HISTORY
of
THE 308th INFANTRY
By
L. Wardlaw Miles
Chapter 8
To The Meuse
CHAPTER VIII
To the Meuse
I
IT is to be regretted that the following chapter dealing
with the history of the 308th Infantry, subsequent to the
relief of the so-called Lost Battalion and covering the
Regiment's last month of active service before the
Armistice, cannot be told in as great detail or with as
much personal reference as some of the earlier chapters.
Such, however, is necessarily the case, both because the
Regiment was less actively engaged and because the
material dealing with this period is comparatively small.
Perhaps the writer cannot introduce this chapter better
than by making a final quotation from those notes of
Colonel Whittlesey used in Chapter VI.
Gordon Schenck was killed in the Pocket, and Stromee and
Williamson were wounded, so there were none of the
original officers left with the 1st B'n.; but when we got
out we were rejoined by Knight and D Company. There
weren't many men left in the 1st B'n, but what there were
were fine and cheerful, and we sat around for two days
cleaning up and resting. In the afternoon of the first
day they sent me about 20 second lieutenants just out of
training school who had been s'g'ts. in the draft. All
2nd Lts. and most of them a corking lot of fellows. I whisked them
around somehow into companies, trying to
guess which would be the best company commanders.
And after that rest
of two days-I've forgotten the dates -they told me I was
to take command of the Division Reserve (being a Lt. Col.
by that time, just made), and that the 1st Bn. would be
part of that reserve. Here I lost sight of the 2nd Bn. .
. . Well our R'g't'l. H'q'rs., where we were resting, was
just E. of Binarville, in the ravine. So along about
October 10th or 11th I marched the Bn. around to the W.
and through the woods where they were trying to shove
what seemed like a whole division-trains and artillery
-along a foot path. Finally joined up with the rest of
the Division Reserve-a battalion of the 306th and a M. G.
Bn.; and we got set in the heart of the Forest well out
of harm's way. We had got our shelter tents and blankets
back, and we settled down for a life of ease. Drew real
fresh beef, and marmalade and coffee! Had our kitchens
near. And there in a charming little ravine running E.
and W. the war practically ended for me.
Oddly enough, while
we were there, a typewritten message came, purporting to
emanate from Corps H'q'rs.-this must have been not much
after Oct. 15th-saying that peace would probably be
declared in a few days, and that I was to read this to
the men. I When the men heard it, the following morning,
a Sunday, as I recall-you can imagine how rosy life
looked under the Greenwood tree!
Then Col. Hannay ordered me back to R'g't'l. H'q'rs. to
do some regular lieutenant coloneling. . . . So the
R'g't. marched back to a rear position in the forest, and had a couple
of pleasant camps during the next few days-first at a crossroads that
I've forgotten the name of, except that there on the side of a ravine
was a wonderful hanging row of houses and in one of them a genuine bath
tub with a means for heating water. (It had
been a German rest camp.) Next the R'g't. was at a place
called Pylon- and another place called Abrie du Crochet
where there was another German rest camp and a theater.
Those places were well in the rear of the line and life
was pretty easy.
Nov. 1st the Reg't
was ordered to pick up and go back to the old war again,
and I was ordered home to the U. S. A. So I can't tell
you anything about the hike to Sedan.
2
The other two battalions were not to enjoy the well-
earned rest which has just been described as the lot of
the 1st. On October 9th, after receiving rations,
clothing, and equipment, the 3rd Battalion commanded by
Captain Breckinridge and the 2nd commanded by Captain
Prentice from the 307th Infantry resumed in the order
named the advance northward. The 308th was now acting in
support of the 307th Infantry. The latter unit had gone
into the front line on the same date about six kilometers
north of Binarville. Since the 308th was now in support,
it encountered no direct opposition; nevertheless two men
of the 3rd Battalion were killed and three wounded by
shell fire. October 9th and 10th were allowed for the
mopping up of the ravines to the west, but no enemy was
here encountered with the exception of one lone German
police dog. Meanwhile the scout officer also got in touch
with the French Cavalry on our left.
It is of course understood that in the meanwhile the fist
to which Pershing's forces were earlier compared, was
being thrust vigorously forward. It had already gone
through the first line of defense-for the 77th Division,
the Argonne Forest-and was now rapidly nearing the
second, the Kriernhilde Stellung along the valley of the
Aire. The 38th Infantry was now to leave the forest of
the Argonne and to pass into the more open country to its
north. This meant, of course, a marked change in the
nature of the terrain and warfare. As characteristic of
such change may be told what happened to Company I on
October 11th.
It was at 2 A.M. on the date mentioned that Lieutenant
Conn received an order to take his company and two
machine guns (and their four mules) and establish liaison
with the French in the north end of Grand Pre by 7 that
morning. It was understood, of course, that the Germans
had retreated north from Grand Pre, and that that town
was now held by the French.
This optimistic and
trustful little outfit started from the Bois de la
Taille, about a kilometer south of La Besogne, and
passing quickly through that place found what they record
as "only a few dead horses, the saddle hides of
which had all been cut off." About two kilometers
south of Chevieres, German shrapnel burst over the party,
whereupon they gave that town a wide berth, and left the
open road to take to the edge of the woods. From La Folie
Ferme they marched again north along a trail through the
woods. Soon they had arrived at a cut in the
Chevieres-Grand Pre road about 300 yards south of the
Barbancon Ferme "at which point several of our own
shells fell to our rear." Considerably puzzled, the
company was halted in the cut. It is true our artillery
had at times-as the troops in the Pocket knew-a
disagreeable habit of falling short, but in this case the
shortness seemed unusual. Nevertheless Lieutenant Conn
and Sergeant Carter proceeded to reconnoiter the Grand
Pre station on their side of the Aire River. All was
quiet, and they were just about to climb down the debris
of the blown-up bridge when German machine gunners
appeared at its north end and opened up. Of course the
truth was then plain: those American shells, which had
fallen some thousand yards south of Conn and his outfit,
had really been falling where they were meant to fall,
that is to say, in front of the American lines; and the
fact was that Grand Pre was still occupied by Germans and
by Germans only.
Since the unit's
mission was merely to establish liaison with the French,
it did not wait long to accomplish this by starting in
the direction of the French, obviously due south. After a
kilometer and a half of progress they found at La Noue Le
Coq a platoon of poilus located with the P. C. of the
307th Infantry. The French were out on a liaison mission
like our own. At this point half of the company was left,
and then the other half taken back to establish liaison
with the 307th support about 500 yards west of La Folie
Ferme. And here came the climax of the adventure, for
here Lieutenant Conn met General Alexander on a tour of
inspection of the front line, and was able to report in
person how he had-in much less time than it had required
to enter it-evacuated Grand Pre, more than two kilometers
in front.
What happened to the 3rd Battalion between October 8th
and 15th is best told in the vivid words of Major L. S.
Breckinridge, who writes as follows:
To write of the period following the relief of the Lost
Battalion leads one almost into the realm of anti-climax.
That period of exaltation was followed by a day of almost
idyllic contemplation of many-tongued rumors of cushy
billets and sylvan rest areas consisting entirely of
estaminets and unknown to corps inspectors and other
lesser breeds without the law. There was reason for the
rumors and sound excuse for the hopes of a place where
the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at
rest. The rude awakening was not long delayed. On the
night of October 8th about twelve hours after the relief
of the Lost Battalion, orders were issued to resume the
northward advance the next morning, the 3rd Battalion
leading followed by the 2nd,. the mission of the 3rd
Battalion being to mop up the territory on the west of
the division sector and to extend, if necessary, slightly
into the French sector on the left until contact was
thoroughly obtained. The enemy had evacuated the country
hurriedly, but apparently thoroughly. Very little was
known of the general situation, but the impression
prevailed that the 3rd Battalion was covering a good deal
more front than was healthy in the reduced state of its
personnel. The terrain was quite thickly overgrown.
Late in the afternoon of the 9th, the 3rd Battalion
started the descent of quite a precipitous gully and
proceeding slowly crossed this gully or ravine; working
its way through the woods, the Battalion approached the
top of the northerly slope, crossing a small stream and
going more slowly, as the trees and underbrush were
becoming much thinner. There were sounds indicating troop
movements, so having in mind the mission of the unit and
suspecting the presence of the enemy behind every bush
and tree and in every hollow of the ground, a very
scout-like approach was made to the top of the rise and
there a perfectly open plateau presented itself, whereon
disported themselves unnumbered quantities of French
soldiers, infantry, cavalry and machine guns, looking
more as if they were engaged in a military tournament
than in a war.
After consultation with the French our left wing was drawn in, although
it appeared that both forces were still extending into the sector of the other.
That night the Battalion found very pleasant billets in a
ravine and was subjected to some unpleasant but
impersonal shelling. We had gotten the idea somewhere
that the valley of the Aisne was French territory and the
heights overlooking it was U. S., but the 3rd Battalion
was broad-minded and willing to share its sector with the
French.
On the 10th, this area seemed to be so crowded with
French and American troops that a continuance of the 3rd
Battalion mission seemed ridiculous, and a runner was
sent to Regimental Headquarters with a message explaining
the situation, the Battalion remaining in the ravine on
the left of the sector until the afternoon, when the
Brigade Commander, General Johnson, then appeared from
nowhere and viewing the Battalion with pained surprise
said: " Your Regimental Commanding Officer has been
looking everywhere for you. How did you get lost? "
This sending one somewhere and then accusing one of being
lost was assuming the proportions of an epidemic. One had
somewhat the feeling of a misplaced pince-nez. The
Battalion's mission was explained, so the Battalion was
forgotten but not forgiven. General Johnson ordered the
unit ' to report to the Regimental Commander, who had an
advanced P. C. near a crossroads in the woods. The
Regimental Commander at this time was Colonel Han-nay who
had succeeded Lieutenant Colonel Gordon Johnston,
promoted and ordered to the 82nd Division. The Battalion
was then ordered forward to bivouac in the woods not far
from the crossroads at which Colonel Hannay maintained
his headquarters. (The fourth R. C. 0. in four days.)
On the evening of October 12th orders were received that
the 3rd Battalion was to relieve during the night of
October 12th-I3th the 1st Battalion of the 305th
Infantry, occupying a position just south of the Aire
River from Chevieres inclusive to Marcq exclusive, making
a front of over two kilometers for a comparatively small
battalion, which was further reduced by the transfer of
Lieutenant Conn with half of I Company as a liaison group
between the 307th Infantry and the French. The relief
started shortly after dark and was completed shortly
after midnight, everything having gone very smoothly and
the greatest assistance having been rendered by Major
Metcalfe commanding the Battalion of the 305th Infantry.
As this relief order was accompanied by an operations
order indicating an attack across the Aire River directed
against the heights along which ran the St. Juvin-Grand
Pre Road, the Battalion Commander was anxious to obtain
even more complete information than was usual in the
relief if such were Possible. Major Metcalfe furnished
reports *from the Engineers with coordinates purporting
to show fords over the river, and very complete reports
made by his own patrols of the character of the terrain
and the positions of the enemy. The position was occupied
with K Company on the right,
L Company in the center, M Company on the left and a
combat patrol of one squad was stationed in Chevieres
with a similar group from the 307th Infantry. What was
left of I Company was ordered into a support position
along a brook which emptied into the Aire River near
Chevieres.
The companies occupying the front line were roughly in
position along the Marcq and Chevieres Road which gave
the Battalion a direction of attack almost due northeast,
pivoting slightly on the left flank, the objective
designated being the St. Juvin-Grand Pre Road which ran
in a northwesterly direction from St. Juvin across the
railroad tracks, crossing what was approximately the
military crest on the southerly slope on the hill on
which the Bois des Loges was situated. The mission of the
3rd Battalion, was understood to be to start its attack
at 10 A.M. as the pivot of a larger movement involving an
attack by our right Brigade and the 82nd Division, all of
whom were to attack St. Juvin. A proper conduct of this
movement, of course, comprehended very closest liaison
with the 306th Infantry to the immediate right. The
Battalion orders were issued having in view the
possibility that it might succeed in crossing the river
and thus leave both flanks in the air. Accordingly, a
small force was retained on the south bank of the river
extending respectively beyond the right and left flanks
of the attacking parties so as to cover any
demonstrations by the enemy from those directions.
The jump off was made on schedule time, K Company under
Lieutenant Taylor experiencing little difficulty in
reaching the river. Company L under Lieutenant Ashworth
and M Company under Captain McDougall came under very
heavy machine gun and shell fire and suffered severe
casualties, considering their strength at the time. On
arriving at the river, great difficulty was experienced
in finding fords, although fords were reported on the
front of K Company by about 1 o'clock P.m. They were not
found satisfactory for crossing in daylight, and
continual efforts were made to find other crossing
places, which were not subjected to such fierce enemy
fire. L Company got two or three men across the river but
casualties were so heavy that these men were recalled
until more assistance could be offered. This condition
continued until late in the afternoon, say about 4
o'clock.
The Battalion Commander, accompanied by Corporal Thomas
Hays, Chief of the Scouting Section, and Private Henshel,
set out on a detailed reconnaissance of the river.
Captain McDougall, commanding M Company, and Lieutenant
Sullivan, who succeeded him, had also been wounded.
Lieutenant Taylor was very ill and should have been in
the hospital. The losses among the enlisted personnel had
been heavy and the situation promised to develop into a
stalemate. All contact had been lost with the 306th
Infantry to the right, although several patrols had been
sent out to gain information as to how they were
progressing. These patrols were either captured or became
casualties.
Regimental Headquarters reported that a message from the
153rd Brigade stated St. Juvin had been captured and
mopped up by the 3o6th Infantry. So heavy and so
continuous rifle and machine gun fire was directed at the
3rd Battalion's right flank from the direction of St.
Juvin that the information appeared somewhat apocryphal,
and Lieutenants Shrider and Gerould with a few men from K
Company conducted a fire fight against those positions
for several hours. Some one suggested, probably Corporal
Hays, that a group such as that making up the
reconnaissance was so small as to escape any particular
attention unless it arrived directly at a ford over the
river, and that it might be taken as a fair indication of
a good ford when the group did come under particularly
heavy fire and using such fire as a basis of reasoning
the ford or fords might be marked out and then used as
future conditions might indicate. At any rate, this plan
was followed and a number of places marked as possible
satisfactory crossing places. At one of these spots
particularly, which was discovered with the assistance of
Lieutenant Carlisle of L Company, whose platoon then.
numbered seven or eight men, more extensive tests were
made and it was decided that although the river at this
point would have to be crossed by means of a flank march,
the other physical conditions were such as to make it
more adaptable than any of the others. This ford was in a
bend of the river that went about due north and curved
around in such a way as to make the peninsula it
surrounded seem almost like an island, so that in
crossing, the troops would have to go due west.
Corporal Hays volunteered to lead across, and four or
five men were pushed over at this time and made a
reconnaissance on the further bank, then returned to the
southerly side of the river. By this time it was six
o'clock, and orders were issued to the company commanders
to meet the Battalion Commander at the P. C. of
Lieutenant Ashworth in order to effect a readjustment of
the problem in consideration of the changed situation and
the losses incurred. Acting Sergeant Carter, Commander of
I Company, reported about 20 men, Lieutenant Ashworth,
Commander of L. Company, reported about the same,
Lieutenant Carstens, Commander of M Company, reported
about the same, and Lieutenant Taylor, Commander of K
Company, reported he had about 80 men, which was half the
strength of the Battalion.
Orders were then issued that M Company should go into
support in the position then occupied by them along the
river, extending generally in the direction slightly
north of west, their right resting about two or three
hundred yards to the west of the westerly bend in the
river. That the Battalion would then proceed across the
river in order, I, K, L, and the Battalion scouts would
extend on the right in a manner similar to that of M on
the left, as flank support and the machine gun company
from the 306th Machine Gun Battalion would exercise a
like function from that position to the north of Marcq
and to the east of Chevieres. That the companies should
proceed in the above order and meet the Battalion
Commander at the ford at 7 O'clock, I Company leading, L
Company moving out of its position when I Company had
started to cross the river .. and K Company moving out of
its position when L Company had started to cross the
river. I Company on crossing the river was to form with
its left in position along the coordinate approximately
corresponding with the right of M Company. L and K
Company on crossing the river were to extend to the right
from L Company, thus avoiding masking the fire of
companies to the south of the river in the event that it
was necessary to commence fire
action during the crossing of the river and formation of
the Battalion on the north bank. The direction of attack
was given as due north and to be regulated on I Company
for the reason that I Company's immediate front was the
most precipitated portion of the German line and
naturally the strongest portion. Therefore, it was argued
the. it would probably be the least strongly defended.
While this movement was in progress a message was
received by the Battalion Commander indicating that he
was relieved of command, and that Captain Prentice,
commanding the 2nd Battalion, was placed in command of
the operation. The movement by this time being well under
way, it seemed well to get the assault column in position
according to the plan before acting on this message.
Therefore, as K Company started across the river, I and L
being already over, the command of the immediate result
was turned over to Lieutenant Taylor of K Company. The
Battalion Commander then returned to the P. C. where
Lieutenant Robinson, Battalion Adjutant, was going over
the general situation with Captain Prentice who had come
up in the meanwhile. It appeared that the message had
been misinterpreted and that Captain Prentice had been
ordered forward with Companies E and F of the 2nd
Battalion and the Regimental Machine Gun Company under
Lieutenant McGuire.
Captain Prentice had received orders changing the
character of the operation and reinforcing the front
line. His Plan was to extend the attacking line well into
St. Juvin, hooking up on the right with the 153rd
Brigade, which would give the objective a complete change
of direction from generally northeast to generally
northwest, the left of the line resting on the river near
Chevieres, the right somewhere to the northwest of St.
Juvin when the operation was completed. The plan at that
time in operation was explained to Captain Prentice and
received his approval with the limitation that the attack
of the 3rd Battalion as already ordered should go forward
as planned, and he would cross the river with companies E
and F and the Machine Gun Company, proceeding to the
extreme right of the sector, and would make an attack to
the north of St. Juvin, hooking up with the right of the
3rd Battalion on the completion of his movement. Pending
discussion, guides were furnished to Captain Prentice for
the purpose of avoiding delay and in order to get his
attachment across the river as soon as possible. Captain
Prentice then left the Battalion P. C. with his Adjutant,
Captain Griffith, and nothing more was heard of them
until late the next afternoon.
It was by this time quite late, and Captain Roosevelt,
Regimental Supply Officer, reported that he had "hot
chow" in Marmites. He was given guides and took the
food right down to the river line. About I A.M. the
Battalion Commander started for Chevieres, from which
place he worked slowly down the railroad track to the
position of M Company. The attack was apparently
progressing favorably and quietly, although a good deal
of difficulty was met with in getting through the barbed
wire in and about a place called Lairesse (?) where there
was a number of shacks on the trench line protected by
barbed wire. It appeared that during the crossing of the
river, Captain Prentice's command had become split and
that he had proceeded with a very small part of it,
leaving the bulk of E Company with F Company and the
Regimental Machine Gun Company behind. As a result of a
conference between Lieutenant Taylor and Lieutenant
Wilhelm, Senior Officer of Leave of Captain Prentice's
attachment, it was agreed that the two forces should
amalgamate.
Little opposition was met with until the force arrived at
the foot of the hill at the top of which ran the St.
Juvin- Grand Pre Road, at which time it was shortly
before dawn. The companies were reformed and an attack
made straight up the side of the hill which was quite
precipitous. The hill was carried and the German position
and dugouts occupied, although the men were at all times
under very galling fire from machine guns situated on
both flanks. In order to abate this nuisance a patrol
volunteered to go out to the left flank from I Company,
consisting of Acting Sergeants Carter, Riley, and Calbi.
This patrol wormed its way to the west in the direction
of the Farm des Greves (?) and in due course returned
with the machine gun and part of the crew. To the right
equal success was had by patrolled by Acting Sergeant
June of K (?) Company who stumbled on his objective
entirely unexpectedly; as far as can be learned, Sergeant
June was armed principally with a two pound can of bully
beef with which he made threatening gestures, and the
Boche, not unnaturally, assuming this to be a lethal
weapon, surrendered.
Lieutenant Gerold returned with a number of these
prisoners across the river, accompanied by some of the
walking wounded as guards. It appeared from the story of
the German prisoners that they had been in contact with
elements on their left shortly before, whose position was
across the railroad tracks in St. Juvin; that they could
not understand how our troops approached them from the
rear and it was this fact that made the capture so easy,
as they were expecting ration details and had expected an
early relief by a force which was to launch a
counterattack in the direction of St. Juvin. They said
also that they had the troops along the river under
observation during the earl afternoon and even-ing, but
had refrained from firing because they believed the War
was practically over. This was accepted with a grain of
salt as there had been very little evidence during the
day and night that any one who had anything to fire with
had not been using it. Along the hill crest the German
position was beautifully located, there being
counter-sunk concrete machine gun shelters which
commanded the valley as far as the eye could reach. In
several of the dugouts tables were spread for the
morning, meal and curious candles with wooden wicks were
lighted. A box of American cigars was also found and a
razor bearing the name of a Sergeant in the 326th
Infantry.
This fight marked the first time the Battalion had
operated in the open, all of its previous experience, in
the Vosges, on the Vesle and in the Argonne, having been
in heavy woods and underbrush. With the force at hand, it
seems impossible that this attack could have succeeded in
the daytime, and the heavy losses suffered during the day
give strength to this belief. The Corps objective had
been taken, although not on schedule. All efforts at
effective liaison with the 306th on the right had failed.
The chain of runner posts established to maintain
connection with Captain Prentice and extending into the
edge of St. Juvin had been broken, several of the runners
being killed, wounded, or captured, particularly those
extending into the area of the right brigade. Liaison to
the left with the 307th had been maintained through a
mixed post and Chevieres. Contact with the rear had been
all too continuous through the telephone. The merry
idleness of the day had been frequently interrupted with
telephonic requests, which divested of their military
verbiage ran about as follows: "Why the Hell don't
you do something?" This seemed a perfectly
reasonable request in view of the fact that nothing was
being done except to seek for nonexistent bridges and
undiscoverable fords. (In the next war, coordinates
should be marked on the ground. There is no reason why
war should not learn from football.) Nothing was being
done except to cut barbed wire and be shot at with rifles
and machine guns, light and heavy, whizzbangs and
minnenwerfers. These amusements were occasionally
interspersed with a pleasant walk along the railroad
track or a bit of wading in the river; and then how
pleasant it was to see some signal man from Headquarters
get the D. S. C. for repairing a telephone which in a
moment of exasperation one had torn up by the roots, or
gently nipped with the battalion pliers-so much depends
on the point of view.
However, daybreak of the 15th found the Battalion on the
alert, M Company on the left, the scouts on the right, 11
machine gunners from the 306th Machine Gun Battalion, two
guns near Marcq and two near Chevieres, ready for Action.
The flank protection patrols from the right and left
flanks had been called in. At a fairly early hour in the
morning the lieutenant in command of the machine guns
reported that a large column of German troops were moving
out from the southern edge of the Bois des Loges and were
within range and requested authority to fire on them.
Four machine guns opened on them and the speed with which
they disappeared indicated either marvelous practice by
the machine guns or marvelous training by the
Germans-probably both. At any rate, no further rumblings
of a counter attack developed during the day. Between
8:00 and 9:oo in the morning, Captain Weld, at that time
Regimental Adjutant, came to the Battalion Headquarters
and stated that a new attack order was in process of
distribution and left a copy showing the new boundaries
and the objective and ordering the 308th to move to the
left, slipping over by small groups and not losing touch
with the 153rd Brigade. A liaison group of two squads was
to be left in Chevieres to maintain liaison with the
153rd Brigade. This message was followed later by a
field. order dated Head-quarters 154th Infantry Brigade,
15th of October, 2:30 A.M., designating the new objective
for the Brigade as from the Hauts Batis Farm to include
the northern edge of the Bois des Loges. The attack was
to commence at 7:30, which was only a short time before
the receipt of the operation order.
The mission of the 308th involved an attack in a westerly
direction against the railroad running north from Grand
Pre and the heights of Bellejeuse Farm, the execution of
a right turn along a front of about two kilometers, and
an advance to the objective as mentioned above. As this
movement seemed an exceedingly dangerous one with a
depleted battalion, involving as it did a flank march
with a watchful enemy on one flank, a river on the other,
no contact with supporting troops, and an exposed rear;
and as the original message directed that touch be not
lost with the 153rd Brigade, a long stay in the present
position was presaged.
Between 10 and 11 o'clock a message was received
directing the movement to proceed regardless of the 153rd
Brigade. A message was sent to the commander of the
forces on the north bank of the river, and three runners
in succession were badly wounded by machine gun fire from
the direction of St. Juvin in an effort to get this
message through. This difficulty was communicated to
Regimental Headquarters and in due course Captain Stockly
came up with a one-pounder and scattered some of the too
persistent German machine guns that could be plainly seen
setting out for unhappy far off places, but it seemed
quite impossible to clear out all of the nests in the
direction of St. Juvin. Shortly after this an effort was
made by Lieutenant Taylor to send messages back and three
patrols were sent out at once, all of whom very quickly
became casualties from machine gun fire from the
direction of St. Juvin. Volunteers were called for from
the platoon of Lieutenant Carlisle of L Company which had
been retained on the south side of the river to act as a
patrolling group, and Privates Rochford and Collins
volunteered to deliver the message. This mission they
successfully accomplished and returned in about three
hours with a message from Lieutenant Taylor stating that
the order was understood and would be complied with as
indicated.
The method of operation as outlined to Lieutenant Taylor
was that the troops to the south bank of the river,
consisting of M Company, a platoon of L Company,
Battalion Scouts and the Company of the 306th Machine Gun
Battalion, would move by small groups to the west of
Chevieres and cross the river between that place and a
point to the north of Barban-con Farm, and that
Lieutenant Taylor should start his movement at 6 o'clock
p.m., leaving K Company under Lieutenant Laney and the
Regimental Machine Gun Company to protect his flank and
rear and to make the Farm des Loges his objective, at
which place he would be met by the Battalion Commander.
The movement had been commenced and M Company was in
position south of the river to the west of Chevieres. The
Machine Gun Company of the 306th Machine Gun Battalion
was getting ready to move when a message was received
countermanding this order and ordering the troops to be
recalled to the south side of the river, and to resume
the position occupied by them before the jump off on the
14th. This was accordingly done and the evacuation was
completed by about midnight with the companies back south
of the river. A message was then received that the
Division be relieved by the 78th Division and that guides
should report to Regimental Headquarters. This relief was
finally completed about 5:30 or 6:00 A.M., October 16th.
Why this withdrawal was ordered, Heaven only knows, as
the 78th Division had to make the same attack over the
same ground at high cost later in the day. Nobody in the
Battalion knew this at the time, however, and it was not
known by the Battalion Commander until 9 or 10 o'clock in
the morning after he had arrived at Regimental
Headquarters. While the side slip was going on, Captain
Prentice appeared at Battalion Headquarters accompanied
by Captain Griffith and Lieutenant Cook. He reported a
series of hair-raising adventures, having fought in and
about St. Juvin with practically no men and was very much
relieved to find that the balance of his detachment had
suffered so little.
4
While the 3rd Battalion was making the attack near Grand
Pre, which has just been described, a portion of the 2nd
Battalion was similarly engaged toward the east at St.
Juvin. As typical of the conditions existing in the
Argonne, it may be mentioned that when Captain Prentice
took over the 2nd Battalion after it came out of the
Pocket, he was obliged to do so without seeing any of his
men except Lieutenant Griffiths (Commanding Officer of E
Company, Adjutant, Scout Officer, and General Handy Man
of the Battalion) and one or two runners. On October
14th, Colonel Hannay summoned Captain Prentice and
Lieutenant Griffiths to his P. C. and gave them
instructions to proceed that night to St. Juvin and get
in touch with whatever American unit was there, after
which they were to take up the position to the west of
the village, and to support the right flank of the 3rd
Battalion. It was understood that the Aire could be
forded in several places-which places could be found
after careful search.
And so the officers mentioned started out after dark on
the night of the 14th with Companies E and F, as well as
two machine guns and their crews, "which some kind
soul had loaned us." The story of the adventures of
that night as related by one of the participants is a
zestful one.
After reporting to Major Breckinridge they received a
guide to show them the ford and started on their way.
Because of occasional machine gun fire and shelling the
men were pretty well spread out. As a consequence of
this, and because of the necessity of absolute quiet, the
line got broken crossing the river, and the greater part
of the men followed Company L, which was going across at
the same time. However, Captain Prentice continued with
what remained, along a route which was practically
through No Man's Land, in order to reach St. Juvin from
the west side. Runner posts were left along the line,
"most of which were promptly picked up by the
Boche." After one of many halts due to machine gun
fire which was kept up at irregular intervals, Lieutenant
Griffiths went back to investigate the rear of the line.
He now discovered that only some 22 or 24 men were left
and that the rest had been lost. near the ford. After
hasty conference it was decided to proceed with what was
left.
When near the town, Prentice got worried about - what the
crazy Yank outpost would do to us, if we tried to enter
it from almost the front, so he decided to make some
noise in order to let them know that we were not trying
to steal in unobserved. We had no more than started to
kick up the stones and talk, than a rocket was sent up
and the Boche 'I machine gunners proceeded to give us a
warm reception. We took shelter in the lee of some
buildings, and started to get our bearings. All this of
course was before daylight., just -when we thought we had
got well sheltered the Boche opened up with their
artillery on that one section of the town. At this we
decided to find better shelter for the men, and entered
the cellar of a large building, built on the side of a
hill and fairly well protected. Two men had been hit, so
that when all windows, etc., were covered, we lit a few
candles. The first glance showed this to be an ideal
place for collecting souvenirs, such as hats, field
glasses, pistols, etc. Further investigation proved that
we had taken shelter in a Boche billet, but the family
seemed to be out for the night.
After placing guards and making ready to give the
house-holders a warm reception, if they returned while we
were there, Prentice and Griffiths started to scout the
town, in order to find if there were any American troops.
Just before daylight came the noise of the 305th Infantry
entering St. Juvin and taking up its position behind a
high embankment along the roadside to the east. Captain
Prentice and Lieutenant Griffiths reported, and then went
back for their men and brought them to the position
occupied by the troops of the 305th. The men had no
sooner been placed than the position was subjected to a
heavy bombardment lasting about an hour. At the end of
this the enemy attempted to take the position aided by
machine gunfire, but was soon repulsed. Then it was that
Captain Prentice for the first time remembered that he
had carelessly left his kit-bag in the German cellar. But
I prefer to give the rest of the story in the words of
the participant already quoted.
As soon as the excitement was over, Captain Prentice
remembered his kit-bag and decided to get it. As he went
around one side of the building to enter the back door, a
little German came around the other side, with the
intention of getting his pack. Both were greatly
astonished, but Prentice poked his gun at him, and the
fellow readily decided to become a prisoner, if he could
go in and get his blanket. After this we decided to take
up the position assigned us by Colonel Hannay, and
started trooping down the road in a very happy manner,
quite sure that the Boche was now on the run. On coming
to a little stream, the bridge over which had been
destroyed, we were fired on from three sides by machine
guns. What men we had took shelter behind the banks of
the stream, and tried to scare the machine gunners with
rifle fire, but they wouldn't scare. We had two men
killed here and several wounded.
About the only piece of equipment other than that carried
by a rifle-man was a basket of pigeons, in charge of a
signal corps man. We discovered a well sheltered spot,
about one hundred and fifty yards to the side of us in
the direction in which the stream was flowing. The idea
seemed a fine one; we would walk down the stream to this
new position and so get shelter. The idea was all 0. K.,
except for the fact that the stream, while only knee deep
in most places, had holes where the water was four feet
deep. Many of the men stepped in these holes, lost their
balance and were completely submerged. One of these men
was the pigeons' nurse. In the upset he lost hold of the
basket, with the result that the birds were also added to
the casualty list.
A little later a company of the 305th Infantry took over
the position of this adventurous little outfit, and they
made their way back to Regimental Headquarters to report
the events of the past twenty-four hours.
The casualties for the 308th's fighting on the Aire
during the 14th and 15th were heavy. The battalions were
of course already greatly reduced as a result of the
Argonne fighting. The 3rd Battalion advanced on October
13th with about 147 men, and the 2nd with about 200.
There were apparently about 10 officers in each
battalion. The War Diary records for the first day's
fighting 6 men killed, and 4 officers and 40 men wounded;
for the second day 23 men killed.
5
At last in the middle of October came that long-looked
-for relief to the troops in the front line. An order
from Corps Headquarters dated October 12th had declared:
This Division has been in the line constantly since the
night of the 25th of September, under circumstances at
least as difficult as those which have confronted any
other division of the ist Army.
The order went on:
In spite of these conditions, your command has pushed
steadily forward . . . and today after eighteen days of
constant fighting is still ready to respond to any demand
made upon it.
The 308th was relieved by the 311th Infantry of the 78th
Division. The relief was ordered for the night of October
15th, and was completed at 3:30 A.M. The two weary
battalions, after the hard fighting of the 14th and 15th,
marched back in the rain through Lancon and arrived at
Abri du Crochet, now thirteen kilometers south of the
front line, at 11 P.M.-to sleep the rest of the night in
the rain. The Diary of the 3rd Battalion records with not
unnatural bitterness:
Promised good billets and then forced to lie out all
night in the wet, after being soaked to the skin for a
day and a half. It was a good thing that that billeting
officer from H'd'q. Co. disappeared.
The whole of the 77th Division now went into Corps
Reserve, and remained as such until ordered to advance
again on the 1st of November. The 308th Infantry spent
its two weeks' absence from real warfare in the usual
reserve area occupations of cleaning and delousing,
getting furnished with new clothing, and checking up
equipment. The much-needed replacements received at this
time amounted, according to the War Diary, to 550.
Nor were amusements wanting. The Regimental Band gave
concerts (presumably the Adjutant had mended the
instruments or obtained new ones); and at Chene Tondu,
the Argonne Players performed in a huge dugout theatre
which had been erected by the German troops for very
different performers and audiences. Night raids
'"'ere, however, a frequent occurrence, and on one
occasion when the Y. M. C. A. ladies were kindly
entertaining with a song of the appropriate title
"The Mick That Threw the Brick," an enemy plane
suddenly came over, whereupon, amid great laughter and
applause from the audience, the stage was immediately
left empty. Other evidences that the War was not over
were not lacking. For instance, at 2 A.M. on October
20th, the 2nd and 3rd Battalions received orders to march
in the rain 10 kilometers to the vicinity of Cornay and
Pylone, where they took up a support position behind the
78th Division " now busily engaged in the vicinity
of Grand Pre. After remaining here a day they returned to
Chene Tondu. Four days later the troops again marched
north, this time relieving the 307th Infantry on a line
representing the corps line of resistance. Here near the
towns of Fleville, Cornay, and La Besonge, and the
position known as Pylone, the troops received energetic
training in automatic and rifle fire, bomb throwing,
rifle grenades, and advancing skirmish formation under
smoke screens. On the 25th shell fire killed three men
and wounded one in the 1st Battalion east , of Fleville.
Although the Regiment was not in the front line, it was
obviously enduring war conditions.
On October 31st the Division again received its order to
advance. On a front line which was now only a little more
than a kilometer north of where they had left it two
weeks earlier, and which ran east and west, south of
Champigneulle, the troops of the 77th were to start their
final advance towards the Meuse River and the last line
of German resistance. The 80th Division was on the right
of the 77th, and the 78th on its left. Orders called for
the attack to proceed in a column of brigades, the 153rd
in advance with the 154th following as Division Reserve.
The 307th Infantry was followed by the 308th.
A heavy barrage, starting at 3 A.M. on November 1st,
preceded the last big push of the American army. Actual
advance of the Regiment did not begin until next day,
when it went forward with the 2nd Battalion under Major
Weld, followed by the 3rd under Captain Breckinridge, and
the 1st under Captain Fahnestock. Since the 308th was now
the fourth regiment of the Division in depth, no
resistance was encountered. Nevertheless the hardness of
the march no less than the interest of what was to be
observed will doubtless make it vividly recalled by those
present. The Regiment passed through St. Juvin, halting
for supper just north of that town. March was resumed at
8:30 P.M. toward Thenorgues, the day's objective, but
shelling of the latter place made it necessary to
establish Regimental Headquarters and to billet the
battalions at Verpel, where they remained until 1:30 P.M.
of the next day. In St. Juvin, and yet more in Verpel,
the effects of the American barrage were evidenced in the
many dead men and horses. Many wounded had also been left
behind in the hasty retreat.
It is near Champigneulle on this first night of the
advance that the 1st Battalion's columns of two's face to
the right, stack arms, and unsling packs for a while. ,
The rain, which dripped from the rim of the helmets, has
been soaking all day into the heavy packs. Every one is
cold, wet, hungry, and tired. The fierce barrage of the
morning is now succeeded by far away rumblings and
flickerings in the darkness to the north. To the left the
road is still, as it has been all day, filled with a mad
confusion of transports, guns, limbers, supply wagons,
lorries, and rolling kitchens-the mingled trains of many
divisions-now halted, now going forward, but always
headed for the north. Together with the stream of troops
and transports has flowed at its edges and along the
fields a long single file procession of civilian
refugees, old men, old women, young women, plodding under
bundles of bedding or trundling two-wheeled carts piled
with household goods.
Meanwhile, to the disconsolate Battalion comes the news
that their own kitchens have come through to them and
mess is ready, and while cheering cries go up "
Company A this way!"-" Company C over
here!", there comes still greater news: The enemy is
broken! The 307th ahead of us is in pursuit loaded in
motor trucks!
Now appears something never yet seen on the front. A cook
unreproved has lit a candle. Other dots of light, both
candles and cigarettes, begin to blink here and there,
and soon a great bonfire is lit which burns hesitatingly
at first, as if it knew its boldness in daring to appear
at such a place, but soon flares brightly, throwing its
light on the rainsoaked figures gathered around. Wet overcoats begin to
steam. Food, tobacco, and warmth bring unspeakable comfort.
The Battalion falls in, slings packs, takes rifles, faces
to the left.
"Forward march!"
Later in Verpel, which was reached about 2 A.M., were
found many more dead horses and Germans strewn near
hastily left, enemy transports, ammunition, and some
pieces of artillery. In some of the German billets, the
mattresses were covered with filth, apparently prepared
for the coming Americans. Next day, November 3rd, in a
hard rain and over the congested roads which had been in
many places systematically destroyed by dynamite and
time-fuses, the Regiment marched about six kilometers to
Germont. This town, which was reached about 8 in the
evening, had been vacated by the enemy some twenty-four
hours earlier. Here appeared the first French civilians.
At Germont the Regiment was billeted for the night and
received a hot meal. So great was the congestion on the
road this day, when the 6th and 42nd Divisions together
with great numbers of ammunition wagons were advancing by
the same route as the 77th, that the 3rd Battalion left
the road and marched across the country, and was thus the
first of the 308th to reach the day's objective.
A Brigade Order of
this date from General Price reads in part:
The copy of the Corps Order herewith indicates a race for
the Meuse. Have your men go as lightly (pack) as possible
and catch up within a reasonable distance of Sheldon. I I
told Sherrill, who 'phoned me the order, that if there
was any damned brigade in the American Army that could
get through, this one could do it.
From Corps Commander down, every one was being lashed on
in the driving advance of these last days. What with the
lack of food and sleep and the constant advancing, it was
natural that all should be wearied out. A Regimental
memorandum of the same date reads: " Regiment now
located at Germont. Men pretty well exhausted but will be
able to push ahead after a good night's rest." On
the next day another Field Message from Colonel Hannay
states:
Major Weld, 2nd Battalion, 3o8th, telephones: "The
Commanding Officers of this B'n., the 1st B'n- 307th,
here, and all doctors agree that officers and men are so
worn out by sleepless nights, long marches, lack of food
and fighting all day and night, that the straggling will
be unprecedented, that men are not in condition to
advance half the distance prescribed -let alone
fight." I understand that it is absolutely necessary
for us to push forward, and that the men must, and I
believe will do to the best of their ability. The sick
must be evacuated. This is forwarded simply to bring to
your attention the true state of affairs in my regiment,
which can be verified by all the officers, doctors and
regimental surgeon. Nothing will be left undone to get
regiment forward as far and as effectively as is
physically possible this morning. I urgently recommend
that if at all possible, night halts be made of
sufficient length to allow men time for recuperation, and
that two hot meals a day be given them for continued
operation and efficiency.
But the racing divisions were allowed little time for
recuperation, little even for food, and the daily
advances, as indicated on the maps, show, in contrast to
the usual kilometer or two made in the Argonne, now four,
six and ten kilometers a day. The tide of advance, which
in the Forest was checked and pent between narrow
barriers into crinkly, closely-written lines, is now
flowing forward in wide and generous curves like the
waves of the incoming sea racing up a great stretch of
beach.
For now the mounting tide of victory is setting in across the flat, bare
lands between Grand Pre and Sedan, tossing on its wild crest all the confused flotsam and
jetsam of hard-driven pursuers and pursued. For some it
brings death, for all others, it brings intense effort
and fatigue. Still on it is to sweep, swirling and
roaring past the smoking and crumbling towns-passing in
turn Verpel, St. Pierremont, Germont-passing Oches,
Stonne, Ange-court-until at last it will reach Sedan
itself. And then at Sedan, at 11 o'clock on the morning
of November 11th, it is to cease with a sudden hush, as a
great spent wave ceases at last in silence. And for a
moment the living and the dead alike will be silent and
at rest.
6
On November 4th, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions in
order named left Germont at 6:30 A.M., and after passing
through Authe-where Russian prisoners were encountered
marching to the rear-came under shell fire. The enemy
artillery and machine gun fire continued active during
the whole day, particularly upon the towns of St.
Pierremont and Oches and their approaches. The list
Battalion occupied and outposted Hill 254 north of Oches,
entering this town with the 2nd Battalion after dark. The
3rd Battalion in support took a position in the railroad
cut to the south. The orders had been for the troops to
push on further, but their fatigue was such that they
were allowed to remain in the situations indicated.
The next day, November 5th, saw the last advancing
fighting of the 308th. At 6 A.M. theist Battalion assumed
attack formation on the southern slope of Hill 254 and
half an hour later advanced, Companies A and D from right
to left in attacking echelons, C and B in the same order
in support.,, Machine gun resistance was immediately met
on the northern slope of the hill. The support of the 37
m. m. gun was lacking as this had been put out of action
by the breaking of a wheel on the approach to Oches. One
of the two attached machine guns had also been lost
through shell fire. In spite of this lack of support, the
resistance was gradually overcome in the successive
positions as the advance progressed. The artillery
liaison officer, Lieutenant Hatimer, was killed early in
the action. This did away with direct artillery support,
except for excellent work done by the forward gun of the
305th Field Artillery. This gun through direct
observation brought artillery fire to bear upon several
enemy centers of resistance during the morning.
A platoon of Company C acted as a combat liaison patrol
with a similar platoon of the 307th on the right. The
remaining platoons of C under command of Lieutenant Reich
were sent about 10,a.m. to approach Stonne from across
the valley to the right. At 11:55 in spite of resistance
of machine guns from the woods on the left flank, the
advance had progressed so far that patrols from C on the
right and A on the left were within one hundred yards of
the town. These patrols and one from Company H were
actually inside by 12:20 P.M. Only two prisoners were
taken in the village. Their captor, Private Wolfe of
Company C, conducted them to the rear,
Lieutenant Reich on his own initiative and in accordance
with the verbal orders of the Battalion Commander, placed
outposts on the northwest edge of the village, and these
remained on post until relieved about 4 P.m. by an
officer of the 307th Regiment under orders of Colonel
Sheldon of the Regiment. The eastern exposure of the town
was protected by the before mentioned liaison patrol of
Company C, which had dug in on the right flank. In the
meantime heavy artillery fire, beginning at noon, had
caused D, B, and A on the left to prepare a position
slightly to the south and west of Stonne. About 4 P.M. a
battalion of the 168th Infantry, 42nd Division, over-took
the left of our Battalion. Part of this battalion
bivouacked for the night near the 2nd Battalion which was
in support and camped to the rear of the first. Company A
occupied Stonne at about 5:30 P.M. The rest of the
Battalion pushed outposts to the hill northwest of the
town, and occupied these positions until dawn.
For this last day of the Regiment's fighting, the Report on Operations
states that the 1st Battalion had 1 killed and 21 wounded, and the 2nd,
3 wounded. Major Weld, wounded, was succeeded by Captain McMurtry as Commanding
Officer of the 2nd Battalion. The day of extreme activity
was followed by a night of intense discomfort. It was
expected that the troops might be required to push on,
and so a Regimental Order forbade unrolling packs. Cold
and wet the men slept in the mud on the hillside. And it
rained hard.
Some idea of general conditions at this time is obtained
from an account furnished by Sergeant Jacobellis of C
Company, describing what the liaison patrol already
mentioned did on November 5th. After a few hours sleep in
Oches, a platoon under Lieutenant Trainor reported to a
Major of the 307th Infantry, and then started out on its
mission as combat liaison patrol between the 307th and
308th. About 9 o'clock they came upon much evidence of
the enemy's sudden departure, among other things a. great
quantity of mail which there had been no time to
distribute. Packs with reserve rations were found
discarded on the field. While the Americans were
"collecting buttons as souvenirs," an aeroplane
suddenly swooped down and then disappeared. At La
Berliere, midway between Oches and Stonne, a fine country
house with gardens was investigated and found entirely
empty. When Corporal Baldwin and Privates Bengall and
O'Brien first entered La Berliere the inhabitants were
afraid to show themselves. Soon, however, they offered a
gracious reception with "well-sweetened coffee and
black German War bread. Also cognac and wine." The
inhabitants stated that the enemy had left at 5 o'clock
that morning. While the discussion was going on in the
town square, "a splendid automobile, with the
official U. S. A. letters painted on its side drove
up." The officer within (from another Regiment)
"inquired what the men were doing, asking if Stonne
had been captured."
March was resumed over rough hills and valleys, past open
fields to the left with no tree or other object in sight.
To the right, groups of trees and underbrush, valleys
filled with high grass, and much of the ground covered
with water. About 4 p.m. came a heavy barrage, "but
with no resulting damage." To the party waiting and
watching the shells burst, Captain Fahnestock appeared
with a platoon of machine guns. Advance again. More
troops, all asking if Stonne had been taken. Then from
the road noise of advancing transports. Then shelling
again, and the patrol dug in on the slope of the hill
leading to the road. "The digging in none too
welcome for men so tired, hungry, and wet." Now a
noise of voices from the direction of Stonne. The
civilians, "women, old people, and children,"
were, on account of the enemy's bombardment, moving out
of the town under the direction of our M. P.'s on to the
road already crowded with American transportation. At
last C Company's kitchen is discovered in a half
destroyed house in La Berliere. The platoon is welcomed
by the kitchen crew who immediately furnish hard
crackers. A better meal is promised later, and after such
information as has been acquired is given to Lieutenant
Young, the Company Commander, the start forward begins
again.
A bad night, the rain which had begun at sunset coming
down steadily. Corporal Baldwin and Sergeant Jacobellis
go back to try and get food for the others from the
kitchen. They discover that there is no kitchen; the bad
condition of the road has prevented the transport keeping
up. Returning to the Command, they are "thankful to
find the men asleep, so that they were not obliged to
explain that they had brought no food with them."
About i o'clock Lieutenant Trainor decides to move on to Stonne. It is
difficult to wake the men; the noise from the hard rain makes it
necessary to yell loudly and touch each in turn in the complete
darkness. " Then when they were awakened bombarding would start again,
so it was decided to postpone moving until morning."
About 6:30 the Company finally reaches Stonne, to find
the rest of the Battalion lined up in the main street
around the company kitchens, each man receiving a can of
bully beef and a half dozen hard biscuits. Then the
Company retires to the eastern slope of the hill outside
the town and digs in, and builds fires. "The sun
came out and the first cooked meal in many a day was
enjoyed. There was also time to clean up a bit and oil
the rifles."
At 6:30 on the morning of November 6th, the 1st Battalion
was ordered to the woods east of Stonne as Divisional
Reserve. The 3rd and 2nd Battalions in order named, and
in support of the 307th Infantry assumed attack
formations, and moved to Raucourt, about four kilometers
north of Stonne, arriving there at 4 P.m. To the 3rd
Battalion, halted and strung out for a time in column of
two's, and waiting for the advance of the 307th, which
had encountered some resistance ahead, suddenly arrived
General Price. He ordered a patrol under Lieutenant Conn
to get in touch with the 307th and find out what was
holding them up. Too impatient to wait, he ordered
another patrol under Captain Greenwood. But the men, with
their packs, could not go fast enough, and so this
patrol-more illustrious in rank than the one of the day
before-finally resolved into a Brigade Commander as
Captain, with Battalion Commander (Captain Breckinridge)
as runner and Regimental Commander (Colonel Hannay) as
connecting file.
The next day Regimental Headquarters and the 2nd
Battalion together with attached Machine Gun Companies
moved in a northeasterly direction, about two and
one-half kilometers to Angecourt. The 308th, still in
support of the 307th, was placed with elements of the
42nd Division and st Division on the outskirts of this
village. The roads in the vicinity and the town itself
were shelled intermittently during the night.
The position of the
2nd Battalion was protected from shellfire behind the
ridge just east of Angecourt. The 3rd Battalion was in.
woods to the southeast. Patrols were sent out to
establish liaison and constant observation kept to the
front. The Regimental P. C. and 2nd Battalion P. C. were
at Angecourt, the 3rd Battalion P. C. at Haraucourt, and
the 1st Battalion as Divisional Reserve at Raucourt.
The next four days brought no change in the position of
the troops, except that the 3rd Battalion moved on
November 8th from its position on the hillside into
billets in Haraucourt. The men occupied themselves with
cleaning arms and equipment. The rolling kitchens came up
and hot meals were welcomed by the men, exhausted by the
long marching during the previous week. In all
thirty-eight kilometers had been traveled from November
2nd to November 7th, and these under peculiarly trying
conditions. The marches of the first three days had been
the hardest, namely, from Pylone to Verpel, ten
kilometers; from Verpel to Germont, six; and from Germont
to Oches, seven. The last three days' marches were from
Oches to Stonne, five kilometers; from Stonne to
Raucourt, six; and from Raucourt to Angecourt, four. For
the last three days the troops depended largely upon food
left behind by the Germans. The truck gardens, however,
proved a great find, and at Haraucourt a sumptuous New
England boiled dinner was enjoyed with -turnips, beets,
and cabbages, and loaves of pumpernickel bread, three
thousand of which were found in the town. To top the
repast there was raisin pie. Distinctly an improvement on
the Cruller Barrage of September 28th.
Meanwhile, rumors of peace grew stronger. For the 308th
Infantry there was no advancing after November 7th, but
other divisions were still racing northward, and the edge
of the wave of victory was soon to touch Sedan. However,
though intermittent enemy shelling continued as late as
the night of November 10th, at Angecourt, Haraucourt, and
Raucourt the Real Thing was practically over. And so
Finit La Guerre!
The checking up of casualties now showed the losses
between November 1st and 9th to be 3 officers wounded, 5
men killed, and 17 men wounded. These are the figures
given in the Report on Operations and may be regarded as
approximately correct. The figure for the losses in the
Argonne have already been given. According to the Report
on Operations, the total number of casualties suffered by
the 308th Infantry between September 20th and November
10th was killed, 183; wounded, 796; gassed, 40; and
missing, 261. The figures last mentioned are in marked
variance with those furnished me by an officer who said
he saw the Casualty Report for losses between September
26th and the Armistice, and that these amounted to 47
officers and 2,200 men.