirby Edward R. Kirkman Harold J. Kittleson Petro Kontos Arthur F. Krueger— K.I.A. Herman F. Kummer — W. Stephen Kurash — W. Einar N. Larson — W. Hiram Lane — K.I.A. David T. Larkin— K.I.A. Paul M. LaRue James G. Lavery — W. Charles Laxton Nels T. Lein Alphonso Leonard Joseph A. Lohrman John R. Long James S. Loughran Alonzo Loveland — W. Walter Madenford— K.LA. John Mahusky Joseph Majcherski — W. George A. Major Sam D. Margolis Virgil M. Marks Carl Marquardt, Jr. Lorenzo Marsilia — W. APPENDIX 203 PRIVATES Oswalk Marte Charles W. Mason — W. William H. Mason— K.I.A. Albert Mattson Nathaniel D. May- Tony Menducci — K.I.A. Pete Mike— K.I.A. Paul L. Milberger William Miller George A. Mitchell— W. Otto Moen Enos V. Moore Fritchof T. Morken Vasily Mozako — K.I.A. Alfons Mullen Charlie H. Munn Clair L. McAllister William McCaffery Josejjh McCann — W. Gerald B. McCoy Thomas A. AlcDonald — W. Edward McLaughlin, Jr. Charles P. McMahon Jay D. McMahon Felix A. Najeski — W. Sam Nase Harry R. Newlin George M. Newman Azel W. Norlund Walter N. Novak Lewis N. Nusbaum Frank M. O'Connell Frank F. O'Donnell Philip P. Oglesby— W. Edwin J. Olson Salvatore Opipari — W. Theodore Paisley — W. Arthur P. Palmer — W. James Pamella — W. Carmel Panasiti Joseph Patton Thomas Pauson Robert W. Penwell— K.I.A. William L. Penwell John J. Peterson — (Continued) Domineco Petrarola — K.I.A. Joseph Peyton John J. Plesser Americus Podesta George Povolic Patrick J. Powers— K.I.A. William S. Powers Edward Puchajda Julius M. Raymond William Renecavago Louis G. Renn Harvey R. Renner Harold B. Reyer William Richards— K.I.A. Walter Richmond Frank Ritter— W. Frank M. Ritzel Thomas J. Robinson Paul P. Romanski Remo Romanski Henry Rosentritt Clarence L. Rothgeb Eugene D. Rowse Robert E. Rucker James W. Ryan Thomas J. Ryan William R. Salts— W. Joseph Salvino Thomas J. Sampolis Cohillo Sbara Gatano Scempeir George T. J. Schaab Carl F. Schneider George A. Schriefer George R. Schulz Pietro Scisiani Nicholas Scott James J. Scully — K.I.A. August W. Seitz Harry Selig George I. Shawyer Fred S. Siebenschuh Harry Simons James T. Sinsott Frank P. Slocum — W. 204 OUR SECOND BATTALION PRIVATES- Foster E. Smith Milton F. Smith Walter Smith Erick M. Sorenson Luther Sorum Charles Soules— W. Vittorio Spaziano — W. Lunce L. Stallons — W. James E. Starrett Edward R. St. Clair Paul St. John— W. John H. Stewart John G. Stowe Bert L. Stuart Mike Sushok — W. Walter Sutcliffe— W. Endsley Sutherland John P. Sweeney- John Szandrocha Elmer A. Tank Frank B. Teifer— W. Robert S. Thebom— W. Richard Thomas Charles T. Thompson —(Continued) John Thorpe Arnold J. G. Traxel James P. Treacy — W. Walter G. Truax— W. George Tylavsky — W. Thomas C. Underwood William W. Updike Joseph Urbon Martin Van Walie Priestly H. Waggoner — W. Charles Walber Thomas J. Ward— W. David J. Watkins— W. Albert A. Watson— K.LA. Samuel West Duvall I. Weston Henry J. White William Whitehurst— W. Adolph V. Wickman— W. Charles L. Williams John W. Williams— W. John J. Wodzinsky John Wolf Edward A. Zazorowski APPENDIX 205 'o B y^ ^ a> ^ ^ i «i P:J ! '-H \0 0\ PO cvi ^ T-llO 1 CO"^ I OO C U< (U 1—1 : : ; IV. On i-H 00 00 »-i : :fomrMO 1 i2 : lo T-i lo r-H ; : i— i ^ CM c o CD VO C 1-H tr- TT .CIS t'l VO 1— 1 f O GO T- l^^'^ui • . 1 . m c>si^i^ io CM r-J >: g^o : i : : : i : i i : : i i 1 i '-' CJ ft^ 'O (U Ti- lo a\ o lo o : vo 00 1^ IT) :rMfOoo 1 ^ 05 ONt-i— iCM 1 VO < \n Ua /^ g o^ '^ : : 00^ :i-H icq : :^ :^ : : I i^ o ■ ' ffi H unded ight) Men : '^ ro 1— 1 'i- o looioi— iioo : tv csj OO I On ]~] : oa T^fio :iO(MioCMCM ; ^ vo '^ >H 1— 1 Ct^ O |Sg 1—1 ', 1— 1 ;cgr-H I : J'^f :-H ; : : ; 12 < H ^ c/i G XfX a 'O ^T? ^ 3 eing as follows : "Showed remark- able bravery and disregard for danger in at- tacking an enemy machine gun, killing the gunners and turning the machine gun against the enemy infantry; thus prepared a passage for the American troops." The following awards were made to Captain Schlosser : G. H. Q. AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES Arthur L. Schlosser (Deceased) Captain, 111th Infantry The award of the Chevalier de L'ordre de Leopold by the Belgian Government to you having been approved by the Commander-in- Chief, you are authorized to accept and wear such decoration. The award was made for the following serv- ices rendered: In recognition of meritorious services rendered the Allied cause. By Command of General Pershing: James G. Harbord, Chief of Staff. OFFICIAL : Robert G. Davis, Adjutant General. 212 OUR SECOND BATTALION G. H. Q. G. O. 5 AMERICA]^ EXPEDITIONARY FORCES Citation Orders No. 5 France, June 3, 1919 The following officer of American Expedi- tionary Forces is cited for gallantry ia action and is entitled to wear a silver star on the victory medal ribbon as prescribed by para- graph I, G. O. 75, c. s., these headquarters: Captain Arthur L. Schlosser (deceased), 111th Infantry, for gallantry in action in the Bois de Chateau Diabl, France, 10-12 August, 1918, and for his brilliant leadership. John J. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief. The following awards were made to First Sergeant Reisker: G. H. Q. AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES Sergeant Raymond C. Reisker Company H, 111th Infantry ^ 28th Division The award of the Belgian Chevalier de L'ordre de Lfeopold II, by the Belgian Govern- ment to you having been approved by the Com- mander-in-'Chief, you are authorized to accept and wear such decoration. This award was made for the following serv- ices rendered : In recognition of faithful and APPENDIX 213 meritorious services rendered the Allied Cause and citations of the American Commanding Generals. By Command of General Pershing : James G. Harbord, Chief of Staff. OFFICIAL : Kobert G. Davis, Adjutant General. UNITED STATES ARMY CITATION Sergeant Raymond C. Reisker Company H^ 111th Infamtry For distinguished and exceptional gallantry at Fismes, France, on August 11th, 1918, in the operations of the American Expeditionary Forces. In testimony thereof and as an ex- pression of appreciation of his valor, I award Mm. this Citation and American D. S. C. Approved and awarded on the 27th day of March, 1919. John J. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief. 214 OUR SECOND BATTALION ITALIAN WAR CROSS OF MERIT Captain Gain was the only man to receive the Italian War Cross of Merit in "Our Second Battalion/' his citation reading as follows : "The King of Italy has wished that this de- coration, which in Italy is given to reward those who most distinguished themselves in ac- tion, should be awarded to you in recognition of the gallantry you have shown and of the merit you have thereby acquired for the com- mon cause, even though you have not fought on Italian soil.'' APPENDIX 215 o H oo J5 .. 3 bfi-n.^ en (A CO en (A cA >> >. ^ >> >-. >. C4 Cu OJ 03 OS Cd O 3 o o o o O o o :2-5-=:-c x;^^^ h4> t« a ^ ^- >" -3 3 4> O o O "5? bo > p:;j= CA O l+_ 2 !:; >:z: 3 =■ S u- *- .2 ^ I o si ^ Jjfc i^ OS Jjt^H >, J2 >. nj o— r ^ m be o . o § ir-i ^ i) n3 (« c (L» ji: ^ 3 O r8 cj f^ ^ fg o o -C 3-0 a-3 Uc/^ CA tA >> >. 03 o3 •CO to lO O o *0 13 T3 TJ n3 CM O _( •*-■ 4_> ,-H ^ ^ (M bio 3 < CO VO "Jj tS 03 ^ ^ ,o (L) '-' ^w" C/300 216 OUR SECOND BATTALION o en C3 en Xi >> Cfl X) .3i Si o 5^ 15 ^ H .;G H 3 s 3 4) "bo .s tn Vi (/> (fi (A en ^ 43 (U rt oJ rt rt nJ aJ O j-i TD'OTJ t3 T3 §s j3 " Tl- f^LO ON ^ •o -^VO-H fO 82 .3i en ^ -f^ u S^-s ii > c > (U . >-, >> g| >^ >, i i^ CO 1 3 1- ^ ^ 1 OS C J 3 ■ =^ ■I V a en c^ ^ " H - 3 SECOND BATTALION which, as soon as daylight permitted, we pro- ceeded to bury. Information was received that the enemy proposed an attack at 4 P. M. This battalion was directed to counter-attack from its posi- tion at the northern edge of Bois d^ Aigremont and clear the entire sector to the Ma/rne River between a line running north and south through Crezanzy on the right and a line run- ning north and south just east of Fossoy. The enemy subjected our attacking lines to an intense barrage. Our first wave, consist- ing of Company G and two platoons of Com- pany E, nnder command of Captain Arthur L. Schlosser, went over the top at 2 P. M-, and ad- vanced by crawling in thin lines through the wheat field, the first objective being the Metz- Paris Road, which point was to be reached at 4 P. M. One platoon of Company G, under command of Sergeant Frank E. Andrea, pro- ceeded along a ravine running in a northeast- erly direction toward Crezanzy, its mission being to clear Crezanzy of the enemy and to hold the town. Their mission was accom- plished and a position taken up along the rail- road east of Crezanzy. Our artillery, at 4 P. M., laid down an intense creeping barrage, un- der cover of which the first wave advanced over the Paris-Metz Road north, clearing the woods to the railroad, where positions were taken up. One platoon advanced to point forward where the entire Mame River could APPENDIX 219 be observed, remaining there until dark, when combat patrols moved forward, covering Mezy and the entire south bank of the Mame to the dam crossing the Marne River. The support- ing troops, consisting of two platoons of Com- pany E, Company F and H, were held in sup- port under cover in the woods 500 yards south of the railroad and entrenched there for better cover. 'No material enemy infantry re- sistance was encountered. Liaison was established with the 7th In- fantry on our left and by patrols from Cre- zancy with the 38th Infantry on our right rear. Strong combat patrols were maintained between Crezancy and Mezy, protecting our right flank. Numerous small patrols of the enemy were encountered and driven off. Numerous wounded of the 7th, 30th and 38th Infantries were recovered and evacuated to the rear. Dead Americans and enemy were buried and this position held until ordered re- lieved by the 7th and 38th Infantries extend- ing their right and left flanks respectively on the night of the 20th, when this battalion with- drew to the Grand Bordeaux Farm. W. R. Dunlap, Captain 111th Infantry, Comdg. 2nd Battalion. 220 OUR SECOND BATTALION Hdqrs., 111th Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces, France, 3rd August, 1918. Fnom: Commanding Officer, 111th In- fantry. To: Commanding General, 56th Bri- gade, 28th Division, A. E. F. Subject : Report of Operations. 1. Pursuant to Field Orders No. 7, dated Hdqrs., 56th Infanty Brigade, 15 July, 1918, the 2nd Battalion of this regiment, com- manded by Captain William R. Dunlap, occu- pying a position in the line of resistance at La Grande Tronchet Fme and Le Petit Queue Fme, was directed to proceed to Hdqrs., 3rd Division, U. S. A., where orders were received for that unit to proceed to Bois d/ Aigremont, reporting upon arrival thereat to Command- ing Officer, 30th Infantry. The operations of this Battalion are reported in detail by the Commanding Officer of that Battalion, copy of which is attached hereto. 2. On July 16th, 1918, the 1st Battalion of this regiment, under command of Major Carrol R. Kelly, was sent to the support of the 2nd Battalion. On July 18th, 1918, Regimen- tal Headquarters, Headquarters Company, and Machine Gun Company, which were on the line of resistance at Le Mesnil Fme., pro- ceeded by marching to Pertehue Fme., arriving at that point at 6 P. M., and the Regimental Commander reported to Commanding General, APPENDIX 221 3rcl Division, for orders. He was directed to march his force to Grieves Fme., where guides met him and he was conducted to the P. C, 30 th Infantry. Upon arrival there he took over command of the entire sector occupied by the 30th Infantry, relieving Colonel Butts, who was then commanding. The 2nd Battalion occupied the forward lines with the 1st Battalion in support. Dur- ing the day of the 19th of July, the entire force, except those in the front line, was put to work in cleaning up the position, burying the dead soldiers and a large number of ani- mals. The position was in bad condition due to the decomposing of dead bodies. At 5 P. M., July 20th, 1918, an order was received that the regiment would be relieved during the night by the 38th Infantry on our right and the 7th Infantry on our left, by those units extend tug their right and left flanks. The relief was accomplished success- fully during the night and the regiment formed up and marched to the Grande Bor- deaux Fme.y arriving there at 4 A. M., July 21st, 1918. At 3:30 P. M., same date, an aide to General Muir, Division Commander, di- rected that the regiment move from that poiut, crossing the Marne River at Chateau Thierry and to bivouac near Brasles, north of Chutemi Thierry, at which point the 3rd Battalion, w^hich had been detached, rejoined the regi- ment, July 22nd, 1918. 222 OUR SECOND BATTALION 3. Late in the afternoon of July 22nd, 1918, the regiment moved into the Bois de Barhilon and bivouacked. At 1:30 A. M., July 23rd, 1918, Field Orders No. 9, dated Hdqrs., 56th Infantry Brigade, 23 July, 1918, were received which directed the regiment to move by the road in the Bois de Barhilon to Verdilly^ thence by route of 112th Infantry, which was indicated in the order to the Grande Rue Fme. While enroute, verbal orders were received di- rcting that the Commanding Officer of this regiment report to the Commanding General, 26th Division, upon arrival of his troops at the Grand Rue Fme. Headquarters Company, Machine Gun Company, 2nd and 3rd Battal- ions were bivouacked in woods east of Grande Rue Fme. and the 1st Battalion in woods North of Grande Rue Fme. At 9 A. M., the Command- ing Officer reported to the Commanding Gen- eral, 26th Division, and was directed to hold his force in readiness to support the troops of the 26th Division on the line. In the afternoon of that day he was directed to reconnoiter the position held by the 101st and 102nd Infan- tries with a view of relieving them with two battalions of this regiment. The relief of the position above mentioned was begun at dark with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, under com- mand, of the Regimental Commander, Lt. Col. Bertram L. Succop remaining in command of the 1st Battalion, Headquarters Company, and Machine Gun Company. APPENDIX 223 While the relief was in process, orders were received at 3 :3Q A. M., to be prepared to make an attack the following morning at 6 :15 A. M., 24 July, 1918. The 3rd Battalion occupied the right of the sector with two companies in the front line and the 2nd Battalion occupied the left of the sector with two companies in the front line, each battalion having two com- panies in support. The attack started on time and proceeded without opposition for a distance of about 800 yards when a French cavalry patrol, moving along our left flank, reported to the Command- ing Officer that the enemy had evacuated Epieds. The advance was immediately stopped and this information sent by a runner to the Commanding General, 56th Infantiy Brigade, who had established his P. C. at Bezuety with a request, that the artillery barrage which was to be put down be immediately stopped. In a short time a message from the Commanding General, 56th Infantry Brigade, was received which directed that the advance be continued until strong resistance by the enemy was met, with La Croix Rouge Fme. as the objective. Upon receipt of this order the advance w^as Parted with two companies of each "battalion leading with their elements in line of platoon columns, followed in close support by the other two companies in the same formation, with instructions to march by compass, bear- ing North 15 degrees East. The advance con- 224 OUR SECOND BATTALION tinued and when the leading element of the right sector was opposite Epieds it moved to the right flank and contact was lost with it for the time being. The balance of the column continued to advance until opposite Beau- vardes when considerable machine gun fire developed from that town. The advance was halted and a patrol from Company K was sent to reconnoiter and it was reported that the French were conducting an operation against that town. It was decided to continue the advance, leaving that town on our left, through the Foret de Fere. Owing to the dense growth of the forest it became almost impossible to keep contact with the units and the column was reduced to a column of files with Com- panies E, H, I and K. The right sector be- came disengaged at this time and, as later developed, were held up on the southern edge of the forest. The units above mentioned (Companies E, H, I and K) continued the advance through the forest and about 4:00 P. M., Company H, which was leading, was held up by machine gun fire. This opposition was overcome by automatic rifle t-eams which were sent out to the right flank and the ad- vance continued until about 700 yards from the La Croix Rouge Fme. where an intense machine gun fire was laid down by the enemy. One platoon at a time was fed into a hur- riedly established line until two companies were engaged when the opposing fire was re- APPENDIX 225 du'ced. The columii was again formed and an attempt made to make a further advance but the fire from the enemy immediately reopened and it was impossible, owing to the dense forest and the heavy fire to make a further advance. The action afbove mentioned caused losses of five (5) killed and fifteen (15) wounded. An officers' patrol was sent to the left of the position with a view of obtaining information as to the strength of the enemy and in about one-half hour information was received from this patrol that the enemy was in force in the vicinity of La Croix Ronge Fme. Al)out 500 yards in the rear of the position where this action took place was a clearing in the forest of about 400 yards square and a sunken road ran along the southern edge of the clearing. It was decided that as the hour was growing late it was best to establish a po- sition and hold the ground gained. With this in view, Company K was placed in the front line, the other three companies of the detach- ment echeloned in depth in the forest to the rear. The organization of the position was completed and all units in position before dark. The establishment of this position was accomplished under considerable machine gun fire and later intense artillery fire which was kept up during the entire night. Patrols were sent out from the position to obtain informa- tion as to the troops on the right and left 226 OUR SECOND BATTALION flaniks. In the early evening contact was gained with the French on our left and towards morning contact was also gained on our right with a small French detachment which had worked up through the forest on our right. During the advance a staff officer of the 26th Division accompanied the Commanding Officer of this regiment and when it was de- cided to organize the position this officer, with two runners, left to give information as to our location and condition to the Commanding General, 56th Infantry Brigade. Prior to this time messages had been sent back from time to time to the old P. C. of the Commanding General, 56th Brigade, giving information as to the progress of the advance but owing to the fact that the P. C. had 'been changed most of our messages failed to reach him, this, of course, developed later. At the time it was supposed that full information was in his hands as to the condition of the detachment. At 5:00 A. M., 25 July, '18, no word having been received from the Brigade Commander as to the supporting troops, 1st Lieutenant Jean M. Siaux, 51th Chasseurs, French Army, who was attached to the regiment, (volunteered to convey a message to the Brigade Com- mander and with two runners left the position, found the Brigade Commander and gave him the first information as to the condition and location of the detachment. The position was APPENDIX 227 a strong one and easily held by the force oc- cupying it. Later on that day, a message was received from the Brigade Commander advising that the detachment would be relieved by the 167th Infantry. At 8 :40 P. M., same date, the relief was made and the detachment was marched South through the woods to Coiirpoil, where the detachment was reported to the Brigade Commander and thence to the Trugny Moods where the rest of the regiment had been as- semjbled and bivouacked. E. C. Shannon, Colonel, 111th Infantry. Hq., 2nd Bn., 111th Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces, France, 24th August, 1918. From: Commanding Officer, 2nd Battal- ion, 111th Infantry. To: Commanding Officer, 111th In- fantry. Subject : Attack on August 10th, 1918. 1. I was directed by the Commanding Offi- cer to make reconnaissance of the position oc- cupied by my Battalion north of the Yesle River on the line 286.5 to 202.9, with a view of determining the best means of dislodging the enemy from that vicinity, it having been pr?- 22S OUR SECOND BATTALION vi'ously determined that the enemy was en- trenched along the northern bank of the rail- road from the point 286.6-202.8 in a northeast- erly direction ; also, the numerous snipers and machine gun nests throughout the woods north of the railroad and between the railroad and the Vesle River east of my position. 2. Shortly after my arrival at the front line position about 11 o'clock, what was intended to be a raid to capture prisoners by a platoon of Company G (Captain Arthur L. Schlosser) , by filtering one man at a time across the rail- road on the enemy- s right flank until the entire platoon was across, so visibly caught the en- emy by surprise that it was deemed advisable to develop the raid into an attack to clear the woods north of the railroad and the railroad bank, of the enemy. Additional troops were sent across at Captain Schlosser's disposal until all of G Company, two platoons of F Company and two platoons of H Company were in the line. 3. The enemy was found to be dug in along the entire northern bank of the railroad in skirmisher's holes and machine gun emplace- ments. At the place of crossing, 286.6-202.8, a few yards northeast in the woods, were found two machine guns dominating the crossing. The first group of men across succeeded in getting in their rear, killed the crews of both gnns, captured the guns and a large quantity of ammunition, placing them in a position APPENDES: 229 completely enfilading the enemy's right flank along the railroad bank. 4. The attacking line was extended from the point of crossing due north to the north- western edge of the Grand Bai,^, De Chatecm Diabl and advanced parallel to the railroad, driving the enemy before them and capturing thirty enemy machine guns in their advance. The remaining four platoons (two of H Com- pany and two of F Company) under Captain John M. Clarke, deployed in continuation of Captain Schlosser's line extending from the railroad at the point of crossing to the Yesle River in a southeasterly direction (E Com- pany having been sent to a point near the Tan- nery, 204.3-287.7, being placed at the disposal of Major Kelley, of our 1st Battalion, for his attack in the early morning of that date). I, at this time, set as my objective, the Rouen- Reirns Road, between the points 203.2 and 204, this point being where the Yesle River crosses the Rouen-Reims Road. 5. The attack having advanced a:bout 500 meters in the direction of the Rouen-Reims Roady at 12 :50 P. M., a heavy barrage of our owTi artillery forced a major part of our line back in confusion. The men were stopped in the vicinity of our original position and got- ten into cover of dugouts. As soon as the bar- rage could be stopped, the troops were re- organized and the line again started to ad- vance at 1 :30. The objective was reached at 230 OUR SECOND BATTALION 2 :30 p. M., where the troops dug in along the railroad bank just south of and parallel with the Rouen-Reims Road on a front of 800 meters. 6. Having no supporting troops and my left flank being exposed for a distance of 500 meters, two infantry companies and a machine gun platoon were requested as supports. Com- pany K of our regiment was sent to our sup- port and placed in a position to protect our left flank. Under cover of darkness, the en- tire line was withdrawn from the position along the Rouen-Reims Roud to positions where better cover could be secured and a bet- ter field of fire, and the territory south of the Rouen-Reims Road still covered by our fire. These positions varied in distance from one to two hundred meters from the Rouen-Reims Road. 7. On August 11th, Companies A and B of the 109th Infantry were sent to our support, extending our line further to the east and strengthening the left flank. One company of the 108th Machine Gun Battalion and one platoon of Company B, 109th Infantry, were placed in the vicinity of the Tannery, 204.3- 287.7, covering our right flank and throwing fire in a northwesterly direction across our front. These dispositions were maintained until relieved by the First Battalion of the 305th Infantry. Said relief was not completed until after daylight of August 13th. Our APPENDIX 231 troops were not withdrawn until dark that evening^. 8. The casualties for the whole engagement were: Killed, 2 officers and 22 enlisted men; wounded, 4 officers and 117 enlisted men; 12 enlisted men missing; 11 enlisted men sent sick to hospital and 1 man died of wounds. W. R. Dunlap, Major, 111th Infantry. Headquarters, Third Corps, American Expeditionary Forces, France, Aug. 11, 1918. From 20.00 Aug. 10 to 20.00 Aug. 11, 1918, G-3 No. 4. OPERATIONS REPORT. 1. Weather: Generally fair. 2. Visibility : Good. ' 3. General Impression of the Day : Quiet. 4. Infantry Activity: Late this afternoon the 28th Diy. pushed out comhat patrols. One company followed the west slopes of a ridge northeast of Fismette and advanced about 100 meters. One company followed the valley east of the same ridge and advanced 300 meters. Both patrols met severe resistance from ma- chine guns, although the raid was preceded by artillery. Heavy casualties. Little activity 232 OUR SECOND BATTALION along the rest of the front. During the occu- pat ion yesterday of the Chateau De Diahl WoodSy the 28th Div. captured 30 machine guns and practically exterminated the garri- son. Our front line remains unchanged. 5. Artillery activity : Our artillery normal, firing interdiction and counter-battering three batteries. Also rolling barrage and concentra- tions during raid. Enemy artillery fire on Mont St. Martin-Fismes Road, woods of Chenet, Valley of Fon de Mezieres, and one battery position near Resson Farm. All enemy artillery identified in front of this sector are rifles — no howitzers — calibres 77's, 105 L, 155 L, and 170 marine. 6. Aviation: Active on both sides. Boche chasse very active over our line continually. A plane of the 88th Squadron was brought down this morning by ejiemy plane within our lines. Pilot and observer killed. 7. 'Casualties: The following patients have passed through corps hospitals from July 29 to noon, August 11, 1918 : 3rd Division, 1,253 28th Division, 2,419 32nd Division, 1,439 8. Changes in, Disposition of Troops : The 164th Div. French relieved the 6th Brigade U. S. The 11th R. A. L., 1st Bn., 103rd R. A. L. and 1st Bn. 138th R. A. L. and 214th G. P. F. APPENDIX 233 French were withdra\^Ti during the night and passed from this command. By command of Major General Bullard: F. W. Clark, Lt. Col. G. S. G-3. Note : The sentence in italics in paragraph 4 refers to the action of '^Our Second Bat- talion/' as is seen by the following report on captured enemy machine guns. Hq., 2nd Bn., 111th Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces, France, 10th September, 1918. From: Commanding Officer, 2nd Battal- ion, 111th Infantry. To: G-1, 28th Division (Thru Chan- nels). Subject: Report on captured German Ma- chine Guns. 1. In the engagement of Bois de ChateoM Diahl^ August 8-12th, inclusive, 30 German machine guns were captured by this Battalion. Approximately 20 of these guns were used in this engagement agaiust the enemy and the suc- cess of the engagement was attributed, in part, to the fire of these guns. Several of the guns were disabled by shell fire during the engage- ment and others lost in the dense woods. Nineteen were brought out by our troops, nine 234 OUR SECOND BATTALION of which, for various reasons, were unseryice- able, and were turned into the Salvage Dump at Cohan. Ten of these guns were taken into the engagement on September 6th, 1918 ; four were lost or disabled and six turned over to the French troops, who relieved us, with four others, which had been captured during the engagement, it being impracticable to take these guns out with us owing to tJie proximity of the enemy, who were using flares almost continuously and there being no cover through which to withdraw. 2. Total number of guns captured by this Battalion to date, thirty-four (34). William E. Dunlap, Major 111th Infantry. Hq., 2nd Bn., 111th Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces, France, 10th September, 1918. From : Commanding Officer, 2nd Battal- ion, 111th Infantry. To: Commanding Officer, 111th In- fantry. Subject: Repor-t of tour of duty from Sep- tember 5th to 8th, 1918, in elusive. 1. Per V. O. C. O., pursuant to Field Or- ders No. 32, Headquarters, 56th Infantry Bri- APPENDIX 235 irade, datofl 5 Septomlier, lOlS, this Battalion left its station (ravine one kilometer south- east of Fismes) at 3:30 P. M., as advance gnarfl to the regiment, mission being to get contact with the left flank of the French and the right flank of the 55th Infantry Brigade, TJ. S., their line.5 being, from available informa- tion, at points north of Courlaiidon. Contact with the French left (4th Regiment, 9th Divi- sion Infantry), was obtained by patrol at 6 P. M., 5 September, 1918. Contact was main- tained and our patrols to our left guard gained contact with the 55th Brigade, IJ. S. '(109th Infantry), at 7 o'clock P. M., 5 September, 1918. Our column advanced to a line between point at 209.8-288.7 to 210.2-288.3, where two companies w^ere deployed closing the gap be- tween the French and our 55th Brigade, which was our mission. The two remaining com- panies of the battalion were placed in close support. These positions were maintained throughout the night and until 1 P. M., 6 Sep- tember, 1918. 2. At 12:45 P. M., 6 September, 1918, a memorandum received from Colonel Ham, 109th Infantry, requesting that the battalion participate in a general attack to take place at 1 P. M., 6 September, 1918. The battalion went over the top at 1 :02 P. M., two companies (F and H) under Captain Robert S. Cain and one platoon. Machine Gun Company, 111th Infantry, under Lieut. Daniel W. Brooks in 236 OUR SECOND BATTALION the first line, and Companies G and E, under Captain Arthur L. Schlosser, and one platoon, Machine Gun Company, 111th Infantry, under Lieut. Edwey Z. Wainwright, in the second line. Companies A, B, C and D being placed at my disposal by the Commanding Officer, were placed in support. The attacking line advanced to a line from 209.9-289.2 to 210.4- 288.9. The enemy counter-attacked in force at 2 P. M., 6 September, 1918, counter-attack being made by the 20th Bavarian Infantry. Companies A and D were sent forward to re- inforce our lines and request was made to the Commanding Officer that companies of the 3rd Battalion be placed at my disposal in the event of enemy counter-attack breaking through. French troops withdrew about 200 yards in the face of the enemy counter-attack. Our troops, assisted by the fire from 111th Machine Gun Company, broke up the enemy counter-attack and held our position, after which the French line advanced to its original position and main- tained contact with our right. The 3rd Battal- ion with Company B, 109th Machine Gun Bat- talion, under Lieut. Strickler, arrived and was placed in the position occupied by our troops prior to the attack. These dispositions were maintained until relieved by the 207th French Infantry, relief being completed 3 A. M., 8 September, 1918. Our troops were withdrawn to St, Gilles. APPENDIX 237 3. Number of prisoners taken, 9; casual- ties: officers, killed, 4; wounded, 5; enlisted men, killed, 30; wounded, 240. William K. Dunlap, Major, llltli Infantry. Headquarters, lllth Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces, France, 11th September, 1918. From : Commanding Officer, llltli In- fantry. To: Commanding General, 28th Divi- sion. Subject: Operations lllth Infantry, lst-8th September, 1918. 1. During the night 31st August-lst Scip- tember, 1918, the Commanding Officer, lllth Infantry, took over command of the line of resistance of the sector occupied by the 56th Infantry Brigade, the 3rd Battalion of this regiment occupying the outpost zone, 2nd a^d 1st Battalions, resistance line. On 4 Septem- ber, 1918, the general advance of the 55th Brigade on our right and the 77th Division on our left having been ordered. Company K «ir this regiment, which occupied the sector east of Fismes, 206.6-286.8 to 207.3-286.8, joined the advance to the left of the 110th Infantry, crossed the Vesle River and established a bridge-head at 206.6-287.0. The balance of this 238 OUR SECOND BATTALION battalion being stationed in Fismes proper, had strong patrols advancing toward the Yesle River and while the general advance was in progress they accomplished a crossing and oc- cupied Fismette. These positions were held during the night of the 4th-5th September, 1918, by this battalion, while the balance of the regiment was moved to the ravine 205.0- 285.3. The Commanding General, 56th In- fantry Brigade, directed that the battalion in Fismes and Fismette clean up these towns, burying all American dead and assembling any German material of value. The Commanding Officer of this regiment made an inspection of both of these towns during the morning of 5 September, 1918, and upon his return from this inspection about noon, found a memoran- dum which directed him to prepare his regi- ment to advance in the direction of Concre- vaux and secure the line La Grande Hameau- Bouregard Fme. and Maizy, with the further information that a detailed order would be furnished soon and also verbal orders direct- ing the withdrawal of the 3rd Battalion from Fismes and Fismette^ these towns having been occupied by troops of the 77th Division. 2. Field Orders IS'o. 31, Hdqrs., 56th In- fantry Brigade, dated '5 September, 1918, were received about 2 P. M. Paragraph 3 of thl» order directed the advance by way of the St. Gilles-Fismes-Fismette-Baslieuw — 193.4 road, but contained no information as to the approx- APPENDIX 239 imate location of the right of the Aimericaii line and the left of the French line. An officer was dispatched to ohtain, if possible, from the Commanding General, 55th Infantry Brigade, these locations, and further, to ascertain if there was a bridge crossing available in the vicinity of Villette. The information obtained showed that the left of the French line was at about 210.3-287.7, the right of the American line at about 209.9-288.7, and that there was a bridge crossing north of Villette. With this information and with permission of the Com- manding General of the 56th Infantry Bri- gade, who was present, verbal orders were im- mediately issued to the assembled Battalion Commanders directing the advance of the regi- ment north on the St. Gilles-Fismes Road, thence east on the National Highway 21, thence north across the Yesle River , thence in a northeasterly direction toward the La Fosse au Diabl. The advance guard was composed of the 2nd Battalion with Machine Gun Com- pany of the 111th Infantry, 800 yards in the rear of the 1st Battalion with Company B, 109th Machine Gun Battalion. The advance guard commander was directed to proceed via the road indicated, sending out strong patrols to gain contact with the French left and the American right. On account of shell fire the entire advance was made in column of files. The advance guard moved out at 3 :30 P. M., and while the main body was passing through 240 OUR SECOND BATTALION Fismes a message was received from the Divi- sion Commander that there was apprehension of a counter-attack from Romain by way of Gde. Hameau and that we were to connect up with the American right flank so as to repel any such counter-attack. Copy of this mes- sage was immediately dispatched to the ad- vance guard commander, who received it at 5:45 P. M., and he was directed to push on and connect up with all possible dispatch. Message dated 6:40 P. M. from the advance guard commander gave the information that they were in contact with the French left and another message dated 7:35 P. M., that they had gained contact with the right of our 109th Infantry, and further message dated 8:06 P. M. gave the information that in connection with the French, the advance guard comman- der was closing the gap between the two lines by placing two companies on the line and two companies in close support. The 1st Battalion was moved up to about 209.7-288.4. The 3rd Battalion, Headquarters Company and Com- panies B and D, 109th Machine Gun Battalion were placed in Les Bois Haut de Courlandon and Kegimental P. C. established at 209.2- 287.5. At 11 :17 P. M., a message was sent by runner to the Commanding Officer, 109th In- fantry, advising him of the disposition of the several units of this regiment and requesting that runners be exchanged so that liaison could be maintained. Through the progress of APPENDIX 241 these events the movements were made under almost constant enemy shell fire. These posi- tions were maintained during the night 5th-6th September, 1918, the front line being subjected to considerable machine gun fire from the en- emy. The morning of the 6th September, 1918, the Commanding Officer of the 111th Infantry called on the Commanding Officer, 109th In- fantry, meeting him as he was on his way to the R C. of the 55th Infantry Brigade. The general situation was discussed and the Com- manding Officer, 109th Infantry, was of the opinion that no more than one Battalion of the 111th Infantry was necessary to strength- en his line between his right and the French left. He also stated that his mission to his Brigade P. C. was to receive orders covering the general advance of the whole liue and that he would advise me as soon as he had definite information as to what was to be done. At 12 :25 P. M., 6 September, 1918, the following message was received from the Commanding Officer, 109th Infantry : "From No. 1 Solo. At 288-209.3. Date: 6 September, 1918. Hour, 12:15. No. 2 Runner. To C. O., 111th Inf. We advance, general attack at 1 o'clock. Artillery preparation begins at 12 :56, prog- ress of the attack 100 meters to 4 minutes, at 242 OUR SECOND BATTALION first line on the crest of the hill running north- east and southwest, the crest being imme- diately in your front, halt 30 minutes for cov- ering fire on that line. Next advance to be at 100 meters in 5 minutes, next line halt about one kilometer in advance on a parallel line through La Grand Hameau and co-ordinate 290-210. Halt on this line for one hour with covering artillery fire for the entire line, then progress at the rate of 100 meters in 5 minutes, fallowing the artillery barrage as far as possi- ble. I am directed by the Brigade Commander to call on you for one battalion of two com- panies in the first line and two in support and keep in contact with the French on your right. Answer. ^am, Colonel.'^ This message was immediately dispatched by runner to the Commanding Officer, 2nd Battalion, this regiment, with the instructions to carry out the order and if necessary he could call on the 1st Battalion which was in support for any help that might be needed. The above message was received by him at 12 :45 P. M., and receipt of message of Com- manding Officer, 109th Infantry, was acknowl- edged, advising that the force requested wouid be furnished. This Battalion (2nd) joined in the attack and advanced about 300 meters be- yond the position originally held by them, when they met strong opposition which drove back the left of the French, exposing our right. APPENDIX 243 Our line held and broke up two counte - attacks made by the enemy, and the Frencfc then moved forward and joined to the ri^ht of our line. The counter-attack was suffcientlv strong and our casualties were so heavy as to cause the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Bat- talion to call upon our 1st Battalion for help, and he further requested that the 3rd Batall- ion, this regiment, be moved up to closer sup- port in case it might T3e needed. The report of Major Dunlap, attached hereto, gives more minor details of the action. When the call was made for the 3rd Bat- talion to move up, the Oomanding Officer of this regiment temporarily moved his P. C. to that of the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion in order to better judge the condi- tions existing. Major Dunlap had the situa- tion w^ell in hand, his dispositions were such as to repel any further counter-attacks and steps w^ere immediately taken to evacuate the wounded, bring up reserve ammunition and food for the men in the advance positions. The entire Headquarters Company was de- tailed for this work. All the work of evacua- tion, ammunition and food supply was started about 4 :30 P. M., 6 September, 1918, and con- tinued during the night of the 6th-7th Septem- ber, 1918. The approach to the position occu- pied by the troops was through a deep valley which was constantly shelled by the enemy, who used a large amount of gas, and the work 244 OUR SECOND BATTALION of these carrying parties was extremely diffi- cult. During the morning of the Tth Septem- T>er, 1918, the writer visited the P. C. of the Commanding General, 55th Infantry Brigade, making verbal report of the operation and showing distribution of troops. Information was obtained there that the regiment would be relieved during the night of 7th-8th September, 1918, by French troops. Later in the day the formal order was received and the relief by the 307th French Infantry was completed at 3 A. M., 8th September, 1918, the regiment withdrawing in small parties to ravine at 209.0-283.0, 203.0-279.7, and 202.8-281.95. 3. During the attack, nine German prison- ers were taken, two of whom were badly wounded. These were given first-aid and for- warded with the wounded of this regiment. The other seven were marched under guard and turned over to the Commanding General, 55th Infantry Brigade. There were all from the 20th Bavarian Infantry and one of them stated they had just taken their position in the line before the attack. The casualties dur- ing the period named were as follows: Offi- cers, killed, 4; wounded, 5. Enlisted men, killed, 32 ; wounded, 362 ; missing, 53. Of the 53 missing it is believed that none were taken prisoners and that all will eventually be re- turned to their command. E. C. Shannon, Colonel, 111th Infantry. APPENDIX 245 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE 2ND BATTALION, lllTH INFANTRY, 28TH DIVISION. The 2nd Battalion, 111th Infantry, com- posed of Companies E, F, G and H, under command of Captain William R. Dunlap, em- barked on the Liner Olympic on May 5th, 1918, and disembarked at Southampton, Eng- land, on May 13th, 1918, and was transported by rail to Dover on the same day. Embarked on a transport on May 14th, 1918, and crossed the English Channel, landing at Calais, France, that night. On this night was expe- rienced the first enemy air raid, no bombs were dropped in the vicinity of the "Rest Camp," therefore no casualties. At this point we were equipped with gas masks, etc., and entrained on May 17th for the training area. Arrived at Haut Loquiih on May 18th, where three com- panies of the battalion were billeted with Com- pany F at Bas Loquin. Then followed an in- tensive training program wdth British Forces (16th Royal Scots). The battalion, along with the rest of the regiment, left this area on June 9th and marched to Bout de la Ville that day, the fol- lowing day reached Beaumetz les Aire and the march was concluded on June 11th, when we reached Anvin, and where we were quartered in shelter tents. Entrained from this point June 13th and moved to Le Raincy and de- 246 OUR SECOND BATTALION trained June 14 th and marched to Vaudher- landy where we were billeted and started on a training program with the French. Left this area June 23rd and moved by auto trucks to St. Denis les Rebms, remaining there until June 29th, when we marched to Basseville, ar- riving there on the same date, and where we remained until July 4th, w^hen we took up the Secondary Defense Line in the vicinity of l^o- gent and Churly, and on the night of July 4th marched to the Grande Forest, arriving there the same date. On July 5th, the battalion marched to Basseville and from there to La None on the same day, leaving this point on July 8th for the Nogent-Charly Line^ and from there on the 13th we moved to the line in the vicinity of the Grand Queue Farm. At this time all moving was done under the cover of darkness. While in this position, on the night of July 14th, we received a heavy artillery fire from the enemy, but did not suffer any casual- ties. On the following day, however, a gas shell fell in a small building in which were a number of men from Company F and which resulted in about thirty casualties, men lx:ing gas burned and who were immediately evac- uated. The battalion was taken by auto trucks on the night of July 15th to reinforce the 3rd Division and arrived at the Bois de Aigremont at about 3 o'clock, July 16th, and on this date effected a relief of the 30th Infantry. On ihe afternoon of this day, we made our initial at- APPENDIX 247 tack on the enemy when a counter-attack was launched with the object of driving the Ger- man Forces, who had crossed the Marne, back across the river or taking them prisoners. The attack was successful and our forces re-occu- pied the sector to the river extending from Fossoy to the vicinity of Mezy. The 7th In- fantry was on our left and the 38th on our right. This position was held until July 21st, when we were relieved by the 7th Infantry and 38th Infantry, which extended their flanks, and we moved to the Grand Bordeaux Farm, arriving there on the same day. That night we marched to Chateau Thierry, where we remained until July 23rd, when we started in the 5th German Offensive Campaign, and on July 24th the battalion relieved a battalion of the 26th Division in the vicinity of Epieds, and on the morning of July 24th launched an attack on this village, but found it had been evacuated on the previous night. We took up the advance immediately and encountered the enemy in Foret de Fere, where the enemy was employing numerous machine gun nests snp- ported by artillery. In this action we suffered numerous casualties until relieved by the 42nd Division, a battalion of the 167th Infantry ef- fecting the relief. The battalion then marched to Bois de Tnifjny. where it rested with the balance of the regiment for two days and marched to the Foret de Fere in the vicinity of the Croiw Rouge Fme., our battalion, alon^ 248 OUR SECOND BATTALION with the rest of the regiment, being held in. re- serve. This battalion relieved a battalion of the 112th in a position in Le Grand Savarf^ the front being along the railroad, at this point north of the Vesle River. During the 10th of August strong patrols reconnoitered the woods northeast of this position toward Chateaiv de Diahl and it was found that the enemv was strongly entrenched with machine gun nests, supported by infantry. In this position, we were under constant enemy artillery fire, as well as snipers, who were causing us consid- erable trouble, and the enemy took advantage of the low ground and used considerable gas, but our casualties from gas were very sllglit. On the morning of the 11th, an attack >vas launched with the Rheims Road as the objec- tive. The attack was very successful, we driv- ing the enemy from his strongly held machine gun positions on the north side of the railroad and capturing about thirty machine guns, but owing to our barrage, as well as that of ihe enemy's, falling on the position, we were farced to fall back, as the shell fire was terrific and it was impossible to hold the position. We suffered very heavily in this operation, but the enemy's losses were much more, and from this time on we held the initiative and experienced little difficulty in re-occupying the captured territory of the previous attack, this position being held until relieved on the night of the APPENDIX 249 14th of August by a battalion of the 305th In- fantry, 77th Division. From this position we marched to La Garenne, arriving there on the morning of the 15th. The battalion remained in the reserve positon until the afternoon of September 5th, 1918, when, pursuant to F O. No. 32, Headquarters 56th Infantry Brigade, dated September 5th, 1918, we left our position (ravine one kilometer southeast of Fismes) as advance guard of the regiment with a mis- sion to gain contact with the left of the French (4th Regiment, 9th Division), and the right of the 55th Infantry Brigade (U. S.). The mis- sion was completed at 7 P. M., September 5th, 1918, the line being established at point 209.2- 288.7 to 210.2-288.3, with two companies on the line and two companies in close support. At 12 :45 P. M., September 6th, 1918, a memc- randum was received from Colonel Ham, com- manding 109th Infantry (the right element of the 55th Brigade), stating that we were to participate in a general attack which was to be launched at 13:00 hour, September 6th, 1918. At 13 :02, the battalion went over the top with Companies F and H, commanded by Captain Robert S. Cain, in the first wave, and Companies E and G in the second wave, com- manded by Captain Arthur L. Schlosser. The battalion was supported by the Machine Gun Company, 111th Infantry, and the 1st Bat- talion, 111th Infantry, with the 3rd Battalion, 111th Infantry, in reserve. The line advanced 250 OUR SECOND BATTALION to a line from 209.9-289.2 to 210.4-288.9, where a counter-attack was launched by the enemy (20th Bavarian Infantry). The French on our right withdrew in the face of the couiiter- attack aibout a distance of 200 yards, but our troops, assisted by the machine gun fire from the 111th Machine Gun Company, broke up the counter-attack without giving any grc^und, and through this work, enabled the French on our right to pull up with the lines. This posi- tion was organized and held until relieved by the 307th French Infantry, which was com- pleted at 3 A. M., Septem'ber 8th, 1918. On being relieved, our troops marched to tlie vicinity of St. Gilles. In this operation nine prisoners were taken. Our casualties were: Officers, killed, 4 ; wounded, *5. Enlisted men, killed, 30; wounded, 240. The division being relieved, we moved south, leaving St. Gilles September 9th, 1918, left Bois des Rheims, September 10th, arriving at Bois de la Bouley September 12th, 1918. Marched to Bois Epernay, where we embussed on the night of September 12th, 1918, and ar- rived at Mogneville September 13th, 1918, where we rested for two days, and then started a training program which was stopped in the afternoon when replacements were received, and pursuant to V. O. C. O., the battalion, along with other elements of the 111th In- fantry, proceeded to march on the night of September 16th, 1918, to the Argonne Forest, APPENDIX 251 arriving there September 18th, 1918, and rested imtil the night of September 25th, 1918, when the Meuse-Argonne offensive started. At the start, of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, the battalion acted as division reserve and on the afternoon of September 26th, 1918, in com- pliance with telephonic orders from the Divi- sion Commander, advanced from the point of departure to report to C. O., 56th Infantry Brigade, and then to form a combat liaison between the 77th Division on the left of our Division Sector and the right of the 112th Infantry, which occupied the left of the 28th Division Sector, the liaison between these two units having been broken. Contact with the above units was est^ablished early evening of September 26th, 1918, and at dawn Septem- ber 27th, 1918, the battalion was ordered to advanee in conjunction with the 77th Division on our left and the 112th Infantry on our right. Companies F and G on the front line and E and H on the second line, were only able to move forward a short distance and was held up by intense fire from the enemy, who was strongly entrenched in the vicinity of co- ordinance 00.0-71 to 01.0-79, this position be- ing supported by machine gun nests, trench mortars and 37 mms. These trenches were pro- tected by very heavy wire entaglements all along the front. The battalion was held at this position until the morning of September 28th, 1918, when our battalion occupied their 252 OUR SECOND BATTALION trenches 8 :30 A. M., and there waited the ad- vance of the 77th Division to maintain along our left, we having advanced without the 77th Division. At this point the battalion was replaced by the 3rd Battalion, 111th Infantry, who took up the advance, our battalion being ordered to report to the Chief of Staff, 28th Division, at Varennes. . The battalion commander reported in the afternoon and was there given verbal in- structions to report with his battalion to the C. O. 55th Infantry Brigade for disposal. While enroute to fulfill this mission, we were met by the Division Commander, Major Gren- eral Charles H. Muir, who instructed Major Dunlap to take his battalion to the vicinity of Monthlainville and remain there for the night. The morning of the 29th of September, 1918, the battalion was ordered to report to the C. 0., 56th Infantry Brigade (Colonel Conger) for disposition. The battalion reached the advance element of the 56th In- fantry Brigade aibout 10 A. M., and was or- dered to take Le Chene Tondu, attack to be made at 11 :30 A. M. Owing to our artillery barrage falling in the area over which we were to advance, the attack was delayed until about 11 :45 A. M., when the battalion advanced over the crest of the ridge and was there held up by the enemy's strongly held position. At this point, Captain Arthur L. Schlosser, Command- ing Officer, Company G, 111th Infantry, was APPENDIX 253 killed, and our casualties from enemy machine gun nests and snipers were very heavy. Com- panies E' and H were in the assaulting wave, closely supported by Companies F and G. Attack was made at 6 P. M., this date, in com- pliance with orders of the brigade commander, who had ordered preparatory machine gun barrage. Before this attack had properly de- veloped, darkness fell and Companies E and H suffered numerous casualties, they having •advanced to their objective, but owing to the impossibility to dislodge the enemy on our left, the line was re-established at point from which it started. Our battalion orgauized this line on Le Chene Tondu and on the morning of September 30th, 1918, the enemy launched a counter attack at dawn which was repulsed after inflicting heavy losses on the enemy, and this position was held until the morning of October 6th, 1918. The enemy evacuated this position and the battalion went forward to La Yergette, where Companies E and F were sta- tioned to protect this point, and Companies G and H went around the right flank to dislodge the enemy who was holding up the advance of our 1st Battalion. Companies G and H spent the night at Slope Hill 244 and in the morn- ing, in conjunction with Companies E and F, who were given orders to report to the battal- ion commander for disposal, for liaison with a battalion of the 77th Division on our left, at 2 :30 P. M., the advance was resumed in con- 254 OUR SECOND BATTALION junction with the 77th Division on our left and reached the old railroad which was our objective. We were later ordered to advance disregarding our flanks, which was complied with about 5 P. M., with Companies G and H on the first line and E and F in support. The line advanced about 500 yards, both being held up by heavy machine gun fire from the enemy. Company E and Machine Gun Company, 111th Infantry, being used to protect the flanks of the first line. V^Tiile in this position the bat- talion was relieved by a battalion of the 82nd Division, the relief being completed under a heavy fog about 7 A. M. The division being relieved, we later moved by trucks to Jouy-les-CoteSj arriving there Oc- tober 11th, 1918, where we remained until the night of October 15th, 1918, when we moved by trucks to Pannes and from there marched to the front line position in the vicinity of Jaulny, where we relieved two battalions of the 37th Division. While in this position numer- ous raids were effected. We were relieved by a battalion of the 7th Division on October 28th, 1918, and from there went back to rest at Bois de Nonsard^ arriving there same date. The battalion remained at Boi^ de Nonsard training and preparing for another drive until the 7th of November, when we received the alert at 2 :45 A. M. and remained in readiness to march to Xammes and support the 1st Bat- talion. The order giving the alert was re- APPENDIX 255 scinded the same day and the training program was resumed. On November 10th, at 3 A. M., an order was received to prepare to move into the lines at once. At 5 A. M. the battalion marched to ^t. Benoity thence to XammeSy and received orders to support the 1st Battalion in an at- tack on Dampvitoux, zero hour being 2 P. M. From Xammes the battalion marched to Bois de Chary, where we took up our position ; the I'st Battalion having just then cleared the Bois de Chary, and waited for word from the 1st Battalion that they had reached their ob- jective, at which time w^e were to advance through and take Donmartin. No message having been received as to their progress. Cap- tain Fetterman, acting battalion commander, led the battalion to the southern edge of Bois Donmartin, reporting to Lieut. Colonel Sue- cop, who stated that the attack had failed and that his battalion was retreating. H Com- pany immediately passed through them and took up a position on the northern edge of the woods, driving the Germans back to their trenches. E Company, in the meantime, had taken a position on the right of H Company. G Company sent a platoon to reinforce the left of H Company and the remainder of G Com- pany and all of F Company remained in close support. The entire battalion was in position about 5 P. M. Report was made to Colonel Armistead and he ordered us to hold that posi- 256 OUR SECOND BATTALION tion for the night and be prepared to resume the advance at dawn, the 3rd Battalion being in support. About 4 :10 A. M., November 11th, word was received that the advance would not be continued, and at 9 :30 A. M., a message was received that all hostilities would cease at 11 A. M. We left the Bois Donmartin at 6 P. M. and marched back to Bois de Nonsard^ arriv- ing there about 11 :3Q P. M. Our casualties were four men killed and twenty-three wounded. On November 16th, H Company was sent to Mo/rs la Tour to return prisoners of war. They remained there until November 24th. The battalion remained at the Bois de Non- sard training and salvaging until December 23rd, when we moved to Hattonville. The training program was continued there until January 6th, when the whole division moved south. Battalion Headquarters was in Burey en Vaux, with Companies F and H, and Companies E and G were on the other side of the Meuse River in Sepvigny. The battalion entrained at Maxey sur Vaise for Le Moms March 16th, 1919, arriving there March 18th, 1919. Entrained at Le Mans for St. Nazaire, Port of Embarkation, April 13th, 1919, arriv- ing there April 14th, 1919, and embarking for the United States April 18th, 1919. Arrived in the United States April 29th, 1919. APPENDIX 257 Headquarters, 111th Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces, France, April 9th, 1919. From: Commanding Officer, 111th In- fantry. To: Commanding General, 28th Divi- sion. Subject: History of the 111th Infantry in American Expeditionary Forces. 1. The 111th U. S. Infantry left Camp Hancock, Georgia, April 28th, 1918, at noon, in four trains routed for Camp Upton, N. Y., and arrived at that station on May 1st, 1918. On May 2nd, 3rd and 4t.h, the time was occu- pied with the necessary paper work and inspec- tion of equipment of the command in prepara- tion for sailing overseas. On May 5th, the regiment left Camp Upton by train and boarded the H. M. S. "Olympic" in New York City. This transport also carried Headquar- ters, 56th Infantry Brigade, and two battal- ions of the 59th U. S. Infantry, which organi- zation was in command of Major Farrell. 2. The transport sailed at 2 P. M., and the trip was uneventful until 4 A. M. May 12th, at which hour the transport rammed the Ger- man Submarine U-103. At 4 A. M. on May 11th, the transport was picked up at sea by four U. S. Destroyers, which convoyed the transport until 4 A. M. May 12th. When the transport rammed the submarine, these de- stroyers immediately surrounded the sinking 258 OUR SECOND BATTALION boat and picked up fifteen survivors. At 6 :30 A. M., May 12th, land was sighted and the outer harbor of Southampton, England, reached. Transport came to anchor at 2 :30 P.M. 3. The regiment landed at Southampton at 2 P. M., May 13th, and boarded troop trains for Dover J arriving there at 8 P. M. Troops were placed in barracks in that city for the night and on May 14th the entire regiment was transported by boat from Dover, England, to Calais, France, arriving at 2 :45 P. M., and marching to a British Rest Camp, where troops were sheltered in canvas tents. On May 16th and 17th, all surplus clothing, bar- rack bags and U. S. rifles were turned over to the British and the British rifle issued in lieu thereof. All officers and men were put through the gas house and Issued British gas masks. 4. On May 18th, the regiment left Calais at 7:45 A. M., by troop train and arrived at Lumhres at 2 :3Q P. M., marching from that station to the vicinity of Seninghem, where they were billeted for the night. On May 19th, the regiment marched from Seninghem and took up the following stations : Regimental Headquarters, Headquarters Company and Supply Company at Alquines; 1st Battalion, Bouvelinghem; 2nd Battalion, Haut Loqmn and Bas Louqm; 3rd Battalion, Journy; and Machine Gun Company, Le Wast. APPENDIX 259 5. From May lOtli until June 9th, 1918, the division was in training with the British Forces, the training of this regiment being un- der the supervision of Lieut. Colonel Stephen- son, 16th Royal Scots. During the period of training, all the men of the regiment fired the British rifle on the rifle ranges. On June 8th, the British rifles were exchanged for the U. S. rifle, model 1917, and on June 9th the regiment started on a three days' march to Anvin. On the night of June 9-10, Regimental Headquar- ters was in Thiemhronne, night of June 10-11, Lishourg, arriving in Anvin 1 :20 P. M., June 11th, and bivouacking there on the outskirts of that towTi. 6. At 9 :20 P. M., June 12th, 1918, the regi- ment begain entraining, the first train leav- ing the station at Anvin at 12 :27 A. M., June 13th, arriving at Le Raincy 9 :20 P. M., June 13th, The several trains used to transport the regiment carried all the animal transport of the regiment, and upon arriving at Le Raincy the troops were detrained and unloaded the transport, and at 11 :35 P. M., June 1311i, started to march, arriving at Bouneuil at 4 :45 A. M., June lith, where billets were procured for the troops. On June 15th, Regimental Headquarters was moved to Le TMllay, at which town were stationed Headquarters Com- pany, Supply Company and 3rd Battalion; the 1st Battalion in Bonneuil; 2nd Battalion, 260 OUR SECOND BATTALION Vaudherland; and Machine Gun Oompany in Fort de Stain, 7. The above change of stations relieved iis from training with the British Forces and brought us under the control of the French Army, and on June 15th training with the troops of that army was begun and continued up to and including June 22nd. 8. On June 23rd, the regiment was moved by trucks to ^^'f. Denis les Rehais^ where train- ing under the French troops was continued. 9. On June 29th, the regiment changed station by marching. Regimental Headquar- ters was established in Pit, Villiers. While marching to this point, an order was received from the Brigade Commander, directing that two platoons of infantry were to be chosen by the Regimental Commander and directed to proceed by marching to Basseville^ where a guide would be met to take them to the station of the 153rd French Infantry. On arriving at that station they were reported to the Com- manding Officer of that organization for duty. The 153rd French Infantry, part of the 39th French Division, under the command of Gen- eral Pougin, was operating in the vicinity of Hill 204. The Regimental Commander selected one platoon from Company A and one platoon from Company B, consisting of one officer and fifty men in each platoon. These two platoons reported on time and served with the 153rd French Infantry, joining with them in an at- APPENDIX 261 tack on Hill 204 in the afternoon of July 1st, where they made a brilliant record for their dash and courage. Both platoon commanders have been decorated with the Croix de Guerre, as well as a numl>er of enlisted men from each platoon, and each platoon, as a unit, has been awarded the Croix de Guerre. The two platoons rejoined the regiment July 2nd, with a total of two officers and sixty-one men, with casualties of thirty-nine men. 10. While training in the new area, regi- mental, battalion and company commanders were conducted by French officers to the ground on which we established a reserve line on the south bank of the Mame River^ which was to be used in case of a further advance of the German forces. At midnight July 3rd^ the regiment was ordered to occupy this line and the occupation was completed at 6 :30 A. M., July 4th. At noon of July 4th, the regi- ment was ordered to move, by marching, to Grande Foret, arriving there at 6 P. M., where it went into bivouac, and at 5 :30 A. M., July 5th, moved, by marching, to its former billets in the Basseville area, with Regimental Head- quarters at Vatrie. At 8:45 P. M., the same date, Regiment-J Headquarters was moved to Fosse Ardois. On July 5th, the Trench Mor- tar Platoon of Headquarters Company was or- dered to join the 153rd French Infantry. The platoon rejoined the regiment July 7th, with casualties of three men killed. On July 7th, 262 OUR SECOND BATTALION one platoon from Company L and one platoon from Company M were sent to serve with the 153rd French Infantry. On July 9th, Com- panies I and K were sent to serve with the 146th French Infantry in an operation around Vaux and Hill 204. On July 8th, the entire regiment took position on the reserve line, with Regimental Headquarters in Le Mesnil^ and occupied the Regimental Sector until July 13th, 1918, during Vhich period a number of changes in the line were made, owing to the de- tachment of the several units of the regiment. During this period the line was subjected to considerable enemy shell fire, particularly in the sector occupied by the 2nd Battalion, and later by that occupied by the 3rd Battalion in the vicinity of Nogent V Artaud. 11. On July 15th, the 2nd Battalion was ordered to be reported to the Commanding General, 3rd Division, in the vicinity of Per- tihout Fme. for the relief of the 30th U. S. Infantry, which was operating along the Marne River between Fossoy and Crezancy. On July 16th, the 1st Battalion was ordered to Viffort and taken by truck from that point and reported to the Commanding General, 3rd Division, and used in support of our 2nd Bat- talion, which had taken over the front line of the 30th U. S. Infantry. On July 17th, two companies of the 30th U. S. Infantry arrived in Le Mesnil, under command of Major Castle, very much demoralized by their recent ser- APPENDIX 263 vice. They were bivouacked in the woods near that town and fed by our troops. The same date, the Regimental Commander was directed to rex>ort on the following day to the Com- manding Greneral, 3rd Division, with Head- quarters Company and Machine Gun Com- pany. On July 18th, Companies I and K re- turned from duty with the French Army and rejoined the 3rd Battalion at Petite Noues. The same date, the Regimental Commander, with the Headquarters Company and Machine Gun Company, reported to the Commanding General, 3rd Division, and was directed to pro- ceed by marching to Grieves Fme.^ where guides would be met to conduct the troops to the position of the 30th U. S. Infantry. At 1 :15 A. M. the troops reached the position of the 30th U. S. Infantry^ and tho Regimental Commander took over the command of the sec- tor, relieving Colonel Edmund L. Butts. While going into this position there were a number of casualties caused by heavy enemy shell fire. 12. During the night of July 20-21, the sec- tor held by this regiment was taken over by the 7th and 38th Infantries, this regiment withdrawing and marching to Grande Bor- deaux Fme.j arriving at that point at 4 A. M., July 21st. At 3 :30 P. M., the same date, on verbal orders, Captain Boles, aide to the Com- manding General, 28th Division, the regiment marched through Chateau Thierry, crossed the Marne River on a pontoon bridge and biv- 264 OUR SECOND BATTALION Quacked near Brasles. Late in the afternoon of July 22nd, the regiment was moved into the Bois De Barhilon and bivouacked. At 1 :30 A. M., July 23rd, orders were received directing the regiment to move to Verdilly, thence hy the route of the 112th Infantry, which was in- dicated in the order, to Grande Rue Fme. While enroute verbal orders were received directing the Commanding Officer of this regi- ment to report with his regiment to the Com- manding General, 26th Division, on the arrival of his troops at Grande Rue Fme. This order was completed at 9 A. M., and the troops were bivouacked in the woods east and north of the above mentioned fann. On the afternoon of this same day the Regimental Commander was ordered to reconnoiter the positions held by the 101st and 102nd U. S. Infantries, with the view of relieving them during the night with the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of this regiment. This order was complied with and the relief completed 3 :30 A. M., July 24th. While the relief was being carried out, orders were re- ceived to make an attack at 6 :15 A. M. The attack was started on time, and as no opposi- tion was met, the advance was continued under orders of the Commanding General of the 56th Infantry Brigade, who, in the meantime, had taken over the sector, and who directed that the advance should be continued until strong resistance was met with. The objective was to be La Croix Rouge Fme. The advance con- APPENDIX 265 tinued during the day with little opposition, except some macliine gun fire on the left flank of the sector, and while advancing through the Foret De Fere, ahout 4 P. M., severe machine gun fire was met with. An effort was made to clear the way, two companies in the action. Tliis fight occurred in a dense forest and con- tinued for about an hour. Owing to the ap- proach of darkness and the strong opposition met with, it was decided to hold the ground gained and entrench for the night. The casual- ties thus far were five killed and fifteen wounded. Company K was placed on the front line and dug in; the balance of the troops echeloned to the rear and dug in. During the night the position was subjected to heavy enemy shelling, principally Austrian 88's. The position was held during that night and the following day. In the late afternoon, orders were received that the sector would be taken over by the 167th U. S. Infantry. Relief was completed after dark that night and the troops marched to Conrpoil and thence to Trugny WoodSj where the regiment was as- sembled and bivouacked. 13. On July 28th, the regiment was moved to the Vente Jean De Guillame, and held in reserve at that point until August 3rd. On the night of August 3rd, the regiment was moved by marching through Gierges, Sergy and Gour- mont to Party Farm (Villome), and bivouack- ed there. On August 5th, the regiment was 266 OUR SECOND BATTALION moved to Bois Chenet and held in that vicinity until August 8th, when the 1st Battalion and one-pounder platoon of Headquarters Com- pany was sent to the support of the 112th U. S. Infantry, who had relieved troops of the 32nd Division on the Vesle River, On August 9th, the 2nd Battalion was sent as fur*ther sup- port to the 112th Infantry, and on August 10th the command of the sector was taken over by the Commanding Officer of the 111th Infantry, and the entire regiment placed in position. The regiment operated in this sector, including Fismes, Fismette^ and two kilometres west of Fismes, from August 10th to 14th. On the night of August 15th the left sector of the regi- ment was relieved by a battalion of the 305th U. S. Infantry, 77th Division, and the right sector by the 109th U. S. Infantry, 28th Di- vision, this regiment withdrawing and bi- vouacking in the vicinity of Abhy d' Igny, re- maining there until August 18th, when it was moved to the support line in the vicinity of Dravegfiy. This position was held, with bat- talions alternating in the front line on the Vesle River until September 4th, when the 3rd Battalion recaptured Fismette. On Sep- tember 5th, the 3rd Battalion was withdrawn from Fismette and the regiment ordered to close a gap in the positions between the right of the 109th U. S. Infantrv^ and the left of i\iQ French troops operating north of the Yesle River in the vicinity of Coiirlandon. The gap APPENDIX 267 was closed on the night of September 5th, and on the afternoon of September 6th a general advance in the entire line was made, which re- sulted in a brisk engagement, with rather heavy casualties. The ground gained was held and on the night of September 7-8, the regi- ment was relieved by troops from the 62nd French Division and marched to St. Gilles. On September 9th, the regiment was moved^ by marching, to Bois Be Reims. On September 10th, the regiment moved by marching to Bois Be Ln Bouloy, and rested in bivouac until September 12th, when it was moved by trucks to Mogneville, Contrisson and Beury. The regiment rested here until the night of Sep- tember 16th, when it received orders to move to the vicinity of Neufour, marching by night. 14. This area was the point selected for this regiment in the operation in the Argonne Forest. On the night of September 25th, the regiment was moved to position to jump off at 2:30 A. M., September 26th, in the Argonne Brive, and from 2 :30 A. M., September 26th until October 10th, the regiment was in the front line in the drive through the Argonne^ being relieved by the 82nd U. S. Division on October 9-10. The regiment was marched to the vicinity of Pont cm Lune. On October 11th the regiment marched to Parois^ where it took trucks for the new area, with Eegimental Headquarters at Rangevale, 1st and 2nd Bat- talion Headquarters at Jouy-les-Cotes, 3rd 268 OUR SECOND BATTALION Battalion at Euville. The regiment rested here until October 15th, when it Avas moved to the Thiaucourt Hector, relieving the 37th Division. 15. On the night of the 27th of October, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were relieved by the 64th U. S. Infantry, the 1st Battalion remain- ing in the line. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions were bivouacked in the Bois de Nonsard until November 4th, when the 3rd Battalion was moved to Beney in support of the 1st Battalion on a reconnaissance. The attack was unsuc- cessful and the 3rd Battalion was returned to their original bivouac. On November 5th, the 1st Battalion was relieved by the 112th In- fantry and bivouacked in Bois De Buixeran- hois in the vicinity of Nonsard. 16. Field Order No. 56, issued November 8t(h, going into effect on November 9th, moved the 1st Battalion to Xaimnes and the remain- der of the regiment at 7 A. M., on November 10th to Ht. Donmartin. The attack by the 1st Battalion being unsuccessful, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were moved to its support on the 10th and were in the line November 11th at 11 A. M. when the Armistic went into effect. 17. By direction of the Commanding Gen- eral, the regiment returned to its area in the vicinity of Nonsard on the afternoon of No- vember 11th, and remained there in training and salvaging until December 11th. The 1st Battalion was moved to Pannes to a better area. On December 20th, the 2nd Battalion APPENDIX 269 was moved to Hattonville. On December 21st, the 1st Battalion moved to Greue. This move was for the bettering of billets for the men. On December 23rd, Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Company was also moved to Creue. The regiment remained in the new area until January 6th, when the division was moved to the Colomhey-les-Belle area, with Regimental Headquarters at Maxey-sur-YaAse^ 1st Battalion Headquarters at Maxey-sur- Vaisey 2nd Battalion at Burey-en-Yaux, 3rd Battalion at Champougny. Headquarters were established at Maxey-sur-Yaise January 8th. The regiment remained in this area in training until March 16th, when the move was begun to the Le Mans area. Move was com- pleted March 19th, with the entire regiment in the Le Mans Forwarding Camp. 18. The casualties for this regiment were as follows : Fifth German Offensive, Chatea/w Thierry, July 14th, 1918 : Killed— Officers, 2 ; men, 29. Wounded — Officers, 3; men, 369. Missing — Officers, ; men, 26. Advance on the Yesle River, July 28th to September 7th, 1918: Killed— Officers, 14; men, 179. Wounded — Officers, 18; men, 956. Missing — Officers, ; men, 290. Meiise-Argonne Offensive, September 26th to October 10: Killed— Officers, 3; Men, 259. Wounded — Officers, 11; Men, 563. Missing — Officers, ; Men, 69. 270 OUR SECOND BATTALION Thiaucourt Sector^ October 15th to Novem- ber 11th, 1918 : Killed— Officers, 1 ; Men, 29 ; Wounded — ^Officers, 1; Men, 189; Missing — Officers, 0; Men, 91 Totals: Killed— Officers, 30; Men, 496; Wounded — ^^Officers, 33 ; Men, 2,077. Missing — Officers, ; Men, 482. 19. The following Grerman material was captured by the several units of this Regiment during the actions named below : Companies I and K, on Hill 204 with 146th French Infantry, two light Machine Guns and loading machine, July 9th, 1918. Attack on Foret De Fere, July 24th, 1918, two light machine guns. August llth-15th, 1918, Fismette, one heavy machine gun, eight light machine guns, seven flame throwers. August llth-15th, on Vesle River, West of Fismes, thirty light machine guns. August 31st, 1918, on Vesle River, one light machine gun. September 5th-7th, North of Vesle River, four light machine guns. Argonne Action, September 26th-Octol>er 10th, 1918: 2 — 210's on first day of Argonne drive near Pont au Liine ; 2 — 6 inch Howitzers near Pont au Lune; 6 — Narrow gauge cars with artillery ammu- nition ; APPENDIX 271 2 — Narrow gauge locomotives on Lre Chene Tondu ; 1 — Dummy Tank on Le Chene Tondu ; 1 — German Canteen (Cigars, cigarettes, white bread, fresh vegetables, fresh beef), in sector West of Varennes ; 1 — Complete German Supply Train South of Le Chene Tondu ; 1 — German Field Hospital on Le Chene Tondu ; 1 — German Munition Dump on Le Chene Tondu ; 1 — German moving picture house. Beer Gar- den and gymnasium on Le Chene Tondu ; 5 — Heavy machine guns on Le Chene Tondu ; 23 — Light machine guns on Le Chene Tondu. E. C. SHANNON, Colonel, 111th Infantry. CITATIONtS. VI Army Hq. 3rd Bureau P. C, the 26 July, 1918. No. 2. 283/3 Note. The President of the Republic during a visit that he had made to the VI Army has ex- pressed his satisfaction on the results obtained as well as for the qualities of bravery^ and en- durance that have been showTi by all the units of the army. 272 OUR SECOND BATTALION The General commanding the VI Army is pleased to transmit to the troops of his army the felicitations of the President of the Re- public. (Signed) General Degoutte. VI Army Hq. 3rd Bureau P. C, the 26th July, 1918. No. 2. 284/3 Note. The General commanding the VI Army de- sires to bring to the attention of the troops of the Army the following resolution passed by the Mayors of the arrondissement of Mecmx at a meeting held 20th of July, 1918 : "The mayors of the arrondissement of Meanx at a meeting on July 20, 1918, are pleased to welcome the great victory of the VI Army that has saved their communes from the invasion that was menacing them at the time of the battle of the Marne. They desire to convey to the valiant troops of the VI Army a sincere expression of their gratitude and their admiration. Le President du Gongres des Maires. (Signed) G. Hugel, Maire de Meaux, Depute de Seine-Marne/' The General Commanding the VI Army is pleased to transmit these felicitations to the troops of his army. (Signed) General Degoutte. APPENDIX 273 X Armee Etat-Major 3rd Bureau Au. Q. G. A., 30 July, 1918. No. 862/S. ORDER GENERAL No. 318. OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS OF THE 28TH DIVISION: Shoulder to shoulder to your French com- rades you were thrown into the counter-offen- sive hattle which commenced on the 18th of July. You rushed into the fight as though to a fete. Your magnificent courage completely routed a surprised enemy and your indomitable ten- acity checked the counter-attacks of his fresh divisions. You have shown yourselves worthy sons of your great country and you were admitted by your brothers in arms. 91 guns, 7200 prisoners, immense booty, 10 kilometers of country reconquered; this is your portion of the spoil of this victory. Furthermore, you have really felt your su- -perioritj over the barbarous enemy of the whole human race, against whom the children of Liberty are striving. To attack him is to vanish him. 274 OUR SECOND BATTALION American Comrades: I am grateful to you for the blood so generously spilled on the soil of my country. I am proud to have commanded you during such days and to have fought with you for the deliverance of the world. ( Signed ) Mangin. VI ARMY Headquarters, Aug , 1918. 38th Army Corps (French) Ordre. The time having come for him to hand over the command of the zone of battle to General Bullard, commanding the 3rd Corps, A. E. F., General Mondesir, commanding the 38th French Corps, addresses all his thanks to the splendid troops of the 28th and 32nd American Divisions, who have proved during the pur- suit, which is still being continued, not only their courage, but also their staying qualities. The casualties, the toils and the hardships, due to the difficulty of bringing up rations dur- ing the marching and fighting of this period, were unable to break their high morale, their go and their warlike spirit. General de Mondesir is proud to have the opportunity to command them. He hopes that the day will come when he will have them next to him as comrades in our common fight. (Signed) L. de Mondesir, General Commanding 38th Army Corps. APPENDIX 275 G. H. Q., American Expeditionary Forces. General Orders ) -r^ . oo -.^^o ^j ^.^ > France, Aug. 28, 1918. No. 143. ) > & ? It fills me with pride to record in General Orders a tribute to the service and achieve- ments of the 1st and 3rd Corps, comprising the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 26th, 28th, 32nd and 42nd Divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces. You came to the battlefield at the crucial hour of the Allied cause. For almost four years the most formidable army the world has as yet seen had pressed its invasion of France, and stood threatening its capital. At no time had that army been more powerful or men- acing than when, on July 15th, it struck again to destroy in one great battle the brave men opposed to it and to enforce its brutal will upon the world and civilization. Three days later, in conjunction with our Allies, you counter-attacked. The Allied Armies gained a brilliant victory that marks the turning point of the war. You did more than give our Brave Allies the support to which as a nation our faith was pledged. You proved that our altruism, our pacific spirit, our sense of justice, have not blunted our viril- ity or our courage. You have shown that American initiative and energy are as fit for the test of the w^ar as for the pursuits of peace. 276 OUR SECOND BATTALION You have justly won tlie unstinted praise of our Allies and the eternal gratitude of our countrymen. We have paid for our success in the lives of many of our brave comrades. We shall cherish their memory always, and claim for our his- tory and literature their bravery, achievement and sacrifice. John J. Pershing, General, Commander-in-Chief. Headquarters, 28th Division, American Expeditionary Forces. General Orders 7 * ^ onxt, -.a-io -j^ ^o \ August 30th, 1918. The Division Commander is authorized to inform all, from the lowest to the highest, that their efforts are known and appreciated. A new division, by force of circumstances, took its place in the front line in one of the greatest battles of the greatest war of history. The division has acquitted itself in a creditable manner. It has stormed and taken a point that was regarded proof against assault. It has taken numerous prisoners from a vaunted guards division of the enemy. It has inflicted on the enemy far more loss than it has suffered from him. In a single gas application it in- flicted more damage than the enemy inflicted on it by gas since its entry into battle. APPENDIX 277 It is desired these facts be brought to the attention of all, in order that the tendency of new troops to allow their minds to dwell on their own losses to the exclusion of what they have done to the enemy may be reduced to the minimum. Let all be good of heart. We have inflicted more loss than we have suffered ; we are better men individually than our enemies. A little more grit, a little more effort, a little more determination to keep our enemies down and the division will have the right to look upon itself as an organization of veterans. (Signed) Charles H. Muir, Major General. Advanced Headquarters, First Army Corps. October 8, 1918. From: Commanding General, 1st Army Corps, U. S. To: Commanding General, 28th Divi- sion. Subject : Commendation. I desire to express to the 28th Division and its commander my appreciation of the splen- did work done by the division on October 7, 1918. The capture of Hill 244 and the combined advance of the right and left brigades, bring- 278 OUR SECOND BATTAIJON ing about the fall of the very strong positions of the enemy on the Chene Tondu and the Taille VAblje, demonstrate excellent leader- ship and first-class fighting ability. The advance in exploitation in front of your right brigade resulting from the foregoing actions, was a very bold procedure, which ^vdll undoubtedly lead to even greater results. (Signed) H. Liggett, Major General, U. S. A. Headquarters, 28th Division, American Expeditionary Forces. General Orders 1 ^ r\ j. x. o-iin-io ,^ .^ \ France, October 21, 1918. No. 19. 5 ' 1. The Division Commander desires to ex- press his appreciation to all officers and sol- diers of the 28th Division and of attached units, who, at all times during the advance in the valley of the Aire and in the Argonne Forest, in spite of many hardships and con- stant personal danger, gave their best efforts to further the success of the division. 2. As a result of this operation, which ex- tends from 5 :30 on the morning of September 26th until the night of 8-9 October, with almost continuous fighting, the enemy's line was forced back more than ten kilometers. In spite of most stubborn and at times desperate resistance the enemy was driven out of Grand Boureuilles; Petite Boureiiilles, Yarennes, APPENDIX 279 Monthlainville^ Apremont, Pleincha^np Farm, LaForge and Chat el Chehery, and the strong- holds on hills 223, 224 and Lg Chene Tondu were captured in the face of strong machine gun and artillery fire. 3. As a "new'' Division on the Vesle, the Twenty-eighth was cited in Orders from Gen- eral Headquarters for its excellent service, and the splendid work just completed assures it a place in the very front ranks of the fight- ing ^^Red" Divisions. With such a position to maintain it is expected that every man will devote his he^ efforts to the work at hand — to hasten that final vicory which is now so near. By command of Major General Muir: W. C. Sweeney, Chief of Staff. Official : Richard W. Watson, Maj or- Ad j utant. Headquarters, Second Army. American E. F. France, 5 November, 1918. From : Commanding General, Second Army. To: Commanding General, 28th divi- sion, A. E. F. Subject: Recent activity of 28th Division. I desire to inform you of my gratification at the vigorous and succesful activities of your 280 OUR SECOND BATTALION division since its entry into line on the front of the Second Army. The recent patrols and raids have resulted in making No Man's Land our land in lowering the morale of the hostile units on jour front, as well as inflicting losses on them, and capturing a considerable number of prisoners. Such conduct exemplifies the American spirit and cannot fail to create a feeling of confidence on the part of our own troops and the corresponding depression on the part of the enemy. The 28th Division has shown its ability to execute promptly the tasks which have been given it to perform, and its officers and men have exhibited an efficiency and dash which are highly commendable. (Signed) R. L. Bullard, Lieutenant General, U. S. A. TELEGRAMS. Hqrs. II Army, 1 Nov., 1918. Commanding General, 28th Division. Congratulate your Division on the way in which they are bagging the Boche. It is fine. Bullard. APPENDIX 281 Hqrs. II Army, 2 Nov., 1918. Commanding General, 28th Division. Another big bag of Boehe. I again con- gratulate the 28th Division. You surely know how to do it. Bullard. IVth Corps, 2 November, 1918. Commanding General, 28th Division. Accept for yourself and convey to the Offiicers and men of your Division who par- ticipated in this morning's raid of the Bois Bonseil my appreciation of the excellent re- sults obtained. The raid was efficiently planned and managed and executed with the spirit that wins. Muir. G. H. Q. American Expeditionary Forces. General Orders ) ^ -r^ ia -lAio AT Qoo c France, Dec. 19, 1918. It is with a sense of gratitude for its splendid accomplishment which will live through all history, that I record in General Orders a tribute to the victory of the First Army in the Meuse-Argonne battle. Tested and strengthened by the reduction of St. Miheil salient for more than six weeks you 282 OUR SECOND BATTALION battered against the pivot of the enemy line on the western front. It was a position of im- posing natural strength, stretching on both sides of the Meuse Kiver from the bitterly contested hills of Verdun to the almost im- penetrable forest of the Argonne; a position, moreover, fortfied by four years of labor de- signed to render it impregnable; a position held with the fullest resources of the enemy. That position you broke utterly, and thereby hastened the collapse of the enemy's military power. Soldiers of all Divisions engaged under the First, Third and Fifth Corps— the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, oth, 7th, 26th, 28th, 29th 32nd, 33rd, 3i5th, 37th, 42nd, 77th, 79th, 80th, 82nd, 89th, 90th, and 91st you will be long remembered for the stufbborn persistence of your progress, your storming of obstinately defended ma- chine gun nests, your penetration yard by yard, of woods and ravines, your heroic re- sistance in the face of counter-attacks sup- ported by powerful artillery fire. For more than a month, from the initial attack of Sep- tember 26th, you fought your way slowly through the Argonne, through the woods and over hills west of the Meuse; you slowly en- larged your hold on the Cotes de Meuse to the East and then on the First of November, your attack forced the enemy into flight. Pressing his retreat, you cleared the entire left bank of the Meuse south of Sedan, and then stormed APPENDIX 283 the heights on the right bank and drove him into the plain beyond. Your achievement, which is scarcely to be equalled in American history, must remain a source of proud satisfaction to the troops who participated in the last campaign of the war. The American people will remember it as the realization of the hitherto potential strength of the American contribution toward the cause to which they had sworn allegiance. There can be no greater reward for a soldier or for a soldier's memory. John J. Pershing, General, Commander in Chief, American Expeditionary Forces. Official : Robert C. Davis. Adjutant General. 28th Division, American Expeditionary Forces. France, 4 July, 1918. Bulletin : 1. On the afternoon of July 1st, two platoons of the 111th Infantry participated with the 153rd French Infantry Regiment in the attack on Hill 204. The following letter, written by Colonel Matter, commanding the 153rd French Infantrv, to the Commanding 284 OUR SECOND BATTALION Officer, 111th U. S. Infantry, is published for the information of the command: ^'I have the honor to inform yon that the detachment of your regiment which you have heen so good as to put at my disposal for the attack of July 1st, has shown, in its baptism of fire, an admiraJble attitude. The detachment was placed with the 2nd Battalion of the 153rd, which had as its mis- sion the taking of the woods on Hill 204. The platoon from Company A operated on the eastern edge of the Avoods, the platoon from Company B on the western edge. At the hour ^'H"' (6:00 P. M.), the assaulting troops left the trenches where they had been staying in order to allow artillery preparation on Hill 204. From the beginning of the attack the Ameri- can detachments were marked by their ardor, bravery, and their enthusiasm. In spite of the firing of the enemy^s heavy and light machine guns, trench mortars, rifle- men placed in trees, these men bravely threw themselves on their adversaries. A fierce hand-to-hand contest immediately took place in the thick and almost impreg- nable woods, where each man sought his man. The combat was violent, and your men never ceased during all the operation to arouse the enthusiasm and admiration of their French comrades by their magnificent behaviour. APPENDIX 285 Lieut. Shenkel, especially, distinguished himself during this combat, making a great impression on his own troops and our soldiers. Led on by his ardor, with seven men, the Lieu- tenant found himself surrounded on all sides. This detachment cut its way through by using the butts of their rifles and bayonets on the enemy's ranks, and suceeded in rejoining their comrades; Lieutenant Shenkel himself killing, with a pistol shot, a German officer. The attitude of all American ranks, es- pecially the non-commissioned officers, was also noticeable. Of six non-commissioned officers participating in the attack, five have fallen gloriously killed or wounded. All offi- cers, N. C. O's. and privates, were superb in their enthusiasm and courage. I w^ould appreciate very much if you would bring to the knowledge of your regiment, the splendid conduct of your men, who fought for the first time with us, and let everybody know that with such admirable soldiers as yours and ours, the defeat of the Germans in the near future is certain. ( Signed ) Matter. '- The Commanding General of the 39 th French Division adds: ^^I join wdth all my heart the sentiments of admiration Avhich Colonel Matter expresses for the valiant troops which have just given to ours a splendid example of bravery. I join 286 OUR SECOND BATTALION my salutations and respect to the brave men who have fallen on the field of honor, the num^ber of which is, unhappily, too great. (Signed) Pougin." The Division Commander desires to con- gratulate the two platoons participating in the attack of July 1st, upon the receipt of such splendid commendations from the Regimental and Division Commanders under whom they served. He believes that the action of these men is but an example of what the whole 28th (Keystone) Division will show when oppor- tunity offers. By Command of Major General Muir: Edw. L. King, Colonel, General Staff, Chief of Staff. Copy of Order that sent ^*Our Second Bat- talion" over the top on the morning of July 24th : 56th Inf. Brig.— 28th Div. 24 July, 1918—3 :30 o'clock. SECRET. Filed Orders | No. 10. ) 1. Information about the Enemy. 'The enemy has been driven 'back to the line Armentieres — Hill JJfl — Rocourt St Martin — APPENDIX 287 V Hermitage — west of Trugny — La Cense a Dieu — Chart eves. 2. Mission. The 111th Reg. (less 1 Bn. and M. G. Co.) plus 1 Bn. 111th Inf., M. G. Co., 112th and 109th M. G. Bn. will attack on the 24th of July, 1918 at 6 :15 o'clock. 3. General Disposition for the Attack. 2 Bns. side by side. 1 Bn. in reserve. In each Bn. in the front line : 2 Cos. in the front line. 2 Cos. in reserve. In each Company in line : 2 Platoons in front line. 2 Platoons in support. Each platoon in two waves : The first wave will consist of automatic rifle teams. The second, third and fourth wave will be arranged by the Regtl. Comdr. Cos. in support in squad columns. Bn. in reserve in such formation as Regtl. Comdr. may order. Distances and intervals will be arranged by the Regtl. Comdr. M. G. Co. ^dth the Regt. at the disposal of Regtl. Comdr. M. G. Bn. at the disposition of Brig. Comdr. upon the advice of M. G. Bn. Comdr. 288 OUR SECOND BATTALION 4. Objectives. (a) 1st Objective: Line Epieds-Triigny, both incl. (b) 2nd Objective: Eastern edge Bois de Trugny between the Brig. Boundary Line. 5. Boundaries. On the North: Bezuet, Epieds, Courpoil, incl. and point 1000 meters north of Lw Croix Rouge Farm. Southern Limits: Southern edge of Bois de la Station-Trugnpy incl. Northwestern cor- ner Etang de Loget. 6. Parallels of Departure. The present eastern line between the brigade boundary lines. 7. Disposition Before the Attack. The 3rd Bn. on the right or south of the at- tack, facing the general direction northea^. The 2nd Bn. on the north or left of the at- tack, facing the general direction northeast. The 1st Bn. is reserve in Bois de la Station, Machine G-un Co. Two sections on the left flank for cover against La Coutterie Farm. One section on the right flank for cover against the Bois de Trugny, just west of Trugny. Machine Gun Bn. at the disposal of the Brig. Comdr. APPENDIX 289 8. Frogressiom., All watches will be synchronized wdth the artillery. Kate of march — 50 yards every 2% minutes. 9. Liaison. Liaison Avill be maintained with the 167th Division (French) on the left by a liaison group consisting of one platoon and two ma- chine gun sections; on the right with the 51st Brigade with one platoon and one machine gun section. Additional runners will be detailed to Bn. Comdrs. tO' assure liaison to the rear. Rockets. Barrage — 6 white stars followed by red fire. 75's, you are short — 3 white stars. 155^s, you are short — 3 white stars and green fire. We are here — white fire. We want to advance, lengthen range — worm. Gas — worm plus 6 white stars. Telephone and projectors will go forward with the battalions. Panels will be shown upon request of in- fantry aeroplanes. Bn. Comdrs. will march with their support companies. Upon reaching objective, they will establish P. C.'s immediately notifying higher authority of their location. 290 OUR SECOND BATTALION 10. Equipment. (a) Full field equipment will be taken. Gas masks will be worn at the "Alert." (b) Kations. Two days' reserve rations will be carried by eiach soldier. (c) Arms. 220 rounds of ammunition per man — 100 in belts and two full bandoliers. 10 Grenades per grenadier (3 0. F. — 7 C. F.). 10 V. B.'s per Tromblon. (d) Additional material and tools. 2 picks and 4 shovels to each squad. 2 sandbags per man. (e) Dumps. Ammunition, food, supply and water dumps will be established by Regimental Com- manders. 11. Artillery. The Brigade will be supported by two regi- ments of 75's and one regiment of 155's. The attack will be preceded by artillery preparation and wall follow with a rolling bar- rage. 12. SI M. M. Owns and Stokes Mortars. 37 M. M. Guns and Btokes Mortars are placed at the disposal of Regtl. Comdrs. APPENDIX 291 13. Organization. As soon as the objective is reached, the posi- tion will be organized into strong points with combat groups. Combat groups will utilize the ground to the best advantage in order to hold the positions at any cost. Sketch made of new lines will be sent to these Headquarters immediately after the objective has been reached. 14. Collecting Points for the Wounded. Senior Surgeons will establish a collecting point for the wounded of each regiment. Evacuation of wounded will be arranged by Regimental Commanders. 15. Evacuation of Prisoners. Prisoners will be sent from each Bn. to Bn. P. C. in present front lines and from there to Brigade P. C. 16. Stragglers, Posts Avill be established by Bn. Command- ers for the purpose of gathering in stragglers and sending them forward. 17. Messages. Messages will be sent through Regtl. Hdqrs. to Brigade Hdqrs. 18. Brigade P. C. at La Oenonerie Farm, 250 meters north of Bezuet. Regimental P. C. with the reserve Bn. Weigel, Brig. Gen., N. A. 292 OUR SECOND BATTALION Headquarters, 26th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, France. SECRET 24 July, 18, Field Orders No. 64. ' 20:30 o'clock. Maps: Chateau ThieriT. I i^go.OOO. Soissons. 3 ' 1. The 1st Corps is to be pushed forward tonight without cessation. The supreme effort is to he made to attack and take Sergp not later than. 2 o'clock on the morning of July 25th and push on without delay to the plateau beyond. 2. This effort on the part of the 26th Divi- sion with the o6th Brigade and a brigade of the 42nd Division will be aided by the 167th Division and other divisions to the north. 3. The Sergy Plateau must be reached just prior to the break of day. Accomplishment of this will permit the Cavalry Corps to pass through and effectively break up a retreating and hard-pressed enemy. A complete victory is at hand. 4. The 26th Division (less 52nd Brigade) and the 56th Brigade will push forward on Sergp and the plateau to the east of Sergy. 5. Axis of the advance : Fresnes, La Motte Farm, Sergy. 6. The Infantry will not cross to the north bank of the Owrcq before 24 o'clock. Frontage APPENDIX 293 of attack: Sergy (inclusive), Point 212 (IV^ km. to southeast.), inclusive. 7. The artillery will prepare and execute a plan for the artillery attack on Sergy. 8. Infantry Commanders will keep in close liaison with the artillery. By command of Major General Edwards. Duncan K. Major, Jr., Chief of Staff. Headquarters, Second Army, American Expeditionary Forces. Office of Commanding General. Toul, France, 2 April, 1919. From : Commanding General, 2nd Army. To: Commanding General, 28th Di- vision. Subject : Operations of 28th Division. 1. Upon the departure of the 28th Division from the 2nd Army for return to the United States, I desire to express my sincere appre- ciation of the work of this division while un- der my command. This division has served in all of the larger major operations of the final year of the war, such as : Champagne-Marne Defensive, 15 July-18 July. Aisne-Marne Offensive, 23 July-31 July. Fismes Sector, 7 August-17 August. Oise-Aisne, 18 August-8 September. 294 OUR SECOND BATTALION Meuse-Argonne^ 26 September-9 October. Thiaucourt Sector, 16 October-11 November. 2. On July 15th, this division assisted in stopping the great German drive south of the Marne and in the Aisne-Ma/rne offensive, oper- ating under French and American corps, pushed forw^ard to the Vesle Rivera where at Fismes it held a sector for more than a month of continuous fighting. During this time, the 28th Division was operating under my com- mand in the III Corps and under my direc- tion this division established and held two bridgeheads across the Vesle River. During this continuous fighting at the Yesle and the subsequent advance towards the Aisne this Division bore the brunt of the fighting for it was in front of this Division that the enemy was making its strongest resistance. After being relieved from the Vesle on September 8th, this Division moved into the Argonne Forest and with only a few days' rest went into the great Meuse- Argonne battle which re- sulted in the signing of the Armistice. The work of this Division in this offensive is too well known for me to recount at length, but such names as VareuneSy Argonne Forest, Ap- remont, Cliatel Cheherg and Monttlainville are w^ritten in history after the name of the 28th Division. After serving in this great of- fensive for thirteen days, this Division was relieved and sent to the then quiet Thiaucourt APPENDIX 295 Sector for rest, but, although the Division was tired and worn out, its indomitable spirit arose and the Thiaucowi't Sector was changed from a quiet sector into an active one. 3. During the many operations in which this Division was engaged, many prisoners, both officers and men, and much material were captured. From the signing of the Armistice, during a period of trying waiting, the 28th Division's interest has not flagged ; its appear- ance, condition, and state of military prepar- edness has steadily improved and upon them the Commander-in-Chief has congratulated the Dirision. The fighting spirit of the 28th Divi- sion is shown by its casualty lists which is fourth among the divisions of the American Expeditionary Forces. This Division has al- ways been a combat division in every sense of the w^ord and in my belief should be classed as an A-1 Shock Division. I desire to extend my most sincere congratulations to the officers and men of this Division, which has in its op- erations exemplified the fighting spirit of the American troops. I again extend to you all my most sincere congratulations and best wishes. R. L. BULLARD, Lieutenant General, U. S. A. 296 OUR SECOND BATTALION American Expeditionary Forces, Office of the Commander-in-Chief, Chaumont, March 21, 1919. Major General William H. Hay, Commanding 28th Division, American E. F., France. My dear General Hay : It gives me a great deal of pleasure to con- gratulate you and through you the officers and men of your Division on the splendid showing made at the inspection and review on March 10th at Colombey-les-Belles. The appearance and equipment of the troops and also the con- dition of the animal transport of your Divi- sion are to be highly commended. To me this is an indication of that same high morale in your command which it possessed while in the fighting line. Arriving in the Spring of 1918 for training with the British, the period of instruction of the 28th Division was cut short, and by the middle of July it was thrown into the active battle to take part in the successful Cham- pagne-Marne Defensive. For nearly two weeks, the infantry brigades operated under French and other divisional commanders, taking part in the Aisne-Marne offensive as reserve of the 3rd Division, which was fighting its way North from the river. On the 28th, however, the di- vision was regrouped under its own comman- der and from that time fought as a unit. APPENDIX 297 The 55tli Brigade went into the line, reliev- ing the 39th French Divisiion in front of Cier- ges and the Bois de Grimpettes where after two days' severe fighting the Ourcq River was crossed, and town of Cierges was entered. On the night of Angust 6th, the Division returned to the battle in the Fismes sector along the Southern bank of the Vesle River. From this time until its relief on the night of September 7th by a French Division, it was continuiously engaged in small local fights, in the course of which the river West of Fismes was crossed and the town of Fismette was occupied. After a short period of resting and refitting, it en- tered the great Meuse-Argonne offensive as the center division of the First Corps. It attacked on the morning of the 26th, and until relieved on the night of October 8th, was in continuous action, advancing ten and one-half kilometres against strong enemy resistance and capturing among other towns, those of Varennes and Apremont. On October 16th it was again placed in the line — ^this time in the Toul Sec- tor near Thiaucourt. From this position it attacked on November 11th and was advancing when hostilities were suspended. In view of this record, the officers and men of the 28th Division may proudly carry home with them the gratitude of the Allies with whom they fought and the pride of their fel- lows through our Forces. I want them to 298 OUR SECOND BATTALION know of my own apipreciation of the part they played in the victories which are to the credit of American Arms. Sincerely yours, JOHN J. PERSHING. Copy of order Avhich sent the first company of "Our Second Battalion'' to the United States. A similar order was issued for the the remaining companies to proceed at once on board the I^. S. S. Kroonland. Services of Supply, Headquarters, Embarkation Camp, Base Sec- tion No. 1, St. Nazaire, France. iSpecial Orders | No. 105 ] * * Extract * * Par. 12. The following named units and detachments of the 28th Division, with strength in officers and enlisted men approxi- mately as indicated, having reported to these Headquarters for return to the United Statesi, in compliance with Troop Movement Order No. 36, American Embarkation Center, Le Mans, dated April 10, 1919, will proceed at once on board the U. S. |S. Minnesotan, to the United States, reporting on arrival at the Port of De- barkation to the Commanding Greneral thereof for instruction®, APPENDIX h Infantry (28th Division) . Officers. Men. Field and Staff, 2 Headquarters Company, 4 329 Supply Company, 2 171 Sanitary Detachment, 1 21 Company A 3 258 Company B, 2 253 Company C, 3 226 Company D, 2 237 Company E, 3 253 299 Compliance with this order, after arrival in the United States, is subject to such delays as may be imposed by the authorities at the Port, of Debarkation, in accordance with orders from the War Department relative to debark- ation, disinfection, quarantine and demobiliza- tion. The Quartermaster Corps will furnish the necessary transportation and subsistence. The journey is necessary for the public ser- vice. By order of Colonel Parsons : C. T. STAHLE, Major, C. A. C. ORH/rcm Administrative Adjutant. Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Qxide Treatment Date: jiw ^wT PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 1 6066 f724) 779-2111 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 007 690 267 7 •