^ X N /x .M-v y\ 'smm J ^ \. <^>^ %, r A^ ^ < ^ >;'^ % -Mf, ^ .*^ V J f rl T: rl T. 362nd Infantry Officers of the 362 Infantry Association COL. J. 13. WdOLXOUGH, U. S. A., Honorary President {^Or,. JOHN" HKNRV PARKER, U. S. A., Chief of the Rendezvous J. B. KNIGHT, President, Anaconda, Mont. XATHAX D. McCROSKEY, Vice President, Great Falls, Mont. T. REN MELDRUM. Treasurer, Ogden, Utah IKl'^l) W. HAGEN, Secretary, ^'ale University, Conn. -♦- TRUSTEES K(»HKRT RVBURN, Butte, Mont. HUGH OSBORNE, California ROLDOLPH L. ESMAV, Douglas, Wyo. W.M. R. PASKE, Plentywood, Mont. CAI.Vi \ S. SMITH, Salt Lake City, Utah AXEL A. MADSEN, Salt Lake City, Utah FRANK W. LA.VGER, Sunnysidc. Washinnlon A History of the 362nd Infantry Official Gold Pin of 362d Infantry Published h The 362nd Infantry Association T. BEN MELDRUM, Treasurer AXEL A. MADSEN, Trustee Puhllshing Committee ■ .33 Copyright 1920 by T. BEN MELDRUM for 362d Infantry Association T//C SifT/ie of the C.liimes rilK A. L. SCOVILI.K PRKSS l.itliofirdphers ■' Vrinttrs OcDiiN .( Sam Laki-: 6. Dedication To our comrades, who rest on tlie leafy slopes of the Argonne, and sleep in Flanders Fields where poppies grow, this book is affec- tionately dedicated. ^ 478456 CONTENTS Chapter T. Camp Lewis 1 Chajiter II. ()\er Land and Sea to l-jigland 7 Chapter ML Rest Camps 11 Cha])ter IW 'I'he Wreck 13 C'liapter \'. ( )vn" l-"irst IVaininL' Area in France 13 CliajiterXI. Moving^ C]) to ihc IVont 17 Chapter \II. St.-iMihiel—Sei)tember 11-13 19 Chapter \'1 11. From St.-Mihiel to Argonne 21 Cha]:)ter IX. Over the To]) in the Aryonne 25 Chajiter X. l^jjindin-ille 30 Chapter XL Attack on Ciesnes 34 Cha])terXII. The Morning- After 38 Chai)terXIIL On to P.el.ijiiim 41 Chapter Xi\'. The I'.attle in tlie Turni]) Patclies 43 Chapter X\'. The llol)-Xaii Ronte Throu.g-h Belfjium 48 Chapter X\T. Homeward Hound 51 Chai)ter X\l[. Tlie Honor Roll 56 Chai)ter X\ I 11. Citati.ms 70 Ch''])ter XIX. Statistics 75 Cha])ter XX. Convtitntion and I'.y-Laws 7i^ Chapter XXI. The 3o2nd Infantry A->sociation Roster i<7 C ourlrai .Maj) 101 \ erdnn Map 102 INTRODUCTION THIS book is published by the 362nd Infantry Association. One of the immediate purposes of the Association, it was announced at the time of its organization, would be the publication of a short synopsis of the regi- ment's history, together with a complete roster of all members of the Associa- tion and also the names, so far as known, of the regiment's honored dead. This book is the fulfillment of that promise. Publication was delayed in an effort to secure a full list of the dead. Com- plete records were lacking and it is feared that not all are recorded herein. Because of the limitations, this work is a story, rather than a history. No attempt has been made to give a detailed account of the many noble things accomplished by individuals or separate units. For this reason, innumerable incidents and brilliant exploits that would add much life and luster to the work have not been mentioned. It is hoped, however, that the general outline contained herein will furnish a narrative from which each veteran of the 362nd Infantry may recall his own living, throbbing, experiences ; refreshed by the reading of this narrative. To the general reader this work is presented as a short, authentic account of the Regiment's part in the Great World War. For the greater part of the material contained herein, the publishing com- mittee is indebted to the kindness of Captain C. K. McClatchy, Jr., and Chap- lain Fred W. Hagan. Chaplain Calvin S. Smith furnished many of the pictures and the chapter on the Burial of the Dead. T. BEN MELDRUM, Treasurer, AXEL A. MADSEN, Trustee, Publishing Committee. CHAPTER I CAMP LEWIS TWENTY-FIVE years hence when Httle Bill is sitting upon your knee and he springs, "Grandpa tell me a soldier story," you'll not have to dis- appoint the lad by racking your memory which is hardly surviving the strain ; but will take down from your library the History of the 362nd Infantry and record in detail the heroic days of 1918-19. If you are still suffering from shell shock you can probably look to the book for inspiration. On the other hand, if 3^ou are one of those "brave soldiers" perchance this history will retard your imagination from the irresistible tendency to tell a whopper. By all means, fill him with a wholesome respect for the glory of American arms, and the 362nd Infantry. Get the essential facts straight or else the boy will come back at you with embarrassing questions, such as, "Grandpa, who helped you win the war?" The main purpose of this history is to record the facts as we found them. To be sure most of the fun had to be manufactured, but a laugh could be found in almost any situation, however hopeless and disagree- able. It wasn't funny then but there is a touch of humor to the stories now. One of our Lieutenant Colonels who could not refrain from ducking his head every time a shell went over remarked, "I am getting to be" — and he ducked as a shell pierced the air overhead — "a regular damn coward." Come back with us, then, to Camp Lewis; come over to France. Get into the old ramble shacks again where you argued for standing room with the cows and chickens. Get down into the trenches once more ; roll around in the muddy old muck holes. Sleep on a cold floor of Hommes 40 — Chevaux 8 — our parlor car specials. Sample again the cold "Corn Willie." See if the canned "gold fish" is any less delicious than it used to be. Growl and grumble as you used to and then — laugh, as you used to. "On that memorable day," you should begin, "in the summer of 1917, a host of other civilians: mountaineers, cow-punchers, street-sweepers and city folks, knowing nothing of military life and caring less, answered the call of Uncle Sam to show the world — Ger- many in particular — the meaning of the famous fourteen points." You prob- ably experienced no patriotic thrill as you and your trainload of comrades, mostly in old clothes, with little handbags and bundles containing the things Mother thought necessary to military life, pulled into the quiet wooded Camp Lewis. A mob of boys of all nationalities and creeds made up the breezy westerners from eight of the wildest western states in America. Those boys couldn't keep step, of course ; they could scarcely line themselves in a column of twos — they couldn't have licked Germany on that afternoon ! The first Presidio officers training camp in San Francisco opened May 10, 1917, and enough men reported to fill a dozen or more companies — -these later became the officers of the famous 362nd Infantry, and, rightfully enough, our history should begin with the first and second companies which formed the First Battalion at the Presidio. With few exceptions, the men picked to of- ficer the 362nd Infantry were from the First Battalion at the Presidio. As far as data affords information, the following officers are known to have come from the regular army: 1st Lt. Earnest M. Johnson and 1st Lt. Alexan- der McGee. The first officer's payroll at the end of September, 1917, showed the following names : Colonel Pegran Whitworth Major Gordon S. Finley Lt.-Col. William H. Jordon Adj.-Capt. Arthur W. Bradbury Major Godfrey R. Fowler HISTORY OF THE 362nd INFANTRY Panoramic View 1st Lt. 2nd Lt 2nd Lt 2nd Lt 1st Lt. 1st Lt. John Kasper HEADQUARTERS COMPANY Captain Herman Decuis Carlos K. McClatchy, Jr. 2nd Lt. Frederic E. Lawson . Harry C. Cardell 2nd Lt. Oscar W. James Prentiss C. Deering 2nd Lt. Alexander Meyer Leon Martin 1st Lt. Lancing Bailey, 1st Bn. Adj. Frank Turnbull, 2nd Bn. Adj. 1st Lt. John C. Burgard, 3rd Bn. Adj. SUPPLY COMPANY Captain Owen L. McKee 2nd lA. Edward F. Dunn 2nd Lt. Vernon V. Heilig MACHINE GUN COMPANY Captain Elijah W. Worsham 1st Lt. J. F. Swift 2nd Lt. W. L. Jenney 2nd Lt. M. F. Brockway 2nd Lt. W. A. Russell 2nd Lt. J. H. Stearn "A" COMPANY Captain Silsby M. Spalding 1st Lt. Chas E. Knickerbocker 2nd Lt. Geo. W. Baker 1st Lt. Harry L. Evans 2nd Lt. Eugene Regnier 2nd Lt. John S. Shepherd "B" COMPANY Captain James R. Montgomery 1st Lt. Arthur J. Murphy 2nd Lt. Chas. A. Hoss 2nd Lt. Richard H. Chamberlain 2nd Lt. Arthur C. Ducrr 2nd Lt. Josiah Bridge "C" COMPANY Captain Joseph T. Watson 1st Lt. James R. Shaw 2nd Lt. Carl C. Middlestatc 2nd Lt. I^.arrell D. Johnston 2nd Lt. Wendall K. I'hiHips 2nd Lt. Chester R. F. Cramer "D" COMPANY Captain Kenneth J. Bootli 1st Lt. Ray T. Williams 2nd Lt. Howard W. Angus 2nd Lt. Cecil P. Bell 2nd Lt. Thomas C. Poland 2nd Lt. Jack M. Corbett "E" COMPANY ("ai)tain Lislic G. I'rxant 1st Lt. Maurice F. Endcrlc 2n(l Lt. .\ll)irt M. Closterman 2nd Lt. William M. Bell 2iul Lt. Tlios. S. Grant 2nd Lt. Benj. F. Dorris "F" COMPANY Captain Henry W. Edmonds 1st Lt. Lee Summer Jiul Lt. Jolin H. Spohn. Jr. 2nd Lt. Farley E. Granger iiid Lt. Dixon Kapple 2nd Lt. Eric A. Falconer CAMP LEWIS of Camp Lewis "G" COMPANY 1st Lt. Edgar E. Robinson 2nd Lt. Laurence S. Lynch 2nd Lt. Seth L. Butler 2nd Lt. Edwin Elam 2nd Lt. Adelbert McCleverty 2nd Lt. Chas. J. Kelly "H" COMPANY Captain Robert G. Evans 1st Lt. Lester D. Walbridge 2nd Lt. William Hutchinson 1st Lt. Robert R. Weber 2nd Lt. Chauncey M. Lyons 2nd Lt. Robert M. Alton 2nd Lt. Harold Mallum "I" COMPANY Captain Chas. A. Thorpe 2nd Lt. Thos. E. May 2nd Lt. Rudolph L. Esmay 2nd Lt. Tohn V. Mueller 2nd Lt. Wellslake D. Morse 2nd Lt. Thos. J. O'Brien "K" COMPANY Captain W. H. Wadsworth 1st Lt. Thos. S. O'Connell 2nd Lt. James W. Dawson 2nd Lt. Earl F. Marsh 2nd Lt. Walter H. Fieberling 2nd Lt. Geo. E. Crary 2nd Lt. Ralph J. Hurlburt "L" COMPANY Captain Allen Fletcher 1st Lt. A. K. Martin 2nd Lt. John R. McLean 2nd Lt. Clinton K. Coburn 2nd Lt. Frederick L. Campbell 2nd Lt. L. E. Cole "M" COMPANY Captain Joseph W. Sutphen 1st Lt. Leland S. Gregory 2nd Lt. Frank J. Gard 2nd Lt. Cyrus R. Briggs 2nd Lt. Frank J. Kelley, Jr . 2nd Lt. Geo. N. Browning MEDICAL DETACHMENT Captain Louis L. Syman 1st Lt. Daniel R. Campbell 1st Lt. Theo. G. Howe 1st Lt. Harry M. Coleman 1st Lt. Leon B. Collier A few of the abtn-e-named officers were soon transferred to other organiza- tions and their places filled by men coming from the Presidio and other train- ing camps in America. There was no band at the station at Camp Lewis as there had been from the little towns and cities which marked the glorious "send-ofif"ofifered by our home folks. Often have you recalled the picture of the little old tent where you registered the first "short arm" inspection upon your arrival at camp, and, twelve months later, you filed solemnly through the communicating trenches in the darkness, single file, five paces apart, every man keeping contact, re- liable, dependable. What a change, eh? HISTORY OF THE 362nd INFANTRY "Fall Out— Keep Packs On"- Hike April, 1918 -Division The first contingent of five per cent of draftees arrived at American Lake September 8, 1917, before the camp was completed. What man of the regi- ment will forget his first medical examination, and the "five shots" in the arm? And the first lecture on American citizenship? And the first night in camp? Barracks were being con- structed of ])iles of dirt and rocks. The whole place was in a general state of confusion. Many will re- member with some dismay the rainy season, yet that seems but a trifle when compared with the dust of Camp Lewis and the mud and rain encountered overseas. The second bunch of men from the first draft arrived at Camp Lewis on September 21, 1917. A much larger number than the first live per cent. The later arrivals were jeered with such remarks as "Hello Rookie;" "Wipe out that smile;" "Keep your head and eyes off the ground." But the spirit of these rookies was evi- dent by the signs painted on the Pullmans in which they arrived : "From Pow- der River to Berlin ;" "To hell mit the kaiser ;" "We are going to lick the kai- ser." A regular army sergeant ordered these boys without a moment's delav into the bath house, QUICK. "Oh, but I've had a bath." "I don't care what you did last year; you're in the army now." "Hard luck ! You've got to take another !" Almost the first words uttered by the new recruit: "When do we eat?" It was the soldier's first concern — his stomach. And later; on the march, in battles; and the doughboys' victorious greeting to the armistice: "When do we eat?" Certainly the first words spoken at Camp Lewis. He ate, and ate well, astonished at first to find so few beans, popularly rvmiored as the basis of army fare. To be sure, he was served "a thousand on a plate," very early in the game. However, much as he despised them then he would have later given his overcoat for a special plate of those he earlier spurned. The bank clerk was suddenly surprised to find his arm wrapped affectionatelv around the sheep-herder; the street-cleaner put u]) with the big farmer, and later thcN- dug funk holes together in the Argonne and the street-cleaner felt mightv sad when his buddy, the big-hearted farmer, "went west." "Lights out 1 Get to bed !" The same tough army sergeant who greeted ynu at the train, threw von into the bath and ordered you to bed, ordered you out a^aiu. This was ;i bit loo soon to curse the buglers. There weren't any. It was after hi-ariut; reveille blown a countless number of times that you dreamefl of the happy days to come, back into civil life, when, disgustingly wealthy, you could hire a bugler of your own, throw a brick at him, rf)ll over and sleep as long as you d pleased. You arose and made your own jjed — a new experience — wa\ ing three blankets and a bed sack. Thank heaven! there were no sheets and i)illows to battle with — but soon the buglers were to receive their first cursing. The keen eye of Entering the O CAMP LEWIS the first sergeant, and the hard-boiled second Looie, and the exalted atmo- sphere of the Captain, all helped to make the first days in camp more restless. Ranch owners, business men, and bankers arriving in the second contingent found themselves in the squads of their Cor- poral "hired hand" — employees — and clerks. The first nausea resulting from the shots in the arm — the strangeness of the camp — and the first night of homesickness — took the pertness out of the men, but it returned in a few days as you can see by the follow- ing: A rookie on guard duty at night after a few days' training: "Halt! Who is there?" Two Years in the Making "Officer of the camp." "Halt! Who is there?" "Officer of the camp." "H-halt! Who in the devil are you, anyhow?" "OFFICER OF THE CAMP."' "Then get to hell out o' here, quick ; my orders is to challenge three times and then shoot." The early camp days were filled with trying experiences for some of the boys, and homesickness caused many a bitter, scalding tear to be shed in the darkness of the new-smelling barracks. Many had never spent a night away from home in their lives before. The officers seemed harsh and even cruel with the strict discipline. And the army regulations, guardhouses, court- martials, and company punishment, were held before the boys continually as the reward for disobedience. When the men started from their home towns to Camp Lewis, they were given great send-oft's ; bands played, the people cheered, and food and entertainment were furnished to top off patriotic speeches. It was a glorious feeling to be a soldier. But at Camp Lewis things looked entirely different the first few days. Military clothing was scarce. Quite often the boys drilled in their civilian clothes, which naturally was a shock to their pride. They had expected to don new uniforms the min- ute they stepped into camp, which would make them real soldiers, they thought, and it never occurred to many that thei'e would be hour upon hour of drill until they would grow tired and sick of it all. It didn't take long for them to find out they were only the rookiest of rookies. The ciualification cards which showed a man's entire pedigree and which took many hours to make out, also revealed a surprising assortment of humor- ous dope. Names ran the gamut of the alphabet, backward and forward. It is said that a lieutenant calling the roll of his company happened to sneeze. Four men answered : "Here !" Side by side, on one company roster, perched a Parrot and Peacock. There was a Mason, a Brewer, and a Singer; a Jewel and a Penny. One of the first corporals turned out was named Trainer ; and Bosch was a good soldier, despite his name. Fries made an excellent cook, but how appropriate that Piper should have become a bugler ! Well, because the qualification cards were a lovely color, and beautifully theoretical, they did provide some amusement. Questioned as to his age, one boy answered, "Twenty-seven ;" and asked when he would be twenty-eight, he scratched his head, utterly baffled, and ventured, "May or December." HISTORY OF THE 362nd INFANTRY A few days after arrival, a private calling- to the orderly room was asked if, within his military experience, he had attended any schools. "Yes," he re- plied ; "School of the Squad and School of the Soldier." The first lectures given were those coming under the heading. School of the Soldier. The men were taught courtesy, respect, obedience, the position of the soldier at atten- tion, right face, left face, about face, and the fundamental setting-up exercises. Some learned rapidly ; they seemed to have the faculty of grasping every detail and immedi- ately putting it into practice. There were always a few men in each company wdio could not grasp the lessons. Their minds worked slowly and they could never get their feet and arms to follow the commands given them. This caused them to be "bawled out" many times each day, to the amusement of their comrades, when thev were separated from the others and given individual instruction. If this were the end of the story it would be sad indeed, but let it be said on these pages that a number of those slow ones of the 362nd Infantry proved themselves heroes on the hillsides of the Argonne and in the turnip fields of Belgium. If they were the laughing stock of the company at Camp Lewis, quite often they became the ])opular ones in France. At Camp Lewis: Lieutenant to Rookie — "Go over to the target and fetch back the range." Rookie on Guard Duty After Three Days' Training Rookies — "Isn't it too heavy for one to carr}-, Sir?" Captured German guns displayed on streets of Paris CHAPTER II OVER LAND AND SEA TO ENGLAND FOUR o'clock on the afternoon of June 23, 1918, was the first "zero hour" for the 362nd Infantry, for at that hour we started on our seven thousand mile trip to the trenches. Pullman cars afforded good sleeping accom- modations, but not for nearly a year later did we again have "sleeping accom- modations" while traveling. The trains — yes, it took more than one — traveled over the Milwaukee railroad to Chicago; over the New York Central to Buf- falo, and over the Lehigh Valley Line to New York City. At various places along the route stops were made and the men were allowed to indulge in physical exercise. Once, near the Dakota and Minnesota line, they had a half- hour's plunge in a river, a much-needed and appreciated diversion. Miles City, Aberdeen, Milwaukee and Erie gave the boys a royal welcome with a flood of sandwiches and hot drinks, and on the 1st of July everybody was anxiously waiting on the banks of the Hudson at Camp Merritt for further orders. Medical examination, new equipment, fake passes to the big town, and our first overseas caps kept the men pretty busy the few sultry days they were about the camp. Earm boys from Montana suddenly had numerous rela- tives and urgent business calling them to New York, while others secured passes, and still others saw the city on their nerve. The girls from Broadway played capers with the homesick lads and not a few were married — for two days — suddenly to be snatched away as orders for embarkation ended days that seemed years of bliss — oh ! cruel world ! A year later those who did not muster courage to propose then, lost no time as the old boat landed its cargo on good old U. S. A. Tired of the butterfly life of the Great White Way and numerous reports that French girls had captivated every American soldier, First Class Passage HISTORY OF THE 362nd INFANTRY made proposing' easy now and tor two weeks w^hile at Lamp Mills the sub- urban clergy earned easy fees i)ledging "blind lovers" to law and order in the desert wilds of roaming Montana. Some of the men of "E" Company who had never heard of anything but blackleg and hog cholera, now broke out with the measles and so on that 5th of July these men were left behind and the regiment loaded down with excess luggage began the four-mile hike to Alpine Landing, which may well be styled the beginning of Duty's endless demands upon the endurance of the boys of the 362nd. The regulation pack of sixty pounds had suddenly been augmented to seventy-five and eighty, with numer- ous "extras" each man then held dear. The men looked back on this with a degree of disgust when later in France they had learned to discard even neces- sities rather than be burdened under the mule gruelling they were forced to endure. One first sergeant made a bugler carry a two-quart bottle of ink the entire distance from Tacoma to Recourt and then discovered that the army issued little tablets which, when added to water, made the best kind of writing fluid. The first sergeant had heard that they didn't use ink in France — and how was he to perform his precarious duties without a pen and good Ameri- can ink? For days some of the Chinamen on board, as they peeked their heads out of the portholes below, were greeted with a splash — and part of the con- tents of the ink bottle had spread itself recklessly over the smooth brown skin and short hair of our oriental friends. Disfigured for life — for the Chinaman never comes in contact with water — was it any wonder, then, that the boys had to pay one dollar for a single pie — some served with and some without — filling. The river ferries that carried the regiment from Alpine Landing to the piers in New York harbor, past the famous old General Cornwallis house, Old Fort Washington, Fort Lee, and Grant's tomb, carried a cargo of western boys too tired to be thrilled in passing such historic ground ; yet as the Statue of Lib- erty came into view^ she brought forth a volley of song — "We won't come back till it's over, over there." Transferred from the squatty little "river liners," the boys soon found them- selves aboard the Empress of Russia, fresh from the Pacific, ready to make her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. On board were a few government of- ficials from the far East, on their way to England. The 91st Division sailed from New York July 6, 1917, in the largest convoy that up to that time had crossed the Atlantic. Silently dropping down New^ K. M. S. Empress of Russia OVER LAND AND SEA TO ENGLAND York Bay and later clearing Sandy Hook, destroyers circled round, aeroplones whirred overhead, and one sausage baloon floated lazily along with the ships until the battle cruisers joined the outfit where the ground swells began. Those fourteen ships, ca- mouflaged with weird stripes and splotches, were ])acked with doughboys, jammed down the holds in four and five-tier bunks — America's untried, off for the war. From the 6th of July until the evening of the 17th, the ships leisurely and carefully picked their way across the Atlantic. Our Convoy Life-boat drill each day ; the constant wearing of life preservers ; the poor food ; religious services on Sunday ; cleaning ship ; get- ting sick ; getting better ; setting-up exercises ; peering for submarines ; watch- ing the ships zig-zag in their course, spent the time, along with carefully guarded games of "black-jack" and constant speculation about trench life. And must even the portholes be closed tight ! Phew ! It's stuffy enough below decks with 'em open ! Just look at what we've got to sleep in ! Row upon row, double tier, scarcely room between those dividing boards for the shoulders to fit in, to say nothing of letting one roll over and be comfortable. "As for those portholes, keep your hands off them — shut or open. Nobody but the crew is to touch them ; they will open 'em up in the morning and close 'em up at night." " and no man will be allowed to carry matches. Hand over all you have." (Wonder if he knows they are on sale at the canteen down on Deck " and don't throw anything overboard — cigarette butts, papers or food scraps." (Perhaps it is that the hungry submarine crews, long at sea and scenting food, will track us.) "Put your life-belt on — no, you've got it hind side before. Tie it down se- curely so that it won't crash up against your chin and break your neck when you have to jump into the sea. Don't take it oft' until you reach Liv — er, er, until you land." "Keep your bunks policed constantly and lay out your equipment in the manner prescribed, each morning. Get out on deck by eight-thirty, and stay out." "Your green card that you got at the gangplank shows what your sitting is in the mess hall. Be on time, or you're out of luck." Etc., etc. (Extract from "Ship Regulations.) Some of the boys had been in the army only two short months, and one of these while on guard duty one night challenged a colonel as follows : "Hey, youse can't go past dis gate !" "Is that the way you have been taught to challenge? Who's your captain, anyway?" "Captain Evans." "I should judge as much." "Oh, I see; you're one of them there lootenants. Pass on." "What do you call this?" asked the Colonel, indicating the silver eagle on his shoulder. 10 HISTORY OF THE 362nd INFANTRY "Oh, er — er," stainniered the sentry. "Why, it's a bird!" Besides keeping "ship regulations," the men found time to hang on the rail and muse over the brave spirit of friend Columbus and to help the Chinamen coin money by buying their stolen pies at one dollar ai)iece. Submarines meant little to the boys on the boat after the first day. Submarines lurking under the water furnished little excitement. The English and American sol- diers argued abt)Ut the merits of their respective homelands. One Britisher thought Americans couldn't fight, but a big Montana cowboy gave him a tlefinite evidence to the contrary. Ahun- men slept on the wet, cold decks to escape the hot, ill-smelling holds and some dodged detail as much as possible ; one private passing as a Captain's orderly to escape K. P. duty. Many of the men remained U]) on the night of July 16th for a first glimpse of land and swore that trench life would have nothing on 14 days below the water line with Chinaman cooks and English rations. Their reward came about mid- night when the hardlv visible shore lights of the Irish coast brought forth a \ollev of shouts and joyful gestures. Dawn was wonderful, showing dis- tinctly the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. About noon of July 17th, part of the convoy continued down through the Irish sea to the Mersey river, and on to the Liverpool docks. The first thing that greeted our eyes out of the gray horizon of Liverpool was an immense advertisement, "Spratt's Dog Cakes.'' Portentous, the men agreed ; if they hadn't already eaten many a dog biscuit on the way over, they were due for some. And there, just as the Empress warped into dock, a vivid touch of home : a real- live Ford touring car bowling down the wharf, greeted by a roar of eager approval by the restless Yanks. The ships lay in the stream that night, with excursion boats crowded with franticalh- cheering sightseers from New Brighton Beach — the first welcome from Europe. The next day the regiment marched through Liverpool through narrow lanes of w^elcoming 1-".nglish. mostly children, wdUKMi and old men, with more \dungsters trotting along>i(le than tlu' Pied i'i])er hu-ed awa}'. their sin-ill \i>ices piping out, "TIk- ^"anks are cmning." wliilc the older people \\a\i'(l their handkerchiefs ( ir ga\ e tlu'ir "( h mI l)less \(>u" with moist eyes. The shadow of the war hung Part of Our Escort "\ <--i' ihc hm\ safety. Tlic ri-ginu'nt eyed it all o])en-niontlK'(l ;i (li\crsion that compelU'd the men to disregard "orders" lo keep "under co\er." CHAPTER VII ST.-MIHIEL— SEPTEMBER 11th-13th THE artillery barrage started at one o'clock on the morning of September 12th. The flash of the gvms could be vividly seen and their heavy roar kept the men awake. During the day many squadrons of aeroplanes passed overhead ; more than a hundred were counted in one squadron. These planes kept going and coming from the front lines all day. The men kept under cover of the wet, dripping woods like hunted rabbits. The regiment was in reserve. Three German officers committed suicide on the night before the with- drawal from St.-Mihiel. The families with whom they were quartered dis- covered the bodies in the morning. The German colonel commanding the troops in the town wanted the families taken to Germany for an investigation, but the town major refused and later discovered letters that the suicides had written to their families, saying that they were discouraged and disheartened with the course of the war since the Americans entered the conflict in force and preferred death to defeat. The hundred men between the ages of 18 and 45 who were seized and started back to work in ammunition factories in Germany never reached Vig- neulles. They and their guards ran straight into an American patrol, who cap- tured the Germans and released the French, who went back immediately to St.-Mihiel to assure their relatives of their safety. The American success at St.-Mihiel was complete ; but few casualties oc- curred, while 150 square miles of territory was captured together with 30,000 prisoners. The entire American losses were 300 dead and 1,200 wounded. The regiment marched to the Sorcy-Commercy road on the evening of Sep- tember 13th and loaded into French trucks. These trucks rumbled and bumped along the hard road all night. Not a light outside of distant star shells was anywhere to be seen. There were fifteen hundred trucks used that night in transporting the 91st Division. How the drivers ever felt their way through the darkness without accident is a miracle in the minds of those who rode inside the covered camions. The regiment unloaded in the shell-torn town of Remembercourt. Remembercourt had been badly shelled in 1914 by the Ger- mans, who had swept that far with little resistance, being turned back from a gen- eral line running through the little town in the gallant counter-attacks that the French made. The old church was badly dam- aged, for, as usual, the Germans had made that an object of special artillery fire. Houses were ruined, tumbled down like a ruthless hand knocks down a house of cards. Houses still standing had gaping holes, where smaller shells pierced the walls. The hills roundabout were dotted ^, German shell made a fair hit on one . , 1 1,11-- 1 1 /-- ot these in the second attack on (jes- with graves, where both French and Ger- ^es hill. Fragments were scattered mans fell in the heavy fighting of 1914. for a hundred yards. (200 yards east Some of the companies remained in the of place Captain Worsham was killed.) ruins of the town during the day. Others camped in a woods near the town while some of the Third Battalion proceeded five kilometers to the village of Sommaisne. Colonel Parker joined the 362nd 20 HISTORY OF THE 362nd INFANTRY here to replace Colonel \Vhit\vorth, who had been promoted to brigadier general. There is not a man alive who was in the regiment on the night of September 16th that will ever forget the march to Jubrecourt. Hundreds of exhausted men arrived in the village at different times during the following day because they were unable to keep up with the regiment during the night. Alany sol- diers threw away pieces of their clothing and some even parted with their blankets that they might endure the march. Jubrecourt was badly wrecked. It had endured more than four years of war. The houses where the men were billeted were shell-torn and crumbling. We were coming into a new fighting area. 'They were lying dug in on the hills East of the Argonne, France. Some were forever still, But the rest were taking their chance. 'Four days they had battled the Boche, These boys from over the sea, Fighting as only Americans can, For the cause of Liberty. 'Gesnes was just over the hill, And full of the dirty Hun, • The kind tliat holler Kamerad While working machine guns. 'The order came to advance; Capture the town we must. And the Colonel said we'd do it, too. We'd do it by God or bust. 'Shells and shrapnel and bullets and gas^ — But only the hit went down. Forward in thinning lines they went. To the ridge bej^ond the town. "This isn't the song of the light brigade, Pjut another he-man fight, And I guess the ravine this side of Gesnes Was the valley of death, all riglit! "Powder River, hook 'em cow! This was their war-cry yell. And it means we'll never stop this side Of the fiery brink of Hell." CHAPTER VIII FROM Sr.-MIHIEL TO ARGONNE "V (HE regiment left Jubrecotirt and vicinity on the night of September 17th I and marched a short distance to Parois. This place was only two or three miles from the front lines, and was not occupied by a single civilian. The advance party had much trouble finding billets for the various companies. When the companies did arrive, it was hard to locate the places that had been assigned to them. Negro soldiers had stayed in the billets the night before the 362nd arrived. The regiment remained in Parois until after nightfall of the ISth and then moved forward a short dis- tance to the southern edge of the Parois woods. The night before the regiment reached there, the Germans had shelled the cross- roads. Every other night or so the guns dropped a shell or two around it. None came the night the 362nrl Regiment was there. Several did the next night, when the 361st, which was following us, spent the night there. The next evening the regiment moved a kilometer and a half into Parois AVoods, some three kilo- meters behind the front lines, awaiting orders to go into the line. On the morning of the 19th, while some of the companies were eating breakfast in the Parois woods, heavy shells came whistling overhead and struck a few hundred yards in the rear. The Germans were trying to blow up an ammunition dump, and the whir-r-r of the H. E. sent cold chills up and down many spines, but in spite of this the men had a big laugh, as each shell went over and exploded safely in the rear. That night the regiment moved a short distance forward into the Foret De Hesse. As the men moved forward under cover of darkness they were almost afraid to whisper for fear the Germans would hear them. The tension was somewhat lessened after the troops had passed a "Frog" driving a four-horse outfit and yelling at the top of his voice, "AUez ! ! AUez ! !" Guides led the columns single file through the woods and over trenches and through barb- wire entanglements. It was enough to try the courage of a Putnam and the patience of a Job. Regimental headquarters was established in a dugout at a place called Rendezvous-de-Chasse a short distance back of the front line trenches. The various companies pitched their pup tents in the woods and underbrush. Mud was knee-deep in places. At times dififerent companies were moving forward to hold advance positions as they were taken over from the French. In a few days men became very indifferent to anything German. Company D lined up for mess a German plane flew overhead and dropped bombs. Not a man moved out of line. Rather die than lose his place in Along the Road 22 HISTORY OF THE 362nd INFANTRY the mess line. The grDund was part of the old X'enlun ])attlefield. It was hard tc) find a spot which had not l)ecn hit b_\- a shell. Gas alarms were popu- lar during- the night, and often the alarm would be carried for more than a mile along the line. This forced some men to try and sleep in their masks, but they found it very unc(inif(>rtal)lc. The rain fell in torrents at times, increas- ing the difficulties until it made the muddy ground and woods almost unbear- able, for the soldiers were sleeping in pup tents. A narrow-gage railroad ended near regimental headquarters upon which sui)plies were brought up on small cars at night. The dump was covered with camouflage. Big guns by the hundreds were pulled and slipped about in the woods during the nights and sometimes days preceding the drive. Big caterpillar tractors snorted and snifTed as they slushed through the clayey mud or got stalled while pushing a Howitzer into place making ready for the greatest of all drives. Heinies flew overhead during the daytime, but anti-aircraft guns were continually shooting at the German planes, keeping them high enough so as to prevent photographs. The bursting shells made black and white puffs of smoke in the sky and one could easily trace the wake of the Hun as he maneuvered out of danger. One or two men in the regiment were hurt by falling shrapnel. A number of officers and men who had been attending school at Langres rejoined the regi- ment here and officers and non-coms went into the front line trenches and looked over the ground in no-mans-land. They always wore the French jacket and cap while on these tours to keep the enemy from becoming alarmed at the sight of strange opponents. But either the vmusual noise or observations of German pilots made the Boche fearful that something unusual was going on. for, during several nights before the American attack, he sent over raiding parties in an eiTort to capture prisoners. They came over with a box barrage that hemmed in the French outposts on both sides and the rear with bursting shells, so they could nut Avithdraw before the Germans arrived. The French lost a man or two, but in hand-to-hand fighting in the trenches they accounted for many more of the Boche. The Germans were exceedingly nervous, however, for the second night before the planned attack they sent over a raiding party of 200 against the sector on our right, behind which lay the 37th Division ready to take over from the French. A good many Germans were killed or made prisoners and from these it was found that the raiding party consisted of special shock troops that went from sector to sector, making raids or any other speciall_\- rough work desired, in between times enjoying extra furloughs and si)ecial privileges. The nights were a little tense with excitement, for the ^voods were a hnrl\'-l)url\- of noise and occasionally the Germans dro])])ed over gas shells. In training camps in this connlry the troops, on detecting gas in the air. luul l)een taught to yell "Gas! (ias!" Several gas -^helN did break ui our regimental area with no damage, for those nearby adjusted their masks in ])K'nty of time. I'ut the cry (if "(ias" once started, was relaxed on and iiii, possibh' ne\ er stoi)]>ing until it reached The Way the Boys Felt the ear-« of nioi-e seasoned troo])s. ("ertain it is that the sleej) we had was broken many times the first few nights by cries of "Ga^" from thousands of throats, the origin and location of the danger probably being miles away. I'>ut the nu'n soon tirt'd of that and b\ the third night no one was \elling "(ias" unless he FROM ST.-MIHIEL TO ARGONNE 23 actually got a little whiff of the noxious vapors. Much has been written of the preparedness and lack of preparedness and of equipment of the troops go- ing into action. Our regiment on the eve of action was well prepared as far as training. In equipment, the regiment was woefully short. The much- vaunted Browning automatic rifle was never seen by our regiment. Instead they were given old Chauchats of the French army, many of which had to be junked as absolutely useless, and as there are sixteen automatic rifles per com- pany — an important weapon in defense and useful in offense — the loss was serious. After the Argonne battle was over, many men who had Chauchat rifles clog and become absolutely useless, but who had shouldered a rifle and went into the fray with a determined madness to get even, were rewarded with court-martial sentences and fines amounting to 500 francs. The money was held out of payrolls — army regulations. The regiment was lacking in rifle grenades — important weapons of offense against machine gun nests. Worse still, the regiment did not have a single Stokes mortar, the deadly enemy of Boche machine gun nests. One officer, three sergeants, several corporals and some forty men had been trained a yar in the use of these mortars, of w^hich six were supposed to be with each regi- ment, but never, either in the Argonne or later in Belgium, did the regiment have a single one. In signal apparatus, in heliographs, telephones, wireless, rockets and flares the stock was insufficient. The Pioneer Platoon, a unit supposed to demolish obstacles, build bridges and do the work of engineers on a small scale, was without tools save little combat shovels. In transportation a serious handicap was had. The 206 or so horses neces- sary by table for the work of a regiment, in actual practice was some ninety- six, skin-and-bone affairs, turned over by the French, that could barely pull themselves. Rolling kitchens were insufficient in number, which, combined with the scarcity of horses, meant lack of hot food when something warming and filling was needed for the body-killing work of the infantry. Compasses, so necessary in confusing country of the Argonne, were short. Pistols for shooting flares and artillery signals, were below the necessary amount. Many of the little necessities, like flash-lights, range finders, etc., that make the difference between good work and slipshod work, were lacking. The regiment, however, had plenty of rifles, bayonets and ammunition. In addition, it had an excellent machine gun company, plentifully supplied with ammunition and a good machine gun bat- talion that operated in connection with our regiment and the other regiment of the same brigade. Luckily, also, the regiment had its one-pounder guns, that played havoc with the machine gun nests. So it was not with- out arms on entering the conflict. The division was sadly lacking in trans- ])ortation. There were not enough trucks for the work and the lack of ambulances r- r\ ^u t- t-u u , , 11 1 r 1- Going Over the Top — The bayonet later caused needless loss of many lives. ^^g their best friend Then and later, there was considerable bitterness over the sending into conflict an outfit without the necessary tools. The joke went around the men that they were expected to bite the Germans with their teeth. But later, after the armistice, when a little peep into the why 24 HISTORY OF THE 362nd INFANTRY and wherefore of this and that was allowed the combat regiments through the medium of lectures by high officers from army headquarters, reasons were given that made it understandable why our regiment was hurried into hasty fighting in its poorly equipped shape. But whatever the equipment, the morale of the men was high on their eve of battle. The men were calm, cool and eager. Nothing could have held them from the fray. Men used every trick they could to escape being sent to the hospital for minor injuries or sickness. Audenarde, from the air. The largest city captured by 362nd Infantry CHAPTER IX OVER THE TOP IN THE ARGONNE LATE in the afternoon of September 25th detailed orders arrived calHng for the attack the next morning — the last objective was set some twenty- eight kilometers away. That meant the penetration of the entire German system of trenches and defensive works that had resisted for four years all efiforts of the French. It meant giving the Germans the tremendous advan- tage that came from being on the defensive in the rugged, hilly, forested Ar- gonne country. All four regiments of the 91st were on the line, in the follow- ing order from left to right: 364th, 363d, 361st and 362nd, with the 37th Divi- sion on the right of the 362nd Regiment and the 35th Division on the left of the 364th. The companies received orders to make up light packs with slickers and to leave the rest of the equipment on dump. The men were told what was to take place. They were to go into the front line trenches and go "over the top" at 5 :30 in the morning. Only those who have gone through such an ordeal know the thoughts and feelings experienced by the soldiers when they realized that the great hour toward which they had been looking for months had arrived. At such a time it lost all its charm and glory. War loomed up in all of its hellishness and frightfulness. That evening before the attack, or rather the early part of the evening, was a quiet, thoughtful period, in which many of the men wrote letters or talked in low tones of the little services after death that friends promise one another. And as the highest periods of exaltation have accompanying sides of ridicu- lousness. Colonel John Henry Parker, commanding the regiment, received a No-Mans-Land in the Argonne 26 HISTORY OF THE 362nd INFANTRY pcrcmptor}- letter from some quartermaster in the United States, along" with ntmierous attached letters, to remit immediately 56 cents for a curry comb his orderly had lost at Fort Riley three years before. The companies moved into the front line for the most part during the hours before midnight. Some of them met the yelling, swearing French soldiers as they bumped into American soldiers in their mad rush for the rear to escape the' iron storm about to burst. No pen can describe the grandeur and magni- tude of this mighty bombardment. It filled the soul with awe. Men forgot to be afraid as they reveled in its power. With a couple of distinguishable ex- plosions, the American artillery began, rising in half a minute to an inferno of noise, in which separate explosions merged into one continuous sound. The air roared, the ground shook, the trees were swaying. Those shells whistled, sang, bellowed, screeched and, reaching their target, exploded with heavy muffled bursts as they hit German trenches and dugouts. Thousands of guns were adding their voice and their shells to the merry reception for Fritz. With designated targets, they played all over the German positions, each battery with a definite object of smothering this trench or re- ducing that strong point. And they kept it up — a din and a roar that seemed to split the ears and dam up the brain. Talk was possible by putting the mouth against an ear and shouting. Forty winks of sleep were impossible. There was nothing to do but sit and listen to those shells and wish and wish and wish, with the strongest wishing in you, that every one of the shells, big and little, meant the less Germans on the advance. The Germans soon talked back, with both their heavies and their smaller guns, but nowdiere near so strongly as our guns, both for their lack of numbers and for fear their flashes would bring down instant annihilation. But their shrapnel went cracking through the trees and their shells burst in the forest as the Germans played for the crossroads and the well-known points. Our regiment by that time was in a fairly safe place, packed in on the re- verse slope of a steep little hill on the top of which was the French wire. Only high-angled fire could have reached there, and none seemed to be used. The shells of flat trajectory sang over the top of the hill and burst in the little ravine, rising like a flowering pot of fireworks. In the little dugouts the French had driven into the side of the hill, or on the ledge connecting these and the dift'erent levels, officers and men waited, tightening their light packs, oiling their guns or polishing their bayonets that glittered feebly in the ])ale light. After se\eral hours our artillery (lied d(j\vn slightly. I '.el ween ihc hta\ier salvos, men talked or pullctl cigarettes in the dugouts, the heavy smoke-filled holes pierced with little glows of fire. The hungry — and the voldier is ever hungr}- — ()])ened U]) ])ully beef for a light breakfast. A few wnjte letters for the Chaplain to mail. No one was sad. There was an undercurrent of gayety, a little nervfjus, it is true, but nevertheless bubbling over with rather grisly pic- tures of what would be done to the Germans. The shells whistled back and forth overhead. Ix.uiul l.i the Genuaii trenches or to our rear. There is no other thing in the world lnved or hated with such Discarded Excess Weight— An essential of August, 1918 OVER THE TOP IN THE ARGONNE 27 intensity, according to the direction of its travel, as a shell. A shell of ours singing overhead bound for the Boche is music to the ears. A German shell bound tow^ard you has an ominous sound, as the joke used to be, "slightly dis- turbing." About half-past three or four heavy explosions came from the German lines and the sky was lit up with huge flames that spread like enormous fans in the air. From a vantage point on the hill in the French wire the explosions seemed to be the blowing up of ammunition dumps which the Germans feared would be overrun in the first fierce rush of the drive. The hours slowly passed, for at such waitings time has leaden feet. The low-toned talk was mostly of the Germans and what would happen to them ; a refresher of the best methods of bayonetting; the latest tactics against ma- chine gun, and the all-absorbing topic of how each individual would feel under shell-fire. Of course, the talk drifted to home ; to hopes of an early end of the war — mighty slim at that particular time ; to training camp at Lewis ; and then back again to war, to the eftects of mustard gas, of which lecturers had spread a healthy fear. Around five o'clock the fire of preparation slowed down, and shortlv after a heavy barrage was laid down on the enemy's first line trenches. Until the hour of attack, the artillery played with might and main on that target. Six- inch Stokes mortars threw enormous bombs of TNT on several block-houses whose positions were known, and shortly before the attack was due switched to smoke bombs to screen the American advance from the machine-gunners and snipers. About five-thirty o'clock orders were given to fix bayonets. From then on until five-fifty-five the men waited quietly, their bayonets gleaming faintly, for the word to go over the top for the first time. Sharp at five-fifty-five the order was given for the advance. Without a word of noise, platoons, with their lieutenants or sergeants at the head, ran up the steep slope. Ahead of them Avorked squads of Avire cutters to clear wide paths for the advance. Clearing the top and crossing No-Mans-Land, not a shot came from the German side. All seemed deserted. The terrific shelling of the American guns had not left an unchurned yard of dirt. The shells and TNT bombs had laid the German wire flat in most places. The listening posts of the Germans and their firing trenches were battered in. The blockhouses, which housed machine guns, were ruined masses of con- crete. Little remained of the trenches save the freshly turned earth, gaping with large holes, that was plowed up for hmidreds of yards. Passing the front line trenches, not a shot came from the Germans. The advance began to be a joke with the men. They waved to each other, cracked jokes, and probably thought themselves on the high road to Berlin with nothing to impede their progress. The trail of the Germans shortly entered the woods. Here dugouts were laid bare, for the French had the German trenches well mapped from aeroplane pictures and reports of raiding parties. All of them showed signs of hurried desertion. But it was only after an hour and a half of slow advance through the woods that actual contact with the Germans was had. They opened up suddenly on our right with machine gun fire, killing Lee Gautsche of Company I and wounding Captain Charles Thorp and several men of his company. Lee was the first man killed in the regfiment, in actual combat. But that nest was soon 28 HISTORY OF THE 362nd INFANTRY cleaned out, several Germans killed and several taken prisoners, and the regi- ment swept on. But the i)rogress was marked by steady though not heavy fighting. Little groups of American soldiers worked to the flanks of machine gun nests and bayonetted the Germans, or sent them onward with grenades, their handiwork remaining in the little heaps of bleeding bodies. Snipers were plentiful, causing much trouble, for they were hard to locate and their damage was great. But the regiment managed to ferret them out, mopping up Very Woods and Chehemin Woods with considerable damage to the Ger- mans, many prisoners and comparatively little loss to our side. The German prisoners were a tractable lot, many of them exceedingly afraid they would be killed and not ashamed to beg for their lives. Several Prussian officers were among them, rather lordly fellows, but nearly all of them, officers and men, expressed themselves as glad their part of the war was over. One prisoner was an Alsatian who had been forced to fight against his beloved France. Leaving Chehemin Woods, the German artillery began to play over the area. The shells were bursting with frequency and considerable damage, some of them hitting German prisoners as well as our own men. The men were like seasoned warriors, never hesitating in their advance, though their comrades on right and left might be hit by machine-gun bullets or mangled to pieces by shells. The less said about the efi:'ect of artillery shells on the human body the better. One minute there may be two or three specimens of perfect manhood, the next minute nothing but raw carcasses or groaning wounded with stumps for arms or legs. The Germans were paying some toll though, for the men got considerable of their number in machine gun nests and in snipers up trees. The artillery shelling before the advance also had caught a considerable num- ber, and the ground was fairly well dotted with the German dead in their gray field uniform. German infantry in number was not seen. They were fighting with artillerv, machine guns and snipers. The machine-gunners remained at their posts firing like fiends, never quitting until practically surrounded, when the familiar "Kamerad" was used to save them. Sometimes it did and some- times it didn't. Rushing its way relentlessly, the regiment forged slowly ahead, fighting all day, crumbling in one defense after the other, brushing aside machine gun nests, uncovering snipers, for all of which it paid a considerable toll in dead and wounded. Late afternoon found the regiment facing EjMuonville across a small valley, over which sang the machine gun rattle from the nests hidden in the woods. The First Battalion, then leading the advance, was hung up fm- a while in trenches on the forward slope, our one-pounders and machine guns blaz- ing away to silence the opposition. Gradu- ally they were silenced considerably and enough men were filtered across slowly to cover the j)assage of the rest of the batta- Hon. Night came down and the regiment settled for its first night in the open. A shell hole with a shelter half was the best lodging obtainable, save for the fortunate few who found an occasional deserted dug- out. The First Battalion organized Epi- An Army Requisite nonville for defense and pushed their lines beyond it. In dugouts there they found luxurious (|uarters, but recently and hurriedly deserted, shown by the half-filled beer glasses, the field glasses and a magnificent fur coat. In the early evening the battalion was called back, as OVER THE TOP IN THE ARGONNE 29 its flanks were exposed, and position was taken up on the forward slope facing Epinonville. The shelHng was not heavy that night and our losses few, but the night was cold and the sleeping poor, for those who had any. Epinonville was a task for the morrow. A bunch of German prisoners was being con- ducted along the road by the Bois de Cierges. They were being shelled unmer- cifully by the German bat- teries and naturally they were on the "double quick." The guard in the rear of the bunch was a little fellow and could hardly keep up. "Hold on or I'll brain one of you," he shouted. Of course the prisoners did not under- stand. The little fellow struggled manfully to keep up. "Bleiben Sie da, bleiben Sie da" (remain there, re- main there), shouted two American ofificers to some Germans in a dugout. The Americans were suspicious when no one came out, for they thought they had been ordering the Ger- mans out. Then they dropped a hand grenade into the dugout. . --- . — ^■'"■^ ^^'ViHBBII jts^Hp^^Sj^Bj^ -^ WmM^Wtw Wp y^^^KSk^^^^ L-^ -.IJ^^^^l^^^M ^^H^yp'! ■Jn^^MK^V^'f'^^Veflfll ^^^^^HflH^fe ,. ■BBH^^B| i,?fr^-^ 3[Ki^Bl^P^**t>MB^ ( ->^^^^^^B' gf^^* ^^K^KSt^niS^iLm ' S^^Bt'JSf ''' ^SB- \i-^!!^^^^BP^ w^ T ^ ^^^IS^BHiBKK^^^^BC'^ib * rri f* ^K V' ^fl^^^^K/ Jmk'^ ' ^^HN^^^H^BBB^Hv^tX^ 1 tl mit^3^BuS' -^ lf^Up^iij*>. ■E?"^ ^^^Pa^^^Si V ' •'^ -if ' 't'^^^p ^ -^VjH ^His^^^S^^^SB^lHiHl w^r jr^l^ ||kvjG^S»s^<^4^^ .-f WT R JmW^^^-' ^ gywA ^■i^^^lH ^ ^ ak ^v ^Ih IHb^HM^ ' ffli W ^\ ^ ' « ^o^ ^h, '^iS^^m 9 . ^^Ml -^9^ •rVjl^ /, jT^^BKtfSv nB^ ^ ^^ J-^ 'W^jff^ ^■w* • * „^^ %<^-. ^/ .^-' jxi^ The faithful old steed was sent sky-high by an H. E. and lodged in the top of a tree coming down chap'J'i:r X EPINONVILLE Hotel Very DURfXG the night, the Germans came back to Epinonville in strength and morning found the self-same task of forcing them out again. The one-pounders barked away furiously, securing some excellent hits, sup- ])orted bv our machine guns. Toward ten o'clock we had a foothill on the I-!pinonvi'lle slope and gradually worked most of the regiment across the little valley. But the Germans contested the passage hotly. Their snipers and machine guns were active and caught a considerable number of our men. But the worst, the most sickening experience of the whole war, which came nearer to ruining morale than anything else, was when our own artillery, w liich had been shelling Epinon- \ ille, began to fall short and come crashing in among our own men. Shell after shell came into the little vallev from our guns, ])lunking amidst