A STORY
of
THE 305th MACHINE GUN BATTALION
77th DIVISION
A.E.F.
By
HENRY W. SMITH
Chapter 21
Precigne - We See General Pershing
CHAPTER XXI
PRECIGNE -WE SEE GENERAL PERSHING
IT WAS four when the order to move was finally given and
we started for the railhead at Bricon, twelve kilometers
away. The weather was bitterly cold and the road was a
solid sheet of ice so that it was not long before the
Battalion had lengthened out to almost half a mile.
Slowly we made our way, slipping and sliding, and
comparatively few were able to hold their feet for the
entire route. Bricon and the box cars came into view at
last and, to finish off our hike, we pulled into a field,
swinging from column into company front formation
knee-deep in snow. Jam sandwiches and hot chocolate were
served by the Y.M.C.A.
The floors of the
cars were covered with straw and, in view of the
intensely cold, bleak weather we had been experiencing,
the time we would spend aboard the train was looked
forward to with some trepidation. Once loaded aboard the
cars, they were not uncomfortable, which was probably due
to animal heat. With the usual shrieks from the
locomotive's whistle and a series of jerks, we rolled out
of Bricon with no idea of where we were going but in good
spirits. Once again we were viewing France from our side
door Pullmans. On the eleventh of February we pulled
slowly through the city of Angers. For a brief moment we
thought that we had arrived at our destination but we
should have known better. Angers was too large a city for
us and, while the train was moving slowly, it kept
rolling. We soon discovered that Angers was not for us.
About midday the train stopped out in the country at a
small station with not a soul to be seen. This was more
like it.
The sign bore the
legend, Pince-Precigne, indicating that the small station
served both villages, but they were nowhere to be seen.
The weather was ideal. Only two days by train from
Gillancourt and yet there we were on the hike to Precigne
with perspiration running down and overcoats hanging from
packs. A march of about three kilometers brought us to
the village of Precigne and its timid population. Here
again the people seemed to be somewhat fearful of
American troops. It was either because they had no idea
of what we were like or had been made nervous by troops
that may have been there before us. It did not take the
men long to dispel any misgivings and, later, those who
were billeted right in the village enjoyed numerous
pleasant gatherings with the villagers.
B and C Companies
continued through the village, swinging to the left along
a road we later learned led into Sable, where Division
Headquarters was established. About half a mile out from
the village B Company entered the grounds of a large
chateau. C Company's hike ended about a mile further on
where quarters were taken in another chateau and
outbuildings. The luck, at this time, seemed to be with B
Company which no doubt had the best accommodations of the
Battalion. A large modern garage on the grounds
accommodated quite a number of men while others occupied
stalls in the stable. The sanitary conditions, however,
were of the best as it had been years since horses had
been bedded in those stalls. Building operations had been
under way when the war started, in 1914, and the shacks
and tools of the workmen were still on the grounds as
they had dropped them to take up arms. The lawn in front
of the chateau was used by the Battalion in preparation
for the inspection and review by General Pershing.
Some of the
buildings occupied by C Company were very old, one, in
particular, having been built in 1732, and the hand-hewn
rafters and beams were held together by dowels. It was
not long before the outfit was comfortably settled and
Sable was easily accessible to the men of C Company. Of
course the orders, as usual, were to keep out of Sable
but that didn't mean a thing and everybody went trooping
into town as often as they liked. Strange as it may seem,
there was one dutified numbskull in C Company who
approached Capt. Downing for a pass into town, stating
that, as most of the men had been in, he wondered if he
couldn't have a pass. The Captain said that it was out of
bounds and was horrified to learn that the men had
disregarded his instructions. It was a good act and there
were no heads chopped off. Captain Downing had been with
the Company but a very short time, having joined the
outfit after the Armistice and, when he left in advance
of the Company to return to the States, it was mutually,
deeply regretted. It was not easy for him to say goodbye
and he said that it had been a real pleasure to command
the Company. Certainly we liked him.
The political
prisoners in the jail in Precigne made a good deal of
noise in the evenings, as they shouted through the bars,
which livened things up. In addition, the men of the
Battalion, quartered in the village, had some lively
evenings of their own making. During one of the sessions
a small Ford truck ended up in somebody's manure pile but
we do not have the details or the names of the original
cast As we understand it, it all led up to an amusing
skit entitled "The Sergeant Major's Revenge".
Cy Copper became a member of C Company at about that
time. There was also an amusing sketch put on by C
Company, those participating wearing any kind of costume
they could get together. Harry O'Beirn, who was
pintsized, himself, did a riotous turn with a donkey.
Things kept moving pretty well, what with having group
pictures made of the various units of the Battalion and
one thing or another to pass away the time. The men
selected to go to Sable on an engineering detail had a
pretty good time with a minimum of work and a little
"gold bricking" thrown in. Some of the men,
unfortunately, were transferred to more distant points
and did not rejoin.
After much drilling
and brushing up the day finally arrived when we were to
march forth to see and be seen by the big boss, himself
none other than General Pershing. In high spirits, we hit
the road at about seven A.M. to go about twelve
kilometers to a field outside of the village of Soilsmes.
The entire Division pulled into place and we commenced
running up waiting time on the meter. Capt. Downing
straightened up C Company and let it go at that, but
Capt. Turnbull had B Company doing "Right
Dress" every hour on the hour. After standing all
day, with just a bacon sandwich to sustain us, the
General put in an appearance at three or four o'clock in
the afternoon, but nobody bawled him out for being late.
What a picture he made as he mounted his big black horse
with white trappings! Every inch the soldier, he set a
fine example. After looking us over generally he made a
personal inspection with each company commander. Head and
eyes were kept to the front if we never had held them
there before. The General said that we were a fine
looking body of boys but told the skipper that the shoes
looked somewhat dry and to keep plenty of dubbing on
them. He didn't seem to realize that we had sloshed
through puddles from a rain the previous night and that,
after waiting all day for him, the mud had a fine chance
to dry. We just couldn't get one hundred percent. Capt.
Downing's only worry was whether or not he had been in
step with the General. Pershing stopped before Pete
Windolph and inquired concerning his wound. Pete's chest
was swelled up and he gloated that of all the men in the
Army, the Chief bad to speak to him.
Underbrush
separating the field we were in from an adjoining one had
been cleared out by the engineers during the day and, as
Pershing gave the command, "Pass in Review",
the Division moved forward into the next field which,
apparently, had been plowed. We can only imagine what our
lines looked like as we went ankle-deep in soft earth.
When we had passed the reviewing line and the order was
double time, the men in the infantry regiments, trying to
keep rifles on shoulders, were floundering and falling in
all directions. Sometimes bayonets came down first into
the ground and it was a wonder somebody wasn't hurt. The
job was over at last and we were glad to swing back
toward our billets. We had covered most of the distance
when a motorcycle courier overtook the Battalion and we
fell out at the side of the road. After a short
conference, we were told that outfits with ten or more
kilometers to march were to be carried in motor lorries.
That was a hell of a time to be telling us. The lorries
were on the way to pick us up and the officers gave us
our choice of waiting or marching in. We of C Company
elected to push on and we were pretty well through mess
when we heard the trucks go roaring through with the
companies that had waited.