CHAPTER VIITHE TOUL SECTOR
Orders on the morning of March 30 sent the Battalion to Trampot, about fifteen kilometers away. There Easter Sunday was spent in the rain, which had prevailed for two days, as was customary when the organization moved.
On April 1 the men with their guns and ammunition were loaded into trains of motor trucks for the trip to the front, the carts and kitchen having started the journey by road the previous day.
The route of the trucks lay through Neufchateau, center of the 26th Division training area, Domremy, the birthplace of Joan of Arc, to Boucq, divisional headquarters for the new area, which was known as the sector of Boucq, or Foret de La Reine to the French authorities, but more commonly called the Toul sector because of its location northwest of that ancient city. In the trenches of this part of the line long, tedious days were spent, broken by weary hikes through the mud to a rest camp for a day or so, only to pack and return to another section. The experience gained in becoming accustomed to shell fire, getting the most out of meager protection afforded and observation of enemy tactics, proved its value in the lives it saved when the Company went into action later in the year.
After landing in Boucq the men were assigned to barracks near the village. The cooks who had started with the wagon train from Vesaignes failed to put in an appearance but culinary talent was not lacking, and Ackerman and Parmalee prepared the meals until the kitchen arrived. Orders were confused during the following two days and it was not till the morning of April 3 that directions were received sending the Company northwest of Broussey at the extreme left of the sector occupied by the 51st Brigade. Ammunition and equipment were carried to the front on the narrow gauge railroad from Broussey, to which point the Company was transported in trucks.
Rain added to the difficulties of finding a way through theheavily wooded swamp. Confronting the men on their way to the positions assigned the three mile hike from Broussey was one of the worst trips in their experience. Continually in the mud, sometimes over their boots and dropping every few yards into shallow creeks crossing their path, forcing their way through passages overgrown with underbrush and stumbling over broken duck-boards, the men, nearly exhausted, finally reached the wooden shacks used as shelters. Just two days late, they relieved the 1st Division unit which had been languidly fulfilling the necessary duties of the sector.
Partly protected wooden and iron huts described by Lieutenant Nelson as being "shell-proof until a shell hits one of them," were distributed about a central point in the Bois de Besombois and here the entire Company, with the exception of "mule-skinners" and other members of the train section, was quartered. Two hundred yards distant was the front line located in another wood designated Bouqueteau. To the right of these positions in the direction of Pont à Mousson for a distance of fourteen kilometers the 51st Brigade held the line, while to the left for ten kilometers the 52d Brigade with the remaining units of the 26th Division occupied the trenches, its left resting within a comparatively short distance of St. Mihiel.
In this sector there were but few trenches, as the character of the ground made it impractical for the enemy to attempt much of an advance in this direction. It was protected on the right by marshy lakes and on the left by strong defenses on higher ground. To the right could be seen the forbidding German stronghold of Montsec, with Xivray and Seicheprey in the distance, later the scenes of the earliest actions in which American units participated, while on the left was the Apremont region, where the 104th Infantry Regiment won distinction repulsing a German raid.
Expressing contempt for the "Malishy" the men of the 1st Division left the sector with the apparent feeling that it would soon be overrun by the Boche, but before going they transmitted more faithfully than they did many of their orders stories about American raids on the Hun lines which had penetrated through the last defense and had netted but one prisoner, a decrepitpensioner who travelled with the aid of a wooden leg and carried flares which he set off at intervals throughout the system of trenches. In spite of their feeling in the matter the Hun continued quiet for several days, using vari-colored lights and machine gun bullets to while away the long hours of darkness. A gas alarm broke the stillness on the 5th and the following night brought action for Gould's and Hunihan's guns, who fired on signal from the infantry, but nothing further developed.
Almost incredible news was received on the night of the 9th, when orders came sending Sergeant "Tom" Reilly home as one of the fifty men selected to represent the American Expeditionary Force during the campaign for the Second Liberty Loan. When he left he had more messages for the home folks than he could have delivered personally in a month.
Stinky
Although a certain amount of shelling by both sides had occurred periodically ever since the Company entered the lines, the heavy bombardment which began early on the morning of the 20th betokened action in some part of the Brigade sector. Later news showed this activity to have taken place preceding and during the German attack on Seicheprey. There a battalion of picked shock troops had pierced the lines held by the firstbattalion of the 102d Infantry Regiment and A and B Companies of the 102d Machine Gun Battalion, finding its way through a mist which filled the low ground in front of Jury Woods. The enemy had surrounded certain units, including a platoon of B Company of the Battalion and most of D Company of the infantry, nearly all of whom were carried away prisoners. After inflicting damage as far as they could they were forced to retire before a counter attack, leaving hundreds of dead in their wake, while their wounded in unknown numbers had been carried off in the retreat. This was the first engagement of its size fought by American troops.
Just previous to this attack, Major John D. Murphy, formerly a captain in the 101st Infantry Regiment, was placed in command of the Battalion and Captain Gallup, who had been acting major, returned to lead C Company.
The air was filled with rumors which gain headway when there is a dearth of subjects to be discussed. One said that the Company was to be withdrawn and the personnel used as instructors, another that the unit was on the verge of being sent home for some hazy purpose and a trip to Italy was even invented. All were discredited however, when, after thirty days continuous duty in the lines C Company, 103d Machine Gun Battalion, completed its relief of the Company during the night of May 2 and the men hiked westward along a road screened with camouflage to Girauvoisin, whence three sections went forward to Fort Liouville and relieved part of B Company, 101st Machine Gun Battalion, taking positions which seemed ideal. With beds and good rooms on the very front line, the men rested until relieved on the 14th by B Company of their Battalion, when they hiked the eighteen kilometers intervening between their position and La Rehanne Woods, the location of the train.
La Rehanne Woods, located on the road running from Toul north through Menil la Tour and Ansauville, Battalion Headquarters, to Beaumont and Seicheprey, served as the rest camp for the Company during the remainder of its stay in the Toul sector, being comparatively free from shelling and therefore largely used by all units in that area.
Under the auspices of the Y. M. C. A., the Herron sisters provided entertainment Sunday, the 19th. In the afternoon of that day Art Parmalee fought six rounds with Jensen of the 163d Infantry, winning the honors with ease and adding considerably to the wealth of his backers,—practically the entire Company. The following days were filled with the usual explorations of surrounding villages and pay for March and April on the 21st would have given more latitude to these trips had not the Company departed for positions in Jury Woods that night when units of the 162d French Regiment were relieved.
Accommodations were available for only half the Company in these positions so the rest of the men returned to La Rehanne to await their turn. In Jury Woods men on the guns had considerable practice in barrage work, for on two occasions the signal was sent up by the infantry and promptly responded to by all guns on the line. It was learned afterward that German raiding parties had been repulsed both times without gaining a foothold. Outdoor quarters selected in the woods were abandoned after these occurrences, however, for the safety of the dugouts was thoroughly appreciated, the number of shells falling into the woods making their use imperative. Wortenko proved the first casualty of the Company, sustaining a slight injury to one of his fingers when a shell burst near as he was filling canteens at the kitchen.
Preparations for the raid executed by the third battalion of the 101st Infantry Regiment early on the morning of the 30th northeast of Seicheprey, in the general direction of Richecourt in the enemy line, included a distracting fire which was furnished by D Company guns in order to keep the attention of the Boche from the point to be raided. This barrage started at 2:25 A. M. and was followed at 2:30 by a concentration of American artillery fire which paralyzed the enemy batteries for a time. On an east and west line just to the rear of Beaumont nearly four regiments of artillery opened fire at the zero hour and aided by twenty-three machine guns of the Battalion spread a protecting screen of fire over the raiders.
After the men had returned in safety to our lines with one prisoner, dubbed "the million dollar kid" because of the expenseof the undertaking, some of the Hun batteries went into action and it was 3:35 when an enemy shell struck the emplacement occupied by Corporal Dowers' squad in the north side of Jury Woods, killing Jestin McAviney and wounding Bussiere, both of whom were on duty at the gun.
The following day McAviney was buried in the American cemetery at Mandres with Chaplain Petty of the 102d Infantry officiating. He was the only member of the Company to lose his life during three months of more than ordinary dangers.
Exciting times were in prospect, for according to information received at Divisional Headquarters, the enemy was massing troops at Metz, only twenty miles distant, and there was considerable speculation as to where he would strike, his drive on the British front having been halted through lack of momentum and the interposition of new units in that sector by the commander-in-chief of the Allied armies. Ever since the Toul sector had become the official American sector early in the year, defensive preparations had been going on with the building of pill boxes which would shed most enemy shells as steel helmets shed hail stones. Reserve trenches protected by wire were prepared and machine gun positions all along the line in the direction of Toul put in order for occupancy. Orders were issued concerning the defense of the sector with the plan of backing up the troops in front by organized lines which were, in important places, three miles in depth, carried out in all particulars except the actual operations.
It was during the excitement of these activities that Company D was relieved by the machine gun company of the 102d Regiment and returned to its quarters at La Rehanne on the morning of June 4, where it was under instructions in the event of a break through by the enemy to take positions in the forward edge of the woods and hold off the Hun forces while the troops in front retreated to cover.
This was a critical period in the history of the war. French and British were sustaining severe losses, morale was weakening in the Allies' forces and each day brought news of the unbroken advance of the Teutons. Appealing to the patriotism of soldiers which had withstood reverse after reverse for four years, withfew of the crumbs of success, General Petain, commanding the armies of France, sent out the following:—
"Men!!The enemy is striking another blow,Outnumbering us, he has been able, during the last few days, to throw confusion into our front lines.But our reserves are rushing up!You are going to shatter his thrust and return it!Stand up, Heroes of the Marne!For your hearths and homes!For France!Forward!Petain."
"Men!!The enemy is striking another blow,Outnumbering us, he has been able, during the last few days, to throw confusion into our front lines.But our reserves are rushing up!You are going to shatter his thrust and return it!Stand up, Heroes of the Marne!For your hearths and homes!For France!Forward!Petain."
"Men!!
"Men!!
The enemy is striking another blow,Outnumbering us, he has been able, during the last few days, to throw confusion into our front lines.But our reserves are rushing up!You are going to shatter his thrust and return it!Stand up, Heroes of the Marne!For your hearths and homes!For France!Forward!Petain."
The enemy is striking another blow,
Outnumbering us, he has been able, during the last few days, to throw confusion into our front lines.
But our reserves are rushing up!
You are going to shatter his thrust and return it!
Stand up, Heroes of the Marne!
For your hearths and homes!
For France!
Forward!
Petain."
The luxuries of baths and new clothing were arranged for the Company at Menil la Tour, the divisional supply base four kilometers south of La Rehanne. The following days were filled with the usual occupations of resting troops,—baseball games and concerts at the Y. M. C. A. hut by the 101st Regiment band. Local talent of all kinds was plentiful and with the assistance of Johnson and Hine the Salvation Army workers sold cocoa and doughnuts to lines of men which lasted as long as the supplies held out.
The dearth of company officers was felt when Lieutenant Nelson left for the school at Gondrecourt, Lieutenant Carroll having been previously called to Battalion Headquarters to act as gas officer.
Moving to the east the battalion sector embraced positions near the village of Flirey. It was to relieve a French unit in some of the new territory that the third platoon left on the night of the 12th. The balance of the Company moved out the following night to take up positions in the ruins of Seicheprey and on the ridge just to the southwest of that place, protecting Beaumont, which place had served successively as a post of command for the 102d and 101st Infantry Regiments. Passing safely through the perils of "Dead Man's Curve," the Company completed the relief under the protection of midnight darkness.
PhotographsUpper, left to right—Capt. Frank E. Wolf, Lt. Ludz (French army, instructor), Capt. George D. Condren.Center, left to right—Lt. John C. Dolan, Lt. John C. Carroll, Lt. Barry Keenan, Lt. Sidney Bacharach.Lower, left to right—Lt. C. Lyon Rogers, Lt. Gustaf A. Nelson, Lt. John C. Carroll.
Upper, left to right—Capt. Frank E. Wolf, Lt. Ludz (French army, instructor), Capt. George D. Condren.Center, left to right—Lt. John C. Dolan, Lt. John C. Carroll, Lt. Barry Keenan, Lt. Sidney Bacharach.Lower, left to right—Lt. C. Lyon Rogers, Lt. Gustaf A. Nelson, Lt. John C. Carroll.
PhotographsTop—Company D starting out from Niantic expecting to leave forFrance, Sept. 23, 1917.—Barracks, winter of 1917, Certilleux.—Sgt. FredKlaussner teaching a mule its manners, machine gun ammunition cart tothe right.—Dugout in the Ormont.—Loading the train, Lizy-sur-Ourcq,August, 1918.—Capt. Paton's dugout in the Ormont.—Main street inSeicheprey.
Top—Company D starting out from Niantic expecting to leave forFrance, Sept. 23, 1917.—Barracks, winter of 1917, Certilleux.—Sgt. FredKlaussner teaching a mule its manners, machine gun ammunition cart tothe right.—Dugout in the Ormont.—Loading the train, Lizy-sur-Ourcq,August, 1918.—Capt. Paton's dugout in the Ormont.—Main street inSeicheprey.
Subject to a heavy share of artillery activity at all times, this sector proved comparatively quiet until early Sunday morning, June 16, when the Hun laid down a barrage indicating he was about to attack. Centering to the left of the Seicheprey positions, the enemy assault was directed against the village of Xivray-Marvoisin, held by units of the 103d Infantry Regiment and D Company, 103d Machine Gun Battalion. The nucleus of the latter was made up of former members of Troop A. The efforts of the Germans met such determined resistance that the lines remained intact and the invaders were hurled from their slight foothold with severe losses. Artillery fire continued intermittently during the rest of the day, but good dugouts afforded shelter for the men.
Coots
Favored by a fog in the early morning hours of June 19, the enemy prepared an attack which was to destroy the lines at Seicheprey and menace the positions in Jury Woods, the key to a ridge which would have been of military importance to him; but shortly after his barrage had covered our lines, with his men concentrated in thick woods covering his first defenses, he met the full force of the first projector gas attack launched by the American army. Sixteen hundred projectiles were used in the operation and they were thrown from a point in front of Jury Woods. Rage at these tactics was expressed in the terrific bombardment during the ensuing day of all our forward positions and communicating areas, but for some reason, supposedlybecause of the use of new artillery which had not become accustomed to the positions, most of the projectiles landed in places where little harm could be done. Results of the gassing were apparent from artillery observation posts, which reported the departure of several hospital trains from stations in the rear of the German lines. Ackerman and Barry, slightly gassed, were the only members of the Company to suffer from the fury of the Hun.
Relief by the French, taking over the sector in conjunction with the 82d American Division, came on the night of June 25, when the Company returned to La Rehanne Woods. Continuing the journey on the 26th, the men hiked twenty-two kilometers to Lay St. Remy, four kilometers west of Toul, where barns were assigned as billets and a long sleep was in order for the morning of the 27th.
Prompted by desire more than by information, the men eagerly followed the will-o'-the-wisp of a furlough or a short rest at the least, and arguments occupying the intervals when sight-seeing through the munitions factories and other points of interest nearby was not in progress bore heavily on the point that the Division had seen more than four months of front line service and was due for a rest. Force of circumstances, however, refuted this logic, and orders came for the Battalion to entrain for another part of the front.
Although eager to see new parts of the line, there were signs of genuine regret among the men when they knew they were to leave the sector with which they had become so familiar during the past three months. It had been the scene of their first real taste of duty as independent units, it held the grave of the first of their number to give his life, and they had watched it as the warm of spring days transformed its fields from bleak vistas of mud to living green dotted with the white and yellow of the early spring flowers, followed by the period when whole areas were covered with the brilliant hues of blooming poppies. Bound for an unknown part of the country, with the probability of finding most of their previous training discounted by new conditions, it was only the buoyant spirit characteristic of the Company throughout the most trying times, which, added to the thirst for adventure, prevented depression and sent them on their way singing and whistling.