^ *> ■ . <=>* HISTORY OF THE 107™ INFANTRY U.S.A. COMPILED BY GERALD F. JACOBSON REGTL. SUPPLY SERGEANT, IO7TH INFANTRY SEVENTH REGIMENT ARMORY NEW YORK CITY 1920 THIS BOOK PRODUCED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF MORTIMER D. BRYANT, Colonel HISTORIAN GERALD F. JACOBSON, Regimental Supply Sergeant EDITORS LESLIE W. ROWLAND, Corporal, Co. L. HARRY T. MITCHELL, Sergeant, Co. L. ARTISTS G. WILLIAM BRECK, Corporal, Co. B. MERRITT D. CUTLER, Corporal, Co. I. HENRY C. HULL, Sergeant, Co. H. LAUREN STOUT, Corporal, Co. E JOSEPH G. SWEENEY, Sergeant, Co. I. RAEBURN VAN BUREN, Private, ist Class, Co. E. SAMUEL B. WYLIE, Private, ist Class, Co. F. COMPANY HISTORIANS THEIS ROBERTS, Corporal, Co. A. DREW V. HILL, Corporal, Co. B. ALBERT G. INGALLS, Private, Co. C. ALONZO P. BURNETT, Sergeant, Co. D. LAUREN STOUT, Corporal, Co. E. ROBERT WADDELL, Corporal, Co. F. JOSEPH J. CLARK, Sergeant, Co. G. HENRY C. HULL, Sergeant, Co. H. FLOYD S. NEELY, Jr., Sergeant, Co. I. ROBERT L. PEEK, Jr., Sergeant, Co. K. HARRY T. MITCHELL, Sergeant, Co. L. JOHN L. MACDONNELL, Sergeant, Co. M. GARRETT F1TZSIMONS, Corporal, Hdqtrs. Co. HUGH B. GRIFFITHS, Sergeant, M. G. Co. ELI AS SCHLANK, Sergeant, Sanitary Det. ROBERT T. VANCE, Sergeant, Supply Co. © Indicates portraits copyrighted by Underwood & Underwood Studios INSCRIBED TO THE MEN WITH WHOM WE RUBBED SHOULDERS WHEN WE TOSSED THE WILD BLACK DICE OF THE IRON GAME- WHO LOVED THEIR FOLK AND PLUNGED GRIMLY INTO THE WORLD'S RED WEL- TER • WHO FELL-FACE FORWARD-VICTORS ALL • SOME, YOUTH WHOSE CHARIOT- WHEEL BROKE ERE HALF THEIR COURSE WAS RUN • SOME WHOSE DIAL-SHADE MARKED THEIR HOUR NIGH THE NOON- TIDE-ORDAINED HUMAN PASCHALS IN HISTORY'S PASSOVER TO SPRINKLE THEIR OWN BLOOD ON THE LINTELS OF EUROPE'S HOMES AND STAY THE DESTROYER'S STROKE- WHOSE SHRINES THE GREAT WOULD DECK WITH HONORS • CAN RIB- BONED CROSS OR VOTIVE BRONZE RELIGHT THE CANDLE SNUFFED OUT BY THE CANNON'S BREATH • OURS FOR A WHILE - BROKEN BODIES NOW, BIVOUACKING ON DISTANT FIELDS 'NEATH THE POPPIES- THEIR SOULS RESTING IN THE BOSOM OF GOD • AWAITING THE ANGEL'S TRUMP OF THE WORLD'S LAST REVEILLE- MEANWHILE WE'LL PLANT THE LIGHT-WHITE LILY, SYMBOL OF THEIR IMMORTALITY! CONTENTS PAGE New York to France 3 Proclamation Calling National Guard into Federal Service 4 Order Changing Seventh N. Y. Infantry to 107TH U. S. Infantry. . 14 France and Belgium 21 Colonel Fisk's Farewell Letter 31 Letter of Colonel Bryant upon Demobilization 72 Officers and Men of the 107TH U. S. Infantry who gave their lives in the War 73 In Flanders Fields 88 Battles in which the 107TH Infantry Participated 89 Operations in Belgium 9 1 The Battle of the Hindenburg Line 97 Operations Report of Hindenburg Battle 107 Report to G.H.Q. on Operations during the Battle of the Hinden- burg Line 113 Strength of 107TH Infantry , 126 how the 27th and 3oth divisions plerced the hlndenburg llne. . . . i27 St. Souplet 1 37 Casualties of 107TH U. S. Infantry 141 Commendation 147 Decorations Awarded Men of the 107TH Infantry 155 Citations Accompanying Decorations Awarded Men of the 107TH i n fantry 159 Divisional Citations 177 Making the 107TH Infantry Willard C. Fisk. . 245 The Regiment's Battle Spirit Charles I. DeBevoise. . 247 From the Last Colonel Mortimer D. Bryant. . 249 CONTENTS PAGE Recollections and Memories Chaplain Peter E. Hoey. . 253 Memoir of Chaplain Edwin F. Keever 259 Taken Prisoner 269 Field and Staff 277 Non-commissioned Staff 290 Intelligence Section, ist Battalion 294 Intelligence Section, 2d Battalion 298 Intelligence Section, 3D Battalion 3 02 Regimental Intelligence Section 3°8 Company Histories: Company A 3 ! 5 Company B 321 Company C 3 2 S Company D 33 2 Company E 33& Company F 345 Company G 354 Company H 360 Company I 364 Company K 387 Company L 393 Company M 402 Headquarters Company 407 Signals 409 Trench Mortar 412 One Pounder 416 Orderlies 417 Pioneers 419 "Band 42 1 Machine Gun Company 424 Sanitary Detachment m 429 Supply Company 437 Officers Assigned to Units of the 107TH Infantry, July 15, 1917, to April 2, 1919 443 CONTENTS PAGE Officers' Records 449 Rosters 47 l Company A 47 2 Company B 475 Company C 479 Company D 482 Company E 486 Company F 489 Company G 49 2 Company H 495 Company I 499 Company K 503 Company L 507 Company M 510 Headquarters Company 513 Machine Gun Company 519 Sanitary Detachment 52 1 Supply Company 522 Ordnance Detachment 525 Men of Seventh Regiment, N.Y.N.G., Transferred to 69TH Regi- ment (165TH U. S. Infantry) 526 Men Transferred or Discharged before the Regiment Sailed Over- seas 531 Men Commissioned from the Ranks of the 107TH Infantry 541 Personal Military Record 547 on ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Seventh New York Infantry leaving the Armory, September 1 1, 1917 following 4 107th Infantry Camp — Camp Wadsworth 4 107th Infantry Post Exchange, Camp Wadsworth 4 Camp Street Scene in Winter 4 Mess Shacks along Regimental Street 4 107th Infantry Base Ball Team 4 107th Infantry Post Exchange 4 Hostess House at Camp Wadsworth 4 Officers' Row, 107th Infantry — Camp Wadsworth 4 Colonel Fisk's Tent at Camp Wadsworth 4 Bayonet Run, Camp Wadsworth 8 U.S.S. Susquehanna Baggage started for France The Old Faithful Stable Sergeant O'Brien and his House on the Picket Line at Camp Wadsworth Kitchen in Company Mess Shack at Camp Wadsworth Line-up at Supply Sergeant's Tent, Camp Wadsworth Gas House at Camp Wadsworth, where the Regiment went through real gas for the first time Map of Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, S. C 27th Division Map of Trenches for Instruction Morgan Square, Spartanburg, S. C following Typical Scene near Camp Wadsworth Company Street — Camp Wadsworth 10 12 12 12 12 ILLUSTRATIONS Wooden Floors and Sides built into the Tents for the Winter 1917-1918 following 12 107th Infantry Camp at Camp Wadsworth 12 Tents Furled 12 Trenches at Camp Wadsworth 12 Training at Camp Wadsworth 12 Practice Trenches 16 Brush Revetment — Trenches at Camp Wadsworth 16 Company K on the Hike to Glassy Rock, S. C 16 Rifle Range at Glassy Rock, S. C " 16 "Ready!" 16 Targets instead of Huns 16 107th Infantry Club House at Camp Wadsworth 16 Sunday Services in the Club House 16 Types of Officers of the Allies 23 At the Hindenburg Line following 24 Following the Tanks into Position Bellicourt Resting in Bellicourt Barbed Wire at Hindenburg Line St. Quentin Canal Tunnel behind the Hindenburg Line German Prisoners carrying American Wounded Bound for the Prison Cage Alii lies 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 .. 26 British Transport used by the 107th Infantry 28 Saying "Kamerad" to the Camera following 32 German Prisoners in Prisoner-of-war Cage 32 Typical German Prisoners 32 Graves of 107th Infantrymen in Cemetery at Bony, France (taken February, 1920) 32 Burning Tanks back of Willow Trench 32 107th Infantry Transport passing through St. Omer 37 A Flanders Billet 39 Dug-in at Beauvoorde Woods 41 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Corrugated Iron Nissen Huts, called "Elephant" Huts 43 A Typical French Barn-yard 45 Headquarters 3d Battalion, Allaines 48 Regimental Headquarters at Connerre, France, November, 1918, to February, 1919 following 48 Railroad Station at Connerre 48 The Square at Le Mans 48 Road from Connerre to Duneau 48 River at Connerre, showing Native Laundry Houses 48 La Chapelle, France 48 Colonel Bryant and Staff — Inspection and Review near Con- nerre, France, December 30, 1 918 48 Stable Sergeant Benjamin F. O'Brien 48 Second Line Transport 48 Water Carts " 48 Ruined Church at Allaines 49 Crowded Road near Ronssoy, France 53 Trench at Regimental Headquarters, September 29, 1918 55 Aeroplane View of the Leviathan coming up New York Bay, March 6, 1919, with the 107th Infantry aboard ....following 56 U.S.S. Leviathan upon Arrival at Hoboken 56 Victory Arch over Fifth Avenue at 25th Street, New York City 56 27th Division Parade, March 25, 1919, New York City 56 Road opposite Regimental Headquarters at Ronssoy 57 On the Tape before Zero Hour 58 Joncourt 60 Battle Messages from Captain Bradish to Captain Daniell 62 London "Daily Mail" of November 10, 1 1, 12, 1918 66 Troop Billet Card given every Man on Board U.S.S. Leviathan 68 Jeweled Arch, 60th Street and Fifth Avenue, New York City .following 68 Colonel Bryant and Staff at Camp Merritt, N. J., March, 1919 68 Proposed Memorial to 107th Infantry 68 New York Public Library decorated for the 27th Division Parade, March 25, 1919 68 Honor Roll of Officers 72 Cxv] ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Monument erected near Bony, France following 72 Battle Glare at Night 7 2 Officers of the 107th Regiment 88 They Also Served facing 89 Heading of Passenger List written for all Organizations before Embarkation 106 Photographs taken from Aeroplanes following 1 12 Bird's-eye Map of the Hindenburg Line facing 1 13 Reprint from the "Stars and Stripes," May 9, 1919 130 Campaign Maps following 1 36 "On the Hike" in Belgium 136 A Sniper 1 36 Shell Craters near Bony, France (photographed February, 1 920) facing 1 37 Field Post-card issued by the British 176 Green Envelope issued by the British for Letters subject to Censorship only at the Base, not in the Regiment 244 Christmas Package Coupon issued by the A.E.F 268 Administration of an Infantry Regiment 288 Company F Kitchen at Beauvoorde Woods 349 [xvi] 107™ infantry, u. s. a. NEW YORK TO FRANCE THE War Department General Order No. 90 brought out the old Seventh Infantry, New York National Guard, for active service on July 16, 19 17. On that day the regiment assembled at its armory, 66th street and Park avenue, New York City, to begin its preparations for active participation with the Allied forces in the World War. The dual oath under which both officers and men entered the ser- vice made it possible for President Wilson to decide upon one of two alternatives respecting the final assignment of this regiment. The President was empowered under the National Defense Act of June 3, 1916, either to call out the regiment for Federal service, in which case it would continue as a National Guard regiment in the Federal service, and upon being mustered out would return to its New York National Guard status, or to draft the regiment into Fed- eral service, in which case the commissions of the officers in the State would be vacated, and the term of enlistment of the men would ter- minate on being mustered out. Officers, too, would revert to civilian status under the provisions of this latter arrangement. In 191 7 President Wilson first called out the regiment as a unit of the National Guard, and by a later proclamation he drafted officers and men into the Federal service as of August 5, 19 17. It was slightly more than a year prior to this entry into the Fed- eral service that the regiment had departed from its historic home for service on the Mexican border, and for most important service dur- ing the period of the emergency precipitated by the sinister activities of the bandits below the Rio Grande. Two never-to-be-forgotten days had been recorded in the archives of this famous old infantry outfit — the day the boys left for the Texas border, and the day they returned. Another memorable day was September 11, 19 17, when the regiment entrained for Camp Wadsworth at Spartanburg, S. C. There were comparatively few of us who started with the regiment for the tented city in the cotton fields of South Carolina who had not 01 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. PROCLAMATION CALLING NATIONAL GUARD INTO FEDERAL SERVICE War Department, Washington, July 12, 1917. General Orders, No. 90. The following proclamation by the President is published to the Army for the information and guidance of all concerned: [call into federal service and draft of the national guard.] By the President of the United States of America, A PROCLAMATION. Whereas the United States of America and the Imperial German Government are now at war, and having in view the consequent danger of aggression by a foreign enemy upon the territory of the United States and the necessity for proper protection against possible interference with the execution of the laws of the Union by agents of the enemy, I, Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States and through the governors of the respective States, call into the service of the United States as of and from the dates hereinafter respectively indicated all members of the National Guard and all enlisted members of the National Guard Reserve of the following States, who are not now in the service of the United States, except members of staff corps and departments not included in the personnel of tactical organizations, and except such officers of the National Guard as have been or may be specially notified by my authority that they will not be affected by this call, to wit: I. On July 15, 1917, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. On July 25, 1917, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. The members of the National Guard of the various States affected by this call will be concentrated at such places as may be designated by the War Department. II. And, under the authority conferred upon me by clause second of section one of the act of Congress "to authorize the President to increase temporarily the Mili- tary Establishment of the United States," approved May 18, 1917, I do hereby draft into the military service of the United States as of and from the fifth day of August, nineteen hundred and seventeen, all members of the National Guard and all enlisted members of the National Guard Reserve of the following States, except members of staff corps and departments not included in the personnel of tactical organizations, and except such other officers of the National Guard as have been or may be specially notified by my authority that they will not be drafted, to wit: New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and California. C4] c Underwood & Underwood. N. I. SEVENTH NEW YORK INFANTRY LEAVING THE ARMORY, SEPTEMBER II, I917 IO7TH INFANTRY CAMP — CAMP WADSWORTH I<>7TH INFANTRY POST EXCHANGE, CAMP WADSWORTH CAMP STREET SCENE IN WINTER I MESS SHACKS ALONG REGIMENTAL STREET ~ J, ? !S «MM» IUJTH INFANTRY BASE BALL TEAM IO7TH INFANTRY POST EXCHANGE HOSTESS HOUSE AT CAMP WADSWORTH mm § np w% ■■ . afewS/3 \ JkaBA£ ■ & Hi I »/ B. OFFICERS ROW, I07TH INFANTRY CAMP WADSWORTH COLONEL FISK S TFNT AT CAMP WADSWORTH NEW YORK TO FRANCE III. All persons hereby drafted shall on and from the fifth day of August, nine- teen hundred and seventeen, stand discharged from the militia, and, under the terms of section 2 of act of May 18, 1917, be subject to the laws and regulations governing the Regular Army, except as to promotions, so far as such laws and regulations are applicable to persons whose permanent retention in the military service on the active or retired list is not contemplated by law. IV. The members of each company, battalion, regiment, brigade, division, or other organizations of the National Guard hereby drafted into the military service of the United States shall be embodied in organizations corresponding to those of the Regular Army. The officers not above the rank of colonel of said organizations of the National Guard who are drafted and whose offices are provided for in like organizations of the Regular Army are hereby appointed officers in the Army of the United States in the arm, staff corps, or department, and in the grades in which they now hold commission as officers of the National Guard, such appointments to be effective, subject to acceptance, on and from the fifth day of August, nineteen hun- dred and seventeen, and each of them, subject to such acceptance, is hereby assigned as of said date to the organization in the Army of the United States composed of those who were members of the organization of the National Guard in which at the time of draft he held a commission. The noncommissioned officers of the organiza- tions of the National Guard the members of which are hereby drafted are hereby appointed noncommissioned officers in their present grade in the organizations of the Army composed by said members and shall in each case have the same relative rank as heretofore; and all other enlisted men are hereby confirmed in the Army of the United States in the grades and ratings held by them in the National Guard in all cases where such grades and ratings correspond to grades and ratings provided for in like organizations of the Regular Army, all such appointments of noncom- missioned officers and confirmations of other enlisted men in their grades to be without prejudice to the authority of subordinate commanders in respect of pro- motions, reductions, and changes in enlisted personnel. V. Each organization of the military force hereby created will, until further orders, bear the same name and designation as the former organization of the National Guard of whose members it is composed. VI. All necessary orders for combining the organizations created by embodying therein members of the National Guard and National Guard Reserve hereby drafted into the military service of the United States into complete tactical units will be issued by the War Department. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the city of Washington this third day of July in the year of our Lord TsealI one - tnousan d nine hundred and seventeen, and of the independence of the L J United States of America the one hundred and forty-first. Woodrow Wilson. By the President: Robert Lansing, Secretary of State. [382.1, A.G.O.] By order of the Secretary of War: Tasker H. Bliss, Major General, Acting Chief of Staff. Official: H. P. McCain, The Adjutant General. [5] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. patrolled the border, always "on the alert" for miscreant "spies." And those of us who had never soldiered before were just as eager to get into shape and finally to get into the fray as were those spirited lads who received the plaudits of thronged Fifth avenue in '16. Many of the old members of the regiment, however, had left the ranks to enter officers' training schools or to enter other branches of the service as officers. More than 1 500 officers in the service of their country during the war were ex-members of the Seventh Regiment of New York. The recruiting campaign, which began immediately the United States formally declared war against Germany, was manifestly suc- cessful. The purpose of the campaign was to bring up the regiment to full strength for a National Guard unit, 2002 men. Sons and grand- sons of old Seventh men stepped up and were happy to take the oath administered to all recruits. Those who approached the examining physicians with heavy hearts suffered so only because of their fears that some physical defect of which they had not been aware might pre- clude their admission to the regiment. All manner of men flocked into the Seventh Regiment armory during that preparatory period. Men whose social positions were lowly stood in line with men whose names appeared in the social register and waited their turn to step on the scales. Most interesting were the developments which subsequently made these men devoted brothers. What lines of demarkation respect- ing social station may have existed prior to this period were quickly and permanently obliterated. We all became Seventh Regiment men with a single purpose. This chap's affection for that chap budded and grew, and this spirit became universal. At the first assembly of the regiment a schedule of calls and drills was issued. This marked the beginning of the period of intensive train- ing. "Assembly" thereafter was blown each morning at 9 o'clock. Sunday was no exception to this rule, although ceremonies that day consisted only of a rather hurried roll call. Attendance at that roll call was compulsory, however. The Seventh Regiment was "in the army now." An odd lot of soldiers — odd because they thoroughly enjoyed the experience — slept every night either in one of the rooms of the armory or on the roof, depending upon the condition of the weather. The men who belonged to that set have a string of tales of which an- other volume might be written. Meals were served to the men in the large mess hall in the armory, and pretty good meals they were, too. [6] NEW YORK TO FRANCE The daily drills consisted of a brisk hike to the parade ground near 72d street in Central Park, a smart setting-up exercise, a close order drill, and a hike which was anything but brisk back to the armory. Morning and afternoon drills were the order of the day. A decidedly unpopular order came through on August 15, provid- ing for the transfer of 350 Seventh Regiment men to the 69th Regi- ment to complete the quota of that organization. Each company was ordered to send 27 men. On the following day this detachment, com- prising what then seemed to be among the best men we had, was escorted down Fifth avenue, and over to the 69th Regiment armory by the entire Seventh Regiment. When Colonel Fisk led his regiment out of the armory following the small group of heavily equipped soldiers who had enlisted to go overseas with the Seventh, tears welled up into the eyes of every man in line, and even the smiles which came in response to the spirited applause from the regiment's admirers who lined the streets through which we paraded were forced. This sudden and unhappy separation from our comrades served to instill in us some appreciation of the emotions our mothers felt when they bade us Godspeed. It was a source of considerable gratification, however, to know that our men were going to swell the ranks of a wonderful fighting regi- ment — the "Irish Regiment." And it was even more gratifying to learn, what we always had expected to learn, after the war, that our men had nobly upheld the traditions and the spirit of that famous organization, and of the old Seventh as well. The Seventh was drawn up and passed in review on August 24, in Central Park, for the members of the Belgian Commission. Major General Daniel Appleton, for many years Colonel of the Seventh Regiment, accompanied the reviewing party, among whom were Baron Moncheur and Lord Aberdeen, one time Viceroy of Ireland. The first intimation that the regiment was shortly to leave for Spartanburg came about September 1. This signalized the beginning of new activities about the armory, particularly in the office of the Supply Officer. It was no small task to arrange for equipment, trans- portation, and rations for the journey southward. Within a few days the great armory floor was more than half covered with equip- ment packed and ready for transportation to the trains at Jersey City. On September 10 these supplies were transported to the troop trains in the railroad yards. With them went sufficient rations for the subsistence of the regiment during the journey, and for five days after reaching camp. [7] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. The next day was one of jubilance among the soldiers, and one of pathos for those who stayed behind. Early morning found the armory crowded to the doors with men in uniform and those who would have been in uniform had it been possible. Formalities were forgotten. The boys were receiving informally, and their guests were at once happy and sad; happy and proud to have their boys entering into the great adventure of all time, and sad because they realized the cost- liness of war. Every company room had been appropriately and tastefully decorated for this farewell. On guard throughout the armory were members of the Veteran Association. Others were at all times available to perform little services for the boys who were about to depart. The departing soldiers were the cynosures of all eyes. They were lionized and favored in every conceivable fashion. When assembly was blown at 1.50 o'clock the visitors retired to and filled to overflowing the great gallery around the drill floor. The regi- ment was formed promptly, attendance reports were made, the com- mand was given which started New York's "aristocratic" regiment for the Southland, the band played "Auld Lang Syne," and off we went while our friends and loved ones shrieked and shouted, laughed and cried, waved their handkerchiefs and stamped their feet. Colonel Willard C. Fisk led us out of that deafening roar, down Park avenue to 57th street, west to Fifth avenue, down Fifth avenue to 23d street, and west to the Pennsylvania ferry slip at the Hudson River. The regiment boarded a ferry, crossed to Jersey City, and entrained. Forming an escort from the armory to 23d street were the veterans of the regiment under command of General Appleton, and accom- panied by the New York Police Band, the members of which volun- teered their services for that occasion. In the ranks of the veterans were a very considerable number of former members who had entered the service in other organizations, and who paraded in the uniforms of their respective ranks. Perhaps only on the occasion of the homecoming parade of the 27th Division, of which the Seventh Regiment became a part, was a larger crowd massed along Fifth avenue than on the day the Seventh went away. In many places along the line of march the strong police lines were unable to keep the wildly enthusiastic spectators in check. Many thousands followed the regiment across 23d street and over to Jersey City. Just below 27th street the veterans swung over to the curb on the west side of Fifth avenue, and stood at attention as the new regiment passed in review. [8] **sr. BAYONET RUN, CAMP WADSWORTH U. S. S. SUSQUEHANNA BAGGAGE STARTED FOR FRANCE THE OLD FAITHFUL STABLE SGT. O BRIEN AND HIS HOI SE ON THE PICKET LINE AT CAMP WADSWORTH KITCHEN IN COMPANY MESS SHACK AT CAMP WADSWORTH LINE-UP AT SUPPLY SERGEANTS TENT, CAMP WADSWORTH ' .■W pi. » W IW ,, ii GAS HOI si AT CAMP WADSWORTH, WHERE THE REGIMENT WENT THROUGH REAL GAS FOR THE FIRST TIME NEW YORK TO FRANCE Numerous specially chartered tugs on which were scores of friends of the boys accompanied the ferry across the river. In the station were three trains of twenty-five cars each, with two cook cars in the center of each train. The first section carried Colonel Fisk and his staff, Headquarters Company, Machine Gun Company, and the Sup- ply Company. On the second section were Companies A, B, C, D, E, and F, and on the third section Companies G, H, I, K, L, and M. Immediately upon arriving at the station the men were marched to the trains and loaded into the tourist sleeping cars, which were very shabbily appointed, but which were vastly more pretentious than the ugly freight cars in which the regiment rode through France and Belgium. There was a scurry among the boys' friends and relatives to find the cars in which the chaps in whom they were most particu- larly interested were ensconced. In this rather amusing search the eager parents and sweethearts et al. were given no assistance by the men for whom they searched — the men were powerless, having been given strict orders to remain in the cars to which they had been as- signed. Three men were assigned to each section, two for each lower berth and one for each upper. This was "home" for us for about forty-eight hours. The loading of the men was quickly and easily accomplished, and about an hour elapsed before the departure of the train. A fire in one of the cook cars of the forward section of the train, which caused considerable delay but little damage to the car, was the most exciting event of the trip southward. Details of men carried the meals from the cook cars in either direction through the trains in large pots, and served the soldiers in their mess tins. Many of us never had eaten from aluminum dishes before. It must be said for the cooks that they performed their duties well, and that nowhere in the regiment were to be found men complaining of not getting enough food. The third section of the train was the first to reach the troop siding at Camp Wadsworth, a short distance south of Spartanburg. The men in that section detrained at about i p.m. on September 13, and marched through dust ankle deep to the camp. A fleet of motor trucks rushed out to the train to carry tentage and other supplies over to the camp so that we could arrange comfortable quarters for our- selves for the night. Each company began as soon as it reached the regimental area to lay out its street, to clear away the brush and trees, and to erect the tents. It was one of the busiest afternoons of our careers in the army. A regimental street through the woods had been C93 • :: 5 i 1 1 ill ! l_ \ : i t~r L =-« , U ~- — ►«# r"' V MAP r*/< MAf>/$-€C*0/teo fiffex ewe/Am -arat/r et CA»p WOSWTtt SM* Tfi xgi/ffs, s.C ar ttet/r (at Jei/Mp WIPATftt 4 US COXSTtfi/CrWV 0i/AffTE/rM#ST£fl.littrMAOOtT/ct<'AL D*T* F#0M ff£C0#/YA'$AMCE '. $T/?efrj t w#/cm **s rue frM/6#r/p&A0j /usj//va r*/#o{/6/t -r»ece»£ffat ctevATta* >$ o*s roa?s reer*acre t*At,e r ei. nt a shacks. •rC'RMUMTs.»«v.uneusSM«cn. CAMP WADSWORTH SPARTANBU RG,S C. f OH eOlC'Ot MtAOOUARTERS riBSTCOTi TPOOP6.USA SCALE Of MlUtS. NEW YORK TO FRANCE laid out and mess shacks for the troops erected along one side of it. But company streets had not been laid out. It was not long before the streets had been cleared of all debris and a small city of regular army pyramidal tents were pointing their peaks toward the sky. The first section of the train carrying Colonel Fisk and his staff did not reach the camp until about 10 o'clock that night, too late to de- train. Those troops, therefore, did not reach camp until the following morning. The second section arrived shortly after the third. The first task of the regiment was to make its camp tenable. The men worked diligently long hours each day to rid the camp site of noxious underbrush and any trees that blocked thoroughfares. Drain- age ditches were dug and many other improvements made. While the men labored to put the camp in shape Colonel Fisk toiled over a program of vigorous training which became effective as soon as the drill grounds were made. Bayonet runs were constructed, and an ex- tensive system of trenches weaving through the hills and vales and woodlands hard by the camp was dug. The trenches were laid out by the Engineers who had preceded us to camp, and they extended over an area of about iooo yards by 400 yards. The total length of the front line, support and reserve trenches was about eight miles. The infantry of the entire division did the actual digging and in doing so became quite expert in the handling of two of the most important weapons of war, the pick and shovel. After the completion of the trench system a battalion at a time was sent to occupy them. The first tour of trench duty for each battalion was of 24 hours duration. Succeeding tours in the lines were of 72 hours duration. Officers of the British and French armies who had had many months of actual fighting overseas described the routine of trench life in France, and the training of the troops during the occupation of the trenches followed as closely as possible the methods used in actual warfare. Reliefs were effected, patrols sent out, and attempts made by patrols of other units to capture our lines. Assault and defense methods were worked out with the French instructors. When the wind was such that the lives of the men not in the lines would not be endangered light gas attacks were launched. During the greater part of the time the men were compelled to be in the lines violent electrical storms raged, and the forward trenches became roaring torrents. Washouts were frequent, dugouts were made untenable, and nowhere in the entire system of trenches was it possible to find a patch of ground where one could lie down. What suffering there was in those MORGAN SQUARE, SPARTANBURG, S. C. TYPICAL SCENE NEAR CAMP WADSWORTH $ -***■*■?*: i ww.fti**-* COMPANY STREET— CAMP WADSWORTH FOR THE WINTER 1 1) 1 7 ICJIO, WOODEN FLOORS AND SIDES WERE BUILT INTO THE TENTS IN THIS MANNER I07TH INFANTRY CAMP AT CAMP WADSWORTH ■ 1. TENTS FURLED TRENCHES AT CAMP WADSWORTH TRAINING AT CAMP WADSWORTH NEW YORK TO FRANCE trenches was due entirely to the elements. Improvements in the drain- age system later on, however, made the tours less strenuous and irk- some. Many things of immense value were learned. An order changing the designation of the Seventh New York In- fantry to the 107th Infantry, U.S.A., and assigning the regiment with the 1 08th Infantry to the 54th Infantry Brigade was issued from Division Headquarters on October 1. By the same order the designa- tion of the division was changed from the 6th to the 27th. On the same day the regiment lost two of its oldest and most beloved officers, Lieutenant Colonel Robert McLean and Major James E. Schuyler. Each had served more than thirty years with the regiment, and when they were transferred to other organizations because of physical disability for overseas service, their departure was deeply felt by the men who had served under them in the Seventh. Another important and rather significant change brought about between October 15 and 18 was the transfer to the 107th Infantry from the 1st New York Infantry of 1600 men. From the 12th New York Infantry also came 320 men. This increase brought the regi- ment almost to full war strength of 3699 men. A few men had been assigned to us from the 10th New York Infantry. And from the 1st, 1 2th, and 10th Regiments came a lot of men who were indeed a credit- able addition to the 107th Infantry. Many of them had seen long service on the Mexican border and along the aqueduct in New York State. More than 100 men were transferred to each line company, the majority going to the company whose designation corresponded to that of their original company. The following cities in New York State are those from which the men of the 1st Regiment came: Com- pany A, Utica; B, Utica; C, Watertown; D, Ogdensburg; E, New- burgh; F, Walton; G, Oneonta; H, Binghamton; I, Middletown; K, Malone; L, Newburgh; M, Mohawk; Machine Gun, Utica; Head- quarters Company, Binghamton, and Regimental Headquarters, Bing- hamton. The training schedule consisted of setting up exercises each morn- ing, three hours of drill in the morning and three in the afternoon. Lectures for non-commissioned officers were held each evening. Sergeant Major Tector, of the British Army, did splendid work as physical and bayonet instructor, and was well known and exceedingly popular among the men. As the training progressed other branches of the war game were emphasized, such as bayonet work, Chauchat machine gun drills, and instruction in the adjustment and use of the small box respirator, or gas mask. Gas mask drills were held until [■3] 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. ORDER CHANGING SEVENTH N. Y. INFANTRY TO 107TH U. S. INFANTRY General Orders No. 9. Headquarters, 27th Div., U. S. A., Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, S. C, October 1, 1917. Pursuant to telegraphic instructions from the War Department dated September 11, 191 7, this Division is organized under the provisions of General Orders No. 10 1, War Department, 191 7, as follows: III. The 54th Infantry Brigade, consisting of Brigade Headquarters, the 107th and 108th Regiments of Infantry, and the 106th Machine Gun Bat- talion, is organized as follows: (b) The 107th Regiment of Infantry (Seventh N. Y. Infantry). The Commanding Officer, 1st N. Y. Infantry, will transfer to the 107th Regiment of Infantry 1600 enlisted men of appropriate grades. The Commanding Officer, 12th N. Y. Infantry, will transfer to the 107th Regiment of Infantry, 320 enlisted men of appropriate grades. By command of Brigadier General Phillips: Official: Allan A. Reagan, Adjutant General, Acting Adjutant. Franklin W. Ward, Lieut. Colonel, Acting Chief of Staff. C'4] NEW YORK TO FRANCE every man could adjust his mask in not more than six seconds. At the end of the training all were put through the gas chamber in the camp with actual gas filling the room. Classes were formed for special courses in various branches of army tactics, and during the later weeks of training scarcely a man but was or had been a member of at least one of these special schools. Each squad was able to specialize in a single branch of warfare since the British regulations under which we were training required that every company be divided into specialty groups. Nor were the men picked at random for this specialty training. A man most adept at hand grenade throwing was made a grenadier; one most proficient at machine gunnery was put into a machine gun squad, and so was each company divided, with the result that when the regiment went into action each man and each squad had one particular job and knew how to perform that job. A long, balmy, delightful autumn made what might have been most tedious work a real pleasure. It was well that with the ap- proach of winter the men installed wooden floors and sides in their tents, and that upon brick foundations in the center of their tents they erected the Sibley stoves, the chimneys of which extended up the center pole and protruded through vents at the pinnacle of the tents. For the most severe winter in years, variously estimated at from ten to thirty, broke upon us, and made life under canvas most miserable for a few weeks. Over the cotton fields fell several inches of snow, and in the valleys deep banks made it well-nigh impossible for vehicular traffic to pass through. Spartanburg residents were astounded at the volume of snow and at the average temperature. The heavy snowfall and the ice made it exceedingly difficult to distribute regularly the rations and fuel, and caused considerable con- sternation in camp by crippling automobile service to and from town. During the regiment's sojourn in Camp Wadsworth all lieutenants were ordered to attend schools conducted in camp on liaison, signal work, musketry, machine guns, and hand and rifle grenades. Lieu- tenant Pierre Forrestier of the French Army was assigned to instruct the regiment in grenade throwing and bombing, which later proved to be vitally important. Candidates from all the units of the division were selected to attend the Officers' Training School which had been established in camp. The final inspection and examination of these men to de- termine whether they were fitted for the training course was made 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. by the Commanding General, and resulted in the 107th Infantry send- ing a large number to school. These men graduated at Camp Wadsworth, but most of them did not receive their commissions until we arrived in France. Drafts upon the regiment were made in January, 19 18, for men to be sent to the following units: January 9, men to the 1st New Hamp- shire Regiment; January 1 1, men to the First Army Headquarters as interpreters, and January 28, men to the Motor Mechanics Regiment. Furthermore, many men were transferred individually to various other branches of the service, and some transferred back to the 1st, 10th, and 12th Regiments, which had been made skeleton regiments from which new tactical fighting units were to be formed. Other men were discharged on claims of dependency and S.C.D. (Surgeon's Cer- tificate of Disability). The drawings at Christmas time for Christmas and New Year furloughs of seven days each were at once amusing and pathetic. Only about twenty per cent, of each company was permitted to leave on furlough, and so the men who wished furloughs drew for them. There were many bitterly disappointed lads in camp that day, needless to say. Half the furlough men went at Christmas time, and the rest at New Year's. It was a strenuous winter for every soldier in camp. There was hard work and more hard work to be done. The camp was dreary, and on too few occasions was it possible to get to town, where at least there were warm places to spend the time, a touch of civilian life, and good food. These things were luxuries then, and restaurant food in Spartanburg was indeed a luxury. With the approach of spring came the circulation of rumors that very shortly we were to embark for overseas, and universally the wish was father to the thought. As these rumors increased in persistency so did our energy increase. Fear that the regiment might not be classed as fitted for overseas service was responsible for the crack appearance of the outfit on all occasions when it was ordered to turn out for officials from Washington and for General Officers whose names were not familiar to the rank and file. We wanted to get across, and up into the fight — and we did. Colonel Applin of the British army delivered lectures to the men on the use of the machine gun. His lectures were forceful and most effective. During March, 19 18, the regiment was sent to the rifle range at Glassy Rock, twelve miles from Campobello, S.C., in the foothills ■ PRACTICE TRENCHES ■ m ... fi$ ■ . BRUSH REVETMENT TRENCHES AT CAMP WADS WORTH COMPANY K ON THE HIKE TO GLASSY ROCK, S.C. ''»«,.- RIFLE RANGE AT GLASSY ROCK, S.C. ...■» k r^ READY . ., • ■ ; . * ^■^^j*"""* 4 -^ p TARGETS INSTEAD OF HUNS IO7TH INFANTRY CLUB HOUSE AT CAMP WADSWORTH 1 ^x 4\ < V >v U SUNDAY SERVICES IN THE CLUB HOUSE NEW YORK TO FRANCE of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Our two visits to that vast, romantic, silent, majestic region were most delightful. The troops were taken by train from Camp Wadsworth to Campobello, from which point we hiked over mountainous country to the range far up in the fastnesses of those charming hills. Many expert riflemen developed during those weekly periods on the range. To the women of New York who contributed to the fund with which the 107th Infantry clubhouse was built the men of the regi- ment owe an everlasting debt of gratitude. What a joy it was to retreat to that great hut at night to be entertained with moving pictures or by talent from our own ranks! And it was worth while to go there Sunday morning to the religious services. It was conve- nient, too, as a reading and writing room. The regimental Post Exchange, established under Army Regula- tions, flourished during the stay of the regiment in camp, and on pay day the stock of candy and other refreshments was depleted to almost nothing. The profits from this busy establishment were divided be- tween the regimental and company funds, and used for the benefit of the regiment. Perhaps more contributions to the divisional weekly, "The Gas Attack," which had been established in camp as a successor to the "Rio Grande Rattler," came from the 107th Infantry than from any other unit in the division. The magazine was professional in every respect since its staff comprised men who had had thorough editorial and art training. Not a man but will remember the Cleveland Hotel, the Finch, the Enlisted Men's Club, and Burnett's, whose flapjacks quickly gained fame, and justifiably, throughout the army reservation. The vaude- ville houses and moving picture houses and the homes of towns- people were constantly swarming with doughboys. The division musical show, "You Know Me, Al," written, produced, and played by men of the division, many of whom were 107th men, had a successful week's run at the Harris Theater, and later enjoyed a phenomenal run of a month in New York City just prior to the Division's de- parture for France. On April 10 the regiment hiked to the artillery range, about 24 miles from Camp Wadsworth, and there had its first experience under terrific artillery fire. A real barrage was put down by the 27th Division artillery, and under this curtain of fire the regiment moved forward, as some months later it moved forward in actual battle, in wave formation. The return hike to Camp Wadsworth was a H'7] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. triumph for the regiment. Purposely the men were put to a se- vere test, and they met the test admirably. In a single day the regi- ment hiked in splendid fashion a distance which ordinarily would not have been covered in less than two days. This feat abundantly proved the physical excellence of the command. Official word of the early departure of the regiment for a port of embarkation came about April 15. This meant some speedy work in preparation for the move. It was necessary to turn in large quantities of unserviceable cloth- ing and other equipment, and to receive new supplies in exchange. The Springfield rifles were exchanged for the new American Enfield rifles. Tents, stoves, and cots were left in place when the regiment moved away. The regiment began the movement from Camp Wadsworth on Sun- day, April 28, 1 9 18, marching to the rail siding near camp and en- training in second-class day coaches for the trip to ? Not a man had the faintest notion about where the regiment was going. Some good guesses were made, many wagers were placed, and quite a number of the boys were correct in their predictions. Those who had guessed Camp Stuart at Newport News, Va., were right, as all discovered several hours after the train left Spartanburg behind. To say that the men were happy to leave Spartanburg would be to trifle with the exact truth, as would also to say that all the men were sorry to leave that town. Regimental Headquarters, the Headquarters Company, the Ma- chine Gun Company, and the 1st Battalion left on April 28; the 2d Battalion left on the 29th, and the 3d Battalion on the 30th. It was a twenty-five-hour run to Camp Stuart. There the men were housed in warm, comfortable barracks fur- nished with spring beds instead of the canvas cots such as they had slumbered upon during the nights of the previous eight months. The bathing facilities were excellent, and scrubbing was the principal diversion during the few days we spent at Newport News. The regiment was kept in strict quarantine while at Stuart, and with few exceptions in case of absolute necessity no passes to leave the camp were issued. Each day, however, scores of friends and rela- tives of the men were admitted to the camp. Medical and equipment inspections took place almost daily. Morn- ing and afternoon drills were short and full of snap, and the evening parade following retreat was enjoyed by the men as well as by those who looked on. D83 NEW YORK TO FRANCE Three officers and nineteen men forming an advance party sailed before the regiment left. The entire regiment with the exception of the 2d Battalion and Machine Gun Company and one platoon of Company D, which was quarantined, boarded the U.S.S. Susquehanna on May 9, and the fol- lowing day the remaining units of the regiment went aboard the U.S.S. Antigone with troops from other units. Soon after she received her quota of troops the Susquehanna left her pier and went out into the bay, where she lay until the following morning, when both ships, on which were units of the 107th, quietly and unostentatiously moved out to sea. On the upper decks of these former German liners were spacious dining rooms for officers. On the main decks were state- rooms for officers, the non-commissioned staff, and first sergeants. The latter had their meals in the Chief Petty Officers' mess. Below decks were bunks for the men, and their mess halls. The meals on board ship were all prepared very skilfully by the ship's cooks, and except during the exceedingly rough weather, of which there were about two days, the meals were served with little difficulty. On board the U.S.S. Antigone (formerly the S.S. Neckar of the North German Lloyd Line) were the 2d Battalion, with the excep- tion of the platoon from Company D, the Machine Gun Company, and troops from other regiments. In charge of the troops on that ship was Major Mortimer D. Bryant, then commander of the 106th Machine Gun Battalion. Major Nicholas Engel commanded the 2d Battalion. Several members of the Division Show were on the Antigone, and entertained frequently during the trip across. Moving pictures were shown daily in one of the mess halls. On the morning of May 21, "Comin' Thru — Hot Stuff," a newspaper which got its name from a favorite expression of men on the mess detail, was published by Cor- porals Waddell and Sawtell. In the convoy in which the regiment went overseas were fourteen other transports carrying a heterogeneous lot of troops to the battle- fields. Accompanying the convoy was the U.S. Cruiser Frederick. "Abandon Ship" drills comprised a most important part of each day's program. Life-boats and rafts were conspicuously marked, and to each were assigned as many men as could safely be accommodated in an emergency. And immediately the alarm sounded each day com- panies formed hurriedly, and marched swiftly to their designated sec- tions of the ship and to the life-craft to which they had been assigned. A dozen smart-looking little torpedo boat destroyers bounded over p9] 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. the waves in the direction of our convoy during the sixth day at sea, and surrounded the fleet to afford protection through the submarine zone. The cruiser Frederick turned back. Like so many restless tots, the very businesslike destroyers zigzagged about our convoy, spurted ahead, dropped astern, dodged between the transports, and circled about, always on the alert for the sinister craft which infested those waters. There were those who pretended to be disappointed because no submarines were sighted, and there were those, too, who were contented to see the Navy gunners — cracks they were — work out with wooden conning towers, towed by other ships, as targets. Had we been on a pleasure voyage we should scarcely have been happier than we were on the transports. Complaints which filtered back to the United States respecting alleged deplorable conditions obtaining on Army transports certainly did not originate in the ranks of the 107th In- fantry. It was a pretty happy lot of doughboys who swung merrily down the gangplanks from the transports to lighters in Brest Harbor, and stood all over one another's feet while the strange French ferry- boat puffed them to the picturesque shores of a new land. A part of the convoy carrying troops whose identity never became known to the men in our regiment turned away from our fleet shortly after land was sighted, and headed for St. Nazaire. It must have thrilled those feeble little French mothers, those virile youths, and those demure maids who stood along the shores of the channel leading into the harbor on that 23d day of May when our formidable-looking fleet of transports formed in single file and slipped furtively through the pretty narrows to places of anchorage. Z*>1 FRANCE AND BELGIUM F^RANCE! — land of countless dreams, scene of the Great Ad- I venture! It seemed good at last to be there. Every mind ' in the regiment had been focused for many weary months upon these very shores, and he was a rare doughboy, in- deed, who didn't derive a distinct and pleasurable thrill from that first feel of French soil under his deck-shined brogans. The troops were ferried from the ships to an old stone quay and there assembled in battalions. As fast as the battalions completed muster, they swung into column of squads and started the five-kilo- meter march leading to open fields on the outskirts of Brest, where they bivouacked. This hike to camp led into a fairly populous section of the city, up a rather steep hill and out past the old Napoleon Barracks, a French military post said to have been established back in the time of the great leader whose name it bore. Needless to say, too many khaki-clad cohorts had tramped over that same route for the arrival of the 107th to occasion any undue excitement. French families gazed at us curiously from their balconies and windows, of course, but except for a few isolated instances, they watched us swing by without giving any sign of emotion. Not so with the French children, however. They trickled into the streets from every doorway, hailing us with shrill shrieks of welcome in a jargon few of us could understand. But we couldn't misunder- stand how they felt. They were children, after all, and children never do grow tired seeing soldiers. They followed us for blocks, begging pennies and cigarettes. They got them, too. Their welcome warmed the hearts of the men in the ranks; besides, they were such cute little shavers. Soon we emerged from the city into the countryside. Stretching away as far as the eye could see were hedged-in fields of fertile farm- lands, and yonder to the left loomed the ancient walled-in Napoleon Barracks, as they were known to soldiery. Their real name, which on I07th INFANTRY, U.S.A. was heard but little, was Pontanezen Barracks. And half a mile or so beyond, or, as we then began to learn distance, about one kilo- meter, were the fields where we were to pitch camp. Officers and men, alike, from Colonel Fisk down to the lowliest buck of the rear rank, rolled into blankets that night under the scant shelter of "pup tents." The night was cold and damp. With the lowering of dusk came a heavy, chill mist, and as the sun crept up over tree and hedge the following morning it transformed the slanting roofs of the tents into so many sheets of glistening silver. Upon our arrival at the camp, it was found that no wheeled trans- port was available to the regiment for food and water. The regi- mental supply officer immediately commandeered sixteen men from each company and dispatched them to the Pontanezen Barracks, where there was located a U. S. Quartermaster Depot. Far into the night these men trudged back and forth, fetching the vast sup- ply of edibles and water required to satisfy a regiment's appetite and thirst. The following day passed more or less uneventfully, but that night a courier brought orders to Colonel Fisk that the regiment would start from Brest the next morning on a journey by rail. The news sent a wave of expectancy tingling through the ranks. The men were thrilled with possibilities. Were we going directly to the lines? Would we hear the big guns sooner than we believed? Yes, those orders set the men to talking — and thinking. Next day was Sunday. At 4 a.m. the buglers set up a hubbub that would have quickened the dead. Hot coffee, a hasty breakfast. Down came the tents, damp and heavy with dew. Into the blanket rolls they went. Packs were slung. Off to the right a bugler tooted "At- tention!" A command, the rattle of rifles against shoulders, the muffled thump of feet on sod — we were off! The regiment was swinging through the main streets of Brest, the men whistling merrily, as daylight seeped through the darkness. The trees lining the streets seemed a-flutter with birds which twittered gayly as we thumped loudly along the rubble-stone paving. All seemed so peaceful, so restfully quiet. It seemed hard to reconcile that Sunday morning scene with war. But turning the corner of a particularly beautiful avenue a few minutes later, we forgot the warbling birds, the idyllic quiet of the sleeping city. We saw our first Germans! We beheld perhaps fifty Hun prisoners marching between blue-clad Poilus. Never could one imagine a more motley crew. They were unkempt of hair and person, ft % k* TYPES OF OFFICERS OF THE ALLIES 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. shockingly in need of razoring, and their uniforms were of every cut and color ever issued in Germany. They were on their way, no doubt, to do the chores devolving upon all captives. For the most part the men in the regiment marched by the enemy prisoners in silence, merely staring at them. Here and there, however, were a few chaps who could not restrain their desire to hail them. The Huns leered at every one who yelled at them, and they seemed callously indifferent to the information, imparted by one enthusiastic Yank, that there were already eight or ten millions of Americans in France and that many more on the way. Presently the regiment drew up alongside of three freight trains on a railroad spur near the water-front. We had read much of the famous 8-chevaux-4o-hommes box-cars of France; now we were piling into them. Dinky things they were at best, yet forty men were obliged to crowd, push, wriggle, and elbow inside of each one. And in each car, we found, were rations to last us several days. Inci- dentally, box-car travel rations always consisted of such simple delicacies as beans, corned beef, canned tomatoes, jam, and hardtack. The three trains pulled out in sections an hour apart, the first one starting at 7 a.m. It was a glorious day. The men forgot the dis- comforts of the crowded cars in the beauty of the landscape rolling by them. The quaint Arcadian farmhouses nestling snugly among their ripening acres, bits of splendid woodland, the rows of stately poplars fringing the roads — it was like gazing upon some wonderful idealistic painting. At way stations along the railway there were often large groups of natives out to wave us a bon jour. They were dressed, it seemed, in their Sunday best. Their low-crowned parochial hats, their black, loose-hanging capes and their wooden shoes won the interest of our lads. We noticed, too, the very apparent absence of young men. It was readily to be seen that France was drained of her young stalwarts. Verily, it is a thing most impressive to travel miles and miles through a country, and behold only old men, womenfolk, and children. All that day the three trains chugged along, and all that night and the next day. It was a weary journey. As night came the moon- bathed countryside seemed to take on an aspect somewhat ethereal, and the glowing cigarette ends inside the crowded box-cars looked like so many fireflies. Finding a way to stretch tired muscles in those cramped quarters was a problem tremendously hard to solve. If a fellow tried to lie down in the blackness of those cars he en- countered a veritable jungle of tangled legs and arms and squirming [>4:i AT THE HINDENBURG LINE FOLLOWING THE TANKS INTO POSITION BE LI! COURT , . ~- - fe > RESTING IN B^LLICOURT T t ^\-Kj* it BARBED WIRE AT HINDENBURG LINE ST. QUENTIN CANAL TUNNEL BEHIND THE HINDENBURG LINE GERMAN PRISONERS CARRYING AMERICAN WOUNDED BOUND 10R THE PRISON ( \>,l FRANCE AND BELGIUM bodies. At first it was a subject for jest, but as the night dragged on many a churlish wrangle took place because this or that doughboy happened to rest his feet on his neighbor's chin. During the trip several stops were made to give the men strong black cofTee brewed by French Red Cross women. It was served with- out sugar or milk, but to the lads it was pure nectar. Early on the second night of the trip the first section braked to a standstill at a railhead named Noyelles, near the mouth of the Somme. The order came to detrain, and with a joyful whoop of relief the men piled out of the stuffy cars and formed up alongside the tracks. That same night, within two hours, the regiment received its first lesson in actual Hun warfare. The 3d Battalion, the first section to reach Noyelles, had marched about a kilometer to a British transport camp and was devouring a mess of kidney stew dished up by "Tommy" cooks when it happened. The 2d Battalion was marching to a camp site allotted it and the 1st Battalion was just spilling out of the freight cars at the railhead. Perhaps not a single man in the entire regiment even suspected that we could be in any danger there. We were so far from the front that not even a distant rumble was discernible. Moreover, the moon was out in full spring splendor. The faint fragrance of budding blossoms pervaded the night. One might expect romance there, and on a night such as this, but war — never! The men would have laughed had anybody suggested the thought. But it came — and suddenly. The quiet of the night was shattered by a roar of guns, and, like an echo, muffled reports were heard from high above us. The boys looked at each other in gaping surprise, and then, as many beams of powerful light darted heavenward, all heads craned backward. Those searchlights told the story. A Boche air raid! Those barking guns were British "Archies." We listened. Distinctly now we could hear the throb of motors. From the sound of them, the Boche sky-raiders were circling directly overhead. The "Archies" were pumping shells skyward at a great rate now. The drone of the airplanes continued. Presently a series of violent explosions, preceded by a sort of whistling noise, came from off some- where to the right. German bombs! Again the lads looked at each other. Were those bombs meant for us? We wondered. We listened. We waited. What next? Following those explosions, however, the sound of the Boche air- planes grew fainter and fainter, and presently we heard it no more. ALLIES FRANCE AND BELGIUM The British guns ceased firing. Quiet came again. The old moon was beaming on the same as ever. The episode had passed like a bad dream. A ripple, a buzz, a veritable chatter swept through the ranks. How the men did talk about that first experience as they made ready to roll into their blankets for a night of needed rest! Next morning it was learned that the Boche air raid had been di- rected against a large British ammunition dump near Npyelles, and not against the regiment. The Germans very probably didn't know that Americans were within miles of that place. Their bombs, by the way, landed harmlessly in a plowed field a quarter of a mile from the regiment. We found Noyelles to be a British motor lorry center. A fleet of their lorries, in fact, hauled the regiment's baggage from the trains. They were driven in most cases by soldiers who, through wounds or other causes, were no longer fitted for front-line service. Indeed, some of those "Tommy" drivers were old enough to be the fathers of most of the men in the American regiment. Late the day following the regiment's arrival at Noyelles orders came to move again. Regimental headquarters were to be estab- lished in Rue, a near-by town, and the various companies marched to billets in smaller towns scattered about in a radius of about six kilo- meters. These billets comprised barns, spare rooms in houses, wood- sheds — anything that would shelter from five to fifty men. Gradually it began to dawn upon the men that the regiment, along with the rest of the 27th Division, was destined to co-operate with the British. A few days after our settling down in the billets that suspicion was confirmed. Our American Eddystone rifles, cartridge belts, and bayonets were collected and were replaced with British Enfield rifles, British belts and bayonets. Also, we were issued the regular British gas masks and steel helmets. Training began at once under the supervision of British officers and N.C.O.'s, men drawn from British combat organizations. Some of them were but a few days out of the line, and the instruction they imparted to us was up-to-the-minute, vigorous and very interesting. Day after day the men were piped out of their billets for long hours of intensive training. The area in which the regiment was billeted was a regular British training area. The system of areas and sub-areas as used by the British Expeditionary Forces in the zone of the advance was interest- ing. Each British army was assigned to a certain longitudinal sector running westward from the battle front, and these sectors were FRANCE AND BELGIUM always divided laterally into three areas — the battle area, the for- ward area, and the training area. We, of course, were working in the training area. The British administration of those areas was most complete and comprehensive. Each training area, for example, came under the supervision of an area commandant, sub-area commandants, town majors, and, in the smaller villages, billeting wardens. Commanders of incoming troops always conferred with these offi- cials and received definite and most explicit instructions as to where the men might be billeted, where water sufficiently pure to drink might be procured, and the thousand and one details officers must know of a country into which they are taking troops. It was from these sources, too, that maps of the country roundabout were obtained. These British maps were very accurate and ingeniously co- ordinated. Each sheet was numbered, and the country shown thereon was cross-sectioned by vertical and horizontal lines. The squares thus formed were lettered, and these in turn were cross-sectioned into smaller squares that were numbered. Thus it was exceedingly simple to refer to a certain location by a map co-ordination instead of a name, in the transmission of orders or messages. It is hard to imagine the difficulties that would have been en- countered in troop movements, or in the movement of supplies, had it not been for just such maps. Each British motor lorry, for instance, carried a road map fastened in a frame in plain view of the driver. These maps covered only that part of the country occupied by the army corps to which the drivers were attached, and the roads were indicated by red and blue lines. The red lines showed roads large enough for two-way travel, whereas the blue lines indicated roads permitting of one-way traffic only. Little arrows plainly showed each lorry driver which direction he must take on every road. As the days passed, the regiment was gradually receiving all sorts of British equipment — limbers, water carts, officers' mess carts, Maltese carts, rolling kitchens, harness and animals. The British field kitchens were exceptionally compact and efficient. In the midst of our training in the hinterland of Rue, word came that the men's barrack bags, which had been left behind at Noyelles, would have to be sent to storage in Calais. So the entire regiment, in company detachments, was marched to Noyelles to give the men a chance to remove from the bags any personal belongings which they might wish to keep with them. The time spent in the vicinity of Rue was always a pleasant Do] 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. memory among the men. On Sundays, or whenever they were free from duty, the men were wont to hike the dusty roads to Rue. It being the largest town round about, with a normal population of some 5000, it was the Mecca for all doughboy pleasure-seekers. Princi- pally, their bent was toward the several passable restaurants in the town. Doughboys on their day off were ever willing to trek miles for a change in grub. Somehow, the army menu seemed to grow monotonous. The upper part of a schoolhouse in Rue housed regimental head- quarters, as well as the headquarters of the 54th Brigade and a skeleton organization of the 2d and 8th Lancashire Fusiliers, which was attached to the 107th for purposes of instruction. The men of this unit would proceed every morning to the towns of Ponthoile, Mor- lay, Favieres, Forest Montiers, and St. Firmin, and conduct classes in the use of the British rifle, various types of grenades, gas masks, and so on. Another town to which the Yanks were attached, another place that witnessed a Yankee pilgrimage Saturday afternoons and Sun- days, was St. Valery. It was a town rich in historical lore, priding itself, among other things, as the birthplace of Jules Verne. In peace times it presumed to be rather a popular French watering place, and not a few of the lads peeled down to their basic garments and dipped in the surf along its broad sandy beach every time they went there. During the stay of the regiment in the Rue area, Captain Douglas C. Despard, Regimental Adjutant, was ordered to the Staff College at Langres, and he was succeeded by 1st Lieutenant Edward H. Kent, who acted as Regimental Adjutant throughout the entire campaign and was later commissioned Captain. Captain Despard never re- turned to the regiment. He was raised to the post of Brigade Adju- tant in the 91st Division at the end of his three months course and later became a major. Two weeks were spent in the Rue area. In the latter few days of that period the regiment suffered a great loss. Colonel Willard C. Fisk, commander of the regiment, held in deep respect and veneration by every single man under him, was ordered back to America because of illness. His farewell to his officers and men is printed on opposite page. Major Nicholas Engel assumed command by seniority, Major Mazet, who journeyed to France with the advance party of the regi- ment, having been assigned elsewhere. The first real physical ordeal the men encountered in France came on June 17, when the regiment was ordered into an area 22 kilometers D03 FRANCE AND BELGIUM COLONEL FISK'S FAREWELL LETTER France, June 15, 1918. Headquarters, 107TH Infantry, U.S. A Personal and Unofficial. To the Officers of the Regiment: My illness of the past two weeks has developed a physical condi- tion which leads my superiors to believe, and I am compelled to admit, disqualifies me from going further with the Regiment in this present enter- prise. I have been ordered to the rear, and if my condition will permit, will probably be returned to the United States. As 1 am leaving Headquarters to-morrow morning, I am deprived of the opportunity of personally saying farewell to each officer, and circumstances constrain me by this means to convey to them my appreciation of their ear- nest, efficient, and enthusiastic labors as well as their loyalty under my command, which has enabled us to bring to the battlefield at France a unit of which, I think, all may feel proud. As to my personal feelings arising out of this misfortune to me, it is perhaps unnecessary to speak, as I doubt not they will be generally understood. However, I may say that I will always cherish, be it for long or for short, the recollections of the asso- ciation with the officers of the Regiment, and indeed with the enlisted personnel, whose response to their officers has been so generous as to per- suade me that, in the trying days to come, they will, being led by gentlemen of your attainment, make a record of which our Country will be proud. In conclusion, I can only say good-bye — good luck — God bless you. Willard C. Fisk, Colonel. D'] 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. southwest of Rue. It was our first march in hobnailed shoes, and the route lay over roads that were hard and flinty. The men were extremely heavily laden. Besides their personal belongings, their rifles and the like, they each carried two blankets, an overcoat, and extra clothing. And the sun blazed hot that day as if with an angry vengeance. It was a hike all remembered. Regimental headquarters were set up in Vaudricourt, while the battalions were billeted in the villages of Cayeau Camp, Onival, and Woignarue. Three days the regiment abode in this region, during which time a highly realistic demonstration was staged by British officers and N.C.O.'s showing exactly how the Germans launched their famous cloud gas attacks. The regiment was lined up one night in close formation on a rolling plain edging on the English Channel, and a British officer lectured the men on various phases of gas warfare. Set into the ground in front of the regiment were a number of cylinders containing gas, sufficient (the Britisher said) to kill every man there. He explained that at a certain signal the gas in those containers would be released and allowed to float through the regiment, and that it was vitally impor- tant that no man should be tardy in slipping on his gas mask. The whole theory of the demonstration was to prove to our men the absolute protection afforded by their gas helmets — to instil into them utter confidence in the effectiveness of their respirators, a feeling of surety, of complete safety. A wise theory, indeed. As the regi- ment ere long found out in practice, gas was dangerous only to the fellow who was slow in getting his mask on. A rocket flared, bathing the regiment in a greenish-white glow that gave the men an appearance almost ghostly. A hissing sound came from the direction of the half-buried cylinders, and a mist-like cloud swept toward the waiting regiment. Steel helmets clattered to the ground with a mighty, muffled roar, and every man on the field shoved his face into his respirator instanter. After a few minutes the gas cloud drifted beyond the ranks and slowly dissipated. Gas masks were ordered off. The show was over. With their clothes reeking gas, the men tramped in battalions back to their respective villages and billets. Rumors flew the rounds at a great rate as the result of that staged gas attack. Those were great days for rumors, anyway. Some of the men regarded it as a sure harbinger of early action and others were inclined to agree with them when they remembered the fact that during our stay in the Rue area twelve men of the Intelligence D2] © Internatii nai Film Service Co.. Im SAYING "KAMERAd" TO THE CAMERA GERMAN PRISONERS IN PRISONER-OF-WAR CAGE (One Hun is wearing an American uniform) ■ f YPICAL GERMAN PRISONERS I \T CI II J* - ■ m — r - . J . -. * ; -;. GRAVES OF I(>7 1 H INFANTRYMEN IN CEMETERY A'l BONY, FRANCE. (TAKEN FEBRUARY, [Q20) ■;. .WYATT CO- I • I07TH INF -* . . "" GRAVES OF IO7TH INFANTRYMEN IN CEMETERY AT BONY, FRANCE. (TAKEN FEBRUARY, I920) w ?*JSil^iJ*C!^fij BURNING TANKS BACK OF WILLOW TRENCH FRANCE AND BELGIUM section under Lieutenant Brady, together with Captains Egan and Stratton, made a trip to the front line held by the British in the vicinity of Albert. Actually that excursion was made so that these officers and men might be able to impart to the regiment first-hand information about trench life. But the doughboys, ever ready to make a mountain of a molehill, agreed among themselves that this party had been sent to the line to prepare for the arrival of the entire regiment. During the regiment's stay in the vicinity of Vaudricourt classes were conducted in machine gun practice, bayonet work, and sniping. At the end of three days the regiment packed up and started east on a long hike that extended over several days. That was June 20. Nightfall of the first day found Regimental Headquarters at Arrest, and the three battalions bivouacked at Ribeauville, Estrebouf, and Drancourt. The Machine Gun Company, however, remained behind at Cayeau for an additional period of training, and did not rejoin the regiment until several weeks later. Early next morning the regiment was on its way again. Through- out the day the men plodded the winding roads, and at dusk they came to a halt with the Regimental Headquarters established in the town of St. Requier together with the 1st Battalion, and the 2d and 3d Battalions billeted respectively at Millencourt and Neuilly-le- Hopital. Again next morning the hike was resumed. The end of this day brought Regimental Headquarters to the town of Boisbergues, and the battalions to Le Meillard, Heuzecourt, and Montigny-les-J. It was stiff, tiresome going all the way. The men were not so heavily burdened during this daily hiking for the reason that all extra blankets and surplus property were being hauled behind the regiment in motor lorries and limbers. This hiking continued for about a week, and in the end Regimental Headquarters were set up in Haute Visee, and the battalions billeted in the villages of Grouches, Le Souich, and Bouquemaison. All of these towns were adjacent to the city of Doullens, which was almost a nightly target for German air raiders. Throughout the entire move- ment constant liaison had to be maintained between regimental head- quarters and brigade and division headquarters, and in turn with the three battalion headquarters. This, naturally, was essential to the dissemination of orders. It soon developed, as we stayed on in this area, that it was the mission of the 27th Division to hold itself in reserve along with other C33] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. American divisions that were distributed around that section of France to be ready to check an anticipated attack by the Germans. There was every indication at that time that the enemy was planning a lunge through the British line on that part of the front, and both British and American reserves were being concentrated at that point to checkmate any such attempt. Soon after the regiment arrived in the area it was marched up to what was known as the G. H.Q. Line behind Albert. This was a system of reserve trenches that was to be held at all costs in the event that the Boche was successful in his attempt to sever the British front line. The trip to these trenches was taken with a view to familiarizing the men with the positions they would take up and hold at the first warning of an attack. The road leading up to the reserve line was bordered on either side by a great number of carefully camouflaged ammunition dumps. The men of the regiment were astonished by the vast number of shells, large and small, piled everywhere, for few of them ever realized before what a tremendous supply of ammunition had to be kept behind troops in the line. Indeed, ammunition at this part of the front was particularly abundant because of the anticipated German thrust. Nor were these ammunition dumps the only signs of impending action. The route followed by the regiment took it past dozens of cleverly concealed British batteries of brand-new guns. These guns were all in position and ready to pump death and destruction into the Boche at a moment's notice. As a matter of fact, the artillerists manning them were half hoping that the Germans would try to ad- vance in that sector. It would have cost the Boche very dearly, and his chances of success would have been exceedingly small. The British gun teams seemed to be fairly itching to bang away at some- thing. They had been there for days without firing a shot, simply waiting. Theirs were silent batteries, to be fired only in emergencies. But the Boche airmen evidently were able to perceive all this prepa- ration. Days passed and still the threatened attack failed to ma- terialize. And as more days passed it became less and less likely. In fact aerial observers of the British soon began to report German troop movements westward. Activity behind the Boche lines now indicated that he was transferring his shock troops up in the direc- tion of Belgium. But the ten days the regiment spent in the Doullens area were not passed in idle waiting. Every day the companies were hiked to the outskirts of the towns in which they were billeted to perfect them- selves further in the various phases of modern warfare. The men D4] FRANCE AND BELGIUM threw themselves into the training with a will, for now that they were so close to seeing real action they all realized the necessity of know- ing as much about the art (if it may be called that) of fighting as they could possibly learn. July i came. On that evening a hurried order reached Major Engel directing the entrainment of the regiment. Though the men themselves did not know it, the Division was on its way now to Bel- gium. We were as pawns on the chess-board. As the Germans moved their attacking forces toward Belgium, so, too, were we moved to counter them. By dawn next day the entire regiment was awheel. It was another long trip. As the trains rumbled westward the men of the regiment gazed with wide-eyed interest upon a succession of damaged towns, and with each new kilometer covered the scenes along the railway showed more and more the effects of enemy shelling. Through the city of St. Pol chugged the trains. Signs of wanton enemy destruction were beheld in every direction. It was the first wholesale exhibition of Hun handiwork our lads as yet viewed, and their comments were interlarded with resolves to make the Germans pay. Late that afternoon the regiment reached the end of the journey by rail, part of the troops, including Regimental Headquarters, detrain- ing at Wizernes and the rest at the near-by city of St. Omer. This latter place bore hideous evidence of many Boche air raids, and ex- cept for a few tradesmen loath to leave, it was virtually deserted by its inhabitants. As a matter of truth, many of the refugee natives would have doubtless remained had they been permitted their own choice. It was our understanding that the citizenry of St. Omer had been ordered out of the city by the British military authorities. It was too close to the zone of operations for so many thousands of non-com- batants, for one reason; but the chief cause of the forced civil evacua- tion of St. Omer, as we got it, lay in the fact that the British, expect- ing a big German drive in that area, were desirous of having their rear unimpeded in the event of any necessary backward movement. It had been the experience of the British in previous Boche drives that when it became obligatory to shift troops back to auxiliary posi- tions in a hurry, the roads would be choked with fleeing peasants. Often these refugee hordes served to delay the bringing forward of reserve artillery and badly needed ammunition, food, and water. Hence the military necessity of clearing the battle areas of all civil population. [353 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. The tradespeople who remained in St. Omer were there by per- mission, chiefly for the convenience of the soldiers. Headquarters and the ist and 2d Battalions hiked from Wizernes to Broxeele, and the 3d Battalion from St. Omer to Buysscheure. It was a memorable jaunt for each of these detachments, probably total- ing in either case close to 20 kilometers. It was a hot, stifling march and the roads traversed led through flat country that in some places was swampish and unpleasant in odor. Billets were scarce in both Broxeele and Buysscheure, and most of the companies of all the battalions pitched shelter tents in fields in the outer fringes of each village. On July 4 the regiment passed in review at Buysscheure before Brigadier General Pierce, and in the afternoon the holiday was observed by an athletic meet and patriotic exercises. Addressing the men from the tailboard of a peasant's farm wagon, Brigadier General Pierce was in the middle of a fervent outburst of oratory when high overhead were sighted the glinting wings of a German air squadron. The men immediately scattered to the four winds, and sought cover under trees, for it was desired at that time to keep the enemy in ignorance as to the presence of Americans in that area. The following day the regiment took to the road again. At the end of the day's hike Regimental Headquarters and the ist and 2d Bat- talions established themselves in the town of Arneke, and the 3d Bat- talion continued on a short distance farther to the neighboring vil- lage of Ledringhem. The next move took the regiment to St. Laurent and Winnezeele, both towns near the city of Steenvoorde — that is to say, what had been the city of Steenvoorde. It had long since been deserted, and had for months been subjected to the almost daily shelling of the Germans. It was out of bounds for all troops except those who were obliged to go there on duty. Oddly enough, in view of the destruc- tion of Steenvoorde so close by, not a single German shell had up to that time been dropped into the villages of St. Laurent and Win- nezeele. Here again a large part of the regiment camped in the open under shelter tents. Before pitching their tents, however, the men were ordered to dig in sufficiently deep to afford them all possible protec- tion in the event that enemy shells should perchance stray into camp. Both of these villages were in the shadow, so to speak, of the important hill city of Cassel. This town was built around the crest of a hill which, overlooking miles of flat country, was considered by D6] 107th INFANTRY TRANSPORT PASSING THROUGH ST. OMER 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. military strategists as one of the principal keys to Calais. The Boche had been keeping a hungry eye on Cassel for many months; and although on fair days it was entirely possible to view the front line trenches from the heights of Cassel, the Germans for some un- explainable reason never attempted a bombardment of that vital Allied vantage-point. It was often said that the Huns spared Cassel from gunfire because it probably offered a haven for German spies. Had it been shelled, the military would have ordered all civilians to leave, and if there were German spies there they were probably masquerading as civilians. On July 13 Major Robert Mazet, who had left the United States with the regimental advance party, reported back to the regiment, and by virtue of seniority assumed command, relieving Major Engel. Major Engel reassumed command, however, on July 22, when Major Mazet was ordered to return to the United States because of physical disability incurred in the line of duty. Captain Richard W. Colman, of Company M, who had also preceded the regiment to France, was not so fortunate as Major Mazet in getting back to the regiment. Much to the disappointment of his men, he was assigned to duty else- where. The regiment was now assigned, along with the rest of the 27th Division, to the Second British Army under General Plumer. British intelligence reports showed every indication that the armies of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria were concentrated on the Flanders front, and all primed for an imminent grand offensive by which the Boche hoped to seize the Channel ports. Once again it was the part of the 27th Division, and also the 30th Division, to take up reserve posi- tions behind that part of the front extending from Ypres to Scherpen- berg. This reserve system was known as the East Poperinghe line. While at St. Laurent and Winnezeele various groups of officers and enlisted men of the regiment made daily tours of reconnaissance along the East Poperinghe line to determine upon the best fortified positions to take up should the German attack be launched. Incidentally other groups of non-commissioned officers were sent to the British front line system for purposes of observation and instruction. Corporal William A. Leonard, of Company I, a newspaperman of Flushing, L.I., was the first member of the 107th Infantry to be killed in action. Corporal Leonard was one of a party detailed for observation with a British unit in the Scherpenberg line, and on July 14, 1 9 1 8, he was killed when the enemy delivered an intense artillery "strafing" fire on the unit to which he was attached. [383 A FLANDERS BILLET 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. During this period in the vicinity of the East Poperinghe line some thirty men of the regiment who had been graduated from the Officers' Training School at Camp Wadsworth received their commissions and assignments to duty as officers, many of them leaving to join outfits in other divisions. On July 23 the regiment moved up closer to the front, establishing headquarters at an aerodrome near the city of Abeele, Belgium. This aerodrome was the headquarters of a large number of British bomb- ing planes which were wont to fly over Jerry's line every night with cargoes of high explosive bombs. In this same vicinity were a number of observation balloons, which were kept aloft from early morning until the approach of darkness rendered them useless. These big balloons resembled nothing so much as the heads of elephants, and they were, by the way, favorite targets of Jerry's artillery sharp- shooters. Several times each day a battery of Boche guns would concentrate on one of these British balloons, but immediately the shells began bursting too close for the comfort of the observers the motor trucks to which the balloons were anchored would tow them to one side and out of range. Near by the aerodrome was a British military cemetery in which were interred scores of bodies every day. One corner of that ceme- tery was destined to be charted off and assigned to the Americans, and there thirty-four heroes of the 107th Regiment were to find their resting place. This entire territory was subjected to constant shelling by the enemy during the time the regiment occupied it. On July 30 Captain Thomas J. Brady was assigned as Opera- tions Officer of the regiment, in which capacity he continued to function throughout the remainder of the active campaign. The illuminating story of the tactical operations of the regiment is told in detail by Captain Brady (later promoted to Major) elsewhere in this book. About this time the regiment selected its first candidates for one of the numerous Officers' Training Schools which had been established in France. On July 31 twenty-five picked men of the regiment de- parted for the Army Candidates' School at Langres, and were later commissioned. Subsequently in the active campaign two more de- tachments of twenty-five men each were detailed to attend these schools, and virtually all of them had either received their commis- sions or had been recommended for their commissions when hostili- ties ceased. OH DUG-IN AT BEAUVOORDE WOODS 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. Once more, on August i, the regiment rolled packs and moved. Headquarters proceeded to Boisdinghem, and the battalion head- quarters to the near-by towns of Acquin and Zudausques. All of these towns lay near the city of St. Omer, and for ten days the regiment was put through an intensive course of training at a rifle range about five kilometers northeast of Boisdinghem, near Nortleulinghem. Lieutenant William G. LeCompte directed the shooting as the Regi- mental Range Officer. And while some of the companies were busy on the range other companies were kept equally busy carrying out simulated attacks on imaginary machine gun nests. Both the thoroughness of the rifle practice and the peculiar character of the sham manoeuvres convinced the men of the regiment that real action was not far in the offing. As a matter of fact, many bucks with sport- blood were laying wagers by this time that the regiment was to receive its front line debut within a fortnight. They won. Near the Regimental Headquarters at Boisdinghem was a large British flying field with three huge canvas hangars. Great activity was noticeable there every day. Just before dusk each evening six or eight large bombing planes would wing their way aloft and cruise toward the enemy lines, bent on giving old Jerry "bally 'ell." Twice during the ten days one of these hangars became the playhouse for the divisional show troupe. Two lively performances were given for the men of the 107th. The British in charge of this flying field also treated the 107th to several motion picture shows. On August 2 the regiment came under the command of Colonel Charles I. DeBevoise, relieving Major Engel, who left a few days later to attend a school of the line at Langres. Colonel (later Brigadier General) DeBevoise came to the regiment with a splendid record dating back to the Spanish American War, at which time he was a sergeant in Troop C of the New York Volunteer Cavalry. He had been the Colonel commanding the First New York Cavalry dur- ing its service on the Mexican border in 19 16-19 17, which regiment he had commanded since December 19, 191 2. Colonel DeBevoise was to lead the regiment through the hardest and bloodiest battles in which the 107th participated, and in doing so he was destined to dis- play such rare ability of leadership that his promotion to Brigadier General was to follow as a matter of course. The men throughout the regiment soon learned to feel a genuine affection for Colonel De- Bevoise, for he was in everything a man's man among men, a firm commander, and a kindly friend. The rifle practice and manoeuvres ended on August 8. Immediately C42] CORRUGATED IRON NISSEN HUTS, CALLED "ELEPHANT" HUTS 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. the 2d Battalion left the area and preceded the regiment back to Winnezeele. Two days later headquarters and the other two battalions followed. Upon arrival the 2d Battalion made ready for battle, and, the men carrying light battle kits, it moved into the front line in that part of the Ypres salient in front of Mont Kemmel. The 2d Battalion was closely followed into the front line by the 1st and 3d Battalions. The 27th Division had relieved the British in that sector. Our 1 st Battalion relieved the Buffs; the 2d Battalion relieved the 108th Infantry and a part of the 23d Middlesex (British), while the 3d Battalion relieved the 105th Infantry and the Sherwood Foresters. That first trip to the front line trenches will ever remain graven upon the memories of the men of the 107th. The journey was made under cover of darkness, and along shell-torn roads that were fringed in many places by hidden batteries of British guns. Demolition, debris — all the horrible havoc of brutal warfare — lay in the path that led to the outermost posts of civilization. Enemy shells shrieked and exploded ahead and behind and on either side of the advancing groups of each battalion. The march forward, of course, was made in small detachments so that loss of life would be minimized should enemy shells find their targets along the road. The men talked but little as they trudged forward, and that little was usually in low whispers. On the surface, at least, there were few signs of nervousness, it apparently being the aim of every man to as- sume the cool, matter-of-fact demeanor of a fire-seasoned veteran. As these little groups drew nearer and nearer to their objective places in the front line there came to their ears the sharp, hateful stac- cato of machine guns sounding amidst the louder, more ferocious barks of the opposing artillery. It seemed ever so dark and ghostly up in that region of death and destruction. The sky was constantly stabbed and streaked by the vivid flashes of the heavy guns, and now just ahead could be seen the rocket-like flares of the Very lights. On a night such as this every man, so to speak, lived within him- self — that is to say, he seldom gave tongue to his innermost thoughts; and at times indeed he was apt to seem entirely oblivious of those around him. Even the comforting presence of his comrades could not keep him from thinking certain thoughts. On a night such as this every man learned to appreciate the grim, forbidding meaning of war. Once the front lines were reached, the men of the regiment were quick to realize that their initial period of close grips with the enemy was destined to afford every bit of excitement any one might desire. [443 A TYPICAL FRENCH BARN-YARD 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. The Dickebusch and Kemmel sectors proved anything but quiet. Old Jerry's artillery was restlessly active day and night, and likewise his machine guns and trench mortars. Moreover, his patrols prowled about No Man's Land and attempted a raid or two every bloomin' night, and of course such tactics had always to be met with similar tactics. The regiment began to suffer casualties immediately, and never a day or a night passed, from the time of occupation until the final re- lief was effected, that did not inflict a further toll of dead and wounded. It may be said with absolute assurance, however, that the Hun troops opposite the regiment experienced during the same period a far greater percentage of men killed and wounded. All told, the regiment defended the front and support line systems of the Dickebusch and Kemmel sectors for from ten days to two weeks, some detachments remaining in the lines longer than others. The last units moved back out of the forward area on August 23. In the meantime, on August 15, Captain J. Augustus Barnard, of Company K, was ordered to return to the United States for assign- ment to another division, and the regiment afterward learned that he had won his promotion to Major. Captain Barnard had been act- ing commander of the 3d Battalion, and upon his departure Captain Egan of Company I assumed that post. In moving back to the reserve area, the regiment again took up headquarters near the Abeele aerodrome, with the battalions scattered throughout the near vicinity. Then began a program of cleaning up. Daily inspections were ordered to see that the men removed from their equipment and clothing every vestige of trench grime. Besides these inspections the men were put through a daily course of manoeuvres and practices mostly of an offensive character so that they might be ready in a week or so to take up again a position in the front line system. But in the middle of this training for another period at grips with the enemy came the joyful news that the Germans had evacuated Mont Kemmel, and that the 53d Brigade of the 27th Division was in hot pursuit. For a day or so the regiment was held in readiness to join in this follow-up movement, but eventually word came that the Germans had made a second stand, and that the line had read- justed itself. Incidentally it was rumored throughout the regiment that the division would soon be off to another part of the front — that it was no longer needed in Belgium. On September 1 the regi- ment moved, taking to the road and hiking to the vicinity of Oude- [46] FRANCE AND BELGIUM zeele, which had been the headquarters of the 27th Division during nearly all of the activity in Belgium. Here the regiment lingered but four days, living in shelter tents. On September 4 we took to the trail again, and marched to a railhead at Proven via Abeele, and en- trained for we knew not where. The regiment was a-tingle with expectation, for most of the men believed that we were now on our way to join the American armies further south. The men were by no means tired of fighting by the side of the British, but a great many of them had a most natural desire to fight side by side with their own countrymen. Their guess, however, that they were now headed in that direction was wrong. The four trains bearing the regiment headed west instead of east, chugging straight into Calais and then swerving southward along the English Channel coast, through Boulogne and swinging back to Doullens, which town we had left on July 2. The trip to Doullens was unusually interesting in view of the route taken. Just outside of Calais were mountainous piles of quarter- master's supplies, also a great number of British remount depots, many hospitals, and several extensive kennels housing dogs which the British had trained for important war service. The hospitals visible from the trains were of every description imaginable. Some were merely clusters of large and small tents, and others groups of crude frame buildings or shacks. And painted on the roofs of all these hospitals or etched out on the ground with whitewashed stone or brick were huge white crosses that were in- tended to serve as a protection against German bombing planes. But at least one hospital camp proved that these crosses were of little avail when the Hun flew aloft with a cargo of bombs. Several of the frame buildings were reduced almost to splinters by enemy bombs dropped during air raids. Upon their arrival in Doullens the battalions marched about 10 kilometers to billets in the villages of Terramesnil and Beauquesne. Here the men settled down for a spell of "rest" — the "resting" comprising mostly daily manoeuvres, machine gun practice, and practising, with the aid of tanks, the latest methods of wiping out enemy machine gun nests. The 3d Battalion was singled out by General O'Ryan to demonstrate before all the officers of the Division the proper methods of attacking strong enemy machine gun positions. And among the spectators of this odd kind of show were General Read, commanding the Second American Corps, and his staff. [47] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. On September 10, Captain A. M. Smith, Regimental Supply Officer, was assigned to duty as assistant to the Division Quartermaster, and i st Lieutenant Hiram W. Taylor, of the Supply Company, was assigned as acting Supply Officer of the regiment, in which capacity HEADQUARTERS 3D BATTALION, ALLAINES he continued throughout the active campaign until the return of Captain Smith on January i, 19 19. Also, Captain M. B. Nesbitt, of Company G, was ordered from the regiment on other duty, and left on September 24. Upon his return to the regiment in December he was again transferred, this time to the Provost Marshal General's Department, G.H.Q., A.E.F. We were now attached to the British Fourth Army, General Herbert Rawlinson commanding. And in view of the peculiar nature of the training that was carried on in this area, the men soon began to suspect that they were about to take part in an offensive movement of some kind. For once their deductions proved to be correct. On September 24, the regiment entrained at Beauquesne and Rosel and box-carred through Amiens to the demolished town of Tincourt. Almost all of this journey was through a region that had not long been freed of the Hun, and the trail of Jerry was hideous indeed to behold. From Tincourt the regiment marched to Allaines, encamping on what had been but ten days or two weeks before the scene of a gallant C483 REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS AT CONNERRE, FRANCE, NOVEMBER, I9l8, TO FEBRUARY, I 9 I 0. RAILROAD STATION AT CONNERRE - I r: 1 1 THE SQUARE AT LE MANS ROAD FROM CONNERRE TO DUNEAU RIVER AT CONNERRE, SHOWING NATIVE LAUNDRY HOUSES H ■ LA CHAPELLE, FRANCE LA CHAPELLE, FRANCE COLONEL BRYANT AND STAFF INSPECTION AND REVIEW NEAR CONNERRE, FRANCE, DECEMBER 30, IQl8 LA CHAPELLE, FRANCE & STABLE SERGEANT BENJAMIN F. O'BRIEN s : *- SECOND LINE TRANSPORT ' J M WATER CARTS FRANCE AND BELGIUM advance on the part of the Australians. It was a rolling plain criss- crossed and scarred by old German trenches, and as numerous almost as the shell holes round about were the fresh white crosses marking the graves of the Australians who had fallen such a short time before. Scores of dead Germans lay unburied not far from the regimental bivouac. The men were warned against touching these bodies be- cause of the fact that the Germans had been found at the time to be indulging in the ghoulish practice of mining some of their own dead. Consequently the British issued rigid orders against any one touching a German body until it had been prepared for burial by the Royal Engineers. Scattered over these same shell-scarred fields were many captured German ammunition dumps together with great piles of clothing and equipment which had been salvaged from the German trenches. Among these stores were many German machine guns, and during the several days the regiment encamped there the men were taught RUINED CHURCH AT ALLA.INES the use and operation of these enemy guns. This instruction, by the way, was of great value later when opportunities arose for some of the men of the regiment to turn on the Germans the fire of their own guns. Near Allaines was a deep valley honeycombed with old German dugouts. This valley was, in fact, a veritable series of catacombs, and was an ideal place where the men were permitted to experiment with all the types of hand grenades the Germans had left behind. [49] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. A number of Australian officers and N.C.O.'s were now assigned to the regiment, and word was officially passed to the men that the regiment was on the eve of one of the biggest offensive actions of the war. The Australians assigned to the regiment were to serve in a liaison capacity when the time came for the regiment to assume its place in the attacking forces. On September 26 each company commander lined up his men and explained in more or less detail the task ahead of the Division. The men learned that the 107th was assigned to attack the Hinden- burg Line at a point bounded on the south by Guillemont Road, and on the north by the Lempire-Vendhuile Road. This sector included such German strongholds as Sart Farm, Duncan Post, Doleful Post, Egg Post, Guillemont Farm, the Knoll, and continued east up Mac- quincourt Valley to the St. Quentin Canal tunnel, and thence on to Le Catelet. This area is clearly shown on the map, and the tactical movements of the units are fully covered in a special chapter dealing with the battle of the Hindenburg Line printed elsewhere in the book. The men learned from their company commanders that they would go into the line carrying nothing but the most necessary articles, such as emergency rations, a few toilet necessities, and with the light slickers instead of overcoats. They were to leave behind all other property that would, if they were to take it with them, only serve to wear down their fighting stamina. On this same day one officer and one non-commissioned officer were sent from every company to the front line to learn the exact location of the units to be relieved. Incidental to being told of their own part in the approaching con- flict, the men also learned that a local attack had been planned for the following morning in which the 106th Infantry was assigned to take and hold the Knoll, one of the principal outposts of the main Hindenburg Line. And so when the men were suddenly awakened the following morn- ing, jarred from their sleep by a terrific volume of cannonading to the north, they knew that the 106th Infantry had begun its battle. It was just dawn, and as the men lay in their blankets and realized what their comrades of the 106th were going through they joined together in a series of lusty cheers. That same morning camp was broken, and the men with their lightened packs began the march up to the line about noon. During mid-afternoon a halt of about an hour was made to give the battalion FRANCE AND BELGIUM commanders a chance to impart to company and platoon commanders some newly arrived information that necessitated a few minor changes in the attacking plans. As the men tramped on toward the front the roads became more and more filled with reminders of the recent fighting of the 106th Infantry. As a matter of truth, there seemed to be one endless stream of ambulances filled with wounded working toward the rear. It was an impressive contrast — on one side of the road a moving column of robust, normal fighting men in the pink of condition, and on the other side of the road an apparently interminable train of ambulances moving slowly to the rear with men who only a few hours before had been as these men now advancing toward the front — strong, virile, hopeful. Eventide brought the regiment to the line of observation balloons, which were about due to descend when a squadron of Boche planes swooped into view and focused an attack on two or three of these gas bags, and not without success. One of the balloons burst into flames, and from the burning mass could be seen the tiny figures of two observers leaping into space and dangling from the tails of their parachutes. Instantly the near calm of desultory artillery fire became a veritable pandemonium of barking anti-aircraft guns. Flashing searchlights burned into the thickening dusk, and phosphorescent tracer bullets streaked across the sky like tiny meteors. And the Boche airmen soon turned tail and sped toward the Fatherland. The battalions had by this time turned off the road and were now stacking arms and preparing to make short shrift of whatever the cooks had to offer for evening mess. The "pot wrestlers" of the various companies got busy with their rolling kitchens, and soon produced a meal that was at least hot if not sumptuous. It was not yet entirely dark, and shortly following the hasty meal, Father Hoey, one of the regimental chaplains, took advantage of the time and conducted an impressive religious service attended by several hundred men. Then began the last leg of the journey. The march from now on might well be termed spectacular. With every step, it seemed, the artillery fire from both sides grew more and more intense until soon it was literally one long drawn out roar like the roll of countless supernal drums. The guns of both sides seemed to spit hate that night with a vengeance. The road the troops were moving along was lit up intermittently but often by the vivid flashes of carefully concealed batteries, often so close at hand that the flare of the guns temporarily blinded the plodding doughboys. C5'] 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. To make matters worse, almost as soon as it became fully dark the roads swarmed with wheeled transport and this rolling traffic eventu- ally became so dense that it was necessary for the regiment to march in single file, Indian fashion, on both sides of the road. In the weird light of flashing cannon, that crowded road presented a strange spectacle. The center of the road was jammed with motor trucks, limbers, combat wagons, artillery, ambulances — every wheeled vehicle, in fact, known to the army. British soldiers from the world over — Hindu Ghurkas in their picturesque turbans, New Zealanders, Australians, and English Tommies — leaned forward in their seats and shouted at their horses, and at times turned to exchange banter and good cheer with their friends the Yanks, whom they knew to be on the eve of action. The regiment passed through the crumpled town of St. Emilie. Just outside the ruined village came a halt, and the tired troops threw themselves down by the roadside to snatch a welcome few moments of rest. But those anticipated few moments dragged into minutes. A hasty conference of the battalion and company commanders was called up at the head of the column somewhere, and almost an hour went by while the men lay against their packs, wondering what had happened. German shells were bursting in the fields on either side of the road, and the crackling sputter of machine guns told the men that they were not far distant from the front lines. In fact, the leading groups of the regiment were at this time halted in the wreckage-strewn remains of what had been the village of Ronssoy, which was only several hundred yards from No Man's Land. Eventually word was passed back through the ranks that the delay was caused by the uncertainty that existed as to the whereabouts of the various units of the 106th Infantry we were to relieve. Even aeroplanes had been unable late that afternoon to locate any definite new line established by the 106th Infantry following its attack early that morning. That conference of officers, then, was to decide upon the disposition of the 107th, now that the plans of relieving the 106th had gone awry. Presently the regiment began to move again, and, with guides assigned to each company, the battalions proceeded to their respective positions in what had been virtually the same line held by the 106th prior to that regiment's early morning assault against the Knoll. Meantime the transport and kitchens had been left behind in a deep valley where they were sheltered from enemy balloon observa- tion. Here the cooks toiled during the day preparing the food that C52] CROWDED ROAD NEAR RONSSOY, FRANCE 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. was sent forward after darkness to the men in the trenches. These rations came up to the trenches in big metal containers constructed after the fashion of thermos bottles, so that the food was kept hot until served. The bringing forward of food and water at this particular part of the front was extremely hazardous. The roads were so congested with traffic that no speed could be made with the limbers, and the Germans kept these roads under constant heavy shell fire. Although many men and animals of other regiments lost their lives in this way, the 107th was most fortunate. It lost but few animals. None of its transport men was killed on the road. With the coming of daylight the men of the regiment began cautiously to look around and get their bearings. Perhaps ordinarily they might not have been so curious to view their surroundings, which of course meant risking their heads above the top of the trenches, but they seemed one and all eager and anxious to get a peek at the famous Hindenburg Line which they knew lay just ahead of them. There was little to see, however, but the usual shell-torn waste and desolation, with the one exception that the German barbed wire was unusually high and deep. All that day the German artillerists kept up a harassing fire on the regimental positions, and a number of the companies sustained casualties. But old Jerry wasn't the only one tugging at his gun strings that day. The British and Australian batteries behind the regiment tossed back two or three shells to every one hurled their way by the Hun. And this was at least comforting to the ground- hugging, shell-pummeled doughboys. On the night of September 28 the regimental trenches were astir with preparations for the attack, which, the men learned, would be launched the next morning. Extra ammunition, water, and reserve rations were brought forward and distributed among the men, to- gether with a supply of shovels which the men were to carry over the top with them, and to use in "digging in" at the end of the advance. The N.C.O.'s then checked up the companies to see that every man had received his extra ammunition, his reserve rations and water, and that he was not minus his first aid packet. Once these details had been attended to, the men settled down to await the crucial moment. They were quiet now for the most part. They were gathered in little groups in the trenches, saying little, thinking much, and smoking cigarettes. Meantime, a considerable distance out in front of the trenches, the intelligence sections of the three battalions were busy laying out a C54] FRANCE AND BELGIUM tape line that was to mark the starting-point of the attack. Inasmuch as the various units of the regiment were scattered in positions along a very irregular front, it was necessary that a tape line be laid so that these separated groups might at the last moment line up to start the attack in an even line. TRENCH AT REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS, SEPTEMBER 29, 1 9 1 8 At about four o'clock in the morning of September 29 the orders came to the company commanders to distribute their men along this tape line, and forthwith began the lining up for what proved to be one of the most momentous battles of the whole war. The 107th was but a mere element in what was taking place about that time along a front of forty miles. To the right of the Second American Corps the entire Tenth French Army was preparing to attack simulta- C55: 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. neously, and to our left the Fourth British Army likewise mane vred into positions for a general push forward. It may have been that the wily Boche had with his aeroplanes and balloons sighted some of the preparations behind the Allied lines for this attack. It may have been that intuition told him that we were about to set upon him in a veritable avalanche. At any rate, he seemed to know that the attack was imminent, for his guns were pounding ferociously about the time we started forward to assume our positions along the "jumping-off" line. Shells shrieked and droned and crashed everywhere, and scores of men went down, killed or wounded, even before the actual attack was precipitated. The only men in the regiment who were aware of the exact "zero hour" were the officers and sergeants. The battle was scheduled to start at 5.50 o'clock, and every unit was in readiness at least fifteen or twenty minutes before that time. As the men lay waiting in shell holes for the signal to start the sky grew lighter and lighter, and the darkness all about thinned into a misty dawn. The prearranged signal that was to start the Allied troops in this memorable assault against the Hindenburg Line, the Hun's one last redoubt, was the starting of the barrage that was to creep like a cur- tain in front of the foremost wave of attacking infantrymen. That barrage, however, when it did come, served as little protection to the waves of storming doughboys. Because of the fact that it was believed that certain small groups of the 106th Infantry still remained out in front of us, partly cut off by the enemy, the barrage was dropped fully 1200 yards in front of the first attacking wave. And there were countless Germans within that distance and left perfectly free, without danger from the barrage, to operate their machine guns at will. The barrage opened with a sudden, unearthly roar, thousands of cannon that were massed behind the infantry to a depth of several miles bursting into action simultaneously. Up rose the doughboys, glad to be free of the strain of waiting, with a chorus of impetuous yells. And quickly, like a veritable echo, all the reserve artillery of the enemy, together with his vast array of machine guns, flamed into action, and flung death and destruction squarely into the faces of these men who meant to sweep through Jerry's impregnable defense before the guns were stilled. Elsewhere in this volume is told in detail the valiant record of the regiment made in this mighty struggle that hastened the German capitulation. [56] '*w f- ,i<«^»- < <*.- _J < (I • > UJ -J '* '<•»• <£ «B* fa.. . .■" * U2252i!£™ © International Film Service Co., In< VICTORY ARCH OVER FIFTH AVENUE AT 25th STREET, NEW YORK CITY Photographed during the 27th Division parade March 25, 1919 Showing the crowd which broke through the police lines @ Dnderwood & Underwood, N. 1. 27th DIVISION PARADE, MARCH 25, 1919, NEW YORK CITY Bird's-eye view taken on upper Fifth Avenue, showing Municipal Grandstand and Central Park, as well as the crowd which surged into the street FRANCE AND BELGIUM From the very beginning of the attack the many dressing stations slightly to the rear of the attacking forces began to receive a steady flow of shot-torn wounded. And all the roads leading to the rear soon were choked with slowly moving ambulances and motor lorries that were pressed into use to help us convey men back to the railroad centers where hospital trains stood waiting. Incidentally hundreds of captured Germans were soon marching back over these same roads, guarded by doughboy M.P.'s. These scenes continued all that day, throughout the night, and all the next day. And on October i the decimated ranks of the 107th ROAD OPPOSITE REGIMENTAL HEADQUARTERS AT RONSSOY were relieved by the Australians and removed from the line where they had been clinging with grim tenacity to the ground that they had captured. During the attack which they had just gone through these weary men of the regiment had witnessed many phases of warfare which they had rarely seen in all their experiences in Belgium. For example, they had seen warfare in the air far more spectacular than any furious combats which they had viewed in Belgium. The heavens on that morning of September 29 were literally flecked with combating squad- rons of planes, large and small. Moreover, they had beheld the D7] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. stirring scene of many monster tanks lumbering like juggernauts toward an enemy frantic and wavering. And of the tanks that had started out ahead of the men nearly all had been blown up by for- gotten English mines at the very height of the battle. The relieving of the regiment began shortly after midnight on October i, and by four o'clock that afternoon the little groups of ON THE TAPE BEFORE ZERO HOUR men representing the various companies — a pitiable remnant of a regiment once proud and strong — reached the town of St. Emilie. The cooks had waiting for the survivors a splendid hot meal, and some of these hardy fellows actually wept when they beheld the devastation wrought in the ranks of their companies. Of the entire regiment only about six hundred officers and men were now well and sound, and soon after they had arrived in St. Emilie the regimental colors were C58] FRANCE AND BELGIUM brought out and the band struck up that old familiar march, "Gray Jackets." It was touching. Once this simple reception was ended, the men walked about among the other companies, inquiring for relatives and friends, and meeting with many disappointments. Following about an hour in St. Emilie, the regiment moved on and camped that night at Saulcourt. The following day, October 2, it proceeded to Doingt, where the men were billeted in Nissen huts until October 7. Here the regiment was re-outfitted with new uniforms and other clothing, for most of the men were in rags. The huts now hous- ing the men had, by the way, sheltered Germans but a few days before, and all around were visible many signs of recent Boche occupation. From this camp, too, could be seen the ruins of Peronne, and also visible was a large British casualty clearing station where many of our men had been brought for treatment, and where many had died and now lay buried in a large military cemetery close at hand. Once more, on October 7, the regiment, now appearing more like a battalion than a regiment, moved up toward the lines, camping that night near Tincourt. Late the following day hurried orders were re- ceived to move. The men were soon under way, marching toward Bellicourt. The route taken struck straight across country over old abandoned trenches, through wire entanglements, and past many signs of recent hard-fought battles. A temporary military road had been built of thick planks, and it was filled with the usual mass of troops and transports, ambulances, artillery caissons, and all the parapher- nalia of war. Just west of Bellicourt the regiment came to a halt and bivouacked for the night, digging in for protection. Next day the men learned that they were following up the now rapidly retreating German armies, and all that day and for several days after that the dough- boys pressed onward on the heels of the fleeing Boche, proceeding through Brancourt and Montbrehain. That part of the Hindenburg Line which the regiment crossed near Bellicourt seemed to be almost entirely constructed of concrete, and lined with deep shell-proof dug- outs that connected up with underground tunnels to the St. Quentin Canal. Signs of fighting and victory grew more and more evident as more ground was covered. Huge P.O.W. cages were passed. These were merely enclosures of barbed wire filled with hundreds of German prisoners of war. All about lay hundreds of enemy dead. Montbrehain, where the regiment camped for a night, had been 1591 JONCOURT FRANCE AND BELGIUM particularly ravaged by the Germans before they gave it up. They destroyed practically all of the furniture and civilian property, which had not already been damaged by shell fire, and the streets in this village bore much evidence of hand-to-hand fighting with American troops of the 30th Division. On October 10 the regiment had progressed to the outskirts of Fremont, and on the following day it again moved on to Sabliere Wood in the vicinity of Busigny. Soon after nightfall the regiment received orders to relieve the 11 8th Infantry of the 30th Division, which was in the line in the general neighborhood of Vaux-Andigny. And while the regiment was on the way to this point the orders were changed so that it was to relieve not only the 1 18th Infantry but the 1 20th Infantry as well; and inasmuch as the 107th was then only some 500 rifles strong, the commanding officer dispatched word to Division Headquarters requesting reinforcements. In response to this request, the regiment was joined by a battalion of the 105th Infantry. From October 1 1 until October 22 the regiment was constantly in action, and it was during the operations of this period that Colonel DeBevoise was notified of his promotion to Brigadier General. He did not, however, relinquish command of the regiment immediately. The official notification of his rise in rank came through October 16, but he "carried on" with the men, and led them through the sub- sequent battles of La Selle River, Jonc de Mer Ridge, and St. Maurice River. The campaign in which these three battles and several lesser engage- ments were fought was a gruelling one, taxing the strength and forti- tude of every man in the regiment. Not only was the fighting strenuous, but the weather during the entire eleven days was wet and cold and generally disagreeable. Only the men themselves will ever know the hardships through which they passed during those bleak, trying days. The regiment held the line in the vicinity of Vaux-Andigny from October 1 1 until October 16, suffering a number of casualties. Then, beginning October 17 and lasting until October 22, came the series of three battles already mentioned, during which the thin ranks of the regiment sustained a further 246 casualties, including 40 killed in action. The morning of October 17 witnessed the regiment going over the top in the vicinity of Busigny to drive the Boche out of his position along that part of La Selle River. The attack was entirely successful. That night Regimental Headquarters at Busigny, and a part of U. S. ARMY FIELD MESSAGE TIME FILED *0j6. JT SENT.BY I TIME I RECEIVED BY I TIME ■THESE SPACES FOR 3ICNAL OPERATORS ONLY__ Af F l&J-i.lh nfj>v.z~ y y — . . how bent : <±^2a — lgL - U. S. ARMY FIELD MESSAGE TIME FILED NO. SENT. BY I TIME | RECEIVED BY I TIMe .THESE SPACES POR 3 ION AL OPERATORS ONLY__ II ' .«- ""J*" SPACES POR 3IONAL OPBJ ^V^ F — ■ — s Frora_ *j£ ^^^ru^tlu^^/ .4** v LTiiderw 1, X. V NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY DECORATED FOR THE 27TH DIVISION PARADE, MARCH 2i HONOR ROLL OF OFFICERS 2D LIEUT. BEN. M. RAM BO fijil 2D LIEUT. CARL J. STOCK 2D LIE! I . HARRY W. ROBINSON ,-,i MONUMENT ERECTED NEAR BONY, ERANCE HHB 2D LIEUT. \ I HERBERT G. M. FISCHER - ! W'"""t/- _____ _, © REGTL. SGT. MAJOR WILLIAM W. HOBERT REGTL. SGT. MAJOR JOSEPH D. WALSH © REGTL. SGT. MAJOR GORDON D. HOXSEY © HAM) I I \l)l K LAWRENCE M. MALI COl "K SG I . HERMAN D. STUCKY COLOR SGT. JOSEPH V. BLAKE © BATT. SGT. MAJOR JOHN H. TINGLE © BATT. SGT. MAJOR STEPHEN H. GORDON BATT. SGT. MAJOR THEODORE A. KUNST, D.C.M. REGTL. SUPPLY SGT. JOSEPH P. CANTWELL REGTL. SUPPLY SGT. EDWARD B. FRENETTE REGTL. SUPPLY SGI . ARVID F. GUM \l SON © REGTL. SUPPLY SGT. GERALD F. JACOBSON, HISTORIAN Kl (.1 I . M I'l'l ^i -i.l . CHARLES E. SWARTZ REGTL. SUPPLY SGT. 1HOMAS R. H. SMITH STABLE SGT. © BENJAMIN F. o'BRIEN ORDNANCE SGT. JAMES R.AYER THEY ALSO SERVED BATTLES IN WHICH THE 107th INFANTRY PARTICIPATED MINOR ACTION, EAST POPERINGHE LINE Belgium, July 9 to August 20, 1918 This action consisted of constructing and occupying the 2nd position opposite Mont Kemmel during a time when the enemy was expected to make heavy attacks. The position was under close observation from Mont Kem- mel and was subjected to observed artillery fire by day and continued fire by night, inflicting daily casualties. The position was occupied by 3 battalions and 1 machine gun battalion at a time with 6 battalions in reserve, regiments alternating. All the troops above mentioned also went into the front line by battalions for eight days at a time during this period. Enemy opposite the front of the 27th Division: Divisions of Prince Rupprecht's Group of Armies. MINOR ACTION, DICKEBUSCH SECTOR Belgium, August 21 to 30, 1918 This action consisted of holding the Dickebusch sector (vicinity of Dicke- busch Lake), front line, repelling raids, making raids and patrols, being under continual artillery and much machine gun fire with perfect observa- tion from enemy position on Mont Kemmel. Enemy opposite the front of this Division: Divisions of Prince Rupprecht's Group of Armies. BATTLE OF THE HINDENBURG LINE Vicinity of Bony, France, September 29-30, 1918 The battle of the Hindenburg Line was a prepared attack; the Third British Corps on our left, the Second American Corps, the Australian Corps, C89] 1 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. the Ninth British Corps participating, in connection with other British troops to the left and the Tenth French Army to the right. Enemy opposite the front of the 27th Division: 2d Guard Division 185th Infantry Division 232d Infantry Division 121st Infantry Division 54th Infantry Division 75th Infantry Division BATTLE OF LA SELLE RIVER Vicinity of St. Souplet, France, October 17, 1918 The battle of La Selle River was a prepared attack, the enemy having made a determined stand, using the stream as a defense, the Third British Corps, the Second American Corps, Ninth British Corps participating, in connection with Tenth French Army to the right. Enemy opposite the front of the 27th Division: 204th Infantry Division 24th Infantry Division 243d Infantry Division 15th Rifle Division 3d Naval Division BATTLE OF JONC DE MER RIDGE Vicinity of Arbre-Guernon, France, October iS, igiS The battle of Jonc de Mer Ridge was a prepared attack, the Third British Corps, Second American Corps, Ninth British Corps, Tenth French Army participating. Enemy opposite the front of the Division: 204th Infantry Division 24th Infantry Division 243d Infantry Division 15th Rifle Division 3d Naval Division ENGAGEMENT AT ST. MAURICE RIVER Vicinity of Cotillon, France, October 19-20, igiS The engagement at St. Maurice River was an advance, including an at- tack of machine gun nests with enemy infantry and artillery resistance, to the line of the St. Maurice stream. Enemy opposite the front line of the 27th Division: Parts of 204th Infantry Division Parts of 24th Infantry Division Parts of 243d Infantry Division Parts of 15th Rifle Division 03 OPERATIONS IN BELGIUM IN recording the experiences of the regiment in Belgium, memo- rable scene of the 107th Infantry's initial actual contact with the enemy, perhaps the best procedure would be to outline in detail the movements and actions of just one of the battalions. This should suffice for the simple reason that each of the battalions under- went virtually the same things under the same conditions, except on different dates. There were, of course, many minor variances of epi- sode, but not to a degree warranting a special review of each indi- vidual battalion's record. Hence we shall treat with the 2d Battalion. Its Belgian service was typical in most respects of that of the other two battalions, except that the 3d — or rather Company L — repulsed one enemy attack that was directed against it alone. But more will be said of that later. On August 8 the 2d Battalion, commanded by Captain Maxwell B. Nesbitt, left a rifle range near St. Omer and moved by narrow gauge rail to Winnezeele. Detraining, the men marched to the outskirts of Steenvoorde, a deserted and shell-ravaged Belgian town just over the border, and bivouacked for the night. Early the next day the battalion and company commanders re- ported to the officer commanding the nth (British) Queen's, sta- tioned near Abeele, their mission being to complete the arrangements for the battalion's first tour of duty in the front line. The men of the battalion meanwhile broke camp and were marched to Beauvoorde Woods under the command of Lieutenant William G. Le Compte. There they awaited the orders that would bring them their first op- portunity to show their mettle against the wily Hun. On August 10 orders came for the battalion to move, and about two o'clock that afternoon the companies slung their battle equipment, and moved toward the front, accompanied by the men of the 11th Queen's. on 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. Once the units passed through Steenvoorde, the road leading to the trenches was screened on the enemy side by high fences of wire netting interwoven with strips of burlap. The enemy could, of course, see this screening any time during the day, and the Boche gunners knew perfectly well that it was there to obscure from their view an important highway. The only value of such camouflage was, there- fore, that it hid troop movements, and prevented the Hun artillerists from knowing just when and where to drop their shells. The tramp forward continued far into the night, and it was not until after midnight that the battalion, moving into the lines in small groups, had finished relieving part of the 108th Infantry in the front line and the 23d Middlesex (British) in support. The sector occupied was directly opposite Mont Kemmel, and the men of the battalion were scattered on a front about 1200 yards wide. The front line was divided into four sections, or posts. There was an outpost line split into two sections. The right half, known as Butterfly Farm, covered about six hundred yards front, and the left half, Garden Farm, covered about the same frontage. Behind these two farms about three hundred yards was a formidable strong point known on the map as Fermoy Farm, and then still a bit farther to the rear was a line of resistance running irregularly behind Wedge and Shoe woods. This was known as Bermuda Trench. One company occupied each post. The companies occupying the outpost line were stationed in a diamond formation — that is, a platoon at each point about two hundred yards apart. Three platoons formed the line, and one platoon remained in support of each company to act as a counter-attacking force in the event of any enemy attempt to capture the forward positions. The company that held the positions at Fermoy Farm had one platoon holding a post at Kimberly Farm, which served as a special support. The men of the 2d Battalion and the 11th Queen's were formed into two provisional battalions known as Battalions A and B. The Britishers were to remain only for several days, being there merely to acquaint the men of the 107th Infantry in the heterogeneous detail of trench life. They found the Americans aptly swift in learning the numerous phases of modern warfare, and both Yank and Briton alike took every opportunity to fraternize, swapping yarns and cigarettes, and discussing the relative attractiveness of French mademoiselles and "the girls from home." The distribution of the various companies was as follows: OH OPERATIONS IN BELGIUM Company G, Lieutenant Marston E. Drake commanding, to- gether with the men of Company A, nth Queen's, occupied the right and left front line at Butterfly and Garden farms. Company H, Captain Rowland Tompkins commanding, to- gether with the men of Company B, i ith Queen's, occupied Fer- moy Farm, with a smaller force stationed at Kimberly Farm, and still another detachment garrisoning the line of resistance in the rear of Wedge Wood and Shoe Wood — Bermuda Trench. Company E, Captain Harry W. Hayward commanding, and Company F, Captain George P. Nichols commanding, occupied, jointly with Companies C and D of the i ith Queen's, the various support positions. During the first night in these positions the British platoon com- manders were in charge of the Americans as well as their own men. The location and disposition of the troops continued the same the next night, except that now the American platoon commanders were in complete charge. On the night of August 13 the men of Company G were united and posted to hold Garden Farm, and at the same time the men of Company H were gathered together and stationed in the posts at Fermoy Farm and Kimberly Farm. Companies E and F remained in their original positions. In accordance with orders received late on August 14, the units in the forward positions were relieved by those who had been occupy- ing the support positions, the former retiring to the position of the latter. Two nights later Company E assembled at Garden Farm, while Company F took up positions on Fermoy Farm with three platoons and at Kimberly Farm with one platoon. Before daylight on the morning of August 17 the British were withdrawn from the line, and the entire 2d Battalion took up positions in the front line under com- mand of Captain Maxwell B. Nesbitt. The battalion held these foremost positions until the night of August 18-19, when it was relieved by a battalion of British troops. Needless to say, this entire tour of duty was fraught with episodes that the men will long remember. Mont Kemmel afforded the enemy every advantage. From its heights Boche observers could view the surrounding country for miles, and it was imperative that the troops occupying the Allied lines remain absolutely quiet during the hours of daylight. There were few, if any, complete communication C93] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. trenches in this area, and with alert Huns scanning the topography from sun-up to sun-down, it was impossible even to move men wounded to the rear except under cover of darkness. The nights, by the way, were very short at that season, there being scarcely more than six hours of real darkness. True, there were but six hours of night as the clock recorded them, but to the men peering over the para- pet into the weird shadows of No Man's Land each one of those hours naturally seemed interminable. The men soon learned that front line trench duty entailed a great deal more activity than gazing over the top or blazing away toward the enemy. They found that they were obliged to be laborers as well as warriors, and that every night brought its round of laborious chores — digging, stretching barbed wire, carrying and laying duckboards in soggy strips of trench, bringing up water, rations and ammunition, and carrying back the dead and wounded. Yes, soldiering in the front line was anything but a tea and mac- aroon party. Every night saw little bands of determined Yanks crawl over the parapet and wriggle on their bellies into the black of No Man's Land to examine or patrol the ground near the enemy's line of barbed wire. These nightly patrols were sent out sometimes to fulfil the mission of raiding parties, bombing out Hun machine gun posts that may have been particularly annoying during some part of the day or night. All in all, the men discovered that warfare under these conditions contained none of the vainglorious romance they may have dreamed of months before. It was a sordid, smelly, sickening business. They quickly discovered the truth of the canny Scotch saying that the hardest lot a soldier in the front line had to endure was "keeping the head down and the heart up." There were casualties, of course— there were always casualties in that sector. Old Jerry shelled incessantly. And the only consolation the burrowing foot-sloggers had was the knowledge that the British artillery somewhere behind was flinging back Jerry's way crescendos of iron rations in much greater volume, and, the men hoped, with much greater accuracy. Furthermore, splendid news of Allied successes all along the front to the south had a tendency to depreciate in the minds of the men their own discom- forts and losses. In fact, advices of Allied victories came filtering up forward in such numbers that the members of the 2d Battalion Intelligence Sec- tion were prompted to advertise these German reverses to the Ger- [94] OPERATIONS IN BELGIUM mans themselves. Behind the lines there was painted in sections a huge billboard affair, made of wood framework and canvas, screaming in large German lettering all the dire news that they knew the Huns would never receive otherwise. The sections of this big sign were carried to within a few feet of Jerry's barbed wire by stealthful and determined groups of Yankee scouts toward midnight of August 17. Under the direction of Lieu- tenant Earle D. Grimm, 2d Battalion Intelligence Officer, these vari- ous component parts were assembled and erected so that every Hun in the opposite trenches could easily read it the following day. It was an extremely hazardous undertaking, but it was finished without mishap. Word of it was passed along the trenches, and by morning probably every man of the 2d Battalion was chuckling over this unique coup of their comrades. The British on either side of the battalion likewise appreciated the daring and roguishness of this typical Yankee exploit. Boche sentries discovered the sign through the first gray mist of early morning, and long before they could read its message. They must have had their reading "specs" trained on it, however, for the moment it was light enough for the lettering to be distinguishable the men of the 2d Battalion could hear the Huns jabbering their guttural curses. Old Jerry, however, was too cunning to attempt any other means of destroying the sign than that of training on it a number of his field-pieces. He sensed the fact that it probably was mined, and he, therefore, chose to tackle its destruction from a distance. It took several hours for his artillery to batter it down, but meantime every Hun in the area probably had read its message. The 1 st and 3d Battalions experienced their front line duty in Bel- gium of the sector held by the 2d, the 1st Battalion occupying posi- tions in the vicinity of Ridge Wood and Scottish Wood, and the 3d Battalion holding a section of the line in advance of Dickebusch Lake. The 3d Battalion — or rather Company L of that battalion — met with circumstances that were somewhat different than those confront- ing the other units. The Boche troops holding the trenches opposed by the men of the 3d Battalion were unusually and vindictively active, carrying out a number of vigorous raids on 3d Battalion positions. The most noteworthy of these actions was precipitated against Company L early on the morning of August 22. Three platoons of Company L were boxed in by an enemy trench mortar barrage and a wave of German infantrymen swept across No Man's Land in an effort to surprise and learn something about the new troops who had [953 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. displayed such exceptional activity on nights previous. Their ulti- mate object was to take prisoners from whom they expected to obtain information of military value. The men of Company L, however, despite their newness to trench warfare, quickly proved themselves worthy adversaries. A platoon of Company L, which had been occupying a small strip of trench slightly to the rear in close support, charged over the top and into the front line to support the other three platoons. The men sprang to positions on the fire step of the trenches, and with machine guns, rifles, and hand grenades inflicted terrible punishment on the attacking forces. The right of the line held by Company L projected at an angle to- ward the enemy, and here the Boche raiders almost gained a foothold. The little group of Americans holding that wing of the trench reso- lutely stood their ground, and although greatly outnumbered, were able in the end to fight off the attackers. Among these men was Corporal Randall Henderson, who so dis- tinguished himself that he was later awarded the D.S.C. and the British Military Medal. Mentioned in orders with him was Private George Delahay, who eventually received a Division citation. These two were the first men of the 27th Division to be decorated and cited for gallantry in action. In the entire Belgian campaign Company L suffered the heaviest casualties of any company in the regiment, and its behavior in the face of the aforementioned enemy attack was given complimentary recognition by British G.H.Q. C963 THE BATTLE OF THE HINDENBURG LINE ON September 24 the regiment left its billets in the rest area where it had been putting in several weeks of vigorous training in offensive tactics following its last engagement in the vicinity of Mont Kemmel, Belgium, and moved forward to re-enter action on a new front. Entraining at Rosel, the regiment proceeded to Tincourt, a village north of Amiens, which was as far as progress could be made by rail at that time. From Tincourt the regiment marched over battle-torn roads to Allaines, bivouacking on an open plain near Allaines about five o'clock on the morning of September 25. The regimental and battalion commanders entered into a confer- ence with the division and brigade commanders at Allaines soon after the arrival there, for the purpose of discussing the plans of the im- pending operations. Following this conference the battalion com- manders passed on to their company and platoon commanders the maps and details covering what proved to be the regiment's greatest action in the war. Subsequently, the company officers lined up their men and explained in detail the work that lay ahead. The Allied advance all along the Western Front had brought the Fourth British Army to a position facing the Hindenburg Line between Cambrai and St. Quentin, probably the most formidable defense sys- tem the Boche had constructed during the entire war. And it was at a point midway between these cities that the Second American Corps was assigned to make a grand assault in a titanic endeavor to breach this one remaining obstacle to ultimate victory. The Second Ameri- can Corps was now officially attached to the Fourth British Army. The Hindenburg Line between Cambrai and St. Quentin was recognized by military strategists everywhere as one of the strongest fortified positions ever known in military history. As a matter of fact, the Boche had heralded far and near his confident boast that here at last was a defense that could not possibly be broken. L97] 1 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. The Canal de St. Quentin, which formed a natural barrier behind the Hindenburg Line, entered into, at the point where the 107th was destined to attack, a subterranean channel of pre-war construction, and this the Germans had ingeniously turned to their advantage. They had linked up this canal tunnel with their elaborate trench system by means of underground saps and passages. The tunnel itself afforded splendid shelter and protection for thousands of Ger- man reserve troops, and the labyrinth of connecting tunnels rendered all that part of the Hindenburg Line easily accessible to these fresh troops in the event of an emergency. In other words, should any part of the Hindenburg Line be threatened, reinforcements could be rushed to that point immediately, and all the while be shielded from the danger of Allied fire. Nor was this all. Some of these tunnels ran to cleverly concealed openings beyond the foremost German positions, so that in the event of Allied troops capturing the German front line trenches, the Boche reserves could readily rise up in No Man's Land, and thus have the assaulting forces between two fires. The Hindenburg trenches themselves were skilfully laid out and powerfully constructed, in many places being fortified with reinforced concrete and numerous so-called "pillboxes." Moreover, deep artil- lery-proof dugouts were unusually plentiful, affording the garrison troops complete protection against Allied shell fire. As a further barrier, the entire Hindenburg Line system was hedged in front with extremely broad belts of barbed wire, probably the strongest and most extensive layout of entanglements ever established on the Western Front. This wire was at places eight to ten feet high. It, of itself, presented a tremendous problem. The Hindenburg defenses commanded a clean sweep of a broad undulating valley beyond which, following the crest of a hill, was still another line of Boche trenches strongly fortified and protected by still another array of barbed wire. These outlying Boche positions occupied places known on the map as the Knoll and Guillemont Farm; and a short distance beyond these strong points was the final German outpost line strongly held by machine guns. In order that the main assault might be launched against the Hin- denburg Line itself, the plan was to attack from this outpost line. A part of this line to the south was already in Allied hands, and the task of capturing the remainder and straightening out the starting line of the 27th Division front was assigned to the 106th Infantry. Once the 106th Infantry had achieved its goal, the plan was that the C98] BATTLE OF THE HINDENBURG LINE main attack would be delivered by the 107th Infantry on the left and the 108th Infantry on the right, in conjunction with the Fourth British Army to the north and the 30th American Division and the Tenth French Army to the south. The 107th Infantry was to attack on an 1800-yard front facing the open canal on the left and the northern part of the canal tunnel on the right. As it was scheduled, the 1st Battalion would fight its way forward on the left toward the open part of the canal; the 3d Bat- talion would attack on the right toward the tunnel. The 1st Battalion was to halt when it reached the bank of the canal, but the 3d Battalion was to continue battling its way forward across the roofed-over part of the waterway. The 2d Battalion, following close behind, and followed in turn by the 105th Infantry, was to make a turning movement at this juncture and protect the flank of the 3d Battalion that would be left exposed when the latter should break contact with the 1st Battalion. Later on the Australians were to press forward and pass through the American front and continue on with the advance. Such were the facts given to the men as they rested at Allaines. On the morning of September 27 the regiment started the march to the front line, preceded by an advance party of intelligence officers and officers and non-commissioned officers representing each company, who were to reconnoiter the situation of the 106th Infantry prepara- tory to the relief by the 107th. At a halt during the march the plans were again carefully explained to the men, and upon arrival at a field west of St. Emilie, where a hot meal was served, the report of the ad- vance party was received. The 106th Infantry in its attack that morning had taken the out- post line; but in the face of an overwhelming counter-attack, the weakened force had been unable to consolidate and hold its objective, and the whole area of its advance was being contested in several isolated engagements. The only organized line on which a relief could be effected was the original start line. Following receipt of this news, the regiment moved forward again under cover of night. It was a most difficult march thenceforward. The roads were so congested with all kinds of traffic — artillery, troops, horse and motor transport — that it was necessary for the regiment to move forward on and off the road between caissons and trucks, the men marching in single file. After pressing through the maze of traffic and the jumbled ruins of Ronssoy with a few casualties, the relief was accomplished under most trying conditions. The darkness and the intermingling of units [99^ 1 07th I N FANTRY, U.S.A. of the 106th with a battalion of the 105th Infantry supporting them during the attack, and their poorly defined positions, not to mention a harassing enemy fire, made locating all of them extremely difficult. But by 5 a.m. the relief was completed on substantially the original jumping-off line of the 106th Infantry. During the relief Captain Nichols, commanding Company F, was wounded. The 1 st Battalion entered the line to the left immediately opposite Fleeceall and Egg Posts; the 3d Battalion occupied the right of this line as far south as Duncan Post, with the 2d Battalion in support. Throughout the night patrols from the regiment prowled about No Man's Land looking for detachments of the 106th, but they found only enemy troops at all points. As originally planned, the artillery barrage for the attack on Sep- tember 29 was to start on a line 1200 yards in advance of the position now held by the 107th. The regimental commander, Colonel DeBe- voise, requested that the barrage start line be brought back to this position, but British Fourth Army Headquarters ruled that the bar- rage must remain as planned, presumably because some of the artil- lery was already placed for it, and because of the detached units of the 1 06th still believed to be on our front. After conferring with the division and brigade commanders, the regimental commander decided to make every effort to push for- ward to a position near the barrage start line before zero hour. Colonel DeBevoise requested that two field-pieces be assigned to the 1st Battalion, but this request could not be granted, it was said. On September 28 combat patrols were pushed forward. On the left a patrol sent out by Lieutenant Crump captured Egg Post and two machine guns after a sharp struggle. Lieutenant Buell and Lieuten- ant Hellquist each led patrols forward. On the right, patrols under Captain Bradish and Lieutenant Walrath met with formidable resist- ance. Throughout the early part of the night other patrols were sent forward to dislodge the enemy, but all such attempts resulted only in desperate fighting and casualties without appreciable gain, and it became evident that it was impossible to win ground except by a general assault. Time was sought by the Division Commander to make a separate attack, but the operation of the whole army could not be delayed. Regimental and battalion dumps were established. "Iron" rations, grenades and extra ammunition, were distributed, and the tape marking the line of departure was laid by patrols, led by [100] BATTLE OF THE HINDENBURG LINE the i st and 3d Battalion Intelligence Officers. This was a most dangerous job. On the left, the tape was put down within 20 yards of the Boche positions. One hour before zero the units were formed for the attack. Accord- ing to plan, the 1st Battalion on the left and the 3d Battalion on the right lined up on the tape. The 2d Battalion was behind the 3d. Just before zero hour a composite battalion of the 106th Infantry, numbering about 300 men, reported and took up a position between the 3d and 2d Battalions of the 107th. They were attached to the 107th Infantry for the special duty of "mopping up" the trenches and dugouts captured by the assaulting waves of the 3d Battalion. The Machine Gun Company supported the left flank of the 1st Battalion, and the Stokes mortars and 37 mm. guns were distributed to the 1 st and 3d Battalions. Regimental Headquarters was at this time in a sunken road west of Lempire, where it remained until zero hour. When the barrage started headquarters moved forward to Kent Lane. The 105th Infantry formed behind the left of the 107th and in touch with a liaison company of the British. A few minutes before zero hour the tanks, five to each battalion, rumbled up to the line. All was ready. The men waited quietly, jaws set. At 5.50 a.m. our machine gun barrage came down, and every man in the regiment was on his feet, awaiting the cue to attack. A few seconds later the artillery barrage thundered down upon the enemy. The battle was on. The entire regiment promptly moved forward, some of the men cheering. The enemy all along the line sent up SOS signals of green-over-green rockets. Very lights illuminated the entire front line, and although it was still quite dark every man could plainly be seen silhouetted against these dazzling Hun flares. The regiment made a most impressive appearance, viewed from the rear. The interval between the men was regular — the attacking waves straight and steady. All moved forward at a fast walk. At first few casualties were observed. The Boche was shelling the Lem- pire road. On the left Companies B and C, constituting the foremost assaulting wave of the 1st Battalion, met the Boche in force 25 yards from the tape in Fleeceall Post and the trenches around Tombois Farm. The line did not hesitate; the leading wave bent down and bayoneted all Huns offering resistance. Company D mopped up the captured trenches and sent sixty prisoners to the rear. The enemy counter-barrage now came down — it was exactly 6 o'clock. The ten-minute interval was sufficient to permit the entire C«"3 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. regiment to escape this heavy shelling, but enemy machine guns were exacting a sad toll. The tanks, which were preceding or going along with the infantry, now began to have trouble. One after another, they were blown up by enemy land mines — but the men kept moving forward. The Hun opened up a murderous fire with his machine guns on our left flank. Our men were being cut down rapidly, but still they pressed ahead. According to the Army plan, the British on our left were to advance 44 minutes after us. In the meantime we had to protect this left flank. Our machine gun company retaliated and tried to silence the Boche, but the fire from the left became more and more intense. Our men were falling fast. Lieutenant Crump, commanding Company B, was killed just as he charged up the Knoll. The men moved forward with greater speed, killing in the trenches the enemy who opposed the advance and sending the few who surrendered to the rear as prisoners. The enemy fire upon the exposed flank was now fearful, but the leading waves of the 107th rushed forward to take the Knoll and its trench system. A number of trenches not shown on the map were crossed, and "Nameless Trench" reached. There a terrible hand-to- hand fight took place. Lieutenant Buell, commanding Company C, was severely wounded and the 1st sergeant led the men up to Lion and Knoll trenches. In the meantime, Company B had crossed the latter trench and was moving up Macquincourt Valley with Company A following. The men of B and C were now subjected to a fire from three sides and Lieutenant McAnerney was severely wounded. Lieu- tenant Terry of the same company, who had been acting as right guide of the battalion, was also wounded; but he remained in the fight. It was now necessary to give more protection to the left flank. For some unexplained reason the British, except the liaison company following the battalion, had not advanced on the left and the Boche had started down in force from Vendhuile. Captain Andrews arrived with the Machine Gun Company, and both he and Lieutenant Adsit were wounded, but refused to go to the rear. Lieutenant Willis was killed and Lieutenant Gadebusch badly wounded. All were with the Machine Gun Company. The fighting for the possession of the Knoll was most costly, but the men hammered on until the Boche was driven out. The place was promptly mopped up. Prisoners were few, as hand-to-hand con- flicts were necessary before the trenches were finally cleared. The line reformed and the attack continued, but the unprotected [102] BATTLE OF THE HINDENBURG LINE flank now became a mark for every kind of hostile fire, particularly intense up the Macquincourt Valley. The line hesitated for a moment, attempted to go forward, and then, from sheer weakness of numbers, stopped. Then men dropped into shell holes under the German wire, and then attempted to struggle forward by crawling. At this moment a thick black cloud of smoke from our flank barrage blew up through the Macquincourt Valley and obscured the whole situation. The Boche wire became an indeterminable maze, but the Yanks staggered blindly forward in small groups toward Hidden Trench. Meantime the main attack on the left had been stopped. At this time Lieutenant Mclntyre, commanding the Stokes Mortar Platoon, and later reported missing, was last seen beyond our positions as the smoke lifted. The enemy immediately counter-attacked, but the men had paid too dearly for the ground won to budge so much as an inch, and the counter-attack was defeated with heavy casualties among the Huns. Two battalions of the 105th Infantry were now coming up on the left. The enemy again counter-attacked and was again driven off. The British were seen moving forward on the left at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, 9 hours late. While the left had attacked the Knoll, the right had charged Guille- mont Farm. The enemy contested the advance and were killed as each trench was reached. Few surrendered. In the ruins, in hedges, in every copse were concealed Boche machine guns, and as the men charged up the slope they received this murderous fire full in their faces. Officers at the head of their men rushed forward. Captain Drake, commanding Company G; Lieutenant McKenna, commanding Company H; Lieutenant Robinson, 3d Battalion, Intelligence officer; and Lieutenant Dennis, commanding Company F, were wounded. By this time the 3d Battalion had been so decimated in numbers that the 2d Battalion and the composite battalion of the 106th Infantry had come up into the blank places in the assault wave. More than a third of the regiment were now casualties. Captain Hayward and Lieutenant Hammond were killed at this point, and Lieutenant Schwab mortally wounded, all with Company E. It was rifles, bayonets, and bombs against machine guns. Captain Egan, commanding the 3d Battalion, was wounded just as the combined units hurled themselves in one last assault upon Guillemont Farm and its network of defenses and were met by an increased intensity of fire from the desperate Hun garrison. Captain Nicoll, commanding Company L; Lieutenant Hall, commanding Company I; Lieutenant r.'°3] 1 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. Cramer, commanding Company M ; Lieutenants Walrath, Com- pany M, and Rambo, Company K, were killed, and Lieutenant Floyd, 3d Battalion Adjutant, was wounded. But the line could not be stopped. Non-commissioned officers and privates took command when officers had fallen and led the advance bravely and skilfully. Through the smoking ruins of the Farm, over machine guns spitting death to the last, bombing "pillboxes" and dugouts, they went. As they emerged from a hedge on the other side, they felt the full fury of the enemy fire from the southeast and from the front, which further reduced their depleted ranks. Lieuten- ant Byrns, who had assumed command of Company L, was severely wounded, but kept on until wounded again. The thin line struggled forward until it struck the unbroken wire in front of Guillemont Crescent Trench. There it stopped. Further progress was impossible. Hurricanes of fire were hurled on them as they vainly but valiantly tried to cut their way through the wire. Then the survivors dropped into shell holes and established a defense line in the enemy wire. A number of men in the 3d Battalion made an opening in the wire and pushed forward through the smoke, penetrating the support trenches of the Hindenburg Line, crossing the canal, and moving for- ward until they reached Gouy. Airplane observers later verified the presence of these men in Gouy. To the left Guillemont Farm had been taken. In the center the troops had advanced to occupy the trenches between Guillemont Farm and the Knoll, and Willow Trench was successfully occupied after strong resistance and in spite of heavy fire. Then the men rushed forward to take Lone Tree Trench. As they approached its protective wire, the heavy smoke heretofore referred to enveloped them. They thrust around, vainly looking for an opening through which to advance. The wire, however, was intact, and their entire line held by flanking fire from Vendhuile and from Bony. In spite of its intensity, however, small groups advanced to Lone Tree Trench and passed over it, reaching the Hindenburg support line. Their bodies, found later, gave mute but glorious evidence of their heroic determination. The line which was established in the wire was withdrawn to Willow Trench to form a better defensive position, as a counter-attack was expected momentarily. Outposts were maintained in Lone Tree Trench to hold it against the enemy. Later in the day Guillemont Crescent Trench was successfully occupied by troops of the 2d and [104] BATTLE OF THE HINDENBURG LINE 3d Battalions, who bombed their way foot by foot up the trench until the last of the enemy had been captured or killed. At this time there were no company officers in the 2d Battalion. In fact, the entire regiment had but five company officers left. More than fifty per cent, of the assaulting troops were casualties. Major Gillette, commanding the composite battalion of the 106th, and Cap- tain McDermott and Lieutenant Brandt, two of his company com- manders, were badly wounded, and Captain Blaisdell was killed. There were no officers left with this battalion, and the men in it joined our 2d Battalion. The positions gained during the battle were maintained throughout the day under gruelling artillery and machine gun fire and constant rifle sniping. All positions were organized for defense when the Australians came up later and took up a secondary defensive position. Later in the day the center surged forward again, reinforced by tanks, but this movement was stopped by heavy fire of enemy artillery and machine guns; and the tanks, which were relied upon to pierce the wire, were all destroyed. Every tank that started with us in the morning was now out of action, nearly all due to old British mines. No further advances could be made. Defensive positions were held that night, every available man being used in the line. During this time the wounded were evacuated under heavy fire and at times with great difficulty. All day September 30 and the morning of October 1 the Americans and Australians subjected the enemy support position in the Hinden- burg Line to heavy fire and worked their way forward. Trench after trench was cleaned up and enemy machine guns put out of action. The Hindenburg Line was lost forever to the Boche. So heavy were his casualties and so demoralized his forces that he was unable to make another determined stand until he reached La Selle River, ten miles beyond the Hindenburg Line, where we again met him and drove him beyond the Canal de la Sambre. The regiment was relieved in the afternoon of October 1. The Headquarters Company remained on the field to assist in collecting and burying the dead, work presided over by the chaplains. More than sixty machine guns, some heavy trench mortars, several anti-tank guns, and an enemy airplane which had been shot down within our lines, were taken and collected before we left the battlefield. Many other enemy spoils were salvaged later. The regiment entered the action with an average of 1 50 men and slightly less than 2 officers to a company. There were lost during the 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. fight ii officers killed, 10 wounded (8 seriously), i missing; and 324 men killed and 874 wounded. There were captured by the 27th Division in the battle of the Hin- denburg Line, 17 Hun officers and 1782 ordinary Huns. SlIMt am. HEAJJLiUAK'lXKS fOKl Of EMBARKATION Name ol Port PASSENGER LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING. OUT THIS FORM Separate (lata ol TWELVE COPIES EACH will be tilled out by each company or detachment commander u follows: lit Class: Officers arranged according to rank, Army Field Clerks. Field Clerks Q. M C, Nurses and Civilian Employeos. Names to be numbered ( •ecutlvcly, beginning with No. 1. ad Class: No n-co mm Us lotted Officers down to and Including Color Sergeant (see A. R-. Par. 9). 3d Class: All Enlisted men below Color Sergeant (Par. 9. A R.). arranged according to usual formation of the Company , that Is, BV SQUADS To bo filled 11, bj Oit. full D.m« or orgam- 1 z.t.oo. locludin* comp.ny J .0,1 rag.meot.Uouto.lioo \ llrm Number Pha*e To be filled iq bv U.>t u IV, ,.,„ „.-! Adjourn . | Hole ol Soiling Name of Transport or 1 Poet NAME AND SERIAL NUMBER NOTIFY IN CASE OF EMERQENCV re nine In lull lor eion Leave double epnte between entrlea All typewriting m„.i be In CAPITAL LETTERS HEADING OF PASSENGER LIST WRITTEN FOR ALL ORGANIZATIONS BEFORE EMBARKATION CI063 OPERATIONS REPORT OF HINDENBURG BATTLE Headquarters, 107th Infantry October 4, 19 18. THE following report, covering the period from Septem- ber 25 to October 2, inclusive, is submitted pursuant to memorandum dated October 2, Headquarters 27th Divi- sion: This regiment, having entrained at Rosel and Authieule on Sep- tember 24, arrived and detrained at Tincourt at 2 a.m. September 25, and proceeded by marching to Allaines, arriving at 5 a.m. Orders No. 93, Appendix a, b, c and d, Orders Nos. 94, 95, and 96, Field Orders Nos. 49 and 50, Hqrs. 27th Div., supplemented by Field Orders Nos. 19 and 20, Hqrs. 54th Brigade, were received during the above-mentioned period. Five conferences were held: one on September 25, 2 p.m., at Div. Hqrs. at which were present: Maj. Gen. O'Ryan; Brig. Gen. Pierce; Col. Jennings and Battalion Commanders of 108th Inf.; Australian Corps Commander; Brig. Gen. Brand of Australian Brigade; Tank Officers; Col. Chas. I. DeBevoise, commanding regiment; Maj. Nicholas Engel, second in command; Maj. Raymond A. Turnbull, medical officer; Capts. Clinton E. Fisk, Rowland Tompkins, and Raphael A. Egan, commanding 1st, 2d, and 3d Battalions respec- tively; Capt. Thomas J. Brady, Operations Officer; 1st Lieut. Edward H. Kent, Acting Adjutant; 2d Lieut. Eugene L. Mullaney, Regi- mental Intelligence Officer. All details of the attack on the Hinden- burg Line were discussed. 8 p.m., September 25, a regimental conference was held at which were present: Col. DeBevoise; Maj. Engel; Capt. Brady; Lieut. Mullaney; Lieut. Wilson, commanding Hdqrs. Co. and 1 -Pounder Cannon Platoon; Lieut. Mclntyre, commanding Stokes Mortar Pla- toon; Lieut. Freeman, commanding Signal Platoon; Capt. Andrews, C I0 7] 10 7th INFANTRY, U.S.A. commanding Machine Gun Co.; Lieut. Taylor, Regimental Supply Officer; and Australian officers attached to regiment. Capt. Brady read his notes of division conferences and Col. DeBevoise went over the entire situation. Conference at 9 a.m., September 26, at which were present: Col. DeBevoise; Maj. Engel and all battalion commanders; Capt. Brady; Lieut. Kent; Capt. Henry B. Heylman, liaison officer to brigade; Lieut. Ldwin L. Holloway, liaison officer to 108th Infantry Regiment (right flank); and attached Australian officers. General situation discussed and plans made. Conference at 6 p.m., September 26, at which were present: Maj. Gen. O'Ryan; Brig. Gen. Brand, Australian Brigade; Brig. Gen. Pierce; Col. Jennings, Commanding Officer, and Capt. Ziegler, Opera- tions Officer of 108th Infantry; Col. DeBevoise; Maj. Engel; Capt. Brady; and battalion commanders. New developments were dis- cussed and plans formulated. Conference at 9 p.m., September 26, at which were present: Col. De- Bevoise; Capt. Brady; Lieut. Kent; Lieut. Holloway; Maj. Turnbull; Lieuts. Taylor and LeCompte of Supply Co.; and Capt. Twining, Australian Brigade. Discussion of supplies, ammunition, and medical arrangements. At these conferences all preliminary arrangements were made and orders issued to all unit commanders. Attached Field Order No. 28 dictated. On September 28 attached Field Order No. 29 was dictated, prac- tically all the information contained therein having been discussed at the conferences held on September 26 and 27. Maps were distributed down to platoons and the information gained at the various conferences was conveyed to the company officers and by them to the enlisted personnel. Maps were shaded with colored pencils so as to give the men an idea of the conformation of the terrain. Under the supervision of the Australian intelligence officers a ground map was started showing the ridges and valleys, trenches and canal over which the regiment would attack. This map was viewed by a limited number of men because the regiment moved out before it was completed. Compasses were checked, officers and non-commissioned officers were told off as guides and watches syn- chronized, all small arms thoroughly cleansed, gas masks inspected, and ammunition checked up. Advance parties under regimental and battalion intelligence officers proceeded to the front line to arrange for the relief of the 106th Infantry. C.o83 REPORT OF HINDENBURG BATTLE The regiment left Allaines at n a.m., September 27, 1918, and proceeded to Ronssoy by marching. A stop was made for one hour on the dry weather track to Longavesnes, where battalion com- manders assembled their officers and platoon leaders and gave final instructions relative to the relief and attack, and another stop was made in a field one half mile west of St. Emilie for supper. Due to the heavy traffic and numerous blocks on the road from St. Emilie to Ronssoy and shelling of said road, the regiment at times had to proceed in single file on and off the road and did not reach Ronssoy until almost 1 1 p.m. A conference was held at the headquarters of the 106th Infantry, F 21 b 2.1. Present: Brig. Gen. Pierce, 54th Brigade; Col. Taylor, 106th Infantry; Col. DeBevoise, Maj. Engel, Capt. Egan, CO. 3d Bn.; and Capt. Brady. Col. Taylor frankly confessed that he was unable to give us the location of the units as most of his officers had been killed or wounded in the attack carried out that morning, and no reports had been received by him. His operations officer, Capt. McDermott, was called in and stated that the regiment occupied substantially the same line as it had formed on in the morning, with isolated detachments out in front perhaps as far forward as Willow Trench. Toward the end of the conference Capts. Fisk and Tomp- kins, commanding 1st and 2d Battalions respectively, arrived and were informed of the situation, as were also Capt. Andrews and Lieut. Wilson, commanding Machine Gun and Headquarters Companies respectively. The battalion and separate units took up their position in line. The relief was completed about 5 a.m. During the night patrols were pushed forward by front line units to gain contact with enemy and endeavor to locate detachments of 1 06th Infantry. These patrols remained out until daylight, although subjected to heavy machine gun fire. They gained contact with the enemy as shown in battalion reports but not with any of 106th Infantry. Regimental Headquarters remained in the post of command of 54th Brigade for the night (F 21 b 2.1), and moved to F 10 c 1.0, the post occupied by 1st and 2d Battalions, at 1 1 a.m., September 28. The regimental commander called his battalion and separate unit commanders together at 12 noon for a conference, but was directed to report to Brigade Headquarters immediately, where a conference was held. Present: Maj. Gen. O'Ryan; Brig. Gen. Brand; Brig. Gen. Pierce; Col. Ford, Chief of Staff; Col. Jennings, 108th Infantry; Col. [log] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. DeBevoise, 107th Infantry and Capt. Brady. At this conference we were informed that the barrage would be carried out as originally planned and as set down on the barrage map, except that it would remain four minutes at the initial line and move in the lifts of 100 yards every 4 minutes, halting for a period of 15 minutes on a line 500 yards east of the canal and parallel thereto. This ruling had been made by the Army Headquarters in spite of the fact that the troops now occupied a line 1000 to 1200 yards west of where the barrage would start. After Gen. O'Ryan, Gen. Brand, and Col. Ford had left it was decided to make every effort to push the line forward as far as possible during the night of September 28-29 ar, d to form up as close to the barrage as the enemy would permit. This information was conveyed to battalion and separate unit commanders and patrols were sent out during the night, one of them capturing Egg Post and an enemy machine gun therein. It was, however, impossible to advance the line at Fleeceall Post and parts of the line and the forming up line were therefore established substantially on the same line as the 106th Infantry had formed on the previous morning. In accordance with the suggestion of Gen. Brand, concurred in by the brigade and two regimental commanders, the troops moved for- ward with the tanks at zero hour and not before. The work of the battalion commanders and their subordinates in pegging down the tape and getting their units in place was admirably done, considering that a vigilant enemy confronted us. We suffered few casualties in forming up. Maj. Gillett of the 106th Infantry reported late in the evening of September 28 and stated that a composite battalion of that regiment comprising about 350 men would be ready to start at zero hour follow- ing our 3d Battalion. This battalion, or at least some of the detach- ments that composed it, lost its way and did not get into position until a few minutes before zero hour. It is therefore impossible 10 state whether or not the entire battalion finally carried cut its orders. All units of the 107th Infantry were in position one hour before zero hour. Tanks were conducted to the line by company guides. The advance of the regiment as observed by the operations officer was steady and well regulated, all units keeping in touch with each other. A determined effort was made to catch the barrage. The enemy counter-barrage was not as effective as expected, but the fire of his machine guns immediately caused some casualties. The attack went smoothly, although there was considerable machine gun opposition, r."°3 REPORT OF HINDENBURG BATTLE until the front line battalions reached Willow Trench. The men seemed to be confused by the smoke and apparently were having difficulty in keeping their direction. When the leading wave ap- proached Lone Tree Trench, the enemy launched a counter-attack and it was necessary for the leading wave to seek security in Willow Trench. During this period the regiment, although going into the line with an average of one to two officers to a company, lost 1 1 officers killed, 8 seriously wounded, 2 slightly wounded, and 1 missing. The battalion reports show that all the line officers of the 2d Battalion were killed or wounded, that the commanding officer, intelligence officer and adjutant, 3d Battalion, were killed or wounded, and that the commanding officers of Companies I, K, and M were killed, leav- ing 3 officers in the battalion. In the 1st Battalion the commanding officer of Company B was killed and the commanding officer of Com- pany C seriously wounded. A great many of the non-commissioned officers were also killed or wounded, and the enlisted men acted with initiative and courage in spite of constant enemy machine gun fire and heavy shelling. The Knoll, Willow Trench, and Guillemont Farm, with a few men in Lone Tree Trench, were the furthest points reached by us, and this ground was held. A few men undoubtedly went forward to the Hindenburg Line and over the canal. The regimental commanding officer moved to Kent Lane, F 17 a 4.0, one hour after zero, reaching there at about 7.30 a.m., and a personal reconnaisance of the battlefield was made by the operations officer and Corp. Porter. It was apparent that the regiment could not advance any further, and that contact could not be maintained with the few men advancing through Hindenburg Line. In accordance with orders from Gen. Blanding, Commanding 53d Brigade, and Col. Andrews, his representative, received at 1 1.30 p.m., September 29, our regimental sector was subdivided into three sectors: The right sub-sector, Duncan Post to Doleful Post (both inclusive), under command of Lieut. Col. Berry. Center sub-sector, Doleful Post to Egg Post (inclusive), under command of Col. DeBevoise. Left sub-sector, Egg Post to Fleeceall Post (inclusive), under command of Maj. Engel. A defensive position was taken up on a line of these posts, with strong outposts on the Knoll and at Guillemont Farm. The three sectors were reorganized with all available men, irrespective of the units to which they belonged. This arrangement existed for a period of about 12 hours, when the entire sector again came under the command of the regimental commander. Telephone and buzzer phone and runners were the only means of 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. communication used. Visual wireless and earth telegraphy proved a failure. Pigeons arrived too late to be of use. Details are given in full in report of the signal officer. Supplies were sufficient; but the assault rations and extra ammuni- tion should have been issued before the troops arrived in the trenches. The supply officer made requisition for iron rations on September 22 and again on September 27 for iron rations, assault rations, and all extra ammunition. There was some delay in distributing the reserve hand and rifle grenades on account of the fact that they had to be detonated and the requisitioned smoke bombs also had to be de- tonated. The casualties were so numerous that it was impossible for the first aid to function smoothly. The wounded were evacuated as speedily as the military situation permitted. Details of this subject are taken up in the medical officers' and other reports. The entire Headquarters Company and other details were left behind at the time of the relief of the regiment for the purpose of salvaging captured enemy machine guns and other trophies, our Lewis guns, rifles, and other equipment, and for the purpose of collecting and burying the dead. On October 2 the entire Machine Gun Company returned from the vicinity of Saulcourt to the trenches, accompanied by details from every line company, for the sole purpose of collecting and burying the dead. The three regimental chaplains reported on the morning of October 1 and spent that day and the following day in burying our dead in spite of enemy shell fire. During the day of September 30 everything was done to hold the ground we had gained and to exploit the ground to the front. All available men were used for this purpose. The regiment was relieved October 1 at 2 p.m. and proceeded to the vicinity of Saulcourt, where it bivouacked for the night. Next day, October 2, it proceeded by marching to vicinity of Doingt and bivouacked for the night. It is apparent that the officers and men did not have sufficient time thoroughly to study the maps and acquaint themselves with the ter- rain and the difficulties to be encountered. It is also apparent that iron rations, ammunition, rockets, and flares must be issued before the morning of the attack, and that no company should go into action without at least two and perhaps three officers. r.>«»3 THE following aeroplane photographs show the territory over which the 107th Infantry fought September 29 to October 21, [918. Shell holes and trenches appear raised. The white spots in some shell holes indicate water in them. Clouds are clearly shown in some of these photographs. The first photograph, "Bony," shows three lines of trenches and connecting traverses. The large dugouts in the nearest trench are strong points. What appears to be a hill straight across the pic- ture near the bottom is a sunken road. The dark strips in front of the trenches are barbed wire. More wire is clearly shown in the photos of "Macquincourt Farm" and "South of Vendhuile." In the photograph "East St. Souplet" the irregular quadrangles are fields in various stages of cultivation. Some have hedges sur- rounding them. The road "St. Souplet to Arbre-Guernon" is shown in the large scale maps of the vicinity of St. Souplet elsewhere in the book. sS^r^s, ■ m ^W^^^Sr BONY TOMBOIS FARM DOLEFUL POST •££%* s .v >l s/A • \ ■ » GUILLEMONT FARM *\3 ".*"■•-■ I «iffiL SOUTH OF GLIM EMI -)N'I FAK.M SOUTH OF VENDHUILE MACQU IN COURT FARM V MJX-ANDIGNY EAST ST. SOUPLET Hi ST. SOUPLET TO ARBRE-GUERN ON .,-■ ^ £■ BANDIVAL FARM ££!&,«* ~ w. '.DCNAIN 5 .->;■■- ..-:-i.>.>-- ■ " "' ■•ft.', -r ■ -^-^fe*::,,,^^':;^ •*• ;:.1«^ - ; " - ">• «««=£fc - yV key*! t* iu ; : , ■ ■•<■-'■' /jr — li. y^fNOTE. Th.5 p.ctt. -_^_ ^evf.*! [NOTE. This pictorial MAP is drawn to scale in 10 MILE SOUARfS shown \/ '33 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. left in the Fourth British Army was then: British Ninth Corps, Second American Corps, British Third Corps. 5. The attack was scheduled for September 29. For several days prior to this date and prior to the taking over of the sector by the Second American Corps, the Australian Corps and the Third British Corps made vigorous efforts to force an enemy retirement in order to obtain a favorable jumping-ofT place for the contemplated attack. The Australian Corps succeeded in accomplishing their part of the mission, and when the 30th American Division relieved them they found themselves on the predetermined jumping-ofT line. On the left, however, the Third British Corps had failed to accomplish their mission, though they had engaged in three determined efforts to push back the Boche an average depth of about 1700 yards. Each effort succeeded in penetrating the enemy's position, but the British were unable to hold the ground gained by them, and, in consequence, on three successive occasions were thrown back to their original starting line. Under these circumstances, when the 27th Division took ovei their part of the line it was necessary for them to undertake an im- portant operation to attain their proper jumping-off position. This preliminary operation was ordered by the Fourth Army, and was carried out on the morning of September 27. 6. The part of the advance defense system of the Hindenburg Line against which this preliminary operation was made was strongly held and organized to an exceptionally high degree. It was known that this part of the line could be and was being fed by reinforcements through an elaborate system of galleries and tunnels leading from the main canal tunnel. This tunnel is 5.7 kilometers long and is filled with barges transformed into barracks in sufficient numbers to house personnel equivalent to two Boche divisions. Many galleries and subterranean passages were known to exist, but the numerous intelligence reports on that subject had not disclosed more than a small percentage of such exits as were subsequently discovered. 7. This preliminary operation was conducted in accordance with Army orders by one regiment of the 27th Division on a front of ap- proximately 4000 yards. The regiment succeeded in attaining all of its objectives. After having been repeatedly mopped up in holes, dugouts, and tunnels, the Boche continued to reappear in new places in the rear of the front lines held by this one regiment. As a result the whole day of September 27 was devoted to a continuous mopping up process, which developed into ceaseless fighting during the 24 hours in an effort to hang on to the objectives that had been gained. C"4] REPORT OF HINDENBURG BATTLE This effort was successful only to the degree that severe losses in killed and wounded were inflicted on the Boche. 8. The one regiment holding the front line in each division of the Second American Corps was relieved in each instance on the night of September 27 by the brigade that was to make the attack on the morning of the 29th. This relief in the 30th Division was accom- plished without incident, but in the 27th Division the relieving troops were continuously engaged in severe combat up to the zero hour. 9. Several hours before zero it became apparent that the jumping- off line in front of the 27th Division was not cleanly held in all of its parts. As a result the question of altering the prearranged barrage line arose and was considered. It appeared that the hope was enter- tained that the 27th would succeed in reaching the jumping-off line prior to zero hour. This, however, was not accomplished, and at zero hour when the barrage fell most of the elements of the 27th Division were at distances varying from 1200 to 1000 yards in the rear of their barrage. 10. The ground over which the 54th Infantry Brigade had to attack without artillery assistance was literally seething with machine gun nests, and almost every square foot of ground was completely en- filaded with machine gun fire. Three highly organized strong points, known as the Knoll, Guillemont Farm, and Quennemont Farm, were the basis of the Boche defense system on this immediate front. From them the machine gun nests in advance of this position were supplied with men and ammunition. 11. The preliminary operation, an effort to gain the proposed jumping-off line, had clearly indicated to the Boche the intentions and methods of the attack to be launched against his position at this point. As a result exceptional reinforcements of enemy troops were concentrated here and the supreme effort to stop the attack was made at this point. 12. Two days were spent by me in making an extensive reconnais- sance of the ground over which this advance was made, and it is my opinion that the uncanny cunning with which the Boche had organ- ized this position made it one of the strongest points in the entire Hindenburg system. Three days after the fight the dead Boche lying in and about the numerous machine gun positions showed, almost v/ithout exception, that they had been killed by the bayonet. Very few of the enemy dead appeared to have been killed by rifle or shell fire. 13. The general plan of the main attack contemplated that after the Second Corps had forced the Hindenburg Line and crossed the ["53 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. tunnel it was to send a regiment of each division, one on the right flank of the corps, the other on the left flank, for the purpose of exploitation of the flanks and uncovering the canal, thereby assisting the Ninth British Corps on the right and the Third on the left in their crossing of the canal. In the meantime the Ninth Corps was to attempt to construct bridges across the canal and effect a crossing without this assistance. The Third Corps on the left was to make no attempt at crossing the canal until the crossings were covered by our troops. The ultimate objective of the Second American Corps was a line about 2000 yards east of the tunnel. After reaching this ob- jective the Australian Corps was to leapfrog the Second American Corps and pass on. 14. At zero hour the attack started. The 30th Division advanced straight to their objective and reached it on schedule time. The Ninth British Corps on their right surprised the enemy's outposts along the canal and succeeded in getting their bridges across and got their troops over early in the attack, thus obviating the necessity of the 30th American Division clearing their front for them. That part of the operation covered by the 30th American Division and the Ninth British Corps was successful to a high degree and was accomplished according to schedule. 15. When the barrage was put down the 27th Division on the left was fighting to hold its position. The advance elements of this division jumped off as per schedule, and some of them succeeded, despite the lack of barrage protection, in crossing the machine gun swept space and eventually reached their final objective. There had been attached to the left of the 27th Division — the 107th Infantry — a battalion from the 106th Infantry for the special purpose of mop- ping up. This mopping up battalion and the support battalion of the regiment soon became involved in severe fighting with large parties of the enemy who, after the first wave had advanced beyond them, poured through the underground passages and manned the machine gun positions in the rear of the advancing line. 16. Realizing the exceptionally difficult task assigned to the 27th Division owing to its inability to reach the jumping-ofT line, 20 large British tanks manned by American personnel were assigned to the front of the division for the purpose of cutting wire and assisting in the advance. Seventeen of these tanks were destroyed by mines planted several months before by the British, the presence of which had not been made known to the tanks. This practically eliminated the tanks from the advance before they had progressed more than about 100 C"6] REPORT OF HINDENBURG BATTLE yards from the jump-off tape. The three remaining tanks were de- stroyed almost immediately after by direct artillery fire. 17. During the first morning of the attack reports were received from airplanes, artillery observers and other sources to the effect that the advance along the entire front was going as per schedule. The advance elements of the 27th Division, having fought their way across and through the strong points, crossed the canal tunnel in line with the 30th Division and on schedule time. Later in the day reports were no longer received from these advance elements, excepting from the airplanes that reported them as being in about their proper posi- tions. The maze of tunnels and underground galleries permitted the Boche to continue conveying troops to positions well in rear of these advanced elements in such great numbers that they were enabled to supply sufficient machine gunners and infantry to the west of the canal to hold up not only the support elements of the 27th Division, but also the Australian troops following in their rear. 18. About noon reports were received from these Australian troops to the effect that their advance had been stopped. An extraordinary situation was presented: reports from the air indicated that the advance was going on as scheduled, yet at the same time reports were being received to the effect that the enemy was still holding out in great force in positions only a short distance to the east of the original jumping-off line. Much to the mystification of all concerned, this situation continued through the entire afternoon. An artillery liaison officer who had gone forward with the advance elements of the left regiment of the 27th Division worked his way back late in the afternoon from Catelet and verified the information that these troops had reached their objective. He explained that he had experienced great difficulty in returning to his own lines, owing to the numerous groups of enemy machine gunners that continued to appear between the attacking wave and the supporting troops following it. After reaching their objective the advance elements of the 27th Division held to their positions during the night of September 29-30, notwith- standing the fact that there was sufficient force between them and their rear supports to check the advance of the Australians. After two days of the severest fighting the Australians and the rear ele- ments of the 27th Division succeeded in reaching the green line which had been attained and held by parts of the assaulting waves of the division in their first rush. During their progress those advance troops captured numerous prisoners, and upon reaching their ob- jective they had in their possession 144 Boche. Though completely C"7] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. surrounded for two days, they held all of these prisoners, and when relieved by the Australians brought all but two of the prisoners back with them. The two prisoners left behind had made an unsuccessful attempt to escape, during which they were killed. 19. And in the meanwhile the Third British Corps on the left of the 27th Division had failed completely to mop up their part of the ground west of the canal. Troops of the Fifth British Corps which were supposed to cross the canal after it had been uncovered by the regiment of the 27th Division that was assigned for the purpose of exploiting that flank, were unable to cross because this exploiting regiment had been checked and did not itself get across. The effect of this caused the left flank of that part of the 27th Division to be left without protection except that furnished by local dispositions of the few troops that were available from the advanced elements. The Commanding General of the 30th Division, on learning of the un- settled and obscure situation on his left, immediately took steps to protect his flank by using two battalions for that purpose. In this manner he succeeded in connecting up, not with that part of the 27th which had gone ahead, but with that part which was still fighting in the Hindenburg Line, and by that time was more or less mixed up with the Australians who had come up in the rear. This was approxi- mately the situation on the morning of September 30. 20. The proposition then became one of mopping up on a large scale. Numbers of Boche continued to come out of the galleries from the main tunnel, and, as has been expressed by officers who were inter- viewed: "The Boche just seemed to ooze out of the ground." Mopping up parties would go over the ground and capture or kill everything in sight, exploring dugouts, shell holes, and places that appeared to afford concealment, yet from other places other machine gun detach- ments would appear and get into action. 21. In the meanwhile, the Ninth British Corps and the 30th Ameri- can Division had obtained a secure footing west of the canal and the Ninth Corps was able to send forces in considerable numbers across. This resulted in a complete breach in a strong part of the Hindenburg Line; a considerable salient was established and the subsequent suc- cessful operations made possible. 22. The Australians and troops of the 27th Division continued throughout September 30 and October 1 to mop up the ground in their immediate front and extend the salient to the north, thereby eventually permitting the Fifth British Corps of the Third British Army to cross the canal on their front. The Australians, who had C"8] REPORT OF HINDENBURG BATTLE now replaced the supporting elements of the 27th Division, connected up with the Fifth British Corps on their left. The Australians having thus accomplished that part of their mission in passing through the Second American Corps and having established themselves, the Sec- ond American Corps was withdrawn a short distance to the rear to refit and reorganize preparatory to their participation in operations now in progress. The Thirteenth British Corps was put in on the left of the Australians and the right of the Third British Army. 23. In viewing this operation in the light of information now at hand it appears that the 30th Division accomplished their mission exactly as planned. It is to be remembered that the accomplishing of the mission of the 30th Division was rendered somewhat easier by the fact that the Boche appeared to be taken by surprise by the Ninth British Corps when they crossed the canal on bridges constructed by themselves. The 30th American Division was, therefore, relieved of the necessity of rendering assistance in this direction. 24. The problem confronting the 27th Division was infinitely more difficult. They were put in the line on the night of September 25, and had to conduct a preliminary operation on the morning of the 27th in which the Third British Corps had repeatedly failed. It is hardly proper to class this as a minor operation, as it was in reality a battle of great severity in itself. It is a significant fact that some of the advanced elements of the 27th Division succeeded in reaching Gouy, their ultimate objective, despite the seemingly insuperable opposition and obstacles over and through which they had to pass. 25. Early reports indicated that the 27th Division had failed to mop up properly in rear of the leading waves. Since the organization of the defense system which they attacked has become better known, it is apparent that to mop up this ground properly would have re- quired all the troops that were in the attack. This is borne out by the fact that it required an Australian Division and a part of the 27th Division most of two days to complete this mopping up. 26. It appeared at first that the impetuous advance of the leading elements of this division was a waste of men and caused undue casu- alties. It is now demonstrated that this was not the case, and the fact is that these men rushed through and by keeping the enemy contin- uously engaged in violent combat throughout the entire depth of this highly organized position he was prevented from taking any means to hold up the advance of the 30th Division and the Ninth British Corps further to the right. 27. Second Corps Headquarters was naturally placed in a quandary C"9] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. by the reports coining in to the effect that advanced elements had reached their objective while violent fighting continued to their rear. It appears, however, from statements of German officers captured that the German command was equally mystified in finding American troops in Catelet and Gouy and throughout the depth of their de- fense system while reports from some of their units showed that the men being fed into the line through the tunnels and galleries were still holding their positions and checking the advance of the Australians. 28. The whole fight on this part of the front appears to have been a free-for-all, in which everybody was fighting everywhere throughout the width of the contested area without there being any well defined front. 29. The losses at first reported appeared to be extraordinarily large. Subsequent reports, however, have fixed them at a more reasonable rate. The Australians, in attempting to leapfrog this part of the line, necessarily became intermingled with our troops, whose willingness to fight impelled them to continue to advance with the Australians, with the result that many of them were not accounted for until sev- eral days later, when the situation began to be cleared up. 30. All evidence indicates that the men of this division put up a most determined fight, and while the organization of the advance was broken up, the detachments operating against the maze of the machine gun positions were handled with considerable success. Ex- ceptional numbers of Boche machine gun crews with their supports were completely wiped out and the number of enemy dead on the ground was greatly in excess of those of the American troops. 31. The necessity of impressing upon platoon commanders the im- portance of constantly keeping their men in hand and sticking to the task to which they have been allotted was most clearly exempli- fied in this operation. In both the 30th and the 27th Divisions the mopping up parties failed to adhere sufficiently close to the role as- signed to them. It is believed that some of the detachments detailed to do mopping up around the tunnel continued to advance with the leading elements. This is not advanced as an explanation of the situation on the 27th Division front because the system of defense there was so elaborate, what with its organization and numerous sub- terranean passages, that had all the troops in the attack devoted their attention to mopping up they never would have crossed the tunnel as they did, and the numerous enemy forces in support and reserve would have been free to operate at will elsewhere; whereas, as a REPORT OF HINDENBURG BATTLE matter of fact, they were kept constantly engaged on this immediate front in an effort to check American troops. 32. Liaison was imperfect, and organization commanders appeared not to be sufficiently impressed with the necessity of getting infor- mation back to higher units by the use of every available means. As a result of this, the situation was so obscure on the afternoon of the 29th that it was difficult to determine what use should be made of the troops that were still in hand. 33. It is evident that the training our troops have received in the past few months as to the methods of advancing against strong points and machine gun nests has been along correct lines. Reports received at Second Corps Headquarters from Staff Officers sent to the front and from Liaison Officers from the British and Australian units attached to American units indicate clearly that many of our Lewis gun squads and machine gun detachments which went forward with the infantry were handled with considerable skill. This is especially true of those detachments that remained to do mopping up work. There is much evidence that they cleaned up many of these nests with a minimum loss to themselves and the obliteration of the enemy. 34. Aside from the feeling of international amity that exists be- tween our troops and the British Army in this sector, it would have been obvious to a most casual observer that the impression made upon the British by the men of the Second American Corps was exceptionally favorable. In fact, I was at times greatly surprised at the unrestrained enthusiasm displayed by numerous British officers when speaking of what they considered to be the splendid accom- plishments of the two American divisions. 35. The casualties sustained, as corrected to October 9, are as follows: Officers Men 30TH Division: 54 1827 (Corps Headquarters did not have information as to how these casualties were divided, their request for a report having not been complied with at the time these figures were furnished.) 27TH Division: 0fficers Men Killed 42 900 Wounded 65 2300 Missing 13 600 Total 120 3800 Z™1 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. (It is believed that many of the officers and men shown as missing will be accounted for and found to be not casualties.) 36. Owing to the mixing of units, the number of prisoners actually captured by the Second Corps is still in dispute. Indications are that the minimum will be 1600. W. H. Hayes, Lieut. Col. Inf., G-3. Notice to Report of 1st Lieutenant W. O. Pasfield, nth Australian Field Artillery Brigade, in regard to the operations of the 27th Division, September 29, 19 18. My orders were to report to Captain Bulkley, in command of the 3d Battalion, 105th Regiment, as Artillery Liaison Officer. When I arrived I could not get a runner from this battalion, so I went ahead endeavoring to catch up with them. I caught up to the 107th Regiment and was told when passing Guillemont Farm that the 105th had gone straight ahead. I followed on and saw Americans advancing in A-9 (a little after 8 a.m.). I followed them on to about A-17-A, keeping well to the rear owing to the machine gun fire. The machine gun fire was so heavy that I was obliged to take shelter. The Americans I was watching (about 100 strong) were advancing in small groups in a northeastern direction. They had been charging several machine gun posts and groups of Boche with the bayonet. After taking shelter for some minutes, I looked for the advancing Americans but could not find them. I saw many Boche machine guns in action. Most of the enemy machine gunners appeared to be well sheltered behind the tall weeds to the east of the canal, which afforded excellent cover. They could not be noticed unless when moving about. After the American forces had passed in the direction of A-11-d, I was forced to take shelter for some time. When I again looked out in the direction of the advancing Americans all I could see were enemy machine gunners, who appeared to be in the northeast corner of A-11-d. I had already been told that these advancing troops had been ordered not to mop up, but to move forward toward their objective. My impression was that they were leaving behind too many machine gun nests and were in a dangerous situation on account of this. I consider that between one and two hundred Americans passed east, south of Le Catelet, towards Gouy. L™1 REPORT OF HINDENBURG BATTLE I saw several detachments of Americans charging with fixed bayonets what I considered to be machine gun nests. After these operations, the Americans seemed to go on, but I did not see any German prisoners coming back. The fighting qualities of the American troops are excellent. They were subjected to a great deal of opposition and extremely heavy machine gun fire, and although they suffered very heavy casualties, these did not seem to delay the progress of those who were left to go forward. I saw more fighting on this day than I have seen during my experiences. Forward of A-io-d I saw the American troops were between 500 to 800 yards behind the barrage. It seemed to me that between 9 and 10.30 a.m. hostile artillery fire on the forward area had prac- tically ceased. Where I crossed the wire, it appeared to be well cut and offered little hindrance to attacking troops. It took me about two hours to return from A-15-C and -a to Guillemont Farm. On my way back I saw many American dead and very few German dead. I met a few detachments of American troops — small bodies consisting of 5 or 10 men, taking shelter in shell holes, from the 2d and 3d Battalions of the 107th Regiment. One detach- ment of the 105th Regiment consisting of 10 men (just south of the Knoll) told me that they had been to their objective and were told to retire; that some of them obeyed this order and some did not. Further west two or three parties of the 2d and 3d Battalions said they had crossed the tunnel and were south of the Knoll at a- 10. Coming further back in a trench in a-8-c, I met a detachment of 10 men from the 3d Battalion, 105th Regiment. They told me some of their battalion had gone off in different directions and they could not find any of them, and they were coming back to find them, as they had an idea they did not take their objective and the Boche were counter-attacking. They told me, as did other troops, that they had no orders to mop up. They said if they had had orders to mop up on the way they could have done so and gained their objectives. I saw one American Officer in a-9-D with two or three men who told me that he had lost most of his battalion. I think this officer was a Captain wearing two silver bars. I finally worked my way back under difficulties and reached the 3d Australian Division in about two and one-half hours. I think it was about 12.30 p.m. The Boche were advancing as far as I could make out west of the canal, advancing south from the direction of Vendhuile. The machine gun fire was extremely heavy. The heavy machine gun fire also I>3] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. came from the south in the direction of Bony. I saw none of the enemy advancing from the direction of Bony. I think I saw about 150 of the enemy advancing from the north in groups of twos and threes, each group having a machine gun. [London "Times" Clipping] AMERICAN ATTACK NEAR LE CATELET Advance "Into the Blue" (From C. E. W. Bean) War Correspondents' Headquarters, September 30. This morning Australian Infantry started from their positions astride the front and second systems of the Hindenburg Line, which they reached yesterday, and worked gradually along both systems. By midday a report was received that they had captured Bony, near the northern end of the front system. They also worked well up the second system towards Gouy. There is not the slightest doubt that, in their first assault yesterday, the Americans reached Gouy. Farther south, where the American attack seized Bellicourt and Nauroy, the Australians passed through yesterday afternoon and reached Joncourt exactly according to programme. They found here a certain number of American troops, who carried their first magnificent assault far beyond their objectives. As the left flank was here in the air, the Australians brought in these Americans in order to get in touch with the troops in the second system on the Hindenburg Line before Nauroy, where they spent the night. These Australians brought back with them eight German field guns and 250 prisoners. Some day, when the full story of the American attack yesterday can be told, the American people will have every reason to thrill with pride at those magnificent troops upon whom the tremendous task of yesterday fell. Never in this war have I seen keener or braver soldiers or more intelligent and high-minded men. These two divisions, young in experience, were faced with the formidable task of breaking through two double systems of the greatest defense line the Germans ever constructed at the end where the enemy knew it was certain that the attack must come within a few days. The tun- nels, dugouts, and every nook and cranny of that system were gar- REPORT OF HINDENBURG BATTLE risoned. Uncertainty in regard to the position of their own front line on the left of the attack made the task still more difficult. Yet these troops carried through this formidable assault, and penetrated deeper even than was intended, and delivered to the Germans a blow which attracted the greater part of the enemy opposition, and which, beyond all question, enabled the great defense to be broken in a position which was of the utmost importance to the Allied advance. The Australians to-day are attacking up the trenches, fearing that pockets of wounded and living Americans are still there. The fact that the northern portion of the attack is hampered through the Germans reappearing behind the Americans does not detract from the grand spirit of these young troops and the magnificent self-sacrifice with which they have carried out what they believed to be their task. Every Australian soldier is proud to be the comrade of the British and Americans in the fight. C'25] Ay' ■ U ■- ."TO -p+ l« ° W OS c co .a : oS o u S >7' fc« 3 a '/I * 4- d 2 1_ '- > .ft H ° tf, Ot3 go3 c H Z < f\ 8 Z >." r s — « 3 c? ~ a DC .Sol u r tr N t> II 2 o r< ^ -1 o n) S «*3 O Uh O *4 a C co i- s X 3 CLi S (N N f- O c ir- z uO j^. w £u C cd. PhZ H en z ^5 Eg o — LT\ GO < < Q co" 3 od -o n O) D..S X ■ 3 o > co 0\ d d U U a a HOW THE 27th AND 30th DIVISIONS PIERCED THE HINDENBURG LINE IT was the fortune of the 27th and 30th United States Divisions, permanently linked together under the Second United States Army Corps, to spend their entire period of active service on the British front and under British army command. During this service, in number of great battles fought and vital successes thereby gained, in casualties suffered, and losses inflicted upon the enemy, the 27th and 30th Divisions made a record for themselves worthy to stand beside that of the best American fighting units wherever engaged. The 27th Division arrived in France on May 10, 1918, and went at once to a training area behind the British lines. Composed of National Guard troops of New York, the division then was and con- tinued to be commanded by Major General John F. O'Ryan. The 30th Division, composed of National Guard troops from North and South Carolina and Tennessee, arrived in France May 24. It was commanded through its active operations by Major General E. M. Lewis. The Second United States Army Corps, under which the 27th and 30th Divisions operated after the early part of September, was organ- ized on February 22, 19 18, and was commanded throughout by Major General George W. Reed. In Support of British Line Before the completion of even the brief training period which they had expected to enjoy in France, the two American divisions were transferred to the Second British Army, under General Plumer, the 27th being attached to the Nineteenth Corps and the 30th to the Second Corps, and both assigned to the support positions known as the East and West Poperinghe Defense Systems, immediately in rear 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. of the Ypres and Dickebusch sectors in Belgium. The situation on this part of the front at the time, early in July, was still extremely critical, as the powerful forces of the Army Group of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, which had already in April driven deeply through the British lines about Armentieres and captured the com- manding eminence of Mont Kemmel, were daily expected to begin another desperate drive for the capture of the Channel ports to the northwest, and the vitally important Bethune coal fields to the south- west. Should the Germans make a successful beginning of such a drive and get through the British front lines, the brunt of the attack would fall upon the partly trained American divisions. Fortunately the attack never came, the enemy electing instead to open an offensive east and west of Rheims and then, on July. 18, at last definitely losing the initiative in the great counter-attack of Marshal Foch along the Marne. But while lying under the observation of Mont Kemmel and the enemy's accurate artillery fire in July and early August, the American divisions rapidly became veteranized and ready for any work. After the middle of August they took over the front line sectors from British divisions, the 30th Division taking the Canal sector, from the southern outskirts of Ypres to Voormezeele, and the 27th taking the Dickebusch sector, from Voormezeele to a point northwest of Mont Kemmel. Owing to the gradual withdrawal of German divisions to meet the great Allied attacks further south, it became possible on August 31 for the Second British Army to begin a local offensive operation which, in so far as the American divisions were concerned, resulted on that and the following day in the 30th Division advancing about 1 500 yards, taking Lock No. 8 on the Ypres Canal, Lankhof Farm, and the village of Voormezeele, while the 27th Division advanced about 2000 yards, occupying Vierstraat Ridge and the northern slopes of Mont Kemmel, and making some progress up the eastern side of Wytschaete Ridge. To the east of Ypres the 14th British Division made similar progress on the left of the 30th, while on the right of the 27th the 34th British Division gained substantially toward Mont Kemmel itself. Having made this promising beginning, the American divisions were withdrawn from the front line between September 3 and 5 and sent to training areas further south, where they received instruction particularly in operating offensively in conjunction with British tanks. Late in September they were assembled under the corps command OS] DIVISIONS PIERCE HINDENBURG LINE of the Second United States Corps and the army command of the Fourth British Army, General Rawlinson, and put into the sector fronting the Hindenburg Line positions about midway between Cam- brai and St. Quentin. Ready for Drive to the Scheldt The front which they then occupied was very nearly that which the British had held previous to the German attack of A4arch 21 and from which they had been driven back nearly to Amiens. Start- ing in about August 1 to recover once more that devastated stretch of the valley of the Somme between its junction with the Ancre and St. Quentin, which had been first lost in 19 14, regained in 19 16, and then lost again in the spring of 1918, with true British doggedness they had pushed on, foot by foot, for nearly two months against the most bitter opposition, until they were once more occupying all but the foremost of their old trenches before the Hindenburg Line between St. Quentin and Cambrai, while between Cambrai and Lens the redoubt- able defensive line was already broken. The plans for the great offensive involving the Allied forces on every front were now perfect and, as has been previously pointed out, the initial attack of Marshal Haig's British Armies was to be made on September 27, the day after the advance of the First American and Fourth French Armies on both sides of the Argonne. The British effort was to begin with an assault by the First and Third Armies on a 13-mile front before Cambrai, from Sauchy-Lestree to Goubeau- court, to be followed by an extension of the attack southward to St. Quentin by the Fourth British Army and still south of there by the First French Army. When its turn came, General Rawlinson's Fourth Army was to go in on a front of 12 miles, from Holnon north to Vendhuile, with the Ninth British Corps on the right, the Second American Corps in the center supported by the Australian corps under General Monash, and the Third British Corps on the left. Australians in Support The 27th and 30th American Divisions relieved the 18th and 75th British Divisions in the front line on September 25. The attack which they were to make had been planned by the Australian corps, which had been fighting since August 8 and had pushed the Germans back from Villers-Bretonneux to the Hindenburg Line, and the 3d and 5th Australian Divisions were to support the Americans closely and relieve them when the first objectives had been obtained. L I2 9] 2-' Unite? States Army Corps 27™ an, 30 T -* t7, V | S10N s The 5chelct to the; Sambre Sept. 23^ — Oct. 19— 1918. REPRINTED FROM THE "STARS AND STRIPES," MAY 9, 1919 DIVISIONS PIERCE HINDENBURG LINE The portion of the Hindenburg Line which they were to attack was about 6000 yards long, the limits of their sector being approxi- mately determined by the length of the tunnel of the Scheldt, or St. Quentin, Canal, and it was perhaps more formidable than any other portion of the Hindenburg Line of like extent. The peculiar charac- teristics which gave to the position its great strength cannot be better set forth than in the concise words of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig in his dispatch dated December 21, 19 18, to the British Secretary of State for War, in which he reported upon the operations of the British Armies during the final months of the war. Sir Douglas wrote : "Between St. Quentin and the village of Bantouzelle the principal defenses of the Hindenburg system lie sometimes to the west, but more generally to the east of the line of the Scheldt Canal. "The canal itself does not appear to have been organized as the enemy's main line of resistance, but rather as an integral part of a deep defensive system, the outstanding characteristic of which was the skill with which it was sited, so as to deny us effective artillery po- sitions from which to attack it. The chief role of the canal was that of affording cover to resting troops and to the garrisons of the main defensive trench lines during a bombardment. To this end the canal lent itself admirably, and the fullest use was made by the enemy of its possibilities. "The general configuration of the ground through which this sector of the canal runs produces deep cuttings of a depth in places of 60 feet, while between Bellicourt and the neighborhood of Vendhuile the canal passes through a tunnel for a distance of 6000 yards. In the sides of the cuttings the enemy had constructed numerous tunneled dugouts and concrete shelters. Along the top edge of them he had concealed well-sited concrete or armored machine-gun emplace- ments. "The tunnel itself was used to provide living accommodations for troops and was connected by shafts with the trenches above. South of Bellicourt the canal cutting gradually becomes shallow, till at Bellenglise the canal lies almost at ground level. South of Bellenglise the canal is dry. "On the western side of the canal south of Bellicourt two thoroughly organized and extremely heavily wired lines of continuous trench run roughly parallel to the canal, at average distances from it of 2000 and 1000 yards respectively. Except in the tunnel sector the double line of trenches known as the Hindenburg Line proper lies immedi- 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. ately east of the canal and is linked up by numerous communication trenches with the trench lines west of it. "Besides these main features, numerous other trench lines, switch trenches and communication trenches, for the most part heavily wired, had been constructed at various points to meet local weaknesses or take advantage of local command of fire. At a distance of about 4000 yards behind the most easterly of these trench lines lies a second double row of trenches known as the Beaurevoir-Fonsomme line, very thoroughly wired and holding numerous concrete shelters and ma- chine gun emplacements. The whole series of defenses, with the numerous defended villages contained in it, formed a belt of country varying from 7000 to 10,000 yards in depth, organized by the em- ployment of every available means into a most powerful system, well meriting the great reputation attached to it." U. S. Heavy Tanks in Play It was upon the center of these tremendous positions that the 27th and 30th American Divisions were now to be called upon to exert their strength. They were splendidly supported by the divisional artillery, "the Don Acks," of the five Australian divisions, totaling 438 guns, largely 4.2 inch howitzers; by the 3d Australian Air Squadron; by parts of the 3d and 5th Tank Brigades, which included, in the sector of the 27th Division, the 301st American Tank Battalion, the only American heavy tank unit on the Western Front, and by other tactical units of British troops, bringing the total up to over 22,000, in addition to the two Australian Infantry divisions. Opposite the 30th Division, the enemy's line was held by the LXXVth Reserve and the CLXXXVth Divisions of the German Army, while the 27th ap- pears to have been opposed by portions of these divisions as well as by parts of the lid Guard, CCXXXIId, LIVth, and CXXIst Divisions. Before being relieved, the 18th and 75th British Divisions had been unable to clean up all of the old British outpost positions which had been designated in the plans as the jumping off line for the main attack. This was especially true on the left, so, on the morning of September 27, under cover of the tremendous bombardment which was then opened and continued for two days by all the artillery of the Fourth Army on the main Hindenburg positions, the 106th Infantry of the 27th Division attacked the enemy strong points at the Knoll, Guillemont Farm, and Quennemont Farm, in the immediate front of the division. The positions were captured but were found very DIVISIONS PIERCE HINDENBURG LINE hard to hold, as machine guns and gunners were apparently fed up into them from the main canal tunnel, and when the 54th Brigade took over the front line that night, Germans were still found making vigorous resistance around those points. Attack on Ridge Goes Forward Nevertheless, at 5.50 on the morning of the 29th, in the midst of a heavy fog, under an intense barrage of high explosive, gas, and smoke shells, and accompanied by numerous tanks, the attack went off and up the long, open slopes toward the blazing German trenches and the red brick ruins of Bellicourt and Bony on the canal tunnel ridge. The 30th Division went forward with the 120th Infantry on the right and the 1 19th on the left, each regiment with two battalions in front line and one in support, the support battalions having the def- inite mission of mopping up the Hindenburg trenches, the canal tunnel, and the village of Bellicourt. The 117th Infantry, following behind the 1 20th, was to deploy facing southeast after crossing the tunnel in order to assist the progress of the 46th British Division on the right by enfilading the enemy's positions along the canal cutting toward Bel- lenglise and to protect the deployment of the 5th Australian Division, which was to relieve the 30th American immediately after the latter had gained its objectives. The 27th Division went in with the 108th Infantry on the right and the 107th on the left, two battalions of each regiment in front line and one in support. One battalion of the 106th Infantry followed the 107th to assist in mopping up the Hindenburg trenches, the canal tunnel, and its north entrance, while the 105th Infantry, following still further behind, was to face to the north after crossing the canal tun- nel and protect the left flank of the corps in that direction as the 1 17th Infantry was to do at the other end of the tunnel. Two battalions of the 106th Infantry, which had suffered considerably in the prelimi- nary attack on September 27, formed the division reserve. Fog Both Helps and Hinders The fog proved in some respects an aid and in others a hindrance. It concealed the attacking troops from the enemy and prevented the accurate fire which, had the weather been clear, might very possibly have stopped the advance and driven it back in front of the broad and only partly demolished wire entanglements. But it also soon caused the units to lose direction and contact with one another, and C'33] 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. to advance more slowly; and, more unfortunate still, to pass machine gun nests and strong points without seeing and destroying them. Many of these places appear to have been connected with the canal tunnel by the lateral passages previously mentioned and to have been heavily reinforced through these passages after the first waves of the attack had gone by. Consequently, a little later, when the mopping up and support units arrived in the clearing fog, they met a resistance stronger and more effective than had been encountered by the troops in advance. The front of the 30th Division went forward, on the whole, rapidly and with comparatively slight losses. Although, owing to the ob- scurity and loss of liaison, the advance and the fighting was soon being carried on chiefly by small groups of men, they accomplished their purpose, crossing the three trench lines of the Hindenburg system, taking the town of Bellicourt, the village of Requeval, and the canal entrance by it, and a little later reaching and conquering the division objective, Nauroy, together with the outlying hamlet of Etricourt and Guillaine and Requeval Farms. Nauroy and Etricourt were beyond the first German support line running east of the canal from Le Catelet to Lehaucourt, and when the 120th Infantry oc- cupied them it had advanced a distance of 4200 yards from its jumping off trenches and had pierced all but the last of the three German trench systems. To the right of the 120th Infantry the 46th British Division also had advanced brilliantly, crossing the steep banks of the open canal and taking Bellenglise. The 1 19th Infantry was unable to get as far as the 1 20th, being under the necessity of refusing its flank approxi- mately to the crest of the canal tunnel ridge in order to maintain contact with the 27th Division, which was having a much harder time in the north half of the Second Corps sector. Though the 30th had experienced trouble in mopping up behind its advance, the work had finally been accomplished, 47 German officers and 1434 enlisted men being captured during the whole operation, and late in the after- noon the 5th Australian Division passed through and took over the front line, many of the isolated groups of Americans remaining with the relieving troops until some time during the following night. Mopping Up Process Difficult The 27th Division from the start suffered much more severely than its running mate. Though the front line progressed satisfactorily for ['34] DIVISIONS PIERCE HINDENBURG LINE some time, its troops being early reported in both Bony and Le Catelet, the two reserve regiments and the 3d Australian Division following encountered violent machine gun opposition upon prac- tically the very line from which the attack had started. They were obliged to deploy and engage with all their energy in mopping up the machine gun nests and tunnel entrances from which literally "oozed up" during the fighting as many, it was estimated, as two full German divisions. Either sufficient forces had not been detailed in the first place for the mopping up or else, which is more probable, the enemy's arrange- ments for infiltration were too elaborate to be dealt with by the ordinary methods. But, at all events, the result was that the battalion of the 107th Infantry which had gotten into Le Catelet, on the left, was completely cut off for a time, while the battalion of the 108th which had occupied the Hindenburg Line south of Bony retained its position only with the utmost difficulty until it was finally joined by the advancing Australians. It took the latter four days of hard fighting to finish the reduction of the Hindenburg works and the canal tunnel in this sector and to occupy securely Le Catelet and Gouy, although the 27th Division had already lost about 4000 men in the initial attack and had taken about 1530 prisoners. The command of the sector passed to Major General Gellibrand, 3d Australian Division, shortly after midnight that night, though approximately 1000 men of the 27th Division remained with the Australians throughout the next day and participated in their hard fighting. Both the 27th and 30th Divisions now went back to the Peronne area for replacements, the former being about 5500 under strength. But not many replacements were available, and when it became necessary to relieve the Australian corps, the Second American Corps took over with only the 30th Division in line. This relief was effected on the night of October 4-5 on a front just east of Montbrehain, about four miles beyond Nauroy. This distance the Australians had gained in their five days of fighting, during which they had broken the third and last German trench system. All Set for Crossing Selle The 30th Division sector was now about three miles wide and the direction of advance lay northeastward across rolling country toward the Sambre Canal and river, just southeast of Le Cateau and about 107th INFANTRY, U.S.A. 1 5 miles distant. The Germans could no longer oppose trench systems to the advance, but they might be expected to offer strong machine gun resistance at villages and farms, while a good line for temporary defense existed at the Selle River, about nine miles from Montbre- hain. The initial effort, therefore, was directed to reaching and crossing the Selle. Reprinted from "The Stars and Stripes" of May g, ipig. t^l CAMPAIGN MAPS 1'IMNCE UKKMIOU MttW. *». >— .. J- F^ ■^ fc..» ~~ .~vj .:. ' L .,.;... -3 :■::- — — - — _» 0._ «*„ -.„,« ...... 4r ..... 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