The 302nd
ENGINEERS
by,
Gilbert H. Crawford
Thomas H. Ellett
John J. Hyland
CHAPTER X.
SECOND PHASE OF THE ARGONNE BATTLE.
FROM the middle of October until the
1st of November, the American battle line advanced very
little. This was due, not to the inability to go forward,
but to the very great difficulty of bringing up supplies.
For a distance of many miles in the
rear of the front, the heavy traffic and the rainy
weather had wrought havoc with the roads.
The railroads had not been brought forward so far as had
been anticipated. A renewal of the attack was planned,
however, and the usual artillery preparations were made.
Large numbers of guns were brought forward and great
supplies of ammunition were accumulated. The 77th
Division relieved the 78th Division toward the end of
October, taking over the same line that it had held
earlier in the month.
American troops held the line at all points north of the
Aire, so that bridging work could be carried on in
comparative safety. For the expected attack, preparations
were made similar to those preceding the drive of 26th of
September. The front to be attacked by the 77th Division,
however, w a s much narrower and was covered by the 153rd
Brigade alone. This meant that the 1st Battalion of the
Engineers was to be in the attack. Co. "A" and
Co. "B" each supplied one platoon to accompany
the first line infantry. The remainder of the 1st
Battalion was assigned to certain roads, which were to be
temporarily repaired as fast as the enemy was driven
back. The 154th Brigade, with our 2nd Battalion, was to
follow up in support, and to "leap frog" the
153rd Brigade and take over the front when so ordered.
The specific task of the 2nd Battalion was also to repair
certain roads as the Division advanced.
As an extra precaution, in case other bridges were ruined
by shellfire, Co. "D" was ordered, prior to the
attack, to build another artillery bridge across the Aire
near the two bridges constructed by Co. "A" and
Co. "B" during the first phase of the Argonne
Battle. The work was performed under the personal
supervision of Lieut. James F. Brown. This bridge had a
gross length of 215 feet and was undoubtedly the finest
structure of its kind erected by the Regiment. It was at
this bridge that Pvt. Samuel Apstein lost his life by
shellfire on 31st of October, just before the completion
of the structure.
During the period prior to the attack, Co. "E"
also was busy with bridge building. On the east and west
main road between St. Juvin and Grand Pre, the Boche
during his retreat from the valley of the Aire, had
demolished two bridges, where the two branches of the
Agron River cross the road before emptying into the Aire.
Although these demolitions were in view of the advanced
enemy observation outposts, Co. "E", under
command of Capt. Thomas H. Ellett, worked in the broad
daylight and two substantial bridges were constructed.
All preparations for the attack being complete, orders
were issued that it take place on the morning of the 1st
of November. This day will long linger in the memories of
most of the 302nd Engineers. The 77th Division was to
attack and take Champigneulle, a small village on the
heights north of the Aire. This attack made small
progress during the day of the 1st, and the town was not
entered until early on the morning of the 2nd. During the
early morning of the 1st, the Engineers were ordered to
cross the Aire and were forced to wait, practically in
the first line, all that day and night until the advance
could proceed. There was work only for one company (Co.
"C") so the rest of the Regiment remained
inactive, in the midst of the battle, expecting
momentarily to advance.
To Co. "C" was assigned the task of repairing a
partly demolished German pile-bridge, which crossed the
Agron River on the road between St. Juvin and
Champigneulle. This bridge was practically in the front
line and directly under fire from the enemy advanced
machine guns. It could only be approached with great
difficulty, and work had to be carried on from
underneath. It was of the utmost importance to the
Division, for as soon as Champigneulle was cleared, the
only practicable route north for the artillery and
transport was over this bridge. All during the day of the
1st, the men of Co. "C" worked at this exposed
point, and in spite of several casualties, the bridge was
made passable by evening, many hours before it was
actually used. This very hazardous and successful mission
was carried out under the personal supervision of Major
Per-Lee, assisted by Lieutenant Weston of Co.
"C". It was during this operation that
Lieutenant Macqueron of the French Army was slightly
wounded in the -neck by a machine gun bullet.
Company "D" Bridge across the Aire
It was here also that Colonel Giesting greatly
distinguished himself. He had come up to inspect the work
on the bridge, which was to be of such prime importance
to the whole Division. While at this point, he was
constantly watching the battle going on around him,
expecting every minute that our troops would advance. He
noticed that those in the immediate vicinity were
wavering. There were no infantry field officers in sight.
Colonel Giesting, quitting the cover of the river banks,
stepped out into the open, within full sight of the
enemy, and coolly walked up and down the infantry lines,
encouraging the m e n a n d preventing the threatened
retirement.
This action was carried on with utter disregard for his
personal safety, because at no time was he out, of sight
of the enemy and at no time did he seek cover.
The advance of the Division from the early morning of the
2nd of November to the evening of the 6th was the most
rapid in its history. In these five days, the line was
pushed northward 32 kilometers, from the Aire to the
Meuse. This rapid advance meant exceptionally strenuous
labor for the Engineers. The rain and the Boche engineers
had conspired to impede the forward movement of artillery
and transport, and it was the duty of the Engineers to
make the roads passable in the shortest possible time.
Thus it was that the five days, from the 2nd to the 6th
of November, called forth the greatest efforts from the
Regiment of the whole war, and much excellent work was
done in this short time.
Showing how to carry a road across a Trench
Early on the morning of the 2nd, the
infantry advanced through Champigneulle. Co.
"A" and Co. "B", under command of
Major Per-Lee, soon cleared the streets of Champig-neulle
of fallen debris and followed on after the infantry.
During the day of the 2nd, the 2nd Battalion repaired the
roads between St. Juvin and Champigneulle. It was on this
road that Co. "D", under Capt. N. N. Barber,
who had recently joined the Regiment, untangled a traffic
jam during the night of the 2nd, which prompted a written
commendation from the Division Commander, General
Alexander. Co. "E" worked on the road from
Champigneulle toward Beffu et le Morthomme.
After clearing the streets of Champigneulle, Co.
"A" and Co. "B" proceeded northward,
the former to Thernorgues and the latter to Verpel. It
was at this time that Captain Howry, with his runner, got
ahead of the advancing infantry and captured a machine
gunner at Thernorgues mill, together with a roll of
valuable German maps of the area. These maps were of the
utmost use to the Regiment, as the advance of the
Division had carried us "off" the French maps,
which up to this time we had been using. The same day
(2nd of November) Captain Howry and Captain Farrin, who
had the day before been placed in command of Co.
"C", and Lieutenant Weston advanced ahead of
the infantry and entered Buzancy. So far as is known,
they were the first Americans to enter that famous town.
Captain Ellett of Co. "E" similarly entered
Briquenay. A study of the map will show the rapidity of
this advance, and how open the warf are had become in the
closing days of the war. The German method of defence was
to have lines of machine gunners every few miles,
designed to check the American troops. This method had
worked well in the Argonne Forest, where it had been
difficult to discover the machine gun locations; but in
the open country north of the Aire these lines were
quickly broken up by our own infantry, so that the limit
of the advance was fixed by the marching powers of our
men, and the transportation of supplies. The latter was
rendered especially difficult by many demolitions.
Co. "E" building a bridge across the Agron
On the afternoon of the 2nd, Co.
"B" had removed an unexploded mine from the
bridge southwest of Verpel. Sergeants Edwards, Jorgensen
and Clader successfully supervised this work. During the
evening of the 2nd, Co. "C" began to repair a
demolished highway bridge between Buzancy and Bar, which
at that time was over a mile in advance of the Infantry.
On the 3rd, this work was turned over to Corps Engineer
troops and Co. "C" moved northward to Fontenoy
to work on the almost impassable road to the south. On
the same day, Co. "B" moved to the north and
west through Thernorgues and Briquenay to Germont, one
platoon stopping at Briquenay to help the 303rd Engineers
repair a demolished stone highway bridge. Co.
"A" moved to the vicinity of the Authe.
The road between Germont and Authe had the following
demolitions in it:
One-half exploded road mine.
One-half demolished stone bridge.
One unexploded road mine.
Three demolished culverts.
Co. "B" worked during the night of the 3rd on
the above demolitions, built two road bridges, and had
the road passable by morning, except for the third
culvert. Assisted by a platoon from Co. "B",
one platoon from Co. "A", under Lieutenant
Edebohls, bridged this culvert on the 4th.
Between the Authe and Authruche another culvert had been
blown up. This was tackled by Co. "A" on the
evening of the 3rd and was made passable before morning,
by means of a "turnout" bridge. Not satisfied
with this turnout, Co. "A" constructed a fine
pile bridge alongside, the latter being completed on the
4th. These two culvert bridges, one on each side of
Authe, were of great importance and were used by the
transports of four American divisions.
The traffic situation was appalling at this time. The
roads were in very bad shape. It was necessary for the
Regiment to keep men on the roads night and day to enable
traffic to move at all. During this fast advance, the
front line was, of course, constantly changing. As a
consequence, Colonel Giesting and Major Per-Lee several
times found themselves ahead of the infantry while riding
in their automobile, and twice were fired on by the
enemy. Their chauffeur considered his car a tank.
The movement on the 4th had carried the line north of St.
Pierremont, at which point the brigades were
"leap-frogged". This put the 2nd Battalion in
the advance, and the 1st Battalion in the support. There
was heavy fighting between St. Pierremont and Oches.
During the night of the 4th, the latter village was
practically in the front line. Co. "D" advanced
under cover of darkness to rebuild a bridge at Oches.
This work had to be carried on very carefully so as not
to attract attention, as the enemy was very close by. In
the morning, the infantry advanced again and the bridge
was completed. This particular bridge was novel in
design. The only material available was from a standard-
gauge railroad. The stringers for the bridge were the
heavy steel rails. On these were wired ties close
together. These ties were staggered and on top was laid a
diagonal course of one inch boards, from flooring of
houses in Oches, no real plank being available. A trestle
was built up under the center of this bridge, which was
finished early on the 5th. It was ready for traffic long
before the time set. A similar bridge located a few
hundred yards away was finished by Co. "E" on
the afternoon of the 5th.
On the 5th of November, the first
French civilians were encountered in la Berliere, Captain
Simmons being the first American to enter the village.
The Germans in their retreat had cleared the country of
every living thing except the people. The latter, for
their own sakes, were gathered together in a few
villages. These civilians treated the Americans as their
deliverers, which in truth they were.
On the evening of the 5th, the line had advanced to
Stonne. This village was located on the top of a steep
hill. In the main road leading out of Stonne down the
hill, the Roche had exploded a mine larger than any
heretofore encountered by the Regiment. This mine crater
absolutely blocked the road for traffic. To Co.
"F" was assigned the task of making it
passable. With the aid of platoons from Co.
"E", this enormous work was completed by
nightfall of the 6th, far ahead of estimated time. The
main road was thereby opened for the traffic of several
divisions which were anxious to use it.
At this time, the 6th of November, a most puzzling set of
movements were going on in the rear area of the 77th
Division. The 42nd Division was moving laterally from
east to west. The 6th Division was moving up in support
of the 77th, the 78th Division was being relieved by the
42nd, and the 1st Division was making some wild last
dazzling march through several other divisions, hoping to
have the glory of taking Sedan. All these movements,
added to the legitimate movement of the 77th Division,
placed a tremendous responsibility on the 302nd
Engineers, which they accepted in the best spirit and
never once failed to keep the roads open. The scramble
north was so rapid, and the available men so few for the
work to be done, that the great road demolitions at la
Bagnolle and la Besace had to be passed by because they
did not absolutely inhibit traffic.
The infantry had advanced to the valley of the Meuse by
the evening of the 6th. The Germans held the north bank
with their outposts.
On that night, about 11:30 P. M., Colonel Giesting was
sent for by General Alexander, and the following
conversation took place:
General Alexander: "Giesting, we are going to the
Meuse tomorrow. What preparations have you made to bridge
the river?"
Colonel Giesting: "None, sir."
General Alexander: "Colonel, what do you intend to
do?"
Colonel Giesting: "Wait till I get there, sir. We
have aerial photographs showing tremendous craters in the
roads at Stonne, la Besace and Flaba; the roads are
congested and our best chance is to improvise a bridge
from the ma-terial we will find. I promise you the 302nd
Engineers will build the bridges."
General Alexander: "By God, Giesting, I believe you
are right."
This promise was fulfilled. Colonel Giesting immediately
gave orders to Captain Simmons, in command of the. 2nd
Battalion, ending with, "Captain, this is a chance
of a life-time."
Captain Simmons, in a short time had the companies of his
battalion on the march towards the Meuse, and after an
all night ride he himself made personal reconnaissance
for the needed bridges.
On the afternoon of the 7th, one of the most brilliant
feats performed by the Regiment took place. Captain
Ellett, with a detachment from Co. "E", built a
footbridge across the Meuse at Villers-devant-Mouzon.
This task was carried out in the broad daylight, in
advance of our infantry and under the direct fire of the
enemy. It was at this bridge that the following lost
their lives:
Lieut. James F. Brown, Co. "D", D. S. C.
posthumous.
Pvt. Samuel Brill, Co. "E".
Pvt. Arthur C. Hartman, Co. "E".
In addition, seven men were wounded by machine gun and
snipers' bullets. As soon as this bridge was finished, a
detachment of our infantry crossed the Meuse and
established an outpost which was the most advanced point
reached by our division or any other American division
during the war. On the 8th, Co. "F", under
Lieut. R. J. Gross, put across a similar bridge near
Remilly. This bridge was not used by our infantry.
While the 2nd Battalion was performing these brilliant
exploits, the 1st Battalion had followed up the advance
and accomplished the difficult task of keeping open the
roads. On the 7th, Co. "A" and Co.
"B" had advanced as far north as Flaba. The
main north and south road from la Besace to Raucourt had
been thoroughly destroyed by the Boune. One stretch of
road only a few hundred yards long had been mined in
seven places. Rather than attempt to repair this stretch,
Co. "A" made a detour around the demolitions.
By using brush laid on the ground, then surfacing the
brush with rock taken from a nearby farm house, this
detour was made passable, first for animal-drawn
transport, and later for motor trucks. Only by constant
effort could this detour be kept in condition. Meanwhile
Co. "B" had encountered similar destructions
west of Flaba, but as the roadway had not been entirely
destroyed the task of repair was simpler.
On the 8th, Co. "C" moved up to Flaba and
relieved Co. "B", which was then ordered to
Autrecourt sur Meuse. Co. "B" repaired three
mine craters in the road between Raucourt and Autrecourt
and prepared to throw an artillery bridge across the
Meuse near Villers-devant-Mouzon.
The footbridge which Co. "E" had built across
the Meuse, between Villers-devant-Mouzon and Autrecourt
had been partially demolished by artillery fire. The
infantry detachment north of the river was thus cut off
from the Division. The Meuse at this point was about 300
feet wide and the water was icy cold. Captain Barber of
Co. "D", who was then stationed at Autrecourt,
determined to save these men. On the night of the 8th, he
went with a detachment of Co. "D" to the bridge
location. The, American outposts were south of this
point. The detachment built a raft and Captain Barber
personally crossed the river on this frail craft. There
were only five infantrymen surviving, one of whom was
wounded. On the return trip, the raft was overturned and
the wounded man lost his life as a result. Nothing
daunted, Captain Barber swam the river and obtained a
line, which he stretched across and over which he brought
the survivors, one at a time. This action was carried on
under constant artillery and machine gun fire. The enemy
well knew the location of the bridge and the probable
activities of the Americans there during the night, and
kept it under fire.
For this very brave act, each man of the Co. "D" detachment was cited in divisional orders,
but it is the opinion of those who are familiar with the
affair, that a far higher honor should have been awarded
to Captain Barber for his great courage and perseverance.
The bridge at Villers-devant-Mouzon marks the high point
in the history of the Regiment. A picture of it is given
the place of honor as frontispiece of this volume.
On the 8th at Remilly, and on the 9th at
Villers-devant-Mouzon, Colonel Giesting and Major Per-Lee
made daring daylight reconnaissances that should be
recorded. At these two places, pile bridges across the
river had been destroyed by the retreating enemy. In
anticipation of the Allied advance across the river, it
was necessary to know the probable repairs needed to make
these bridges passable. Far beyond the call of duty,
these two officers personally went to the bridge sites,
in advance of our outposts, in the broad daylight and
within full sight of the enemy, and obtained the desired
information. Such actions as these were splendid and
inspiring examples to the officers and men of the
Regiment.
On the nights of the 9th and 10th of November,
detachments from Co. "B" were working on a
bridge over a mine crater north of Autrecourt. This work
was carried on in front of our own outposts under
considerable shell fire. At the same time, several boats
were being built by a detachment from Co. "B"
under supervision of Sergeant Jorgensen for use in the
expected crossing of the Meuse. Co. "D", also
stationed at Autrecourt, was preparing material for an
artillery bridge.
THE HANDY ENGINEERS
BY PRIVATE STEUART M. EMERY
(Courtesy of N. Y. Herald.)
"Colonel, we pull a raid tonight into the Prussian
Beers.
It looks like a gutty little fight, Chewing of legs and
ears.
We'll need a party to cut the wire,
They must run the ring of the Beebe's fire,
It's a dirty business of muck and mire."
"Send for the Engineers!"
The Engineers they will slice a path-That's what they
signed to do.
They will take the rip of the M. G.'s wrath Snipping and
worming through.
The barbs may cut and the mud may stick,
And the star flares splash and the shots crack thick,
But they'll hop the top and they'll turn the trick.
"Send for the Engineers!"
"Colonel, the bridge is hit and gone, Never a plank
appears.
Yet the regiment must cross at dawn, Hardly a case for
cheers.
The place where it was is swept and sprayed,
For the Boche has got it in enfilade,
But we can't hang back on a plan that's made."
"Send for the Engineers!"
The Engineers they will bridge the stream, Anything wet
that flows.
Whether the big ones bust and scream, Whether it rains or
snows.
They'll fling pontoons and they'll hammer stakes,
Though the water foams as the lead hall rakes,
And they'll lead the show when the Yank charge breaks.
"Send for the Engineers!"
"Colonel, the roads are blown to hell." That's
what the P. C. hears.
"Crated and gashed where the Jerries fell, Nothing
but holes and smears.
They're well in range of the house of Krupp,
But the boys don't shoot and the boys don't sup
And the whole drive stops while supplies hold up."
"Send for the Engineers!"
The Engineers, they will mend the pike, Out in the broad
daylight,
Where a blind Boche cannoneer could strike, Labor, this
time, not fight.
They'll set their teeth and they'll curse each blast
And they'll toil and sweat and they'll thirst and fast
Till the chow and the ammo trains jam past.
"Send for the Engineers!"