FIRST AID
ON FOUR FRONTS IN
WORLD WAR I
308th Medical Detachment
Letters written by,
Sgt. 1st
Class
William D. Conklin
September
(Written
at Chateau du Diable near Fismes on the Vesle)
September 11, 1918
Day be fore yesterday I went over to our Regimental
ration dump (At Fismes) and found packages dated at
Chelsea Terminal between August 3 and 13. Mail is often
brought up with the rations-- distributed as rapidly as
possible afterward. Yesterday I made the same trip again
to visit the Quartermaster dump and arrange for new
clothes for some of us who are not included on Battalion
requisitions. The latest good news is that we shall all
probably get entire new outfits as soon as the Division
is relieved.
We have been having considerable of an experience in the
line. That "we" means the Regiment- as a whole.
Where I am stationed it has been tame enough. We thought
for a while that enemy artillery would be after us (that
is, our location), this particular spot having been given
up by the Boches only after a hot defense. We are on a
height that overlooks a wide --stretch of valley, but
there is another hill between us and the present front
line. Shells have been dropping in two towns, one on
either side of us (Fismes- and Bazoches), but it is
understood that the enemy artillery is retreating. (They
took up a strong position on the heights above the Aisne,
when ousted from. the Vesle valley)
Occasionally one is treated to the surprise of high
explosive shrapnel bursting overhead without warning, and
at night others seem to hear shells near enough to worry
them. But I sleep soundly. One night jerry came on an
old-fashioned air raid such as we learned to know in the
spring. He dropped one of his "pills" directly
behind us, in some soft ground, and we felt the
vibration. But this is of course small business compared
to what has been going on a few miles ahead of us,
On one occasion all the personnel stationed at one of our
Battalion aid posts left their dugout and went out in the
face of heavy artillery fire to take care of the boys and
got them down to a sheltered spot. As likely you have
read the Boches have been forced out of their trenches
into the open at last. This has its advantages, and
perhaps some disadvantages. The villages around here are
particularly desolate. They have been raked by
long-distance fire from both sides, some of them having
been taken., lost and retaken several times. (This was
particularly true of Fismes. )
Since I last wrote we have moved again (as you may take
for granted), first to a certain farm (Chartreuve Farm),
where we had spent some time once before, Then, at
sundown the next day, in the midst of a regular parade of
troops and all sorts of supply trains, the advance of
which had at last become safe, we started out to follow
up the Battalions. (Through Chery-Chartreuve and Mont St.
Martin to Ville Savoye.) We spent part of the night in a
barn, and at four in the morning (it is still dark here
at that hour) we proceeded along a narrow wood path,
crossing a river on a new temporary bridge. One candle
kept us from walking off into space; it was passed on
down the line, as each of us reached the first plank of
the bridge. Finally we established ourselves in a curious
chateau, most of which is in ruins, it once had a large
conservatory and various odd features, such as a butler's
pantry housed in a glass enclosed balcony. It is said to
have been the home of an eccentric gentleman who had
Monte Carlo interests-- but this may be worth as little
belief as most rumors. At all events we are thankful that
he provided a basement excavated out of the hill, so that
it is well protected on three sides. The fourth. Side, to
be sure faces the enemy!
The Chateau du Diable was on the main road from Soissons
to Rheims. about half a mile from Fismes. Two fantastic
weathervanes, of gigantic size, which had been. shot
down, inspired the name "Chateau of the Devil."
A large bridge between us and the town, had beer, blown
up. Our Engineers
replaced it by a wooden foot bridge.
Everywhere one
sees evidences that the Boche intended to make himself
very comfortable and at home. The other day I noticed two
sewing machines in a wrecked Shanty. I suppose they had
kept many a uniform ready for dress parade. The German
graves invariably carry the sentiment, "Hier ruhe in
Gott, etc." Devout these Huns are, even when they
are concocting all sorts of deviltry. They need a
particularly German God to look, out for them. (Doubtless
they would have returned the compliment.)
After a very dry summer, but with nothing like the heat
that you write of having at home, what appears to be a
rainy season has at last struck us. The nights are always
cool, and we are beginning to wonder what it will be like
when December comes along.
You will be amused to hear of one of the expedients I was
driven to. Soon after we arrived on this side we were
ordered, as I may have written to pack all extra personal
clothing and in fact everything 0f our own except toilet
articles, and carry with us only the prescribed
equipment. The rest was left behind in our blue barrack
bags.
One sweater was allowed so I had to choose from among my
three; but I smuggled in a knitted helmet, which I wear
almost every night. Our packs were supposed to be
inspected for unauthorized articles, but they never were,
and as for those barrack bags, nobody expects them ever
to turn up, As a matter of fact, it would have been out
of the question for us to have lugged around all the
stuff we brought over with us. A good deal of it, like
knitted goods and soap, we had been encouraged to put in.
I had used soap flakes so successfully in camp that I put
in several boxes. These broke open in transit and the
contents sifted all through the bag; then the whole
business got wet-- probably fell into the harbor when the
ship unloaded-and you can perhaps imagine the condition
my duds were in when I unpacked.
But as to my expedient-one day I saw a fellow hang a big
brown muffler on the branch of a tree. He had got tired
of carrying it on many a hot hike, and decided winter was
too far away to bother about; and consequently he was
offering it to the first comer. I laid hands on it , and
at my leisure devised two handsome sleeves, which I sewed
on to my sweater. thereby quite literally extending its
usefulness. I had discovered that if one's arms were
cold, one might as well be cold all over.
Written at Chateau du Diabe, near Fismes, on the
Vesle)
This letter seems to be missing. It was written September
16, just- as we were about to leave the Vesle for the
Argonne.
I described a visit made to our Battalion in support,
near Blanzy-les-Fismes, a few miles from Chateau du
Diable. That afternoon we walked through Perles, which
had been entirely destroyed, and had chance to realize
the difficulties encountered by our men in driving the
enemy back over comparatively open ground, where,
however, numberless natural pits gave the Boches a chance
to use machine guns and hand grenades. Besides, their
artillery had a clear sweep.
Battalion headquarters and the aid post dugout were on a
high plateau looking down into Blanzy, and we watched the
town being heavily shelled. Here was located the dressing
station of the Ambulance Company then evacuating for us,
Before our return we visited it to carry a message from
the Regimental Surgeon. Most of the rest of the town had
been ruined, but the dressing station, although
aboveground, had not been touched.
During the afternoon we saw an exciting air battle
between several Allied and several German planes,
directly overhead, The Boches were driven away, but one
French plane had to come down. The aviator, though
wounded, made a very pretty landing. Several big
observation balloons (French, I suppose) were usually up
over the Vesle valley near Fismes, and we saw some very
daring exploits of enemy planes directed against them. It
was impossible to help admiring the nerve of some of the
German aviators. We saw one swoop down to within a few
yards of the balloon, set it afire, and dart away before
either the aircraft guns or our planes could got him. The
balloon observer, in this case, had to come to earth by
parachute.
Our Division had just reached the edge of the Aisne, and
was fronted by the Germans entrenched on the Chemin des
Dames, when we were relieved by an Italian Division. In
leaving the area, we passed through Fismes, thereby
offering Jerry our whole Brigade as a present, if he had
only been equal to the occasion. As it was, he landed a
shell in the center of the town, while the traffic was
tangled, and our friends the 307th Infantry Medical
Detachment were the victims. That bright moonlight night
we marched to Vezilly. This was 19 kilometers for those
of us from near Fismes, and a good deal farther for the
men coming out of the line. Besides, they were exhausted
and half-starved from their experience in the advance. If
there is one thing harder than any other it is to be
"relieved" and have to make a long march in
leaving an area,
While the Regimental Headquarters was in the Chaateau du
Diable, I made another trip besides that described.
Borrowing the Surgeon's horse, I crossed the Vesle
valley, passed through Ville Savoye and Mont St. Martin
and reached Chery-Chartreuve, where I got, at the Y. M.
C.A. as much chocolate and tobacco as the saddle bags
would hold. The following day these were sent up to be
distributed among our Detachment men, at several aid
posts. 'The only exciting feature of the excursion was
that I had not yet learned to ride well, and of course I
knew that the horse knew that I wasn't used to the
saddle. But he was an amiable beast, patient as Job.
Written at Le Rond-Chanp., a Camp near Vienne-le-
Chateau, in the Argonne)
September 26., 1918
I don't know just when I shall be able to post this
letter, and that may make it out of data soon, but I
shall try to get an ambulance to take it. I sent off a
card about a week ago by the same means, We have been
very much on the move, so much so that the post office
has hard work to keep up with us. When I have a chance. I
intend to figure out the number of places where we have
at least bivouacked for a night--or remained longer. Out
of nine nights in succession, since I last wrote, we
hiked on five, on another took a lorry ride of over 100
miles, and on three we slept straight through.
That lorry ride was an experience not to be forgotten.
You might not think, from the fact that it took us
sixteen hours., that we made much speed, but every little
while we were held up by an obstruction of one kind or
another. We hardly stopped for more than ten or fifteen
minutes at a time during the trip, and had to get along
on dry rations altogether, When we did strike a clear
stretch we went bouncing along over a roadbed that had
boon ruined by heavy traffic.
Each lorry was equipped with two long seats, facing each
other. They were narrow and seemed to slope toward the
aisle, so we had to hold on constantly to keep from being
shaken off. Realizing the difficulty of sleep, we sang
songs for several hours--all those we could remember.
After that several of us, tired out from the preceding
night's march, tumbled down among the packs and slept. It
was a queer jumble of anatomy and baggage. We were lucky
to have only fourteen aboard instead of the prescribed
twenty-one, and they were a good crowd,
Intelligence Department men, with three of us from the
" Medical"
This ride was from Vezilly, up the Marne valley, through
Chalons and Vitry-le--Francois, where we turned sharply
left halting finally at Epense, some miles south of Ste,
Menehould, just below the Argonne.)
Then for a day and a half and a night and a half, two of
our Battalion outfits and we of Headquarters had a very
jolly reunion. Of course a long trip such as I have
mentioned means a very definite change of location, it
may Surprise you, unless you have been able to keep track
of my longer journeys, to find that we have been on three
different fronts since our original area. Don't suppose,
when I speak of a night hike that it means an entire
night given up to it. We might pull in at 1:00 or 2:00 or
earlier, or else start out before sunrise. Our last long
hike, before we "embussed" was one of nineteen
kilos, or about twelve miles. This was made rather
strenuous by the fact that most of the men were just
leaving the line (they had at least 25 kilos to march),
and then, too, in order to get well clear of the danger
zone as fast as possible, we had to plug along at a fast
pace for two hours without a halt.
We got mail, and plenty of it, a couple of days ago,
after our transport, which had been carrying it for a
week, finally caught up when our American supplementary
organizations, such as the Y.M.C.A., are left in the
rear, we sometimes have the good luck to strike the
French Y.M. (Foyers du' Soldat), as at the roomy and
attractive shack where I got this paper (Foyers
letterhead). This place had seen French, Italian, and
American troops, It was part of a well organized camp in
the forest (Camp Croix Gentin), where we found an
unusually good infirmary, luxuriously provided with
bunks., mattresses, and two electric lights. We could
almost imagine ourselves on Broadway,
At present I find myself" writing in a dugout that
boasts the best substitute for a plate glass window, one
of oiled cloth that lets in plenty of light and yet is
opaque and unbreakable. There are shutters to let down at
night. The dugout is quite a model of its kind. It backs
into a hillside is of stout steel and timber
construction, and is protected above by a "four-foot
thickness of rocks on the roof. On the central panel of
the triple window is a Red Cross and "Posto di
Medicazione," besides the name of the Italian
regiment originally stationed here. All around us are
eaves and dugouts, tier above tier,
All the talk is of hopes that the Boche will have a
"ki" prefixed to him before long. If only he
could be driven into the earth before winter--or not that
exactly, for what vie want most of all is to keep him out
of his trenches, in the open. As far as we can tell from
newspapers that occasionally drift our way, the Allies in
various parts of the world are making magnificent gains.
Now comes news of General Allenby's latest conquests in
Palestine. I believe it will be only a matter of time
till the concerted, drives under Foch's direction will
overwhelm the Kaiser or his advisers or bring the German
people to a realization of what will happen eventually.
It has been interesting lately to see a good deal of the
French colonial troops --black men from the West Indies
and from North Africa, the latter resplendent in red fez,
They are said to be great fighters.
If my letters are of any Interest, it is because there
are such big possibilities in the subject matter. I only
regret that I can't write up our experiences as they
deserve. A letter is apt to be slip shod, and often it is
written under difficulties and with hopes of getting it I
nailed before an. order comes to "roll packs."
Some of you have spoken of reading letters from Chaplain
H (Halligan). He is a man we all think everything of--the
best type of young Catholic priest. He is a great worker
and very kind hearted and he risks his own safety almost
constantly, He has a fund of good humor that never in the
least harms his clerical dignity. As for my health at
this writing--the mess corporal cries, "How do you
do it?" when I show up for a third helping of
dinner, even dinner reduced to its lowest terms of
Chicago Bully, alias Corned Willy. After all, this
maligned food, if sufficiently camouflaged, can be made
delicious. And then as to sleep, I can sleep on the
ground or anything above it,
This letter was written the day the great Argonne drive
started. The Infantry went over the top early in the
morning, after the barrage along the whole front had
ceased. Regimental Headquarters was advanced on the 28th
to La Harazee,
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