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diff --git a/31086.txt b/31086.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..12aa516 --- /dev/null +++ b/31086.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13825 @@ +Project Gutenberg's "And they thought we wouldn't fight", by Floyd Gibbons + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: "And they thought we wouldn't fight" + +Author: Floyd Gibbons + +Release Date: January 26, 2010 [EBook #31086] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOULDN'T FIGHT *** + + + + +Produced by Christine Aldridge, Suzanne Shell and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +Transcribers Notes + +1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_. +2. Passages in bold are indicated by =bold=. +3. Minor printers errors have been corrected. A detailed list can be + found at the end of this text. +4. Text spelling was common at the time of its publication. +5. All dialect spelling has been retained. + + + * * * * * + + +"AND THEY THOUGHT WE WOULDN'T FIGHT" + + FLOYD GIBBONS + +[Illustration: FLOYD GIBBONS] + + + + + "AND THEY THOUGHT + WE WOULDN'T FIGHT" + + BY + + FLOYD GIBBONS + + OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENT OF _THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE_, + ACCREDITED TO THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES + + + NEW YORK + + [Illustration] + + GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY + + + + + _Copyright, 1918,_ + _By George H. Doran Company_ + + + + + _Printed in the United States of America_ + + + + + TO + + GENERAL JOHN J. PERSHING + + AND + + THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES + + I RESPECTFULLY DEDICATE THIS INADEQUATE RECORD + IN REVERENT MEMORY OF + OUR SACRED DEAD + ON FIELDS IN FRANCE + + + + + ACKNOWLEDGMENT + + The author expresses his hearty thanks to + _The Chicago Tribune_ for the opportunity + he enjoyed as a correspondent of that paper, + in the service of which he secured the + material for these papers. + + * * * * * + + + + + Personal. + AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES + OFFICE OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF + + France, August 17, 1918. + + + Mr. Floyd Gibbons, + Care Chicago Tribune, + 420 Sue Saint-Honore, + P a r i s. + + Dear Mr. Gibbons: + + At this time, when you are returning to America, I wish to + express to you my appreciation of the cordial cooperation and + assistance you have always given us in your important work as + correspondent of the Chicago Tribune in France. I also wish to + congratulate you on the honor which the French government has + done you in giving you the Croix de Guerre, which is but a just + reward for the consistent devotion to your duty and personal + bravery that you have exhibited. + + My personal regrets that you are leaving us at this time are + lessened by the knowledge of the great opportunity you will have + of giving to our people in America a true picture of the work of + the American soldier in France and of impressing on them the + necessity of carrying on this work to the end, which can be + accomplished only by victory for the Allied arms. You have a + great opportunity, and I am confident that you will grasp it, as + you have grasped your past opportunities, with success. You have + always played the game squarely and with courage, and I wish to + thank you. + + Sincerely yours, + + John J. Pershing. + + * * * * * + + + + + G. Q. G. A. le July 28, 1918. + + COMMANDEMENT EN CHEF + DES ARMEES ALLIES + LE GENERAL + + + MONSIEUR, + + I understand that you are going to the United States + to give lectures on what you have seen on the French front. + + No one is more qualified than you to do this, after your + brilliant conduct in the Bois de Belleau. + + The American Army has proved itself to be magnificent + in spirit, in gallantry and in vigor; it has contributed largely + to our successes. If you can thus be the echo of my opinion + I am sure you will serve a good purpose. + + Very sincerely yours, + + (_Signed_) F. FOCH. + + MONSIEUR FLOYD GIBBONS, + War Correspondent of the Chicago _Tribune_. + + * * * * * + + + + + G.Q.G.A. _Le_ 28 Juillet 1918. + + _Commandement en Chef_ + _des Armies Allies_ + _Le General_ + + + Monsieur, + + + Je sais que vous allez donner des conferences aux + Etats-Unis pour raconter ce que vous avez vu sur le front + francais. + + Personne n'est plus qualifie que vous pour le faire, + apres votre brillante conduite au Bois BELLEAU. + + L'Armee Americaine se montre magnifique de sentiments, + de valeur et d'entrain, elle a contribue pour une large part + a nos succes. Si vous pouvez etre l'echo de mon opinion, je + n'y verrai qu'avantage. + + Croyez, Monsieur, a mes meilleurs sentiments. + + + F. Foch + + Monsieur FLOYD GIBBONS +Correspondant de Guerre du CHICAGO TRIBUNE. + + * * * * * + + + + + GRAND QUARTIER GENERAL + DES ARMEES DU NORD ET DU NORD EST + ETAT-MAJOR + BUREAU DU PERSONNEL + (Decorations) + + ORDER NO. 8809 D + + + The General Commander-in-Chief Cites for the _Croix + de Guerre_ + + M. FLOYD GIBBONS, War Correspondent of the Chicago + _Tribune_: + + "Has time after time given proof of his courage and bravery by + going to the most exposed posts to gather information. On June 5, + 1918, while accompanying a regiment of marines who were attacking + a wood, he was severely wounded by three machine gun bullets in + going to the rescue of an American officer wounded near + him--demonstrating, by this action, the most noble devotion. + When, a few hours later, he was lifted and transported to the + dressing station, he begged not to be cared for until the wounded + who had arrived before him had been attended to." + + General Headquarters, August 2, 1918 + THE GENERAL COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF + (_Signed_) PETAIN + + * * * * * + + + + + GRAND QUARTIER GENERAL + DES ARMEES DU NORD ET DU NORD-EST + + ETAT-MAJOR + + BUREAU DU PERSONNEL + (Decorations) + + ORDRE No 8809 D + + + Le General Commandant en Chef Cite a l'Ordre de l'Armee: + + + _M. FLOYD GIBBONS_, Correspondant de Guerre du Chicago Tribune: + + "A donne a maintes reprises des preuves de courage et de + bravoure, en allant recueillir des informations aux postes les + plus exposes. Le 5 Juin 1918, accompagnant un regiment de + Fusiliers marins qui attaquait un bois, a ete tres grievement + atteint de trois balles de mitrailleuses en se portant au secours + d'un officier americain blesse a ses cotes, faisant ainsi preuve, + en cette circonstance, du plus beau devouement. Releve plusieurs + heures apres et transporte au poste de secours, a demande a ne + pas etre soigne avant les blesses arrives avant lui." + + Au Grand Quartier General, le 2 Aout 1918. + LE GENERAL COMMANDANT EN CHEF. + + Petain + + * * * * * + + + + +FOREWORD + + +Marshal Foch, the commander of eleven million bayonets, has written that +no man is more qualified than Gibbons to tell the true story of the +Western Front. General Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American +Expeditionary Forces, has said that it was Gibbons' great opportunity to +give the people in America a life-like picture of the work of the +American soldier in France. + +The key to the book is the man. + +Back in the red days on the Rio Grande, word came from Pancho Villa that +any "Gringos" found in Mexico would be killed on sight. The American +people were interested in the Revolution at the border. Gibbons went +into the Mexican hills alone and called Villa's bluff. He did more. He +fitted out a box car, attached it to the revolutionary bandits' train +and was in the thick of three of Villa's biggest battles. Gibbons +brought out of Mexico the first authoritative information on the Mexican +situation. The following year the War Department accredited him to +General Pershing's punitive expedition and he rode with the flying +column led by General Pershing when it crossed the border. + +In 1917, the then Imperial German Government announced to the world that +on and after February 1st its submarines would sink without warning any +ship that ventured to enter a zone it had drawn in the waters of the +North Atlantic. + +Gibbons sensed the meaning of this impudent challenge. He saw ahead the +overt act that was bound to come and be the cause of the United States +entering the war. In these days the cry of "Preparedness" was echoing +the land. England had paid dearly for her lack of preparedness. The +inefficient volunteer system had cost her priceless blood. The _Chicago +Tribune_ sought the most available newspaper man to send to London and +write the story of England's costly mistakes for the profit of the +American people. Gibbons was picked for the mission and arrangement was +made for him to travel on the steamer by which the discredited Von +Bernstorff was to return to Germany. The ship's safe conduct was +guaranteed. Gibbons did not like this feature of the trip. He wanted to +ride the seas in a ship without guarantees. His mind was on the overt +act. He wanted to be on the job when it happened. He cancelled the +passage provided for him on the Von Bernstorff ship and took passage on +the largest liner in port, a ship large enough to be readily seen +through a submarine periscope and important enough to attract the +special attention of the German Admiralty. He sailed on the _Laconia_, +an eighteen thousand ton Cunarder. + +On the night of February 27, 1917, when the _Laconia_ was two hundred +miles off the coast of Ireland, the Gibbons' "hunch" was fulfilled. The +_Laconia_ was torpedoed and suck. After a perilous night in a small boat +on the open sea, Gibbons was rescued and brought into Queenstown. He +opened the cables and flashed to America the most powerful call to arms +to the American people. It shook the country. It was the testimony of an +eye witness and it convinced the Imperial German Government, beyond all +reasonable doubt, of the wilful and malicious murder of American +citizens. The Gibbons story furnished the proof of the overt act and it +was unofficially admitted at Washington that it was the determining +factor in sending America into the war one month later. + +Gibbons greeted Pershing on the latter's landing in Liverpool. He +accompanied the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces across +the Channel and was at his side when he put foot on French soil. He was +one of the two American correspondents to march with the first American +troops that entered the trenches on the Western front. He was with the +first American troops to cross the German frontier. He was with the +artillery battalion that fired the first American shell into Germany. + +On June 6th, 1918, Gibbons went "over the top" with the first waves in +the great battle of the Bois de Belleau. Gibbons was with Major John +Berry, who, while leading the charge, fell wounded. Gibbons saw him +fall. Through the hail of lead from a thousand spitting machine guns, he +rushed to the assistance of the wounded Major. A German machine gun +bullet shot away part of his left shoulder, but this did not stop +Gibbons. Another bullet smashed through his arm, but still Gibbons kept +on. A third bullet got him. It tore out his left eye and made a compound +fracture of the skull. For three hours he lay conscious on the open +field in the Bois de Belleau with a murderous machine gun fire playing a +few inches over his head until under cover of darkness he was able to +crawl off the field. For his gallant conduct he received a citation from +General Petain, Commander-in-Chief of the French Armies, and the French +Government awarded him the Croix de Guerre with the Palm. + +On July 5th, he was out of the hospital and back at the front, covering +the first advance of the Americans with the British forces before +Amiens. On July 18th he was the only correspondent with the American +troops when they executed the history-making drive against the German +armies in the Chateau-Thierry salient--the beginning of the German end. +He rode with the first detachment of American troops that entered +Chateau-Thierry upon the heels of the retreating Germans. + +Floyd Gibbons was the first to sound the alarm of the danger of the +German peace offensive. Six weeks before the drive for a negotiated +peace was made by the German Government against the home flank in +America, Gibbons told that it was on the way. He crossed the Atlantic +with his crippled arm in a sling and his head bandaged, to spend his +convalescence warning American audiences against what he called the +"Crooked Kamerad Cry." + +Gibbons has lived the war, he has been a part of it. "And They Thought +We Wouldn't Fight" is the voice of our men in France. + + FRANK COMERFORD. + + + + + CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER PAGE + + I THE SINKING OF THE _Laconia_ 17 + + II PERSHING'S ARRIVAL IN EUROPE 43 + + III THE LANDING OF THE FIRST AMERICAN CONTINGENT IN FRANCE 61 + + IV THROUGH THE SCHOOL OF WAR 78 + + V MAKING THE MEN WHO MAN THE GUNS 96 + + VI "FRONTWARD HO!" 117 + + VII INTO THE LINE--THE FIRST AMERICAN SHOT IN THE WAR 134 + + VIII THE FIRST AMERICAN SECTOR 158 + + IX THE NIGHT OUR GUNS CUT LOOSE 182 + + X INTO PICARDY TO MEET THE GERMAN PUSH 199 + + XI UNDER FIRE 217 + + XII BEFORE CANTIGNY 235 + + XIII THE RUSH OF THE RAIDERS--"ZERO AT 2 A. M." 251 + + XIV ON LEAVE IN PARIS 266 + + XV CHATEAU-THIERRY AND THE BOIS DE BELLEAU 283 + + XVI WOUNDED--HOW IT FEELS TO BE SHOT 305 + + XVII "GOOD MORNING, NURSE" 323 + + XVIII GROANS, LAUGHS AND SOBS IN THE HOSPITAL 338 + + XIX "JULY 18TH"--THE TURN OF THE TIDE 354 + + XX THE DAWN OF VICTORY 376 + + APPENDIX + + PERSONNEL OF THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES IN FRANCE 399 + + + + + ILLUSTRATIONS + + + FLOYD GIBBONS _Frontispiece_ + + PAGE + THE ARRIVAL IN LONDON, SHOWING GENERAL PERSHING, + MR. PAGE, FIELD MARSHAL VISCOUNT FRENCH, LORD + DERBY, AND ADMIRAL SIMS 50 + + GENERAL PERSHING BOWING TO THE CROWD IN PARIS 50 + + THE FIRST AMERICAN FOOT ON FRENCH SOIL 66 + + THE FIRST GLIMPSE OF FRANCE 66 + + CAPT. CHEVALIER, OF THE FRENCH ARMY, INSTRUCTING + AMERICAN OFFICERS IN THE USE OF THE ONE POUNDER 122 + + IN THE COURSE OF ITS PROGRESS TO THE VALLEY OF THE + VESLE THIS 155 MM. GUN AND OTHERS OF ITS KIND + WERE EDUCATING THE BOCHE TO RESPECT AMERICA. + THE TRACTOR HAULS IT ALONG STEADILY AND SLOWLY, + LIKE A STEAM ROLLER 122 + + GRAVE OF FIRST AMERICANS KILLED IN FRANCE. TRANSLATION: + HERE LIE THE FIRST SOLDIERS OF THE GREAT + REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, FALLEN + ON FRENCH SOIL FOR JUSTICE AND FOR LIBERTY, NOVEMBER + 3RD, 1918 170 + + FIRST OF THE GREAT FRANCO-AMERICAN COUNTER-OFFENSIVE + AT CHATEAU-THIERRY. THE FRENCH BABY + TANKS, KNOWN AS CHARS D'ASSAUTS, ENTERING THE + WOOD OF VILLERS-COTTERETS, SOUTHWEST OF SOISSONS 226 + + YANKS AND POILUS VIEWING THE CITY OF CHATEAU-THIERRY + WHERE IN THE MIDDLE OF JULY THE YANKS + TURNED THE TIDE OF BATTLE AGAINST THE HUNS 226 + + MARINES MARCHING DOWN THE AVENUE PRESIDENT WILSON + ON THE FOURTH OF JULY IN PARIS 274 + + BRIDGE CROSSING MARNE RIVER IN CHATEAU-THIERRY + DESTROYED BY GERMANS IN THEIR RETREAT FROM + TOWN 274 + + HELMET WORN BY FLOYD GIBBONS WHEN WOUNDED, + SHOWING DAMAGE CAUSED BY SHRAPNEL 314 + + THE NEWS FROM THE STATES 346 + + SMILING WOUNDED AMERICAN SOLDIERS 346 + + (_Photographs Copyright by Committee on Public Information._) + + + + +"AND THEY THOUGHT WE + WOULDN'T FIGHT" + + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE SINKING OF THE _Laconia_ + + +Between America and the firing line, there are three thousand miles of +submarine infested water. Every American soldier, before encountering +the dangers of the battle-front, must first overcome the dangers of the +deep. + +Geographically, America is almost four thousand miles from the war zone, +but in fact every American soldier bound for France entered the war zone +one hour out of New York harbour. Germany made an Ally out of the dark +depths of the Atlantic. + +That three-thousand-mile passage represented greater possibilities for +the destruction of the United States overseas forces than any +strategical operation that Germany's able military leaders could direct +in the field. + +Germany made use of that three thousand miles of water, just as she +developed the use of barbed wire entanglements along the front. Infantry +advancing across No Man's Land were held helpless before the enemy's +fire by barbed wire entanglements. Germany, with her submarine policy of +ruthlessness, changed the Atlantic Ocean into another No Man's Land +across which every American soldier had to pass at the mercy of the +enemy before he could arrive at the actual battle-front. + +This was the peril of the troop ship. This was the tremendous advantage +which the enemy held over our armies even before they reached the field. +This was the unprecedented condition which the United States and Allied +navies had to cope with in the great undertaking of transporting our +forces overseas. + +Any one who has crossed the ocean, even in the normal times before +shark-like Kultur skulked beneath the water, has experienced the feeling +of human helplessness that comes in mid-ocean when one considers the +comparative frailty of such man-made devices as even the most modern +turbine liners, with the enormous power of the wilderness of water over +which one sails. + +In such times one realises that safety rests, first upon the kindliness +of the elements; secondly, upon the skill and watchfulness of those +directing the voyage, and thirdly, upon the dependability of such +human-made things as engines, propellers, steel plates, bolts and +rivets. + +But add to the possibilities of a failure or a misalliance of any or all +of the above functions, the greater danger of a diabolical human, yet +inhuman, interference, directed against the seafarer with the purpose +and intention of his destruction. This last represents the greatest odds +against those who go to sea during the years of the great war. + +A sinking at sea is a nightmare. I have been through one. I have been on +a ship torpedoed in mid-ocean. I have stood on the slanting decks of a +doomed liner; I have listened to the lowering of the life-boats, heard +the hiss of escaping steam and the roar of ascending rockets as they +tore lurid rents in the black sky and cast their red glare o'er the +roaring sea. + +I have spent a night in an open boat on the tossing swells. I have been +through, in reality, the mad dream of drifting and darkness and bailing +and pulling on the oars and straining aching eyes toward an empty, +meaningless horizon in search of help. I shall try to tell you how it +feels. + +I had been assigned by _The Chicago Tribune_ to go to London as their +correspondent. Almost the same day I received that assignment, the +"Imperial" Government of Germany had invoked its ruthless submarine +policy, had drawn a blockade zone about the waters of the British Isles +and the coasts of France, and had announced to the world that its +U-boats would sink without warning any ship, of any kind, under any +flag, that tried to sail the waters that Germany declared prohibitory. + +In consideration of my personal safety and, possibly, of my future +usefulness, the _Tribune_ was desirous of arranging for me a safe +passage across the Atlantic. Such an opportunity presented itself in the +ordered return of the disgraced and discredited German Ambassador to the +United States, Count von Bernstorff. + +Under the rules of International courtesy, a ship had been provided for +the use of von Bernstorff and his diplomatic staff. That ship was to +sail under absolute guarantees of safe conduct from all of the nations +at war with Germany and, of course, it would also have been safe from +attack by German submarines. That ship was the _Frederick VIII_. At +considerable expense the _Tribune_ managed to obtain for me a cabin +passage on that ship. + +I can't say that I was over-impressed with the prospect of travel in +such company. I disliked the thought that I, an American citizen, with +rights as such to sail the sea, should have to resort to subterfuge and +scheming to enjoy those rights. There arose in me a feeling of challenge +against Germany's order which forbade American ships to sail the ocean. +I cancelled my sailing on the _Frederick VIII_. + +In New York, I sought passage on the first American ship sailing for +England. I made the rounds of the steamship offices and learned that the +Cunard liner _Laconia_ was the first available boat and was about to +sail. She carried a large cargo of munitions and other materials of war. +I booked passage aboard her. It was on Saturday, February 17th, 1917, +that we steamed away from the dock at New York and moved slowly down the +East River. We were bound for Liverpool, England. My cabin accommodations +were good. The _Laconia_ was listed at 18,000 tons and was one of the +largest Cunarders in the Atlantic service. The next morning we were out +of sight of land. + +Sailors were stationed along the decks of the ship and in the look-outs +at the mast heads. They maintained a watch over the surface of the sea +in all directions. On the stern of the ship, there was mounted a +six-inch cannon and a crew of gunners stood by it night and day. + +Submarines had been recently reported in the waters through which we +were sailing, but we saw none of them and apparently they saw none of +us. They had sunk many ships, but all of the sinkings had been in the +day time. Consequently, there was a feeling of greater safety at night. +The _Laconia_ sailed on a constantly zig-zagging course. All of our +life-boats were swinging out over the side of the ship, so that if we +were hit they could be lowered in a hurry. Every other day the +passengers and the crew would be called up on the decks to stand by the +life-boats that had been assigned to them. + +The officers of the ship instructed us in the life-boat drill. They +showed us how to strap the life-preservers about our bodies; they showed +us how to seat ourselves in the life-boats; they showed us a small keg +of water and some tin cans of biscuits, a lantern and some flares that +were stored in the boat, and so we sailed along day after day without +meeting any danger. At night, all of the lights were put out and the +ship slipped along through the darkness. + +On Sunday, after we had been sailing for eight days, we entered the zone +that had been prohibited by the Kaiser. We sailed into it full steam +ahead and nothing happened. That day was February the twenty-fifth. In +the afternoon, I was seated in the lounge with two friends. One was an +American whose name was Kirby; the other was a Canadian and his name was +Dugan. The latter was an aviator in the British army. In fights with +German aeroplanes high over the Western Front he had been wounded and +brought down twice and the army had sent him to his home in Canada to +get well. He was returning once more to the battle front "to stop +another bullet," as he said. + +As we talked, I passed around my cigarette case and Dugan held a lighted +match while the three of us lighted our cigarettes from it. As Dugan +blew out the match and placed the burnt end in an ash tray, he laughed +and said, + +"They say it is bad luck to light three cigarettes with the same match, +but I think it is good luck for me. I used to do it frequently with my +flying partners in France and four of them have been killed, but I am +still alive." + +"That makes it all right for you," said Kirby, "but it makes it look bad +for Gibbons and myself. But nothing is going to happen. I don't believe +in superstitions." + +That night after dinner Dugan and I took a brisk walk around the +darkened promenade deck of the _Laconia_. The night was very dark, a +stiff wind was blowing and the _Laconia_ was rolling slightly in the +trough of the waves. Wet from spray, we returned within and in one of +the corridors met the Captain of the ship. I told him that I would like +very much to have a look at his chart and learn our exact location on +the ocean. + +He looked at me and laughed because that was a very secret matter. But +he replied: + +"Oh, you would, would you?" and his voice carried that particular +British intonation that seemed to say, "Well it is jolly well none of +your business." + +Then I asked him when he thought we would land in Liverpool. + +"I really don't know," said the ship's commander, and then, with a wink, +he added, "but my steward told me that we would get in Tuesday evening." + +Kirby and I went to the smoke room on the boat deck well to the stern of +the ship. We joined a circle of Britishers who were seated in front of a +coal fire in an open hearth. Nearly every one in the lighted smoke room +was playing cards, so that the conversation was practically confined to +the mentioning of bids and the orders of drinks from the stewards. + +"What do you think are our chances of being torpedoed?" was the question +I put before the circle in front of the fireplace. + +The deliberative Mr. Henry Chetham, a London solicitor, was the first to +answer. + +"Well," he drawled, "I should say about four thousand to one." + +Lucien J. Jerome of the British Diplomatic Service, returning with an +Ecuadorian valet from South America, advanced his opinion. + +I was much impressed with his opinion because the speaker himself had +impressed me deeply. He was the best monocle juggler I had ever met. In +his right eye he carried a monocle without a rim and without a ribbon +or thread to save it, should it ever have fallen from his eye. + +Repeatedly during the trip, I had seen Mr. Jerome standing on the +hurrideck of the _Laconia_ facing the wind but holding the glass disk in +his eye with a muscular grip that must have been vise-like. I had even +followed him around the deck several times in a desire to be present +when the monocle blew out, but the British diplomatist never for once +lost his grip on it. I had come to the opinion that the piece of glass +was fixed to his eye and that he slept with it. After the fashion of the +British Diplomatic Service, he expressed his opinion most affirmatively. + +"Nonsense," he said with reference to Mr. Chetham's estimate. "Utter +nonsense. Considering the zone that we are in and the class of the ship, +I should put the chances down at two hundred and fifty to one that we +don't meet a 'sub.'" + +At that minute the torpedo hit us. + +Have you ever stood on the deck of a ferry boat as it arrived in the +slip? And have you ever experienced the slight sideward shove when the +boat rubs against the piling and comes to a stop? That was the +unmistakable lurch we felt, but no one expects to run into pilings in +mid-ocean, so every one knew what it was. + +At the same time, there came a muffled noise--not extremely loud nor yet +very sharp--just a noise like the slamming of some large oaken door a +good distance away. Realising that we had been torpedoed, my imagination +was rather disappointed at the slightness of the shock and the meekness +of the report. One or two chairs tipped over, a few glasses crashed from +table to floor and in an instant every man in the room was on his feet. + +"We're hit," shouted Mr. Chetham. + +"That's what we've been waiting for," said Mr. Jerome. + +"What a lousy torpedo!" said Mr. Kirby. "It must have been a fizzer." + +I looked at my watch; it was 10:30. + +Five sharp blasts sounded on the _Laconia's_ whistle. Since that night, +I have often marvelled at the quick coordination of mind and hand that +belonged to the man on the bridge who pulled that whistle rope. Those +five blasts constituted the signal to abandon the ship. Every one +recognised them. + +We walked hurriedly down the corridor leading from the smoke room in the +stern to the lounge which was amidships. We moved fast but there was no +crowding and no panic. Passing the open door of the gymnasium, I became +aware of the list of the vessel. The floor of the gymnasium slanted down +on the starboard side and a medicine ball and dozens of dumb bells and +Indian clubs were rolling in that direction. + +We entered the lounge--a large drawing room furnished with green +upholstered chairs and divans and small tables on which the after-dinner +liqueur glasses still rested. In one corner was a grand piano with the +top elevated. In the centre of the slanting floor of the saloon was a +cabinet Victrola and from its mahogany bowels there poured the last and +dying strains of "Poor Butterfly." + +The women and several men who had been in the lounge were hurriedly +leaving by the forward door as we entered. We followed them through. The +twin winding stairs leading below decks by the forward hatch were dark +and I brought into play a pocket flashlight shaped like a fountain pen. +I had purchased it before sailing in view of such an emergency and I +had always carried it fastened with a clip in an upper vest pocket. + +My stateroom was B 19 on the promenade deck, one deck below the deck on +which was located the smoke room, the lounge and the life-boats. The +corridor was dimly lighted and the floor had a more perceptible slant as +I darted into my stateroom, which was on the starboard and sinking side +of the ship. I hurriedly put on a light non-sink garment constructed +like a vest, which I had come provided with, and then donned an +overcoat. + +Responding to the list of the ship, the wardrobe door swung open and +crashed against the wall. My typewriter slid off the dressing table and +a shower of toilet articles pitched from their places on the washstand. +I grabbed the ship's life-preserver in my left hand and, with the +flashlight in my right hand, started up the hatchway to the upper deck. + +In the darkness of the boat deck hatchway, the rays of my flashlight +revealed the chief steward opening the door of a switch closet in the +panel wall. He pushed on a number of switches and instantly the decks of +the _Laconia_ became bright. From sudden darkness, the exterior of the +ship burst into a blaze of light and it was that illumination that saved +many lives. + +The _Laconia's_ engines and dynamos had not yet been damaged. The +torpedo had hit us well astern on the starboard side and the bulkheads +seemed to be holding back from the engine room the flood of water that +rushed in through the gaping hole in the ship's side. I proceeded down +the boat deck to my station opposite boat No. 10. I looked over the side +and down upon the water sixty feet below. + +The sudden flashing of the lights on the upper deck made the dark +seething waters seem blacker and angrier. They rose and fell in troubled +swells. + +Steam began to hiss from some of the pipes leading up from the engine +well. It seemed like a dying groan from the very vitals of the stricken +ship. Clouds of white and black smoke rolled up from the giant grey +funnels that towered above us. + +Suddenly there was a roaring swish as a rocket soared upward from the +Captain's bridge, leaving a comet's tail of fire. I watched it as it +described a graceful arc and then with an audible pop it burst in a +flare of brilliant colour. Its ascent had torn a lurid rent in the black +sky and had cast a red glare over the roaring sea. + +Already boat No. 10 was loading up and men and boys were busy with the +ropes. I started to help near a davit that seemed to be giving trouble +but was sternly ordered to get out of the way and to get into the boat. + +Other passengers and members of the crew and officers of the ship were +rushing to and fro along the deck strapping their life-preservers to +them as they rushed. There was some shouting of orders but little or no +confusion. One woman, a blonde French actress, became hysterical on the +deck, but two men lifted her bodily off her feet and placed her in the +life-boat. + +We were on the port side of the ship, the higher side. To reach the +boats, we had to climb up the slanting deck to the edge of the ship. + +On the starboard side, it was different. On that side, the decks slanted +down toward the water. The ship careened in that direction and the +life-boats suspended from the davits swung clear of the ship's side. + +The list of the ship increased. On the port side, we looked down the +slanting side of the ship and noticed that her water line on that side +was a number of feet above the waves. The slant was so pronounced that +the life-boats, instead of swinging clear from the davits, rested +against the side of the ship. From my position in the life-boat I could +see that we were going to have difficulty in the descent to the water. + +"Lower away," some one gave the order and we started downward with a +jerk toward the seemingly hungry, rising and falling swells. Then we +stopped with another jerk and remained suspended in mid-air while the +men at the bow and the stern swore and tusseled with the ropes. + +The stern of the boat was down; the bow up, leaving us at an angle of +about forty-five degrees. We clung to the seats to save ourselves from +falling out. + +"Who's got a knife? A knife! A knife!" shouted a fireman in the bow. He +was bare to the waist and perspiration stood out in drops on his face +and chest and made streaks through the coal dust with which his skin was +grimed. + +"Great Gawd! Give him a knife," bawled a half-dressed jibbering negro +stoker who wrung his hands in the stern. + +A hatchet was thrust into my hands and I forwarded it to the bow. There +was a flash of sparks as it was brought down with a clang on the holding +pulley. One strand of the rope parted. + +Down plunged the bow of the boat too quickly for the men in the stern. +We came to a jerky stop, this time with the stern in the air and the bow +down, the dangerous angle reversed. + +One man in the stern let the rope race through his blistered fingers. +With hands burnt to the quick, he grabbed the rope and stopped the +precipitous descent just in time to bring the stern level with the bow. + +Then bow and stern tried to lower away together. The slant of the ship's +side had increased, so that our boat instead of sliding down it like a +toboggan was held up on one side when the taffrail caught on one of the +condenser exhaust pipes projecting slightly from the ship's side. + +Thus the starboard side of the life-boat stuck fast and high while the +port side dropped down and once more we found ourselves clinging on at a +new angle and looking straight down into the water. + +A hand slipped into mine and a voice sounded huskily close to my ear. It +was the little old Jewish travelling man who was disliked in the smoke +room because he used to speak too certainly of things about which he was +uncertain. His slightly Teutonic dialect had made him as popular as the +smallpox with the British passengers. + +"My poy, I can't see nutting," he said. "My glasses slipped and I am +falling. Hold me, please." + +I managed to reach out and join hands with another man on the other side +of the old man and together we held him in. He hung heavily over our +arms, grotesquely grasping all he had saved from his stateroom--a +gold-headed cane and an extra hat. + +Many feet and hands pushed the boat from the side of the ship and we +renewed our sagging, scraping, sliding, jerking descent. It ended as the +bottom of the life-boat smacked squarely on the pillowy top of a rising +swell. It felt more solid than mid-air at least. + +But we were far from being off. The pulleys twice stuck in their +fastings, bow and stern, and the one axe was passed forward and back +(and with it my flashlight) as the entangling mesh of ropes that held +us to the sinking _Laconia_ was cut away. + +Some shout from that confusion of sound caused me to look up. I believe +I really did so in the fear that one of the nearby boats was being +lowered upon us. + +Tin funnels enamelled white and containing clusters of electric bulbs +hung over the side from one of the upper decks. I looked up into the +cone of one of these lights and a bulky object shot suddenly out of the +darkness into the scope of the electric rays. + +It was a man. His arms were bent up at the elbows; his legs at the +knees. He was jumping, with the intention, I feared, of landing in our +boat, and I prepared to avoid the impact. But he had judged his distance +well. + +He plunged beyond us and into the water three feet from the edge of the +boat. He sank from sight, leaving a white patch of bubbles and foam on +the black water. He bobbed to the surface almost immediately. + +"It's Dugan," shouted a man next to me. + +I flashed a light on the ruddy, smiling face and water plastered hair of +the little Canadian aviator, our fellow saloon passenger. We pulled him +over the side and into the boat. He spluttered out a mouthful of water. + +"I wonder if there is anything to that lighting three matches off the +same match," he said. "I was trying to loosen the bow rope in this boat. +I loosened it and then got tangled up in it. When the boat descended, I +was jerked up back on the deck. Then I jumped for it. Holy Moses, but +this water is cold." + +As we pulled away from the side of the ship, its receding terraces of +glowing port holes and deck lights towered above us. The ship was slowly +turning over. + +We were directly opposite the engine room section of the _Laconia_. +There was a tangle of oars, spars and rigging on the seats in our boat, +and considerable confusion resulted before we could manage to place in +operation some of the big oars on either side. + +The jibbering, bullet-headed negro was pulling a sweep directly behind +me and I turned to quiet him as his frantic reaches with the oar were +jabbing me in the back. + +In the dull light from the upper decks, I looked into his slanting +face--his eyes all whites and his lips moving convulsively. He shivered +with fright, but in addition to that he was freezing in the thin cotton +shirt that composed his entire upper covering. He worked feverishly at +the oar to warm himself. + +"Get away from her. My Gawd, get away from her," he kept repeating. +"When the water hits her hot boilers she'll blow up the whole ocean and +there's just tons and tons of shrapnel in her hold." + +His excitement spread to other members of the crew in our boat. The +ship's baker, designated by his pantry headgear of white linen, became a +competing alarmist and a white fireman, whose blasphemy was nothing +short of profound, added to the confusion by cursing every one. + +It was the tension of the minute--it was the give way of overwrought +nerves--it was bedlam and nightmare. + +I sought to establish some authority in our boat which was about to +break out into full mutiny. I made my way to the stern. There, huddled +up in a great overcoat and almost muffled in a ship's life-preserver, I +came upon an old white-haired man and I remembered him. + +He was a sea-captain of the old sailing days. He had been a second cabin +passenger with whom I had talked before. Earlier in the year he had +sailed out of Nova Scotia with a cargo of codfish. His schooner, the +_Secret_, had broken in two in mid-ocean, but he and his crew had been +picked up by a tramp and taken back to New York. + +From there he had sailed on another ship bound for Europe, but this +ship, a Holland-American Liner, the _Ryndam_, had never reached the +other side. In mid-Atlantic her captain had lost courage over the U-boat +threats. He had turned the ship about and returned to America. Thus, the +_Laconia_ represented the third unsuccessful attempt of this grey-haired +mariner to get back to his home in England. His name was Captain Dear. + +"Our boat's rudder is gone, but we can stear with an oar," he said, in a +weak-quavering voice--the thin high-pitched treble of age. "I will take +charge, if you want me to, but my voice is gone. I can tell you what to +do, but you will have to shout the orders. They won't listen to me." + +There was only one way to get the attention of the crew, and that was by +an overpowering blast of profanity. I called to my assistance every +ear-splitting, soul-sizzling oath that I could think of. + +I recited the lurid litany of the army mule skinner to his gentle +charges and embellished it with excerpts from the remarks of a Chicago +taxi chauffeur while he changed tires on the road with the temperature +ten below. + +It proved to be an effective combination, this brim-stoned oration of +mine, because it was rewarded by silence. + +"Is there a ship's officer in this boat?" I shouted. There was no +answer. + +"Is there a sailor or a seaman on board?" I inquired, and again there +was silence from our group of passengers, firemen, stokers and deck +swabs. + +They appeared to be listening to me and I wished to keep my hold on +them. I racked my mind for some other query to make or some order to +direct. Before the spell was broken I found one. + +"We will now find out how many of us there are in this boat," I +announced in the best tones of authority that I could assume. "The first +man in the bow will count one and the next man to him will count two. We +will count from the bow back to the stern, each man taking a number. +Begin." + +"One," came the quick response from a passenger who happened to be the +first man in the bow. The enumeration continued sharply toward the +stern. I spoke the last number. + +"There are twenty-three of us here," I repeated, "there's not a ship's +officer or seaman among us, but we are extremely fortunate to have with +us an old sea-captain who has consented to take charge of the boat and +save our lives. His voice is weak, but I will repeat the orders for him, +so that all of you can hear. Are you ready to obey his orders?" + +There was an almost unanimous acknowledgment of assent and order was +restored. + +"The first thing to be done," I announced upon Captain Dear's +instructions, "is to get the same number of oars pulling on each side of +the boat; to seat ourselves so as to keep on an even keel and then to +keep the boat's head up into the wind so that we won't be swamped by the +waves." + +With some little difficulty, this rearrangement was accomplished and +then we rested on our oars with all eyes turned on the still lighted +_Laconia_. The torpedo had hit at about 10:30 P. M. according to our +ship's time. Though listing far over on one side, the _Laconia_ was +still afloat. + +It must have been twenty minutes after that first shot that we heard +another dull thud, which was accompanied by a noticeable drop in the +hulk. The German submarine had despatched a second torpedo through the +engine room and the boat's vitals from a distance of two hundred yards. + +We watched silently during the next minute as the tiers of lights dimmed +slowly from white to yellow, then to red and then nothing was left but +the murky mourning of the night which hung over all like a pall. + +A mean, cheese-coloured crescent of a moon revealed one horn above a rag +bundle of clouds low in the distance. A rim of blackness settled around +our little world, relieved only by a few leering stars in the zenith, +and, where the _Laconia's_ lights had shown, there remained only the dim +outlines of a blacker hulk standing out above the water like a jagged +headland, silhouetted against the overcast sky. + +The ship sank rapidly at the stern until at last its nose rose out of +the water, and stood straight up in the air. Then it slid silently down +and out of sight like a piece of scenery in a panorama spectacle. + +Boat No. 3 stood closest to the place where the ship had gone down. As a +result of the after suction, the small life-boat rocked about in a +perilous sea of clashing spars and wreckage. + +As the boat's crew steadied its head into the wind, a black hulk, +glistening wet and standing about eight feet above the surface of the +water, approached slowly. It came to a stop opposite the boat and not +ten feet from the side of it. It was the submarine. + +"Vot ship vass dot?" were the first words of throaty guttural English +that came from a figure which projected from the conning tower. + +"The _Laconia_," answered the Chief Steward Ballyn, who commanded the +life-boat. + +"Vot?" + +"The _Laconia_, Cunard Line," responded the steward. + +"Vot did she weigh?" was the next question from the submarine. + +"Eighteen thousand tons." + +"Any passengers?" + +"Seventy-three," replied Ballyn, "many of them women and children--some +of them in this boat. She had over two hundred in the crew." + +"Did she carry cargo?" + +"Yes." + +"Iss der Captain in dot boat?" + +"No," Ballyn answered. + +"Well, I guess you'll be all right. A patrol will pick you up some time +soon." Without further sound save for the almost silent fixing of the +conning tower lid, the submarine moved off. + +"I thought it best to make my answers sharp and satisfactory, sir," said +Ballyn, when he repeated the conversation to me word for word. "I was +thinking of the women and children in the boat. I feared every minute +that somebody in our boat might make a hostile move, fire a revolver, or +throw something at the submarine. I feared the consequence of such an +act." + +There was no assurance of an early pickup so we made preparations for a +siege with the elements. The weather was a great factor. That black rim +of clouds looked ominous. There was a good promise of rain. February has +a reputation for nasty weather in the north Atlantic. The wind was cold +and seemed to be rising. Our boat bobbed about like a cork on the +swells, which fortunately were not choppy. + +How much rougher seas could the boat weather? This question and +conditions were debated pro and con. + +Had our rockets been seen? Did the first torpedo put the wireless out of +commission? If it had been able to operate, had anybody heard our S. O. +S.? Was there enough food and drinking water in the boat to last? + +This brought us to an inventory of our small craft. After considerable +difficulty, we found the lamp, a can of powder flares, the tin of ship's +biscuit, matches and spare oil. + +The lamp was lighted. Other lights were now visible. As we drifted in +the darkness, we could see them every time we mounted the crest of the +swells. The boats carrying these lights remained quite close together at +first. + +One boat came within sound and I recognised the Harry Lauder-like voice +of the second assistant purser whom I had last heard on Wednesday at the +ship's concert. Now he was singing--"I Want to Marry 'arry," and "I Love +to be a Sailor." + +There were an American woman and her husband in that boat. She told me +later that an attempt had been made to sing "Tipperary," and "Rule +Britannia," but the thought of that slinking dark hull of destruction +that might have been a part of the immediate darkness resulted in the +abandonment of the effort. + +"Who's the officer in that boat?" came a cheery hail from the nearby +light. + +"What the hell is it to you?" our half frozen negro yelled out for no +reason apparent to me other than possibly the relief of his feelings. + +"Will somebody brain that skunk with a pin?" was the inquiry of our +profound oathsman, who also expressed regret that he happened to be +sitting too far away from the negro to reach him. He accompanied the +announcement with a warmth of language that must have relieved the negro +of his chill. + +The fear of the boats crashing together produced a general inclination +toward maximum separation on the part of all the little units of +survivors, with the result that soon the small crafts stretched out for +several miles, their occupants all endeavoring to hold the heads of the +boats into the wind. + +Hours passed. The swells slopped over the sides of our boat and filled +the bottom with water. We bailed it continually. Most of us were wet to +the knees and shivering from the weakening effects of the icy water. Our +hands were blistered from pulling at the oars. Our boat, bobbing about +like a cork, produced terrific nausea, and our stomachs ached from vain +wrenching. + +And then we saw the first light--the first sign of help coming--the +first searching glow of white radiance deep down the sombre sides of the +black pot of night that hung over us. I don't know what direction it +came from--none of us knew north from south--there was nothing but water +and sky. But the light--it just came from over there where we pointed. +We nudged dumb, sick boat mates and directed their gaze and aroused them +to an appreciation of the sight that gave us new life. + +It was 'way over there--first a trembling quiver of silver against the +blackness, then drawing closer, it defined itself as a beckoning finger, +although still too far away to see our feeble efforts to attract it. + +Nevertheless, we wasted valuable flares and the ship's baker, +self-ordained custodian of the biscuit, did the honours handsomely to +the extent of a biscuit apiece to each of the twenty-three occupants of +the boat. + +"Pull starboard, sonnies," sang out old Captain Dear, his grey chin +whiskers bristling with joy in the light of the round lantern which he +held aloft. + +We pulled--pulled lustily, forgetting the strain and pain of innards +torn and racked with violent vomiting, and oblivious of blistered palms +and wet, half-frozen feet. + +Then a nodding of that finger of light,--a happy, snapping, +crap-shooting finger that seemed to say: "Come on, you men," like a dice +player wooing the bones--led us to believe that our lights had been +seen. + +This was the fact, for immediately the oncoming vessel flashed on its +green and red sidelights and we saw it was headed for our position. We +floated off its stern for a while as it manoeuvred for the best +position in which it could take us on with a sea that was running higher +and higher. + +The risk of that rescuing ship was great, because there was every reason +to believe that the submarine that had destroyed the _Laconia_ still +lurked in the darkness nearby, but those on board took the risk and +stood by for the work of rescue. + +"Come along side port!" was megaphoned to us. As fast as we could, we +swung under the stern and felt our way broadside toward the ship's side. + +Out of the darkness above, a dozen small pocket flashlights blinked down +on us and orders began to be shouted fast and thick. + +When I look back on the night, I don't know which was the more +hazardous, going down the slanting side of the sinking _Laconia_ or +going up the side of the rescuing vessel. + +One minute the swells would lift us almost level with the rail of the +low-built patrol boat and mine sweeper, but the next receding wave would +swirl us down into a darksome gulf over which the ship's side glowered +like a slimy, dripping cliff. + +A score of hands reached out and we were suspended in the husky, +tattooed arms of those doughty British Jack Tars, looking up into their +weather-beaten youthful faces, mumbling our thankfulness and reading in +the gold lettering on their pancake hats the legend, "H. M. S. +_Laburnum_." We had been six hours in the open boat. + +The others began coming alongside one by one. Wet and bedraggled +survivors were lifted aboard. Women and children first was the rule. + +The scenes of reunion were heart-gripping. Men who had remained +strangers to one another aboard the _Laconia_, now wrung each other by +the hand or embraced without shame the frail little wife of a Canadian +chaplain who had found one of her missing children delivered up from +another boat. She smothered the child with ravenous mother kisses while +tears of gladness streamed down her face. + +Boat after boat came alongside. The water-logged craft containing the +Captain came last. + +A rousing cheer went up as he stepped on the deck, one mangled hand +hanging limp at his side. + +The sailors divested themselves of outer clothing and passed the +garments over to the shivering members of the _Laconia's_ crew. + +The cramped officers' quarters down under the quarter deck were turned +over to the women and children. Two of the _Laconia's_ stewardesses +passed boiling basins of navy cocoa and aided in the disentangling of +wet and matted tresses. + +The men grouped themselves near steam-pipes in the petty officers' +quarters or over the grating of the engine rooms, where new life was to +be had from the upward blasts of heated air that brought with them the +smell of bilge water and oil and sulphur from the bowels of the vessel. + +The injured--all minor cases, sprained backs, wrenched legs or mashed +hands--were put away in bunks under the care of the ship's doctor. + +Dawn was melting the eastern ocean grey to pink when the task was +finished. In the officers' quarters, which had now been invaded by the +men, the roll of the vessel was most perceptible. Each time the floor of +the room slanted, bottles and cups and plates rolled and slid back and +forth. + +On the tables and chairs and benches the women rested. Sea-sick mothers, +trembling from the after-effects of the terrifying experience of the +night, sought to soothe their crying children. + +Then somebody happened to touch a key on the small wooden organ that +stood against one wall. This was enough to send some callous seafaring +fingers over the ivory keys in a rhythm unquestionably religious and so +irresistible under the circumstances that, although no one seemed to +know the words, the air was taken up in a reverent, humming chant by all +in the room. + +At the last note of the Amen, little Father Warring, his black garb +snaggled in places and badly soiled, stood before the centre table and +lifted back his head until the morning light, filtering through the +opened hatch above him, shown down on his kindly, weary face. He recited +the Lord's prayer and all present joined. The simple, impressive service +of thanksgiving ended as simply as it had begun. + +Two minutes later I saw the old Jewish travelling man limping about on +one lame leg with a little boy in his arms. He was collecting big, round +British pennies for the youngster. + +A survey and cruise of the nearby waters revealed no more occupied boats +and our mine sweeper, with its load of survivors numbering two hundred +and sixty-seven, steamed away to the east. A half an hour steaming and +the vessel stopped within hailing distance of two sister ships, toward +one of which an open boat manned by jackies was being pulled. + +I saw the hysterical French actress, her blonde hair wet and bedraggled, +lifted out of the boat and carried up the companionway. Then a little +boy, his fresh pink face and golden hair shining in the morning sun, was +passed upward, followed by some other survivors, numbering fourteen in +all, who had been found half-drowned and almost dead from exposure in a +partially wrecked boat that was picked up just as it was sinking. It was +in that boat that one American woman and her daughter died. One of the +survivors of the boat told me the story. He said: + +"Our boat was No. 8. It was smashed in the lowering. I was in the bow. +Mrs. Hoy and her daughter were sitting toward the stern. The boat filled +with water rapidly. + +"It was no use trying to bail it out. There was a big hole in the side +and it came in too fast. The boat's edge sank to the level of the water +and only the air-tanks kept it afloat. + +"It was completely awash. Every swell rode clear over our heads and we +had to hold our breath until we came to the surface again. The cold +water just takes the life out of you. + +"We saw the other boats showing their lights and drifting further and +further away from us. We had no lights. And then, towards morning, we +saw the rescuing ship come up into the cluster of other life-boats that +had drifted so far away from us. One by one we saw their lights +disappear as they were taken on board. + +"We shouted and screamed and shrieked at the tops of our voices, but +could not attract the attention of any of the other boats or the +rescuing ship, and soon we saw its lights blink out. We were left there +in the darkness with the wind howling and the sea rolling higher every +minute. + +"The women got weaker and weaker. Maybe they had been dead for some +time. I don't know, but a wave came and washed both Mrs. Hoy and her +daughter out of the boat. There were life-belts around their bodies and +they drifted away with their arms locked about one another." + +With such stories ringing in our ears, with exchanges of experiences +pathetic and humorous, we steamed into Queenstown harbour shortly after +ten o'clock that night. We had been attacked at a point two hundred +miles off the Irish coast and of our passengers and crew, thirteen had +been lost. + +As I stepped ashore, a Britisher, a fellow-passenger aboard the +_Laconia_, who knew me as an American, stepped up to me. During the +voyage we had had many conversations concerning the possibility of +America entering the war. Now he slapped me on the back with this +question, + +"Well, old Casus Belli," he said, "is this your blooming overt act?" + +I did not answer him, but thirty minutes afterward I was pounding out on +a typewriter the introduction to a four thousand word newspaper article +which I cabled that night and which put the question up to the American +public for an answer. + +Five weeks later the United States entered the war. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +PERSHING'S ARRIVAL IN EUROPE + + +Lean, clean, keen--that's the way they looked--that first trim little +band of American fighting men who made their historic landing on the +shores of England, June 8th, 1917. + +I went down from London to meet them at the port of arrival. In my +despatches of that date, I, nor none of the other correspondents, was +permitted to mention the name of the port. This was supposed to be the +secret that was to be religiously kept and the British censor was on the +job religiously. + +The name of the port was excluded from all American despatches but the +British censor saw no reason to withhold transmission of the following +sentence--"Pershing landed to-day at an English port and was given a +hearty welcome by the Mayor of Liverpool." + +So I am presuming at this late date of writing that it would serve no +further purpose to refrain from announcing flatly that General John J. +Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces +overseas, and his staff, landed on the date above mentioned, at +Liverpool, England. + +The sun was shining brightly on the Mersey when the giant ocean liner, +the _Baltic_, came slowly up the harbour in the tow of numerous puffing +tugs. The great grey vessel that had safely completed the crossing of +the submarine zone, was warped to the dock-side. + +On the quay there were a full brass band and an honourary escort of +British soldiers. While the moorings were being fastened, General +Pershing, with his staff, appeared on the promenade deck on the shore +side of the vessel. + +His appearance was the signal for a crash of cymbals and drums as the +band blared out the "Star Spangled Banner." The American commander and +the officers ranged in line on either side of him, stood stiffly at +attention, with right hands raised in salute to the visors of their +caps. + +On the shore the lines of British soldiery brought their arms to the +present with a snap. Civilian witnesses of the ceremony bared their +heads. The first anthem was followed by the playing of "God Save the +King." All present remained at the salute. + +As the gangplank was lashed in place, a delegation of British military +and civilian officials boarded the ship and were presented to the +General. Below, on the dock, every newspaper correspondent and +photographer in the British Isles, I think, stood waiting in a group +that far outnumbered the other spectators. + +There was reason for this seeming lack of proportion. The fact was that +but very few people in all of England, as well as in all of the United +States, had known that General Pershing was to land that day. + +Few had known that he was on the water. The British Admiralty, then in +complete control of the ocean lines between America and the British +Isles, had guarded well the secret. England lost Kitchener on the sea +and now with the sea peril increased a hundredfold, England took pains +to guard well the passage of this standard-bearer of the American +millions that were to come. + +Pershing and his staff stepped ashore. Lean, clean, keen--those are the +words that described their appearance. That was the way they impressed +their critical brothers in arms, the all-observing military dignities +that presented Britain's hearty, unreserved welcome at the water's edge. +That was the way they appeared to the proud American citizens, residents +of those islands, who gathered to meet them. + +The British soldiers admired the height and shoulders of our first +military samples. The British soldier approves of a greyhound trimness +in the belt zone. He likes to look on carriage and poise. He appreciates +a steady eye and stiff jaw. He is attracted by a voice that rings sharp +and firm. The British soldier calls such a combination, "a real +soldier." + +He saw one, and more than one, that morning shortly after nine o'clock +when Pershing and his staff committed the date to history by setting +foot on British soil. Behind the American commander walked a staff of +American officers whose soldierly bearing and general appearance brought +forth sincere expressions of commendation from the assemblage on the +quay. + +At attention on the dock, facing the sea-stained flanks of the liner +_Baltic_, a company of Royal Welsh Fusiliers Stood like a frieze of clay +models in stainless khaki, polished brass and shining leather. + +General Pershing inspected the guard of honour with keen interest. +Walking beside the American commander was the considerably stouter and +somewhat shorter Lieutenant General Sir William Pitcairn Campbell, +K.C.B., Chief of the Western Command of the British Home Forces. + +Pershing's inspection of that guard was not the cursory one that these +honourary affairs usually are. Not a detail of uniform or equipment on +any of the men in the guard was overlooked. The American commander's +attention was as keen to boots, rifles and belts, as though he had been +a captain preparing the small command for a strenuous inspection at the +hands of some exacting superior. + +As he walked down the stiff, standing line, his keen blue eyes taking in +each one of the men from head to foot, he stopped suddenly in front of +one man in the ranks. That man was File Three in the second set of +fours. He was a pale-faced Tommy and on one of his sleeves there was +displayed two slender gold bars, placed on the forearm. + +The decoration was no larger than two matches in a row and on that day +it had been in use hardly more than a year, yet neither its minuteness +nor its meaning escaped the eyes of the American commander. + +Pershing turned sharply and faced File Three. + +"Where did you get your two wounds?" he asked. + +"At Givenchy and Lavenze, sir," replied File Three, his face pointed +stiffly ahead. File Three, even now under twenty-one years of age, had +received his wounds in the early fighting that is called the battle of +Loos. + +"You are a man," was the sincere, all-meaning rejoinder of the American +commander, who accompanied his remark with a straightforward look into +the eyes of File Three. + +Completing the inspection without further incident, General Pershing and +his staff faced the honour guard and stood at the salute, while once +more the thunderous military band played the national anthems of America +and Great Britain. + +The ceremony was followed by a reception in the cabin of the _Baltic_, +where General Pershing received the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, the Lady +Mayoress, and a delegation of civil authorities. The reception ended +when General Pershing spoke a few simple words to the assembled +representatives of the British and American Press. + +"More of us are coming," was the keynote of his modest remarks. +Afterward he was escorted to the quay-side station, where a special +train of the type labelled Semi-Royal was ready to make the express run +to London. + +The reception at the dock had had none of the features of a +demonstration by reason of the necessity for the ship's arrival being +secret, but as soon as the _Baltic_ had landed, the word of the American +commander's arrival spread through Liverpool like wildfire. + +The railroad from the station lay through an industrial section of the +city. Through the railroad warehouses the news had preceded the train. +Warehouse-men, porters and draymen crowded the tops of the cotton bales +and oil barrels on both sides of the track as the train passed through. + +Beyond the sheds, the news had spread through the many floors of the +flour mills and when the Pershing train passed, handkerchiefs and caps +fluttered from every crowded door and window in the whitened walls. Most +of the waving was done by a new kind of flour-girl, one who did not wave +an apron because none of them were dressed that way. + +From his car window, General Pershing returned the greetings of the +trousered girls and women who were making England's bread while their +husbands, fathers, brothers, sweethearts and sons were making German +cemeteries. + +In London, General Pershing and his staff occupied suites at the Savoy +Hotel, and during the four or five days of the American commander's +sojourn in the capital of the British Empire, a seemingly endless line +of visitors of all the Allied nationalities called to present their +compliments. + +The enlisted men of the General's staff occupied quarters in the old +stone barracks of the Tower of London, where they were the guests of the +men of that artillery organisation which prefixes an "Honourable" to its +name and has been assigned for centuries to garrison duty in the Tower +of London. + +Our soldiers manifested naive interest in some of England's most revered +traditions and particularly in connection with historical events related +to the Tower of London. On the second day of their occupation of this +old fortress, one of the warders, a "Beef-eater" in full mediaeval +regalia, was escorting a party of the Yanks through the dungeons. + +He stopped in one dungeon and lined the party up in front of a stone +block in the centre of the floor. After a silence of a full minute to +produce a proper degree of impressiveness for the occasion, the warder +announced, in a respectful whisper: + +"This is where Anne Boleyn was executed." + +The lined-up Yanks took a long look at the stone block. A silence +followed during the inspection. And then one regular, desiring further +information, but not wishing to be led into any traps of British wit, +said: + +"All right, I'll bite; what did Annie do?" + +Current with the arrival of our men and their reception by the honour +guard of the Welsh Fusiliers there was a widespread revival of an old +story which the Americans liked to tell in the barrack rooms at night. + +When the Welsh Fusiliers received our men at the dock of Liverpool, they +had with them their historical mascot, a large white goat with horns +encased in inscribed silver. The animal wore suspended from its neck a +large silver plate, on which was inscribed a partial history of the +Welsh Fusiliers. + +Some of these Fusiliers told our men the story. + +"It was our regiment--the Welsh Fusiliers," one of them said, "that +fought you Yanks at Bunker Hill. And it was at Bunker Hill that our +regiment captured the great-great-granddaddy of this same white goat, +and his descendants are ever destined to be the mascot of our regiment. +You see, we have still got your goat." + +"But you will notice," replied one of the Yanks, "we've got the hill." + +During the four days in London, General Pershing was received by King +George and Queen Mary at Buckingham Palace. The American commander +engaged in several long conferences at the British War Office, and then +with an exclusion of entertainment that was painful to the Europeans, he +made arrangements to leave for his new post in France. + +A specially written permission from General Pershing made it possible +for me to accompany him on that historic crossing between England and +France. Secret orders for the departure were given on the afternoon and +evening of June 12th. Before four o'clock of the next morning, June +13th, I breakfasted in the otherwise deserted dining-room of the Savoy +with the General and his staff. + +Only a few sleepy-eyed attendants were in the halls and lower rooms of +the Savoy. In closed automobiles we were whisked away to Charing Cross +Station. We boarded a special train whose destination was unknown. The +entire party was again in the hands of the Intelligence Section of the +British Admiralty, and every possible means was taken to suppress all +definite information concerning the departure. + +The special train containing General Pershing and his staff reached +Folkstone at about seven o'clock in the morning. We left the train at +the dockside and boarded the swift Channel steamer moored there. A small +vociferous contingent of English Tommies returning to the front from +leave in "Blighty" were crowded on all decks in the stern. + +With life-boats swinging out over the side and every one wearing +life-preservers, we steamed out of Folkstone harbour to challenge the +submarine dangers of the Channel. + +The American commander occupied a forward cabin suite on the upper deck. +His aides and secretaries had already transformed it into a +business-like apartment. In the General's mind there was no place or +time for any consideration of the dangers of the Channel crossing. +Although the very waters through which we dashed were known to be +infested with submarines which would have looked upon him as capital +prey, I don't believe the General ever gave them as much as a thought. + +Every time I looked through the open door of his cabin, he was busy +dictating letters to his secretaries or orders or instructions to his +aides or conferring with his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Harbord. +To the American commander, the hours necessary for the dash across the +Channel simply represented a little more time which he could devote to +the plans for the great work ahead of him. + +Our ship was guarded on all sides and above. Swift torpedo destroyers +dashed to and fro under our bow and stern and circled us continually. In +the air above hydro-airplanes and dirigible balloons hovered over the +waters surrounding us, keeping sharp watch for the first appearance of +the dark sub-sea hulks of destruction. + +[Illustration: THE ARRIVAL IN LONDON, SHOWING GENERAL PERSHING, MR. +PAGE, FIELD MARSHAL VISCOUNT FRENCH, LORD DERBY, AND ADMIRAL SIMS] + +[Illustration: GENERAL PERSHING BOWING TO THE CROWD IN PARIS] + +We did not learn until the next day that while we were making that +Channel crossing, the German air forces had crossed the Channel in a +daring daylight raid and were at that very hour dropping bombs on London +around the very hotel which General Pershing had just vacated. Some day, +after the war, I hope to ascertain whether the commander of that flight +of bombing Gothas started on his expedition over London with a special +purpose in view and whether that purpose concerned the supposed presence +there of the commander-in-chief of the American millions that were later +to change the entire complexion of the war against Germany. + +It was a beautiful sunlight day. It was not long before the coast line +of France began to push itself up through the distant Channel mists and +make itself visible on the horizon. I stood in the bow of the ship +looking toward the coast line and silent with thoughts concerning the +momentousness of the approaching historical event. + +It happened that I looked back amidships and saw a solitary figure +standing on the bridge of the vessel. It was General Pershing. He seemed +rapt in deep thought. He wore his cap straight on his head, the visor +shading his eyes. He stood tall and erect, his hands behind him, his +feet planted slightly apart to accommodate the gentle roll of the ship. + +He faced due east and his eyes were directed toward the shores of that +foreign land which we were approaching. It seemed to me as I watched him +that his mind must have been travelling back more than a century to that +day in history when another soldier had stood on the bridge of another +vessel, crossing those same waters, but in an almost opposite direction. + +It seemed to me that he must have been thinking of that historical +character who made just such a journey more than a hundred years +before,--a great soldier who left his homeland to sail to other foreign +shores halfway around the world and there to lend his sword in the fight +for the sacred principles of Democracy. It seemed to me that day that +Pershing thought of Lafayette. + +As we drew close to the shore, I noticed an enormous concrete breakwater +extending out from the harbour entrance. It was surmounted by a wooden +railing and on the very end of it, straddling the rail, was a small +French boy. His legs were bare and his feet were encased in heavy wooden +shoes. On his head he wore a red stocking cap of the liberty type. As we +came within hailing distance, he gave to us the first greeting that came +from the shores of France to these first arriving American soldiers. + +"_Vive l'Amerique!_" he shouted, cupping his hands to his mouth and +sending his shrill voice across the water to us. Pershing on the bridge +heard the salutation. He smiled, touched his hand to his hat and waved +to the lad on the railing. + +We landed that day at Boulogne, June 13th, 1917. Military bands massed +on the quay, blared out the American National Anthem as the ship was +warped alongside the dock. Other ships in the busy harbour began blowing +whistles and ringing bells, loaded troop and hospital ships lying nearby +burst forth into cheering. The news spread like contagion along the +harbour front. + +As the gangplank was lowered, French military dignitaries in dress +uniforms resplendent with gold braid, buttons and medals, advanced to +that part of the deck amidships where the General stood. They saluted +respectfully and pronounced elaborate addresses in their native tongue. +They were followed by numerous French Government officials in civilian +dress attire. The city, the department and the nation were represented +in the populous delegations who presented their compliments, and +conveyed to the American commander the of the entire people of France. + +Under the train sheds on the dock, long stiff, standing ranks of French +poilus wearing helmets and their light blue overcoats pinned back at the +knees, presented arms as the General walked down the lines inspecting +them. At one end of the line, rank upon rank of French marines, and +sailors with their flat hats with red tassels, stood at attention +awaiting inspection. + +The docks and train sheds were decorated with French and American flags +and yards and yards of the mutually-owned red, white and blue. Thousands +of spectators began to gather in the streets near the station, and their +continuous cheers sufficed to rapidly augment their own numbers. + +Accompanied by a veteran French colonel, one of whose uniform sleeves +was empty, General Pershing, as a guest of the city of Boulogne, took a +motor ride through the streets of this busy port city. He was quickly +returned to the station, where he and his staff boarded a special train +for Paris. I went with them. + +That train to Paris was, of necessity, slow. It proceeded slowly under +orders and with a purpose. No one in France, with the exception of a +select official circle, had been aware that General Pershing was +arriving that day until about thirty minutes before his ship was warped +into the dock at Boulogne. It has always been a mystery to me how the +French managed to decorate the station at Boulogne upon such short +notice. + +Thus it was that the train crawled slowly toward Paris for the purpose +of giving the French capital time to throw off the coat of war +weariness that it had worn for three and a half years and don gala +attire for this occasion. Paris made full use of every minute of that +time, as we found when the train arrived at the French capital late in +the afternoon. The evening papers in Paris had carried the news of the +American commander's landing on the shores of France, and Paris was +ready to receive him as Paris had never before received a world's +notable. + +The sooty girders of the Gare du Nord shook with cheers when the special +train pulled in. The aisles of the great terminal were carpeted with red +plush. A battalion of bearded poilus of the Two Hundred and +Thirty-seventh Colonial Regiment was lined up on the platform like a +wall of silent grey, bristling with bayonets and shiny trench helmets. + +General Pershing stepped from his private car. Flashlights boomed and +batteries of camera men manoeuvred into positions for the lens +barrage. The band of the Garde Republicaine blared forth the strains of +the "Star Spangled Banner," bringing all the military to a halt and a +long standing salute. It was followed by the "Marseillaise." + +At the conclusion of the train-side greetings and introductions, Marshal +Joffre and General Pershing walked down the platform together. The tops +of the cars of every train in the station were crowded with workmen. As +the tall, slender American commander stepped into view, the privileged +observers on the car-tops began to cheer. + +A minute later, there was a terrific roar from beyond the walls of the +station. The crowds outside had heard the cheering within. They took it +up with thousands of throats. They made their welcome a ringing one. +Paris took Pershing by storm. + +The General was ushered into the specially decorated reception chamber, +which was hung and carpeted with brilliant red velvet and draped with +the Allied flags. After a brief formal exchange of greetings in this +large chamber, he and his staff were escorted to the line of waiting +automobiles at the side of the station in the Rue de Roubaix. + +Pershing's appearance in the open was the cue for wild, unstinted +applause and cheering from the crowds which packed the streets and +jammed the windows of the tall buildings opposite. + +General Pershing and M. Painleve, Minister of War, took seats in a large +automobile. They were preceded by a motor containing United States +Ambassador Sharp and former Premier Viviani. The procession started to +the accompaniment of martial music by massed military bands in the +courtyard of the station. It passed through the Rue de Compiegne, the +Rue de Lafayette, the Place de l'Opera, the Boulevard des Capucines, the +Place de la Madeleine, the Rue Royale, to the Place de la Concorde. + +There were some fifty automobiles in the line, the rear of which was +brought up by an enormous motor-bus load of the first American soldiers +from the ranks to pass through the streets of Paris. + +The crowds overflowed the sidewalks. They extended from the building +walls out beyond the curbs and into the streets, leaving but a narrow +lane through which the motors pressed their way slowly and with the +exercise of much care. From the crowded balconies and windows +overlooking the route, women and children tossed down showers of flowers +and bits of coloured paper. + +The crowds were so dense that other street traffic became marooned in +the dense sea of joyously excited and gesticulating French people. +Vehicles thus marooned immediately became islands of vantage. They were +soon covered with men and women and children, who climbed on top of them +and clung to the sides to get a better look at the khaki-clad occupants +of the autos. + +Old grey-haired fathers of French fighting men bared their heads and +with tears streaming down their cheeks shouted greetings to the tall, +thin, grey-moustached American commander who was leading new armies to +the support of their sons. Women heaped armfuls of roses into the +General's car and into the cars of other American officers that followed +him. Paris street gamins climbed the lamp-posts and waved their caps and +wooden shoes and shouted shrilly. + +American flags and red, white and blue bunting waved wherever the eye +rested. English-speaking Frenchmen proudly explained to the uninformed +that "Pershing" was pronounced "Peur-chigne" and not "Pair-shang." + +Paris was not backward in displaying its knowledge of English. Gay +Parisiennes were eager to make use of all the English at their command, +that they might welcome the new arrivals in their native tongue. + +Some of these women shouted "Hello," "Heep, heep, hourrah," "Good +morning," "How are you, keed?" and "Cock-tails for two." Some of the +expressions were not so inappropriate as they sounded. + +Occasionally there came from the crowds a good old genuine American +whoop-em-up yell. This happened when the procession passed groups of +American ambulance workers and other sons of Uncle Sam, wearing the +uniforms of the French, Canadian and English Corps. + +They joined with Australians and South African soldiers on leave to +cheer on the new-coming Americans with such spontaneous expressions as +"Come on, you Yanks," "Now let's get 'em," and "Eat 'em up, Uncle Sam." + +The frequent stopping of the procession by the crowds made it happen +quite frequently that the automobiles were completely surrounded by +enthusiasts, who reached up and tried to shake hands with the occupants. +Pretty girls kissed their hands and blew the invisible confection toward +the men in khaki. + +The bus-load of enlisted men bringing up the rear received dozens of +bouquets from the girls. The flowers were hurled at them from all +directions. Every two hundred feet the French would organise a rousing +shout, "_Vive l'Amerique!_" for them. + +Being the passive recipients of this unusual adulation produced only +embarrassment on the part of the regulars who simply had to sit there, +smiling and taking it. Just to break the one-sided nature of the +demonstrations, one of the enlisted men stood up in his seat and, +addressing himself to his mates, shouted: + +"Come on, fellows, let's give 'em a 'veever' ourselves. Now all +together." + +The bus-load rose to its feet like one man and shouted "Veever for +France." Their "France" rhymed with "pants," so that none of the French +understood it, but they did understand the sentiment behind the husky +American lungs. + +Through such scenes as these, the procession reached the great Place de +la Concorde. In this wide, paved, open space an enormous crowd had +assembled. As the autos appeared the cheering, the flower throwing, the +tumultuous kiss-blowing began. It increased in intensity as the motors +stopped in front of the Hotel Crillon into which General Pershing +disappeared, followed by his staff. + +Immediately the cheering changed to a tremendous clamorous demand for +the General's appearance on the balcony in front of his apartments. + +"_Au balcon, au balcon_," were the cries that filled the Place. The +crowd would not be denied. + +General Pershing stepped forth on the balcony. He stood behind the low +marble railing, and between two enormous white-stoned columns. A cluster +of the Allied flags was affixed to each column. The American commander +surveyed the scene in front of him. + +There are no trees or shrubbery in the vast Place de la Concorde. Its +broad paved surface is interrupted only by artistically placed groups of +statuary and fountains. + +To the General's right, as he faced the Place, were the trees and +greenery of the broad Champs Elysees. On his left were the fountains and +the gardens of the Tuilleries. At the further end of the Place, five +hundred feet straight in front of him, were the banks and the ornamental +bridges of the Seine, beyond which could be seen the columned facade of +the Chambre des Deputies, and above and beyond that, against the blue +sky of a late June afternoon, rose the majestic golden dome of the +Invalides, over the tomb of Napoleon. + +General Pershing looked down upon the sea of faces turned up toward him, +and then it seemed that nature desired to play a part in the ceremony of +that great day. A soft breeze from the Champs Elysees touched the +cluster of flags on the General's right and from all the Allied emblems +fastened there it selected one flag. + +The breeze tenderly caught the folds of this flag and wafted them across +the balcony on which the General bowed. He saw and recognised that flag. +He extended his hand, caught the flag in his fingers and pressed it to +his lips. All France and all America represented in that vast throng +that day cheered to the mighty echo when Pershing kissed the tri-colour +of France. + +It was a tremendous, unforgettable incident. It was exceeded by no other +incident during those days of receptions and ceremonies, except one. +That was an incident which occurred not in the presence of thousands, +but in a lonely old burial ground on the outskirts of Paris. This +happened several days after the demonstration in the Place de la +Concorde. + +On that day of bright sunshine, General Pershing and a small party of +officers, French and American, walked through the gravel paths of Picpus +Cemetery in the suburbs of Paris, where the bodies of hundreds of those +who made the history of France are buried. + +Several French women in deep mourning courtesied as General Pershing +passed. His party stopped in front of two marble slabs that lay side by +side at the foot of a granite monument. From the General's party a +Frenchman stepped forward and, removing his high silk hat, he addressed +the small group in quiet, simple tones and well-chosen English words. He +was the Marquis de Chambrun. He said: + + "On this spot one can say that the historic ties between our nations + are not the result of the able schemes of skilful diplomacy. No, the + principles of liberty, justice and independence are the glorious + links between our nations. + + "These principles have enlisted the hearts of our democracies. They + have made the strength of their union and have brought about the + triumph of their efforts. + + "To-day, when, after nearly a century and a half, America and France + are engaged in a conflict for the same cause upon which their early + friendship was based, we are filled with hope and confidence. + + "We know that our great nations are together with our Allies + invincible, and we rejoice to think that the United States and + France are reunited in the fight for liberty, and will reconsecrate, + in a new victory, their everlasting friendship of which your + presence to-day at this grave is an exquisite and touching token." + +General Pershing advanced to the tomb and placed upon the marble slab an +enormous wreath of pink and white roses. Then he stepped back. He +removed his cap and held it in both hands in front of him. The bright +sunlight shone down on his silvery grey hair. Looking down at the grave, +he spoke in a quiet, impressive tone four simple, all-meaning words: + + "Lafayette, we are here." + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE LANDING OF THE FIRST AMERICAN CONTINGENT IN FRANCE + + +The first executive work of the American Expeditionary Forces overseas +was performed in a second floor suite of the Crillon Hotel on the Place +de la Concorde in Paris. This suite was the first temporary headquarters +of the American commander. + +The tall windows of the rooms looked down on the historic Place which +was the scene of so many momentous events in French history. The windows +were hardly a hundred yards from the very spot where the guillotine +dripped red in the days of the Terror. It was here that the heads of +Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette dropped into the basket. + +During General Pershing's comparatively brief occupancy of these +headquarters, the reception rooms were constantly banked with fresh-cut +flowers, the daily gifts of the French people,--flowers that were +replenished every twenty-four hours. The room was called the "Salon des +Batailles." + +In one corner of the room, near a window overlooking the Place, was +General Pershing's table. It was adorned with a statuette of General +Joffre and a cluster of miniatures of captured German standards. +Extending from the floor to the ceiling on one of the walls were two +enormous oil copies of "La Bataille de Fontenoy" and the "Passage du +Rhin." A large flag-draped photograph of President Wilson occupied a +place of honour on an easel at one end of the room. + +During the first week that General Pershing stopped at the hotel, the +sidewalk and street beneath his windows were constantly crowded with +people. The crowds waited there all day long, just in the hope of +catching a glimpse of the American commander if he should happen to be +leaving or returning to his quarters. It seemed as if every Parisienne +and Parisian had taken upon herself and himself the special duty of +personally observing General Pershing, of waving him an enthusiastic +"vive" and possibly being within the scope of his returning salute. + +But the American commander would not permit demonstrations and +celebrations to interfere with the important duties that he faced. Two +days are all that were devoted to these social ceremonies which the +enthusiastic and hospitable French would have made almost endless. +Dinners, receptions and parades were ruthlessly erased from the working +day calendar. The American commander sounded the order "To work" with +the same martial precision as though the command had been a sudden call +"To arms." + +On the morning of the third day after General Pershing's arrival in +Paris, the typewriters began clicking incessantly and the telephones +began ringing busily in the large building which was occupied on that +day as the headquarters of the American Expeditionary Forces in France. + +This building was Numbers 27 and 31 Rue de Constantine. It faced the +trees and shrubbery bordering the approach to the Seine front of the +Invalides. The building was two stories high with grey-white walls and a +mansard roof. At that time it could be immediately identified as the one +in front of which stood a line of American motor cars, as the one where +trim United States regulars walked sentry post past the huge doors +through which frequent orderlies dashed with messages. + +Ten days before, the building had been the residence of a Marquis and +had contained furniture and art valued at millions of francs. All of +those home-like characteristics had been removed so effectively that +even the name of the kindly Marquis had been forgotten. I am sure that +he, himself, at the end of that ten-day period could not have recognised +his converted salons where the elaborate ornamentation had been changed +to the severe simplicity typical of a United States Army barracks. + +General Pershing's office was located on the second floor of the house +and in one corner. In those early days it was carpetless and contained +almost a monkish minimum of furniture. There were the General's chair, +and his desk on which there stood a peculiar metal standard for one of +those one-piece telephone sets with which Americans are familiar only in +French stage settings. A book-case with glass doors, a stenographer's +table and chair, and two red plush upholstered chairs, for visitors, +comprised the furniture inventory of the room. + +One of the inner walls of the room was adorned with a large mirror with +a gilt frame, and in the other wall was a plain fireplace. There were +tall windows in the two outer walls which looked out on the Rue de +Constantine and the Rue de Grenelle. Opposite the Rue de Grenelle +windows there was a small, deeply shaded park where children rolled +hoops during the heat of the day and where convalescent French soldiers +sat and watched the children at play or perhaps discussed the war and +other things with the nurse-maids. + +This was the first workshop in France of the American +commander-in-chief. Adjoining rooms to the left and right were occupied +by the General's staff and his aides. And it was in these rooms that +the overseas plans for the landing of the first American armed +contingent in France were formulated. + +It is safe now to mention that St. Nazaire on the west coast of France +was the port at which our first armed forces disembarked. I was in Paris +when the information of their coming was whispered to a few chosen +correspondents who were to be privileged to witness this historical +landing. + +This was the first time in the history of our nation that a large force +of armed Americans was to cross the seas to Europe. For five and a half +months prior to the date of their landing, the ruthless submarine policy +of the Imperial German Government had been in effect, and our troop +ships with those initial thousands of American soldiers represented the +first large Armada to dare the ocean crossing since Germany had +instituted her sub-sea blockade zone in February of that same year. + +Thus it was that any conversation concerning the fact that our men were +on the seas and at the mercy of the U-boats was conducted with the +greatest of care behind closed doors. In spite of the efforts of the +French agents of contra espionage, Paris and all France, for that +matter, housed numerous spies. There were some anxious moments while +that first contingent was on the water. + +Our little group of correspondents was informed that we should be +conducted by American officers to the port of landing, but the name of +that port was withheld from us. By appointment we met at a Paris +railroad station where we were provided with railroad tickets. We took +our places in compartments and rode for some ten or twelve hours, +arriving early the next morning at St. Nazaire. + +This little village on the coast of Brittany was tucked away there in +the golden sands of the seashore. Its houses had walls of white stucco +and gabled roofs of red tile. In the small rolling hills behind it were +green orchards and fields of yellow wheat. The villagers, old women in +their starched white head-dresses and old men wearing faded blue smocks +and wooden shoes, were unmindful of the great event for which history +had destined their village. + +On the night before the landing the townspeople had retired with no +knowledge of what was to happen on the following day. In the morning +they awoke to find strange ships that had come in the night, riding +safely at anchor in the harbour. The wooden shutters began to pop open +with bangs as excited heads, encased in peaked flannel nightcaps, +protruded themselves from bedroom windows and directed anxious queries +to those who happened to be abroad at that early hour. + +St. Nazaire came to life more quickly that morning than ever before in +its history. The Mayor of the town was one of the busiest figures on the +street. In high hat and full dress attire, he hurried about trying to +assemble the village orchestra of octogenarian fiddlers and flute +players to play a welcome for the new arrivals. The townspeople +neglected their _cafe au lait_ to rush down to the quay to look at the +new ships. + +The waters of the harbour sparkled in the early morning sunlight. The +dawn had been grey and misty, but now nature seemed to smile. The +strange ships from the other side of the world were grey in hulk but now +there were signs of life and colour aboard each one of them. + +Beyond the troop ships lay the first United States warships, units of +that remarkable fighting organisation which in the year that was to +immediately follow that very day were to escort safely across three +thousand miles of submarine-infested water more than a million and a +half American soldiers. + +The appearance of these first warships of ours was novel to the French +townspeople. Our ships had peculiar looking masts, masts which the +townspeople compared to the baskets which the French peasants carry on +their backs when they harvest the lettuce. Out further from the shore +were our low-lying torpedo destroyers, pointed toward the menace of the +outer deep. + +Busy puffing tugs were warping the first troop ship toward the +quay-side. Some twenty or thirty American sailors and soldiers, who had +been previously landed by launch to assist in the disembarkation, were +handling the lines on the dock. + +When but twenty feet from the quay-side, the successive decks of the +first troop ship took on the appearance of mud-coloured layers from the +khaki uniforms of the stiff standing ranks of our men. A military band +on the forward deck was playing the national anthems of France and +America and every hand was being held at the salute. + +As the final bars of the "Star Spangled Banner" crashed out and every +saluting hand came snappily down, one American soldier on an upper deck +leaned over the rail and shouted to a comrade on the shore his part of +the first exchange of greetings between our fighting men upon this +historic occasion. Holding one hand to his lips, he seriously enquired: + +"Say, do they let the enlisted men in the saloons here?" + +[Illustration: THE FIRST AMERICAN FOOT ON FRENCH SOIL] + +[Illustration: THE FIRST GLIMPSE OF FRANCE] + +Another soldier standing near the stern rail had a different and more +serious interrogation to make. He appeared rather blase about it as he +leaned over the rail and, directing his voice toward a soldier on the +dock, casually demanded: + +"Say, where the Hell is all this trouble, anyhow?" + +These two opening sorties produced a flood of others. The most common +enquiry was: "What's the name of this place?" and "Is this France or +England?" When answers were made to these questions, the recipients of +the information, particularly if they happened to be "old-timers in the +army," would respond by remarking, "Well, it's a damn sight better than +the Mexican border." + +As our men came over the ship's side and down the runways, there was no +great reception committee awaiting them. Among the most interested +spectators of the event were a group of stolid German prisoners of war +and the two French soldiers guarding them. The two Frenchmen talked +volubly with a wealth of gesticulation, while the Germans maintained +their characteristic glumness. + +The German prisoners appeared to be anything but discouraged at the +sight. Some of them even wore a smile that approached the supercilious. +With some of them that smile seemed to say: "You can't fool us. We know +these troops are not Americans. They are either Canadians or Australians +coming from England. Our German U-boats won't let Americans cross the +ocean." + +Some of those German prisoners happened to have been in America before +the war. They spoke English and recognised the uniforms of our men. +Their silent smiles seemed to say: "Well, they don't look so good at +that. We have seen better soldiers. And, besides, there is only a +handful of them. Not enough can come to make any difference. Anyhow, it +is too late now. The war will be over before any appreciable number can +get here." + +But the stream of khaki continued to pour out of the ship's side. +Company after company of our men, loaded down with packs and full field +equipment, lined up on the dock and marched past the group of German +prisoners. + +"We're passing in review for you, Fritzie," one irrepressible from our +ranks shouted, as the marching line passed within touching distance of +the prisoner group. The Germans responded only with quizzical little +smiles and silence. + +Escorted by our own military bands, the regiments marched through the +main street of the village. The bands played "Dixie"--a new air to +France. The regiments as a whole did not present the snappy, marching +appearance that they might have presented. There was a good reason for +this. Sixty per cent. of them were recruits. It had been wisely decided +to replace many of the old regular army men in the ranks with newly +enlisted men, so that these old veterans could remain in America and +train the new drafts. + +However, that which impressed the French people was the individual +appearance of these samples of American manhood. Our men were tall and +broad and brawny. They were young and vigorous. Their eyes were keen and +snappy. Their complexions ranged in shade from the swarthy sun-tanned +cheeks of border veterans to the clear pink skins of city youngsters. +But most noticeable of all to the French people were the even white rows +of teeth which our men displayed when they smiled. Good dentistry and +clean mouths are essentially American. + +The villagers of St. Nazaire, old men and women, girls and school +children, lined the curbs as our men marched through the town. The line +of march was over a broad esplanade that circled the sandy beach of the +bay, and then wound upward into the higher ground back of the town. The +road here was bordered on either side with ancient stone walls covered +with vines and over the tops of the walls there extended fruit-laden +branches to tempt our men with their ripe, red lusciousness. As they +marched through the heat and dust of that June day, many succumbed to +the temptations and paid for their appetites with inordinately violent +colics that night. + +A camp site had been partially prepared for their reception. It was +located close to a French barracks. The French soldiers and gangs of +German prisoners, who had been engaged in this work, had no knowledge of +the fact that they were building the first American cantonment in +France. They thought they were constructing simply an extension of the +French encampment. + +That first contingent, composed of United States Infantrymen and +Marines, made its first camp in France with the smallest amount of +confusion, considering the fact that almost three-quarters of them +hadn't been in uniform a month. It was but several hours after arriving +at the camp that the smoke was rising from the busy camp stoves and the +aroma of American coffee, baked beans and broiled steaks was in the air. + +On the afternoon of that first day some of the men were given permission +to visit the town. They began to take their first lessons in French as +they went from cafe to cafe in futile efforts to connect up with such +unknown commodities as cherry pie or ham and egg sandwiches. Upon +meeting one another in the streets, our men would invariably ask: "Have +you come across any of these FROGS that talk American?" + +There was nothing disrespectful about the terms Frogs or Froggies as +applied to their French comrades in arms. American officers hastened to +explain to French officers that the one piece of information concerning +France most popularly known in America was that it was the place where +people first learned to eat frog legs and snails. + +The Frenchmen, on the other hand, were somewhat inclined to believe that +these first Americans didn't live up to the European expectations of +Americans. Those European expectations had been founded almost entirely +upon the translations of dime novels and moving picture thrillers of the +Wild West and comedy variety. + +Although our men wore the high, broad-brimmed felt hats, they didn't +seem sufficiently cowboyish. Although the French people waited +expectantly, none of these Americans dashed through the main street of +the village on bucking bronchos, holding their reins in their teeth and +at the same time firing revolvers from either hand. Moreover, none of +our men seemed to conclude their dinners in the expected American +fashion of slapping one another in the face with custard pies. + +There was to be seen on the streets of St. Nazaire that day some +representative black Americans, who had also landed in that historical +first contingent. There was a strange thing about these negroes. + +It will be remembered that in the early stages of our participation in +the war it had been found that there was hardly sufficient khaki cloth +to provide uniforms for all of our soldiers. That had been the case with +these American negro soldiers. + +But somewhere down in Washington, somehow or other, some one resurrected +an old, large, heavy iron key and this, inserted into an ancient rusty +lock, had opened some long forgotten doors in one of the Government +arsenals. There were revealed old dust-covered bundles wrapped up in +newspapers, yellow with age, and when these wrappings of the past were +removed, there were seen the uniforms of old Union blue that had been +laid away back in '65--uniforms that had been worn by men who fought and +bled and died to free the first black American citizens. + +And here on this foreign shore, on this day in June more than half a +century later, the sons and the grandsons of those same freed slaves +wore those same uniforms of Union blue as they landed in France to fight +for a newer freedom. + +Some of these negroes were stevedores from the lower Mississippi levees. +They sang as they worked in their white army undershirts, across the +chest of which they had penciled in blue and red, strange mystic +devices, religious phrases and hoodoo signs, calculated to contribute +the charm of safety to the running of the submarine blockade. + +Two of these American negroes, walking up the main street of St. +Nazaire, saw on the other side of the thoroughfare a brother of colour +wearing the lighter blue uniform of a French soldier. This French negro +was a Colonial black from the north of Africa and of course had spoken +nothing but French from the day he was born. + +One of the American negroes crossed the street and accosted him. + +"Looka here, boy," he enquired good-naturedly, "what can you all tell me +about this here wah?" + +"Comment, monsieur?" responded the non-understanding French black, and +followed the rejoinder with a torrent of excited French. + +The American negro's mouth fell open. For a minute he looked startled, +and then he bulged one large round white eye suspiciously at the French +black, while he inwardly debated on the possibility that he had become +suddenly colour blind. Having reassured himself, however, that his +vision was not at fault, he made a sudden decision and started on a new +tack. + +"Now, never mind that high-faluting language," he said. "You all just +tell me what you know about this here wah and quit you' putting on +aihs." + +The puzzled French negro could only reply with another explosion of +French interrogations, coupled with vigorous gesticulations. The +American negro tried to talk at the same time and both of them +endeavouring to make the other understand, increased the volumes of +their tones until they were standing there waving their arms and +shouting into one another's faces. The American negro gave it up. + +"My Gawd," he said, shaking his head as he recrossed the street and +joined his comrades, "this is shore some funny country. They got the +mos' ignorantest niggers I ever saw." + +Still, those American blacks were not alone in their difficulties over +the difference in languages. I discussed the matter with one of our +white regulars who professed great experience, having spent almost one +entire day on mutual guard with a French sentry over a pile of baggage. + +"You know," he said, "I don't believe these Frenchies ever will learn to +speak English." + +Our veterans from Mexico and the border campaigns found that their +smattering of Spanish did not help them much. But still every one seemed +to manage to get along all right. Our soldiers and the French soldiers +in those early days couldn't understand each other's languages, but they +could understand each other. + +This strange paradox was analysed for me by a young American Lieutenant +who said he had made a twelve-hour study of the remarkable camaraderie +that had immediately sprung up between the fighting men of France and +the fighting men of America. In explaining this relationship, he said: + +"You see, we think the French are crazy," he said, "and the French know +damn well we are." + +Those of our men who had not brought small French and English +dictionaries with them, made hurried purchases of such handy articles +and forthwith began to practice. The French people did likewise. + +I saw one young American infantryman seated at a table in front of one +of the sidewalk cafes on the village square. He was dividing his +attention between a fervent admiration of the pretty French waitress, +who stood smiling in front of him, and an intense interest in the pages +of his small hand dictionary. + +She had brought his glass of beer and he had paid for it, but there +seemed to be a mutual urge for further conversation. The American would +look first at her and then he would look through the pages of the book +again. Finally he gave slow and painful enunciation of the following +request: + +"Mad-am-moy-sell, donnie moy oon baysa." + +She laughed prettily as she caught his meaning almost immediately, and +she replied: + +"Doughboy, ware do you get zat stuff?" + +"Aw, Hell," said the young Infantryman, as he closed the book with a +snap. "I knew they'd let those sailors ashore before us." + +From the very first day of the landing we began to learn things from the +French and they began to learn things from us. Some of our men learned +that it was quite possible to sip an occasional glass of beer or light +wine without feeling a sudden inclination to buy and consume all there +remained in the cafe. + +The French soldiers were intensely interested in the equipment of our +land forces and in the uniforms of both our soldiers and sailors. They +sought by questions to get an understanding of the various insignia by +which the Americans designated their rank. + +One thing that they noticed was a small, round white pasteboard tag +suspended on a yellow cord from the upper left hand breast pocket of +either the blue jackets of our sailors or the khaki shirts of our +soldiers. So prevalent was this tag, which in reality marked the wearer +as the owner of a package of popular tobacco, that the French almost +accepted it as uniform equipment. + +The attitude of our first arriving American soldiers toward the German +prisoners who worked in gangs on construction work in the camps and +rough labour along the docks was a curious one. Not having yet +encountered in battle the brothers of these same docile appearing +captives, our men were even inclined to treat the prisoners with +deference almost approaching admiration. + +In a measure, the Germans returned this feeling. The arrival of the +Americans was really cheering to them. The prisoners disliked the French +because they had been taught to do so from childhood. They hated the +English because that was the hate with which they went into battle. + +It sounds incongruous now but, nevertheless, it was a fact then that the +German prisoners confined at that first American sea-base really seemed +to like the American soldiers. Maybe it was because any change of +masters or guards was a relief in the uneventful existence which had +been theirs since the day of their capture. Perhaps the feeling was one +of distinct kindred, based on a familiarity with Americans and American +customs--a familiarity which had been produced by thousands of letters +which Germans in America had written to their friends in Germany before +the war. On the other hand, it may simply have been by reason of +America's official disavowal of any animosity toward the German people. + +One day I watched some of those prisoners unloading supplies at one of +the docks in St. Nazaire, more or less under the eyes of an American +sentry who stood nearby. One group of four Germans were engaged in +carrying what appeared to be a large wooden packing case. Casually, and +as if by accident, the case was dropped to the ground and cracked. + +Instantly one of the prisoners' hands began to furtively investigate the +packages revealed by the break. The other prisoners busied themselves as +if preparing to lift the box again. The first German pulled a spoon from +his bootleg, plunged it into the crevice in the broken box and withdrew +it heaped with granulated sugar. With a quick movement he conveyed the +stolen sweet to his mouth and that gapping orifice closed quickly on the +sugar, while his stoical face immediately assumed its characteristic +downcast look. He didn't dare move his lips or jaws for fear of +detection. + +Of course these Germans had been receiving but a scant ration of sugar, +but their lot had been no worse than that of the French soldiers +guarding them previously, who got no sugar either. American soldiers +then guarding those prisoners reported only a few of them for +confinement for these human thefts. + +Surreptitiously, the American guards would sometimes leave cigarettes +where the prisoners could get them, and even though the action did +violate the rules of discipline, it helped to develop further the human +side of the giver and the recipient and at the same time had the result +of making the prisoners do more work for their new guards. + +It should be specially stated that lenience could not and was not +extended to the point of fraternisation. But the relationship that +seemed to exist between the German prisoners and American soldiers at +that early date revealed undeniably the absence of any mutual hate. + +Around one packing case on the dock I saw, one day, a number of German +prisoners who were engaged in unpacking bundles from America, and +passing them down a line of waiting hands that relayed them to a freight +car. One of the Germans leaning over the case straightened up with a +rumpled newspaper in his hand. He had removed it from a package. A look +of indescribable joy came across his face. + +"Deutscher, Deutscher," he cried, pointing to the Gothic type. The paper +was a copy of the New York _Staats-Zeitung_. + +The lot of those prisoners was not an unhappy one. To me it seemed very +doubtful whether even a small percentage of them would have accepted +liberty if it carried with it the necessity of returning to German +trenches. + +Those men knew what war was. They had crossed No Man's Land. Now they +were far back from the blazing front in a comparatively peaceful country +beyond the sound of the guns. If their lot at that time was to be +characterised as "war," then in the opinion of those Germans, war was +not what Sherman said it was. + +Their attitude more resembled that of the unkissed spinster who was +taken captive when the invading army captured the town. She flung +herself into the arms of the surprised commander of the invaders and +smilingly whispered, "War is war." + +The German prison camps at St. Nazaire were inspected by General +Pershing on the third day of the American landing when he, with his +staff, arrived from Paris. The General and his party arrived early in +the morning in a pouring rain. The American commander-in-chief then held +the rank of a Major General. In the harbour was the flagship of Rear +Admiral Gleaves. + +There was no delay over the niceties of etiquette when the question +arose as to whether the Rear Admiral should call on the Major General or +the Major General should call on the Rear Admiral. + +The Major General settled the subject with a sentence. He said, "The +point is that I want to see him," and with no further ado about it +General Pershing and his staff visited the Admiral on his flagship. +After his inspection of our first contingent, General Pershing said: + + "This is the happiest day of the busy days which I have spent in + France preparing for the arrival of the first contingent. To-day I + have seen our troops safe on French soil, landing from transports + that were guarded in their passage overseas by the resourceful + vigilance of our Navy. + + "Now, our task as soldiers lies before us. We hope, with the aid of + the French leaders and experts who have placed all the results of + their experience at our disposal, to make our forces worthy in skill + and in determination, to fight side by side in arms with the armies + of France." + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THROUGH THE SCHOOL OF WAR + + +Clip the skyline from the Blue Ridge, arch it over with arboreal vistas +from the forests of the Oregon, reflect the two in the placid waters of +the Wisconsin--and you will have some conception of the perfect Eden of +beauty in which the first contingent of the American Expeditionary +Forces trained in France. + +Beckoning white roads curl through the rolling hills like ribbons of +dental cream squeezed out evenly on rich green velour. Chateaux, pearl +white centres in settings of emerald green, push their turrets and +bastions above the mossy plush of the mountain side. Lazy little streams +silver the valleys with their aimless wanderings. + +It was a peaceful looking garden of pastoral delight that United States +soldiers had picked out for their martial training ground. It was a +section whose physical appearance was untouched by the three years of +red riot and roar that still rumbled away just a few miles to the north. + +The training area was located in the Vosges, in east central France. By +train, it was a nine-hour day trip from Paris. It was located about an +hour's motor ride behind the front lines, which at that time were close +to the north of the cities of Nancy and Toul. + +The troops were billeted in a string of small villages that comprised +one side of the letter V. French troops and instructing officers +occupied the other converging line of the letter. Between the two lines +was the area in which our men trained. Where the two lines converged +was the town of Gondercourt, the headquarters of Major General Seibert, +the Commander of the first American division in France. + +The area had long since been stripped of male civilian population that +could be utilised for the French ranks. The war had taken the men and +the boys, but had left the old people and children to till the fields, +tend the cattle, prune the hedges and trim the roads. + +With the advent of our troops, the restful scene began to change. +Treeless ridges carpeted with just enough green to veil the rocky +formation of the ground began to break out with a superficial rash of +the colour of fresh earth. In rows and circles, by angles and zigzags, +the training trenches began to take form daily under the pick and shovel +exercises of French and Americans working side by side. + +Along the white roads, clay-coloured rectangles that moved evenly, like +brown caravans, represented the marching units of United States troops. +The columns of bluish-grey that passed them with shorter, quicker steps, +were companies of those tireless Frenchmen, who after almost three years +of the front line real thing, now played at a mimic war of make-believe, +with taller and heavier novitiates. + +Those French troops were Alpine Chasseurs--the famous Blue Devils. They +wore dark blue caps, which resemble tam o'shanters, but are not. They +were proud of the distinction which their uniform gave them. They were +proud of their great fighting records. One single battalion of them +boasted that of the twenty-six officers who led it into the first fight +at the opening of the war, only four of them existed. + +It was a great advantage for our men to train under such instructors. +Correspondents who had been along the fronts before America's entry +into the war, had a great respect for the soldierly capacity of these +same fighting Frenchmen; not only these sturdy young sons of France who +wore the uniform, but the older French soldiers--ranging in age from +forty to fifty-five years--who had been away to the fronts since the +very beginning of the war. + +We had seen them many, many times. Miles upon miles of them, in the +motor trucks along the roads. Twenty of them rode in each truck. They +sat on two side benches facing the centre of the trucks. They were men +actually bent forward from the weight of the martial equipment strapped +to their bodies. They seemed to carry inordinate loads--knapsacks, +blanket roll, spare shoes, haversacks, gas masks, water bottles, +ammunition belts, grenade aprons, rifle, bayonet and helmet. + +Many of them were very old men. They had thick black eyebrows and wore +long black beards. They were tired, weary men. We had seen them in the +camions, each man resting his head on the shoulder of the man seated +beside him. The dust of the journey turned their black beards grey. On +the front seat of the camion a sleepless one handled the wheel, while +beside him the relief driver slept on the seat. + +Thus they had been seen, mile upon mile of them, thousand upon thousand +of them, moving ever up and down those roads that paralleled the six +hundred and fifty miles of front from Flanders to the Alps--moving +always. Thus they had been seen night and day, winter and summer, for +more than three long years, always trying to be at the place where the +enemy struck. The world knows and the world is thankful that they always +were there. + +It was under such veteran instructors as these that our first Americans +in France trained, there, in the Vosges, in a garden spot of beauty, in +the province that boasts the birthplace of Jeanne d'Arc. On the few +leave days, many of our men, with permission, would absent themselves +from camp, and make short pilgrimages over the hills to the little town +of Domremy to visit the house in which the Maid of Orleans was born. + +Our men were eager to learn. I observed them daily at their training +tasks. One day when they had progressed as far as the use of the New +French automatic rifles, I visited one of the ranges to witness the +firing. + +Just under the crest of the hill was a row of rifle pits, four feet deep +in the slaty white rock. On the opposite hill, across the marshy hollow, +at a distance of two hundred yards, was a line of wooden targets, +painted white with black circles. Poised at intervals on the forward +edge of the pits were a number of automatic rifles of the type used by +the French army. An American soldier and a French soldier attended each +one, the former in the firing position and the latter instructing. + +The rear bank of the pits was lined with French and American officers. +The order, "Commence firing," was given, and white spurts of rock dust +began dancing on the opposite hill, while splinters began to fly from +some of the wooden targets. + +At one end of the firing trench a raw American recruit, who admitted +that he had never handled an automatic rifle before, flushed to his +hat-brim and gritted his teeth viciously as his shots, registering ten +feet above the targets, brought forth laughter and exclamations from the +French soldiers nearby. He rested on his gun long enough to ask an +interpreter what the Frenchmen were talking about. + +"They say," the interpreter replied, "that you belong to the +anti-aircraft service." + +The recruit tightened his grip on his rifle and lowered his aim with +better results. At the end of his first fifty shots he was placing one +in three on the target and the others were registering close in. + +"Bravo!" came from a group of French officers at the other end of the +trench, where another American, older in the service, had signalised his +first experiences with the new firearm by landing thirty targets out of +thirty-four shots, and four of the targets were bull's-eyes. The French +instructors complimented him on the excellence of his marksmanship, +considering his acknowledged unfamiliarity with the weapon. + +Further along the depression, in another set of opposing trenches and +targets, a row of French machine guns manned by young Americans, sprayed +lead with ear-splitting abandon, sometimes reaching the rate of five +hundred shots a minute. Even with such rapidity, the Americans +encountered no difficulties with the new pieces. + +French veterans, who for three years had been using those same guns +against German targets, hovered over each piece, explaining in half +French and half English, and answering in the same mixture questions on +ways and means of getting the best results from the weapons. + +Here a chasseur of the ranks would stop the firing of one American +squad, with a peremptory, "Regardez." He would proceed with pantomime +and more or less connected words, carrying the warning that firing in +such a manner would result in jamming the guns, a condition which would +be fatal in case the targets in the other trenches were charging upon +the guns. + +Then he showed the correct procedure, and the Yanks, watchfully alert to +his every move, changed their method and signified their pleasure with +the expression of "Trays beans," and "Mercy's." + +"Do you think it would have resulted in a quicker and possibly more +understanding training if these Americans were instructed by British +veterans instead of French?" I asked an American Staff Officer, who was +observing the demonstration. + +"I may have thought so at first," the officer replied, "but not now. The +explanations which our men in the ranks are receiving from the French +soldiers in the ranks are more than word instructions. They are object +lessons in which gesticulation and pantomime are used to act out the +movement or subject under discussion. + +"The French are great actors, and I find that American soldiers +unacquainted with the French language are able to understand the French +soldiers who are unacquainted with the English language much better than +the American officers, similarly handicapped, can understand the French +officers. + +"I should say that some time would be lost if all of our troops were to +be trained by French soldiers, but I believe that this division under +French tutelage will be better able to teach the new tactics to the new +divisions that are to follow than it would be if it had speedily passed +through training camps like the British system, for instance, where it +must be taken for granted that verbal, instead of actual, instruction is +the means of producing a speeding up of training." + +Thus it was that our first American contingent in France was in training +for something more than service on the line. It rapidly qualified into +an expert corps from which large numbers of capable American instructors +were later withdrawn and used for the training of our millions of men +that followed. + +This achievement was only accomplished by the exercise of strict +disciplinarian measures by every American officer in the then small +expedition. One day, in the early part of August, 1917, a whirlwind +swept through the string of French villages where the first contingent +was training. + +The whirlwind came down the main road in a cloud of dust. It sped on the +fleeting tires of a high-powered motor which flew from its dust-grey +hood a red flag with two white stars. It blew into the villages and out, +through the billets and cook tents, mess halls, and picket lines. The +whirlwind was John J. Pershing. + +The commander-in-chief "hit" the training area early in the morning and +his coming was unannounced. Before evening he had completed a stern +inspection which had left only one impression in the minds of the +inspected, and that impression was to the effect that more snap and pep, +more sharpness and keenness were needed. + +At the conclusion of the inspection all of the officers of the +contingent were agreeing that the whirlwind visitation was just what had +been needed to arouse the mettle and spirit in an organisation comprised +of over fifty per cent. raw recruits. Many of the officers themselves +had been included in the pointed criticisms which the commander directed +against the persons and things that met disfavour in his eyes. + +The night following that inspection or "raid," as it was called, it +would have been safe to say that nowhere in the area was there a recruit +who did not know, in a manner that he would not forget, the correct +position of a soldier--the precise, stiff, snappy attitude to be +presented when called to attention. The enlisted men whose heels did not +click when they met, whose shoulders slouched, whose chins missed the +proper angle, whose eyes were not "front" during the inspection, +underwent embarrassing penalties, calculated to make them remember. + +"Have this man fall out," General Pershing directed, as he stood before +a recruit whose attitude appeared sloppy; "teach him the position of a +soldier and have him stand at attention for five minutes." + +One company which had prided itself upon having some of the best +embryonic bomb-throwers in the contingent, contributed a number of +victims to the above penalties, and as the General's train of +automobiles swirled out of the village, the main street seemed to be +dotted with silent khaki-clad statues doing their five minute sentences +of rigidity. + +"What about your men's shoes?" General Pershing asked a captain sharply, +while he directed his eyes along a company line of feet whose casings +seemed to be approaching the shabby. + +"We need hobnails, sir," replied the captain. + +"Get them"--the words snapped out from beneath Pershing's close-cropped +grey moustache. "Requisition hobnails. Your men need them. Get them from +the quartermaster." + +The American commander stepped into the darkness of a large stone-walled +stable, which represented the billeting accommodations for ten American +soldiers. A dog curled in the doorway growled and showed its teeth. The +General stepped past the menacing animal, and without heeding its snarls +close to his heels, started questioning the sergeants in charge. + +"Are any cattle kept in here?" he asked. + +"No, sir," replied the sergeant. + +"Detail more men with brooms and have it aired thoroughly every day." + +Observed from a distance, when he was speaking with battalion and +regimental commanders, the commander manifested no change of attitude +from that which marked his whole inspection. He frequently employed his +characteristic gesture of emphasis--the wadding of his left palm with +his right fist or the energetic opening and closing of the right hand. +When the Pershing whirlwind sped out of the training area that night, +after the first American inspection in France, it left behind it a +thorough realisation of the sternness of the work which was ahead of our +army. + +The development of a rigid discipline was the American commander's first +objective in the training schedules which he ordered his staff to +devise. After this schedule had been in operation not ten days, I +happened to witness a demonstration of American discipline which might +be compared to an improved incident of Damocles dining under the +suspended sword at the feast of Dionysius. + +A battalion of American Infantry was at practice on one of the training +fields. The grenade-throwing exercises had been concluded and the order +had been given to "fall in" preparatory to the march back to the camp. + +Upon the formation of the long company lines, end on end down the side +of the hill, the order, "attention," was sharply shouted bringing the +men to the rigid pose which permits the eyes to wander neither to the +right nor to the left, above nor below, but straightforward. + +As the thousand men stood there, rigid and silent, a sudden disturbance +took place in the sky above them. Shells began exploding up there. At +the same time the men in the ranks could distinctly hear the whirr and +the hum of aeroplane motors above them. + +Almost every day reports had been received that German planes had evaded +the Allied aerial patrols along the front and had made long flights +behind our lines for the dual purposes of observing and bombing. + +As the American battalion stood stiff and motionless, I knew that the +thought was passing through the minds of every man there that here, at +last, was the expected visitation of the German flyers and that a +terrific bomb from above would be the next event on the programme. The +men recognised the reports of the anti-aircraft guns blazing away, and +the sound of the motors suggested a close range target. + +The sound seemed to indicate that the planes were flying low. The +American ranks knew that something was going on immediately above them. +They did not know what it was, but it seems needless to state that they +wanted to know. Still the ranks stood as stiff as rows of clay-coloured +statues. + +An almost irresistible impulse to look upward, a strong instinctive +urging to see the danger that impended, and the stern regulations of +"eyes front" that goes with the command "attention," comprised the +elements of conflict that went on in each of the thousand heads in that +battalion line. + +In front of each platoon, the lieutenants and captains stood with the +same rigid eyes front facing the men. If one of the company officers had +relaxed to the extent of taking one fleeting upward glance, it is +doubtful whether the men could have further resisted the same +inclination, but not a man shifted his gaze from the direction +prescribed by the last command. + +One plane passed closely overhead and nothing happened. Three more +followed and still no bombs fell, and then the tense incident was closed +by the calling out of the order of the march and, in squads of four, the +battalion wheeled into the road and marched back to billets. + +As one company went by singing (talking was permitted upon the freedom +of routstep), I heard one of the men say that he had thought all along +that the officers would not have made them stand there at attention if +the danger had not been over. + +"As far as I knew, it was over," a comrade added. "It was right over my +head." And in this light manner the men forgot the incident as they +resumed their marching song. + +When Mr. W. Hollenzollern of Potsdam put singing lessons in the +curriculum of his soldiers' training, a tremor of military giggling was +heard around the world. But in August, 1914, when Mars smiled at the +sight of those same soldiers, marching across the frontiers east, south +and west, under their throaty barrage of "Deutschland, Deutschland, Ueber +Alles," the derisive giggles completely died out. It immediately became +a case of he who laughs first, lives to yodel. + +The American forces then in training took advantage of this. They not +only began to sing as they trained, but they actually began to be +trained to sing. Numerous company commanders who had held strong +opinions against this vocal soldiering, changed their minds and +expressed the new found conviction that the day was past when singing +armies could be compared solely with male coryphees who hold positions +well down stage and clink empty flagons of brown October ale. + +"It's a great idea," a company commander told me. "We learned it from +the Blue Devils. They are the toughest set of undersized gentry that I +have run into in France. They have forearms as big as three-inch shells, +and as hard. Their favourite pastime is juggling hand-grenades that +can't possibly explode unless they just lightly touch one another. + +"Yesterday we watched them, bared to the waist, as they went through +three hours of grenade and bombing practice that was the last word in +strenuosity. Keeping up with their exercises was hard work for our men, +whose arms soon began to ache from the unaccustomed, overhand heaving. + +"Then we watched them as their commander assembled them for the march +back to the village. At the command, 'attention,' their heels clicked, +their heads went back, their chins up and their right hands were pasted +rigidly against their right trouser leg. + +"At the command 'march' all of them started off, punctuating their first +step with the first word of their marching song. It was not any sickly +chorus either. There was plenty of beef and lung power behind every +note. My men lined up opposite were not missing a bit of it. Most of +them seemed to know what was expected when I said: + +"'On the command of "march," the company will begin to sing, keeping +step with the song. The first sergeant will announce the song.' + +"My first sergeant responded without a change of colour as if the +command to sing had been an old regulation. I knew that he was puzzled, +but he did it well. The name of the song chosen was passed down the line +from man to man. + +"When I gave the command to march, the company, almost half of them new +recruits, wheeled in squads of fours, and started off down the road +singing, 'Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here.' There were some who were +kind of weak on the effort, but there was a noticeable crescendo when +the sergeant passed the word down the squad that the company would be +kept marching until everybody had joined in the singing. + +"We swung into camp that night with every voice raising lustily on 'One +Grasshopper Hopped Right Over Another Grasshopper's Back,' and after +dinner the billets just sprouted melody, everything from ragtime to +Christmas carols and baby lullabies." + +One noticeable characteristic about our soldiers during that training +period before they had come in contact with the enemy, was a total +absence of violent antipathy toward all persons and things Teutonic. + +On the march the men then sang "We'll Hang the Damned Old Kaiser to a +Sour Apple Tree," but at that time I never heard any parodies on the +"Gott Straffe Germany" theme. Our soldiers were of so many different +nationalistic extractions and they had been thrown together for so short +a time, that as yet no especial hatred of the enemy had developed. + +An illustration of this very subject and also the manner in which our +boys got along with the civilian populations of the towns they occupied +came to my notice. + +A driving rain which filled the valley with mist and made the hills look +like mountain tops projecting above the clouds, had resulted in the +abandonment of the usual daily drills. The men had spent the day in +billets writing letters home, hearing indoor lectures from instructors, +playing with the French children in the cottage doorways, or taking +lessons in French from the peasant girls, whose eyes were inspirations +to the dullest pupils. + +I spent several hours in a company commander's quarters while he +censored letters which the men had submitted for transmission back home. +The Captain looked long at a letter in his hand, smiled and called for +his orderly. + +"Tell Private Blank I want to see him here right away," were the +Captain's instructions. Blank's name was not quite so German as +Sourkraut, but it had a "berger" ending that was reminiscent of beer, +pretzels and wooden shoes. + +"Here's a letter written in German," said the Captain to me, referring +to the open missive. "It's addressed to somebody by the same name as +Blank, and I presume it is to some one in his family. Blank is one of +the best men in my company, and I know that the letter is harmless, but +it is impossible for me to pass it when written in an enemy language." + +The door opened and a tall, blonde enlisted man stepped in, shaking the +rain from his hat. He stood at respectful attention, saluted and said: + +"Did the Captain wish to see me?" + +"Yes, Blank, it is about this letter written in German," the Captain +replied. "Who is it addressed to?" + +"My father, in Cincinnati, sir," Blank replied. + +"I am unfamiliar with German," the Captain said. "I notice the letter is +brief. Is there anything in it which the company has been ordered to +omit mentioning?" + +"No, sir," Blank replied. + +"Will you translate it for me?" the Captain asked. + +"Yes, sir," said Blank, with just a bare suggestion of a blush. Then he +read as follows: + + "Dear Father: I am in good health. Food is good and we are learning + much. I am becoming an expert grenadier. In this village where we + are billeted there is a French girl named Germain. Before the war + she lived in northern France, near the German frontier, and she + speaks German. So it is possible for us to talk together. She fled + before the German troops reached her village. She lives here now + with her aunt. + + "I carry water from a well for her and she has given me each day a + roll of fresh made butter for our mess. In the evening we sit on the + front seat of her uncle's small carriage, which is in the front + yard, and we imagine we are taking a drive, but of course there are + no horses. Her uncle's horses were taken by the army a long time + ago. She is very anxious to know all about America, and I have told + her all about you and mother and our home in Cincinnati. + + "She asked me what I am going to do after the war, and I told her + that I would return to Cincinnati to help you at the store. She + cried because she said she did not know where she was going after + the war. Her father and two brothers have been killed and her aunt + and uncle are very old. + + "I have some more to write to you about Germain later. But must stop + here because the Sergeants are assembling the men for indoor + instruction. Love to all. It is raining very hard. Your son, ----" + +Blank's face seemed to redden as he hesitated over a postscript line at +the bottom of the page. + +"This is nothing," he said. "I just asked father to ask mother to send +me one of the photographs I had taken on the day I enlisted." + +"For Germain?" the Captain enquired, smilingly. + +"Yes, sir," replied Blank. + +"Why didn't you write this in English?" the Captain asked. + +"My father reads only German," Blank replied. + +Blank was instructed to rewrite his letter in English and address it to +some friend who could translate it into German for his father. As the +door closed on this American soldier of German extraction, I asked the +Captain, "Do you think Germain could stand for Blank's German name, +after all she has lost at the hands of the Germans?" + +"She'll probably be wearing it proudly around Cincinnati within a year +after the war is over," the Captain replied. + +It might be reassuring at this point to remark that girls in America +really have no occasion to fear that many of our soldiers will leave +their hearts in France. The French women are kind to them, help them in +their French lessons, and frequently feed them with home delicacies +unknown to the company mess stoves, but every American soldier overseas +seems to have that perfectly natural hankering to come back to the girls +he left behind. + +The soldier mail addressed daily to mothers and sweethearts back in the +States ran far into the tons. The men were really homesick for their +American women folks. I was aware of this even before I witnessed the +reception given by our men to the first American nurses to reach the +other side. + +The hospital unit to which they belonged had been transported into that +training area so quickly and so secretly that its presence there was +unknown for some time. I happened to locate it by chance. + +Several of us correspondents seeking a change of diet from the +monotonous menu provided by the hard-working madam of our modest +hostelry, motored in a new direction, over roads that opened new vistas +in this picture book of the world. + +Long straight avenues of towering trees whose foliage roofed the +roadways were sufficient to reanimate recollections of old masters of +brush realism. Ploughed fields veiled with the low-hanging mist of +evening time, and distant steeples of homely simplicity faintly glazed +by the last rays of the setting sun, reproduced the tones of "The +Angelus" with the over-generous hugeness of nature. + +And there in that prettiest of French watering places--Vittel--we came +upon those first American nurses attached to the American Expeditionary +Forces. They told us that all they knew was the name of the place they +were in, that they were without maps and were not even aware of what +part of France they were located in. + +It developed that the unit's motor transportation had not arrived and, +other automobiles being as scarce as German flags, communication with +the nearby camps had been almost non-existent. Orders had been received +from field headquarters and acknowledged, but its relation in distance +or direction to their whereabouts were shrouded in mystery. But not for +long. + +Soon the word spread through the training area that American nurses had +a hospital in the same zone and some of the homesick Yanks began to make +threats of self-mutilation in order that they might be sent to that +hospital. + +The hospital unit was soon followed by the arrival of numerous American +auxiliary organisations and the kindly activities of the workers as well +as their numbers became such as to cause the men to wonder what kind of +a war they were in. + +I happened to meet an old top sergeant of the regular army, a man I had +known in Mexico, with the American Punitive Expedition. He had just +received a large bundle of newspapers from home and he was bringing +himself up-to-date on the news. I asked him what was happening back +home. + +"Great things are going on in the States," he said, looking up from his +papers. "Here's one story in the newspaper that says the Y. M. C. A. is +sending over five hundred secretaries to tell us jokes and funny +stories. And here's another account about the Red Cross donating half a +million dollars to build recreation booths for us along the front. And +here's a story about a New York actor getting a committee of +entertainers together to come over and sing and dance for us. And down +in Philadelphia they're talking about collecting a million dollars to +build tabernacles along the front so's Billy Sunday can preach to us. +What I'm wondering about is, when in hell they're going to send the army +over." + +But that was in the early fall of 1917, and as I write these lines now, +in the last days of 1918, I am aware and so is the world, that in all of +France nobody will ever ask that question again. + +That army got there. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +MAKING THE MEN WHO MAN THE GUNS + + +While our infantry perfected their training in the Vosges, the first +American artillery in France undertook a schedule of studies in an old +French artillery post located near the Swiss frontier. This place is +called Valdahon, and for scores of years had been one of the training +places for French artillery. But during the third and fourth years of +the war nearly all of the French artillery units being on the front, all +subsequent drafts of French artillerymen received their training under +actual war conditions. + +So it was that the French war department turned over to the Americans +this artillery training ground which had been long vacant. Three +American artillery regiments, the Fifth, Sixth and Seventh, comprising +the first U. S. Artillery Brigade, began training at this post. + +The barracks had been long unoccupied and much preparatory work was +necessary before our artillerymen could move in. Much of this work +devolved upon the shoulders of the Brigade Quartermaster. + +The first difficulty that he encountered was the matter of illumination +for the barracks, mess halls and lecture rooms. All of the buildings +were wired, but there was no current. The Quartermaster began an +investigation and this was what he found: + +The post had been supplied with electricity from a generating plant +located on a river about ten miles away. This plant had supplied +electrical energy for fifteen small French towns located in the +vicinity. The plant was owned and operated by a Frenchman, who was +about forty years old. The French Government, realising the necessity +for illumination, had exempted this man from military service, so that +he remained at his plant and kept the same in operation for the benefit +of the camp at Valdahon and the fifteen small towns nearby. + +Then the gossips of the countryside got busy. These people began to say +that Monsieur X, the operator of the plant, was not patriotic, in other +words, that he was a slacker for not being at the front when all of +their menfolk had been sent away to the war. + +Now it so happened that Monsieur X was not a slacker, and his +inclination had always been to get into the fight with the Germans, but +the Government had represented to him that it was his greater duty to +remain and keep his plant in operation to provide light for the +countryside. + +When the talk of the countryside reached Monsieur X's ears, he being a +country-loving Frenchman was infuriated. He denounced the gossips as +being unappreciative of the great sacrifice he had been making for their +benefit, and, to make them realise it, he decided on penalising them. + +Monsieur X simply closed down his plant, locked and barred the doors and +windows, donned his French uniform and went away to the front to join +his old regiment. That night those villagers in the fifteen nearby +towns, who had been using electrical illumination, went to bed in the +dark. + +It required considerable research on the part of the Artillery +Quartermaster to reveal all these facts. The electric lights had been +unused for fifteen months when he arrived there, and he started to see +what he could do to put the plant back to work. It required nothing +less finally than a special action by the French Minister of War whereby +orders were received by Monsieur X commanding him to leave his regiment +at the front and go back to his plant by the riverside and start making +electricity again. + +With the lights on and water piped in for bathing facilities, and +extensive arrangements made for the instalment of stoves and other +heating apparatus, the purchase of wood fuel and fodder for the animals, +the Brigade moved in and occupied the camp. + +The American officer in command of that post went there as a Brigadier +General. As I observed him at his work in those early days, I seemed to +see in his appearance and disposition some of the characteristics of a +Grant. He wore a stubby-pointed beard and he clamped his teeth tight on +the butt end of a cigar. I saw him frequently wearing the $11.50 +regulation issue uniform of the enlisted men. I saw him frequently in +rubber boots standing hip deep in the mud of the gun pits, talking to +the men like a father--a kindly, yet stern father who knew how to +produce discipline and results. + +While at the post, he won promotion to a Major General's rank, and in +less than six months he was elevated to the grade of a full General and +was given the highest ranking military post in the United States. That +man who trained our first artillerymen in France was General Peyton C. +March, Chief of Staff of the United States Army. + +Finding the right man for the right place was one of General March's +hobbies. He believed in military mobilisation based on occupational +qualifications. In other words, he believed that a man who had been a +telephone operator in civilian life would make a better telephone +operator in the army than he would make a gunner. + +I was not surprised to find that this same worthy idea had permeated in +a more or less similar form down to the lowest ranks in General March's +command at that time. I encountered it one cold night in October, when I +was sitting in one of the barrack rooms talking with a man in the ranks. + +That man's name was Budd English. I met him first in Mexico on the +American Punitive Expedition, where he had driven an automobile for +Damon Runyon, a fellow correspondent. English, with his quaint +Southwestern wit, had become in Mexico a welcome occupant of the large +pyramidal tent which housed the correspondents attached to the +Expedition. We would sit for hours hearing him tell his stories of the +plains and the deserts of Chihuahua. + +English and I were sitting on his bed at one corner of the barrack room, +rows of cots ranged each side of the wall and on these were the snoring +men of the battery. The room was dimly illuminated by a candle on a +shelf over English's head and another candle located on another shelf in +the opposite corner of the room. There was a man in bed in a corner +reading a newspaper by the feeble rays of the candle. + +Suddenly we heard him growl and tear the page of the newspaper in half. +His exclamation attracted my attention and I looked his way. His hair +was closely cropped and his head, particularly his ears and forehead, +and jaw, stamped him as a rough and ready fighter. + +"That's Kid Ferguson, the pug," English whispered to me, and then in +louder tones, he enquired, "What's eating on you, kid?" + +"Aw, this bunk in the paper," replied Ferguson. Then he glared at me +and enquired, "Did you write this stuff?" + +"What stuff?" I replied. "Read it out." + +Ferguson picked up the paper and began to read in mocking tones +something that went as follows: + +"Isn't it beautiful in the cold early dawn in France, to see our dear +American soldiers get up from their bunks and go whistling down to the +stables to take care of their beloved animals." + +English laughed uproariously. + +"The Kid don't like horses no more than I do," he said. "Neither one of +us have got any use for them at all. And here, that's all they keep us +doing, is tending horses. I went down there the other morning with a +lantern and one of them long-eared babies just kicked it clean out of my +hand. The other morning one of them planted two hoofs right on +Ferguson's chest and knocked him clear out of the stable. It broke his +watch and his girl's picture. + +"You know, Mr. Gibbons, I never did have any use for horses. When I was +about eight years old a horse bit me. When I was about fifteen years old +I got run over by an ice-wagon. Horses is just been the ruination of me. + +"If it hadn't been for them I might have gone through college and been +an officer in this here army. You remember that great big dairy out on +the edge of the town in El Paso? Well, my dad owned that and he lost all +of it on the ponies in Juarez. I just hate horses. + +"I know everything there is to know about an automobile. I have driven +cross country automobile races and after we come out of Mexico, after we +didn't get Villa, I went to work in the army machine shops at Fort Bliss +and took down all them motor trucks and built them all over again. + +"When Uncle Sam got into the war against Germany, this here Artillery +Battalion was stationed out at Fort Bliss, and I went to see the Major +about enlisting, but I told him I didn't want to have nothing to do with +no horses. + +"And he says, 'English, don't you bother about that. You join up with +this here battalion, because when we leave for France we're going to +kiss good-bye to them horses forever. This here battalion is going to be +motorised.' + +"And now here we are in France, and we still got horses, and they don't +like me and I don't like them, and yet I got to mill around with 'em +every day. The Germans ain't never going to kill me. They ain't going to +get a chance. They just going to find me trampled to death some morning +down in that stable." + +Two or three of the occupants of nearby beds had arisen and taken seats +on English's bed. They joined the conversation. One red-headed +youngster, wearing heavy flannel underwear in lieu of pajamas, made the +first contribution to the discussion. + +"That's just what I'm beefing about," he said. "Here I've been in this +army two months now and I'm still a private. There ain't no chance here +for a guy that's got experience." + +"Experience? Where do you get that experience talk?" demanded English. +"What do you know about artillery?" + +"That's just what I mean, experience," the red-headed one replied with +fire. "I got experience. Mr. Gibbons knows me. I'm from Chicago, the +same as he is. I worked in Chicago at Riverview Park. I'm the guy that +fired the gattling gun in the Monitor and Merrimac show--we had two +shows a day and two shows in the evening and----" + +"Kin you beat that," demanded English. "You know, if this here +red-headed guy don't get promotion pretty quick, he's just simply going +to quit this army and leave us flat here in France facing the Germans. + +"Let me tell you about this gattling gun expert. When they landed us off +of them boats down on the coast, the battalion commander turned us all +loose for a swim in the bay, and this here bird almost drowned. He went +down three times before we could pull him out. + +"Now, if they don't make him a Brigadier General pretty quick, he's +going to get sore and put in for a transfer to the Navy on the grounds +of having submarine experience. But he's right in one thing--experience +don't count for what it should in the army. + +"Right here in our battery we got a lot of plough boys from Kansas that +have been sitting on a plough and looking at a horse's back all their +lives, and they got them handling the machinery on these here guns. And +me, who knows everything there is to know about machinery, they won't +let me even find out which end of the cannon you put the shell in and +which end it comes out of. All I do all day long is to prod around a +couple of fat-hipped hayburners. My God, I hate horses." + +But regardless of these inconveniences those first American artillerymen +in our overseas forces applied themselves strenuously to their studies. +They were there primarily to learn. It became necessary for them at +first to make themselves forget a lot of things that they had previously +learned by artillery and adapt themselves to new methods and instruments +of war. + +Did you ever hear of "Swansant, Kansas"? You probably won't find it on +any train schedule in the Sunflower State; in fact, it isn't a place at +all. It is the name of the light field cannon that France provided our +men for use against the German line. + +"Swansant, Kansas" is phonetic spelling of the name as pronounced by +American gunners. The French got the same effect in pronunciation by +spelling the singular "soixante quinze," but a Yankee cannoneer trying +to pronounce it from that orthography was forced to call it a "quince," +and that was something which it distinctly was not. + +One way or the other it meant the "Seventy-fives"--the "Admirable +Seventy-five"--the seventy-five millimetre field pieces that stopped the +Germans' Paris drive at the Marne--the same that gave Little Willie a +headache at Verdun,--the inimitable, rapid firing, target hugging, hell +raising, shell spitting engine of destruction whose secret of recoil +remained a secret after almost twenty years and whose dependability was +a French proverb. + +At Valdahon where American artillery became acquainted with the +Seventy-five, the khaki-clad gun crews called her "some cannon." At +seven o'clock every morning, the glass windows in my room at the post +would rattle with her opening barks, and from that minute on until noon +the Seventy-fives, battery upon battery of them, would snap and bark +away until their seemingly ceaseless fire becomes a volley of sharp +cracks which sent the echoes chasing one another through the dark +recesses of the forests that conceal them. + +The targets, of course, were unseen. Range elevation, deflection, all +came to the battery over the signal wires that connected the firing +position with some observation point also unseen but located in a +position commanding the terrain under fire. + +A signalman sat cross-legged on the ground back of each battery. He +received the firing directions from the transmitter clamped to his ears +and conveyed them to the firing executive who stood beside him. They +were then megaphoned to the sergeants chief of sections. + +The corporal gunner, with eye on the sighting instruments at the side of +each gun, "laid the piece" for range and deflection. Number one man of +the crew opened the block to receive the shell, which was inserted by +number two. Number three adjusted the fuse-setter, and cut the fuses. +Numbers four and five screwed the fuses in the shells and kept the +fuse-setter loaded. + +The section chiefs, watch in hand, gave the firing command to the gun +crews, and number one of each piece jerked the firing lanyard at ten +second intervals or whatever interval the command might call for. The +four guns would discharge their projectiles. They whined over the damp +wooded ridge to distant imaginary lines of trenches, theoretical +cross-roads, or designated sections where the enemy was supposed to be +massing for attack. Round after round would follow, while telephoned +corrections perfected the range, and burst. The course of each shell was +closely observed as well as its bursting effect, but no stupendous +records were kept of the individual shots. That was "peace time stuff." + +These batteries and regiments were learning gunnery and no scarcity of +shells was permitted to interfere with their education. One officer told +me that it was his opinion that one brigade firing at this schooling +post during a course of six weeks, had expended more ammunition than all +of the field artillery of the United States Army has fired during the +entire period since the Civil War. The Seventy-five shells cost +approximately ten dollars apiece, but neither the French nor American +artillery directors felt that a penny's worth was being wasted. They +said cannon firing could not be learned entirely out of a book. + +I had talked with a French instructor, a Yale graduate, who had been two +years with the guns at the front, and I had asked him what in his +opinion was the most disconcerting thing that could happen to effect the +morale of new gunners under actual fire. I wanted some idea of what +might be expected of American artillerymen when they made their initial +appearance on the line. + +We discussed the effect of counter battery fire, the effect on gun crews +of asphyxiating gas, either that carried on the wind from the enemy +trenches or that sent over in gas shells. We considered the demoralising +influences of aerial attacks on gun positions behind the line. + +"They are all bad," my informant concluded. "But they are expected. Men +can stand without complaint and without qualm any danger that is +directed at them by the foe they are fighting. The thing that really +bothers, though, is the danger of death or injury from their own weapons +or ammunition. You see, many times there is such a thing as a faulty +shell, although careful inspection in the munitions plants has reduced +this danger to a percentage of about one in ten thousand. + +"At the beginning of the war when every little tin shop all over the +world was converted into a munitions factory to supply the great need of +shells, much faulty ammunition reached the front lines. Some of the +shells would explode almost as soon as they left the gun. They are +called shorts. The English, who had the same trouble, call them 'muzzle +bursts.' + +"Sometimes the shell would explode in the bore of the cannon, in which +case the cannoneers were usually killed either by pieces of the shell +itself or bits of the cannon. The gunners have to sit beside the cannon +when it is fired, and the rest of the gun crew are all within eight feet +of it. If there is an explosion in the breech of the gun, it usually +wipes out most of the crew. A muzzle burst, or a breech explosion, is +one of the most disconcerting things that could happen in a battery. + +"The other men in the battery know of course that a faulty shell caused +the explosion. They also know that they are firing ammunition from the +same lot. After that, as they pull the trigger on each shot, they don't +know whether the shell is going out of the gun all right or whether it +is going to explode in the breech and kill all of them. That thought in +a man's mind when he pulls the firing lanyard, that thought in the minds +of the whole crew as they stand there waiting for the crash, is +positively demoralising. + +"When it happens in our French artillery the cannoneers lose confidence +in their pieces. They build small individual dugouts a safe ways back +from the gun and extend the lanyard a safe distance. Then, with all the +gun crew under cover, they fire the piece. This naturally removes them +from their regular firing positions beside the pieces, reduces the +accuracy and slows up the entire action of the battery. The men's +suspicions of the shells combined with the fear of death by their own +weapons, which is greater than any fear of death at the hands of the +enemy, all reduce the morale of the gun crews." + +Now, for an incident. A new shipment of ammunition had reached the post. +The caissons were filled with it. Early the following morning when the +guns rumbled out of camp to the practice grounds, Battery X was firing +in the open. At the third shot the shell from piece number two exploded +prematurely thirty yards from the muzzle. Pieces three and four fired +ten and twenty seconds later with every man standing on his toes in his +prescribed position. + +Ten rounds later, a shell from number three gun exploded thirty feet +after leaving the bore. Shell particles buried themselves in the ground +near the battery. Piece number four, right next to it, was due to fire +in ten seconds. It discharged its projectiles on the dot. The gun crews +knew what they were up against. They were firing faulty ammunition. They +passed whispered remarks but reloaded with more of the same ammunition +and with military precision on the immediate command. Every man stuck to +his position. As each gun was fired the immediate possibilities were not +difficult to imagine. + +Then it happened. + +"Commence firing," megaphoned the firing executive. The section chief of +number one piece dropped his right hand as the signal for the discharge. +The corporal gunner was sitting on the metal seat in front of his +instruments and not ten inches to the left of the breech. Cannoneer +number one of the gun crew occupied his prescribed position in the same +location to the immediate right of the breech. Gunner number two was +standing six feet behind the breech and slightly to the left ready to +receive the ejected cartridge case. Gunner number three was kneeling +over the fuse setter behind the caisson which stood wheel to wheel with +the gun carriage. Gunners four and five were rigid statues three feet +back of him. Every man in the crew had seen the previous bursts of +dangerous ammunition. + +Number one's eye caught the descending hand of the section chief. He +pulled the lanyard. + +There was an eruption of orange coloured flame, a deafening roar, a +crash of rendered steel, a cloud of smoke blue green, and yellow. + +A black chunk of the gun cradle hurtled backward through the air with a +vicious swish. A piece of the bore splintered the wheels and buried +itself in the ammunition caisson. Thick hunks of gun metal crumbling +like dry cake filled the air. The ground shook. + +The corporal gunner pitched backward from his seat and collapsed on the +ground. His mate with fists buried in his steel seared eyes staggered +out of the choking fumes. The rest of the crew picked themselves up in a +dazed condition. Fifty yards away a horse was struggling to regain his +feet. + +Every man in the three other gun crews knew what had happened. None of +them moved from their posts. They knew their guns were loaded with +shells from the same lot and possibly with the same faults. No man knew +what would happen when the next firing pin went home. The evidence was +before them. Their eyes were on the exploded gun but not for long. + +"Crash," the ten second firing interval had expired. The section chief +of piece number two had dropped his hand. The second gun in the battery +had fired. + +"Number two on the way," sang out the signalman over the telephone wire +to the hidden observation station. + +Ten seconds more for another gun crew to cogitate on whether disaster +hung on the dart of a firing pin. + +"Crash." + +"Number three on the way." + +Another ten seconds for the last section to wonder whether death would +come with the lanyard jerk. + +"Crash." + +"Number four on the way." Round complete. The signalman finished his +telephone report. + +Four horses drawing an army ambulance galloped up from the ravine that +sheltered them. The corporal gunner, unconscious and with one leg +pulverised was lifted in. Two other dazed members of the crew were +helped into the vehicle. One was bleeding from the shoulder. The lead +horses swung about; the ambulance rattled away. + +"Battery ready to fire. Piece number one out of action." It was the +signalman reporting over the wire to the observer. + +Battery X fired the rest of the morning and they used ammunition from +the same lot and every man knew what might happen any minute and every +man was in his exact position for every shot and nobody happened to +think about hiding in a dugout and putting a long string on the firing +lanyard. + +It had been an unstaged, unconscious demonstration of nerve and grit and +it proved beyond all question the capacity of American artillerymen to +stand by the guns. + +The gunner corporal told the nurse at his bedside how it all happened, +but he was still under the effects of the anesthetic. He did not refer +to the morale of his battery mates because it had not occurred to him +that there was anything unusual in what they did. But he did think that +he could wiggle the toes on his right leg. The doctor told me that this +was a common delusion before the patient had been informed of the +amputation. + +Incidents such as the one related had no effect whatever upon the +progress of the work. From early dawn to late at night the men followed +their strenuous duties six days a week and then obtained the necessary +relief on the seventh day by trips down to the ancient town of Besancon. + +In this picturesque country where countless thousands fought and died, +down through the bloody centuries since and before the Christian era, +where Julius Caesar paused in his far flung raids to dictate new inserts +to his commentaries, where kings and queens and dukes and pretenders +left undying traces of ambition's stormy urgings, there it was that +American soldiers, in training for the war of wars, spent week-end +holidays and mixed the breath of romance with the drag of their +cigarettes. + +The extender of Roman borders divided that region into three parts, +according to the testimony of the first Latin class, but he neglected to +mention that of these three parts the one decreed for American +occupation was the most romantic of them all. + + * * * * * + +It is late on a Saturday afternoon and I accept the major's offer of a +seat in his mud-bespattered "Hunka Tin." The field guns have ceased +their roar for the day and their bores will be allowed to cool over +Sunday. Five per cent. of the men at the post have received the coveted +town leave. + +They form a khaki fresco on the cab and sides of the giant commissary +trucks that raise the dust along the winding white road over the hills. +Snorting motorcycles with two men over the motor and an officer in the +side car skim over the ground, passing all others. A lukewarm sun +disappears in a slot in the mountains and a blue grey mist forms in the +valleys. A chill comes over the air and a cold new moon looks down and +laughs. + +It is a long ride to the ancient town, but speed laws and motor traps +are unknown and the hood of the Detroit Dilemma shakes like a wet dog as +her sizzling hot cylinders suck juice from a full throttle. We cross one +divide through a winding road bordered by bushy trees and as orderly as +a national park. We coast through a hillside hamlet of barking dogs and +saluting children who stand at smiling attention and greet our passage +with a shrill "Veev La Mereek" (Vive l'Amerique). + +We scud across a broad, level road built well above the lowland, and +climb through zig-zagging avenues of stately poplars to the tunnel that +pierces the backbone of the next ridge. + +While the solid rock walls of the black bore reverberate with the echoes +from our exhaust, we emerge on a road that turns sharply to the left and +hugs a cliff. Below winds a broad river that looks like mother of pearl +in the moonlight. The mountain walls on either side rise at angles +approximating 45 degrees, and in the light their orderly vineyards look +like the squares on a sloping checkerboard. In front of us and to the +right the flanking ridges converge to a narrow gorge through which the +river Doub runs to loop the town. + +Commanding this gorge from the crests of the two rocky heights are +sinister sentinels whose smooth, grey walls and towers rise sheer from +the brink of the cliffs. The moonlight now catching the ramparts of the +em-battlements splashes them with strokes of white that seem ever +brighter in contrast with the darker shadows made by projecting portions +of the walls. Spaniard and Moor knew well those walls, and all the +kingly glory that hurried France to the reign of terror has slept within +their shadows. + +Our way down the cliff side is hewn out of the beetling rock. To our +left, a jagged wall of rock rises to the sky. To our right, a step, +rock-tumbled declivity drops to the river's edge. + +The moonlight brings funny fancies, and our yellow headlights, wavering +in concentric arcs with each turn of the course, almost seem to glint on +the helmets and shields of the spear-bearing legionaries that marched +that very way to force a southern culture on the Gauls. We slow down to +pass through the rock-hewn gate that once was the Roman aqueduct +bringing water down from mountain springs to the town. + +Through the gate, a turn to the left and we reach the black bottom of +the gorge untouched by the rising moon. We face a blast of wind that +slows our speed and brings with it the first big drops of rain. We stop +at the "Octroi" and assure the customs collector that we are military, +and that we carry no dutiable wine, or beans or wood into the town. + +Yet another gate, built across the narrow road between the cliff and the +river, and we enter the town. It has been raining and the cobblestones +are slippery. They shine in the gleams of pale light that come from the +top-heavy street lamps. Gargoyle water spouts drip drainage from the +gables of moss-speckled tiles. + +We pass a fountain that the Romans left, and rounded arches further on +show where the hooded Moor wrote his name in masonry. Barred windows and +stone balconies projecting over the street take one's mind off the +rattling motor and cause it to wander back to times when serenading +lovers twanged guitars beneath their ladies' windows and were satisfied +with the flower that dropped from the balcony. + +The streets are wet and dark now and through their narrow windings our +headlights reveal tall figures in slickers or khaki overcoats topped by +peaked felt hats with the red cords of American artillerymen. Their +identification is a surprise to the dreamer, because one rather expects +these figures to sulk in the deeper shadows and screen their dark, +bearded faces with the broad brims of black felt hats or muffle +themselves to the chin in long, flowing black cloaks that hide rapiers +and stilettos and other properties of mediaeval charm. + +We dine in a room three hundred years old. The presence of our +automobile within the inner quadrangle of the ancient building jars on +the sense of fitness. It is an old convent, now occupied by irreligious +tenants on the upper three floors, restaurants and estaminets on the +lower floor. These shops open on a broad gallery, level with the +courtyard, and separated from it only by the rows of pillars that +support the arches. It extends around the four sides of the court. + +Centuries ago shrouded nuns, clasping beads or books of office, walked +in uncommunicative pairs and mumbled their daily prayers beneath these +time-worn arches, and to-night it affords a promenade for officers +waiting for their meals to be served at madame's well laid tables +within. + +Madame's tables are not too many. There is not the space economy of an +American cafe, where elbows interlock and waiters are forced to navigate +fearsome cargoes above the diners' heads. Neither is there the +unwholesome, dust-filled carpet of London's roast beef palaces. + +Madame's floor is bare, but the wood has stood the scrubbings of years, +and is as spotless as grass-dried linen. The high ceiling and the walls +are of white stucco. In bas-relief are clusters of heraldic signs, of +bishops' crooks and cathedral keys, of mounted chargers and dying +dragoons, of miter and crown, and trumpet and shield, and cross. + +Large mirrors, circled with wreaths of gilded leaves, adorn both end +walls, and beneath one of them remains an ornate fireplace and +mantelpiece of bologna coloured marble, surmounted with a gilt cock of +wondrous design. Beneath the other mirror madame has placed her buffet, +on which the boy who explores the dusty caves below places the cobwebbed +bottles of red wine for the last cork pulling. Large gold chandeliers, +dangling with glass prisms, are suspended from high ceiling and flood +the room with light, against which the inner shutters of the tall +windows must be shut because of danger from the sky. + +There is colour in that room. The Roman conquerors would have found it +interesting. If former armed occupants of the old town could have +paraded in their ancient habiliments through the room like a procession +from the martial past, they would have found much for their attention in +this scene of the martial present. American khaki seems to predominate, +although at several tables are Canadian officers in uniforms of the same +colour but of different tailoring. + +The tables are flecked with all varieties of French uniforms, from +scarlet pants with solitary black stripes down the leg, to tunics of +horizon blue. In one corner there are two turbaned Algerians with heads +bent close over their black coffee, and one horn of the hall rack shows +a red fez with a gold crescent on the crown. + +Consider the company. That freckle-faced youth with the fluffed reddish +hair of a bandmaster is a French aviator, and among the row of +decorations on his dark blue coat is one that he received by reason of a +well known adventure over the German lines, which cannot be mentioned +here. That American colonel whose short grey hair blends into the white +wall behind him is a former member of the United States war college and +one of the most important factors in the legislation that shaped the +present military status of his country. That other Frenchman with the +unusual gold shoulder straps is not a member of the French army. He is +a naval officer, and the daring with which he carried his mapping chart +along exposed portions of the line at Verdun and evolved the +mathematical data on which the French fired their guns against the +German waves has been the pride of both the navy and the army. + +Over there is a young captain who this time last year was a "shavetail" +second in command at a small post along the line of communications in +Chihuahua. Next to him sits a tall dark youngster wearing with pride his +first Sam Browne belt and "U. S. R." on his collar. He carted human +wreckage to the hospitals on the French front for two years before Uncle +Sam decided to end the war. There's another one not long from the +"Point," booted and spurred and moulded to his uniform. He speaks with a +twang of old Virginia on every syllable and they say his family--but +that has nothing to do with the fact that he is aid to a major general +and is in these parts on a mission. + +There are three American women in the room. One who is interested in Y. +M. C. A. work and a number of newspapers, wears a feminine adaptation of +the uniform and holds court at the head of a table of five officers. +Another, Mrs. Robert R. McCormick, who is engaged in the extension of +the canteen work of a Paris organisation, is sitting at our table and +she is willing to wager her husband anything from half a dozen gloves to +a big donation check that Germany will be ready for any kind of peace +before an American offensive in the spring. + +The interests of the other American woman are negative. She professes no +concern in the fact that war correspondents' life insurances are +cancelled, but she repeats to me that a dead correspondent is of no use +to his paper, and I reply that if madame puts yet another one of her +courses on the board, one correspondent will die with a fork in his hand +instead of a pencil. + +The diners are leaving. Each opening of the salon door brings in a gust +of dampness that makes the tablecloths flap. Rain coats swish and rustle +in the entry. Rain is falling in sheets in the black courtyard. The moon +is gone. + +A merry party trails down the stone gallery skirting the quadrangle. +Their hobnailed soles and steel plated heels ring on the stone flags. +The arches echo back their song: + + "In days of old + A warrior bold + Sang merrily his lay, etc. etc. etc. + My love is young and fair. + My love has golden hair, + So what care I + Though death be nigh, etc. etc. etc." + +With frequent passages where a dearth of words reduce the selection to +musical but meaningless ta-de-ta-tas, the voices melt into the blackness +and the rain. + +"Great times to be alive," I say to the wife. "This place is saturated +with romance. I don't have to be back to the post until to-morrow night. +Where will we go? They are singing 'Carmen' in the old opera house on +the square. What do you say?" + +"There's a Charlie Chaplin on the programme next to the hotel," the wife +replies. + +Romance was slapped with a custard pie. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +"FRONTWARD HO!" + + +When the artillery training had proceeded to such a point that the +French instructors were congratulating our officers upon their +proficiency, the rumours spread through the post that the brigade had +been ordered to go to the front--that we were to be the first American +soldiers to actually go into the line and face the Germans. + +The news was received with joy. The men were keen to try out their newly +acquired abilities upon the enemy. Harness was polished until it shone. +Brass equipment gleamed until you could almost see your face in it. The +men groomed the horses until the animals got pains from it. Enlisted men +sojourning in the Guard House for petty offences, despatched their +guards with scrawled pleadings that the sentences be changed to fines so +that they could accompany the outfits to the front. + +With one special purpose in view, I made application to General March +for an assignment to Battery A of the Sixth Field Artillery. I received +the appointment. The Sixth was the first regiment of the brigade and A +was the first battery of the regiment. I knew that we would march out in +that order, that Battery A would entrain first, detrain first, go in the +line first, and I hoped to be present at the firing of the first +American shot in the war. + +We pulled out of the post on schedule time early in the morning, two +days later. Officers and men had been up and dressed since midnight. Ten +minutes after their arising, blankets had been rolled and all personal +equipment packed ready for departure with the exception of mess kits. + +While the stable police details fed the horses, the rest of us "leaned +up against" steak, hot biscuits, syrup and hot coffee. The cook had been +on the job all night and his efforts touched the right spot. It seemed +as if it was the coldest hour of the night and the hot "chow" acted as a +primer on the sleepy human machines. + +In the darkness, the animals were packed into the gun carriages and +caissons down in the gun park, and it was 4 A. M. on the dot when the +captain's whistle sounded and we moved off the reserve. As we rattled +over the railroad crossing and took the road, the men made facetious +good-byes to the scene of their six weeks' training. + +Soldiers like movement--we were on the move. Every one's spirits were up +and the animals were frisky and high-stepping in the brisk air. Chains +rattled as some of the lead pairs mussed up the traces and were brought +back into alignment by the drivers. The cannoneers, muffled in great +coats, hung on the caisson seats and chided the drivers. + +We were off. Where we were going, seemed to make no difference. Rumours +could never be depended upon, so none of us knew our destination, but +all of us hoped that we were going into action. Every man in the battery +felt that the schooling was over and that the battery, if given a +chance, could prove that it needed no further training. + +At the same time, some of the men expressed the fear that we were on our +way to some other training camp for some post-graduate course in firing +or maybe for the purpose of instructing other less advanced batteries. +The final consensus of opinion was, however, that "beefing" about our +prospects wouldn't change them, and that anything was better than +staying in the same place forever. + +Two miles from the post the road crossed the railroad tracks. The +crossing bore a name as everything else did in that land of poetical +nomenclature. There was only one house there. It was an old grey stone +cottage, its walls covered with vines, and its garden full of shrubbery. +It was occupied by three persons, the old crossing-tender, his wife--and +one other. That other was Jeanne. Jeanne was their daughter. + +We had seen her many times as she opened the crossing gates for traffic +on the road. She was about sixteen years old. Her ankles were encased in +thick grey woollen hose of her own knitting and, where they emerged from +her heavy wooden shoes, it looked as if every move in her clumsy +footgear might break them off. + +As we approached the crossing, Gallagher, who rode one of the lead pair +on piece No. 2, began to give vent to his fine Irish tenor. Gallagher +was singing: + + "We were sailing along + On Moonlight bay, + You could hear the voices ringing, + They seemed to say, + 'You have stolen my heart + Now, don't go away,' + As we kissed and said good-bye + On Moonlight bay." + +It would almost have seemed that there was need of some explanation for +Gallagher's musical demonstration on this cold, dark morning, but none +was demanded. Gallagher apparently knew what he was doing. + +His pair of lead horses were walking in much too orderly a fashion for +the occasion. Apparently the occasion demanded a little greater show of +dash and spirit. Gallagher sunk his spurs into the flanks of his mount +and punched its mate in the ribs with the heavy handle of his riding +crop. + +The leads lunged forward against their collars. The sudden plunge was +accompanied by a jangle of chains as the traces tightened. The gun +carriage jolted and the cannoneers swore at the unnecessary bouncing. + +"Easy, Zigg-Zigg, whoa, Fini." Gallagher pulled on the lines as he +shouted in a calculated pitch the French names of his horses. And then +the reason for Gallagher's conduct developed. + +A pair of wooden shutters on a first floor window of the gate-tender's +cottage opened outward. In the window was a lamp. The yellow rays from +it shone upward and revealed a tumbled mass of long black hair, black +eyes that gleamed, red cheeks and red lips. Then a sweet voice said: + +"Gude-bye, Meeky." + +"Orry wore, Jeen," replied Gallagher. + +"_Apres la guerre_, Meeky," said Jeanne. + +"Orry wore, Jeen," repeated Gallagher. + +"Oh, Jeanie, dear, please call me 'Meeky,'" sang out one of the men, +astride one of the wheel pair of the same gun. + +The window had closed, but before the light disappeared, black eyes +flashed hate at the jester, and Gallagher, himself, two horses ahead, +turned in the saddle and told the taunter to shut his mouth, observing +at the same time that "some guys didn't know a decent girl when they saw +one." + +We rode on. Soon, on the left, the sun came up cold out of +Switzerland's white topped ridges miles away, and smiling frigidly +across the snow-clad neutral Alps, dispelled the night mist in our part +of the world. + +The battery warmed under its glow. Village after village we passed +through, returning the polite salutes of early rising grand-sires who +uncovered their grey heads, or wrinkled, pink-faced grandmothers, who +waved kerchiefs from gabled windows beneath the thatch and smiled the +straight and dry-lipped smile of toothless age as they wished us good +fortune in the war. + +We messed at midday by the roadside, green fields and hills of France, +our table decorations, cold beef and dry bread, our fare, with canteens +full to wash it down. When the horses had tossed their nose-bags +futilely for the last grains of oats, and the captain's watch had timed +the rest at three-quarters of the hour, we mounted and resumed the +march. + +The equipment rode easy on man and beast. Packs had been shifted to +positions of maximum comfort. The horses were still fresh enough to need +tight rein. The men had made final adjustments to the chin straps on +their new steel helmets and these sat well on heads that never before +had been topped with armoured covering. In addition to all other +equipment, each man carried two gas masks. Our top sergeant had an +explanation for me as to this double gas mask equipment. + +"I'll tell you about it," he said, as he ruthlessly accepted the +next-to-the-last twenty-five centime Egyptian cigarette from my +proffered case. I winced as he deliberately tore the paper from that +precious fine smoke and inserted the filler in his mouth for a chew. + +"You see, England and France and us is all Allies," he said. "Both of +them loves us and we love both of them. We don't know nothing about gas +masks and they knows all there is to know about them. The French say +their gas mask is the best. The British say their gas mask is the best. + +"Well, you see, they both offer us gas masks. Now Uncle Sam don't want +to hurt nobody's feelings, so he says, 'Gentlemen, we won't fight about +this here matter. We'll just use both gas masks, and give each of them a +try-out.' + +"So here we are carrying two of these human nose-bags. The first time we +get into a mess of this here gas, somebody will send the order around to +change masks in the middle of it--just to find out which is the best +one." + +The sergeant, with seeming malice, spat some of that fine cigarette on a +roadside kilometer stone and closed the international prospects of the +subject. + +Our battery jangled through a tunnelled ridge and emerged on the other +side just as a storm of rain and hail burst with mountain fury. The +hailstones rattled on our metal helmets and the men laughed at the sound +as they donned slickers. The brakes grated on the caisson wheels as we +took the steep down-grade. The road hugged the valley wall which was a +rugged, granite cliff. + +I rode on ahead through the stinging hailstones and watched our battery +as it passed through the historic rock-hewn gateway that is the entrance +to the mediaeval town of Besancon. The portal is located at a sharp turn +of the river. The gateway is carved through a mountain spur. Ancient +doors of iron-studded oak still guard the entrance, but they have long +since stood open. Battlements that once knew the hand of Vaubon frown +down in ancient menace to any invader. + +[Illustration: CAPT. CHEVALIER, OF THE FRENCH ARMY, INSTRUCTING AMERICAN +OFFICERS IN THE USE OF THE ONE-POUNDER] + +[Illustration: IN THE COURSE OF ITS PROGRESS TO THE VALLEY OF THE VESLE +THIS 155 MM. GUN AND OTHERS OF ITS KIND WERE EDUCATING THE BOCHE TO +RESPECT AMERICA. THE TRACTOR HAULS IT ALONG STEADILY AND SLOWLY, LIKE A +STEAM ROLLER] + +No Roman conqueror at the head of his invading legions ever rode through +that triumphal arch with greater pride than rode our little captain +at the head of his battery. Our little captain was in stature the +smallest man in our battery, but he compensated for that by riding the +tallest horse in the battery. + +He carried his head at a jaunty angle. He wore his helmet at a nifty +tilt, with the chin strap riding between his underlip and his dimpled, +upheld chin. He carried his shoulders back, and his chest out. The reins +hung gracefully in his left hand, and he had assumed a rather +moving-picture pose of the right fist on his right hip. Behind him flew +the red guidon, its stirruped staff held stiffly at the right arm's +length by the battery standard bearer. + +Both of them smiled--expansive smiles of pride--into the clicking lens +of my camera. I forgave our little captain for his smile of pride. I +knew that six weeks before that very day our little captain had fitted +into the scheme of civilian life as a machinery salesman from Indiana. +And there that day, he rode at the head of his two hundred and fifty +fighting men and horses, at the head of his guns, rolling down that road +in France on the way to the front. + +In back of him and towering upward, was that historic rock that had +known the tread and passage of countless martial footsteps down through +the centuries. Behind him, the gun carriages rattled through the +frowning portal. Oh, if the folks back on the Wabash could have seen him +then! + +We wound through the crooked narrow streets of Besancon, our steel-tired +wheels bounding and banging over the cobblestones. Townsfolk waved to us +from windows and doorways. Old women in the market square abandoned +their baskets of beet roots and beans to flutter green stained aprons in +our direction. Our column was flanked by clattering phalanxes of +wooden-shoed street gamins, who must have known more about our movements +than we did, because they all shouted, "Gude-bye." + +Six weeks' familiarity between these same artillerymen on town leave and +these same urchins had temporised the blind admiration that caused them +first to greet our men solely with shouts of "_Vive les Americains_." +Now that they knew us better, they alternated the old greeting with +shouts of that all-meaning and also meaningless French expression, "Oo +la la." + +Our way led over the stone, spanned bridge that crossed the sluggish +river through the town, and on to the hilly outskirts where mounted +French guides met and directed us to the railroad loading platform. + +The platform was a busy place. The regimental supply company which was +preceding us over the road was engaged in forcibly persuading the last +of its mules to enter the toy freight cars which bore on the side the +printed legend, "Hommes 40, Chevaux 8." + +Several arclights and one or two acetylene flares illuminated the scene. +It was raining fitfully, but not enough to dampen the spirits of the Y. +M. C. A. workers who wrestled with canvas tarpaulins and foraged +materials to construct a make-shift shelter for a free coffee and +sandwich counter. + +Their stoves were burning brightly and the hurriedly erected stove +pipes, leaning wearily against the stone wall enclosing the quay, topped +the wall like a miniature of the sky line of Pittsburgh. The boiling +coffee pots gave off a delicious steam. In the language of our battery, +the "Whime say" delivered the goods. + +During it all the mules brayed and the supply company men swore. Most +humans, cognizant of the principles of safety first, are respectful of +the rear quarters of a mule. We watched one disrespecter of these +principles invite what might have been called "mulecide" with utter +contempt for the consequences. He deliberately stood in the dangerous +immediate rear of one particularly onery mule, and kicked the mule. + +His name was "Missouri Slim," as he took pains to inform the object of +his caress. He further announced to all present, men and mules, that he +had been brought up with mules from babyhood and knew mules from the +tips of their long ears to the ends of their hard tails. + +The obdurate animal in question had refused to enter the door of the car +that had been indicated as his Pullman. "Missouri Slim" called three +other ex-natives of Champ Clark's state to his assistance. They +fearlessly put a shoulder under each of the mule's quarters. Then they +grunted a unanimous "heave," and lifted the struggling animal off its +feet. As a perfect matter of course, they walked right into the car with +him with no more trouble than if he had been an extra large bale of hay. + +"Wonderful mule handling in this here army," remarked a quiet, +mild-mannered man in uniform, beside whom I happened to be standing. He +spoke with a slow, almost sleepy, drawl. He was the new veterinarian of +the supply company, and there were a number of things that were new to +him, as his story revealed. He was the first homesick horse doctor I +ever met. + +"I come from a small town out in Iowa," he told me. "I went to a +veterinary college and had a nice little practice,--sorter kept myself +so busy that I never got much of a chance to think about this here war. +But one day, about two months ago, I got a letter from the War +Department down in Washington. + +"They said the hoss doctor college had given them my name as one of the +graduates and the letter said that the War Department was making out a +list of hoss doctors. The letter asked me to fill out the blank and send +it to Washington. + +"'Joe,' my wife says to me, 'this here is an honour that the country is +paying to you. The Government just wants the names of the patriotic +professional citizens of the country.' So we filled out the blank and +mailed it and forgot all about it. + +"Well, about two weeks later, I got a letter from Washington telling me +to go at once to Douglas, Arizona. It sorter scared the wife and me at +first because neither of us had ever been out of Iowa, but I told her +that I was sure it wasn't anything serious--I thought that Uncle Sam +just had some sick hosses down there and wanted me to go down and look +them over. + +"Well, the wife put another shirt and a collar and an extra pair of +socks in my hand satchel along with my instruments and I kissed her and +the little boy good-bye and told them that I would hurry up and +prescribe for the Government hosses and be back in about five days. + +"Two days later I landed in Douglas, and a major shoved me into a +uniform and told me I was commissioned as a hoss doctor lieutenant. That +afternoon I was put on a train with a battery and we were on our way +east. Six days later we were on the ocean. We landed somewhere in France +and moved way out here. + +"My wife was expecting me back in five days and here it is I've been +away two months and I haven't had a letter from her and now we're moving +up to the front. It seems to me like I've been away from Iowa for ten +years, and I guess I am a little homesick, but it sure is a comfort to +travel with an outfit that knows how to handle mules like this one +does." + +The supply company completed loading, and the homesick horse doctor +boarded the last car as the train moved down the track. Our battery took +possession of the platform. A train of empties was shunted into position +and we began loading guns and wagons on the flat cars and putting the +animals into the box cars. + +Considerable confusion accompanied this operation. The horses seemed to +have decided scruples against entering the cars. It was dark and the +rain came down miserably. The men swore. There was considerable kicking +on the part of the men as well as the animals. + +I noticed one group that was gathered around a plunging team of horses. +The group represented an entanglement of rope, harness, horses and men. +I heard a clang of metal and saw the flash of two steel-shod hoofs. A +little corporal, holding his head up with both hands, backed out of the +group,--backed clear across the platform and sat down on a bale of hay. + +I went to his assistance. Blood was trickling through his fingers. I +washed his two scalp wounds with water from a canteen and applied first +aid bandages. + +"Just my luck," I heard my patient mumbling as I swathed his head in +white strips and imparted to him the appearance of a first-class front +line casualty. + +"You're lucky," I told him truthfully. "Not many men get kicked in the +head by a horse and escape without a fractured skull." + +"That isn't it," he said; "you see for the last week I've been wearing +that steel helmet--that cast-iron sombrero that weighs so much it almost +breaks your neck, and two minutes before that long-legged baby kicked +me, the tin hat fell off my head." + +By the time our battery had been loaded, another battery was waiting to +move on to the platform. Our captain went down the length of the train +examining the halter straps in the horse cars and assuring himself of +the correct apportionment of men in each car. Then we moved out on what +developed to be a wild night ride. + +The horse has been described as man's friend and no one questions that a +horse and a man, if placed out in any large open space, are capable of +getting along to their mutual comfort. But when army regulations and the +requirements of military transportation place eight horses and four men +in the same toy French box car and then pat all twelve of them +figuratively on the neck and tell them to lie down together and sleep +through an indefinite night's ride, it is not only probable, but it is +certain, that the legendary comradeship of the man and the horse ceases. +The described condition does not encompass the best understood relation +of the two as travelling companions. + +On our military trains in France, the reservations of space for the +human and dumb occupants of the same car were something as follows: Four +horses occupied the forward half of the car. Four more horses occupied +the rear half of the car. Four men occupied the remaining space. The +eight four-footed animals are packed in lengthwise with their heads +towards the central space between the two side doors. The central space +is reserved for the four two-footed animals. + +Then the train moves. If the movement is forward and sudden, as it +usually is, the four horses in the forward end of the car involuntarily +obey the rules of inertia and slide into the central space. If the +movement of the train is backward and equally sudden, the four horses in +the rear end of the car obey the same rule and plunge forward into the +central space. On the whole, night life for the men in the straw on the +floor of the central space is a lively existence, while "riding the +rattlers with a horse outfit." + +Our battery found it so. I rode a number of miles that night sitting +with four artillerymen in the central space between the side doors which +had been closed upon orders. From the roof of the car, immediately above +our heads, an oil lantern swung and swayed with every jolt of the wheels +and cast a feeble light down upon our conference in the straw. We +occupied a small square area which we had attempted to particularise by +roping it off. + +On either side were the blank surfaces of the closed doors. To either +end were the heads of four nervous animals, eight ponderous hulks of +steel-shod horseflesh, high strung and fidgety, verging almost on panic +under the unusual conditions they were enduring, and subject at any +minute to new fits of excitement. + +We sat at their feet as we rattled along. I recalled the scene of the +loose cannon plunging about the crowded deck of a rolling vessel at sea +and related Hugo's thrilling description to my companions. + +"Yeah," observed Shoemaker, driver of the "wheelers" on No. 4 piece, +"Yeah, but there ain't no mast to climb up on and get out of the way on +in this here boxcar." + +"I'd rather take my chances with a cannon any day," said 'Beady' Watson, +gunner. "A cannon will stay put when you fix it. There's our piece out +on the flat car and she's all lashed and blocked. It would take a wreck +to budge her off that flat. I wish the B. C. had let me ride with the +old gun out there. It would be a little colder but a lot healthier. Try +to go to sleep in here and you'll wake up with a horse sitting on you." + +"Where do you suppose we are going anyway?" asked Slater, fuse cutter in +the same section. "I'm strong for travel, but I always like to read the +program before we start to ramble. For all we know we might be on our +way to Switzerland or Italy or Spain or Egypt or somewhere." + +"Why don't you go up and ask the Captain?" suggested Boyle, corporal in +charge of the car. "Maybe the Colonel gave him a special message to +deliver to you about our dusty-nation. You needn't worry though. They +ain't going to bowl us out of France for some time yet." + +"Well, if we're just joy-riding around France," replied Slater, "I hope +we stop over to feed the horses at Monte Carlo. I've heard a lot about +that joint. They say that they run the biggest crap game in the world +there, and the police lay off the place because the Governor of the +State or the King or something, banks the game. They tell me he uses +straight bones and I figure a man could clean up big if he hit the game +on a payday." + +"Listen, kid, you've got this tip wrong," said Shoemaker. "If there's +anything happens to start a riot among these horses, you are going to +find that you're gambling with death. And if we ever get off this train, +I think we have a date with Kaiser Bill." + +"I've got a cousin somewhere in the German army. He spells his +'Shoemaker' with a 'u.' My dad told me that my grandfather and this +cousin's grandfather had a business disagreement over a sauerkraut +factory some time before the Civil War and my grandfather left Germany. +Since then, there ain't been no love lost between the branches of the +family, but we did hear that Cousin Hans had left the sauerkraut +business and was packing a howitzer for the Kaiser." + +"Well, I hope we come across him for your sake," said Watson. "It's +kinda tough luck to get cheated out of a big business like that, but +then you must remember that if your cousin's grandfather hadn't pulled +the dirty on your grandfather, your grandfather might never have gone to +America and most likely you'd still be a German." + +"I guess there's some sense in that, too," replied Shoemaker; "wouldn't +that been hell if I'd been on the other side in this war? But anyhow, I +do hope we run into Cousin Hans somewhere." + +The horses had been comparatively quiet for some time, but now they +seemed to be growing restless. They pricked their ears and we knew +something was bothering them. The discussion stopped so that we could +listen better. + +Above the rattle of the train, there came to us the sound of firing. It +seemed to come from the direction in which we were going. With +surprising quickness, the explosions grew louder. We were not only +speeding toward the sounds of conflict, but the conflict itself seemed +to be speeding toward us. + +Then came a crash unmistakably near. One of the horses in the forward +end reared, and his head thumped the roof of the car. Once again on four +feet, he pranced nervously and tossed his blood-wet forelock. +Immediately the other horses began stamping. + +Another crash!--this time almost directly overhead. In the light of the +swinging lantern, I could see the terror in the eyes of the frightened +brutes. We clung to their halters and tried to quiet them but they +lifted us off our feet. + +"Put a twitch on that one's nose and hold him down," Boyle ordered. + +"Gosh," said Slater, obeying, "we must be right up on the front line. +Hope they don't stop this train in No Man's Land. Hold still, you crazy +b----" + +"Cousin Hans must have heard you talking," Watson shouted to Shoemaker. +"Maybe you're going to see him quicker than you expected." + +The train was slowing down. The brakes shrieked and grated as we came to +a jerky stop. Three of us braced ourselves at the heads of the four +horses in the rear of the car and prevented them from sliding on top of +us. Boyle and Slater were doing their best to quiet the forward four. +The explosions overhead increased. Now we heard the report of field +pieces so close that they seemed to be almost alongside the track. + +There came a sharp bang at one of the side doors, and I thought I +recognised the sound of the lead-loaded handle of the captain's riding +whip. His voice, coming to us a minute later above the trampling and +kicking of the panic-stricken animals, verified my belief. + +"Darken that lantern," he shouted. "Keep all lights out and keep your +helmets on. Stay in the cars and hang on to the horses. There is an air +raid on right above us." + +"Yes, sir," replied Boyle, and we heard the captain run to the next car. +I blew out the light and we were in complete darkness, with eight +tossing, plunging horses that kicked and reared at every crash of the +guns nearby or burst of the shells overhead. + +We hung on while the air battle went on above. One horse went down on +his knees and in his frantic struggles to regain his feet, almost kicked +the feet from under the animal beside him. + +At times, thunderous detonations told us that aerial bombs were doing +their work near at hand. We supposed correctly that we were near some +town not far behind the lines, and that the German was paying it a night +visit with some of his heaviest visiting cards. + +I opened one side door just a crack and looked out. The darkness above +blossomed with blinding blotches of fire that flashed on and off. It +seemed as though the sky were a canopy of black velvet perforated with +hundreds of holes behind which dazzling lights passed back and forth, +flashing momentary gleams of brilliance through the punctures. Again, +this vision would pass as a luminous dripping mass would poise itself on +high and cast a steady white glare that revealed clusters of grey smoke +puffs of exploded shrapnel. + +We had to close the door because the flashes added to the terror of the +horses, but the aerial activity passed almost as suddenly as it had come +and left our train untouched. As the raiding planes went down the wind, +followed always by the poppings of the anti-aircraft guns, the sound of +the conflict grew distant. We got control over the horses although they +still trembled with fright. + +There came another rap at the door and I hurriedly accepted the +captain's invitation to accompany him forward to a first-class coach +where I spent the remainder of the night stretched out on the cushions. +As our train resumed its way into the darkness, I dreamed of racing +before a stampede of wild horses. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +INTO THE LINE--THE FIRST AMERICAN SHOT IN THE WAR + + +A damp, chill, morning mist made the dawn even greyer as our battery +train slid into a loading platform almost under the walls of a large +manufacturing plant engaged in producing war materials. + +In spite of the fact that the section chiefs reported that not a man had +been injured, and not so much as a leg broken in the crowded horse cars, +every man in the battery now declared the absence of any doubt but the +air raid had been directly aimed at Battery A. + +"There might be a spy in this here very outfit," said 'Texas' Tinsdale, +the battery alarmist. "Else how could them German aviators have known +that Battery A was on the road last night? They knew we was on the way +to the front and they tried to get us." + +"Hire a hall," shouted the gruffy top sergeant. "We've got two hours to +unload. A lot of you fireside veterans get busy. Gun crews get to work +on the flats and drivers unload horses. No chow until we're ready to +move out." + +The sign on a station lamp-post told us the name of the town. It was +Jarville. But it jarred nothing in our memories. None of us had ever +heard of it before. I asked the captain where we were. + +"Just about thirty miles behind the front," he replied. "We are moving +up to our last billets as soon as we unload and feed." + +The horses had made the ride wearing their harness, some of which had +become entangled and broken in transit. A number of saddles had slipped +from backs and were down behind forelegs. + +"We're learning something every minute," the captain exclaimed. +"American army regulations call for the removal of all harness from the +horses before they are put into the cars, but the French have learned +that that is a dangerous practice over here. + +"You can't unload unharnessed horses and get them hitched to the guns as +quick as you can harnessed horses. The idea is this. We're pretty close +behind the lines. A German air party might make this unloading platform +a visit at any time and if any of them are in the air and happen to see +us unloading, they'd sure call on us. + +"The French have learned that the only way to make the best of such a +situation, if it should arise, is to have the horses already harnessed +so that they can be run out of the cars quickly, hitched to the guns in +a jiffy and hurried away. If the horses are in the cars unharnessed, and +all of the harness is being carried in other cars, confusion is +increased and there is a greater prospect of your losing your train, +horses, guns and everything from an incendiary bomb, not to mention low +flying machine work." + +His explanation revealed a promising attitude that I found in almost all +American soldiers of all ranks that I had encountered up to that time in +France. The foundation of the attitude was a willingness to admit +ignorance of new conditions and an eagerness to possess themselves of +all knowledge that the French and British had acquired through bitter +and costly experience. + +Further than that, the American inclination pushed the soldier students +to look beyond even those then accepted standards. The tendency was to +improve beyond the French and British, to apply new American principles +of time or labour-saving to simple operation, to save man-power and +horseflesh by sane safety appliances, to increase efficiency, speed, +accuracy--in a word, their aim was to make themselves the best fighting +men in the Allied cause. + +One instance of this is worthy of recounting. I came upon the young +Russian who was the battery saddler. He was a citizen of the United +States whose uniform he wore, but he was such a new citizen, that he +hardly spoke English. I found him handling a small piece of galvanised +iron and a horse shoe. He appeared to be trying to fit the rumpled piece +of metal into the shoe. + +In his broken English he explained that he was trying to fashion a light +metal plate that could be easily placed between a horse's shoe and the +hoof, to protect the frog of the foot from nails picked up on the road. +With all soldiers wearing hobnailed boots, the roads were full of those +sharp bits of metal which had caused serious losses of horseflesh +through lameness and blood poisoning. + + * * * * * + +The unloading had continued under the eyes of smiling French girls in +bloomers who were just departing from their work on the early morning +shift in the munition factory beside the station. These were the first +American soldiers they had seen and they were free to pass comment upon +our appearance. So were the men of Battery A, who overlooked the oiled, +grimed faces and hands of the bloomered beauties, and announced the +general verdict that "they sure were fat little devils." + +The unloading completed, a scanty snack consisting of two unbuttered +slices of white bread with a hunk of cold meat and maybe the bite of an +onion, had been put away by the time the horses' nose bags were empty. +With a French guide in the lead, we moved off the platform, rattled +along under a railroad viaduct, and down the main street of Jarville, +which was large enough to boast street car tracks and a shell-damaged +cathedral spire. + +The remaining townsfolk had lived with the glare and rumble of the front +for three years now and the passage back and forth of men and horses and +guns hardly elicited as much attention as the occasional promenade of a +policeman in Evanston, Illinois. But these were different men that rode +through those streets that day. + +This was the first battery of American artillery that had passed that +way. This was an occasion and the townspeople responded to it. Children, +women and old men chirped "vivas," kissed hands, bared heads and waved +hats and aprons from curb and shop door and windows overhead. + +There was no cheering, but there were smiles and tears and "God bless +you's." It was not a vociferous greeting, but a heart-felt one. They +offered all there was left of an emotion that still ran deep and strong +within but that outwardly had been benumbed by three years of nerve-rack +and war-weariness. + +Onward into the zone of war we rode. On through successive battered +villages, past houses without roofs, windows with shattered panes, stone +walls with gaping shell holes through them, churches without steeples, +our battery moved toward the last billeting place before entering the +line. + +This was the ancient town of Saint-Nicolas-du-Port on the banks of the +river Meurthe. Into the Place de la Republic of the town the battery +swung with a clamorous advance guard of schoolchildren and street +gamins. + +The top sergeant who had preceded the battery into the town, galloped up +to the captain upon our entry and presented him with a sheaf of yellow +paper slips, which bore the addresses of houses and barns and the +complements of men and horses to be quartered in each. This was the +billeting schedule provided by the French major of the town. The guns +were parked, the horses picketed and the potato peelers started on their +endless task. The absence of fuel for the mess fires demanded immediate +correction. + +It was a few minutes past noon when the captain and I entered the office +of the French Town Major. It was vacant. The officers were at +_dejeuner_, we learned from an old woman who was sweeping the +commandant's rooms. Where?--Ah, she knew not. We accosted the first +French officer we met on the street. + +"Where does the Town Major eat?" the Captain inquired in his best +Indianapolis French. After the customary exchange of salutes, +introductions, handshakes and greetings, the Frenchman informed us that +Monsieur Le Commandant favoured the _pommard_, that Madame Larue served +at the Hotel de la Fountaine. + +We hurried to that place, and there in a little back room behind a +plate-cluttered table with a red and white checkered table cloth, we +found the Major. The Major said he spoke the English with the fluency. +He demonstrated his delusion when we asked for wood. + +"Wood! Ah, but it is impossible that it is wood you ask of me. Have I +not this morning early seen with my own eyes the wood ordered?" + +"But there is no wood," replied the Captain. "I must have wood for the +fires. It is past noon and my men have not eaten." + +"Ah, but I am telling you there is wood," replied the Major. "I saw your +supply officer pay for the wood. By now I believe it has been delivered +for you in the Place de la Republique." + +"But it hasn't," remonstrated the Captain, "and the fires have not yet +been started, and----" + +"But it is on the way, probably," said the Major. "Maybe it will be +there soon. Maybe it is there now." + +The Captain took another tack. + +"Where was the wood bought?" he asked. + +"From the wood merchant beyond the river," replied the Major. "But it is +already on the way, and----" + +"How do you go to the wood merchant?" insisted the Captain. "We have got +to have the wood toot sweet." + +"Ah! _tout de suite_--_tout de suite_--_tout de suite_," repeated the +Major in tones of exasperation. "With you Americans it is always _tout +de suite_. Here----" + +He took my notebook and drew a plan of streets indicating the way to the +place of the wood merchant. In spite of his remark and the undesired +intrusion of business upon his _dejeuner_, the Major's manner was as +friendly as could be expected from a Town Major. We left on the run. + +The wood merchant was a big man, elderly and fat. His face was red and +he had bushy grey eyebrows. He wore a smock of blue cloth that came to +his knees. He remonstrated that it was useless for us to buy wood from +him because wood had already been bought for us. He spoke only French. +The Captain dismissed all further argument by a direct frontal attack on +the subject. + +"_Avez-vous de bois?_" asked the Captain. + +"_Oui_," the merchant nodded. + +"_Avez-vous de chevaux?_" the Captain asked. + +"_Oui_," the merchant nodded again. + +"_Avez-vous de voiture?_" the Captain asked. + +"_Oui_,"--another nod. + +"All right then," continued the Captain, and then emphasising each word +by the sudden production of another stiff finger on his extended hand, +he said, "_Du bois--des chevaux--une voiture_--de whole damn +business--and toot sweet." + +In some remarkable fashion the kindly wood merchant gathered that the +Captain wanted wood piled in a wagon, drawn by a horse and wanted it in +a hurry. _Tout de suite_, pronounced "toot sweet" by our soldiers, was a +term calling for speed, that was among the first acquired by our men in +France. + +The old man shrugged his shoulders, elevated his hand, palm outward, and +signified with an expression of his face that it was useless to argue +further for the benefit of these Americans. He turned and gave the +necessary loading orders to his working force. + +That working force consisted of two French girls, each about eighteen +years of age. They wore long baggy bloomers of brown corduroy, tight at +the ankles where they flopped about in folds over clumsy wooden shoes. +They wore blouses of the same material and tam o'shanter hats to match, +called _berets_. + +Each one of them had a cigarette hanging from the corner of her mouth. +One stood on the ground and tossed up the thirty or forty-pound logs to +her sister who stood above on top of the wagon. The latter caught them +in her extended arms and placed them in a pile. To the best of my +recollection, neither one of the girls missed a puff. + +While the loading proceeded, the wood merchant, speaking slowly in +French, made us understand the following: + +"Many peculiar things happen in the war, Monsieur," he said. "Your +country, the America, is the land of wonders. Listen, my name is Helois. +Ten days ago there came to me one of the washerwomen who clean the +clothes on the banks of the Meurthe, and she said to me: + +"'Ah, Monsieur, the wood merchant. You are the sly fox. I have your +secret.' And I say to her that I know not of what she speaks. + +"'You boast in the town that your two sons are at the front,' she said, +'but I know that one at least of them is not.' And I was dumbfounded. I +say to her, 'Woman, it is a lie you tell me. Both of my boys are with +their regiments, in the trenches even now, if by the grace of the good +God they still live.' + +"'No,' she say to me, 'one of your sons hides in the hotel of Madame +Larue. How do I know this secret, Monsieur the wood merchant? I know +because this day have I washed the shirt, with his name on it, at the +river bank. His name, Helois,--the Lieutenant Helois--was stamped on the +collar and the shirt came from the hotel, La Fontaine.' + +"I tell her that it is a mistake--that it is the great injustice to me +she speaks, and that night I dressed in my best clothes to penetrate +this mystery--to meet this man who disgracefully used the name of my +son--to expose this impostor who would bring shame to the name of +Helois, the wood merchant, whose two sons have been fighting for France +these three long years. + +"And so, Monsieur, I meet this man at the hotel. She was right. His name +was Helois. Here is his card. The Lieutenant Louis F. Helois, and he is +a lieutenant in the United States Army." + +"So it was a mistake," replied the Captain, handing the card back to the +wood merchant, whose lobster red features bore an enigmatical smile. + +"No,--not the mistake, the truth," replied the wood merchant. "Not my +son--but my grandson--the son of my son--the son of my third son who +went to America years ago. And now he comes back in the uniform of +liberty to fight again for France. Ah, _Messieurs les Officiers_--the +sons of France return from the ends of the world to fight her cause." + +While the wood merchant was telling us that the American grandson had +only stopped three days in the town and then had moved up to service at +the front, the air was shattered by a loud report. It was the snap of +the whip in the hands of the young French amazon, standing high on the +load of wood. We escorted the fuel proudly to the Place de la +Republique. Soon the fires were burning briskly and the smell of onions +and coffee and hot chow was on the air. + +The stoves were pitched at the bottom of a stone monument in the centre +of the square. Bags of potatoes and onions and burlap covered quarters +of beef and other pieces of mess sergeants paraphernalia were piled on +the steps of the monument, which was covered with the green and black +scars from dampness and age. + +The plinth supported a stone shaft fifteen feet in height, which touched +the lower branches of the trees. The monument was topped with a huge +cross of stone on which was the sculptured figure of the Christ. + +Little Sykoff, the battery mess sergeant, stood over the stove at the +bottom of the monument. He held in his hand a frying pan, which he shook +back and forth over the fire to prevent the sizzling chips in the pan +from burning. His eyes lowered from an inspection of the monument and +met mine. He smiled. + +"Mr. Gibbons," he said, "if that brother of mine, who runs the +photograph gallery out on Paulina and Madison Streets in Chicago, could +only see me now, he sure would tell the Rabbi. Can you beat it--a Jew +here frying ham in the shadow of the Cross." + +It was rather hard to beat--and so was the ham. We made this concession +as we sat on the plinth of the monument and polished our mess kits with +bread. And such bread--it was the regulation United States army issue +bread--white, firm and chuck full of nourishment--bread that seemed like +cake to the French youngsters who tasted it and who returned with open +mouths and outstretched hands for more of the "good white bread." + +After the meal, those members of Battery A not detailed for immediate +duty denied themselves none of the joys that a new town, in a strange +land, holds for a soldier. + +Saint-Nicolas-du-Port boasts a remarkable cathedral of mediaeval +architecture, of enormous dimensions. It was crumbling with age, but +still housed the holy. Time and the elements had left the traces of +their rough usage upon the edifice. + +Half of the statues on the broad facade of the cathedral had been +broken, and now the niches afforded domiciles for families of pigeons. +On the ground, in a careless pile, to one side of the frontal arch, was +an ignominious pile of miscellaneous arms and legs and heads of +sculptured figures, resting there in anything but saintly dignity. Two +of our young artillerymen were standing in front of the cathedral +surveying it. + +"Certainly is in need of repairs," said one of them. "I'll bet they +haven't done no bricklaying or plumbing on this place since before the +Civil War." + +"That ain't hardly the right way to treat old Saints," replied his +companion, referring to the pile of broken statuary. "Seems like they +ought to cement the arms and legs and heads back on those old boys and +old girls and put them back on their pedestals. I guess, though, there +ain't nobody living to identify the pieces, so they could get the right +arms and heads on the right bodies." + +Our battery had among its drivers an old timer who might have been +called a historian. His opinion held weight in the organisation. He +professed to be able to read American ball scores and war news out of +French newspapers, a number of which he always carried. Later that day, +I heard him lecturing the cathedral critics on their lack of +appreciation of art and history. + +"New things ain't art," he told them; "things has got to be old before +they are artistic. Nobody'd look at the Venus dee Milo if she had all +her arms on. You never hear nobody admiring a modern up-to-date castle +with electric lighting and bath tubs in it. It simply ain't art. + +"Now, this cathedral is art. This country around here is just full of +history. Here's where whole book stores of it was written. Why, say, +there was batteries of artillery rolling through this country a million +years ago. It was right around here that Napoleon joined forces with +Julius Caesar to fight the Crusaders. This here is sacred ground." + +In the evening, a number of the battery, located the _buvette_ that +carried across its curtained front the gold lettered sign _bar +Parisian_. It was a find. Some thirty American artillerymen crowded +around the tables. + +Cigarette smoke filled the low-ceilinged room with blue layers, through +which the lamp light shone. In one corner stood a mechanical piano which +swallowed big copper sous and gave out discord's metallic melody. It was +of an American make and the best number on its printed programme was +"Aren't you Coming Back to Old Virginia, Molly?" Sous followed sous into +this howitzer of harmony and it knew no rest that night. Everybody +joined in and helped it out on the choruses. + +Things were going fine when the door opened at about nine thirty, and +there stood two members of the American Provost Guard. They carried with +them two orders. One instructed Madame, the proprietress, to dispense no +more red ink or beer to American soldiers that night, and the other was +a direction to all Americans around the table to get back to their +billets for the night. + +The bunch left with reluctance but without a grumble. It was warm and +comfortable within the _bar Parisian_ and Madame's smiles and red wine +and beer and Camembert cheese composed the Broadway of many recent +dreams. But they left without complaint. + +They made their rollicking departure, returning Madame's parting smiles, +gallantly lifting their steel helmets and showering her with vociferous +"bong swore's." And--well it simply must be told. She kissed the last +one out out the door and, turning, wiped away a tear with the corner of +her apron. Madame had seen youth on the way to the front before. + +The billets were comfortable. Some were better than others. Picket line +details slept in their blankets in the hay over the stables. Gun crews +drew beds and pallets on the floor in occupied houses. In these homes +there was always that hour before retirement for the night when the old +men and remaining women of the French household and their several +military guests billeted in the place, would gather about the fireplace +in the kitchen and regale one another with stories, recounted by the +murder of French and English languages and a wealth of pantomime. + +Louise, the eighteen-year-old daughter of the town-crier--he who daily +beat the drum in front of the Hotel de Ville and read lengthy +bulletins, was interested in the workings of Gunner Black's colt +automatic. Gunner Black, most anxious to show her, demonstrated the +action of the pistol but, forgetting that inevitable shell in the +chamber, shot himself in the arm. + +It was only an incident. The noise scared Louise, but not the wound. She +had seen too many Americans get shot in the moving pictures. + +The captain and I were quartered in the house of the Cure of the +cathedral. The old housekeeper of the place made the captain blush when +she remarked her surprise that there were such young captains in the +American army. Her name was Madame Dupont, and she was more than pleased +to learn from the captain that that had been the maiden name of his +mother. + +The captain's room had the interior dimensions and heavy decorations of +the mystic inner sanctum of some secret grand lodge. Religious paintings +and symbols hung from the walls, which were papered in dark red to match +the heavy plush hangings over the ever closed windows. + +Two doors in the blank wall swung open revealing a hermetically sealed +recess in which a bed just fitted. This arrangement, quite common in +France, indicated that the device now popular in two-room sleeping +apartments in America, must have been suggested by the sleeping customs +of mediaeval times. + +Early the next morning, our battery pulled out for the front. We were +bound for the line. We took the roads out of Saint Nicolas to the east, +making our way toward that part of the front that was known as the +Luneville sector. Our way lay through the towns of Dombasle, +Sommerviller, Maixe, Einville, Valhey, Serres, to the remains of the +ruined village of Hoeville. + +The sector runs almost along the border between France and old Lorraine, +occupied by the Germans since 1870. Even the names of the old French +towns beyond the border had been changed to German in the effort of the +Prussians to Germanise the stolen province. + +It was in this section during the few days just prior to the outbreak of +the war that France made unwise demonstration of her disinclination +toward hostilities with Germany. Every soldier in France was under arms, +as was every soldier in Europe. France had military patrols along her +borders. In the French chamber of deputies, the socialists had rushed +through a measure which was calculated to convince the German people +that France had no intentions or desire of menacing German territory. By +that measure every French soldier was withdrawn from the Franco-German +border to a line ten miles inside of France. The German appreciation of +this evidence of peacefulness was manifested when the enemy, at the +outbreak of the war, moved across the border and occupied that ten-mile +strip of France. + +France had succeeded in driving the enemy back again in that part of +Lorraine, but only at the cost of many lives and the destruction of many +French towns and villages. Since the close of the fighting season of +1914, there had been little or no progress on either side at this point. +The opposing lines here had been stationary for almost three years and +it was known on both sides as a quiet sector. + +The country side was of a rolling character, but very damp. At that +season of the year when our first American fighting men reached the +Western front, that part of the line that they occupied was particularly +muddy and miserable. + +Before nine o'clock that morning as we rode on to the front, the +horse-drawn traffic, including our battery, was forced to take the side +of the road numerous times to permit the passage of long trains of motor +trucks loaded down with American infantrymen, bound in the same +direction. + +Most of the motor vehicles were of the omnibus type. A number of them +were worthy old double-deckers that had seen long years of peaceful +service on the boulevards of Paris before the war. Slats of wood ran +lengthwise across the windows of the lower seating compartment and +through these apertures young, sun-burned, American faces topped with +steel helmets, peered forth. + +Some of our men reposed languidly on the rear steps of the busses or on +the tops. Most of the bus-loads were singing rollicking choruses. The +men were in good spirits. They had been cheered in every village they +had passed through on the way from their training area. + +"Howdy, bowleg," was the greeting shouted by one of these motoring +mockers, who looked down on our saddled steeds, "better get a hustle on +them hayburners. We're going to be in Berlin by the time you get where +the front used to be." + +"Yes, you will," replied one of the mounted artillerymen, with a +negative inflection. "You'll get a hell of a long ways without us. If +you doughboys start anything without the artillery, you'll see Berlin +through the bars of a prisoner's cage." + +"Lucky pups--the artillery--nothing to do but ride," was the passing +shout of another taunter, perched high on a bus. This was an +unanswerable revision of an old taunt that the artillery used to shout +to passing infantry in the days when a foot soldier was really a foot +soldier. Then the easy-riding mounted troops, when passing an infantry +column on the road, would say, "Pretty soft for the doughboys--nothing +to do but walk." + +"Times certainly have changed," one of our battery drivers felt it +necessary to remark to me in defence of his branch of the service. "But +there ain't no spark plugs or carburetors to get out of order on our +mounts. + +"However, we do have our troubles. That runaway wheeler in No. 2 section +broke away from the picket line last night and Kemball and I were +detailed to hunt all over town for him. + +"You know that dark, winding, narrow street, that winds down the hill +back of the cathedral. Well, it was about midnight and blacker than the +ace of spades, when Kemball and I pushed along there in the dark, +looking for that onery animal. + +"Suddenly, we heard a sharp clatter on the cobblestones half a block up +the hill. It was coming our way full speed. 'Here he comes now,' said +Kemball, 'and he's galloping like hell. Jump into a doorway or he'll +climb all over us.' + +"We waited there pressed against the wall in the dark as the galloping +came up to us and passed. What dy'e s'pose it was? It wasn't that +runaway horse at all. Just a couple of them French kids chasing one +another in wooden shoes." + +The road to the front was a populous one. We passed numerous groups of +supply wagons carrying food and fodder up to the front lines. Other +wagons were returning empty and here and there came an ambulance with +bulgy blankets outlining the figures of stretcher cases, piled two high +and two wide. Occasionally a Y. M. C. A. runabout loaded down with +coffee pots and candy tins and driven by helmeted wearers of the Red +Triangle, would pass us carrying its store of extras to the boys up +front. + +We passed through villages where manufacturing plants were still in +operation and, nearer the front, the roads lay through smaller hamlets, +shell torn and deserted, save for sentries who stood guard in wooden +coops at intersections. Civilians became fewer and fewer, although there +was not a village that did not have one or two women or children or old +men unfit for uniform. + +Finally the road mounted a rolling hill and here it was bordered by +roadside screens consisting of stretched chicken wire to which whisps of +straw and grass and bits of green dyed cloth had been attached. Our men +riding behind the screen peered through apertures in it and saw the +distant hills forward, from which German glasses could have observed all +passage along that road had it not been for the screen. + +So we moved into position. It was late in the night of October 22nd, +1917, that our batteries of artillery and companies of infantry moved +through the darkness on the last lap of their trip to the front. The +roads were sticky and gummy. A light rain was falling. The guns boomed +in front of us, but not with any continued intensity. Through streets +paved with slippery cobbles and bordered with the bare skeletons of +shell-wrecked houses, our American squads marched four abreast. Their +passing in the darkness was accompanied by the sound of the unhastened +tread of many hobnailed boots. + +At times, the rays of a cautiously flashed electric light would reveal +our infantrymen with packs on back and rifles slung over their +shoulders. A stiff wind whipped the rain into their faces and tugged the +bottoms of their flapping, wet overcoats. + +Notwithstanding the fact that they had made it on foot a number of miles +from the place where they had disembarked from the motor trucks, the men +marched along to the soft singing of songs, which were ordered +discontinued as the marching columns got closer to the communicating +trenches which led into the front line. + +In the march were machine gun carts hauled by American mules and rolling +kitchens, which at times dropped on the darkened road swirls of glowing +red embers that had to be hurriedly stamped out. Anxious American staff +officers consulted their wrist watches frequently in evidence of the +concern they felt as to whether the various moving units were reaching +designated points upon the scheduled minute. + +It was after midnight that our men reached the front line. It was the +morning of October 23rd, 1917, that American infantrymen and Bavarian +regiments of _Landwehr_ and _Landsturm_ faced one another for the first +time in front line positions on the European front. + +Less than eight hundred yards of slate and drab-coloured soft ground, +blotched with rust-red expanses of wire entanglements, separated the +hostile lines. + +There was no moon. A few cloud-veiled stars only seemed to accentuate +the blackness of the night. There, in the darkness and the mud, on the +slippery firing step of trench walls and in damp, foul-smelling dugouts, +young red-blooded Americans tingled for the first time with the thrill +that they had trained so long and travelled so far to experience. + +Through unfortunate management of the Press arrangements in connection +with this great historical event, American correspondents accredited by +the War Department to our forces, were prevented from accompanying our +men into the front that night. Good fortune, however, favoured me as +one of the two sole exceptions to this circumstance. Raymond G. Carroll, +correspondent of the Philadelphia _Public Ledger_, and myself, +representing the Chicago _Tribune_ and its associated papers, were the +only two newspaper men who went into the line with the men that night. +For enjoying this unusual opportunity, we were both arrested several +days later, not, however, until after we had obtained the first-hand +story of the great event. + +A mean drizzle of rain was falling that night, but it felt cool on the +pink American cheeks that were hot with excitement. The very wetness of +the air impregnated all it touched with the momentousness of the hour. +Spirits were high and the mud was deep, but we who were there had the +feeling that history was chiselling that night's date into her book of +ages. + +Occasionally a shell wheezed over through the soggy atmosphere, seeming +to leave an unseen arc in the darkness above. It would terminate with a +sullen thump in some spongy, water-soaked mound behind us. Then an +answering missive of steel would whine away into the populated +invisibility in front of us. + +French comrades, in half English and half French, gushed their +congratulations, and shook us by the hand. Some of us were even hugged +and kissed on both cheeks. Our men took the places of French platoons +that were sent back to rest billets. But other French platoons remained +shoulder to shoulder with our men in the front line. The presence of our +troops there was in continuation of their training for the purpose of +providing a nucleus for the construction of later contingents. Both our +infantry and our artillery acted in conjunction with the French infantry +and artillery and the sector remained under French command. + +Our men were eager to ask questions and the French were ever ready to +respond. They first told us about the difference in the sound of shells. +Now that one that started with a bark in back of us and whined over our +heads is a _depart_. It is an Allied shell on its way to the Germans. +Now, this one, that whines over first and ends with a distant grunt, +like a strong wallop on a wet carpet, is an _arrivee_. It has arrived +from Germany. In the dugouts, our men smoked dozens of cigarettes, +lighting fresh ones from the half-consumed butts. It is the appetite +that comes with the progressive realisation of a long deferred hope. It +is the tension that comes from at last arriving at an object and then +finding nothing to do, now that you are there. It is the nervousness +that nerveless youth suffers in inactivity. + +The men sloshed back and forth through the mud along the narrow confines +of the trench. The order is against much movement, but immobility is +unbearable. Wet slickers rustle against one another in the narrow +traverses, and equipment, principally the French and English gas masks, +hanging at either hip become entangled in the darkness. + +At times a steel helmet falls from some unaccustomed head and, hitting +perhaps a projecting rock in the trench wall, gives forth a clang which +is followed by curses from its clumsy owner and an admonition of quiet +from some young lieutenant. + +"Olson, keep your damn fool head down below the top of that trench or +you'll get it blown off." The sergeant is talking, and Olson, who +brought from Minnesota a keen desire to see No Man's Land even at the +risk of his life, is forced to repress the yearning. + +"Two men over in B Company just got holes drilled through their beans +for doing the same thing," continued the sergeant. "There's nothing you +can see out there anyhow. It's all darkness." + +Either consciously or unconsciously, the sergeant was lying, for the +purpose of saving Olson and others from a fool's fate. There was not a +single casualty in any American unit on the line that first night. + +"Where is the telephone dugout?" a young lieutenant asked his French +colleague. "I want to speak to the battalion commander." + +"But you must not speak English over the telephone," replied the +Frenchman, "the Germans will hear you with the instruments they use to +tap the underground circuit." + +"But I was going to use our American code," said the front line novice; +"if the Germans tap in they won't be able to figure out what it means." + +"Ah, no, my friend," replied the Frenchman, smiling. "They won't know +what the message means, but your voice and language will mean to them +that Americans are occupying the sector in front of them, and we want to +give them that information in another way, _n'est ce pas?_" + +Undoubtedly there was some concern in the German trenches just over the +way with regard to what was taking place in our lines. Relief periods +are ticklish intervals for the side making them. It is quite possible +that some intimation of our presence may have been given. + +There was considerable conversation and movement among our men that +night. Jimmy found it frequently necessary to call the attention of +Johnny to some new thing he had discovered. And of a consequence, much +natural, but needless, chattering resulted. + +I believe the Germans did become nervous because they made repeated +attacks on the enveloping darkness with numbers of star shells. These +aerial beauties of night warfare released from their exploding +encasements high in the air, hung from white silk parachutes above the +American amateurs. + +The numerous company and battery jesters did not refrain from imitative +expressions of "Ahs" and "Ohs" and "Ain't it bootiful?" as their +laughing upturned faces were illuminated in the white light. + +That night one rocket went up shortly before morning. It had a different +effect from its predecessors. It reared itself from the darkness +somewhere on the left. Its flight was noiseless as it mounted higher and +higher on its fiery staff. Then it burst in a shower of green balls of +fire. + +That meant business. One green rocket was the signal that the Germans +were sending over gas shells. It was an alarm that meant the donning of +gas masks. On they went quickly. It was the first time this equipment +had been adjusted under emergency conditions, yet the men appeared to +have mastered the contrivances. + +Then the word was passed along the trenches and through the dugouts for +the removal of the masks. It had not been a French signal. The green +rocket had been sent up by the Germans. The enemy was using green +rockets that night as a signal of their own. There had been no gas +shells. It was a false alarm. + +"The best kind of practice in the world," said one of our battalion +commanders; "it's just the stuff we're here for. I hope the Germans +happen to do that every night a new bunch of our men get in these +trenches." + +While the infantry were experiencing these initial thrills in the front +line, our gunners were struggling in the mud of the black gun pits to +get their pieces into position in the quickest possible time, and +achieve the honour of firing that first American shot in the war. + +Each battery worked feverishly in intense competition with every other +battery. Battery A of the 6th Field, to which I had attached myself, +lost in the race for the honour. Another battery in the same regiment +accomplished the achievement. + +That was Battery C of the 6th Field Artillery. I am reproducing, +herewith, for what I believe is the first time, the exact firing data on +that shot and the officers and men who took part in it. + + * * * * * + +By almost superhuman work through the entire previous day and night, +details of men from Battery C had pulled one cannon by ropes across a +muddy, almost impassable, meadow. So anxious were they to get off the +first shot that they did not stop for meals. + +They managed to drag the piece into an old abandoned French gun pit. The +historical position of that gun was one kilometre due east of the town +of Bathelemont and three hundred metres northeast of the +Bauzemont-Bathelemont road. The position was located two miles from the +old international boundary line between France and German-Lorraine. The +position was one and one-half kilometres back of the French first line, +then occupied by Americans. + +The first shot was fired at 6:5:10 A. M., October 23rd, 1917. Those who +participated in the firing of the shot were as follows: + + Lieutenant F. M. Mitchell, U.S.R., acted as platoon chief. + Corporal Robert Braley laid the piece. + Sergeant Elward Warthen loaded the piece. + Sergeant Frank Grabowski prepared the fuse for cutting. + Private Louis Varady prepared the fuse for cutting. + Private John J. Wodarczak prepared the fuse for cutting. + Corporal Osborne W. De Varila prepared the fuse for cutting. + Sergeant Lonnie Domonick cut the fuse. + Captain Idus R. McLendon gave the command to fire. + Sergeant Alex L. Arch fired first shot. + +The missile fired was a 75 millimetre or 3-inch high-explosive shell. +The target was a German battery of 150 millimetre or 6-inch guns located +two kilometres back of the German first line trenches, and one kilometre +in back of the boundary line between France and German-Lorraine. The +position of that enemy battery on the map was in a field 100 metres west +of the town which the French still call Xanrey, but which the Germans +have called Schenris since they took it from France in 1870. Near that +spot--and damn near--fell the first American shell fired in the great +war. + + * * * * * + +NOTE: It is peculiar to note that I am writing this chapter at Atlantic +City, October 23rd, 1918, just one year to the day after the event. That +shot surely started something. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE FIRST AMERICAN SECTOR + + +It was in the Luneville sector, described in the preceding chapter, that +the first American fighting men faced the Germans on the western front. +It was there that the enemy captured its first American prisoners in a +small midnight raid; it was there that we captured some prisoners of +theirs, and inflicted our first German casualties; it was there that the +first American fighting man laid down his life on the western front. + +In spite of these facts, however, the occupation of those front line +posts in that sector constituted nothing more than a post-graduate +course in training under the capable direction of French instructors who +advised our officers and men in everything they did. + +At the conclusion of the course, which extended over a number of weeks, +the American forces engaged in it were withdrawn from the line and +retired for a well-earned rest period and for reorganisation purposes in +areas back of the line. There they renewed equipment and prepared for +the occupation of the first all-American sector on the western front. + +That sector was located in Lorraine some distance to the east of the +Luneville front. It was north and slightly west of the city of Toul. It +was on the east side of the St. Mihiel salient, then occupied by the +Germans. + +The sector occupied a position in what the French called the +Pont-a-Mousson front. Our men were to occupy an eight-mile section of +the front line trenches extending from a point west of the town of +Flirey, to a point west of the ruins of the town of Seicheprey. The +position was not far from the French stronghold of Verdun to the +northwest or the German stronghold of Metz to the northeast, and was +equidistant from both. + +That line changed from French blue to American khaki on the night of +January 21st. The sector became American at midnight. I watched the men +as they marched into the line. In small squads they proceeded silently +up the road toward the north, from which direction a raw wind brought +occasional sounds resembling the falling of steel plates on the wooden +floor of a long corridor. + +A half moon doubly ringed by mist, made the hazy night look grey. At +intervals, phantom flashes flushed the sky. The mud of the roadway +formed a colourless paste that made marching not unlike skating on a +platter of glue. + +This was their departure for the front--this particular battalion--the +first battalion of the 16th United States Infantry. I knew, and every +man in it knew, what was before them. + +Each man was in for a long tour of duty in trenches knee-deep with +melted snow and mud. Each platoon commander knew the particular portion +of that battle-battered bog into which he must lead his men. Each +company commander knew the section of shell-punctured, swamp land that +was his to hold, and the battalion commander, a veteran American +soldier, was well aware of the particular perils of the position which +his one thousand or more men were going to occupy in the very jaw-joint +of a narrowing salient. + +All branches of the United States military forces may take special pride +in that first battalion that went into the new American line that night. +The commander represented the U. S. Officers Reserve Corps, and the +other officers and men were from the reserves, the regulars, West Point, +the National Guard and the National Army. Moreover, the organisation +comprised men from all parts of the United States as well as men whose +parents had come from almost every race and nationality in the world. +One company alone possessed such a babble of dialects among its new +Americans, that it proudly called itself, the Foreign Legion. + +For two days the battalion had rested in the mud of the semi-destroyed +village of Ansauville, several miles back of the front. A broad, shallow +stream, then at the flood, wound through and over most of the village +site. Walking anywhere near the border of the water, one pulled about +with him pounds of tenacious, black gumbo. Dogs and hogs, ducks and +horses, and men,--all were painted with nature's handiest camouflage. + +Where the stream left the gaping ruins of a stone house on the edge of +the village, there was a well-kept French graveyard, clinging to the +slope of a small hill. Above the ruins of the hamlet, stood the steeple +of the old stone church, from which it was customary to ring the alarm +when the Germans sent over their shells of poison gas. + +Our officers busied themselves with, unfinished supply problems. Such +matters as rubber boots for the men, duck boards for the trenches, food +for the mules, and ration containers necessary for the conveyance of hot +food to the front lines, were not permitted to interfere with the +battalion's movements. In war, there is always the alternative of doing +without or doing with makeshifts, and that particular battalion +commander, after three years of war, was the kind of a soldier who made +the best of circumstances no matter how adverse they may have been. + +That commander was Major Griffiths. He was an American fighting man. His +military record began in the Philippine Insurrection, when, as a +sergeant in a Tennessee regiment of National Guard, he was mentioned in +orders for conspicuous gallantry. At the suppression of the +insurrection, he became a major in the United States Constabulary in the +Philippines. He resigned his majority in 1914, entered the Australian +forces, and was wounded with them in the bloody landing at Gallipoli. He +was invalided to England, where, upon his partial recovery, he was +promoted to major in the British forces and was sent to France in +command of a battalion of the Sherwood Foresters. With them, he received +two more wounds, one at the Battle of Ypres, and another during the +fighting around Loos. + +He was in an English hospital when America entered the war, but he +hurried his convalescence and obtained a transfer back to the army of +his own country. He hadn't regained as yet the full use of his right +hand, his face still retained a hospital pallor, and an X-ray photograph +of his body revealed the presence of numerous pieces of shell still +lodged there. But on that night of January 21st, he could not conceal +the pride that he felt in the honour in having been the one chosen to +command the battalion of Americans that was to take over the first +American sector in France. Major Griffiths survived those strenuous days +on the Pont-a-Mousson front, but he received a fatal wound three months +later at the head of his battalion in front of Catigny, in Picardy. He +died fighting under his own flag. + +Just before daylight failed that wintry day, three poilus walked down +the road from the front and into Ansauville. Two of them were helping a +third, whose bandaged arm and shoulder explained the mission of the +party. As they passed the rolling kitchens where the Americans were +receiving their last meal before entering the trenches, there was +silence and not even an exchange of greetings or smiles. + +This lack of expression only indicated the depth of feeling stirred by +the appearance of this wounded French soldier. The incident, although +comparatively trivial, seemed to arouse within our men a solemn grimness +and a more fervent determination to pay back the enemy in kind. In +silence, our men finished that last meal, which consisted of cold corned +beef, two slices of dry bread per man, and coffee. + +The sight of that one wounded man did not make our boys realise more +than they already did, what was in front of them. They had already made +a forty mile march over frozen roads up to this place and had incurred +discomforts seemingly greater than a shell-shattered arm or a +bullet-fractured shoulder. After that gruelling hiking experience, it +was a pleasant prospect to look forward to a chance of venting one's +feelings on the enemy. + +At the same time, no chip-on-the-shoulder cockiness marked the +disposition of these men about to take first grips with the Germans,--no +challenging bravado was revealed in the actions or statements of these +grim, serious trail-blazers of the American front, whose attitude +appeared to be one of soldierly resignation to the first martial +principle, "Orders is orders." + +As the companies lined up in the village street in full marching order, +awaiting the command to move, several half-hearted attempts at +jocularity died cold. One irrepressible made a futile attempt at +frivolity by announcing that he had Cherokee blood in his veins and was +so tough he could "spit battleships." This attempted jocularity drew as +much mirth as an undertaker's final invitation to the mourners to take +the last, long look at the departed. + +One bright-faced youngster tingling with the thrill of anticipation, +leaped on a gun carriage and absently whistled a shrill medley, +beginning with "Yaka-hula," and ending with "Just a Song at Twilight." +There was food for thought in the progress of his efforts from the +frivolous to the pensive, but there was little time for such thoughts. +No one even told him to shut up. + +While there was still light, an aerial battle took place overhead. For +fifteen minutes, the French anti-aircraft guns banged away at three +German planes, which were audaciously sailing over our lines. The +Americans rooted like bleacherites for the guns but the home team failed +to score, and the Germans sailed serenely home. They apparently had had +time to make adequate observations. + +During the entire afternoon, German sausage balloons had hung high in +the air back of the hostile line, offering additional advantages for +enemy observation. On the highroad leading from Ansauville, a +conspicuous sign _L'enemie vous voit_ informed newcomers that German +eyes were watching their movements and could interfere at any time with +a long range shell. The fact was that the Germans held high ground and +their glasses could command almost all of the terrain back of our lines. + +Under this seemingly eternal espionage punctuated at intervals by heavy +shelling, several old women of the village had remained in their homes, +living above the ground on quiet days and moving their knitting to the +front yard dugout at times when gas and shell and bomb interfered. Some +of these women operated small shops in the front rooms of their damaged +homes and the Americans lined up in front of the window counters and +exchanged dirty French paper money for canned _pate de foi gras_ or jars +of mustard. + +A machine gun company with mule-drawn carts led the movement from +Ansauville into the front. It was followed at fifty yard intervals by +other sections. Progress down that road was executed in small groups--it +was better to lose one whole section than an entire company. + +That highroad to the front, with its border of shell-withered trees, was +revealed that night against a bluish grey horizon occasionally rimmed +with red. Against the sky, the moving groups were defined as impersonal +black blocks. Young lieutenants marched ahead of each platoon. In the +hazy light, it was difficult to distinguish them. The only difference +was that their hips seemed bulkier from the heavy sacks, field glasses, +map cases, canteens, pistol holsters and cartridge clips. + +Each section, as it marched out of the village, passed under the eye of +Major Griffiths, who sat on his horse in the black shadow of a wall. A +sergeant commanding one section was coming toward him. + +"Halt!" ordered the Major. "Sergeant, where is your helmet?" + +"One of the men in my section is wearing it, sir," replied the Sergeant. + +"Why?" snapped the Major. + +"Somebody took his and he hadn't any," said the Sergeant, "so I made him +wear mine, sir." + +"Get it back and wear it yourself," the Major ordered. "Nothing could +hurt the head of a man who couldn't hang on to his own helmet." + +The order was obeyed, the section marched on and a bareheaded Irishman +out of hearing of the Major said, "I told the Sergeant not to make me +wear it; I don't need the damn thing." + +Another section passed forward, the moonlight gleaming on the helmets +jauntily cocked over one ear and casting black shadows over the faces of +the wearers. From these shadows glowed red dots of fire. + +"Drop those cigarettes," came the command from the all watchful, unseen +presence mounted on the horse in the shadow of the wall. Automatically, +the section spouted red arcs that fell to the road on either side in a +shower of sparks. + +"It's a damn shame to do that." Major Griffith spoke to me standing +beside his horse. "You can't see a cigarette light fifty yards away, but +if there were no orders against smoking, the men would be lighting +matches or dumping pipes, and such flashes can be seen." + +There was need for caution. The enemy was always watchful for an +interval when one organisation was relieving another on the line. That +period represented the time when an attack could cause the greatest +confusion in the ranks of the defenders. But that night our men +accomplished the relief of the French Moroccan division then in the line +without incident. + + * * * * * + +Two nights later, in company with a party of correspondents, I paid a +midnight visit to our men in the front line trenches of that first +American sector. With all lights out, cigarettes tabooed and the siren +silenced, our overloaded motor slushed slowly along the shell-pitted +roads, carefully skirting groups of marching men and lumbering supply +wagons that took shape suddenly out of the mist-laden road in front of +us. + +Although it was not raining, moisture seemed to drip from everything, +and vapours from the ground, mixing with the fog overhead, almost +obscured the hard-working moon. + +In the greyness of the night sight and smell lost their keenness, and +familiar objects assumed unnatural forms, grotesque and indistinct. + +From somewhere ahead dull, muffled thumps in the mist brought memories +of spring house cleaning and the dusting out of old cushions, but it was +really the three-year-old song of the guns. Nature had censored +observation by covering the spectacle with the mantle of indefiniteness. +Still this was the big thing we had come to see--night work in and +behind the front lines of the American sector. + +We approached an engineers' dump, where the phantoms of fog gradually +materialised into helmeted khaki figures that moved in mud knee-deep and +carried boxes and planks and bundles of tools. Total silence covered all +the activity and not a ray of light revealed what mysteries had been +worked here in surroundings that seemed no part of this world. + +An irregular pile of rock loomed grey and sinister before us, and, +looking upward, we judged, from its gaping walls, that it was the +remains of a church steeple. It was the dominating ruin in the town of +Beaumont. + +"Turn here to the left," the officer conducting our party whispered into +the ear of the driver. + +The sudden execution of the command caused the officer's helmet to rasp +against that of the driver with a sound that set the cautious whispering +to naught. + +"Park here in the shadow," he continued. "Make no noise; show no light. +They dropped shells here ten minutes ago. Gentlemen, this is regimental +headquarters. Follow me." + +In a well buttressed cellar, surmounted by a pile of ruins, we found the +colonel sitting at a wooden table in front of a grandfather's clock of +scratched mahogany. He called the roll--five special correspondents, +Captain Chandler, American press officer, with a goatee and fur coat to +match; Captain Vielcastel, a French press officer, who is a marquis and +speaks English, and a lieutenant from brigade headquarters, who already +had been named "Whispering Willie." + +The colonel offered sticks to those with the cane habit. With two +runners in the lead, we started down what had been the main street of +the ruined village. + +"I can't understand the dropping of that shell over here to-night," the +colonel said. "When we relieved the French, there had been a +long-standing agreement against such discourtesy. It's hard to believe +the Boche would make a scrap of paper out of that agreement. They must +have had a new gunner on the piece. We sent back two shells into their +regimental headquarters. They have been quiet since." + +Ten minutes' walk through the mud, and the colonel stopped to announce: +"Within a hundred yards of you, a number of men are working. Can you +hear 'em?" + +No one could, so he showed us a long line of sweating Americans +stretching off somewhere into the fog. Their job was more of the endless +trench digging and improving behind the lines. While one party swung +pick and spade in the trenches, relief parties slept on the ground +nearby. The colonel explained that these parties arrived after dark, +worked all night, and then carefully camouflaged all evidences of new +earth and departed before daylight, leaving no trace of their night's +work to be discovered by prying airman. Often the work was carried on +under an intermittent shelling, but that night only two shells had +landed near them. + +An American-manned field gun shattered the silence, so close to us that +we could feel its breath and had a greater respect for its bite. The +proximity of the gun had not even been guessed by any of our party. A +yellow stab of flame seemed to burn the mist through which the shell +screeched on its way toward Germany. + +Correspondent Junius Woods, who was wearing an oversized pair of hip +rubber boots, immediately strapped the tops to his belt. + +"I am taking no chance," he said; "I almost jumped out of them that +time. They ought to send men out with a red flag before they pull off a +blast like that." + +The colonel then left us and with the whispering lieutenant and runners +in advance, we continued toward the front. + +"Walk in parties of two," was the order of the soft-toned subaltern. +"Each party keep ten yards apart. Don't smoke. Don't talk. This road is +reached by their field pieces. They also cover it with indirect machine +gun fire. They sniped the brigade commander right along here this +morning. He had to get down into the mud. I can afford to lose some of +you, but not the entire party. If anything comes over, you are to jump +into the communicating trenches on the right side of the road." + +His instructions were obeyed and it was almost with relief that, ten +minutes later, we followed him down the slippery side of the muddy bank +and landed in front of a dugout. + +In the long, narrow, low-ceilinged shelter which completely tunnelled +the road at a depth of twenty feet, two twenty-year-old Americans were +hugging a brazier filled with charcoal. In this dugout was housed a +group from a machine gun battalion, some of whose members were snoring +in a double tier of bunks on the side. + +Deep trenches at the other end of the dugout led to the gun pits, where +this new arm of the service operated at ranges of two miles. These +special squads fired over the heads of those in front of them or over +the contours of the ground and put down a leaden barrage on the front +line of the Germans. The firing not only was indirect but was without +correction from the rectifying observation, of which the artillery had +the benefit by watching the burst of their missiles. + +Regaining the road, we walked on through the ruins on the edge of the +village of Seicheprey, where our way led through a drunken colony of +leaning walls and brick piles. + +Here was the battalion headquarters, located underneath the old stones +of a barn which was topped by the barest skeleton of a roof. What had +been the first floor of the structure had been weighted down heavily +with railroad iron and concrete to form the roof of the commander's +dugout. The sides of the decrepit structure bulged outward and were +prevented from bursting by timber props radiating on all sides like the +legs of a centipede. A mule team stood in front of the dugout. + +"What's that?" the whispering lieutenant inquired in hushed tones from a +soldier in the road, as he pointed over the mules to the battalion +headquarters. + +"What's what?" the soldier replied without respect. + +The obscurity of night is a great reducer of ranks. In the mist officer +and man look alike. + +"Why, that?" repeated "Whispering Willie" in lower, but angrier tones. +"What's that there?" he reiterated, pointing at the mules. + +"Can't you see it's mules?" replied the man in an immoderate tone of +voice, betraying annoyance. + +We were spared what followed. The lieutenant undoubtedly confirmed his +rank, and the man undoubtedly proffered unto him the respect withheld by +mistake. When "Whispering Willie" joined us several minutes later in the +dugout, his helmet rode on the back of his head, but his dignity was on +straight. + +The Battalion Commander, Major Griffith, was so glad to see us that he +sent for another bottle of the murky grey water that came from a well on +one side of a well populated graveyard not fifty yards from his post. + +"A good night," he said; "haven't seen it so quiet in three years. We +have inter-battalion relief on. Some new companies are taking over the +lines. Some of them are new to the front trenches and I'm going out with +you and put them up on their toes. Wait till I report in." + +He rang the field telephone on the wall and waited for an answer. An oil +lamp hung from a low ceiling over the map table. In the hot, smoky air +we quietly held our places while the connection was made. + +"Hello," the Major said, "operator, connect me with Milwaukee." Another +wait---- + +"Hello, Milwaukee, this is Larson. I'm talking from Hamburg. I'm leaving +this post with a deck of cards and a runner. If you want me you can get +me at Coney Island or Hinky Dink's. Wurtzburger will sit in here." + +"Some code, Major," Lincoln Eyre, correspondent, said. "What does a pack +of cards indicate?" + +[Illustration: GRAVE OF FIRST AMERICAN KILLED IN FRANCE + +Translation: Here Lie the First Soldiers of the Great Republic of the +United States of America, Fallen on French Soil for Justice and for +Liberty, November 3rd, 1917] + +"Why, anybody who comes out here when he doesn't have to is a funny +card," the Major replied, "and it looks as if I have a pack of them +to-night. Fritz gets quite a few things that go over our wires and we +get lots of his. All are tapped by induction. + +"Sometimes the stuff we get is important and sometimes it isn't. Our +wire tapping report last night carried a passage something like +this:--The German operator at one post speaking to the operator at +another said: + +"'Hello, Herman, where did that last shell drop?' + +"Second operator replied, 'It killed two men in a ration party in a +communicating trench and spilt all the soup. No hot food for you +to-night, Rudolph.' + +"Herman replying: 'That's all right. We have got some beer here.' + +"Then there was a confusion of sounds and a German was heard talking to +some one in his dugout. He said: + +"'Hurry, here comes the lieutenant! Hide the can!' + +"That's the way it goes," added the Major, "but if we heard that the +society editor of the _Fliegende Blaetter_ and half a dozen pencil +strafers were touring the German front line, we'd send 'em over +something that would start 'em humming a hymn of hate. If they knew I +was joy riding a party of correspondents around the diggin's to-night, +they might give you something to write about and cost me a platoon or +two. You're not worth it. Come on." + +Our party now numbered nine and we pushed off, stumbling through uneven +lanes in the centre of dimly lit ruins. According to orders, we carried +gas masks in a handy position. + +This sector had a nasty reputation when it comes to that sample of +Teutonic culture. Fritz's poison shells dropped almost noiselessly and, +without a report, broke open, liberating to enormous expansion the +inclosed gases. These spread in all directions, and, owing to the +lowness and dampness of the terrain, the poison clouds were +imperceptible both to sight or smell. They clung close to the ground to +claim unsuspecting victims. + +"How are we to know if we are breathing gas or not?" asked the +Philadelphia correspondent, Mr. Henri Bazin. + +"That's just what you DON'T know," replied the Major. + +"Then when will we know it is time to adjust our masks?" Bazin +persisted. + +"When you see some one fall who has breathed it," the Major said. + +"But suppose we breathe it first?" + +"Then you won't need a mask," the Major replied, "You see, it's quite +simple." + +"Halt!" The sharp command, coming sternly but not too loud from +somewhere in the adjacent mist, brought the party to a standstill in the +open on the edge of the village. We remained notionless while the Major +advanced upon command from the unseen. He rejoined us in several minutes +with the remark that the challenge had come from one of his old men, and +he only hoped the new companies taking over the line that night were as +much on their jobs. + +"Relief night always is trying," the Major explained. "Fritz always +likes to jump the newcomers before they get the lay of the land. He +tried it on the last relief, but we burnt him." + +While talking the Major was leading the way through the first trench I +had ever seen above the surface of the ground. The bottom of the trench +was not only on a level with the surrounding terrain, but in some places +it was even higher. Its walls, which rose almost to the height of a +man's head, were made of large wicker woven cylinders filled with earth +and stones. + +Our guide informed us that the land which we were traversing was so low +that any trench dug in the ground would simply be a ditch brimful of +undrainable water, so that, inasmuch as this position was in the first +line system, walls had been built on either side of the path to protect +passers-by from shell fragments and indirect machine gun fire. We +observed one large break where a shell had entered during the evening. + +Farther on, this communicating passage, which was more corridor than +trench, reached higher ground and descended into the earth. We reeled +through its zig-zag course, staggering from one slanting corner to +another. + +The sides were fairly well retained by French wicker work, but every +eighth or tenth duck board was missing, making it necessary for trench +travellers to step knee-deep in cold water or to jump the gap. +Correspondent Eyre, who was wearing shoes and puttees, abhorred these +breaks. + +We passed the Major's post of command, which he used during intense +action, and some distance on, entered the front line. With the Major +leading, we walked up to a place where two Americans were standing on a +firing step with their rifles extended across the parapet. They were +silently peering into the grey mist over No Man's Land. One of them +looked around as we approached. Apparently he recognised the Major's +cane as a symbol of rank. He came to attention. + +"Well," the Major said, "is this the way you let us walk up on you? Why +don't you challenge me?" + +"I saw you was an officer, sir," the man replied. + +"Now, you are absolutely sure I am YOUR officer?" the Major said slowly +and coldly, with emphasis on the word "your." "Suppose I tell you I am a +German officer and these men behind me are Germans. How do you know?" + +With a quick movement the American brought his rifle forward to the +challenge, his right hand slapping the wooden butt with an audible +whack. + +"Advance one, and give the countersign," he said with a changed voice +and manner and the Major, moving to within whispering distance, breathed +the word over the man's extended bayonet. Upon hearing it, the soldier +lowered his gun and stood at attention. + +It was difficult to figure whether his relief over the scare was greater +than his fears of the censure he knew was coming. + +"Next time anybody gets that close to you without being challenged," the +Major said, "don't be surprised if it is a German. That's the way they +do it. They don't march in singing 'Deutschland Ueber Alles.' + +"If you see them first, you might live through the war. If they see you +first, we will have wasted a lot of Liberty bonds and effort trying to +make a soldier out of you. Now, remember, watch yourself." + +We pushed on encountering longer patches of trench where duck boards +were entirely missing and where the wading sometimes was knee-deep. In +some places, either the pounding of shells or the thawing out of the +ground had pushed in the revetments, appreciably narrowing the way and +making progress more difficult. Arriving at an unmanned firing step +large enough to accommodate the party, we mounted and took a first look +over the top. + +Moonlight now was stronger through the mist which hung fold over fold +over the forbidden land between the opposing battle lines. At intervals +nervous machine guns chattered their ghoulish gibberish or tut-tut-ted +away chidingly like finicky spinsters. Their intermittent sputtering to +the right and left of us was unenlightening. We couldn't tell whether +they were speaking German or English. Occasional bullets whining +somewhere through that wet air gave forth sounds resembling the ripping +of linen sheets. + +Artillery fire was the exception during the entire night but when a +shell did trace its unseen arc through the mist mantle, its echoes gave +it the sound of a street car grinding through an under-river tunnel or +the tube reverberations of a departing subway train. + +We were two hundred yards from the German front lines. Between their +trenches and ours, at this point, was low land, so boggy as to be almost +impassable. The opposing lines hugged the tops of two small ridges. + +Fifty yards in front was our wire barely discernible in the fog. The +Major interrupted five wordless reveries by expressing, with what almost +seemed regretfulness, the fact that in all his fighting experience he +had never seen it "so damn quiet." His observation passed without a +remark from us. + +The Major appeared to be itching for action and he got into official +swing a hundred yards farther on, where a turn in the trench revealed to +us the muffled figures of two young Americans, comfortably seated on +grenade boxes on the firing step. + +From their easy positions they could look over the top and watch all +approaches without rising. Each one had a blanket wrapped about his legs +and feet. They looked the picture of ease. Without moving, one, with his +rifle across his lap, challenged the Major, advanced him, and received +the countersign. We followed the Major in time to hear his first +remark: + +"Didn't they get the rocking chairs out here yet?" he said with the +provoked air that customarily accompanies any condemnation of the +quartermaster department. + +"No, sir," replied the seated sentry. "They didn't get here. The men we +relieved said that they never got anything out here." + +"Nor the footstools?" the Major continued, this time with an +unmistakable tone. + +The man didn't answer. + +"Do you two think you are taking moon baths on the Riviera?" the Major +asked sternly. "You are less than two hundred yards from the Germans. +You are all wrapped up like Egyptian mummies. Somebody could lean over +the top and snake off your head with a trench knife before you could get +your feet loose. Take those blankets off your feet and stand up." + +The men arose with alacrity, shedding the blankets and removing the +grenade box chairs. The Major continued: + +"You know you are not sitting in a club window in Fifth Avenue and +watching the girls go by. You're not looking for chickens out there. +There's a hawk over there and sometimes he carries off precious little +lambs. Now, the next time anybody steps around the corner of that +trench, you be on your feet with your bayonet and gun ready to mix +things." + +The lambs saluted as the Major moved off with a train of followers who, +by this time, were beginning to feel that these trenches held other +lambs, only they carried notebooks instead of cartridge belts. + +Stopping in front of a dugout, the Major gathered us about to hear the +conversation that was going on within. Through the cracks of the door, +we looked down a flight of steep stairs, dug deep into this battlefield +graveyard. There were lights in the chamber below and the sound of +voices came up to us. One voice was singing softly. + + "Oh, the infantry, the infantry, with the dirt behind their ears, + The infantry, the infantry, they don't get any beers, + The cavalry, the artillery, and the lousy engineers, + They couldn't lick the infantry in a hundred million years." + +"I got a brother in the artillery," came another voice, "but I am ready +to disown him. They talk a lot about this counter battery work, but it's +all bunk. A battery in position has nice deep dugouts and hot chow all +the time. They gets up about 9 o'clock in the morning and shaves up all +nice for the day. + +"'Bout 10 o'clock the captain says, 'I guess we will drop a few shells +on that German battery on the other side of the hill.' So they pops off +forty or fifty rounds in that general direction and don't hit anything +'cause the German battery immediately roots down into its nice, deep +dugouts. As soon as our battery lays off and gets back into its holes, +the German battery comes out and pops back forty or fifty at 'em and, of +course, don't hurt them neither. + +"Then it is time for lunch, and while both of these here batteries is +eating, they get so sore about not having hit each other during the +morning, that they just call off counter battery work for the day and +turn their guns on the front lines and blow hell out of the infantry. I +haven't got any use for an artilleryman. I'm beginning to think all of +them Germans and Allies are alike and has an agreement against the +doughboys." + +The Major interrupted by rapping sharply on the door. + +"Come in," was the polite and innocent invitation guilelessly spoken +from below. The Major had his helmet on, so he couldn't tear his hair. + +"Come up here, you idiots, every one of you." + +The Major directed his voice down into the hole in an unmistakable and +official tone. There was a scurrying of feet and four men emerged +carrying their guns. They were lined up against the trench wall. + +"At midnight," the Major began, "in your dugout in the front line forty +yards from the Germans, with no sentry at the door, you hear a knock on +the door and you shout, 'Come in.' I commend your politeness, and I know +that's what your mothers taught you to say when visitors come, but this +isn't any tea fight out here. One German could have wiggled over the top +here and stood in this doorway and captured all four of you +single-handed, or he could have rolled a couple of bombs down that hole +and blown all of you to smithereens. What's your aim in life--hard +labour in a German prison camp or a nice little wooden cross out here +four thousand miles from Punkinville? Why wasn't there any sentry at +that door?" + +The question remained unanswered but the incident had its effect on the +quartet. Without orders, all four decided to spend the remainder of the +night on the firing step with their eyes glued on the enemy's line. They +simply hadn't realised they were really in the war. The Major knew this, +but made a mental reservation of which the commander of this special +platoon got full benefit before the night was over. + +The front line from here onward followed a small ridge running generally +east and west, but now bearing slightly to the northward. We were told +the German line ran in the same general direction, but at this point +bore to the southward. + +The opposing lines in the direction of our course were converging and we +were approaching the place where they were the closest in the sector. If +German listening posts heard the progress of our party through the line, +only a telephone call back to the artillery was necessary to plant a +shell among us, as every point on the system was registered. + +As we silently considered various eventualities immaterial to the +prosecution of the war but not without personal concern, our progress +was brought to a sudden standstill. + +"Huh-huh-halt!" came a drawn-out command in a husky, throaty stammer, +weaker than a whisper, from an undersized tin-hatted youngster planted +in the centre of the trench not ten feet in front of us. His left foot +was forward and his bayoneted rifle was held ready for a thrust. + +"Huh-huh-huh-halt!" came the nervous, whispering command again, although +we had been motionless since the first whisper. + +We heard a click as the safety catch on the man's rifle lock was thrown +off and the weapon made ready to discharge. The Major was watching the +nervous hand that rested none too steadily on the trigger stop. He +stepped to one side, but the muzzle of the gun followed him. + +"Huh-huh-huh-halt! I tuh-tuh-tell you." + +This time the whisper vibrated with nervous tension and there was no +mistaking the state of mind of the sentry. + +"Take it easy," replied the Major with attempted calm. "I'm waiting for +you to challenge me. Don't get excited. This is the commanding +officer." + +"What's the countersign?" came from the voice in a hard strain. + +"Troy," the Major said, and the word seemed to bring worlds of +reassurance to the rifleman, who sighed with relief, but forgot to move +his rifle until the Major said: + +"Will you please take that gun off me and put the safety back in?" + +The nervous sentry moved the gun six inches to the right and we +correspondents, standing in back of the Major, looked into something +that seemed as big as the La Salle street tunnel. I jumped out of range +behind the Major. Eyre plunged knee-deep into water out of range, and +Woods with the rubber boots started to go over the top. + +The click of the replaced safety lock sounded unusually like the snap of +a trigger, but no report followed and three hearts resumed their +beating. + +"There is no occasion to get excited," the Major said to the young +soldier in a fatherly tone. "I'm glad to see you are wide-awake and on +the job. Don't feel any fears for your job and just remember that with +that gun and bayonet in your hands you are better than any man who turns +that trench corner or crosses out there. You've got the advantage of +him, and besides that you are a better man than he is." + +The sentry, now smiling, saluted the Major as the latter conducted the +party quietly around the trench corner and into a sap leading directly +out into No Man's Land. Twice the trench passed under broad belts of +barbed wire, which we were cautioned to avoid with our helmets, because +any sound was undesirable for obvious reasons. + +After several minutes of this cautious advance, we reached a small +listening post that marked the closest point in the sector to the German +line. Several silent sentries were crouching on the edge of the pit. +Gunny sacks covered the hole and screened it in front and above. We +remained silent while the Major in the lowest whisper spoke with a +corporal and learned that except for two or three occasions, when the +watchers thought they heard sounds near our wire, the night had been +calm. + +We departed as silently as we came. The German line from a distance of +forty yards looked no different from its appearance at a greater +distance, but since it was closer, it was carried with a constant tingle +of anticipation. + +Into another communicating trench and through better walled +fortifications of splintered forest, the Major led us to a place where +the recent shelling had changed twenty feet of trench into a gaping +gulley almost without sides and waist-deep in water. A working detail +was endeavouring to repair the damage. In parties of two, we left the +trench and crossed an open space on the level. The forty steps we +covered across that forbidden ground were like stolen fruit. Such +rapture! Bazin, who was seeking a title for a book, pulled "Eureka!" + +"Over the top armed with a pencil," he said. "Not bad, eh?" + +Back in Seicheprey, just before the Major left us for our long trip back +to quarters, he led the way to the entrance of a cemetery, well kept in +the midst of surrounding chaos. Graves of French dead ranged row upon +row. + +"I just wanted to show you some of the fellows that held this line until +we took it over," he said simply. "Our own boys that we've lost since +we've been here, are buried down in the next village." + +We silently saluted the spot as we passed it thirty minutes later. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE NIGHT OUR GUNS CUT LOOSE + + +As soon as our forces had made themselves at home in the Toul sector, it +was inevitable that belligerent activity would increase and this, in +spite of the issuance of strict orders that there should be no +development of the normal daily fire. Our men could not entirely resist +the temptation to start something. + +As was to be expected, the Germans soon began to suspect that they were +faced by different troops from the ones who had been confronting them. +The enemy set out to verify his suspicions. He made his first raid on +the American line. + +It was in a dense mist on the morning of January 30th that the Germans +lowered a terrific barrage on one of our advance listening posts and +then rushed the position with a raiding party outnumbering the +defendants ten to one. + +Two Americans held that post--five more succeeded in making their way +through the storm of falling shells and in coming to the assistance of +the first two. That made seven Americans in the fight. When the fighting +ceased, every one of the seven had been accounted for in the three +items, dead, wounded or captured. + +That little handful of Americans, fought, died or were wounded in the +positions which they had been ordered to hold. Although the engagement +was an extremely minor one, it being the first of its kind on the +American sector, it was sufficient to give the enemy some idea of the +determination and fighting qualities of the individual American +soldier. Their comrades were proud of them, and were inclined to +consider the exploit, "Alamo stuff." + +Two of the defenders were killed, four were wounded, and one was +captured. The wounded men reported that the captured American continued +to fight even after being severely wounded. He was the last to remain on +his feet and when a bomb blew his rifle from his hand and injured his +arm, he succumbed to superior numbers and was carried off by his +captors. + +After the hurried sortie, the Germans beat a hasty retreat so that the +position was reoccupied immediately by another American detail. + +The "Alamo" seven had not been taken by surprise. Through a downpour of +rather badly placed shells, they held their position on the firing step +and worked both their rifles and machine guns against the raiding party, +which they could not see, but knew would be advancing behind the curtain +of fire. Hundreds of empty cartridges and a broken American bayonet +constituted impartial testimony to the fierceness of the fighting. After +the first rush, in which the defenders accounted for a number of +Germans, the fighting began at close quarters, the enemy peppering the +listening post with hand-grenades. + +In the meantime the German barrage had been lifted and lengthened until +it was lowered again between the "Alamo" seven and their comrades in the +rear. + +There were calls to surrender, but no acceptances. The fighting became +hand-to-hand with bayonet and gun butt. The defenders fought on in the +hope that assistance soon would arrive from the American artillery. + +But the Germans had planned the raid well. Their first barrage cut all +telephone wires leading back from our front lines and the signal rocket +which one of the men in the listening post had fired into the air, had +been smothered in the dense mist. That rocket had called for a +defensive barrage from American artillery and when no answer came to it, +a second one was fired, but that also was snuffed out by the fog. + +The net result of the raid was that the Germans had captured one of our +wounded men and had thereby identified the organisation opposing them as +the First Regular Division of the United States Army, composed of the +16th, 18th, 26th, and 28th Regular U. S. Infantry Regiments and the 5th, +6th and 7th Regular U. S. Army Field Artillery. The division was under +the command of Major General Robert Lee Bullard. + +In the days and weeks that followed, the daily exchange of shells on the +sector increased to two and three times the number it had been before +our men arrived there. There were nightly patrols in No Man's Land and +several instances where these patrols met in the dark and engaged one +another with casualties on both sides. + +One night a little over a month later--the early morning of March 4th, +to be exact--it was my privilege to witness from an exceptional vantage +point, the first planned and concentrated American artillery action +against the enemy. The German lines selected for this sudden downpour of +shell, comprised two small salients jutting out from the enemy's +positions in the vicinity of the ruined village of Lahayville, in the +same sector. + +In company with an orderly who had been despatched as my guide, I +started from an artillery battalion headquarters shortly before +midnight, and together we made our way up the dark muddy road that led +through the dense Bois de la Reine to the battery positions. Half an +hour's walk and O'Neil, the guide, led me off the road into a darker +tunnel of overlaced boughs where we stumbled along on the ties of a +narrow gauge railroad that conveyed heavy shells from the road to the +guns. We passed through several gun pits and stopped in front of a huge +_abri_ built entirely above ground. + +Its walls and roof must have been between five and seven feet thick and +were made from layers of logs, sandbags, railroad iron and slabs of +concrete reinforced with steel. It looked impenetrable. + +"Battery commander's headquarters," O'Neil said to me as we entered a +small hot room lighted by two oil lamps and a candle. Three officers, at +two large map tables, were working on sheets of figures. Two wooden +bunks, one above the other, and two posts supporting the low ceiling +completed the meagre furnishings of the room. A young officer looked up +from his work, O'Neil saluted, and addressed him. + +"The Major sent me up with this correspondent. He said you could let him +go wherever he could see the fun and that you are not responsible for +his safety." O'Neil caught the captain's smile at the closing remark and +withdrew. The captain showed me the map. + +"Here we are," he said, indicating a spot with his finger, "and here's +what we are aiming at to-night. There are two places you can stay to see +the fun. You can stay in this shelter and hear the sound of it, or you +can go up a little further front to this point, and mount the platform +in our observation tree. In this _abri_ you are safe from splinters and +shrapnel but a direct hit would wipe us out. In the tree you are exposed +to direct hits and splinters from nearby bursts but at least you can see +the whole show. It's the highest point around here and overlooks the +whole sector." + +I sensed that the captain expected a busy evening and looked forward +with no joy to possible interference from a questioning visitor, so I +chose the tree. + +"All right," he said, "you've got helmet and gas masks, I see. Now how's +your watch? Take the right time off mine. We have just synchronised ours +with headquarters. Zero is one o'clock. You had better start now." + +He called for an orderly with a German name, and the two of us left. +Before I was out of the room, the captain had returned to his +mathematics and was figuring out the latest range variations and making +allowances for latest developments in wind, temperature and barometer. +The orderly with the German name and I plunged again into the trees and +brought up shortly on the edge of a group of men who were standing in +the dark near a large tree trunk. I could hear several other men and +some stamping horses off to one side. + +The party at the foot of the tree was composed of observers, signal +linemen and runners. All of them were enlisted men. I inquired who were +to be my comrades in the tree top and three presented themselves. One +said his name was Pat Guahn, the second gave his as Peter Griffin and +the third acknowledged Mike Stanton. I introduced myself and Griffin +said, "I see we are all from the same part of Italy." + +At twenty minutes to one, we started up the tree, mounting by rudely +constructed ladders that led from one to the other of the four crudely +fashioned platforms. We reached the top breathless and with no false +impressions about the stability of our swaying perch. The tree seemed to +be the tallest in the forest and nothing interfered with our forward +view. The platform was a bit shaky and Guahn put my thoughts to words +and music by softly singing-- + + "Rock-a-bye baby, in the tree top, + When the shell comes the runners all flop, + When the shell busts, good-bye to our station, + We're up in a tree, bound for damnation." + +The compass gives us north and we locate in the forward darkness an +approximate sweep of the front lines. Guahn is looking for the flash of +a certain German gun and it will be his duty to keep his eyes trained +through the fork of a certain marked twig within arm's reach. + +"If she speaks, we want to know it," Guahn says; "I can see her from +here when she flashes and there's another man who can see her from +another place. You see we get an intersection of angles on her and then +we know where she is just as though she had sent her address. Two +minutes later we drop a card on her and keep her warm." + +"Is that that gun from Russia we heard about?" Griffin asks. + +"No," answers Guahn, "we are not looking for her from that station. +Besides, she isn't Russian. She was made by the British, used by the +Russians, captured by the Germans and in turn is used by them against +Americans. We have found pieces of her shell and they all have an +English trade mark on them. She fires big eight inch stuff." + +Griffin is watching in another direction for another flash and Stanton +is on the lookout for signal flares and the flash of a signal light +projector which might be used in case the telephone communication is +disturbed by enemy fire. It is then that the runners at the base of the +tree must carry the message back by horse. + +Only an occasional thump is heard forward in the darkness. Now and then +machine guns chatter insanely as they tuck a seam in the night. At +infrequent intervals, a star shell curves upward, bursts, suspends its +silent whiteness in mid-air, and dies. + +In our tree top all seems quiet and so is the night. There is no moon +and only a few stars are out. A penetrating dampness takes the place of +cold and there is that in the air that threatens a change of weather. + +The illuminated dial of my watch tells me that it is three minutes of +one and I communicate the information to the rest of the Irish quartet. +In three minutes, the little world that we look upon from our tree top +is due to change with terrific suddenness and untold possibilities. + +Somewhere below in the darkness and to one side, I hear the clank of a +ponderous breech lock as the mechanism is closed on a shell in one of +the heavy guns. Otherwise all remains silent. + +Two minutes of one. Each minute seems to drag like an hour. It is +impossible to keep one's mind off that unsuspecting group of humans out +there in that little section of German trench upon which the heavens are +about to fall. Griffin leans over the railing and calls to the runners +to stand by the horses' heads until they become accustomed to the coming +roar. + +One minute of one. We grip the railing and wait. + +Two flashes and two reports, the barest distinguishable interval, and +the black horizon belches red. From extreme left to extreme right the +flattened proscenium in front of us glows with the ghastliness of the +Broockon. + +Waves of light flush the dark vault above like the night sky over South +Chicago's blast furnaces. The heavens reflect the glare. The flashes +range in colour from blinding yellow to the softest tints of pink. They +seem to form themselves from strange combinations of greens and mauves +and lavenders. + +The sharp shattering crash of the guns reaches our ears almost on the +instant. The forest shakes and our tree top sways with the slam of the +heavies close by. The riven air whimpers with the husky whispering of +the rushing load of metal bolts passing above us. + +Looking up into that void, we deny the uselessness of the act and seek +in vain to follow the trains of those unseen things that make the air +electric with their presence. We hear them coming, passing, going, but +see not one of them. + +"There's whole blacksmith's shops sailing over our heads on the way to +Germany," Pat Guahn shouts in my ear. "I guess the Dutchman sure knows +how to call for help. He doesn't care for that first wallop, and he +thinks he would like about a half million reserves from the Russian +front." + +"That darkness out in No Man's Land don't make any hit with him either," +Stanton contributes. "He's got it lit up so bright I'm homesick for +Broadway." + +Now comes the thunder of the shell arrivals. You know the old covered +wooden bridges that are still to be found in the country. Have you ever +heard a team of horses and a farm wagon thumping and rumbling over such +a bridge on the trot? + +Multiply the horse team a thousand times. Lash the animals from the trot +to the wild gallop. Imagine the sound of their stampede through the +echoing wooden structure and you approach in volume and effect the +rumble and roar of the steel as it rained down on that little German +salient that night. + +"Listen to them babies bustin'," says Griffin. "I'm betting them +groundhogs is sure huntin' their holes right now and trying to dig clear +through to China." + +That was the sound and sight of that opening salvo from all guns, from +the small trench mortars in the line, the lightest field pieces behind +them, the heavy field pieces about us and the ponderous railroad +artillery located behind us. + +Its crash has slashed the inkiness in front of us with a lurid red +meridian. I don't know how many hands had pulled lanyards on exactly the +same instant but the consequent spread of fire looked like one +continuous flame. + +Now the "seventy-fives" are speaking, not in unison, but at various +speeds, limited only by the utmost celerity of the sweating gun crews. + +But the German front line is not the only locality receiving unsolicited +attention. Enemy gun positions far behind the lines are being plastered +with high explosives and anesthetised with gas shells. + +So effective is the American artillery neutralisation of the German +batteries, that it is between fifteen and twenty minutes before the +first enemy gun replies to the terrific barrage. And though expected +momentarily, a German counter barrage fails to materialise. + +In our tree top we wait for the enemy's counter shelling but the +retaliation does not develop. When occupying an exposed position, the +suspense of waiting for an impending blow increases in tenseness as the +delay continues and the expectations remain unrealised. With no +inclination to be unreasonable, one even prays for the speedy delivery +of the blow in the same way that the man with the aching tooth urges the +dentist to speed up and have it over with. + +"Why in hell don't they come back at us?" Griffin asks. "I've had myself +all tuned up for the last twenty minutes to have a leg blown off and be +thankful. I hate this waiting stuff." + +"Keep your shirt on, Pete," Stanton remarks. "Give 'em a chance to get +their breath and come out of their holes. That barrage drove 'em down a +couple hundred feet into the ground and they haven't any elevators to +come up on. We'll hear from 'em soon enough." + +We did, but it was not more than a whisper as compared with what they +were receiving from our side of the line. The German artillery came into +lethargic action after the American barrage had been in constant +operation for thirty minutes and then the enemy's fire was only +desultory. Only an occasional shell from Kulturland came our way, and +even they carried a rather tired, listless buzz, as though they didn't +know exactly where they were going and didn't care. + +Six or eight of them hummed along a harmless orbit not far above our +tree top and fell in the forest. It certainly looked as though we were +shooting all the hard-stuff and the German end of the fireworks party +was all coloured lights and Roman candles. Of the six shells that passed +us, three failed to explode upon landing. + +"That makes three dubs," said Guahn. + +"You don't mean dubs," Stanton corrected him, "you mean duds and even +then you are wrong. Those were gas pills. They just crack open quietly +so you don't know it until you've sniffed yourself dead. Listen, you'll +hear the gas alert soon." + +Even as he spoke, we heard through the firing the throaty gurgling of +the sirens. The alarm started on our right and spread from station to +station through the woods. We adjusted the respirators and turned our +muffled faces toward the firing line. Through the moisture fogged +glasses of my mask, I looked first upon my companions on this rustic +scaffold above the forest. + +War's demands had removed our appearances far from the human. Our heads +were topped with uncomfortable steel casques, harder than the backs of +turtles. Our eyes were large, flat, round glazed surfaces unblinking and +owl-like. Our faces were shapeless folds of black rubber cloth. Our +lungs sucked air through tubes from a canvass bag under our chins and we +were inhabiting a tree top like a family of apes. It really required +imagination to make it seem real. + +"Looks like the party is over," came the muffled remark from the masked +figure beside me. The cannonading was dying down appreciably. The +blinking line of lights in front of us grew less. + +A terrific upward blast of red and green flame from the ground close to +our tree, reminded us that one heavy still remained under firing orders. +The flash seen through the forest revealed in intricate tracings the +intertwining limbs and branches of the trees. It presented the +appearance of a piece of strong black lace spread out and held at arm's +length in front of a glowing grate. + +From the German lines an increased number of flares shot skyward and as +the cannon cracks ceased, save for isolated booms, the enemy machine +guns could be heard at work, riveting the night with sprays of lead and +sounding for all the world like a scourge of hungry woodpeckers. + +"God help any of the doughboys that are going up against any of that +stuff," Griffin observed through his mask. + +"Don't worry about our doughboys," replied Stanton; "they are all safe +in their trenches now. That's most likely the reason why our guns were +ordered to lay off. I guess Fritzie got busy with his typewriters too +late." + +I descended the tree, leaving my companions to wait for the orders +necessary for their departure. Unfamiliar with the unmarked paths of +the forest and guided only as to general directions, I made my way +through the trees some distance in search of the road back from the +front. + +A number of mud and water-filled shell holes intervened to make the +exertion greater and consequently the demand upon lungs for air greater. +After floundering several kilometres through a strange forest with a gas +mask on, one begins to appreciate the temptation that comes to tear off +the stifling nose bag and risk asphyxiation for just one breath of fresh +air. + +A babel of voices in the darkness to one side guided me to a log cabin +where I learned from a sentry that the gas scare had just been called +off. Continuing on the road, I collided head on in the darkness with a +walking horse. Its rider swore and so did I, with slightly the advantage +over him as his head was still encased. I told him the gas alarm was off +and he tore away the mask with a sigh of relief. I left him while he was +removing the horse's gas mask. + +A light snow was beginning to fall as I said good-night to the battalion +commander in front of his roadside shack. A party of mounted runners was +passing on the way to their quarters. With an admirable lack of dignity +quite becoming a national guard cavalry major in command of regular army +artillery, he said: + +"Good-night, men, we licked hell out of them." + +The Toul sector, during its occupation by Americans, always maintained a +high daily rating of artillery activity. The opposing forces were +continually planning surprises on one another. At any minute of the +night or day a terrific bombardment of high explosive or gas might break +out on either side. Both sides operated their sound ranging apparatus +to a rather high degree of efficiency. + +By these delicate instruments we could locate the exact position of an +unseen enemy battery. Following that location, the battery would +immediately be visited with a concentrated downpour of hot steel +intended to wipe it out of existence. The enemy did as much for us, so +that in the artillery, when the men were not actually manning the guns +in action, they were digging gun pits for reserve positions which they +could occupy if the enemy happened to get the proper range of the old +positions. In this casual counter battery work our artillery adopted a +system by which many lives were saved. + +If a German battery began shelling one of our battery positions, the +artillerymen in that position were not called upon to stand by their +guns and return the fire. The order would be given to temporarily +abandon the position and the men would be withdrawn a safe distance. The +German battery that was firing would be responded to, two to one, by +other American batteries located nearby and which did not happen to be +under fire at the time. By this system we conserved our strength. + +Our infantry was strong in their praise of the artillery. I observed +this particularly one day on the Toul front when General Pershing +dropped in unexpectedly at the division headquarters, then located in +the hillside village of Bourcq. While the commander and his party were +awaiting a meal which was being prepared, four muddy figures tramped +down the hallway of the Chateau. Through the doorway the general +observed their entrance. + +The two leading figures were stolid German soldiers, prisoners of war, +and behind them marched their captors, two excusably proud young +Americans. One of them carried his bayoneted rifle at the ready, while +the second carried the equipment which had been taken from the +prisoners. The American commander ordered the group brought before him +and asked one of the Americans to relate the story of the capture. + +"We in the infantry got 'em, sir," replied one, "but the artillery +deserved most of the credit. It happened just at dawn this morning. Jim +here, and myself, were holding down an advance machine gun post when the +Germans laid down a flock of shells on our first line trench. We just +kept at the gun ready to let them have it if they started to come over. + +"Pretty soon we saw them coming through the mist and we began to put it +to 'em. I think we got a bunch of them but they kept on coming. + +"Then somebody back in our first line shot up the signal for a barrage +in our sector. It couldn't have been a minute before our cannon cut +loose and the shells began to drop right down in the middle of the +raiding party. + +"It was a good heavy barrage, sir, and it cut clean through the centre +of the raiders. Two Germans were ahead of the rest and the barrage +landed right in back of them. The rest started running back toward their +lines, but the first pair could not go back because they would have had +to pass through the barrage. I kept the machine gun going all the time +and Jim showed himself above the trench and pointed his rifle at the +cut-off pair. + +"They put up their hands right quick and we waved to 'em to come in. +They took it on the jump and landed in our trench as fast as they could. +We took their equipment off them and we were ordered to march them back +here to headquarters. That's all there was to it, sir." + +The enemy in front of Toul manifested an inordinate anxiety to know more +about the strength of our forces and the character of the positions we +occupied. A captured German document issued to the Fifth Bavarian +Landwehr infantry brigade instructed every observer and patrol to do his +or its best "to bring information about the new enemy." + +"Nothing is known as yet about the methods of fighting or leadership," +the document set forth, "and all information possible must be gathered +as to particular features of American fighting and outpost tactics. This +will then be used for extending the information bulletin. Any +observation or identification, however insignificant, may be of the +greatest value." + +The document directed that data on the following questions be obtained: + +"Are sentry posts sentry posts or stronger posts? Further advanced +reconnoitring patrols? Manner of challenging? Behaviour on post during +day and night? Vigilance? Ambush tactics and cunning? + +"Do they shoot and signal on every occasion? Do the posts hold their +ground on the approach of a patrol, or do they fall back? + +"Are the Americans careful and cautious? Are they noisy? What is their +behaviour during smoke screens?" + +The enemy's keen desire to acquire this information was displayed in the +desperate efforts it made. One day the French troops occupying the +trenches on the right flank of the American sector, encountered a +soldier in an American uniform walking through their positions. + +He was stopped and questioned. He said he had been one of an American +patrol that had gone out the night before, that he had lost his way in +No Man's Land and that he thought he was returning to his own trenches, +when he dropped into those held by the French. + +Although the man wore our uniform and spoke excellent English and seemed +straightforward in his replies, as to his name and rank and +organisation, the French officer before whom he was brought was not +completely satisfied. To overcome this hesitancy, the suspected man +opened his shirt and produced an American identification tag verifying +his answers. + +The French officer, still suspicious, ordered the man held while he +telephoned to the American organisation mentioned to ascertain whether +any man of the name given was missing from that unit. + +"Yes," replied the American captain. "We lost him last October, when we +were in the front line down in the Luneville sector. He was captured +with eight others by the Germans." + +"Well, we've got him over here on your right flank. He came into our +lines this morning--" the French officer started to say. + +"Bully," came the American interruption over the wire. "He's escaped +from the Germans and has come clear through their lines to get back to +his company. He'll get a D. S. C. for that. We'll send right over for +him." + +"But when we questioned him," replied the Frenchman, "he said he left +your lines only last night on patrol and got lost in No Man's Land." + +"I'll come right over and look at that party, myself," the American +captain hastily replied. + +He reached the French officer's dugout several hours later and the +suspect was ordered brought in. + +"He must be crazy, sir," the French orderly said. "He tried to kill +himself a few minutes ago and we have had to hold him." + +The man was brought into the dugout between two poilus who held his +arms. The American captain took a careful look and said: + +"That's not our man. He wears our uniform correctly and that's our +regulation identification tag. Both of them must have been taken away +from our man when he was captured. This man is an impostor." + +"He's more than that," replied the Frenchman with a smile. "He's a +German spy." + +The prisoner made no reply, but later made a full confession of his act, +and also gave to his interrogators much valuable information, which, +however, did not save him from paying the penalty in front of a firing +squad. When he faced the rifles, he was not wearing the stolen uniform. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +INTO PICARDY TO MEET THE GERMAN PUSH + + +Toward the end of March, 1918, just at the time when the American +Expeditionary Forces were approaching the desired degree of military +effectiveness, the fate of civilisation was suddenly imperilled by the +materialisation of the long expected German offensive. + +This push, the greatest the enemy had ever attempted, began on March +21st, and the place that Hindenburg selected for the drive was Picardy, +the valley of the Somme, the ancient cockpit of Europe. On that day the +German hordes, scores upon scores of divisions, hurled themselves +against the British line between Arras and Noyon. + +Before that tremendous weight of manpower, the Allied line was forced to +give and one of the holding British armies, the Fifth, gave ground on +the right flank, and with its left as a hinge, swung back like a gate, +opening the way for the Germans toward Paris. + +There have been many descriptions of the fierce fighting put up by the +French and British to stem the German advance, but the most interesting +one that ever came to my notice, came from one of the few American +soldiers that participated in the defence. Two weeks after the opening +of the battle and at a time when the German advance had been stopped, I +came upon this American in a United States Military Hospital at Dijon. + +An interne led me to the bedside of Jimmy Brady, a former jockey from +the Pimlico turf in Baltimore, and now a proud wearer of Uncle Sam's +khaki. In his own quaint way, Jimmy told me the story of what a little +handful of Americans did in the great battle in Picardy. Jimmy knew. +Jimmy had been there. + +"Lad," he said, "I'm telling you it was a real jam. I learned one hell +of a headful in the last ten days that I'll not be forgetting in the +next ten years. I've got new ideas about how long this war is goin' to +last. Of course, we're going to lick the Boches before it ends, but I've +sorter given up the picture I had of myself marching up Fifth Avenue in +a victory parade on this coming Fourth of July. I'll say it can't be +done in that time. + +"Our outfit from old ---- engineers, and believe me there's none better, +have been working up in the Somme country for the last two months. We +were billeted at Brie and most of our work had been throwing bridges +across the Canal du Nord about three miles south of Peronne. I'm telling +you the Somme ain't a river. It's a swamp, and they just hardly squeeze +enough water outer it to make a canal which takes the place of a river. + +"We was working under the British. Their old bridges over the canal were +wooden affairs and most of them had signs on them reading, 'This bridge +won't hold a tank,' and that bridge wouldn't bear trotting horses, and +so on. Some of 'em we tore down must have been put in for scenery +purposes only. We were slamming up some husky looking steel structures +like you see in the States, and believe me it makes me sick to think +that we had to blow 'em all up again before the Boches got to 'em. + +"I see by the papers that the battle began on the 21st, but I've got no +more idea about the date of it than the King of Honolulu. They say it's +been on only about ten days, but I couldn't swear it hadn't been on +since New Year's Eve. It sure seemed a long time. As I told you, we were +working just south of Peronne on the main road between St. Quentin and +Amiens. She started on a foggy morning and for two days the music kept +getting closer. On the first day, all traffic was frontward, men, guns, +and camions going up towards the lines, and then the tide began to flow +back. + +"Ambulances and camions, full of poor wounded devils, filled the road, +and then came labour battalions of chattering Chinks, Egyptians, and +Fiji Islanders and God knows what. None of these birds were lingering, +because the enemy was sprinkling the roads with shells and sorter +keeping their marching spirits up. Orders came for us to ditch our packs +and equipment all except spades, rifles, belts and canteens, and we set +off toward the rear. + +"Do you mind your map of the Somme? Well, we pulls up at Chaulnes for a +breath. It was a big depot and dump town--aeroplanes and everything +piled up in it. We were ordered onto demolition work, being as we was +still classed as non-combatants. I don't know how many billions of +dollars' worth of stuff we blew up and destroyed, but it seemed to me +there was no end of it. Fritz kept coming all the time and they hiked us +on to Aubercourt and then to Dormant, and each place we stopped and dug +trenches, and then they shoots us into camions and rushes us north to a +town not far out of Amiens. + +"With about forty men, we marched down the road, this time as +non-combatants no longer. We stopped just east of the village of +Marcelcave and dug a line of trenches across the road. We had twenty +machine guns and almost as many different kinds of ammunition as there +was different nationalities in our trench. Our position was the fifth +line of defence, we was told, but the guns kept getting closer and a +lot of that long range stuff was giving us hell. Near me there was a +squad of my men, one Chink, three Canadians, and we two Dublin +fusileers. + +"Then we begin to see our own guns, that is, British guns, beginning to +blow hell out of this here village of Marcelcave right in front of us. +It made me wild to see the artillery making a mistake like that, so I +says to one of these here Dublin fusileers: + +"'Whatinell's 'matter wid dose guns firing on our own men up there in +the village? If this is the fifth line, then that must be our fourth +line in the village?' + +"'Lad,' says the Dublin fusileer to me, 'I don't want to discourage you +for the life of me, but this only used to be the fifth line. We are in +the first line now and it's up to you and me and the Chink and the rest +of us to keep the Fritzes out of Amiens. At this moment we are all +that's between.' + +"We started to the machine guns and began pouring it in on 'em. The +minute some of 'em would start out of the town we would wither them. +Holy mother, but what a beautiful murder it was! + +"I didn't know then, and don't know yet, what has become of all the rest +of our officers and men, but I sorter felt like every shot I sent over +was paying 'em back for some of their dirty work. We kept handing it to +'em hot. You oughter seen that Chink talking Mongolian to a machine gun, +and, believe me, he sure made it understand him. I'm here to say that +when a Chink fights, he's a fighting son-of-a-gun and don't let anybody +kid you different. + +"Well, our little mob held 'em off till dark and then British Tommies +piled in and relieved us. We needed it because we hadn't had a bite in +seventy hours and I had been lying in the mud and water for twice that +time. Just before relief comes on, two skulking figures comes over the +top. I was thinking that maybe these was Hindus or Eskimos coming to +join our little international party and we shouts out to 'em and asks +'em where they hails from. Both of 'em yelled back, 'Kamerad,' and then +I knew that we'd not only held the fort, but had captured two prisoners +even if they was deserters. + +"I marched 'em back that night to the next town and took 'em into a +grocery store, where there was a lot of Tommies helping themselves to +the first meal in days. While we were eating bread and cheese and +sardines and also feeding me two prisoners, we talks to them and finds +out that, as far as they are concerned, the Kaiser will never get their +vote again. + +"One Tommy says to one of my prisoners: 'Kaiser no good--pas bon, ain't +it?' and the prisoner said, 'Yah,' and I shoved my elbow into his ribs +and right quick he said, 'Nein.' Then the Tommy said: 'Hindenburg dirty +rotter, nacy pa?' and the Fritz said, 'Yah. Nein,' and then looked at me +and said 'Yah' again. They was not bad prisoners and I marched 'em +twenty miles that night, just the three of us--two of them in front and +me in back with the rifle over me arm. + +"And the joke of it was that both of them could have taken the gun and +killed me any minute for all I could have done." + +"How do you figure that, Corporal?" I asked. + +For reply, Jimmy Brady drew from beneath the blankets a pair of knotted +hands with fingers and thumbs stiffened and bent in and obviously +impossible to use on a trigger. Brady is not in the hospital for wounds. +Four days and nights in water and mud in the battle of battles had +twisted and shrunken him with rheumatism. But he is one rheumatic who +helped to save Amiens. + + * * * * * + +Upon the heels of the German successes in Picardy, developments followed +fast. Principal among these, was the materialisation of a unified +command of all the armies of the Allies. General Ferdinand Foch was +selected and placed in supreme command of every fighting man under the +Allied flags. + +One of the events that led up to this long delayed action, was the +unprecedented action of General Pershing, when he turned over the +command of all the American forces in France to General Foch. He did +this with the words: + + "I come to say to you that the American people would hold it a great + honour for our troops were they engaged in the present battle. I ask + it of you in my name and in that of the American people. + + "There is at this moment no other question than that of fighting. + Infantry, artillery, aviation--all that we have are yours to dispose + of as you will. Others are coming which are as numerous as will be + necessary. I have come to say to you that the American people would + be proud to be engaged in the greatest battle in history." + +The action met with the unqualified endorsement of every officer and man +in the American forces. From that minute on, the American slogan in +France was "Let's go," and every regiment began to hope that it would be +among the American organisations selected to do battle with the German +in Picardy. Secretary of War Baker, then in France, expressed his +pleasure over General Pershing's unselfish offer with the following +public statement on Mar. 30th: + + "I am delighted with the prompt and effective action of General + Pershing in placing all American troops at the disposal of the + Allies in the present situation. His action will meet with hearty + approval in the United States, where the people desire their + Expeditionary Force to be of the utmost service to the common cause. + + "I have visited practically all the American troops in France, some + of them quite recently, and had an opportunity to observe the + enthusiasm with which the officers and men receive the announcement + that they may be used in the present conflict. Regiments to which + the announcement was made, broke spontaneously into cheers." + +Particularly were there cheers when the news spread through the ranks of +the First United States division, then on duty on the line in front of +Toul, that it had been the first American division chosen to go into +Picardy. I was fortunate enough to make arrangements to go with them. + +I rode out from old positions with the guns and boarded the troop train +which took our battery by devious routes to changes of scenery, +gratifying both to vision and spirit. We lived in our cars on tinned +meat and hard bread, washed down with swallows of _vin ordinaire_, +hurriedly purchased at station _buvettes_. The horses rode well. + +Officers and men, none of us cared for train schedule simply because +none of us knew where we were going, and little time was wasted in +conjecture. Soldierly curiosity was satisfied with the knowledge that we +were on our way, and with this satisfaction, the hours passed easily. +In fact, the blackjack game in the officers' compartment had reached the +point where the battery commander had garnered almost all of the French +paper money in sight, when our train passed slowly through the environs +of Paris. + +Other American troop trains had preceded us, because where the railroad +embankment ran close and parallel to the street of some nameless +Faubourg, our appearance was met with cheers and cries from a welcoming +regiment of Paris street gamins, who trotted in the street beside the +slow moving troop train and shouted and threw their hats and wooden +shoes in the air. Sous and fifty centime pieces and franc pieces +showered from the side doors of the horses' cars as American soldiers, +with typical disregard for the value of money, pitched coin after coin +to the scrambling mob of children. At least a hundred francs must have +been cast out upon those happy, romping waves of childish faces and +up-stretched dirty hands. + +"A soldier would give his shirt away," said a platoon commander, leaning +out of the window and watching the spectacle, and surreptitiously +pitching a few coins himself. "Hope we get out of this place before the +men pitch out a gun or a horse to that bunch. Happy little devils, +aren't they? It's great to think we are on our way up to meet their +daddies." + +Unnumbered hours more passed merrily in the troop train before we were +shunted into the siding of a little town. Work of unloading was started +and completed within an hour. Guns and wagons were unloaded on the quay, +while the animals were removed from the cars on movable runways or +ramps. As each gun or wagon reached the ground, its drivers hitched in +the horses and moved it away. Five minutes later we rode out of the +yards and down the main street of the town. + +Broad steel tires on the carriages of the heavies bumped and rumbled +over the clean cobbles and the horses pranced spryly to get the kinks +out of their legs, long fatigued from vibrations of the train. Women, +old and young, lined the curbs, smiling and throwing kisses, waving +handkerchiefs and aprons and begging for souvenirs. If every request for +a button had been complied with, our battery would have reached the +front with a shocking shortage of safety pins. + +Darkness came on and with it a fine rain, as we cleared the town and +halted on a level plain between soft fields of tender new wheat, which +the horses sensed and snorted to get at. In twenty minutes, Mess +Sergeant Kelly, from his high altar on the rolling kitchen, announced +that the last of hot coffee had been dispensed. Somewhere up ahead in +the darkness, battery bugle notes conveyed orders to prepare to mount. +With the rattle of equipment and the application of endearing epithets, +which horses unfortunately don't understand, we moved off at the sound +of "forward." + +Off on our left, a noiseless passenger train slid silently across the +rim of the valley, blue dimmed lights in its coach windows glowing like +a row of wet sulphur matches. Far off in the north, flutters of white +light flushed the night sky and an occasional grumbling of the distant +guns gave us our first impression of the battle of battles. Every man in +our battery tingled with the thrill. This was riding frontward with the +guns--this was rolling and rumbling on through the night up toward the +glare and glamour of war. I was riding beside the captain at the head of +the column. He broke silence. + +"It seems like a far cry from Honolulu with the moon playing through the +palm trees on the beach," he said quizzically, "to this place and these +scenes and events to-night, but a little thing like a flip of coin +decided it for me, and I'm blessing that coin to-night. + +"A year ago January, before we came into the war, I was stationed at San +Antonio. Another officer friend of mine was stationed there and one day +he received orders to report for duty at Honolulu. He had a girl in San +Antonio and didn't want to leave her and he knew I didn't have a girl +and didn't give a damn where I went, or was sent, so long as it was with +the army. He put up the proposition of mutual exchange being permitted +under regulations. + +"He wanted to take my place in San Antonio and give me his assignment in +Honolulu, which I must say looked mighty good in those days to anybody +who was tired of Texas. I didn't think then we'd ever come to war and +besides it didn't make much difference to me one way or the other where +I went. But instead of accepting the proposition right off the reel, I +told Jim we'd flip a coin to decide. + +"If it came tails, he would go to Honolulu. If it came heads, I would go +to Honolulu. He flipped. Tails won. I'm in France and poor Jim is out +there in Honolulu tending the Ukulele crop with prospects of having to +stay there for some time. Poor devil, I got a letter from him last week. + +"Do you know, man knows no keener joy in the world than that which I +have to-night. Here I am in France at the head of two hundred and fifty +men and horses and the guns and we're rolling up front to kick a dent in +history. The poor unfortunate that ain't in this fight has almost got +license to shoot himself. Life knows no keener joy than this." + +It was a long speech for our captain, but his words expressed not only +the feeling of our battery, but our whole regiment, from the humblest +wagon driver up to the colonel who, by the way, has just made himself +most unpopular with the regiment by being promoted to a Brigadier +Generalship. The colonel is passing upward to a higher command and the +regiment is sore on losing him. One of his humblest critics has +characterised the event as the "first rough trick the old man ever +pulled." + +Midnight passed and we were still wheeling our way through sleeping +villages, consulting maps under rays of flashlights, gathering +directions some of the time from mile posts and wall signs, and at other +times gaining knowledge of roads and turns and hills from sleepy heads +in curl wrappers that protruded from bedroom chambers and were +over-generous in advice. + +The animals were tired. Rain soaked the cigarettes and made them draw +badly. Above was drizzle and below was mud. There were a few grumbles, +but no man in our column would have traded places with a brother back +home even if offered a farm to boot. + +It was after three in the morning when we parked the guns in front of a +chateau, brought forward some lagging combat wagons and discovered the +rolling kitchen had gone astray. In another hour the animals had been +unhitched but not unharnessed, fed and watered in darkness and the men, +in utter weariness, prepared to lie down and sleep anywhere. At this +juncture, word was passed through the sections that the battery would +get ready to move immediately. Orders were to clear the village by six +o'clock. Neither men nor horses were rested, but we moved out on time +and breakfasted on the road. + +The way seemed long, the roads bad and the guns heavy. But we were +passing through an Eden of beauty--green fields and rolling hills +crested by ancient chateaux. At times, the road wound down through +hillside orchards, white and pink with apple blooms. Fatigue was heavy +on man and beast, but I heard one walking cannoneer singing, "When It's +Apple Blossom-time in Normandie." Another rider in the column recalled +the time when his father used to give him ten cents for standing on the +bottom of an upturned tin basin and reciting, "Over the mountains +winding down, horse and foot into Frederickstown." + +"The jar of these guns as they grind over the gravel is enough to grind +the heart out of you," said a sweating cannoneer who was pressing a +helping shoulder to one of the heavies as we negotiated a steep hill. + +"What in hell you kicking about," said the man opposite. "Suppose you +was travelling with one of them guns the Germans are using on Paris--I +mean that old John J. Longdistance. You'd know what heavy guns are then. +They say that the gun's so big and takes so many horses to haul it, that +the man who drives the lead pair has never spent the night in the same +town with the fellow who rides wheel swing." + +A young reserve lieutenant with mind intensely on his work, combined for +my benefit his impressions of scenery with a lesson in artillery +location. His characterisation of the landscape was as technical as it +was unpoetical. + +"A great howitzer country," was the tenor of his remarks. "Look at the +bottom of that slide. Fine position for one fifty-five. Take that gully +over there. That's a beaut of a place. No use talking. Great howitzer +country." + +During the afternoon, a veterinarian turned over two horses to a French +peasant. One was exhausted and unable to proceed, and the other suffered +a bad hoof, which would require weeks for healing. News that both +animals were not going to be shot was received with joy by two men who +had ridden them. I saw them patting the disabled mounts affectionately +on the neck and heard one of them say, + +"'Salright, old timer--'salright. Frenchy here is going to take care of +you all right. Uncle Sam's paying the bill and I am coming back and get +you soon's we give Fritzie his bumps." + +An hour later, a young cannoneer gave in to fatigue and ignored orders +to the extent of reclining on gun trail and falling asleep. A rut in the +road made a stiff jolt, he rolled off and one ponderous wheel of the gun +carriage passed over him. One leg, one arm and two ribs were broken and +his feet crushed, was the doctor's verdict as the victim was carried +away in an ambulance. + +"He'll get better all right," said the medico, "but he's finished his +bit in the army." + +The column halted for lunch outside of a small town and I climbed on +foot to the hilltop castle where mediaeval and modern were mixed in mute +melange. A drawbridge crossed a long dry moat to cracked walls of rock +covered with ivy. For all its well preserved signs of artistic ruin, it +was occupied and well fitted within. From the topmost parapet of one +rickety looking tower, a wire stretched out through the air to an old, +ruined mill which was surmounted by a modern wind motor, the tail of +which incongruously advertised the words "Ideal power," with the +typical conspicuity of American salesmanship. + +Near the base of the old mill was another jumble of moss-covered rocks, +now used as a summer house, but open on all sides. At a table in the +centre of this open structure, sat a blond haired young American soldier +with black receivers clamped to either ear. I approached and watched him +jotting down words on a paper pad before him. After several minutes of +intent silence, he removed the harness from his head and told me that he +belonged to the wireless outfit with the artillery and this station had +been in operation since the day before. + +"Seems so peaceful here with the sun streaming down over these old +walls," he said. + +"What do you hear out of the air?" I asked. + +"Oh, we pick up a lot of junk," he replied, "I'm waiting for the German +communique now. Here's some Spanish stuff I just picked up and some more +junk in French. The English stations haven't started this afternoon. A +few minutes ago I heard a German aeroplane signalling by wireless to a +German battery and directing its fire. I could tell every time the gun +was ordered to fire and every time the aviator said the shot was short +or over. It's kinder funny to sit back here in quiet and listen in the +war, isn't it?" I agreed it was weird and it was. + +In darkness again at the end of a hard day on the road, we parked the +guns that night in a little village which was headquarters for our +regiment and where I spent the night writing by an old oil lamp in the +Mayor's office. A former Chicago bellhop who spoke better Italian than +English and naturally should, was sleeping on a blanket roll on the +floor near me. On the walls of the room were posted numerous flag-decked +proclamations, some now yellow with the time that had passed over them +since their issue back in 1914. They pertained to the mobilisation of +the men of the village, men whose names remain now only as a memory. + +But in their place was the new khaki-clad Chicago bellhop snoring there +on the floor and several thousand more as sturdy and ready as he, all +billeted within a stone's throw of that room. They were here to finish +the fight begun by those village peasants who had marched away four +years before when the Mayor of the town posted that bulletin. These +Americans stood ready to go down to honoured graves beside them. + +Our division was under the French high command and was buried in the +midst of the mighty preparations then on foot. Our ranks were full, our +numbers strong, our morale high. Every officer and man in the +organisation had the feeling that the eyes of dashing French +comrades-in-arms and hard fighting British brothers were on them. Our +inspiration was in the belief that the attention of the Allied nations +of the world and more particularly the hope and pride of our own people +across the sea, was centred upon us. With that sacred feeling, the first +division stood resolute to meet the test. + +Some of the disquieting news then prevalent in the nervous civilian +areas back of the lines, reached us, but its effect, as far as I could +see, was nil. Our officers and men were as unconcerned about the reports +of enemy successes as though we were children in the nursery of a +burning house and the neighbourhood was ringing with fire alarms. German +advances before Amiens, enemy rushes gaining gory ground in Flanders, +carried no shock to the high resolve that existed in the Allied reserves +of which we were a part. + +Our army knew nothing but confidence. If there was other than optimism +to be derived from the current events, then our army was inclined to +consider such a result as gratifying, because it could be calculated to +create a greater measure of speed and assistance from the slowly +functioning powers in America. The reasoning was that any possible +pessimism would hurry to the wheel every American shoulder that had +failed to take up its individual war burden under the wave of optimism. +The army had another reason for its optimism. Our officers knew +something about the dark days that had preceded the first battle at the +Marne. They were familiar with the gloomy outlook in 1914 that had led +to the hurried removal of the French government from Paris to Bordeaux. +Our men recalled how the enemy was then overrunning Belgium, how the old +British "Contemptibles" were in retreat, and how the German was within +twenty miles of the French capital. + +In that crisis had come the message by Foch and the brilliant stroke +with which he backed it up. What followed was the tumble and collapse of +the straddling German effort and the forced transformation in the +enemy's plans from a war of six weeks to a war of four years. + +Our army knew the man who turned the trick at the Marne. We knew that we +were under his command, and not the slightest doubt existed but that it +was now our destiny to take part in another play of the cards which +would call and cash the German hand. Our forces in the coming +engagements were staking their lives, to a man, on Foch's ace in the +hole. + +That was the deadly earnestness of our army's confidence in Foch. The +capture of a hill top in Picardy or the loss of a village in Flanders +had no effect upon that confidence. It found reinforcement in the +belief that since March 21st, America had gained a newer and keener +appreciation of her part in the war. + +Our army began to feel that the American people, more than three +thousand miles away from the battle fronts, would have a better +understanding of the intense meaning that had been already conveyed in +General Pershing's words, "Confidence is needed but overconfidence is +dangerous." In other words, our soldiers in the field began to feel that +home tendencies that underrated the enemy's strength and underestimated +the effort necessary to overcome him, had been corrected. The army had +long felt that such tendencies had made good material for Billy Sunday's +sermons and spread-eagle speeches, but they hadn't loaded guns or placed +men in the front line. + +We felt that this crisis had brought to America a better realisation of +the fact that Germany had not been beaten and that she was yet to be +beaten and that America's share in the administration of that beating +would have to be greater and more determined than had heretofore been +deemed necessary. It was the hope of the army that this realisation +would reach the people with a shock. Shocks were known to make +realisations less easy to forget. Forgetfulness from then on might have +meant Allied defeat. + +Lagging memories found no billet in the personnel of that First +Division. Its records, registering five hundred casualties, kept in mind +the fact that the division had seen service on the line and still had +scores to settle with the enemy. + +Its officers and men, with but few exceptions, had undergone their +baptism in German fire and had found the experience not distasteful. The +division had esprit which made the members of every regiment and +brigade in it vie with the members of any other regiment and brigade. +If you had asked any enlisted man in the division, he would have told +you that his company, battery, regiment or brigade "had it all over the +rest of them." + +That was the feeling that our division brought with them when we marched +into Picardy to meet the German push. That was the spirit that dominated +officers and men during the ten days that we spent in manoeuvres and +preparations in that concentration area in the vicinity of the ancient +town of Chaumont-en-Vexin in the department of the Oise. It was the +feeling that made us anxious and eager to move on up to the actual +front. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +UNDER FIRE + + +On the day before our departure for the front from the concentration +area in Picardy, every officer in the division, and they numbered almost +a thousand, was summoned to the temporary divisional headquarters, where +General Pershing addressed to them remarks which have since become known +as the commander's "farewell to the First." We had passed out from his +command and from then on our orders were to come from the commander of +the French army to which the division was to be attached. + +General Pershing stood on a mound at the rear of a beautiful chateau of +Norman architecture, the Chateau du Jard, located on the edge of the +town of Chaumont-en-Vexin. The officers ranged themselves in informal +rows on the grass. Birds were singing somewhere above in the dense, +green foliage, and sunlight was filtering through the leaves of the +giant trees. + +The American commander spoke of the traditions which every American +soldier should remember in the coming trials. He referred to the +opportunity then present for us, whose fathers established liberty in +the New World, now to assist the Old World in throwing off its yoke of +tyranny. Throughout this touching farewell to the men he had trained--to +his men then leaving for scenes from which some of them would never +return--the commander's voice never betrayed the depth of feeling behind +it. + +That night we made final arrangements for the morrow's move. I +travelled with the artillery where orders were received for the +reduction of all packs to the lightest possible as all men would be +dismounted and the baggage wagons would be reserved for food, ammunition +and officers' luggage only. Officers' packs, by the same order, had to +shrink from one hundred and fifty pounds to twenty. + +There were many misgivings that night as owners were forced to discard +cherished belongings. Cumbersome camp paraphernalia, rubber bathtubs, +pneumatic mattresses, extra blankets, socks, sweaters, etc., all parted +company from erstwhile owners. That order caused many a heart-break and +the abandonment of thousands of dollars' worth of personal equipment in +our area. + +I have no doubt that some of the village maidens were surprised at the +remarkable generosity of officers and men who presented them with +expensive toilet sets. Marie at the village _estaminet_ received five of +them all fitted in neat leather rolls and inscribed with as many +different sets of initials. The old men of the town gloried in the +sweaters, woollen socks and underwear. + +There was no chance to fudge on the slim baggage order. An officer, +bound by duty, weighed each officer's kit as it reached the baggage +wagons and those tipping the scales at more than the prescribed twenty +pounds, were thrown out entirely. I happened to be watching the loading +when it came turn for the regimental band to stow away its encased +instruments in one wagon. It must be remembered that musicians at the +front are stretcher bearers. The baggage judge lifted the case +containing the bass horn. + +"No horn in the world ever weighed that much," he said. "Open it up," +was the terse command. The case was opened and the base horn pulled out. +The baggage officer began operations on the funnel. I watched him +remove from the horn's interior two spare blankets, four pairs of socks, +an extra pair of pants and a carton of cigarettes. He then inserted his +arm up to the shoulder in the instrument's innards and brought forth two +apples, a small tin of blackberry jam and an egg wrapped in an +undershirt. + +The man who played the "umpah umpah" in the band was heartbroken. The +clarinet player, who had watched the operation and whose case followed +for inspection, saved the inspector trouble by removing an easily hidden +chain of sausage. I noticed one musician who was observing the ruthless +pillage but, strangely, his countenance was the opposite of the others. +He was actually smiling. I inquired the cause of his mirth. + +"When we packed up, those guys with the big hollow instruments all had +the laugh on me," he said. "Now I've got it on them. I play the +piccolo." + +All the mounted men under the rank of battery commanders were dismounted +in order to save the horses for any possibilities in the war of +movement. A dismounted artilleryman carrying a pack and also armed with +a rifle, is a most disconsolate subject to view just prior to setting +out for a long tramp. In his opinion, he has been reduced too near the +status of the despised doughboy. + +It really doesn't seem like artillery unless one has a horse to ride and +a saddle to strap one's pack on. In the lineup before we started, I saw +two of these gunners standing by weighted down with their cumbersome, +unaccustomed packs. They were backed against a stone wall and were +easing their burdens by resting the packs on the stone ledge. Another +one similarly burdened passed and, in a most serious tone, inquired: + +"Say, would either of you fellows like to buy another blanket roll?" The +reply of two dejected gunners would bar this story from publication. + +We were on the march early in the morning, but not without some initial +confusion by reason of the inevitable higher orders which always come at +the last minute to change programmes. On parallel roads through that +zone of unmarred beauty which the Normans knew, our columns swung along +the dusty highroads. + +There were many who held that America would not be thoroughly awake to +the full meaning of her participation in the war until the day there +came back from the battlefields a long list of casualties--a division +wiped out or decimated. Many had heard the opinions expressed in France +and many firmly believed that nothing short of such a shock would arouse +our nation to the exertion of the power and speed necessary to save the +Allied cause from defeat. + +On this march, that thought recurred to some and perhaps to many who +refrained soberly from placing it in words. I knew several in the +organisation who felt that we were on our way to that sacrifice. I can +not estimate in how many minds the thought became tangible, but among +several whom I heard seriously discussing the matter, I found a perfect +willingness on their part to meet the unknown--to march on to the +sacrifice with the feeling that if the loss of their life would help +bring about a greater prosecution of the war by our country, then they +would not have died in vain. + +If this was the underlying spirit, it had no effect whatever upon +outward appearances which could hardly be better described than with +Cliff Raymond's lilting words: "There are roses in their rifles just the +same." If this move was on to the sacrifice--if death awaited at the +end of the road, then those men were marching toward it with a song. + +It takes a hard march to test the morale of soldiers. When the feet are +road-sore, when the legs ache from the endless pounding of hobnails on +hard macadam, when the pack straps cut and burn to the shoulder blades, +and the tin hat weighs down like a crown of thorns, then keep your ear +open for a jest and if your hearing is rewarded, you will know that you +march with men. + +Many times that first day, those jests came to enliven dejected spirits +and put smiles on sweat-rinsed faces. I recall our battery as it +negotiated the steep hills. When the eight horses attached to the gun +carriages were struggling to pull them up the incline, a certain +subaltern with a voice slow, but damnably insistent, would sing out, +"Cannoneers, to the wheels." This reiterated command at every grade +forced aching shoulders already weary with their own burdens to strain +behind the heavy carriages and ease the pull on the animals. + +Once on a down grade, our way crossed the tracks of a narrow gauge +railroad. Not far from the crossing could be seen a dinky engine puffing +and snorting furiously in terrific effort to move up the hill its +attached train of loaded ammunition cars. The engine was having a hard +fight when some light-hearted weary one in our column gave voice to +something which brought up the smile. + +"Cannoneers, to the wheel!" was the shout and even the dignified +subaltern whose pet command was the butt of the exclamation, joined in +the wave of laughs that went down the line. + +An imposing chateau of the second empire now presided over by an +American heiress, the wife of a French officer, was regimental +headquarters that night. Its barns and outbuildings were the cleanest +in France according to individuals who had slept in so many barns that +they feel qualified to judge. + +"Painfully sanitary," said a young lieutenant, who remarked that the +tile floor might make a stable smell sweeter but it hardly offered the +slumbering possibilities of a straw shakedown. While the men arranged +their blankets in those quarters, the horses grazed and rolled in green +paddocks fenced with white painted rails. The cooks got busy with the +evening meal and the men off duty started exploring the two nearby +villages. + +For the American soldier, financial deals were always a part of these +explorations. It was seldom more than an hour after his arrival in a +populated village before the stock market and board of trade were in +full operation. These mobile establishments usually were set up in the +village square if headquarters did not happen to be located too close. +There were plenty to play the roles of bulls and bears; there was much +bidding and shouting of quotations. + +The dealings were not in bushels of wheat or shares in oils or rails. +Delicacies were the bartered commodities and of these, eggs were the +strongest. The German intelligence service could have found no surer way +to trace the peregrinations of American troops about France, than to +follow up the string of eggless villages they left behind them. + +As soon as billets were located, those without extra duty began the egg +canvass of the town. There was success for those who made the earliest +start and struck the section with the most prolific hens. Eggs were +bought at various prices before news of the American arrivals had caused +peasants to set up a new scale of charges. The usual late starter and +the victim of arrangements was the officer's striker who lost valuable +time by having to take care of his officer's luggage and get the latter +established in billets. It was then his duty to procure eggs for the +officer's mess. + +By that time, all natural egg sources had been obliterated and the only +available supply was cornered by the soldiers' board of trade. The +desired breakfast food could be obtained in that place only. It was the +last and only resort of the striker, who is euphoniously known as a dog +robber. In the board of trade he would find soldiers with helmets full +of eggs which could be bought at anywhere from two to three times their +original price. It was only by the payment of such prices that the +officer was able to get anything that could possibly leave a trace of +yellow on his chin. If there was a surplus, the soldiers themselves had +ample belt room to accommodate it. + +In one village tavern, I saw one soldier eat fourteen eggs which he +ordered Madame to fry in succession. I can believe it because I saw it. +Madame saw it also, but I feel that she did not believe her eyes. A +captain of the Judge Advocate's office also witnessed the gastronomic +feat. + +"Every one of those eggs was bought and paid for," he said. "Our +department handles claims for all stolen or destroyed property and we +have yet to receive the first claim from this town. Of course every one +knows that a hungry man will steal to eat and there are those who hold +that theft for the purpose of satisfying demands of the stomach is not +theft. But our records show that the American soldier in France is ready +to, willing to, and capable of buying what he needs outside of his +ration allowance. + +"We have some instances of stealing, but most of them are trivial. +Recently, we took from the pay of one whole battalion the cost of +thirty-one cheeses which were taken from a railroad restaurant counter. +The facts were that some of our troops en route were hungry and the +train was stopping only for five minutes and the woman behind the +counter didn't have time to even take, much less change, the money +offered, so the men grabbed the cheeses and ran out just in time to +board the train as it was moving off. + +"There was one case, though, in which Uncle Sam didn't have the heart to +charge any one. He paid the bill himself and maybe if you could send the +story back home, the citizens who paid it would get a laugh worth the +money. It happened during a recent cold spell when some of our troops +were coming from seaboard to the interior. They travelled in semi-opened +horse cars and it was cold, damn cold. + +"One of the trains stopped in front of a small railroad station and six +soldiers with cold hands and feet jumped from the car and entered the +waiting room, in the centre of which was a large square coal stove with +red hot sides. One man stood on another one's shoulders and disjointed +the stove pipe. At the same time, two others placed poles under the +bottom of the stove, lifted it off the floor and walked out of the room +with it. + +"They placed it in the horse car, stuck the pipe out of one door and +were warm for the remainder of the trip. It was the first time in the +history of that little village that anybody had ever stolen a red hot +stove. The French government, owning the railroads, made claim against +us for four hundred francs for the stove and eleven francs' worth of +coal in it. Uncle Sam paid the bill and was glad to do it. + +"I know of only one case to beat that one and that concerned an +infantryman who stole a hive full of honey and took the bees along with +it. The medical department handled one aspect of the case and the +provost marshal the other. The bees meted out some of the punishment and +we stung his pay for the costs." + +There was one thing, however, that men on the move found it most +difficult to steal and that was sleep. So at least it seemed the next +morning when we swung into the road at daybreak and continued our march +into the north. Much speculation went the rounds as to our destination. +The much debated question was as to whether our forces would be +incorporated with Foch's reserve armies and held in readiness for a +possible counter offensive, or whether we should be placed in one of the +line armies and assigned to holding a position in the path of the German +push. But all this conjecture resulted in nothing more than passing the +time. Our way led over byroads and side lanes which the French master of +circulation had laid down for us. + +Behind an active front, the French sanctified their main roads and +reserved them for the use of fast motor traffic and the rushing up of +supplies or reserves in cases of necessity. Thousands of poilus too old +for combat duty did the repair work on these main arteries. All minor +and slow moving traffic was side-tracked to keep the main line clear. At +times we were forced to cross the main highroads and then we encountered +the forward and backward stream of traffic to and from the front. At one +of those intersections, I sought the grass bank at the side of the road +for rest. Two interesting actors in this great drama were there before +me. One was an American soldier wearing a blue brassard with the white +letters M. P. He was a military policeman on duty as a road marker +whose function is to regulate traffic and prevent congestion. + +Beside him was seated a peculiar looking person whose knee length skirts +of khaki exposed legs encased in wrap puttees. A motor coat of yellow +leather and the visored cap of a British Tommy completed the costume. +The hair showing beneath the crown of the cap was rather long and +straight, but betrayed traces of having been recently close cropped. For +all her masculine appearance, she was French and the young road marker +was lavishing upon her everything he had gleaned in a Freshman year of +French in a Spokane high school. + +I offered my cigarette case and was surprised when the girl refrained. +That surprise increased when I saw her extract from a leather case of +her own a full fledged black cigar which she proceeded to light and +smoke with gusto. When I expressed my greater surprise, she increased it +by shrugging her shoulders prettily, plunging one gauntleted hand into a +side pocket and producing a pipe with a pouch of tobacco. + +There was nothing dainty about that pipe. It had no delicate amber stem +nor circlet of filigree gold. There was no meerschaum ornamentation. It +was just a good old Jimmy pipe with a full-grown cake in the black burnt +bowl, and a well bitten, hard rubber mouth piece. It looked like one of +those that father used to consent to have boiled once a year, after +mother had charged it with rotting the lace curtains. If war makes men +of peace-time citizens, then---- + +[Illustration: FIRST OF THE GREAT FRANCO-AMERICAN COUNTER-OFFENSIVE AT +CHATEAU-THIERRY. THE FRENCH BABY TANKS, KNOWN AS "CHARS D'ASSAUTS," +ENTERING THE WOOD OF VILLERS-COTTERETS, SOUTHWEST OF SOISSONS] + +[Illustration: YANKS AND POILUS VIEWING THE CITY OF CHATEAU-THIERRY, +WHERE, IN THE MIDDLE OF JULY, THE YANKS TURNED THE TIDE OF BATTLE +AGAINST THE HUNS] + +But she was a girl and her name was Yvonne. The red-winged letter on her +coat lapel placed her in the automobile service and the motor ambulance +stationed at the road side explained her special branch of work. She +inquired the meaning of my correspondent's insignia and then +explained that she had drawn pastelles for a Paris publication before +the war, but had been transporting _blesses_ since. The French lesson +proceeded and Spokane Steve and I learned from her that the longest word +in the French language is spelled "Anticonstitutionellement." I +expressed the hope that some day both of us would be able to pronounce +it. + +On the girl's right wrist was a silver chain bracelet with +identification disk. In response to our interested gaze, she exhibited +it to us, and upon her own volition, informed us that she was a +descendant of the same family as Jeanne d'Arc. Steve heard and winked to +me with a remark that they couldn't pull any stuff like that on anybody +from Spokane, because he had never heard that that Maid of Orleans had +been married. Yvonne must have understood the last word because she +explained forthwith that she had not claimed direct descendence from the +famous Jeanne, but from the same family. Steve looked her in the eye and +said, "Jay compraw." + +She explained the meaning of the small gold and silver medals suspended +from the bracelet. She detached two and presented them to us. One of +them bore in relief the image of a man in flowing robes carrying a child +on his shoulder, and the reverse depicted a tourist driving a motor +through hilly country. + +"That is St. Christophe," said Yvonne. "He is the patron saint of +travellers. His medal is good luck against accidents on the road. Here +is one of St. Elias. He is the new patron saint of the aviators. You +remember. Didn't he go to heaven in a fiery chariot, or fly up on golden +wings or something like that? Anyhow, all the aviators wear one of his +medals." + +St. Christophe was attached to my identification disk. Steve declared +infantrymen travelled too slowly ever to have anything happen to them +and that he was going to give his to a friend who drove a truck. When I +fell in line with the next passing battery and moved down the road, +Spokane Steve and the Yvonne of the family of Jeanne had launched into a +discussion of prize fighting and chewing tobacco. + + * * * * * + +In billets that night, in a village not far from Beauvais, the singing +contest for the prize of fifty dollars offered by the battalion +commander Major Robert R. McCormick was resumed with intense rivalry +between the tenors and basses of batteries A and B. A "B" Battery man +was croaking Annie Laurie, when an "A" Battery booster in the audience +remarked audibly, + +"Good Lord, I'd rather hear first call." First call is the bugle note +that disturbs sleep and starts the men on the next day's work. + +A worried lieutenant found me in the crowd around the rolling kitchen +and inquired: + +"Do you know whether there's a provost guard on that inn down the road?" +I couldn't inform him, but inquired the reason for his alarm. + +"I've got a hunch that the prune juice is running knee deep to-night," +he replied, "and I don't want any of my section trying to march +to-morrow with swelled heads." + +"Prune juice" is not slang. It is a veritable expression and anybody who +thinks that the favourite of the boarding house table cannot produce a +fermented article that is _tres fort_ in the way of a throat burner, is +greatly mistaken. In France the fermented juice of the prune is called +"water of life," but it carries a "dead to the world" kick. The simple +prune, which the army used to call "native son" by reason of its +California origin, now ranks with its most inebriating sisters of the +vine. + +The flow of _eau de vie_ must have been dammed at the inn. On the road +the next day, I saw a mule driver wearing a sixteen candle power black +eye. When I inquired the source of the lamp shade, he replied: + +"This is my first wound in the war of movement. Me and the cop had an +offensive down in that town that's spelt like Sissors but you say it +some other way." I knew he was thinking of Gisors. + +The third and fourth day's march brought us into regions nearer the +front, where the movement of refugees on the roads seemed greater, where +the roll of the guns came constantly from the north, where enemy motors +droned through the air on missions of frightfulness. + +There was a major in our regiment whose knowledge of French was confined +to the single affirmative exclamation, "Ah, oui." He worked this +expression constantly in the French conversation with a refugee woman +from the invaded districts. She with her children occupied one room in +the cottage. When the major started to leave, two days later, the +refugee woman addressed him in a reproving tone and with tears. He could +only reply with sympathetic "Ah, oui's," which seemed to make her all +the more frantic. + +An interpreter straightened matters out by informing the major that the +woman wanted to know why he was leaving without getting her furniture. + +"What furniture?" replied the puzzled major. + +"Why, she says," said the interpreter, "that you promised her you would +send three army trucks to her house back of the German lines and bring +all of her household goods to this side of the line. She says that she +explained all of it to you and you said, 'Ah, oui.'" + +The major has since abandoned the "ah, oui" habit. + +At one o'clock one morning, orders reached the battalion for +reconnaissance detail; each battery to be ready to take road by +daylight. We were off at break of day in motor trucks with a reel cart +of telephone wire hitched on behind. Thirty minutes later we rumbled +along roads under range of German field pieces and arrived in a village +designated as battalion headquarters to find that we were first to reach +the sector allotted for American occupation. The name of the town was +Serevilliers. + +Our ears did not delude us about the activity of the sector, but I found +that officers and men of the detail were inclined to accept the heavy +shelling in a non-committal manner until a French interpreter attached +to us remarked that artillery action in the sector was as intense as any +he had experienced at Verdun. + +If the ever present crash of shells reminded us that we were opposite +the peak of the German push, there was plenty of work to engage minds +that might otherwise have paid too much attention to the dangers of +their location. A chalk cellar with a vaulted ceiling and ventilators, +unfortunately opening on the enemy side of the upper structure, was +selected as the battalion command post. The men went to work immediately +to remove piles of dirty billeting straw under which was found glass, +china, silverware and family portraits, all of which had been hurriedly +buried by the owners of the house not two weeks before. + +While linemen planned communications, and battery officers surveyed gun +positions, the battalion commander and two orienting officers went +forward to the frontal zone to get the first look at our future targets +and establish observation posts from which our firing could be +directed. I accompanied the small party, which was led by a French +officer familiar with the sector. It was upon his advice that we left +the roads and took cuts across fields, avoiding the path and road +intersections and taking advantage of any shelter offered by the ground. + +Virgin fields on our way bore the enormous craters left by the explosion +of poorly directed German shells of heavy calibre. Orders were to throw +ourselves face downward upon the ground upon the sound of each +approaching missile. There is no text book logic on judging from the +sound of a shell whether it has your address written on it, but it is +surprising how quick that education may be obtained by experience. +Several hours of walking and dropping to the ground resulted in an +attuning of the ears which made it possible to judge approximately +whether that oncoming, whining, unseen thing from above would land +dangerously near or ineffectively far from us. The knowledge was common +to all of us and all of our ears were keenly tuned for the sounds. Time +after time the collective judgment and consequent prostration of the +entire party was proven well timed by the arrival of a shell +uncomfortably close. + +We gained a wooded hillside that bristled with busy French +seventy-fives, which the German tried in vain to locate with his +howitzer fire. We mounted a forest plateau, in the centre of which a +beautiful white chateau still held out against the enemy's best efforts +to locate it with his guns. One shell addressed in this special +direction fortunately announced its coming with such unmistakable +vehemence that our party all landed in the same shell hole at once. + +Every head was down when the explosion came. Branches and pieces of tree +trunk were whirled upward, and the air became populated with deadly +bumble bees and humming birds, for such is the sound that the shell +splinters make. When I essayed our shell hole afterward, I couldn't +fathom how five of us had managed to accommodate ourselves in it, but in +the rush of necessity, no difficulty had been found. + +Passing from the woods forward, one by one, over a bald field, we +skirted a village that was being heavily shelled, and reached a trench +on the side of the hill in direct view of the German positions. The +enemy partially occupied the ruined village of Cantigny not eight +hundred yards away, but our glasses were unable to pick up the trace of +a single person in the debris. French shells, arriving endlessly in the +village, shot geysers of dust and wreckage skyward. It was from this +village, several days later, that our infantry patrols brought in +several prisoners, all of whom were suffering from shell shock. But our +men in the village opposite underwent the same treatment at the hands of +the German artillery. + +It was true of this sector that what corresponded to the infantry front +line was a much safer place to be in than in the reserve positions, or +about the gun pits in villages or along roads in our back area. Front +line activity was something of minor consideration, as both sides seemed +to have greater interests at other points and, in addition to that, the +men of both sides were busy digging trenches and shelters. There were +numerous machine gun posts which swept with lead the indeterminate +region between the lines, and at night, patrols from both sides explored +as far as possible the holdings of the other side. + +Returning to the battalion headquarters that night by a route apparently +as popular to German artillery as was the one we used in the forenoon, +we found a telephone switchboard in full operation in the sub-cellar, +and mess headquarters established in a clean kitchen above the ground. +Food was served in the kitchen and we noticed that one door had suffered +some damage which had caused it to be boarded up and that the plaster +ceiling of the room was full of fresh holes and rents in a dozen places. +At every shock to the earth, a little stream of oats would come through +the holes from the attic above. These falling down on the officer's neck +in the midst of a meal, would have no effect other than causing him to +call for his helmet to ward off the cereal rain. + +We learned more about the sinister meaning of that broken door and the +ceiling holes when it became necessary later in the evening to move mess +to a safer location. The kitchen was located just thirty yards back of +the town cross roads and an unhealthy percentage of German shells that +missed the intersection caused too much interruption in our cook's work. + +We found that the mess room was vacant by reason of the fact that it had +become too unpleasant for French officers, who had relinquished it the +day before. We followed their suite and were not surprised when an +infantry battalion mess followed us into the kitchen and just one day +later, to the hour, followed us out of it. + +Lying on the floor in that chalk cellar that night and listening to the +pound of arriving shells on nearby cross roads and battery positions, we +estimated how long it would be before this little village would be +completely levelled to the ground. Already gables were disappearing from +houses, sturdy chimneys were toppling and stone walls were showing +jagged gaps. One whole wall of the village school had crumbled before +one blast, so that now the wooden desks and benches of the pupils and +their books and papers were exposed to view from the street. On the +blackboard was a penmanship model which read: + +"Let no day pass without having saved something." + +An officer came down the dark stone steps into the cellar, kicked off +his boots and lay down on some blankets in one corner. + +"I just heard some shells come in that didn't explode," I remarked. "Do +you know whether they were gas or duds?" + +"I don't know whether they were gas or not," he said, "but I do know +that that horse out in the yard is certainly getting ripe." + +The defunct animal referred to occupied an uncovered grave adjoining our +ventilator. Sleeping in a gas mask was not the most unpleasant form of +slumber. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +BEFORE CANTIGNY + + +It is strange how sleep can come at the front in surroundings not unlike +the interior of a boiler factory, but it does. I heard of no man who +slept in the cellars beneath the ruins of Serevilliers that night being +disturbed by the pounding of the shells and the jar of the ground, both +of which were ever present through our dormant senses. Stranger still +was the fact that at midnight when the shelling almost ceased, for small +intervals, almost every sleeper there present was aroused by the sudden +silence. When the shelling was resumed, sleep returned. + +"When I get back on the farm outside of Chicago," said one officer, "I +don't believe I will be able to sleep unless I get somebody to stand +under my window and shake a thunder sheet all night." + +It is also remarkable how the tired human, under such conditions, can +turn off the switch on an energetic imagination and resign himself +completely to fate. In those cellars that night, every man knew that one +direct hit of a "two ten" German shell on his particular cellar wall, +would mean taps for everybody in the cave. Such a possibility demands +consideration in the slowest moving minds. + +Mentalities and morale of varying calibre cogitate upon this matter at +varying lengths, but I doubt in the end if there is much difference in +the conclusion arrived at. Such reflections produce the inevitable +decision that if one particular shell is coming into your particular +abode, there is nothing you can do to keep it out, so "What the hell!" +You might just as well go to sleep and forget it because if it gets you, +you most probably will never know anything about it anyway. I believe +such is the philosophy of the shelled. + +It must have been three o'clock in the morning when a sputtering motor +cycle came to a stop in the shelter of our cellar door and a gas guard +standing there exchanged words with some one. It ended in the sound of +hobnails on the stone steps as the despatch rider descended, lighting +his way with the yellow shaft from an electric pocket lamp. + +"What is it?" inquired the Major, awakening and rolling over on his +side. + +"Just come from regimental headquarters," said the messenger. "I'm +carrying orders on to the next town. Adjutant gave me this letter to +deliver to you, sir. The Adjutant's compliments, sir, and apologies for +waking you, but he said the mail just arrived and the envelope looked +important and he thought you might like to get it right away." + +"Hmm," said the Major, weighing the official looking envelope in one +hand and observing both the American stamps in one corner and numerous +addresses to which the missive had been forwarded. He tore off one end +and extracted a sheet which he unfolded and read while the messenger +waited at his request. I was prepared to hear of a promotion order from +Washington and made ready to offer congratulations. The Major smiled and +tossed the paper over to me, at the same time reaching for a notebook +and fountain pen. + +"Hold a light for me," he said to the messenger as he sat on the edge of +the bed and began writing. "This is urgent and I will make answer now. +You will mail it at regimental headquarters." As his pen scratched +across the writing pad, I read the letter he had just received. The +stationery bore the heading of an alumni association of a well-known +eastern university. The contents ran as follows: + + "Dear Sir: What are you doing for your country? What are you doing + to help win the war? While our brave boys are in France facing the + Kaiser's shell and gas, the alumni association has directed me as + secretary to call upon all the old boys of the university and invite + them to do their bit for Uncle Sam's fighting men. We ask your + subscription to a fund which we are raising to send cigarettes to + young students of the university who are now serving with the + colours and who are so nobly maintaining the traditions of our Alma + Mater. Please fill out the enclosed blank, stating your profession + and present occupation. Fraternally yours, ---- Secretary." + +The Major was watching me with a smile as I concluded reading. + +"Here's my answer," he said, reading from a notebook leaf: + + "Your letter reached me to-night in a warm little village in France. + With regard to my present profession, will inform you that I am an + expert in ammunition trafficking and am at present occupied in + exporting large quantities of shells to Germany over the air route. + Please find enclosed check for fifty francs for cigarettes for + youngsters who, as you say, are so nobly upholding the sacred + traditions of our school. After all, we old boys should do something + to help along the cause. Yours to best the Kaiser. ----, Major. + ---- Field Artillery, U. S. A. On front in France." + +"I guess that ought to hold them," said the Major as he folded the +letter and addressed an envelope. It rather seemed to me that it would +but before I could finish the remark, the Major was back asleep in his +blankets. + +By daylight, I explored the town, noting the havoc wrought by the shells +that had arrived in the night. I had thought in seeing refugees moving +southward along the roads, that there was little variety of articles +related to human existence that they failed to carry away with them. But +one inspection of the abandoned abodes of the unfortunate peasants of +Serevilliers was enough to convince me of the greater variety of things +that had to be left behind. Old people have saving habits and the French +peasants pride themselves upon never throwing anything away. + +The cottage rooms were littered with the discarded clothing of all ages, +discarded but saved. Old shoes and dresses, ceremonial high hats and +frock coats, brought forth only for weddings or funerals, were mixed on +the floor with children's toys, prayer books and broken china. Shutters +and doors hung aslant by single hinges. In the village _estaminet_ much +mud had been tracked in by exploring feet and the red tiled floor was +littered with straw and pewter measuring mugs, dear to the heart of the +antiquary. + +The ivory balls were gone from the dust covered billiard table, but the +six American soldiers billeted in the cellar beneath had overcome this +discrepancy. They enjoyed after dinner billiards just the same with +three large wooden balls from a croquet court in the garden. A croquet +ball is a romping substitute when it hits the green cushions. + +That afternoon we laid more wire across fields to the next town to the +north. Men who do this job are, in my opinion, the most daring in any +organisation that depends for efficiency upon uninterrupted telephone +communication. For them, there is no shelter when a deluge of shells +pours upon a field across which their wire is laid. Without protection +of any kind from the flying steel splinters, they must go to that spot +to repair the cut wires and restore communication. During one of these +shelling spells, I reached cover of the road side _abri_ and prepared to +await clearer weather. + +In the distance, down the road, appeared a scudding cloud of dust. An +occasional shell dropping close on either side of the road seemed to add +speed to the apparition. As it drew closer, I could see that it was a +motor cycle of the three wheeled bathtub variety. The rider on the cycle +was bending close over his handle bars and apparently giving her all +there was in her, but the bulky figure that filled to overflowing the +side car, rode with his head well back. + +At every irregularity in the road, the bathtub contraption bounced on +its springs, bow and stern rising and falling like a small ship in a +rough sea. Its nearer approach revealed that the giant torso apparent +above its rim was encased in a double breasted khaki garment which might +have marked the wearer as either the master of a four in hand or a +Mississippi steamboat of the antebellum type. The enormous shoulders, +thus draped, were surmounted by a huge head, which by reason of its +rigid, backward, star-gazing position appeared mostly as chin and double +chin. The whole was topped by a huge fat cigar which sprouted upward +from the elevated chin and at times gave forth clouds like the forward +smoke-stack on the _Robert E. Lee_. + +I was trying to decide in my mind whether the elevated chin posture of +the passenger was the result of pride, bravado or a boil on the Adam's +apple, when the scudding comet reached the shelter of the protecting +bank in which was located the chiselled dog kennel that I occupied. As +the machine came to halt, the superior chin depressed itself ninety +degrees, and brought into view the smiling features of that smile-making +gentleman from Paducah--Mr. Irvin S. Cobb. Machine, rider and passenger +stopped for breath and I made bold to ask the intrepid humourist if he +suffered from a too keen sense of smell or a saw edge collar. + +"I haven't a sensitive nose, a saw edge collar or an inordinate +admiration for clouds," the creator of Judge Priest explained with +reference to his former stiff-necked pose, "but George here," waving to +the driver, "took a sudden inspiration for fast movement. The jolt +almost took my head off and the wind kept me from getting it back into +position. George stuck his spurs into this here flying bootblack stand +just about the time something landed near us that sounded like a kitchen +stove half loaded with window weights and window panes. I think George +made a record for this road. I've named it Buh-Looey Boulevard." + +When the strafing subsided we parted and I reached the next deserted +town without incident. It was almost the vesper hour or what had been +the allotted time for that rite in those parts when I entered the yard +of the village church, located in an exposed position at a cross roads +on the edge of the town. A sudden unmistakable whirr sounded above and I +threw myself on the ground just as the high velocity, small calibre +German shell registered a direct hit on the side of the nave where roof +and wall met. + +While steel splinters whistled through the air, an avalanche of slate +tiles slid down the slanting surface of the roof, and fell in a +clattering cascade on the graves in the yard below. I sought speedy +shelter in the lee of a tombstone. Several other shells had struck the +churchyard and one of them had landed on the final resting place of the +family of Roger La Porte. The massive marble slab which had sealed the +top of the sunken vault had been heaved aside and one wall was +shattered, leaving open to the gaze a cross section view of eight heavy +caskets lying in an orderly row. + +Nearby were fresh mounds of yellow earth, surmounted by now unpainted +wooden crosses on which were inscribed in pencil the names of French +soldiers with dates, indicating that their last sacrifice for the +tri-colour of la Patria had been made ten days prior. In the soil at the +head of each grave, an ordinary beer bottle had been planted neck +downward, and through the glass one could see the paper scroll on which +the name, rank and record of the dead man was preserved. While I +wondered at this prosaic method of identification, an American soldier +came around the corner of the church, lighted a cigarette and sat down +on an old tombstone. + +"Stick around if you want to hear something good," he said, "That is if +that last shell didn't bust the organ. There's a French poilu who has +come up here every afternoon at five o'clock for the last three days and +he plays the sweetest music on the organ. It certainly is great. Reminds +me of when I was an altar boy, back in St. Paul." + +We waited and soon there came from the rickety old organ loft the +soothing tones of an organ. The ancient pipes, sweetened by the +benedictions of ages, poured forth melody to the touch of one whose +playing was simple, but of the soul. We sat silently among the graves as +the rays of the dying sun brought to life new colouring in the leaded +windows of stained glass behind which a soldier of France swayed at the +ivory keyboard and with heavenly harmony ignored those things of death +and destruction that might arrive through the air any minute. + +My companion informed me that the poilu at the organ wore a uniform of +horizon blue which marked him as casual to this village, whose French +garrisons were Moroccans with the distinctive khaki worn by all French +colonials in service. The sign of the golden crescent on their collar +tabs identified them as children of Mahomet and one would have known as +much anyway upon seeing the use to which the large crucifix standing in +what was the market place had been put. + +So as not to impede traffic through the place, it had become necessary +to elevate the field telephone wires from the ground and send them +across the road overhead. The crucifix in the centre of the place had +presented itself as excellent support for this wire and the sons of the +prophet had utilised it with no intention of disrespect. The uplifted +right knee of the figure on the cross was insulated and wired. War, the +moderniser and mocker of Christ, seemed to have devised new pain for the +Teacher of Peace. The crucifixion had become the electrocution. + +At the foot of the cross had been nailed a rudely made sign conveying to +all who passed the French warning that this was an exposed crossing and +should be negotiated rapidly. Fifty yards away another board bore the +red letters R. A. S. and by following the direction indicated by arrows, +one arrived at the cellar in which the American doctor had established a +Relief Aid Station. The Medico had furnished his subterranean apartments +with furniture removed from the house above. + +"Might as well bring it down here and make the boys comfortable," he +said, "as to leave it up there and let shells make kindling out of it. +Funny thing about these cellars. Ones with western exposure--that is, +with doors and ventilators opening on the side away from the enemy seem +scarcest. That seems to have been enough to have revived all that talk +about German architects having had something to do with the erection of +those buildings before the war. You remember at one time it was said +that a number of houses on the front had been found to have plaster +walls on the side nearest the enemy and stone walls on the other side. +There might be something to it, but I doubt it." + +Across the street an American battalion headquarters had been +established on the first floor and in the basement of the house, which +appeared the most pretentious in the village. Telephone wires now +entered the building through broken window panes, and within maps had +been tacked to plaster walls and the furniture submitted to the hard +usage demanded by war. An old man conspicuous by his civilian clothes +wandered about the yard here and there, picking up some stray implement +or nick-nack, hanging it up on a wall or placing it carefully aside. + +"There's a tragedy," the battalion commander told me. "That man is mayor +of this town. He was forced to flee with the rest of the civilians. He +returned to-day to look over the ruins. This is his house we occupy. I +explained that much of it is as we found it, but that we undoubtedly +have broken some things. I could see that every broken chair and window +and plate meant a heart throb to him, but he only looked up at me with +his wrinkled old face and smiled as he said, 'It is all right, Monsieur. +I understand. _C'est la guerre._'" + +The old man opened one of his barn doors, revealing a floor littered +with straw and a fringe of hobnailed American boots. A night-working +detail was asleep in blankets. A sleepy voice growled out something +about closing the door again and the old man with a polite, +"_Pardonnez-moi, messieurs_," swung the wooden portal softly shut. His +home--his house--his barn--his straw--_c'est la guerre_. + +An evening meal of "corn willy" served on some of the Mayor's remaining +chinaware, was concluded by a final course of fresh spring onions. These +came from the Mayor's own garden just outside the door. As the cook +affirmed, it was no difficulty to gather them. + +"Every night Germans drop shells in the garden," he said. "I don't even +have to pull 'em. Just go out in the morning and pick 'em up off the +ground." + +I spent part of the night in gun pits along the road side, bordering the +town. This particular battery of heavies was engaged on a night long +programme of interdiction fire laid down with irregular intensity on +cross roads and communication points in the enemy's back areas. Under +screens of camouflage netting, these howitzers with mottled bores +squatting frog-like on their carriages, intermittently vomited flame, +red, green and orange. The detonations were ear-splitting and cannoneers +relieved the recurring shocks by clapping their hands to the sides of +their head and balancing on the toes each time the lanyard was pulled. + +Infantry reserves were swinging along in the road directly in back of +the guns. They were moving up to forward positions and they sang in an +undertone as they moved in open order. + + "Glor--ree--us, Glor--ree--us! + One keg of beer for the four of us. + Glory be to Mike there are no more of us, + For four of us can drink it all alone." + +Some of these marchers would come during an interval of silence to a +position on the road not ten feet from a darkened, camouflaged howitzer +just as it would shatter the air with a deafening crash. The suddenness +and unexpectedness of the detonation would make the marchers start and +jump involuntarily. Upon such occasions, the gun crews would laugh +heartily and indulge in good natured raillery with the infantrymen. + +"Whoa, Johnny Doughboy, don't you get frightened. We were just shipping +a load of sauerkraut to the Kaiser," said one ear-hardened gunner. +"Haven't you heard the orders against running your horses? Come down to +a gallop and take it easy." + +"Gwan, you leatherneck," returns an infantryman, "You smell like a +livery stable. Better trade that pitchfork for a bayonet and come on up +where there's some fighting." + +"Don't worry about the fighting, little doughboy," came another voice +from the dark gun pit. "This is a tray forte sector. If you don't get +killed the first eight days, the orders is to shoot you for loafing. +You're marching over what's called 'the road you don't come back on.'" + +A train of ammunition trucks, timed to arrive at the moment when the +road was unoccupied, put in appearance as the end of the infantry column +passed, and the captain in charge urged the men on to speedy unloading +and fumed over delays by reason of darkness. The men received big shells +in their arms and carried them to the roadside dumps where they were +piled in readiness for the guns. The road was in an exposed position and +this active battery was liable to draw enemy fire at any time, so the +ammunition train captain was anxious to get his charges away in a hurry. + +His fears were not without foundation, because in the midst of the +unloading, one German missile arrived in a nearby field and sprayed the +roadway with steel just as every one flattened out on the ground. Five +ammunition hustlers arose with minor cuts and one driver was swearing at +the shell fragment which had gone through the radiator of his truck and +liberated the water contents. The unloading was completed with all +speed, and the ammunition train moved off, towing a disabled truck. With +some of the gunners who had helped in unloading, I crawled into the +chalk dugout to share sleeping quarters in the straw. + +"What paper do you represent?" one man asked me as he sat in the straw, +unwrapping his puttees. I told him. + +"Do you want to know the most popular publication around this place?" he +asked, and I replied affirmatively. + +"It's called the _Daily Woollen Undershirt_," he said. "Haven't you seen +everybody sitting along the roadside reading theirs and trying to keep +up with things? Believe me, it's some reading-matter, too." + +"Don't let him kid you," said the section chief, "I haven't had to read +mine yet. The doctor fixed up the baths in town and yesterday he passed +around those flea charms. Have you seen them?" + +For our joint inspection there was passed the string necklace with two +linen tabs soaked in aromatic oil of cedar, while the section chief +gave an impromptu lecture on personal sanitation. It was concluded by a +peremptory order from without for extinction of all lights. The candle +stuck on the helmet top was snuffed and we lay down in darkness with the +guns booming away on either side. + + * * * * * + +Our positions were located in a country almost as new to war as were the +fields of Flanders in the fall of '14. A little over a month before it +had all been peaceful farming land, far behind the belligerent lines. +Upon our arrival, its sprouting fields of late wheat and oats were +untended and bearing their first harvest of shell craters. + +The abandoned villages now occupied by troops told once more the mute +tales of the homeless. The villagers, old men, old women and children, +had fled, driving before them their cows and farm animals even as they +themselves had been driven back by the train of German shells. In their +deserted cottages remained the fresh traces of their departure and the +ruthless rupturing of home ties, generations old. + +On every hand were evidences of the reborn war of semi-movement. One day +I would see a battery of light guns swing into position by a roadside, +see an observing officer mount by ladder to a tree top and direct the +firing of numberless rounds into the rumbling east. By the next morning, +they would have changed position, rumbled off to other parts, leaving +beside the road only the marks of their cannon wheels and mounds of +empty shell cases. + +Between our infantry lines and those of the German, there was yet to +grow the complete web of woven wire entanglements that marred the +landscapes on the long established fronts. Still standing, silent +sentinels over some of our front line positions were trees, church +steeples, dwellings and barns that as yet had not been levelled to the +ground. Dugouts had begun to show their entrances in the surface of the +ground and cross roads had started to sprout with rudely constructed +shelters. Fat sandbags were just taking the places of potted geraniums +on the sills of first floor windows. War's toll was being exacted daily, +but the country had yet to pay the full price. It was going through that +process of degeneration toward the stripped and barren but it still held +much of its erstwhile beauty. + +Those days before Cantigny were marked by particularly heavy artillery +fire. The ordnance duel was unrelenting and the daily exchange of shells +reached an aggregate far in excess of anything that the First Division +had ever experienced before. + +Nightly the back areas of the front were shattered with shells. The +German was much interested in preventing us from bringing up supplies +and munition. We manifested the same interest toward him. American +batteries firing at long range, harassed the road intersections behind +the enemy's line and wooded places where relief troops might have been +assembled under cover of darkness. The expenditure of shells was +enormous but it continued practically twenty-four hours a day. German +prisoners, shaking from the nervous effects of the pounding, certified +to the untiring efforts of our gunners. + +The small nameless village that we occupied almost opposite the German +position in Cantigny seemed to receive particular attention from the +enemy artillery. In retaliation, our guns almost levelled Cantigny and a +nearby village which the enemy occupied. Every hour, under the rain of +death, the work of digging was continued and the men doing it needed no +urging from their officers. There was something sinister and emphatic +about the whine of a "two ten German H. E." that inspired one with a +desire to start for the antipodes by the shortest and most direct route. + +The number of arrivals by way of the air in that particular village +every day numbered high in the thousands. Under such conditions, no +life-loving human could have failed to produce the last degree of +utility out of a spade. The continual dropping of shells in the ruins +and the unending fountains of chalk dust and dirt left little for the +imagination, but one officer told me that it reminded him of living in a +room where some one was eternally beating the carpet. + +This taste of the war of semi-movement was appreciated by the American +soldier. It had in it a dash of novelty, lacking in the position warfare +to which he had become accustomed in the mud and marsh of the Moselle +and the Meuse. For one thing, there were better and cleaner billets than +had ever been encountered before by our men. Fresh, unthrashed oats and +fragrant hay had been found in the hurriedly abandoned lofts back of the +line and in the caves and cellars nearer the front. + +In many places the men were sleeping on feather mattresses in +old-fashioned wooden bedsteads that had been removed from jeopardy above +ground to comparative safety below. Whole caves were furnished, and not +badly furnished, by this salvage of furniture, much of which would have +brought fancy prices in any collection of antiques. + +Forced to a recognition solely of intrinsic values, our men made prompt +utilisation of much of the material abandoned by the civilian +population. Home in the field is where a soldier sleeps and after all, +why not have it as comfortable as his surroundings will afford? Those +caves and vegetable cellars, many with walls and vaulted ceilings of +clean red brick or white blocks of chalk, constituted excellent shelters +from shell splinters and even protected the men from direct hits by +missiles of small calibre. + +Beyond the villages, our riflemen found protection in quickly scraped +holes in the ground. There were some trenches but they were not +contiguous. "No Man's Land" was an area of uncertain boundary. Our +gunners had quarters burrowed into the chalk not far from their gun +pits. All communication and the bringing up of shells and food were +conducted under cover of darkness. Under such conditions, we lived and +waited for the order to go forward. + +Our sector in that battle of the Somme was so situated that the opposing +lines ran north and south. The enemy was between us and the rising sun. +Behind our rear echelons was the main road between Amiens and Beauvais. +Amiens, the objective of the German drive, was thirty-five kilometres +away on our left, Beauvais was the same distance on our right and two +hours by train from Paris. + +We were eager for the fight. The graves of our dead dotted new fields in +France. We were holding with the French on the Picardy line. We were +between the Germans and the sea. We were before Cantigny. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE RUSH OF THE RAIDERS--"ZERO AT 2 A. M." + + +While the First U. S. Division was executing in Picardy a small, planned +operation which resulted in the capture of the German fortified +positions in the town of Cantigny, other American divisions at other +parts along the line were indulging in that most common of frontal +diversions--the raid. + +I was a party to one of these affairs on the Toul front. The 26th +Division, composed of National Guard troops from New England, made the +raid. On Memorial Day, I had seen those men of the Yankee Division +decorating the graves of their dead in a little cemetery back of the +line. By the dawning light of the next morning, I saw them come trooping +back across No Man's Land after successfully decorating the enemy +positions with German graves. + +It was evening when we dismissed our motor in the ruined village of +Hamondville and came into first contact with the American soldiers that +had been selected for the raid. Their engineers were at work in the +street connecting sections of long dynamite-loaded pipes which were to +be used to blast an ingress through the enemy's wire. In interested +circles about them were men who were to make the dash through the break +even before the smoke cleared and the debris ceased falling. They were +to be distinguished from the village garrison by the fact that the +helmets worn by the raiders were covered with burlap and some of them +had their faces blackened. + +In the failing evening light, we walked on through several heaps of +stone and rafters that had once been villages, and were stopped by a +military policeman who inquired in broad Irish brogue for our passes. +These meeting with his satisfaction, he advised us to avoid the road +ahead with its dangerous twist, known as "Dead Man's Curve," for the +reason that the enemy was at that minute placing his evening +contribution of shells in that vicinity. Acting on the policeman's +suggestion, we took a short cut across fields rich with shell holes. Old +craters were grown over with the grass and mustard flowers with which +this country abounds at this time of year. Newer punctures showed as +wounds in the yellow soil and contained pools of evil-smelling water, +green with scum. + +Under the protection of a ridge, which at least screened us from direct +enemy observation, we advanced toward the jagged skyline of a ruined +village on the crest. The odour of open graves befouled the sheltered +slope, indicating that enemy shells had penetrated its small protection +and disturbed the final dugouts of the fallen. + +Once in the village of Beaumont, we followed the winding duckboards and +were led by small signs painted on wood to the colonel's headquarters. +We descended the stone steps beneath a rickety looking ruin and entered. + +"Guests for our party," was the Colonel's greeting. The command post had +a long narrow interior which was well lighted but poorly ventilated, the +walls and floor were of wood and a low beamed ceiling was supported by +timbers. "Well, I think it will be a good show." + +"We are sending over a little party of new boys just for practice and a +'look-see' in Hunland. We have two companies in this regiment which feel +they've sorter been left out on most of the fun to date, so this affair +has been arranged for them. We put the plans together last week and +pushed the boys through three days of training for it back of the +lines. They're fit as fiddlers to-night and it looks like there'll be no +interruption to their pleasure. + +"No one man in the world, be he correspondent or soldier, could see +every angle of even so small a thing as a little raid like this," the +Colonel explained. "What you can't see you have got to imagine. I'm +suggesting that you stay right in here for the show. That telephone on +my adjutant's desk is the web centre of all things occurring in this +sector to-night and the closer you are to it, the more you can see and +learn. Lieutenant Warren will take you up the road first and give you a +look out of the observatory, so you'll know in what part of Germany our +tourists are going to explore." + +Darkness had fallen when we emerged, but there were sufficient stars out +to show up the outline of the gaping walls on either side of our way. We +passed a number of sentries and entered a black hole in the wall of a +ruin. After stumbling over the uneven floor in a darkened passage for +some minutes, we entered a small room where several officers were +gathered around a table on which two burning candles were stuck in +bottles. Our guide, stepping to one end of the room, pulled aside a +blanket curtain and passed through a narrow doorway. We followed. + +Up a narrow, steep, wooden stairway between two walls of solid masonry, +not over two feet apart, we passed, and arrived on a none too stable +wooded runway with a guide rail on either side. Looking up through the +ragged remains of the wooden roof frame, now almost nude of tiles, we +could see the starry sky. Proceeding along the runway, we arrived, +somewhere in that cluster of ruins, in a darkened chamber whose +interior blackness was relieved by a lighter slit, an opening facing +the enemy. + +Against the starry skyline, we could see the black outline of a flat +tableland in the left distance which we knew to be that part of the +heights of Meuse for whose commanding ridge there have been so many +violent contests between the close-locked lines in the forest of +Apremont. More to the centre of the picture, stood Mont Sec, detached +from the range and pushing its summit up through the lowland mist like +the dorsal fin of a porpoise in a calm sea. On the right the lowland +extended to indistinct distances, where it blended with the horizon. + +In all that expanse of quiet night, there was not a single flicker of +light, and at that time not a sound to indicate that unmentionable +numbers of our men were facing one another in parallel ditches across +the silent moor. + +"See that clump of trees way out there?" said the lieutenant, directing +our vision with his arm. "Now then, hold your hand at arm's length in +front of you, straight along a line from your eyes along the left edge +of your hand to that clump of trees. Now then, look right along the +right edge of your hand and you will be looking at Richecourt. The Boche +hold it. We go in on the right of that to-night." + +We looked as per instructions and saw nothing. As far as we were +concerned Richecourt was a daylight view, but these owls of the lookout +knew its location as well as they knew the streets of their native towns +back in New England. We returned to the colonel's command post, where +cots were provided, and we turned in for a few hours' sleep on the +promise of being called in time. + +It was 2 A. M. when we were summoned to command post for the colonel's +explanation of the night's plans. The regimental commander, smoking a +long pipe with a curved stem, sat in front of a map on which he +conducted the exposition. + +"Here," he said, placing his finger on a section of the line marking the +American trenches, "is the point of departure. That's the jumping off +place. These X marks running between the lines is the enemy wire, and +here, and here, and here are where we blow it up. We reach the German +trenches at these points and clean up. Then the men follow the enemy +communicating trenches, penetrate three hundred metres to the east edge +of Richecourt, and return. + +"Zero hour is 2:30. It's now 2:10. Our raiders have left their trenches +already. They are out in No Man's Land now. The engineers are with them +carrying explosives for the wire. There are stretcher bearers in the +party to bring back our wounded and also signal men right behind them +with wire and one telephone. The reports from that wire are relayed here +and we will also be kept informed by runners. The whole party has thirty +minutes in which to crawl forward and place explosives under the wire. +They will have things in readiness by 2:30 and then the show begins." + +Five minutes before the hour, I stepped out of the dugout and looked at +the silent sky toward the front. Not even a star shell disturbed the +blue black starlight. The guns were quiet. Five minutes more and all +this was to change into an inferno of sound and light, flash and crash. +There is always that minute of uncertainty before the raiding hour when +the tensity of the situation becomes almost painful. Has the enemy +happened to become aware of the plans? Have our men been deprived of the +needed element of surprise? But for the thousands of metres behind us, +we know that in black battery pits anxious crews are standing beside +their loaded pieces waiting to greet the tick of 2:30 with the jerk of +the lanyard. + +Suddenly the earth trembles. Through the dugout window facing back from +the lines, I see the night sky burst livid with light. A second later +and the crash reaches our ears. It is deafening. Now we hear the whine +of shells as they burn the air overhead. The telephone bell rings. + +"Yes, this is Boston," the Adjutant speaks into the receiver. We listen +breathlessly. Has something gone wrong at the last minute? + +"Right, I have it," said the Adjutant, hanging up the receiver and +turning to the Colonel; "X-4 reports barrage dropped on schedule." + +"Good," said the Colonel. "Gentlemen, here's what's happening. Our +shells are this minute falling all along the German front line, in front +of the part selected for the raid and on both flanks. Now then, this +section of the enemy's position is confined in a box barrage which is +pounding in his front and is placing a curtain of fire on his left and +his right and another in his rear. Any German within the confines of +that box trying to get out will have a damn hard time and so will any +who try to come through it to help him." + +"Boston talking," the Adjutant is making answer over the telephone. He +repeats the message. "233, all the wire blown up, right." + +"Fine," says the Colonel. "Now they are advancing and right in front of +them is another rolling barrage of shells which is creeping forward on +the German lines at the same pace our men are walking. They are walking +in extended order behind it. At the same time our artillery has taken +care of the enemy's guns by this time so that no German barrage will be +able to come down on our raiders. Our guns for the last three minutes +have been dumping gas and high explosives on every battery position +behind the German lines. That's called 'Neutralisation.'" + +"Boston talking." The room grows quiet again as the Adjutant takes the +message. + +"2:36. Y-1 reports O. K." + +"Everything fine and dandy," the Colonel observes, smiling. + +"Boston talking." There is a pause. + +"2:39. G-7 reports sending up three red rockets east of A-19. The +operator thinks it's a signal for outposts to withdraw and also for +counter barrage." + +"Too late," snaps the Colonel. "There's a reception committee in Hades +waiting for 'em right now." + +At 2:40 the dugout door opens and in walks Doc Comfort from the Red +Cross First Aid Station across the road. + +"Certainly is a pretty sight, Colonel. Fritzies' front door is lit up +like a cathedral at high mass." + +At 2:41. "A very good beginning," remarks a short, fat French Major who +sits beside the Colonel. He represents the French army corps. + +2:43. "Boston talking,--Lieutenant Kernan reports everything quiet in +his sector." + +2:45. "Boston talking," the Adjutant turns to the Colonel and repeats, +"Pittsburgh wants to know if there's much coming in here." + +"Tell them nothing to amount to anything," replies the Colonel and the +Adjutant repeats the message over the wire. As he finished, one German +shell did land so close to the dugout that the door blew open. The +officer stepped to the opening and called out into the darkness. + +"Gas guard. Smell anything?" + +"Nothing, sir. Think they are only high explosives." + +2:47. "Boston talking--enemy sent up one red, one green rocket and then +three green rockets from B-14," the Adjutant repeats. + +"Where is that report from?" asks the Colonel. + +"The operator at Jamestown, sir," replies the Adjutant. + +"Be ready for some gas, gentlemen," says the Colonel. "I think that's +Fritzie's order for the stink. Orderly, put down gas covers on the doors +and windows." + +I watched the man unroll the chemically dampened blankets over the doors +and windows. + +2:49. "Boston talking--23 calls for barrage." + +The Colonel and Major turn immediately to the wall map, placing a finger +on 23 position. + +"Hum," says the Colonel. "Counter attack, hey? Well, the barrage will +take care of them, but get me Watson on the line." + +"Connect me with Nantucket," the Adjutant asks the operator. "Hello, +Watson, just a minute," turning to Colonel, "here's Watson, sir." + +"Hello, Watson," the Colonel says, taking the receiver. "This is Yellow +Jacket. Watch out for counter attack against 23. Place your men in +readiness and be prepared to support Michel on your right. That's all," +returning 'phone to the Adjutant, "Get me Mr. Lake." + +While the Adjutant made the connection, the Colonel explained quickly +the planned flanking movement on the map. "If they come over there," he +said to the French Major, "not a God-damn one of them will ever get back +alive." + +The French Major made a note in his report book. + +"Hello, Lake," the Colonel says, taking the 'phone. "This is Yellow +Jacket. Keep your runners in close touch with Michel and Watson. Call me +if anything happens. That's all." + +3:00. "Boston talking--G-2 reports all O.K. Still waiting for the +message from Worth." + +3:02. "Storming party reports unhindered progress. No enemy encountered +yet." + +This was the first message back from the raiders. It had been sent over +the wire and the instruments they carried with them and then relayed to +the Colonel's command post. + +"_Magnifique_," says the French Major. + +3:04. "Boston talking. X-10 reports gas in Bois des Seicheprey." + +3:05. "Boston talking. Hello, yes, nothing coming in here to amount to +anything. Just had a gas warning but none arrived yet." + +3:07. "Boston talking,----Yes, all right" (turning to Colonel), +"operator just received message from storming party 'so far so good.'" + +"Not so bad for thirty-seven minutes after opening of the operation," +remarks the Colonel. + +"What is 'so far so good'?" inquires the French Major, whose knowledge +of English did not extend to idioms. Some one explained. + +3:09. "Boston talking--Watson reports all quiet around 23 now." + +"Guess that barrage changed their minds," remarks the Colonel. + +With gas mask at alert, I walked out for a breath of fresh air. The +atmosphere in a crowded dugout is stifling. From guns still roaring in +the rear and from in front came the trampling sound of shells arriving +on German positions. The first hints of dawn were in the sky. I +returned in time to note the hour and hear: + +3:18. "Boston talking--O-P reports enemy dropping line of shells from +B-4 to B-8." + +"Trying to get the boys coming back, hey?" remarks the Colonel. "A fat +chance. They're not coming back that way." + +3:21. "Boston talking--23 reports that the barrage called for in their +sector was because the enemy had advanced within two hundred yards of +his first position. Evidently they wanted to start something, but the +barrage nipped them and they fell back fast." + +"Perfect," says the French Major. + +3:25. "Boston talking--two green and two red rockets were sent up by the +enemy from behind Richecourt." + +"Hell with 'em, now," the Colonel remarks. + +3:28. "Boston talking--all O. K. in Z-2. Still waiting to hear from +Michel." + +"I rather wish they had developed their counter attack," says the +Colonel. "I have a reserve that would certainly give them an awful +wallop." + +3:30. "Boston talking--more gas in Bois des Seicheprey." + +3:33. "Boston talking--white stars reported from Richecourt." + +"They must be on their way back by this time," says the Colonel, looking +at his watch. + +3:37. "Boston talking,--enemy now shelling on the north edge of the +town. A little gas." + +3:40. "Boston talking--X-1 reports some enemy long range retaliation on +our right. + +"They'd better come back the other way," says the Colonel. + +"That was the intention, sir," the lieutenant reported from across the +room. + +3:42. "Boston talking--signalman with the party reports everything O. +K." + +"We don't know yet whether they have had any losses or got any +prisoners," the Colonel remarks. "But the mechanism seems to have +functioned just as well as it did in the last raid. We didn't get a +prisoner that time, but I sorter feel that the boys will bring back a +couple with them to-night." + +3:49. "Boston talking--G-9 reports some of the raiding party has +returned and passed that point." + +"Came back pretty quick, don't you think so, Major?" said the Colonel +with some pride. "Must have returned over the top." + +It is 3:55 when we hear fast footsteps on the stone stairs leading down +to the dugout entrance. There is a sharp rap on the door followed by the +Colonel's command, "Come in." + +A medium height private of stocky build, with shoulders heaving from +laboured breathing and face wet with sweat, enters. He removes his +helmet, revealing disordered blonde hair. He faces the Colonel and +salutes. + +"Sir, Sergeant Ransom reports with message from Liaison officer. All +groups reached the objectives. No enemy encountered on the right, but a +party on the left is believed to be returning with prisoners. We blew up +their dugouts and left their front line in flames." + +"Good work, boy," says the Colonel, rising and shaking the runner's +hand. "You got here damn quick. Did you come by the Lincoln trench?" + +"No, sir, I came over the top from the battalion post. Would have been +here quicker, but two of us had to carry back one boy to that point +before I could get relieved." + +"Wounded?" + +"No, sir,--dead." + +"Who was it?" asks the young lieutenant. + +"Private Kater, sir, my squad mate." + +As the sergeant raised his hand in parting salute, all of us saw +suspended from his right wrist a most formidable weapon, apparently of +his own construction. It was a pick handle with a heavy iron knob on one +end and the same end cushioned with a mass of barbed wire rolled up like +a ball of yarn. He smiled as he noticed our gaze. + +"It's the persuader, sir," he said. "We all carried them." + +He had hardly quitted the door when another heavily breathing figure +with shirt half torn off by barbed wire appeared. + +"K Company got there, sir; beg pardon, sir. I mean sir, Sergeant Wiltur +reports, sir, with message from Liaison officer. All groups reached the +objectives. They left their dugouts blazing and brought back one machine +gun and three prisoners." + +"Very good, Sergeant," said the Colonel. "Orderly, get some coffee for +these runners." + +"I'd like to see the doctor first, sir," said the runner with the torn +shirt. "Got my hand and arm cut in the wire." + +"Very well," said the Colonel, turning to the rest of the party, "I knew +my boys would bring back bacon." + +More footsteps on the entrance stairway and two men entered carrying +something between them. Sweat had streaked through the charcoal coating +on their faces leaving striped zebra-like countenances. + +"Lieutenant Burlon's compliments, sir," said the first man. "Here's one +of their machine guns." + +"Who got it?" inquired the Colonel. + +"Me and him, sir." + +"How did you get it?" + +"We just rolled 'em off it and took it." + +"Rolled who off of it?" + +"Two Germans, sir." + +"What were they doing all that time?" + +"Why, sir, they weren't doing anything. They were dead." + +"Oh, very well, then," said the Colonel. "How did you happen to find the +machine gun?" + +"We knew where it was before we went over, sir," said the man simply. +"We were assigned to get it and bring it back. We expected we'd have to +fight for it, but I guess our barrage laid out the crew. Anyhow we +rushed to the position and found them dead." + +"All right," said the Colonel, "return to your platoon. Leave the gun +here. It will be returned to you later and will be your property." + +I went out with the machine gun captors and walked with them to the +road. There was the hum of motors high overhead and we knew that +American planes were above, going forward to observe and photograph +German positions before the effects of our bombardments could be +repaired. A line of flame and smoke pouring up from the enemy's front +line showed where their dugouts and shelters were still burning. + +Daylight was pouring down on a ruined village street, up which marched +the returning raiders without thought of order. They were a happy, +gleeful party, with helmets tipped back from their young faces wet and +dirty, with rifles swung over their shoulders and the persuaders +dangling from their wrists. Most of them were up to their knees and +their wrap puttees were mostly in tatters from the contact with the +entanglements through which they had penetrated. + +As they approached, I saw the cause for some of the jocularity. It was a +chubby, little, boyish figure, who sat perched up on the right shoulder +of a tall, husky Irish sergeant. The figure steadied itself by grasping +the sergeant's helmet with his left hand. The sergeant steadied him by +holding one right arm around his legs. + +But there was no smile on the face of the thus transformed object. His +chubby countenance was one of easily understood concern. He was not a +day over sixteen years and this was quite some experience for him. He +was one of the German prisoners and these happy youngsters from across +the seas were bringing him in almost with as much importance as though +he had been a football hero. He was unhurt and it was unnecessary to +carry him, but this tribute was voluntarily added, not only as an +indication of extreme interest, but to reassure the juvenile captive of +the kindly intentions of his captors. + +"Jiggers, here's the Colonel's dugout," one voice shouted. "Put him down +to walk, now." + +The big sergeant acted on the suggestion and the little Fritz was +lowered to the ground. He immediately caught step with the big sergeant +and took up the latter's long stride with his short legs and feet +encased in clumsy German boots. His soiled uniform had been the German +field grey green. His helmet was gone but he wore well back on his head +the flat round cloth cap. With his fat cheeks he looked like a typical +baker's boy, and one almost expected to see him carrying a tray of rolls +on his head. + +"For the luva Mike, Tim," shouted an ambulance man, "do you call that a +prisoner?" + +"Sure he does look like a half portion," replied Sergeant Tim with a +smile. "We got two hundred francs for a whole one. I don't know what we +can cash this one in for." + +"He ought to be worth more," some one said; "that barrage cost a million +dollars. He's the million dollar baby of the raid." + +"Sergeant, I'm not kidding," came one serious voice. "Why turn him in as +a prisoner? I like the kid's looks. Why can't we keep him for the +company mascot?" + +The discussion ended when the Sergeant and his small charge disappeared +in the Colonel's quarters for the inevitable questioning that all +prisoners must go through. Several wounded were lying on the stretchers +in front of the first aid dugout waiting for returning ambulances and +passing the time meanwhile by smoking cigarettes and explaining how +close each of them had been to the shell that exploded and "got 'em." + +But little of the talk was devoted to themselves. They were all praise +for the little chaplain from New England who, without arms, went over +the top with "his boys" and came back with them. It was their opinion +that their regiment had some sky pilot. And it was mine, also. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +ON LEAVE IN PARIS + + +"So this--is Paris,"--this observation spoken in mock seriousness, in a +George Cohan nasal drawl and accompanied by a stiff and stagy wave of +the arm, was the customary facetious pass-word with which American +soldiers on leave or on mission announced their presence in the capital +of France. + +Paris, the beautiful--Paris, the gay--Paris, the historical--Paris, the +artistic--Paris, the only Paris, opened her arms to the American soldier +and proceeded toward his enlightenment and entertainment on the sole +policy that nothing was too good for him. + +I saw the first American soldiers under arms reach Paris. It was early +in the morning of July 3rd, 1917, when this first American troop train +pulled into the Gare d'Austerlitz. It was early in the morning, yet +Paris was there to give them a welcome. The streets outside the station +were jammed with crowds. They had seen Pershing; they had seen our staff +officers and headquarters details, but now they wanted to see the type +of our actual fighting men--they wanted to see the American poilus--the +men who were to carry the Stars and Stripes over the top. + +The men left the cars and lined up in the station yard. It had been a +long, fifteen hour night ride and the cramped quarters of the troop +train had permitted but little sleep. There was no opportunity for them +to breakfast or wash before they were put on exhibition. Naturally, they +were somewhat nervous. + +The standing line was ordered to produce its mess cups and hold them +forward. Down the line came a bevy of pretty French girls, wearing the +uniform of Red Cross nurses. They carried canisters of black coffee and +baskets of cigarettes. They ladled out steaming cupfuls of the black +liquid to the men. The incident gave our men their first surprise. + +Rum or alcohol has never been a part of the United States army ration. +In the memory of the oldest old-timers in the ranks of our old regular +army, "joy water" had never been issued. On the other hand, its use had +always been strictly forbidden in the company messes. Our men never +expected it. Thus it was that, with no other idea occurring to them, +they extended their mess cups to be filled with what they thought was +simply strong hot coffee. Not one of them had the slightest suspicion +that the French cooks who had prepared that coffee for their new +American brothers in arms, had put a stick in it--had added just that +portion of cognac which they had considered necessary to open a man's +eyes and make him pick up his heels after a long night in a troop train. + +I watched one old-timer in the ranks as he lifted the tin cup to his +lips and took the initial gulp. Then he lowered the cup. Across his face +there dawned first an expression of curious suspicion, then a look of +satisfied recognition, and then a smile of pleased surprise, which he +followed with an audible smacking of the lips. He finished the cup and +allowed quite casually that he could stand another. + +"So this is Paris,"--well, it wasn't half bad to start with. With that +"coffee" under their belts, the men responded snappily to the march +order, and in column of four, they swung into line and moved out of the +station yard, at the heels of their own band, which played a stirring +marching air. + +Paris claimed them for her own. All that the war had left of Paris' gay +life, all the lights that still burned, all the music that still played, +all the pretty smiles that had never been reduced in their quality or +quantity, all that Paris had to make one care-free and glad to be +alive--all belonged that day to that pioneer band of American +infantrymen. + +The women kissed them on the street. Grey-headed men removed their hats +to them and shook their hands and street boys followed in groups at +their heels making the air ring with shrill "Vive's." There were not +many of them, only three companies. The men looked trim and clean-cut. +They were tall and husky-looking and the snap with which they walked was +good to the eyes of old Paris that loves verve. + +With a thirty-two-inch stride that made their following admirers stretch +their legs, the boys in khaki marched from the Austerlitz station to the +Neuilly barracks over a mile away, where they went into quarters. Paris +was in gala attire. In preparation for the celebration of the following +day, the shop windows and building fronts were decked with American +flags. + +Along the line of march, traffic piled up at the street intersections +and the gendarmes were unable to prevent the crowds from overflowing the +sidewalks and pressing out into the streets where they could smile their +greetings and throw flowers at closer range. A sergeant flanking a +column stopped involuntarily when a woman on the curb reached out, +grabbed his free hand, and kissed it. A snicker ran through the platoon +as the sergeant, with face red beneath the tan, withdrew his hand and +recaught his step. He gave the snickering squads a stern, "Eyes front!" +and tried to look at ease. + +How the bands played that day! How the crowds cheered! How the flags and +handkerchiefs and hats waved in the air, and how thousands of throats +volleyed the "Vive's!" This was the reception of our first fighting men. +But on the following day they received even a greater demonstration, +when they marched through the streets of the city on parade, and +participated in the first Parisian celebration of American Independence +Day. + +Parisians said that never before had Paris shown so many flags, not even +during the days three years before, when the sons of France had marched +away to keep the Germans out of Paris. It seemed that the customary +clusters of Allied flags had been almost entirely replaced for the day +by groups composed solely of the French tri-colour and the Stars and +Stripes. Taxis and fiacres flew flags and bunting from all attachable +places. Flag venders did wholesale business on the crowded streets. +Street singers sang patriotic parodies, eulogising Uncle Sam and his +nephews, and garnered harvests of sous for their efforts. + +The three companies of our regulars marched with a regiment of French +colonials, all veterans of the war and many of them incapacitated for +front service through wounds and age. French soldiers on leave from the +trenches and still bearing the mud stains of the battle front life, +cheered from the sidewalks. Bevies of middinettes waved their aprons +from the windows of millinery shops. Some of them shouted, "Vive les +Teddies!" America--the great, good America--the sister republic from +across the seas was spoken of and shouted all day long. Paris +capitulated unconditionally to three companies of American infantry. + +From that day on, every American soldier visiting Paris has been made to +feel himself at home. And the unrestricted hospitality did not seem to +be the result of an initial wave of enthusiasm. It was continuous. For +months afterward, any one wearing an American uniform along the +boulevards could hear behind him dulcet whispers that carried the words +_tres gentil_. + +At first, our enlisted men on leave in Paris or detailed for work in the +city, were quartered in the old Pipincerie Barracks, where other +soldiers from all of the Allied armies in the world were quartered. Our +men mingled with British Tommies, swarthy Italians and Portuguese, tall +blond Russians, French poilus, Canadians, Australians and New +Zealanders. At considerable expense to these comrades in arms, our men +instructed them in the all-American art of plain and fancy dice rolling. + +Later when our numbers in Paris increased, other arrangements for +housing were made. The American policing of Paris, under the direction +of the Expeditionary Provost General, Brigadier General Hillaire, was +turned over to the Marines. Whether it was that our men conducted +themselves in Paris with the orderliness of a guest at the home of his +host, or whether it was that the Marines with their remarkable +discipline suppressed from all view any too hearty outbursts of American +exuberance, it must be said that the appearance and the bearing of +American soldiers in Paris were always above reproach. + +I have never heard of one being seen intoxicated in Paris, in spite of +the fact that more opportunities presented themselves for drinking than +had ever before been presented to an American army. The privilege of +sitting at a table in front of a sidewalk cafe on a busy boulevard and +drinking a small glass of beer unmolested, was one that our men did not +take advantage of. It was against the law to serve any of the stronger +liqueurs to men in uniform, but beer and light wines were obtainable all +the time. All cafes closed at 9:30. In spite of the ever present +opportunity to obtain beverages of the above character, there was many +and many an American soldier who tramped the boulevards and canvassed +the cafes, drug stores and delicatessen shops in search of a +much-desired inexistent, ice cream soda. + +Many of our men spent their days most seriously and most studiously, +learning the mysteries of transportation on the busses and the Paris +underground system, while they pored over their guide books and digested +pages of information concerning the points of interest that Paris had to +offer. Holidays found them shuffling through the tiled corridors of the +Invalides or looking down into the deep crypt at the granite tomb of the +great Napoleon. In the galleries of the Louvre, the gardens of the +Tuilleries, or at the Luxembourg, the American uniform was ever present. +At least one day out of every ten day leave was spent in the palace and +the grounds at Versailles. + +The theatres of Paris offered a continual change of amusement. One of +the most popular among these was the Folies Bergeres. Some of our men +didn't realise until after they entered the place that it was a French +theatre. Due to the French pronunciation of the name, some of the +American soldiers got the idea that it was a saloon run by an Irishman +by the name of Foley. "Bergere" to some was unpronounceable, so the +Folies Bergeres was most popularly known in our ranks as "Foley's +place." + +Another popular amusement place was the Casino de Paris, where an echo +from America was supplied by an American negro jazz band, which +dispensed its questionable music in the _promenoir_ during the +intermission. There were five negroes in the orchestra and each one of +them seemed to have an ardent dislike for the remaining four. +Individually they manifested their mutual contempt by turning their +backs on one another while they played. Strange as it may seem, a most +fascinating type of harmony resulted, producing much swaying of +shoulders, nodding of heads and snapping of fingers among the American +soldiers in the crowd. French men and women, with their old world +musical taste, would consider the musical gymnastics of the demented +drummer in the orchestra, then survey the swaying Americans and come to +the conclusion that the world had gone plumb to hell. + +All types of American soldiers made Paris their mecca as soon as the +desired permissions had been granted. One day I sat opposite a +remarkable type whom I found dining in a small restaurant. I noticed the +absence of either beer or wine with his meal, and he frankly explained +that he had never tasted either in his life. He thanked me, but refused +to accept a cigarette I offered, saying without aside that he had yet +his first one to smoke. When I heard him tell Madame that he did not +care for coffee, I asked him why, and he told me that his mother had +always told him it was injurious and he had never tasted it. + +I became more interested in this ideal, young American soldier and +questioned him about his life. I found that he and his father had worked +in the copper mines in Michigan. They were both strong advocates of +union labour and had participated vigorously in the bloody Michigan +strikes. + +"Father and I fought that strike clear through," he said. "Our union +demands were just. Here in this war I am fighting just the same way as +we fought against the mine operators in Michigan. I figure it out that +Germany represents low pay, long hours and miserable working conditions +for the world. I think the Kaiser is the world's greatest scab. I am +over here to help get him." + + * * * * * + +One day in the Chatham Hotel, in Paris, I was dining with an American +Brigadier General, when an American soldier of the ranks approached the +table. At a respectful distance of five feet, the soldier halted, +clicked his heels and saluted the General. He said, "Sir, the orderly +desires permission to take the General's car to headquarters and deliver +the packages." + +"All right, Smith," replied the General, looking at his watch. "Find out +if my other uniform is back yet and then get back here yourself with the +car in half an hour." + +"Thank you, sir," replied the man as he saluted, executed a snappy right +about face and strode out of the dining-room. + +"Strange thing about that chauffeur of mine," said the General to me. "I +had a lot of extra work yesterday on his account. I had to make out his +income tax returns. He and his dad own almost all the oil in Oklahoma. +When he paid his income tax, Uncle Sam got a little over a hundred +thousand dollars. He went in the army in the ranks. He is only an +enlisted private now, but he's a good one." + + * * * * * + +Walking out of the Gare du Nord one day, I saw a man in an American +uniform and a French Gendarme vainly trying to talk with each other. The +Frenchman was waving his arms and pointing in various directions and the +American appeared to be trying to ask questions. With the purpose of +offering my limited knowledge of French to straighten out the +difficulty, I approached the pair and asked the American soldier what he +wanted. He told me but I don't know what it was to this day. He spoke +only Polish. + + * * * * * + +It was not alone amidst the gaiety of Paris that our soldiers spread the +fame of America. In the peaceful countrysides far behind the flaming +fronts, the Yankee fighting men won their way into the hearts of the +French people. Let me tell you the story of a Christmas celebration in a +little French village in the Vosges. + +Before dawn there were sounds of movement in the murky half-light of the +village street. A long line of soldiers wound their way past flaming +stoves of the mess shacks, where the steaming coffee took the chill out +of the cold morning stomachs. + +Later the sun broke bright and clear. It glistened on the snow-clad +furrows of the rolling hills, in which, for centuries, the village of +Saint Thiebault has drowsed more or less happily beside its ancient +canal and in the shadow of the steeple of the church of the good Saint +Thiebault. + +Now a thousand men or more, brown-clad and metal-helmeted, know the huts +and stables of Saint Thiebault as their billets, and the seventy little +boys and girls of the parish know those same thousand men as their new +big brothers--_les bons Americains_. + +The real daddies and big brothers and uncles of those seventy youngsters +have been away from Saint Thiebault for a long time now--yes, this is +the fourth Christmas that the urgent business in northern France has +kept them from home. They may never return but that is unknown to the +seventy young hopefuls. + +[Illustration: MARINES MARCHING DOWN THE AVENUE PRESIDENT WILSON ON THE +FOURTH OF JULY IN PARIS] + +[Illustration: BRIDGE CROSSING MARNE RIVER IN CHATEAU-THIERRY DESTROYED +BY GERMANS IN THEIR RETREAT FROM TOWN] + +There was great activity in the colonel's quarters during the morning, +and it is said that a sleuthing seventy were intent on unveiling the +mystery of these unusual American preparations. They stooped to get a peep +through the windows of the room, and Private Larson, walking his post in +front of the sacred precincts, had to shoo them away frequently with +threatening gestures and Swedish-American-French commands, such as "Allay +veet--Allay veet t'ell outer here." + +An energetic bawling from the headquarters cook shack indicated that one +juvenile investigator had come to grief. Howls emanated from little Paul +Laurent, who could be seen stumbling across the road, one blue, cold +hand poking the tears out of his eyes and the other holding the seat of +his breeches. + +Tony Moreno, the company cook, stood in front of the cook shack shaking +a soup ladle after the departing Paul and shouting imprecations in +Italian-American. + +"Tam leetle fool!" shouted Tony as he returned to the low camp stove and +removed a hot pan, the surface of whose bubbling contents bore an +unmistakable imprint. "Deese keeds make me seek. I catcha heem wit de +finger in de sugar barrel. I shout at heem. He jumpa back. He fall over +de stove and sita down in de pan of beans. He spoila de mess. He burn +heese pants. Tam good!" + +And over there in front of the regimental wagon train picket line, a +gesticulating trio is engaged in a three cornered Christmas discussion. +One is M. Lecompte, who is the uniformed French interpreter on the +Colonel's staff, and he is talking to "Big" Moriarity, the teamster, the +tallest man in the regiment. The third party to the triangle is little +Pierre Lafite, who clings to M. Lecompte's hand and looks up in awe at +the huge Irish soldier. + +"He wants to borrow one of these," M. Lecompte says, pointing to the +enormous hip boots which Moriarity is wearing. + +"He wants to borrow one of me boots?" repeated the Irishman. "And for +the love of heavin, what would he be after doin' wid it? Sure and the +top of it is higher than the head of him." + +"It is for this purpose," explains the interpreter. "The French children +do not hang up their stockings for Christmas. Instead they place their +wooden shoes on the hearth and the presents and sweets are put in them. +You see, Pierre desires to receive a lot of things." + +"Holy Mother!" replies Moriarity, kicking off one boot and hopping on +one foot toward the stables. "Take it, you scamp, and I hopes you get it +filled wid dimonds and gold dust. But mind ye, if you get it too near +the fire and burn the rubber I'll eat you like you was a oyster." + +The Irish giant emphasised his threat with a grimace of red-whiskered +ferocity and concluded by loudly smacking his lips. Then little Pierre +was off to his mother's cottage, dragging the seven league boot after +him. + +With the afternoon meal, the last of the packages had been tied with red +cords and labelled, and the interior of the Colonel's quarters looked +like an express office in the rush season. The packages represented the +purchases made with 1,300 francs which the men of the battalion had +contributed for the purpose of having Christmas come to Saint Thiebault +in good style. + +M. Lecompte has finished sewing the red and white covering which is to +be worn by "Hindenburg," the most docile mule in the wagon train, upon +whom has fallen the honour of drawing the present loaded sleigh of the +Christmas saint. + +"Red" Powers, the shortest, fattest and squattiest man in the +battalion, is investing himself with baggy, red garments, trimmed with +white fur and tassels, all made out of cloth by hands whose familiarity +with the needle has been acquired in bayonet practice. Powers has donned +his white wig and whiskers and his red cap, tasseled in white. He is +receiving his final instructions from the colonel. + +"You may grunt, Powers," the colonel is saying, "but don't attempt to +talk French with that Chicago accent. We don't want to frighten the +children. And remember, you are not Santa Claus. You are Papa Noel. +That's what the French children call Santa Claus." + +It is three o'clock, and the regimental band, assembled in marching +formation in the village street, blares out "I Wish I Were in the Land +of Cotton," and there is an outpouring of children, women and soldiers +from every door on the street. The colonel and his staff stand in front +of their quarters opposite the band, and a thousand American soldiers, +in holiday disregard for formation, range along either side of the +street. + +The large wooden gate of the stable yard, next to the commandant's +quarters, swings open; there is a jingle of bells, and "Hindenburg," +resplendent in his fittings, and Papa Noel Powers sitting high on the +package-heaped sleigh, move out into the street. Their appearance is met +with a crash of cymbals, the blare of the band's loudest brass, and the +happy cries of the children and the deeper cheers of the men. + +Christmas had come to Saint Thiebault. Up the street went the +procession, the band in the lead playing a lively jingling piece of +music well matched to the keenness of the air and the willingness of +young blood to tingle with the slightest inspiration. + +"Hindenburg," with a huge pair of tin spectacles goggling his eyes, +tossed his head and made the bells ring all over his gala caparison. +Papa Noel, mounted on the pyramid of presents, bowed right and left and +waved his hands to the children, to the soldiers, to the old men and the +old women. + +As the youngsters followed in the wake of the sleigh, the soldiers +picked them up and carried them on their shoulders, on "piggy" back, or +held them out so they could shake hands with Papa Noel and hear that +dignitary gurgle his appreciation in wonderful north pole language. + +When Papa Noel found out that he could trust the flour paste and did not +have to hold his whiskers on by biting them, he gravely announced, "Wee, +wee," to all the bright-eyed, red-cheeked salutations directed his way. + +The band halted in front of the ancient church of Saint Thiebault, where +old Father Gabrielle stood in the big doorway, smiling and rubbing his +hands. Upon his invitation the children entered and were placed in the +first row of chairs, the mothers, grandmothers, grandfathers, and young +women sat in back of them, and further back sat the regimental officers. +The soldiers filled the rest of the church to the doors. + +The brief ceremony ended with a solemn benediction and then the curtains +were drawn back from one of the arches in front of and to the left of +the main altar. + +There stood Saint Thiebault's first Christmas tree, or at least the +first one in four years. It was lighted with candles and was resplendent +with decorations that represented long hours of work with shears and +paste on the part of unaccustomed fingers. Suggestions from a thousand +Christmas minds were on that tree, and the result showed it. The star of +Bethlehem, made of tinsel, glistened in the candlelight. + +Not even the inbred decorum of the church was sufficient to restrain the +involuntary expressions of admiration of the saint by the seventy +youngsters. They oh-ed and ah-ed and pointed, but they enjoyed it not a +whit more than did the other children in the church, some of whose ages +ran to three score and more. + +Papa Noel walked down the centre aisle leading a file of soldiers, each +of whom carried a heaping armful of packages. Young necks craned and +eyes bulged as the packages were deposited on the tables in front of the +communion rail. M. Lecompte raised his hands for silence and spoke. + +"These Americans," he said, "have come to our country to march and to +fight side by side with your fathers and your big brothers and your +uncles and all the men folk who have been away from Saint Thiebault so +long. These Americans want to take their places for you to-day. These +Americans in doing these things for you are thinking of their own little +girls and little boys away back across the ocean who are missing their +fathers and big brothers and uncles to-day, just the same as you miss +yours." + +There were wet eyes among the women and some of the older men in khaki +closed their eyes and seemed to be transporting themselves thousands of +miles away to other scenes and other faces. But the reverie was only for +a minute. + +M. Lecompte began calling the names for the distribution of gifts and +the children of Saint Thiebault began their excited progress toward the +tables. Here Papa Noel delivered the prized packages. + +"For Marie Louise Larue," said M. Lecompte, "a hair ribbon of gold and +black with a tortoise bandeau." + +"For Gaston Ponsot, a toy cannon that shoots and six German soldiers at +least to shoot." + +"For Colette Daville, a warm cape of red cloth with a collar of wool." + +"For Alphonse Benois, an aeroplane that flies on a string." + +"For Eugenie Fontaine, a doll that speaks." + +"For Emilie Moreau, a pair of shoes with real leather soles and tops." + +"For Camille Laurent, red mittens of wool and a sheepskin muff." + +"For Jean Artois, a warship that moves and flies the American flag." + +It continued for more than an hour. The promoters of the celebration +were wise to their work. There was more than one present for each child. +They did not know how many. Time after time, their names were called and +they clattered forward in their wooden shoes for each new surprise. + +The presents ran the range of toys, clothing, games, candies and nuts, +but the joy was in sitting there and waiting for one's name to be called +and going forward to partake of that most desirable "more." + +Big Moriarity had his hands in the incident that served as a climax to +the distribution. He had whispered something to M. Lecompte and the +result was that one little duffer, who sat all alone on a big chair, and +hugged an enormous rubber boot, waited and waited expectantly to hear +the name "Pierre Lafite" called out. + +All the other names had been called once and not his. He waited. All the +names had been called twice and still not his. He waited through the +third and the fourth calling in vain, and his chin was beginning to +tremble suspiciously as the fifth calling proceeded without the sound +of his name. + +The piles of packages on the tables had been getting smaller all the +time. Then M. Lecompte pronounced the very last name. + +"Pierre Lafite," he called. + +Pierre's heart bounded as he slipped off the chair and started up the +aisle dragging his big rubber boot. The rest of the children had +returned to their seats. All the elders in the church were watching his +progress. + +"For Pierre Lafite," repeated M. Lecompte, holding up the enormous boot. +"A pair of real leather shoes to fit in the foot of the boot." He placed +them there. + +"And a pair of stilts to fit in the leg of the boot." He so placed them. + +"And a set of soldiers, twenty-four in number, with a general +commanding, to go beside the stilts." He poured them into the boot. + +"And a pair of gloves and a stocking cap to go on top of the soldiers. + +"And a baseball and a bat to go on top of the gloves. + +"And all the chinks to be filled up with nuts and figs, and sweets. +_Voila_, Pierre," and with these words, he had poured the sweetmeats in +overflowing measure into the biggest hip boot in the regiment. + +Amid the cheers of the men, led by big Moriarity, Pierre started toward +his seat, struggling with the seven league boot and the wholesale booty, +and satisfied with the realisation that in one haul he had obtained more +than his companions in five. + +Company B quartet sang "Down in a Coal Hole," and then, as the band +struck up outside the church, all moved to the street. The sun had gone +down, the early winter night had set in, and the sky was almost dark. + +"Signal for the barrage," came the command in the darkness. + +There were four simultaneous hisses of fire and four comets of flame +sprang up from the ground. They broke far overhead in lurid green. + +"Signal for enemy planes overhead," was the next command, and four more +rockets mounted and ended their flights in balls of luminous red. Other +commands, other signals, other rockets, other lights and flares and +pistol star shells, enriched a pyrotechnical display which was +economically combined with signal practice. + +The red glare illuminated the upturned happy faces of American and +French together. Our men learned to love the French people. The French +people learned to love us. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +CHATEAU-THIERRY AND THE BOIS DE BELLEAU + + +I have endeavoured to show in preceding chapters the development of the +young American army in France from a mere handful of new troops up to +the creation of units capable of independent action on the front. Only +that intense and thorough training made it possible for our oversea +forces to play the veteran part they did play in the great Second Battle +of the Marne. + +The battle developed as a third phase of the enemy's Western Front +offensives of the year. The increasing strength of the American forces +overseas forced Germany to put forth her utmost efforts in the forlorn +hope of gaining a decision in the field before the Allied lines could +have the advantage of America's weight. + +On March 21st, the Germans had launched their first powerful offensive +on a front of fifty miles from Arras to Noyon in Picardy and had +advanced their lines from St. Quentin to the outskirts of Amiens. + +On April 9th, the German hordes struck again in Flanders on a front of +twenty miles from Lens northward to the River Lys and had cut into the +Allied front as far as Armentieres. + +There followed what was considered an abnormal delay in the third act of +the demonstration. It was known that the Germans were engaged in making +elaborate arrangements for this mid-summer push. It was the enemy hope +in this great offensive to strike a final effective blow against the +hard-pressed Allied line before America's rising power could be thrown +into the fight. + +The blow fell on the morning of May 27th. The front selected for the +assault was twenty-five miles in width, extending from the Ailette near +Vauxaillon to the Aisne-Marne Canal near Brimont. The Prussian Crown +Prince was the titular chief of the group of armies used in the assault. +One of these forces was the army of General von Boehm, which before the +attack had numbered only nine divisions and had extended from the Oise +at Noyon to east of Craconne. The other army was that of General Fritz +von Buelow, previously composed of eight divisions and supporting a front +that extended from Craconne across the Rheims front to Suippe, near +Auberive. On the day of the attack, these armies had been strengthened +to twice their normal number of divisions, and subsequently captured +German plans revealed that the enemy expected to use forty-five +divisions or practically half a million men in the onslaught. + +The battle began at dawn. It was directed against the weakly held French +positions on the Chemin des Dames. It was preceded by a three hour +bombardment of terrific intensity. The French defenders were outnumbered +four to one. The Germans put down a rolling barrage that was two miles +deep. It destroyed all wire communications and flooded battery +emplacements and machine gun posts with every brand of poison gas known +to German kultur. Dust and artificial smoke clouds separated the +defenders into small groups and screened the attacking waves until they +had actually penetrated the French positions. + +The French fought hard to resist the enemy flood across the Chemin des +Dames with its ground sacred with tragic memories, but a withdrawal was +necessary. The French command was forced to order a retreat to the +Aisne. Hard-fighting French divisions and some units of the British +Fifth Army, which had been badly hit in Picardy in March, made an +orderly withdrawal southward. + +On the second day of the fight the enemy made a strong thrust toward +Soissons, and after keeping the city under continual bombardment, +succeeded in overcoming all resistance and occupying the city on May +29th. On the first day of the attack alone, twelve thousand explosive, +incendiary and poison gas shells were hurled in amongst the hospitals in +Soissons. American ambulance units did heroic work in the removal of the +wounded. + +The Germans forced a crossing on the Aisne. On the following day, May +30th, they had crossed the Vesle River and had captured +Fere-en-Tardenois. On the following day their victorious hordes had +reached the Marne and were closing in on Chateau-Thierry. + +Some idea of the terrific strength of the enemy offensive may be gained +from a recapitulation which would show that in five days the Germans had +pushed through five successive lines of Allied defence, and had +penetrated more than twenty-five miles. On the first day, they had +captured the Chemin des Dames, on the second day, they had overcome all +resistance on the Aisne, on the third day, their forces, pushing +southward, had crossed the Vesle River, on the fourth day, they had +destroyed the lines of resistance along the Ourcq, on the fifth day, +they had reached the Marne. + +It was a crisis. The battle front formed a vast triangle with the apex +pointing southward toward Paris. The west side of the triangle extended +fifty miles northward from the Marne to the Oise near Noyon. The east +side of the triangle ran north-eastward thirty miles to Rheims. The +point of this new thrust at Paris rested on the north bank of the Marne +at Chateau-Thierry. The enemy had advanced to within forty miles of the +capital of France; the fate of the Allied world hung in the balance. + +Undoubtedly I am prejudiced, but I like to feel that I know the real +reason why the German hordes stopped at Chateau-Thierry on the north +bank of the Marne. To me that reason will always be this--because on the +south bank of the Marne stood the Americans. + +On that day and in that event there materialised the German fears which +had urged them on to such great speed and violence. In the eleventh +hour, there at the peak of the German thrust, there at the climax of +Germany's triumphant advances, there at the point where a military +decision for the enemy seemed almost within grasp, there and then the +American soldier stepped into the breech to save the democracy of the +world. + +The Marne River makes a loop at this place and Chateau-Thierry lies on +both banks. The Marne there is called a river, but it would hardly come +up to the American understanding of the word. The waterway is more like +a canal with banks built up with stone blocks. There are streets on +either bank, and these being the principal streets of the town, are +bordered with comparatively high buildings. + +While the Germans were on the outskirts of the city, American forces had +made brilliant counter attacks on both sides. To the west of +Chateau-Thierry the German advance forces, seeking to penetrate Neuilly +Wood, had been hurled back by our young troops. To the east of +Chateau-Thierry the enemy had succeeded in crossing the Marne in the +vicinity of Jaulgonne. + +This operation was carried out by the German 36th Division. On the night +of May 30th, at a point where the Marne looped northward eight miles to +the east of Chateau-Thierry, the enemy succeeded in putting a few men +across the river. + +Along the south bank of the river at that place, the Paris-Chalons ran +through a number of deep cuts and one tunnel. The enemy took shelter in +these natural protections. They suffered serious losses from the Allied +artillery which also destroyed some of their pontoons across the river, +but in spite of this, the Germans succeeded in re-enforcing the units on +the south bank to the strength of about a battalion. + +Almost at the same time, the French defenders at this place received +re-enforcements from the Americans. Units of the 3rd United States +Regular Division and the 28th U. S. Division, comprised largely of +Pennsylvania National Guardsmen, were rushed forward from training +areas, miles back of the line, where they were engaged in fitting +themselves for line duty. These incompletely trained American units +abandoned their bayonet-stabbing of gunny-sacks and make-believe warfare +to rush forward into the real thing. + +On June 2nd, these Americans, under command of French officers, began +the counter attack to sweep the Germans back from the south bank. By +that time the enemy had succeeded in putting twenty-two light bridges +across the Marne and had established a strong bridgehead position with a +number of machine guns and a strong force of men in the railway station +on the south bank of the river opposite Jaulgonne. + +This position was attacked frontally by the Americans and French. Our +novices in battle were guilty of numerous so-called strategical +blunders, but in the main purpose of killing the enemy, they proved +irresistible. The Germans broke and ran. At the same time, the French +artillery lowered a terrific barrage on the bridges crossing the river, +with the result that many of the fleeing enemy were killed and more +drowned. Only thirty or forty escaped by swimming. One hundred of them +threw down their arms and surrendered. The remainder of the battalion +was wiped out. At the close of the engagement the Americans and the +French were in full command of the south bank. + +But it was in Chateau-Thierry itself that the Germans made their most +determined effort to cross the river and get a footing on the south +bank, and it was there, again, that their efforts were frustrated by our +forces. On May 31st, American machine gun units, then in training +seventy-five kilometres south of the Marne, were hurriedly bundled into +motor lorries and rushed northward into Chateau-Thierry. + +The Germans were advancing their patrols into the north side of the +city. They were pouring down the streets in large numbers, with the +evident purpose of crossing the bridges and establishing themselves on +the south bank. + +It was four o'clock in the afternoon of May 31st that those American +machine gunners got their first glimpse of real war. That night while +the German artillery raked the south bank of the river with high +explosive shells, those Americans, shouldering their machine guns, +marched into the city and took up defensive positions on the south bank +of the river. + +During the night many houses were turned into ruins. Shells striking the +railroad station had caused it to burn. In the red glare our men saw the +houses about them collapse under clouds of dust and debris. Under cover +of darkness the Germans filtered through the streets on the north side +of the river. The American machine gunners went into position in the +windows of houses on the south bank and in gardens between the houses, +and from these positions it was possible to command all of the bridge +approaches and streets leading to the river on the opposite side. + +During the night, Lieutenant John T. Bissell, a young Pittsburgher but +recently graduated from West Point, started across one of the bridges +and reached the north bank with a squad of a dozen men and two machine +guns. This little unit went into position in a place commanding the +forked highways which converged not far from the northern approach of +the iron bridge crossing the river. It was this unit's function to +prevent the enemy advance from this direction. The unit was separated +from its comrades on the south bank by the river and about two hundred +yards. In spite of the fact that the enemy artillery intensified its +shelling of the south bank, the American machine gunners remained at +their posts without firing and played a waiting game. + +With the coming of dawn the Germans began to make their rushes for the +bridges. Small compact forces would dart forward carrying light machine +guns and ammunition with them. They encountered a terrific burst of +American fire and wilted in front of it. Those that survived crawled +back to the shelter of protecting walls, where they were re-enforced +with fresh units, and again the massed formations charged down the +streets toward the bridges. The slaughter of Germans increased until the +approaches were dotted with bodies of the enemy slain. + +On June 1st, the Germans having consolidated positions on the hills +commanding the city from the north, they directed a terrific artillery +and machine gun fire into our exposed positions on the south bank, as +well as the small posts still held on the north bank by Lieutenant +Bissell and his machine gunners. Although the position held by the +little American group had long been considered untenable, the members of +it stuck it out until nightfall, when they received orders to retire to +the south bank. At the same time, French colonials which had held a +position throughout the day on the north bank on the edge of the town, +withdrew in accordance with the same plan. The retirement of both +parties was covered by our machine gunners on the south bank, who poured +a hot fire into the evacuated areas as the Germans began occupying them. + +By 10:30 that night the completion of the movement was signalised by a +terrific explosion, as the French colonials blew up one of the stone +bridges over which they had withdrawn. But the destruction of the bridge +had cut off the little band of Americans and left them almost surrounded +by the enemy on the north bank of the river, which was now becoming +strongly populated by the enemy. Through the darkness could be heard the +sound of shuffling, hobnailed boots, and even above the crack of the +guns there came the weird swish of the grey coats as they pushed forward +in mass formations. + +The little party of thirteen Americans dismantled their guns and, with +each man carrying his allotted piece, they began working their way along +the river bank toward the main bridge, where they discovered that the +enemy was almost upon them. They immediately went into position behind +the stone parapet on the very brink of the river, and, although in +constant danger from the American fire that poured out from the south +bank, they poured streams of lead point-blank into the advancing German +ranks. + +The Americans on the south bank were not aware of the plight of the +little party on the north bank. In spite of their losses, the Germans +continued their grewsome rushes toward the approaches of the iron bridge +across which our machine gunners were pouring a devastating fire. +Lieutenant Bissell and his men made one effort to cross the bridge, but +were forced to crawl back to shelter on the north bank, carrying with +them three of their wounded. They found themselves between a cross-fire. +Then Bissell, alone, approached as near as he dared, and the first +intimation that the Americans on the south bank had of the fact that +Americans were in front of them was when Lieutenant Cobey heard +Bissell's voice calling his name. A cease fire order was immediately +given and Bissell and his men rushed across the bridge, carrying their +wounded with them. + +On the following day the Germans were in occupation of all the houses +facing the north bank of the river, and could be seen from time to time +darting from one shelter to another. Throughout the day their artillery +maintained a terrific downpour of shells on the positions held by our +men on the south bank. So intense was the rifle fire and activity of +snipers, that it meant death to appear in the open. The Americans manned +their guns throughout the day, but refrained from indulging in machine +gun fire because it was not desired to reveal the locations of the guns. +Nightfall approached with a quiet that was deadly ominous of impending +events. + +At nine o'clock the enemy formations lunged forward to the attack. Their +dense masses charged down the streets leading toward the river. They +sang as they advanced. The orders, as revealed in documents captured +later, came straight from the high command and demanded the acquisition +of a foothold on the south bank at all costs. They paid the costs, but +never reached the south bank. + +The American machine gun fire was withering. Time after time, in the +frequent rushes throughout the night, the remnants of enemy masses would +reach sometimes as far as the centre of the big bridge, but none of them +succeeded in reaching the south bank. The bridge became carpeted with +German dead and wounded. They lay thick in the open streets near the +approaches. By morning their dead were piled high on the bridge and +subsequent rushes endeavoured to advance over the bodies of their fallen +comrades. In this battle of the bridges and the streets, our men showed +a courage and determination which aroused the admiration of the French +officers, who were aware by this time that forty-eight hours before +these same American soldiers had seen battle for the first time. + +Our machine gunners turned the northern bank of the river into a No +Man's Land. Their vigilance was unrelenting and every enemy attempt to +elude it met with disaster. There were serious American casualties +during that terrific fire, but they were nothing in comparison with the +thousand or more German dead that dotted the streets and clogged the +runways of the big bridge in piles. The last night of the fight enormous +charges of explosive were placed beneath the bridge and discharged. + +The bridge was destroyed. High into the air were blown bits of stone, +steel, timber, debris, wreckage and the bodies of German dead, all to +fall back into the river and go bobbing up and down in the waters of the +Marne. + +Thus did the Americans save the day at Chateau-Thierry, but it became +immediately necessary for the French high command to call upon our young +forces for another great effort. In response to this call, the Second +United States Division, including one brigade of the United States +Marines, the 5th and 6th Regiments, started for the front. The division +was then occupying support positions in the vicinity of Gisors behind +the Picardy line. At four o'clock on the morning of May 31st the Marine +brigade and regiments of United States infantry, the 9th and the 23rd +Regulars, boarded camions, twenty to thirty men and their equipment in +each vehicle. + +They were bound eastward to the valley of the Marne. The road took them +through the string of pretty villages fifteen miles to the north of +Paris. The trucks loaded with United States troops soon became part of +the endless traffic of war that was pouring northward and eastward +toward the raging front. Our men soon became coated with the dust of the +road. The French people in the villages through which they passed at top +speed cheered them and threw flowers into the lorries. + +Between Meaux and Chateau-Thierry, where the road wound along the Marne, +our men encountered long trains of French refugees, weary mothers +carrying hungry babies at the breast, farm wagons loaded with household +belongings, usually surmounted by feather mattresses on which rode +grey-haired grandfathers and grandmothers. This pitiful procession was +moving toward the rear driving before it flocks of geese and herds of +cattle. On the other side of the road war, grim war, moved in the +opposite direction. + +The Second Division was bound for the line to the northwest of +Chateau-Thierry. On June 1st, the 6th Marines relieved the French on the +support lines. The sector of the 6th Regiment joined on the left the +sector held by two battalions of the 5th. The line on the right was held +by the French. On June 2nd, the hard-pressed French line, weak and weary +from continual rear guard actions, over a hard fighting period of +almost a week, fell back by prearranged plan and passed through the +support positions which we held. To fill gaps between units, the Marines +extended their brigade sector to between twelve and fourteen kilometres. +As the French withdrew to the rear, hard pressed by the enemy, the +Marines held the new first line. + +The regimental headquarters of the 6th was located in a stone farmhouse +at a cross-roads called La Voie Chatel, situated between the villages of +Champillon and Lucy-le-Bocage. There was clear observation from that +point toward the north. At five o'clock in the afternoon on that day of +clear visibility, the Germans renewed their attacks from the north and +northeast toward a position called Hill 165, which was defended by the +5th Regiment. + +The Germans advanced in two solid columns across a field of golden +wheat. More than half of the two columns had left the cover of the trees +and were moving in perfect order across the field when the shrapnel fire +from the American artillery in the rear got range on the target. Burst +after burst of white smoke suddenly appeared in the air over the column, +and under each burst the ground was marked with a circle of German dead. +It was not barrage fire: it was individual firing against two individual +moving targets and its success spoke well for the training which that +brigade of American artillery had received. + +French aviators from above directed the fire of our guns, and from high +in the air signalled down their "bravos" in congratulation on the +excellent work. At the same time, the machine gunners of the 5th covered +the ravines and wooded clumps with a hot fire to prevent small bodies of +the enemy from infiltrating through our lines. The French marvelled at +the deliberateness and accuracy of our riflemen. + +The Germans, unaware that a change had taken place in the personnel that +faced them, reeled back demoralised and unable to understand how such a +sudden show of resistance had been presented by the weakened French +troops which they had been driving before them for a week. The enemy's +advance had been made openly and confidently in the mistaken flush of +victory. Their triumphant advances of the previous week had more than +supported the statements of the German officers, who had told their men +that they were on the road to Paris--the end of the war and peace. It +was in this mood of victory that the enemy encountered the Marines' +stone wall and reeled back in surprise. + +That engagement, in addition to lowering the enemy morale, deprived them +of their offensive spirit and placed them on the defensive. The next few +days were spent in advancing small strong points and the strengthening +of positions. In broad daylight one group of Marines rushed a German +machine gun pit in the open, killed or wounded every man in the crew, +disabled the gun and got back to their lines in safety. + +It was at five o'clock on the bright afternoon of June 6th that the +United States Marines began to carve their way into history in the +battle of the Bois de Belleau. Major General Harbord, former Chief of +Staff to General Pershing, was in command of the Marine brigade. Orders +were received for a general advance on the brigade front. The main +objectives were the eastern edge of the Bois de Belleau and the towns of +Bussiares, Torcy and Bouresches. + +Owing to the difficulty of liaison in the thickets of the wood, and +because of the almost impossible task of directing it in conjunction +with the advancing lines, the artillery preparation for the attack was +necessarily brief. At five o'clock to the dot the Marines moved out from +the woods in perfect order, and started across the wheat fields in four +long waves. It was a beautiful sight, these men of ours going across +those flat fields toward the tree clusters beyond from which the Germans +poured a murderous machine gun fire. + +The woods were impregnated with nests of machine guns, but our advance +proved irresistible. Many of our men fell, but those that survived +pushed on through the woods, bayoneting right and left and firing as +they charged. So sweeping was the advance that in some places small +isolated units of our men found themselves with Germans both before and +behind them. + +The enemy put up a stubborn resistance on the left, and it was not until +later in the evening that this part of the line reached the northeast +edge of the woods, after it had completely surrounded a most populous +machine gun nest which was located on a rocky hill. During the fighting +Colonel Catlin was wounded and Captain Laspierre, the French liaison +officer, was gassed, two casualties which represented a distinct blow to +the brigade, but did not hinder its further progress. + +On the right Lieutenant Robertson, with twenty survivors out of his +entire platoon, emerged from the terrific enemy barrage and took the +town of Bouresches at the point of the bayonet. Captain Duncan, +receiving word that one Marine company, with a determination to engage +the enemy in hand-to-hand combat, had gone two hundred yards in advance, +raced forward on the double quick with the 96th Marine Company, and was +met by a terrific machine gun barrage from both sides of Bouresches. + +Lieutenant Robertson, looking back, saw Duncan and the rest of his +company going down like flies as they charged through the barrage. He +saw Lieutenant Bowling get up from the ground, his face white with pain, +and go stumbling ahead with a bullet in his shoulder. Duncan, carrying a +stick and with his pipe in his mouth, was mowed down in the rain of +lead. Robertson saw Dental Surgeon Osborne pick Duncan up. With the aid +of a Hospital Corps man, they had just gained the shelter of some trees +when a shell wiped all three of them out. + +In the street fighting that ensued in Bouresches, Lieutenant Robertson's +orderly, Private Dunlavy, who was later killed in the defence of the +town, captured one of the enemy's own machine guns and turned it against +them. + +In the dense woods the Germans showed their mastery of machine gun +manipulation and the method of infiltration by which they would place +strong units in our rear and pour in a deadly fire. Many of these guns +were located on rocky ridges, from which they could fire to all points. +These Marines worked with reckless courage against heavy odds, and the +Germans exacted a heavy toll for every machine gun that was captured or +disabled, but in spite of losses the Marine advance continued. + +Lieutenant Overton, commanding the 76th Company, made a brilliant charge +against a strong German position at the top of a rocky hill. He and his +men captured all of the guns and all of their crews. Overton was hit +later when the Germans retaliated by a concentration of fire against the +captured position for forty-eight hours. + +Lieutenant Robertson, according to the report brought back by a +regimental runner, was last seen flat on a rock not twenty yards away +from one enemy gun, at which he kept shooting with an automatic in each +hand. He was hit three times before he consented to let his men carry +him to the rear. + +"There was not an officer left in the 82nd Company," according to a +letter by Major Frank E. Evans, Adjutant of the Sixth. "Major Sibley and +his Adjutant reorganised them under close fire and led them in a charge +that put one particular machine gun nest out of business at the most +critical time in all the fighting. I heard later that at that stage some +one said: 'Major Sibley ordered that--' and another man said: 'Where in +hell is Sibley?' Sibley was twenty yards away at that time and a hush +went down the line when they saw him step out to lead the charge. + +"And when the word got around through that dead-tired, crippled outfit +that 'the Old Man' was on the line, all hell could not have stopped that +rush." + +In such fashion did the Marines go through the Bois de Belleau. Their +losses were heavy, but they did the work. The sacrifice was necessary. +Paris was in danger. The Marines constituted the thin line between the +enemy and Paris. The Marines not only held that line--they pushed it +forward. + +The fighting was terrific. In one battalion alone the casualties +numbered sixty-four per cent. officers and sixty-four per cent. men. +Several companies came out of the fighting under command of their first +sergeants, all of the officers having been killed or wounded. + +I witnessed some of that fighting. I was with the Marines at the opening +of the battle. I never saw men charge to their death with finer spirit. +I am sorry that wounds prevented me from witnessing the victorious +conclusion of the engagement. In view of my subsequent absence from the +fight, I wish to give credit and thanks at this place to Major Frank E. +Evans, who as Adjutant of the 6th Regiment of Marines, provided me with +much of the foregoing material which occurred while I was in the +hospital. + +The bravery of that Marine brigade in the Bois de Belleau fight will +ever remain a bright chapter in the records of the American Army. For +the performance of deeds of exceptional valour, more than a hundred +Marines were awarded Distinguished Service Crosses. General Pershing, in +recognition of the conduct of the Second Division, issued the following +order: + + "It is with inexpressible pride and satisfaction that your commander + recounts your glorious deeds on the field of battle. In the early + days of June on a front of twenty kilometres, after night marches + and with only the reserve rations which you carried, you stood like + a wall against the enemy advance on Paris. For this timely action + you have received the thanks of the French people whose homes you + saved and the generous praise of your comrades in arms. + + "Since the organisation of our sector, in the face of strong + opposition, you have advanced your lines two kilometres on a front + of eight kilometres. You have engaged and defeated with great loss + three German divisions and have occupied important strong + points--Belleau Wood, Bouresches, and Vaux. You have taken about + 1,400 prisoners, many machine guns, and much other material. The + complete success of the infantry was made possible by the splendid + co-operation of the artillery, by the aid and assistance of the + engineer and signal troops, by the diligent and watchful care of the + medical and supply services, and by the unceasing work of the + well-organised staff. All elements of the division have worked + together as a well-trained machine. + + "Amid the dangers and trials of battle, every officer and every man + has done well his part. Let the stirring deeds, hardships, and + sacrifices of the past month remain forever a bright spot in our + history. Let the sacred memory of our fallen comrades spur us on to + renewed effort and to the glory of American arms." + +All of the German prisoners captured by the Marines in the Bois de +Belleau could express only surprise over the fighting capacity of their +captors. Prisoners' statements are not entirely trustworthy, but here is +one that was not intended for American consumption. It was written by a +German soldier, who was killed in the Bois de Belleau before he had an +opportunity to mail it. It was removed from his body. It reads: + + "France, June 21, 1918. + + "We are now in the battle zone and canteens dare not come to us on + account of the enemy, for the Americans are bombarding the villages + fifteen kilometres behind the present front with long-range guns, + and you will know that the canteen outfit and the others who are + lying in reserve do not venture very far, for it is not 'pleasant to + eat cherries' with the Americans. The reason for that is that they + have not yet had much experience. The American divisions are still + too fiery. They are the first divisions that the French have + entered.... We will also show the Americans how good we are, for the + day before yesterday we bombarded them heavily with our gas. About + 400 of us are lying around here. We have one corner of the woods and + the American has the other corner. That is not nice, for all of a + sudden he rushes forward and one does not know it beforehand. + Therefore, one must shoot at every little noise, for one cannot + trust them. Here always two men have dug a hold for themselves. Here + one lies day and night without a blanket, only with a coat and a + shelter-half. One freezes at night like a tailor, for the nights are + fiercely cold. I hope that I will be lucky enough to escape from + this horrible mess, for up to now I have always been lucky. Many of + my comrades are already buried here. The enemy sweeps every evening + the whole countryside with machine gun and rifle fire, and then + artillery fire. But we in front line are safer than in the support + position. At present our food is miserable. We are now fed upon + dried vegetables and marmalade and when at night we obtain more food + it is unpalatable. It is half sour and all cold. In the daytime we + receive nothing." + +But it might be wise to support this statement from a German soldier in +the ranks by excerpts from an official German army report which was +captured July 7th on a German officer. The document was a carefully +weighed treatise on the fighting capacity of the United States Marines. +The document had the following heading: + + _"Intelligence Officer of the Supreme Command at Army Headquarters, + Number 7, J. Number 3,528, Army Headquarters, June 17, 1917._ + + _"Second American Infantry Division._ + + _"Examination of Prisoners from the 5th, 6th, 9th and 23rd + Regiments, captured from June 5th to 14th, in the Bouresches + Sector."_ + +After setting forth all information gained, concerning the purpose of +attack and the arrival of the American units on the line, the German +Intelligence Report continues, as follows: + + "The Second American Division may be classed as a very good + division, perhaps even as assault troops. The various attacks of + both regiments on Belleau Wood were carried out with dash and + recklessness. The moral effect of our firearms did not materially + check the advances of the enemy. The nerves of the Americans are + still unshaken. + + "VALUE OF THE INDIVIDUAL--the individual soldiers are very good. + They are healthy, vigorous, and physically well-developed men, of + ages ranging from eighteen to twenty-eight, who at present lack only + necessary training to make them redoubtable opponents. The troops + are fresh and full of straightforward confidence. A remark of one of + the prisoners is indicative of their spirit: 'We kill or get + killed.' + + "MORALE--the prisoners in general make an alert and pleasing + impression. Regarding military matters, however, they do not show + the slightest interest. Their superiors keep them purposely without + knowledge of the military subjects. For example, most of them have + never seen a map. They are no longer able to describe the villages + and roads through which they marched. Their idea of the organisation + of their unit is entirely confused. For example, one of them told us + that his brigade had six regiments and his division twenty-four. + They still regard the war from the point of view of the 'big + brother' who comes to help his hard-pressed brethren and is + therefore welcomed everywhere. A certain moral background is not + lacking. The majority of the prisoners simply took as a matter of + course that they have come to Europe to defend their country. + + "Only a few of the troops are of pure American origin; the majority + is of German, Dutch and Italian parentage, but these semi-Americans, + almost all of whom were born in America and never have been in + Europe before, fully feel themselves to be true born sons of their + country. + + (Signed) "VON BERG, + "Lieutenant and Intelligence Officer." + + * * * * * + +Since the days I read Hugo's chapters on the Battle of Waterloo in "Les +Miserables," I always considered as an ideal of fighting capacity and +the military spirit of sacrifice the old sergeant of Napoleon's Old +Guard. Hugo made me vividly see that old sergeant standing on a field +with a meagre remnant of the Old Guard gathered around him. Unable to +resist further, but unwilling to accept surrender, he and his followers +faced the British cannon. The British, respecting this admirable +demonstration of courage, ceased firing and called out to them, "Brave +Frenchmen, surrender." + +The old sergeant, who was about to die, refused to accept this offer of +his life from the enemy. Into the very muzzles of the British cannon the +sergeant hurled back the offer of his life with one word. That word was +the vilest epithet in the French language. The cannons roared and the +old sergeant and his survivors died with the word on their lips. Hugo +wisely devoted an entire chapter to that single word. + +But I have a new ideal to-day. I found it in the Bois de Belleau. A +small platoon line of Marines lay on their faces and bellies under the +trees at the edge of a wheat field. Two hundred yards across that flat +field the enemy was located in trees. I peered into the trees but could +see nothing, yet I knew that every leaf in the foliage screened scores +of German machine guns that swept the field with lead. The bullets +nipped the tops of the young wheat and ripped the bark from the trunks +of the trees three feet from the ground on which the Marines lay. The +minute for the Marine advance was approaching. An old gunnery sergeant +commanded the platoon in the absence of the lieutenant, who had been +shot and was out of the fight. This old sergeant was a Marine veteran. +His cheeks were bronzed with the wind and sun of the seven seas. The +service bar across his left breast showed that he had fought in the +Philippines, in Santo Domingo, at the walls of Pekin, and in the streets +of Vera Cruz. I make no apologies for his language. Even if Hugo were +not my precedent, I would make no apologies. To me his words were +classic, if not sacred. + +As the minute for the advance arrived, he arose from the trees first and +jumped out onto the exposed edge of that field that ran with lead, +across which he and his men were to charge. Then he turned to give the +charge order to the men of his platoon--his mates--the men he loved. He +said: + +"COME ON, YOU SONS-O'-BITCHES! DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER?" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +WOUNDED--HOW IT FEELS TO BE SHOT + + +Just how does it feel to be shot on the field of battle? Just what is +the exact sensation when a bullet burns its way through your flesh or +crashes through your bones? + +I always wanted to know. As a police reporter I "covered" scores of +shooting cases, but I could never learn from the victims what the +precise feeling was as the piece of lead struck. For long years I had +cherished an inordinate curiosity to know that sensation, if possible, +without experiencing it. I was curious and eager for enlightenment just +as I am still anxious to know how it is that some people willingly drink +buttermilk when it isn't compulsory. + +I am still in the dark concerning the inexplicable taste for the sour, +clotted product of a sweet, well-meaning cow and the buttery, but I have +found out how it feels to be shot. I know it now by experience. + +Three Germans bullets that violated my person left me as many scars and +at the same time completely satisfied my curiosity. I think now if I can +ever muster up enough courage to drink a glass of buttermilk, I shall +have bereft myself of my last inquisitiveness. + +It happened on June 6th just to the northwest of Chateau-Thierry in the +Bois de Belleau. On the morning of that day I left Paris by motor for a +rush to the front. The Germans were on that day within forty miles of +the capital of France. On the night before, the citizens of Paris, in +their homes and hotels, had heard the roll of the guns drawing ever +nearer. Many had left the city. + +But American divisions were in the line between the enemy and their +goal, and the operation of these divisions was my object in hustling to +the front. On the broad, paved highway from Paris to Meaux, my car +passed miles and miles of loaded motor trucks bound frontward. Long +lines of these carried thousands of Americans. Other long lines were +loaded down with shells and cartridge boxes. On the right side of the +road, bound for Paris and points back of the line, was an endless stream +of ambulances and other motor trucks bringing back wounded. Dense clouds +of dust hung like a pall over the length of the road. The day was hot, +the dust was stifling. + +From Meaux we proceeded along the straight highway that borders the +south banks of the Marne to LaFerte, at which place we crossed the river +and turned north to Montreuil, which was the newly occupied headquarters +of the Second United States Army Division, General Omar Bundy +commanding. On the day before, the two infantry brigades of that +division, one composed of the 5th and 6th U. S. Marines, under command +of Brigadier General Harbord, the other composed of the 9th and 23rd U. +S. Infantry, had been thrown into the line which was just four miles to +the north and east. + +The fight had been hot during the morning. The Marines on the left flank +of the divisional sector had been pushing their lines forward through +triangle woods and the village of Lucy-le-Bocage. The information of +their advances was given to me by the Divisional Intelligence officer, +who occupied a large room in the rear of the building that was used as +Divisional Headquarters. The building was the village _Mairie_, which +also included the village school-house. Now the desks of the school +children were being used by our staff officers and the walls and +blackboards were covered with maps. + +I was accompanied by Lieutenant Oscar Hartzell, formerly of the _New +York Times_ staff. We learned that orders from the French High Command +called for a continuation of the Marine advance during the afternoon and +evening, and this information made it possible for us to make our plans. +Although the Germans were shelling roads immediately behind the front, +Lieutenant Hartzell and I agreed to proceed by motor from Montreuil a +mile or so to a place called La Voie du Chatel, which was the +headquarters of Colonel Neveille of the 5th Marines. Reaching that place +around four o'clock, we turned a despatch over to the driver of our +staff car with instructions that he proceed with all haste to Paris and +there submit it to the U. S. Press Bureau. + +Lieutenant Hartzell and I announced our intentions of proceeding at once +to the front line to Colonel Neveille. + +"Go wherever you like," said the regimental commander, looking up from +the outspread maps on the kitchen table in the low-ceilinged stone +farm-house that he had adopted as headquarters. "Go as far as you like, +but I want to tell you it's damn hot up there." + +An hour later found us in the woods to the west of the village of Lucy +le Bocage, in which German shells were continually falling. To the west +and north another nameless cluster of farm dwellings was in flames. Huge +clouds of smoke rolled up like a smudge against the background of blue +sky. + +The ground under the trees in the wood was covered with small bits of +white paper. I could not account for their presence until I examined +several of them and found that these were letters from American mothers +and wives and sweethearts--letters--whole packages of them, which the +tired, dog-weary Marines had been forced to remove from their packs and +destroy in order to ease the straps that cut into aching grooves in +their shoulders. Circumstances also forced the abandonment of much other +material and equipment. + +Occasional shells were dropping in the woods, which were also within +range from a long distance, indirect machine gun fire from the enemy. +Bits of lead, wobbling in their flight at the end of their long +trajectory, sung through the air above our heads and clipped leaves and +twigs from the branches. On the edge of the woods we came upon a hastily +dug out pit in which there were two American machine guns and their +crews. + +The field in front of the woods sloped gently down some two hundred +yards to another cluster of trees. This cluster was almost as big as the +one we were in. Part of it was occupied by the Germans. Our machine +gunners maintained a continual fire into that part held by the enemy. + +Five minutes before five o'clock, the order for the advance reached our +pit. It was brought there by a second lieutenant, a platoon commander. + +"What are you doing here?" he asked, looking at the green brassard and +red "C" on my left arm. + +"Looking for the big story," I said. + +"If I were you I'd be about forty miles south of this place," said the +Lieutenant, "but if you want to see the fun, stick around. We are going +forward in five minutes." + +That was the last I saw of him until days later, when both of us, +wounded, met in the hospital. Of course, the first thing he said was, "I +told you so." + +We hurriedly finished the contents of the can of cold "Corned Willy" +which one of the machine gunners and I were eating. The machine guns +were taken down and the barrels, cradles and tripods were handed over to +the members of the crew whose duties it was to carry them. + +And then we went over. There are really no heroics about it. There is no +bugle call, no sword waving, no dramatic enunciation of catchy commands, +no theatricalism--it's just plain get up and go over. And it is done +just the same as one would walk across a peaceful wheat field out in +Iowa. + +But with the appearance of our first line, as it stepped from the +shelter of the woods into the open exposure of the flat field, the woods +opposite began to cackle and rattle with the enemy machine gun fire. Our +men advanced in open order, ten and twelve feet between men. Sometimes a +squad would run forward fifty feet and drop. And as its members +flattened on the ground for safety another squad would rise from the +ground and make another rush. + +They gained the woods. Then we could hear shouting. Then we knew that +work was being done with the bayonet. The machine gun fire continued in +intensity and then died down completely. The wood had been won. Our men +consolidated the position by moving forward in groups ever on the +watch-out for snipers in the trees. A number of these were brought down +by our crack pistol shots. + +At different times during the advance runners had come through the woods +inquiring for Major John Berry, the battalion commander. One of these +runners attached himself to Lieutenant Hartzell and myself and together +the three of us located the Major coming through the woods. He granted +permission for Lieutenant Hartzell and me to accompany him and we +started forward, in all a party of some fifteen, including ten runners +attached to the battalion commander. + +Owing to the continual evidences of German snipers in the trees, every +one in our party carried a revolver ready in his hand, with the +exception of myself. Correspondents, you will remember, are +non-combatants and must be unarmed. I carried a notebook, but it was +loaded. We made our way down the slope of the wooded hillside. + +Midway down the slope, the hill was bisected by a sunken road which +turned forward on the left. Lying in the road were a number of French +bodies and several of our men who had been brought down but five minutes +before. We crossed that road hurriedly knowing that it was covered from +the left by German machine guns. + +At the bottom of the slope there was a V-shaped field. The apex of the V +was on the left. From left to right the field was some two hundred yards +in width. The point where we came out of the woods was about one hundred +yards from the apex. At that point the field was about one hundred yards +across. It was perfectly flat and was covered with a young crop of oats +between ten and fifteen inches high. + +This V-shaped oat field was bordered on all sides by dense clusters of +trees. In the trees on the side opposite the side on which we stood, +were German machine guns. We could hear them. We could not see them but +we knew that every leaf and piece of greenery there vibrated from their +fire and the tops of the young oats waved and swayed with the streams of +lead that swept across. + +Major Berry gave orders for us to follow him at intervals of ten or +fifteen yards. Then he started across the field alone at the head of the +party. I followed. Behind me came Hartzell. Then the woods about us +began to rattle fiercely. It was unusually close range. That lead +travelled so fast that we could not hear it as it passed. We soon had +visual demonstration of the hot place we were in when we began to see +the dust puffs that the bullets kicked up in the dirt around our feet. + +Major Berry had advanced well beyond the centre of the field when I saw +him turn toward me and heard him shout: + +"Get down everybody." + +We all fell on our faces. And then it began to come hot and fast. +Perfectly withering volleys of lead swept the tops of the oats just over +us. For some reason it did not seem to be coming from the trees hardly a +hundred yards in front of us. It was coming from a new direction--from +the left. + +I was busily engaged flattening myself on the ground. Then I heard a +shout in front of me. It came from Major Berry. I lifted my head +cautiously and looked forward. The Major was making an effort to get to +his feet. With his right hand he was savagely grasping his left wrist. + +"My hand's gone," he shouted. One of the streams of lead from the left +had found him. A ball had entered his left arm at the elbow, had +travelled down the side of the bone, tearing away muscles and nerves of +the forearm and lodging itself in the palm of his hand. His pain was +excruciating. + +"Get down. Flatten out, Major," I shouted, and he dropped to the ground. +I did not know the extent of his injuries at that time but I did know +that he was courting death every minute he stood up. + +"We've got to get out of here," said the Major. "We've got to get +forward. They'll start shelling this open field in a few minutes." + +I lifted my head for another cautious look. + +I judged that I was lying about thirty yards from the edge of the trees +in front of us. The Major was about ten yards in front of me. + +"You are twenty yards from the trees," I shouted to the Major. "I am +crawling over to you now. Wait until I get there and I'll help you. Then +we'll get up and make a dash for it." + +"All right," replied the Major, "hurry along." + +I started forward, keeping as flat on the ground as it was possible to +do so and at the same time move. As far as was feasible, I pushed +forward by digging in with my toes and elbows extended in front of me. +It was my object to make as little movement in the oats as possible. I +was not mistaken about the intensity of fire that swept the field. It +was terrific. + +And then it happened. The lighted end of a cigarette touched me in the +fleshy part of my upper left arm. That was all. It just felt like a +sudden burn and nothing worse. The burned part did not seem to be any +larger in area than that part which could be burned by the lighted end +of a cigarette. + +At the time there was no feeling within the arm, that is, no feeling as +to aches or pain. There was nothing to indicate that the bullet, as I +learned several days later, had gone through the bicep muscle of the +upper arm and had come out on the other side. The only sensation +perceptible at the time was the burning touch at the spot where the +bullet entered. + +I glanced down at the sleeve of my uniformed coat and could not even see +the hole where the bullet had entered. Neither was there any sudden flow +of blood. At the time there was no stiffness or discomfort in the arm +and I continued to use it to work my way forward. + +Then the second one hit. It nicked the top of my left shoulder. And +again came the burning sensation, only this time the area affected +seemed larger. Hitting as it did in the meaty cap of the shoulder, I +feared that there would be no further use for the arm until it had +received attention, but again I was surprised when I found upon +experiment that I could still use it. The bone seemed to be affected in +no way. + +Again there was no sudden flow of blood, nor stiffness. It seemed hard +for me to believe at the time, but I had been shot twice, penetrated +through by two bullets and was experiencing not any more pain than I had +experienced once when I dropped a lighted cigarette on the back of my +hand. I am certain that the pain in no way approached that sensation +which the dentist provides when he drills into a tooth with a live nerve +in it. + +So I continued to move toward the Major. Occasionally I would shout +something to him, although, at this time, I am unable to remember what +it was. I only wanted to let him know I was coming. I had fears, based +on the one look that I had obtained of his pain-distorted face, that he +had been mortally shot in the body. + +And then the third one struck me. In order to keep as close to the +ground as possible, I had swung my chin to the right so that I was +pushing forward with my left cheek flat against the ground and in order +to accommodate this position of the head, I had moved my steel helmet +over so that it covered part of my face on the right. + +Then there came a crash. It sounded to me like some one had dropped a +glass bottle into a porcelain bathtub. A barrel of whitewash tipped over +and it seemed that everything in the world turned white. That was the +sensation. I did not recognise it because I have often been led to +believe and often heard it said that when one receives a blow on the +head everything turns black. + +Maybe I am contrarily constructed, but in my case everything became pure +white. I remember this distinctly because my years of newspaper training +had been in but one direction--to sense and remember. So it was that, +even without knowing it, my mind was making mental notes on every +impression that my senses registered. + +I did not know yet where I had been hit or what the bullet had done. I +knew that I was still knowing things. I did not know whether I was alive +or dead but I did know that my mind was still working. I was still +mentally taking notes on every second. + +The first recess in that note-taking came when I asked myself the +following question: + +"Am I dead?" + +I didn't laugh or didn't even smile when I asked myself the question +without putting it in words. I wanted to know. And wanting to know, I +undertook to find out. I am not aware now that there was any appreciable +passage of time during this mental progress. I feel certain, however, +that I never lost consciousness. + +How was I to find out if I was dead? The shock had lifted my head off +the ground but I had immediately replaced it as close to the soil as +possible. My twice punctured left arm was lying alongside my body. I +decided to try and move my fingers on my left hand. I did so and they +moved. I next moved my left foot. Then I knew I was alive. + +[Illustration: HELMET WORN BY FLOYD GIBBONS WHEN WOUNDED, SHOWING DAMAGE +CAUSED BY SHRAPNEL] + +Then I brought my right hand up toward my face and placed it to the left +of my nose. My fingers rested on something soft and wet. I withdrew the +hand and looked at it. It was covered with blood. As I looked at it, +I was not aware that my entire vision was confined to my right eye, +although there was considerable pain in the entire left side of my face. + +This was sufficient to send me on another mental investigation. I closed +my right eye and--all was dark. My first thought following this +experiment was that my left eye was closed. So I again counselled with +myself and tried to open my left eye--that is, tried to give the mental +command that would cause the muscles of the left eye to open the lid and +close it again. + +I did this but could not feel or verify in any way whether the eye lid +responded or not. I only knew that it remained dark on that side. This +brought me to another conclusion and not a pessimistic one at that. I +simply believed, in spite of the pain, that something had struck me in +the eye and had closed it. + +I did not know then, as I know now, that a bullet striking the ground +immediately under my left cheek bone, had ricocheted upward, going +completely through the left eye and then crashing out through my +forehead, leaving the eyeball and upper eyelid completely halved, the +lower eyelid torn away, and a compound fracture of the skull. + +Further progress toward the Major was impossible. I must confess that I +became so intensely interested in the weird sensations and subjective +research, that I even neglected to call out and tell the wounded officer +that I would not be able to continue to his assistance. I held this view +in spite of the fact that my original intentions were strong. Lying +there with my left cheek flat on the ground, I was able to observe some +minutes later the wounded Major rise to his feet and in a perfect hail +of lead rush forward and out of my line of vision. + +It was several days later, in the hospital, that I learned that he +reached the shelter of the woods beyond without being hit again, and in +that place, although suffering intense pain, was able to shout back +orders which resulted in the subsequent wiping out of the machine gun +nest that had been our undoing. For this supreme effort, General +Pershing decorated him with the Distinguished Service Cross. + +I began to make plans to get out of the exposed position in which I was +lying. Whereas the field when I started across it had seemed perfectly +flat, now it impressed me as being convex and I was further impressed +with the belief that I was lying on the very uppermost and most exposed +curvature of it. There is no doubt that the continued stream of machine +gun lead that swept the field superinduced this belief. I got as close +to the ground as a piece of paper on top of a table. I remember +regretting sincerely that the war had reached the stage of open movement +and one consequence of which was that there wasn't a shell hole anywhere +to crawl into. + +This did not, however, eliminate the dangerous possibility of shelling. +With the fatalism that one acquires along the fronts, I was ready to +take my chances with the casual German shell that one might have +expected, but I devoted much thought to a consideration of the French +and American artillery some miles behind me. I considered the +possibility of word having been sent back that our advancing waves at +this point had been cut down by enemy machine gunners who were still in +position preventing all progress at this place. I knew that such +information, if sent back, would immediately be forwarded to our guns +and then a devastating concentration of shells would be directed toward +the location of the machine gun nests. + +I knew that I was lying one hundred yards from one of those nests and I +knew that I was well within the fatal bursting radius of any shells our +gunners might direct against that German target. My fear was that myself +and other American wounded lying in that field would die by American +guns. That is what would have happened if that information had reached +our artillery and it is what should have happened. + +The lives of the wounded in that field were as nothing compared with the +importance of wiping out that machine gun nest on our left which was +holding up the entire advance. + +I wanted to see what time it was and my watch was attached to my left +wrist. In endeavouring to get a look at it, I found out that my left arm +was stiff and racked with pain. Hartzell, I knew, had a watch, but I did +not know where he was lying, so I called out. + +He answered me from some distance away but I could not tell how far or +in what direction. I could see dimly but only at the expense of great +pain. When he answered I shouted back to him: + +"Are you hit?" + +"No, are you?" he asked. + +"Yes, what time is it?" I said. + +"Are you hit badly?" he asked in reply. + +"No, I don't think so," I said. "I think I'm all right." + +"Where are you hit?" he asked. + +"In the head," I said; "I think something hit my eye." + +"In the head, you damn fool," he shouted louder with just a bit of anger +and surprise in his voice. "How the hell can you be all right if you are +hit in the head? Are you bleeding much?" + +"No," I said. "What time is it, will you tell me?" + +"I'm coming over to get you," shouted Hartzell. + +"Don't move, you damn fool, you want to kill both of us?" I hastened to +shout back. "If you start moving, don't move near me. I think they think +I'm dead." + +"Well you can't lie there and bleed to death," Hartzell replied. "We've +got to do something to get to hell out of here. What'll we do?" + +"Tell me what time it is and how long it will be before it's dark," I +asked. + +"It's six o'clock now," Hartzell said, "and it won't be dark 'til nine; +this is June. Do you think you can stick it out?" + +I told him that I thought I could and we were silent for some time. Both +of us had the feeling that other ears--ears working in conjunction with +eyes trained along the barrels of those machine guns a hundred yards on +our left--would be aroused to better marksmanship if we continued to +talk. + +I began to take stock of my condition. During my year or more along the +fronts I had been through many hospitals and from my observations in +those institutions I had cultivated a keen distaste for one thing--gas +gangrene. I had learned from doctors its fatal and horrible results and +I also had learned from them that it was caused by germs which exist in +large quantities in any ground that has been under artificial +cultivation for a long period. + +Such was the character of the very field I was lying in and I came to +the realisation that the wound in the left side of my face and head was +resting flatly on the soil. With my right hand I drew up my British box +respirator or gas mask and placed this under my head. Thus I rested with +more confidence, although the machine gun lead continued to pass in +sheets through the tops of the oats not two or three inches above my +head. + +All of it was coming from the left,--coming from the German nests +located in the trees at the apex of the V-shaped field. Those guns were +not a hundred yards away and they seemed to have an inexhaustible supply +of ammunition. Twenty feet away on my left a wounded Marine was lying. +Occasionally I would open my right eye for a painful look in his +direction. + +He was wounded and apparently unconscious. His pack, "the khaki doll," +was still strapped between his shoulders. Unconsciously he was doing +that which all wounded men do--that is, to assume the position that is +the most comfortable. He was trying to roll over on his back. + +But the pack was on his back and every time he would roll over on this +it would elevate his body into full view of the German gunners. Then a +withering hail of lead would sweep the field. It so happened that I was +lying immediately in line between those German guns and this unconscious +moving target. As the Marine would roll over on top of the pack his +chest would be exposed to the fire. + +I could see the buttons fly from his tunic and one of the shoulder +straps of the back pack part as the sprays of lead struck him. He would +limply roll off the pack over on his side. I found myself wishing that +he would lie still, as every movement of his brought those streams of +bullets closer and closer to my head. I even considered the thickness of +the box respirator on which I had elevated my head off the ground. It +was about two inches thick. + +I remembered my French gas mask hanging from my shoulder and recalled +immediately that it was much flatter, being hardly half an inch in +thickness. I forthwith drew up the French mask to my head, extracted the +British one and rested my cheek closer to the ground on the French one. +Thus, I lowered my head about an inch and a half--an inch and a half +that represented worlds of satisfaction and some optimism to me. + +Sometimes there were lulls in the firing. During those periods of +comparative quiet, I could hear the occasional moan of other wounded on +that field. Very few of them cried out and it seemed to me that those +who did were unconscious when they did it. One man in particular had a +long, low groan. I could not see him, yet I felt he was lying somewhere +close to me. In the quiet intervals, his unconscious expression of pain +reminded me of the sound I had once heard made by a calf which had been +tied by a short rope to a tree. The animal had strayed round and round +the tree until its entanglements in the rope had left it a helpless +prisoner. The groan of that unseen, unconscious wounded American who +laid near me on the field that evening sounded exactly like the pitiful +bawl of that calf. + +Those three hours were long in passing. With the successive volleys that +swept the field, I sometimes lost hope that I could ever survive it. It +seemed to me that if three German bullets had found me within the space +of fifteen minutes, I could hardly expect to spend three hours without +receiving the fatal one. With such thoughts on my mind I reopened +conversation with Hartzell. + +"How's it coming, old man?" I shouted. + +"They're coming damn close," he said; "how is it with you? Are you +losing much blood?" + +"No, I'm all right as far as that goes," I replied, "but I want you to +communicate with my wife, if its 'west' for me." + +"What's her address?" said Hartzell. + +"It's a long one," I said. "Are you ready to take it?" + +"Shoot," said Hartzell. + +"'Mrs. Floyd Gibbons, No. 12 Bis, Rue de la Chevalier de la Barre, +Dijon, Cote d'Or, France.'" I said slowly. + +"My God," said Hartzell, "say it again." + +Back and forth we repeated the address correctly and incorrectly some +ten or twelve times until Hartzell informed me that he knew it well +enough to sing it. He also gave me his wife's address. Then just to make +conversation he would shout over, every fifteen minutes, and tell me +that there was just that much less time that we would have to lie there. + +I thought that hour between seven and eight o'clock dragged the most, +but the one between eight and nine seemed interminable. The hours were +so long, particularly when we considered that a German machine gun could +fire three hundred shots a minute. Dusk approached slowly. And finally +Hartzell called over: + +"I don't think they can see us now," he said; "let's start to crawl +back." + +"Which way shall we crawl?" I asked. + +"Into the woods," said Hartzell. + +"Which woods?" I asked. + +"The woods we came out of, you damn fool," he replied. + +"Which direction are they in?" I said, "I've been moving around and I +don't know which way I am heading. Are you on my left, or on my right?" + +"I can't tell whether I'm on your left or your right," he replied. "How +are you lying, on your face or on your back?" + +"On my face," I said, "and your voice sounds like it comes from in back +of me and on the left." + +"If that's the case," said Hartzell, "your head is lying toward the +wrong woods. Work around in a half circle and you'll be facing the right +direction." + +I did so and then heard Hartzell's voice on my right. I started moving +toward him. Against my better judgment and expressed wishes, he crawled +out toward me and met me half way. His voice close in front of me +surprised me. + +"Hold your head up a little," he said, "I want to see where it hit you." + +"I don't think it looks very nice," I replied, lifting my head. I wanted +to know how it looked myself, so I painfully opened the right eye and +looked through the oats eighteen inches into Hartzell's face. I saw the +look of horror on it as he looked into mine. + +Twenty minutes later, after crawling painfully through the interminable +yards of young oats, we reached the edge of the woods and safety. + +That's how it feels to be shot. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +"GOOD MORNING, NURSE" + + +Weakness from the loss of blood began to grow on me as Lieutenant +Hartzell and I made our way through the deepening shadows of the wooded +hillside in the rear of the field on which I had been shot. In an +upright position of walking the pains in my head seemed to increase. We +stopped for a minute and, neither of us having first aid kits with us, I +resurrected a somewhat soiled silk handkerchief with which Hartzell +bound up my head in a manner that applied supporting pressure over my +left eye and brought a degree of relief. + +Hartzell told me later that I was staggering slightly when we reached a +small relief dugout about a mile back of the wood. There a medical corps +man removed the handkerchief and bound my head with a white gauze +bandage. I was anxious to have the wound cleaned but he told me there +was no water. He said they had been forced to turn it over to the men to +drink. This seemed to me to be as it should be because my thirst was +terrific, yet there was no water left. + +We stumbled rearward another half mile and, in the darkness, came upon +the edge of another wooded area. A considerable number of our wounded +were lying on stretchers on the ground. The Germans were keeping up a +continual fire of shrapnel and high explosive shell in the woods, +apparently to prevent the mobilisation of reserves, but the doctors, +taking care of the wounded, proceeded with their work without notice to +the whine of the shells passing overhead or the bursting of those that +landed nearby. They went at their work just as though they were caring +for injured men on a football field. + +Hartzell stretched me out on the ground and soon had a doctor bending +over me. The doctor removed the eye bandage, took one look at what was +beneath it and then replaced it. I remember this distinctly because at +the time I made the mental note that the doctor apparently considered my +head wound beyond anything he could repair. He next turned his attention +to my arm and shoulder. He inserted his scissors into my left sleeve at +the wrist and ripped it up to the shoulder. He followed this operation +by cutting through my heavy khaki tunic from the shoulder to the collar. +A few more snips of the nickel-plated blades and my shirt and undershirt +were cut away. He located the three bullet holes, two in the arm and one +across the top of the shoulder, and bound them up with bandages. + +"We're awful shy on ambulances," he said; "you will have to lie here a +while." + +"I feel that I can walk all right if there is no reason why I +shouldn't," I replied. + +"You ought to be in an ambulance," said the doctor, "but if you feel +that you can make it, you might take a try at it." + +Then turning to Lieutenant Hartzell, he said, "Keep right with him, and +if he begins to get groggy, make him lie down." + +So Hartzell and I resumed our rearward plodding or staggering. He walked +at my right side and slightly in front of me, holding my right arm over +his right shoulder and thereby giving me considerable support. We had +not proceeded far before we heard the racing motor of an automobile +coming from behind us. An occasional shell was dropping along the road +we were now on. + +A stick struck my legs from behind in the darkness. And then an +apologetic voice said: + +"Beg your pardon, sir, just feeling along the road for shell holes. +Ambulance right behind me, sir. Would you mind stepping to one side? +Come on, Bill," to the driver of the ambulance, "it looks all clear +through here." + +The automobile with the racing motor turned out to be a light ambulance +of a popular Detroit make. Its speeding engine was pure camouflage for +its slow progress. It bubbled and steamed at the radiator cap as it +pushed along at almost a snail's pace. + +"All full?" Hartzell shouted into the darkness of the driver's seat. + +"To the brim," responded the driver. "Are you wounded?" + +"No, but I have a wounded man with me," said Hartzell. "He can sit +beside you on the seat if you have room." + +"Get right in," said the driver, and Hartzell boosted me into the front +seat. We pushed along slowly, Hartzell walking beside the car and the +driver's assistant proceeding ahead of us, searching the dark road with +his cane for new shell craters. + +Occasionally, when our wheels would strike in one of these, groans would +come from the ambulance proper. + +"Take it easy," would come a voice through pain-pressed lips; "for +Christ's sake, do you think you are driving a truck?" + +I heard the driver tell Hartzell that he had three men with bullet +splintered legs in the ambulance. Every jolt of the car caused their +broken bones to jolt and increased the pounding of their wearied nerves +to an extremity of agony. The fourth occupant of the ambulance, he +said, had been shot through the lungs. + +Some distance along, there came a knock on the wooden partition behind +my back,--the partition that separates the driver's seat from the +ambulance proper. The car stopped and the driver and Hartzell went to +the rear door and opened it. The man with the shot through the lungs was +half sitting up on his stretcher. He had one hand to his mouth and his +lips, as revealed in the rays of the driver's flashlight, were red wet. + +"Quick--get me--to a doctor," the man said between gulps and gurgles. + +The driver considered. He knew we were ten miles from the closest doctor. +Then he addressed himself to the other three stretcher-cases--the men +with the torture-torn legs. + +"If I go fast, you guys are going to suffer the agonies of hell," he +said, "and if I go slow this guy with the hemorrhage will croak before +we get there. How do you want me to drive?" + +There was not a minute's silence. The three broken leg cases responded +almost in unison. + +"Go as fast as you can," they said. + +And we did. With Hartzell riding the running board beside me and the +crater finder clinging to the mud guards on the other side, we sped +through the darkness regardless of the ruts and shell holes. The jolting +was severe but never once did there come another complaint from the +occupants of the ambulance. + +In this manner did we arrive in time at the first medical clearing +station. I learned later that the life of the man with the hemorrhage +was saved and he is alive to-day. + +The clearing station was located in an old church on the outskirts of a +little village. Four times during this war the flow and ebb of battle +had passed about this old edifice. Hartzell half carried me off the +ambulance seat and into the church. As I felt my feet scrape on the +flagstoned flooring underneath the Gothic entrance arch, I opened my +right eye for a painful survey of the interior. + +The walls, grey with age, appeared yellow in the light of the candles +and lanterns that were used for illumination. Blankets, and bits of +canvas and carpet had been tacked over the apertures where once stained +glass windows and huge oaken doors had been. These precautions were +necessary to prevent the lights from shining outside the building and +betraying our location to the hospital-loving eyes of German bombing +'planes whose motors we could hear even at that minute, humming in the +black sky above us. + +Our American wounded were lying on stretchers all over the floor. Near +the door, where I entered, a number of pews had been pushed to one side +and on these our walking wounded were seated. They were smoking +cigarettes and talking and passing observations on every fresh case that +came through the door. They all seemed to be looking at me. + +My appearance must have been sufficient to have shocked them. I was +hatless and my hair was matted with blood. The red-stained bandage +around my forehead and extending down over my left cheek did not hide +the rest of my face, which was unwashed, and consequently red with fresh +blood. + +On my left side I was completely bare from the shoulder to the waist +with the exception of the strips of white-cloth about my arm and +shoulder. My chest was splashed with red from the two body wounds. Such +was my entrance. I must have looked somewhat grewsome because I +happened to catch an involuntary shudder as it passed over the face of +one of my observers among the walking wounded and I heard him remark to +the man next to him: + +"My God, look what they're bringing in." + +Hartzell placed me on a stretcher on the floor and went for water, which +I sorely needed. I heard some one stop beside my stretcher and bend over +me, while a kindly voice said: + +"Would you like a cigarette, old man?" + +"Yes," I replied. He lighted one in his own lips and placed it in my +mouth. I wanted to know my benefactor. I asked him for his name and +organisation. + +"I am not a soldier," he said; "I am a non-combatant, the same as you. +My name is Slater and I'm from the Y. M. C. A." + +That cigarette tasted mighty good. If you who read this are one of those +whose contributions to the Y. M. C. A. made that distribution possible, +I wish to herewith express to you my gratefulness and the gratefulness +of the other men who enjoyed your generosity that night. + +In front of what had been the altar in the church, there had been +erected a rudely constructed operation table. The table was surrounded +with tall candelabrum of brass and gilded wood. These ornate accessories +had been removed from the altar for the purpose of providing better +light for the surgeons who busied themselves about the table in their +long gowns of white--stained with red. + +I was placed on that table for an examination and I heard a peculiar +conversation going on about me. One doctor said, "We haven't any more of +it." Then another doctor said, "But I thought we had plenty." The first +voice replied, "Yes, but we didn't expect so many wounded. We have used +up all we had." Then the second voice said, "Well, we certainly need it +now. I don't know what we're going to do without it." + +From their further conversation I learned that the subject under +discussion was anti-tetanus serum--the all-important inoculation that +prevents lockjaw and is also an antidote for the germs of gas gangrene. +You may be sure I became more than mildly interested in the absence of +this valuable boon, but there was nothing I could say that would help +the case, so I remained quiet. In several minutes my composure was +rewarded. I heard hurried footsteps across the flagstoned flooring and a +minute later felt a steel needle penetrating my abdomen. Then a cheery +voice said: + +"It's all right, now, we've got plenty of it. We've got just piles of +it. The Red Cross just shot it out from Paris in limousines." + +After the injection Hartzell informed me that the doctors could do +nothing for me at that place and that I was to be moved further to the +rear. He said ambulances were scarce but he had found a place for me in +a returning ammunition truck. I was carried out of the church and +somewhere in the outer darkness was lifted up into the body of the truck +and laid down on some straw in the bottom. There were some fifteen or +twenty other men lying there beside me. + +The jolting in this springless vehicle was severe, but its severity was +relieved in some of our cases by the quieting injections we had +received. The effects of these narcotics had worn off in some of the men +and they suffered the worse for it. One of them continually called out +to the truck driver to go slower and make less jolting. To each request +the driver responded that he was going as slow as he could. As the +jolting continued the man with the complaining nerves finally yelled out +a new request. He said: + +"Well, if you can't make it easier by going slow, then for God's sake +throw her into high and go as fast as you can. Let's get it over as +quick as we can." + +Lying on my back in the truck with a raincoat as a pillow, I began to +wonder where we were bound for. I opened my eye once and looked up +toward the roof of the leafy tunnel which covered the road. Soon we +passed out from beneath the trees bordering the roadside and I could see +the sky above. The moon was out and there were lots of stars. They gave +one something to think about. After all, how insignificant was one +little life. + +In this mood, something in the jolting of the camion brought to my mind +the metre and words of George Amicks' wistful verses, "The Camion +Caravan," and I repeat it from memory: + + "Winding down through sleeping town + Pale stars of early dawn; + Like ancient knight with squire by side, + Driver and helper now we ride-- + The camion caravan. + + "In between the rows of trees + Glare of the mid-day sun; + Creeping along the highway wide, + Slowly in long defile, we ride-- + The camion caravan. + + "Homeward to _remorque_ and rest, + Pale stars of early night; + Through stillness of the eventide, + Back through the winding town we ride-- + The camion caravan." + +Sometime during the dark hours of the early morning we stopped in the +courtyard of a hospital and I was taken into another examination room +illuminated with painfully brilliant lights. I was placed on a table for +an examination, which seemed rather hurried, and then the table was +rolled away some distance down a corridor. I never understood that move +until some weeks later when a Lieutenant medical officer told me that it +was he who had examined me at that place. + +"You're looking pretty fit, now," he said, "but that night when I saw +you I ticketed you for the dead pile. You didn't look like you could +live till morning." + +His statement gave me some satisfaction. There is always joy in fooling +the doctor. + +Hartzell, who still accompanied me, apparently rescued me from the "dead +pile" and we started on another motor trip, this time on a stretcher in +a large, easier-riding ambulance. In this I arrived shortly after dawn +at the United States Military Base Hospital at Neuilly-sur-Seine, on the +outskirts of Paris. + +There were more hurried examinations and soon I was rolled down a +corridor on a wheeled table, into an elevator that started upward. Then +the wheeled table raced down another long corridor and I began to feel +that my journeyings were endless. We stopped finally in a room where I +distinctly caught the odour of ether. Some one began removing my boots +and clothes. As that some one worked he talked to me. + +"I know you, Mr. Gibbons," he said. "I'm from Chicago also. I am +Sergeant Stephen Hayes. I used to go to Hyde Park High School. We're +going to fix you up right away." + +I learned from Hayes that I was lying in a room adjoining the operating +chamber and was being prepared for the operating table. Some information +concerning the extent of my injuries and the purpose of the operation +would have been comforting and would have relieved the sensation of +utter helpless childishness that I was experiencing. + +I knew I was about to go under the influence of the anesthetic and that +something was going to be done to me. I had every confidence that +whatever was done would be for the best but it was perfectly natural +that I should be curious about it. Was the operation to be a serious one +or a minor one? Would they have to remove my eye? Would they have to +operate on my skull? How about the arm? Would there be an amputation? +How about the other eye? Would I ever see again? It must be remembered +that in spite of all the examinations I had not been informed and +consequently had no knowledge concerning the extent of my injuries. The +only information I had received had been included in vague remarks +intended as soothing, such as "You're all right, old man." "You'll pull +through fine." "You're coming along nicely." But all of it had seemed +too professionally optimistic to satisfy me and my doubts still +remained. + +They were relieved, however, by the pressure of a hand and the sound of +a voice. In the words spoken and in the pressure of the hand, there was +hardly anything different from similar hand pressures and similar spoken +phrases that had come to me during the night, yet there was everything +different. This voice and this hand carried supreme confidence. I could +believe in both of them. I felt the hand pressure on my right shoulder +and the mild kindly voice said: + +"Son, I am going to operate on you. I have examined you and you are all +right. You are going to come through fine. Don't worry about anything." + +"Thank you, very much," I said, "I like your voice. It sounds like my +father's. Will you tell me your name?" + +"I am Major Powers," the kindly voice said. "Now just take it easy, and +I will talk to you again in a couple of hours when you feel better." + +The speaker, as I learned later, was Major Charles Powers, of Denver, +Colorado, one of the best-known and best-loved surgeons in the West. A +man far advanced in his profession and well advanced in his years, a man +whose life has not been one of continual health, a man who, upon +America's entry of the war, sacrificed the safety of the beneficial air +rarity of his native Denver to answer the country's call, to go to +France at great personal risk to his health--a risk only appreciated by +those who know him well. It was Major Powers who operated upon the +compound fracture in my skull that morning. + +My mental note-taking continued as the anesthetist worked over me with +the ether. As I began breathing the fumes I remember that my senses were +keenly making observations on every sensation I experienced. The thought +even went through my mind that it would be rather an unusual thing to +report completely the impressions of coma. This suggestion became a +determination and I became keyed up to everything going on about me. + +The conversation of the young doctor who was administering the +anesthetic interested me unusually. He was very busy and business-like +and although I considered myself an important and most interested party +in the entire proceedings, his conversation ignored me entirely. He not +only did not talk to me, but he was not even talking about me. As he +continued to apply the ether, he kept up a running fire of entirely +extraneous remarks with some other person near the table. I did not +appreciate then, as I do now, that I was only one of very, very many +that he had anesthetised that morning and the night before, but at the +time his seeming lack of all interest in me as me, piqued me +considerably. + +"Are you feeling my pulse?" I said. I could not feel his hand on either +of my wrists, but I asked the question principally to inject myself into +the conversation in some way or other, preferably in some way that would +call him to account, as I had by this time aroused within me a keen and +healthy dislike for this busy little worker whom I could not see but who +stood over me and carried on conversations with other people to my utter +and complete exclusion. And all the time he was engaged in feeding me +the fumes that I knew would soon steal away my senses. + +"Now, never you mind about your pulse," he replied somewhat peevishly. +"I'm taking care of this." It seemed to me from the tone of his voice +that he implied I was talking about something that was none of my +business and I had the distinct conviction that if the proceedings were +anybody's business, they certainly were mine. + +"You will pardon me for manifesting a mild interest in what you are +doing to me," I said, "but you see I know that something is going to be +done to my right eye and inasmuch as that is the only eye I've got on +that side, I can't help being concerned." + +"Now, you just forget it and take deep breaths, and say, Charlie, did +you see that case over in Ward 62? That was a wonderful case. The bullet +hit the man in the head and they took the lead out of his stomach. He's +got the bullet on the table beside him now. Talk about bullet +eaters--believe me, those Marines sure are." + +I hurled myself back into the conversation. + +"I'll take deep breaths if you'll loosen the straps over my chest," I +said, getting madder each minute. "How can I take a full breath when +you've got my lungs strapped down?" + +"Well, how's that?" responded the conversational anesthetist, as he +loosened one of the straps. "Now, take one breath of fresh air--one +deep, long breath, now." + +I turned my head to one side to escape the fumes from the stifling towel +over my face and made a frenzied gulp for fresh air. As I did so, one +large drop of ether fell on the table right in front of my nose and the +deep long breath I got had very little air in it. I felt I had been +tricked. + +"You're pretty cute, old timer, aren't you?" I remarked to the +anesthetist for the purpose of letting him know that I was on to his +game, but either he didn't hear me, or he was too interested in telling +Charlie about his hopes and ambitions to be sent to the front with a +medical unit that worked under range of the guns. He returned to a +consideration of me with the following remark: + +"All right, he's under now; where's the next one?" + +"The hell I am," I responded hastily, as visions of knives and saws and +gimlets and brain chisels went through my mind. I had no intention or +desire of being conscious when the carpenters and plumbers started to +work on me. + +I was completely ignored and the table started moving. We rolled across +the floor and there commenced a clicking under the back of my head, not +unlike the sound made when the barber lowers or elevates the head-rest +on his chair. The table rolled seemingly a long distance down a long +corridor and then came to the top of a slanting runway. + +As I started riding the table down the runway I began to see that I was +descending an inclined tube which seemed to be filled with yellow +vapour. Some distance down, the table slowed up and we came to a stop in +front of a circular bulkhead in the tunnel. + +There was a door in the centre of the bulkhead and in the centre of the +door there was a small wicket window which opened and two grotesquely +smiling eyes peered out at me. Those eyes inspected me from head to foot +and then, apparently satisfied, they twinkled and the wicket closed with +a snap. Then the door opened and out stepped a quaint and curious figure +with gnarled limbs and arms and a peculiar misshapen head, completely +covered with a short growth of black hair. + +I laughed outright, laughed hilariously. I recognised the man. The last +time I had seen him was when he stepped out of a gas tank on the 18th +floor of an office building in Chicago where I was reclining at the time +in a dentist chair. He was the little gas demon who walked with me +through the Elysian fields the last time I had a tooth pulled. + +"Well you poor little son-of-a-gun," I said, by way of greeting. "What +are you doing way over here in France? I haven't seen you for almost +two years, since that day back in Chicago." + +The gas demon rolled his head from one side to the other and smiled, but +I can't remember what he said. My mental note-taking concluded about +there because the next memory I have is of complete darkness, and lying +on my back in a cramped position while a horse trampled on my left arm. + +"Back off of there," I shouted, but the animal's hoofs didn't move. The +only effect my shouting had was to bring a soft hand into my right one, +and a sweet voice close beside me. + +"You're all right, now," said the sweet voice, "just try to take a +little nap and you'll feel better." + +Then I knew it was all over, that is, the operation was over, or +something was over. Anyhow my mind was working and I was in a position +where I wanted to know things again. I recall now, with a smile, that +the first things that passed through my mind were the threadbare +bromides so often quoted "Where am I?" I recall feeling the urge to say +something at least original, so I enquired: + +"What place is this, and will you please tell me what day and time it +is?" + +"This is the Military Base Hospital at Neuilly-sur-Seine just on the +outskirts of Paris, and it is about eleven o'clock in the morning and +to-day is Friday, June the seventh." + +Then I went back to sleep with an etherised taste in my mouth like a +motorman's glove. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +GROANS, LAUGHS AND SOBS IN THE HOSPITAL + + +There were fourteen wounded American soldiers in my ward--all men from +the ranks and representing almost as many nationalistic extractions. +There was an Irishman, a Swede, an Italian, a Jew, a Pole, one man of +German parentage, and one man of Russian extraction. All of them had +been wounded at the front and all of them now had something nearer and +dearer to them than any traditions that might have been handed down to +them from a mother country--they had fought and bled and suffered for a +new country, _their_ new country. + +Here in this ward was the new melting pot of America. Not the melting +pot of our great American cities where nationalistic quarters still +exist, but a greater fusion process from which these men had emerged +with unquestionable Americanism. They are the real and the new +Americans--born in the hell of battle. + +One night as we lay there, we heard an automobile racing through a +street in this sleepy, warm little _faubourg_ of Paris. The motor was +sounding on its siren a call that was familiar to all of us. It was the +alarm of a night attack from the air. It meant that German planes had +crossed the front line and were on their way with death and destruction +for Paris. + +A nurse entered the room and drew the curtains of the tall windows to +keep from our eyes the flash and the glitter of the shells that soon +began to burst in the sky above us as the aerial defences located on the +outer circle of the city began to erect a wall of bursting steel around +the French capital. We could hear the guns barking close by and +occasionally the louder boom that told us one of the German bombs had +landed. Particles of shrapnel began falling in the garden beneath the +windows of our ward and we could hear the rattle of the pieces on the +slate roof of a pavilion there. It is most unpleasant, it goes without +saying, to lie helpless on one's back and grapple with the realisation +that directly over your head--right straight above your eyes and +face--is an enemy airplane loaded with bombs. Many of us knew that those +bombs contained, some of them, more than two hundred pounds of melilite +and some of us had witnessed the terrific havoc they wrought when they +landed on a building. All of us knew, as the world knows, the particular +attraction that hospitals have for German bombs. + +The aerial bombardment subsided after some ten or fifteen minutes and +soon we heard the motor racing back through the streets while a musician +in the car sounded on a bugle the "prologue" or the signal that the raid +was over. The invaders had been driven back. All of us in the ward tried +to sleep. But nerves tingled from this more or less uncomfortable +experience and wounds ached and burned. Sleep was almost out of the +question, and in the darkened ward I soon noticed the red glow of +cigarette after cigarette from bed to bed as the men sought to woo +relief with tobacco smoke. + +We began to discuss a subject very near and very dear to all wounded +men. That is, what they are going to do as soon as they get out of the +hospital. It is known, of course, that the first consideration usually +is, to return to the front, but in many instances in our ward, this was +entirely out of the question. + +So it was with Dan Bailey who occupied a bed two beds on my right. His +left leg was off above the knee. He lost it going over the top at +Cantigny. + +"I know what I'm going to do when I get home," he said, "I am going to +get a job as an instructor in a roller skating rink." + +In a bed on the other side of the ward was a young man with his right +arm off. His name was Johnson and he had been a musician. In time of +battle, musicians lay aside their trombones and cornets and go over the +top with the men, only they carry stretchers instead of rifles. Johnson +had done this. Something had exploded quite close to him and his entire +recollection of the battle was that he had awakened being carried back +on his own stretcher. + +"I know where I can sure get work," he said, glancing down at the stump +of his lost arm. "I am going to sign up as a pitcher with the St. Louis +Nationals." + +Days later when I looked on Johnson for the first time, I asked him if +he wasn't Irish, and he said no. Then I asked him where he lost his arm +and he replied, "At the yoint." And then I knew where he came from. + +But concerning after-the-war occupations, I endeavoured that night to +contribute something in a similar vein to the general discussion, and I +suggested the possibility that I might return to give lessons on the +monocle. + +The prize prospect, however, was submitted by a man who occupied a bed +far over in one corner of the room. He was the possessor of a +polysyllabic name--a name sprinkled with k's, s's and z's, with a +scarcity of vowels--a name that we could not pronounce, much less +remember. On account of his size we called him "Big Boy." His was a +peculiar story. + +He had been captured by three Germans who were marching him back to +their line. In telling me the story Big Boy said, "Mr. Gibbons, I made +up my mind as I walked back with them that I might just as well be dead +as to spend the rest of the war studying German." + +So he had struck the man on the right and the one on the left and had +downed both of them, but the German in back of him, got him with the +bayonet. A nerve centre in his back was severed by the slash of the +steel that extended almost from one shoulder to the other, and Big Boy +had fallen to the ground, his arms and legs powerless. Then the German +with the bayonet robbed him. Big Boy enumerated the loss to +me,--fifty-three dollars and his girl's picture. + +Although paralysed and helpless, there was nothing down in the mouth +about Big Boy--indeed, he provided most of the fun in the ward. He had +an idea all of his own about what he was going to do after the war and +he let us know about it that night. + +"All of you guys have told what you're going to do," he said, "now I'm +going to tell you the truth. I'm going back to that little town of mine +in Ohio and go down to the grocery store and sit there on a soap box on +the porch. + +"Then I'm going to gather all the little boys in the neighbourhood round +about me and then I'm going to outlie the G. A. R." + +There was one thing in that ward that nobody could lie about and that +was the twitches of pain we suffered in the mornings when the old +dressings of the day before were changed and new ones applied. + +The doctor and his woman assistant who had charge of the surgical +dressings on that corridor would arrive in the ward shortly after +breakfast. They would be wheeling in front of them a rubber-tired, +white-enamelled vehicle on which were piled the jars of antiseptic +gauze and trays of nickel-plated instruments, which both the doctor and +his assistant would handle with rubber-gloved hands. In our ward that +vehicle was known as the "Agony Cart," and every time it stopped at the +foot of a bed you would be pretty sure to hear a groan or a stifled wail +in a few minutes. + +We had various ways of expressing or suppressing the pain. You who have +had a particularly vicious mustard plaster jerked off that tender spot +in the back, right between the shoulders, have some small conception of +the delicate sensation that accompanies the removal of old gauze from a +healing wound. + +Some of the men would grit their teeth and grunt, others would put their +wrists in their mouths and bite themselves during the operation. Some +others would try to keep talking to the doctor or the nurse while the +ordeal was in progress and others would just simply shout. There was +little satisfaction to be gained from these expressions of pain because +while one man was yelling the other thirteen in the ward were shouting +with glee and chaffing him, and as soon as his wounds had been redressed +he would join in the laughs at the expense of those who followed him. + +There was a Jewish boy in the ward and he had a particularly painful +shell wound in his right leg. He was plucky about the painful treatment +and used to say to the doctor, "Don't mind me yelling, doc. I can't help +it, but you just keep right on." + +The Jew boy's cry of pain as near as I can reproduce it went something +like this, "Oy! Oy!! Oy!!! YOY!!! Doctor!" + +The Jew boy's clear-toned enunciation of this Yiddish lullaby, as the +rest of the ward called it, brought many a heartless, fiendish laugh +from the occupants of the other beds. We almost lost one of our +patients on account of that laugh. He nearly laughed himself to +death--in fact. + +This near victim of uncontrollable risibilities was an Italian boy from +the East Side of New York. A piece of shrapnel had penetrated one of his +lungs and pleurisy had developed in the other one. It had become +necessary to operate on one of the lungs and tape it down. The boy had +to do his best to breathe with one lung that was affected by pleurisy. +Every breath was like the stab of a knife and it was quite natural that +the patient would be peevish and garrulous. The whole ward called him +the "dying Wop." But his name was Frank. + +When the Jew boy would run the scale with his torture cry, the "dying +Wop" would be forced to forget his laboured breathing and give vent to +laughter. These almost fatal laughs sounded something like this: + +"He! Hee!! Hee!!! (on a rising inflection and then much softer) Oh, Oh, +Oh! Stop him, stop him, stop him!" The "He-Hee's" were laughs, but the +"Oh-oh's" were excruciating pain. + +Frank grew steadily worse and had to be removed from the ward. Weeks +afterward I went back to see him and found him much thinner and +considerably weaker. He occupied a bed on one of the pavilions in the +garden. He was still breathing out of that one lung and between gasps he +told me that six men had died in the bed next to him. Then he smiled up +at me with a look in his eyes that seemed to say, "But they haven't +croaked the 'dying Wop' yet." + +"This here--hospital stuff----" Frank told me slowly, and between gasps, +"is the big fight after all. I know--I am fighting here--against +death--and am going to win out, too. + +"I'm going to win out even though it is harder to fight--than +fighting--the Germans--up front. We Italians licked Hell out of them--a +million years ago. Old General Caesar did it and he used to bring them +back to Rome and put 'em in white-wing suits on the streets." + +For all his quaint knowledge of Caesar's successes against the +progenitors of Kulturland of to-day, Frank was all American. Here was a +rough-cut young American from the streets of New York's Little Italy. +Here was a man who had almost made the supreme sacrifice. Here was a man +who, if he did escape death, faced long weakened years ahead. It +occurred to me that I would like to know, that it would be interesting +to know, in what opinion this wounded American soldier, the son of +uneducated immigrant parents, would hold the Chief Executive of the +United States, the man he would most likely personify as responsible for +the events that led up to his being wounded on the battlefield. + +"Frank," I asked, "what do you think about the President of the United +States?" + +He seemed to be considering for a minute, or maybe he was only waiting +to gather sufficient breath to make an answer. He had been lying with +his eyes directed steadfastly toward the ceiling. Now he turned his face +slowly toward me. His eyes, sunken slightly in their sockets, shone +feverishly. His pinched, hollow cheeks were still swarthy, but the +background of the white pillow made them look wan. Slowly he moistened +his lips, and then he said: + +"Say--say--that guy--that guy's--got hair--on his chest." + +That was the opinion of the "dying Wop." + +After Frank's removal from our ward, the rest of us frequently sent +messages of cheer down to him. These messages were usually carried by a +young American woman who had a particular interest in our ward. Not +strange to say, she had donned a Red Cross nursing uniform on the same +day that most of us arrived in that ward. She was one of the American +women who brought us fruit, ice cream, candy and cigarettes. She wrote +letters for us to our mothers. She worked long hours, night and day, for +us. In her absence, one day, the ward went into session and voted her +its guardian angel. Out of modesty, I was forced to answer "Present" +instead of "Aye" to the roll-call. The Angel was and is my wife. + +As Official Ward Angel it was among the wife's duties to handle the +matter of visitors, of which there were many. It seemed, during those +early days in June, that every American woman in France dropped whatever +war work she was doing and rushed to the American hospitals to be of +whatever service she could. And it was not easy work these women +accomplished. There was very little "forehead-rubbing" or "moving +picture nursing." Much of it was tile corridor scrubbing and pan +cleaning. They stopped at no tasks they were called upon to perform. +Many of them worked themselves sick during the long hours of that rush +period. + +Sometimes the willingness, eagerness and sympathy of some of the +visitors produced humourous little incidents in our hospital life. +Nearly all of the women entering our ward would stop at the foot of "Big +Boy's" bed. They would learn of his paralysed condition from the chart +attached to the foot of the bed. Then they would mournfully shake their +heads and slowly pronounce the words "Poor boy." + +And above all things in the world distasteful to Big Boy was that one +expression "Poor boy" because as soon as the kindly intentioned women +would leave the room, the rest of the ward would take up the "Poor boy" +chorus until Big Boy got sick of it. Usually, however, before leaving +the ward the woman visitor would take from a cluster of flowers on her +arm, one large red rose and this she would solemnly deposit on Big Boy's +defenceless chest. + +Big Boy would smile up to her a look which she would accept and +interpret as one of deep, undying gratitude. The kindly-intentioned one +surrounding herself with that benediction that is derived from a sacred +duty well performed, would walk slowly from the room and as the door +would close behind her, Big Boy's gruff drawling voice would sing out in +a call for the orderly. + +"Dan, remove the funeral decorations," he would order. + +Dan Sullivan, our orderly, was the busiest man in the hospital. Big Boy +liked to smoke, but, being paralysed, he required assistance. At regular +intervals during the day the ward room door, which was close to Big +Boy's bed, would open slowly and through the gap four or six inches wide +the rest of the ward would get a glimpse of Dan standing in the opening +with his arms piled high with pots and utensils, and a cigarette hanging +from the corner of his mouth. + +[Illustration: THE NEWS FROM THE STATES] + +[Illustration: SMILING WOUNDED AMERICAN SOLDIERS] + +With one hand he would extract the cigarette, insert hand and arm +through the opening in the door until it hovered above Big Boy's face. +Then the hand would descend and the cigarette would be inserted in Big +Boy's mouth just as you would stick a pin in a pin-cushion. Big Boy +would lie back comfortably and puff away like a Mississippi steamboat +for four or five minutes and then the door would open just a crack +again, the mysterious hand and arm would reach in once more and the +cigarette would be plucked out. That was the way Big Boy got his +"smokes." + +If Big Boy's voice was gruff, there was still a gruffer voice that used +to come from a man in the corner of the ward to the left of my bed. +During the first four or five days I was an inmate of the ward, I was +most interested in all the voices I heard because I lay in total +darkness. The bandages extended down from the top of my head to my upper +lip, and I did not know whether or not I ever would see again. I would +listen carefully to all remarks within ear-shot, whether they be from +doctors, nurses or patients. I listened in the hope that from them I +might learn whether or not there was a possibility of my regaining +vision. But all of their remarks with regard to my condition were +ambiguous and unsatisfactory. But from this I gained a listening habit +and that was how I became particularly interested in the very gruff +voice that came from the corner on my left. + +Other patients directing remarks into that corner would address them to +a man whom they would call by name "Red Shannahan." I was quick to +connect the gruff voice and the name "Red Shannahan," and as I had lots +of time and nothing else to do, I built up in my mind's eye a picture of +a tall, husky, rough and ready, tough Irishman, with red hair--a man of +whom it would be conceivable that he had wiped out some two or three +German regiments before they got him. To find out more about this +character, I called over to him one day. + +"Red Shannahan, are you there?" I said. + +"Yes, Mr. Gibbons, I'm here," came the reply, and I was immensely +surprised because it was not the gruff voice at all. It was the mild, +unchanged voice of a boy, a boy whose tones were still in the upper +register. The reply seemed almost girlish in comparison with the +gruffer tones of the other patients and I marvelled that the owner of +this polite, mannerly, high-pitched voice could be known by any such +name as "Red Shannahan." I determined upon further investigation. + +"Red Shannahan, what work did you do before you became a United States +soldier?" I asked. + +"Mr. Gibbons," came the reply, almost girlishly, "I am from Baltimore. I +drove the wagon for Mr. Bishop, the canary bird and gold fish man." + +All that had happened to this canary bird fancier and gold fish tamer +was that he had killed two Germans and captured three before they got +him. + +Among those who came to visit us in that ward, there appeared one day a +man I had not seen in many years. When I knew him last he had been a +sport-loving fellow-student of mine at college and one of the fastest, +hardest-fighting ends our 'Varsity football squad ever had. Knowing this +disposition of the man, I was quite surprised to see on the sleeve of +his khaki service uniform the red shield and insignia of the Knights of +Columbus. + +I was well aware of the very valuable work done by this institution +wherever American soldiers are in France, but I could not imagine this +former college chum of mine being engaged in such work instead of being +in the service. He noticed my silence and he said, "Gib, do you remember +that game with the Indians on Thanksgiving Day?" + +"Yes," I replied, "they hurt your leg that day." + +"Yes," replied my old college mate, whom we might as well call MacDougal +inasmuch as that was not his name. "Yes, they took that leg away from me +three years later." + +I knew then why MacDougal was with the K. C. and I wondered what +service he would perform in our ward in the name of his organisation. I +soon found out. Without introduction, MacDougal proceeded to the bedside +of Dan Bailey, the Infantryman with one leg off, who was lying in a bed +on my right. MacDougal walked back and forth two or three times past the +foot of Bailey's bed. + +"How does that look?" he said to Bailey. "Do I walk all right?" + +"Looks all right to me," replied Bailey; "what's the matter with you?" + +MacDougal then began jumping, skipping and hopping up and down and +across the floor at the foot of Bailey's bed. Finishing these exercises +breathlessly, he again addressed himself to the sufferer with one leg. + +"How did that look?" he said. "Did that look all right?" + +"I don't see anything the matter with you," replied Bailey, "unless it +is that you're in the wrong ward." + +Then MacDougal stood close by Bailey's bedside where the boy with one +leg could watch him closely. MacDougal took his cane and struck his own +right leg a resounding whack. And we all knew by the sound of the blow +that the leg he struck was wooden. + +In that peculiar way did MacDougal bring into the life of Dan Bailey new +interest and new prospects. He proved to Dan Bailey that for the rest of +his life Dan Bailey with an artificial limb could walk about and jump +and skip and hop almost as well as people with two good legs. That was +the service performed by the Knights of Columbus in our ward. + +There was one other organisation in that hospital that deserves mention. +It was the most exclusive little clique and rather inclined towards +snobbishness. I was a member of it. We used to look down on the +ordinary wounded cases that had two eyes. We enjoyed, either rightly or +wrongly, a feeling of superiority. Death comes mighty close when it +nicks an eye out of your head. All of the one-eyed cases and some of the +no-eyed cases received attention in one certain ward, and it was to this +ward after my release from the hospital that I used to go every day for +fresh dressings for my wounds. Every time I entered the ward a +delegation of one-eyed would greet me as a comrade and present me with a +petition. In this petition I was asked and urged to betake myself to the +hospital library, to probe the depths of the encyclopaedias and from +their wordy innards tear out one name for the organisation of the +one-eyed. This was to be our life long club, they said, and the +insistence was that the name above all should be a "classy" name. So it +came to pass that after much research and debate one name was accepted +and from that time on we became known as the Cyclops Club. + +A wonderful Philadelphia surgeon was in charge of the work in that ward. +Hundreds of American soldiers for long years after the war will thank +him for seeing. I thank him for my sight now. His name is Dr. Fewell. +The greatest excitement in the ward prevailed one day when one of the +doctor's assistants entered carrying several flat, hard wood cases, each +of them about a yard square. The cases opened like a book and were laid +flat on the table. Their interiors were lined with green velvet and +there on the shallow receptacles in the green velvet were just dozens of +eyes, gleaming unblinkingly up at us. + +A shout went up and down the ward and the Cyclopians gathered around the +table. There was a grand grab right and left. Everybody tried to get a +handful. There was some difficulty reassorting the grabs. Of course, it +happened, that fellows that really needed blue or grey ones, managed to +get hold of black ones or brown ones, and some confusion existed while +they traded back and forth to match up proper colours, shades and sizes. + +One Cyclopian was not in on the grab. In addition to having lost one +eye, he had received about a pound and a half of assorted hardware in +his back, and these flesh wounds confined him to his bed. He had been +sleeping and he suddenly awoke during the distribution of the glassware. +He apparently became alarmed with the thought that he was going to be +left out of consideration. I saw him sit bolt upright in bed as he +shouted clear across the ward: + +"Hey, Doc, pass the grapes." + +When it became possible for me to leave that hospital, I went to another +one three blocks away. This was a remarkable institution that had been +maintained by wealthy Americans living in France before the war. I was +assigned to a room on the third floor--a room adjoining a sun parlour, +overlooking a beautiful Old World garden with a lagoon, rustic bridges, +trees and shrubbery. + +In early June, when that flood of American wounded had come back from +the Marne, it had become necessary to erect hospital ward tents in the +garden and there a number of our wounded were cared for. I used to +notice that every day two orderlies would carry out from one of the +small tents a small white cot on which there lay an American soldier. +They would place the cot on the green grass where the sunlight, finding +its way through the leafy branches of the tree, would shine down upon +the form of this young--this very young--fighter from the U. S. A. + +He was just two months over seventeen years of age. He had deliberately +and patriotically lied one year on his age in order that he might go to +France and fight beneath our flag. + +He was wounded, but his appearance did not indicate how badly. There +were no bandages about his head, arms or body. There was nothing to +suggest the severity of his injuries--nothing save his small round spot +on the side of his head where the surgeons had shaved away the +hair--just a small round spot that marked the place where a piece of +German hand-grenade had touched the skull. + +This little fellow had forgotten everything. He could not remember--all +had slipped his mind save for the three or four lines of one little +song, which was the sole remaining memory that bridged the gap of four +thousand miles between him and his home across the sea. + +Over and over again he would sing it all day long as he lay there on the +cot with the sunlight streaming all over him. His sweet boyish voice +would come up through the leafy branches to the windows of my room. + +I frequently noticed my nurse standing there at the window listening to +him. Then I would notice that her shoulders would shake convulsively and +she would walk out of the room, wet eyed but silent. And the song the +little fellow sang was this: + + "Just try to picture me + Back home in Tennessee, + Right by my mother's knee + She thinks the world of me. + She will be there to meet me + With a hug and kiss she'll greet me, + When I get back, when I get back + To my home in Tennessee." + +American doctors and American nurses, both by their skill and care and +tenderness, nursed that little fellow back to complete recovery, made +him remember everything and shortly afterward, well and cured, he +started back, safe and sound, to his home in Tennessee. + +Nothing I can ever say will overstate my estimation of the credit that +is deserved by our American doctors and nurses for the great work they +are doing. I am not alone in knowing this. I call to witness any +Canadian, Englishman or Frenchman, that, if he is wounded, when in the +ambulance, he usually voices one request, "Take me to an American +hospital." + +I knew of one man who entered that United States Military Base Hospital +near Paris, with one bullet through the shoulder, another through an +arm, an eye shot out and a compound fracture of the skull, and those +American doctors and nurses by their attention and skilfulness made it +possible for him to step back into boots and breeches and walk out of +the hospital in ten days. + +It so happens that I am somewhat familiar with the details in that case +because I am the man. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +"JULY 18TH"--THE TURN OF THE TIDE + + +Through the steady growth of Marshal Foch's reserves, by the speedy +arrival of American forces, the fourth German offensive of 1918, the +personally directed effort launched by the Crown Prince on May 27th, had +been brought to a standstill. + +The German thrust toward Paris had been stopped by the Americans at +Chateau-Thierry and in the Bois de Belleau. It would be an injustice not +to record the great part played in that fighting by the French Army +attacked, but it would be equally unjust not to specify as the French +have gallantly done, that it was the timely arrival of American strength +that swung the balance against the enemy. For the remainder of that +month of June and up to the middle of July, the fighting was considered +local in its character. + +The German offensive had succeeded in pushing forward the enemy front +until it formed a loop extending southward from the Aisne to the Valley +of the Marne. This salient was called the Chateau-Thierry pocket. The +line ran southward from a point east of Soissons to Chateau-Thierry, +where it touched the Marne, thence eastward along both sides of the +river to the vicinity of Oeuilly where it recrossed the Marne and +extended northward to points beyond Rheims. + +Chateau-Thierry was thus the peak of the German push--the apex of the +triangle pointing toward Paris. The enemy supplied its forces in this +peak principally by the road that ran southward from Soissons and +touched the Marne at Chateau-Thierry. To the west of this road and just +south of the city of Soissons, is the forest of Villers-Cotterets. The +enemy occupied the northern and eastern limits of the forest and the +remainder of it was in the hands of the French. + +This forest has always been considered one of the sentinels of Paris. It +was located on the right flank of the German salient. It was a menace to +that flank, and offered a most attractive opportunity for an Allied +counter offensive from that direction. The Germans were not unmindful of +this. + +The enemy knew that in the forest of Villers-Cotterets it would be +possible for Marshal Foch to mobilise his much-feared reserves by taking +advantage of the natural screen provided by the forest. That Foch +reserve still remained a matter for enemy consideration in spite of the +fact that the successive German offensive since March 21st had met with +considerable success with regard to the acquisition of territory. The +Germans, however, had been unable to ascertain whether Foch had been +forced to bring his reserves into the fight. + +The situation demanded a full realisation by the enemy of the possible +use of this reserve at any time and they knew that their lines in +Villers-Cotterets Forest offered an ever present invitation for the +sudden application of this reserve strength. Their lines at that point +were necessarily weak by the superiority of the Allied position and, as +a consequence, the Germans guarded this weak spot by holding in reserve +behind the line a number of divisions of the Prussian Guard. + +For the same reason, the enemy maintained constant observation of the +French position. Their planes would fly over the forest every day taking +photographs. They sought to discover any evidences indicating that Foch +might be preparing to strike a blow from that place. They made careful +note of the traffic along the roads through the forest. They maintained +a careful watch to ascertain whether new ammunition dumps were being +concealed under the trees. Their observers tried to ascertain whether +any additional hospital arrangements had been made by the French at that +point. Any of these things would have indicated that the French were +preparing to strike through the forest but the Germans found nothing to +support their suspicions. + +Nevertheless, they maintained their lines at maximum strength. A belief +existed among the German High Command that an attack might be made on +July 4th, out of consideration to American sentiment. When the attack +did not develop on that day, they then thought that the French might +possibly spring the blow on July 14th, in celebration of their own +national fete day. And again they were disappointed in their surmises. + +This protracted delay of an impending blow worried the enemy. The +Germans realised full well that they were fighting against time. Their +faith in the capacity of their submarines to prevent American strength +from reaching the line, had been abandoned. They now knew that every day +that passed meant just that many more American soldiers arriving in +France, and the consequent strengthening of the Allied forces during a +season when the Germans, through their repeated offensives, were +suffering terrible losses and were consequently growing weaker. + +So, on July 14th, when the Allied counter-offensive had still failed to +materialise, the German forces, by the necessity for time, moved to a +sudden and faulty decision. They convinced themselves that they had +overestimated the Allied strength. They accepted the belief that the +reason Foch had not attacked was because he did not have sufficient +strength to attack. With this, then, as a basis for their plans, they +immediately launched another offensive, hoping that this might be the +one in which they could deliver the final blow. + +This action began on Monday morning, July 15th, and extended from +Chateau-Thierry eastward along the valley of the Maine, northward to +Rheims and thence eastward. By a remarkable coup, one small patrol of +French and Americans deprived the enemy of the element of surprise in +the attack. On the morning of the previous day, this patrol successfully +raided the enemy lines to the east of Rheims and brought back prisoners +from whom it was learned that the Germans intended striking on the +following morning. The objectives of the offensive were the French +cities of Epernay and Chalons. The accomplishment of this effort would +have placed the Rheims salient in the hands of the enemy and brought the +German lines southward to positions straddling the Marne, down the +valley of which they would thus be able to launch another offensive on a +straight road to Paris. + +The Germans needed considerable strength for this new effort. To muster +the shock divisions necessary for the attack, they had to weaken their +lines elsewhere. The first reserves that they drew for this offensive +were the Prussian Guard divisions which they had been holding in +readiness in back of the weak spot in their line in the +Villers-Cotterets Forest. Those divisions were hurriedly transported +across the base of the V-shaped salient and thrown into the attack to +the east and the southwest of Rheims. + +The Germans found the Allied line prepared to receive them. Their +attacking waves were mowed down with terrific machine gun fire from +French and American gunners, while at the same time heavy artillery +barrages played upon the German back areas with deadly effect in the +massed ranks of the reserves. The fighting was particularly vicious. It +was destined to be the Germans' last action of a grand offensive nature +in the entire war. + +On the line east of Rheims, the German assault was particularly strong +in one sector where it encountered the sturdy ranks of the Rainbow +Division of United States National Guardsmen, drawn from a dozen or more +different states in the Union. Regiments from Alabama and New York held +the front line. Iowa and Ohio were close in support. In the support +positions, sturdy youngsters from Illinois, Indiana, and Minnesota +manned the American artillery. + +The French general commanding the sector had not considered it possible +that this comparatively small American force could withstand the first +onslaught of the Germans. He had made elaborate plans for a withdrawal +to high ground two or three miles southward, from which he hoped to be +able to resist the enemy to greater advantage. But all day long, through +the 15th and the 16th and the 17th of July, those American lines held, +and the advancing waves of German storm troops melted before our guns. +Anticipating a renewal of the attack on the next day, General Gouraud +issued an order on the evening of July 17th. It read: + +"_To the French and American Soldiers of the Army._ + + "We may be attacked from one moment to another. You all feel that a + defensive battle was never engaged in under more favourable + conditions. We are warned, and we are on our guard. We have + received strong reinforcements of infantry and artillery. You will + fight on ground, which, by your assiduous labour, you have + transformed into a formidable fortress, into a fortress which is + invincible if the passages are well guarded. + + "The bombardment will be terrible. You will endure it without + weakness. The attack in a cloud of dust and gas will be fierce but + your positions and your armament are formidable. + + "The strong and brave hearts of free men beat in your breast. None + will look behind, none will give way. Every man will have but one + thought--'Kill them, kill them in abundance, until they have had + enough.' And therefore your General tells you it will be a glorious + day." + +And so the line held, although the French General had in preparation the +plans for withdrawal. When, at the end of the third day, the American +line still occupied the same position, the French General found that his +labour in preparing the plans for withdrawal had been for nothing. He is +reported to have thrown his hands up in the air and remarked, "There +doesn't seem to be anything to do but to let the war be fought out where +the New York Irish and the Alabamans want to fight it." + +There was one humorous incident worthy of record in that fighting. Great +rivalry existed between the New York regiment and the Alabama regiment, +both of which happened to be units of the same brigade. Both the New +Yorkers and the Alabamans had a mutual hatred for the German but, in +addition to that, each of them was possessed with a mutual dislike for +the other. There had been frequent clashes of a more or less +sportsmanlike and fistic nature between men from both of the regiments. + +On the second day of the fighting, the Germans had sent over low-flying +airplanes which skimmed the tops of our trenches and sprayed them with +machine gun fire. A man from Alabama, who had grown up from childhood +with a squirrel rifle under his arm, accomplished something that had +never been done before in the war. From his position in a trench, he +took careful aim with his rifle and brought down one of the German +planes. It was the first time in the history of the Western Front that a +rifleman on the ground had done this. + +When the colonel of the New York regiment heard this, he was wild with +envy and let it be known that there would be trouble brewing unless his +regiment at least equalled the feat. So, on the following day, an +Irishman in the ranks stood up and brought one German plane down to the +credit of the old Sixty-ninth. + + * * * * * + +To the southwest of Rheims, Germans, who succeeded in breaking through +the lines at one place on the south banks of the Marne, encountered +American reinforcements and were annihilated to the number of five +thousand. At no place did the enemy meet with the success desired. + +The Germans had launched their attack at six o'clock on the morning of +July 15th. At Vaux their demonstration was considered a feint, but along +the Marne to the east of Chateau-Thierry, between Fossy and Mezy, the +assaulting waves advanced with fury and determination. At one place, +twenty-five thousand of the enemy crossed the river, and the small +American forces in front of them at that place were forced to retire on +Conde-en-Bire. In a counter attack, we succeeded in driving fifteen +thousand of them back to the north bank, the remaining ten thousand +representing casualties with the exception of fifteen hundred, who were +captured. + +Further eastward, the Germans established bridgehead positions on the +south bank of the river at Dormas. The enemy enjoyed a minor success in +an attack on the line near Bligny to the southwest of Rheims, where +Italian troops fought with remarkable valour. Everywhere else the lines +held solid and upon the close of that first night, Marshal Foch said, "I +am satisfied--_Je suis content_." + +At dawn the following day, the enemy's futile efforts were resumed along +the river east of Chateau-Thierry. The Germans suffered appalling losses +in their efforts to place pontoon bridges at Gland and at +Mareuil-le-Port. St. Agnan and La Chapelle Monthodon fell into the hands +of Americans on the same day. + +On the 17th, the enemy's endeavours to reach Festigny on both banks of +the river came to naught, but to the southeast of Rheims, his assaulting +waves reached the northern limits of Montagne Forest. The Germans were +trying to pinch out the Rheims salient. This was the condition of the +opposing lines on the night of July 17th,--the night that preceded the +day on which the tide of victory turned for the Allies. + +Foch was now ready to strike. The Allied Commander-in-Chief had decided +to deliver his blow on the right flank of the German salient. The line +chosen for the Allied assault was located between a point south of +Soissons and Chateau-Thierry. It represented a front of some twenty-five +miles extending southward from the valley of the Aisne to the Marne. +Villers-Cotterets Forest was the key position for the Allies. + +It was from out that forest that the full strength of the blow was to +be delivered. To make the blow effective at that most vital point, +Marshal Foch needed a strong and dependable assaulting force. He needed +three divisions of the hardest fighting soldiers that he could get. He +had a considerable army to select from. As Commander-in-Chief of all the +Allied armies, he was in command of all of the British army, all of the +French army, all of the American army, the Italian, the Belgian,--all of +the military forces of the Allied nations of the world. Marshal Foch's +command numbered eleven million bayonets. + +The Commander-in-Chief had all of these veteran fighting men from which +he could select the three divisions necessary to deliver this blow upon +which the civilisation of the world depended. + +The first division he chose was the Foreign Legion of the French army. +In four years of bloody fighting, the Foreign Legion, composed of +soldiers of fortune from every country in the world, had never been +absent in an attack. It had lived up thoroughly to its reputation as the +most fearless unit of shock troops in the French army. + +And then for the other two divisions that were needed, Marshal Foch +selected, from all the eleven million men under his command, the First +and the Second Regular United States Army Divisions. The Second Division +included the immortal Brigade of United States Marines, that had covered +themselves with glory in the Bois de Belleau. + +It was a great distinction for those two American divisions to have thus +been selected to play such a vital part in the entire war. It was an +honour that every officer and man in both divisions felt keenly. + +I have in my map case a torn and much folded little piece of paper. I +received it that night of July 17th in Villers-Cotterets Forest. A +similar piece of paper was received by every officer in those two +American divisions. To me this piece of paper represents the order which +resulted in victory for the Allied world. It reads: + + _Headquarters Third Army Corps American Expeditionary Forces_, + + _France, July 17, 1918_ + +_Memorandum_: + + The Third Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces has been + created and consists of the 1st. and 2nd. Divisions, two divisions + that are known throughout France. + + Officers and men of the Third Corps, you have been deemed worthy to + be placed beside the best veteran French troops. See that you prove + worthy. Remember that in what is now coming you represent the whole + American nation. + + R. L. BULLARD, + Major General, + Commanding 3rd. Corps. + + * * * * * + +The German planes flying high over Villers-Cotterets Forest all day +during the 17th, had seen nothing. The appearance of all the myriad +roads that cross and recross the forest in all directions was normal. +But that night things began to happen in the forest. + +For once at least, the elements were favourable to our cause. There was +no moon. The night was very dark and under the trees the blackness +seemed impenetrable. A heavy downpour of rain began and although it +turned most of the roads into mud, the leafy roof of the forest held +much of the moisture and offered some protection to the thousands of +men who spent the night beneath it. Thunder rolled as I had never heard +it roll in France before. The sound drowned the occasional boom of +distant cannon. At intervals, terrific crashes would be followed by +blinding flashes of lightning as nature's bolts cut jagged crevices in +the sombre sky and vented their fury upon some splintered giant of the +forest. + +The immediate front was silent--comparatively silent if one considered +the din of the belligerent elements. In the opposing front lines in the +northern and eastern limits of the forest, German and Frenchmen alike +huddled in their rude shelters to escape the rain. + +Then, along every road leading through the forest to the north and to +the east, streams of traffic began to pour. All of it was moving forward +toward the front. No traffic bound for the rear was permitted. Every +inch of available road space was vitally necessary for the forces in +movement. The roads that usually accommodated one line of vehicles +moving forward and one line moving to the rear, now represented two +streams--solid streams--moving forward. In those streams were gun +carriages, caissons, limbers, ammunition carts and grunting tractors +hauling large field pieces. + +In the gutters on either side of the road, long lines of American +infantry plodded forward through the mud and darkness. In the occasional +flash of a light, I could see that they were equipped for heavy +fighting. Many of them had their coats off, their sleeves rolled up, +while beads of sweat stood out on the young faces that shown eager +beneath the helmets. On their backs they carried, in addition to their +cumbersome packs, extra shoes and extra bandoliers of cartridges. + +From their shoulders were suspended gas masks and haversacks. Their +waists were girded with loaded ammunition belts, with bayonet hanging at +the left side. Some of them wore grenade aprons full of explosives. +Nearly all of them carried their rifles or machine gun parts slung +across their backs as they leaned forward under their burdens and +plunged wearily on into the mud and darkness, the thunder and lightning, +the world destiny that was before them. Their lines were interspersed +with long files of plodding mules dragging small, two-wheeled, narrow +gauge carts loaded down with machine gun ammunition. + +Under the trees to either side of the road, there was more movement. +American engineers struggled forward through the underbrush carrying, in +addition to their rifles and belts, rolls of barbed wire, steel posts, +picks and shovels and axes and saws. Beside them marched the swarthy, +undersized, bearded veterans of the Foreign Legion. Further still under +the trees, French cavalry, with their lances slung slantwise across +their shoulders, rode their horses in and out between the giant trunks. + +At road intersections, I saw mighty metal monsters with steel plated +sides splotched with green and brown and red paint. These were the +French tanks that were to take part in the attack. They groaned and +grunted on their grinding gears as they manoeuvred about for safer +progress. In front of each tank there walked a man who bore suspended +from his shoulders on his back, a white towel so that the unseen +directing genius in the tank's turret could steer his way through the +underbrush and crackling saplings that were crushed down under the tread +of this modern Juggernaut. + +There was no confusion, no outward manifestations of excitement. There +was no rattle of musketry, shouting of commands or waving of swords. +Officers addressed their men in whispers. There was order and quiet save +for the roll of thunder and the eternal dripping of water from the wet +leaves, punctuated now and then by the ear-splitting crashes that +followed each nearby flash of lightning. + +Through it all, everything moved. It was a mighty mobilisation in the +dark. Everything was moving in one direction--forward--all with the same +goal, all with the same urging, all with the same determination, all +with the same hope. The forest was ghostly with their forms. It seemed +to me that night in the damp darkness of Villers-Cotterets Forest that +every tree gave birth to a man for France. + +All night long the gathering of that sinister synod continued. All night +long those furtive forces moved through the forest. They passed by every +road, by every lane, through every avenue of trees. I heard the +whispered commands of the officers. I heard the sloshing of the mud +under foot and the occasional muffled curse of some weary marcher who +would slip to the ground under the weight of his burden; and I knew, all +of us knew, that at the zero hour, 4:35 o'clock in the morning, all hell +would land on the German line, and these men from the trees would move +forward with the fate of the world in their hands. + +There was some suspense. We knew that if the Germans had had the +slightest advance knowledge about that mobilisation of Foch's reserves +that night, they would have responded with a downpour of gas shells, +which spreading their poisonous fumes under the wet roof of the forest, +might have spelt slaughter for 70,000 men. + +But the enemy never knew. They never even suspected. And at the tick of +4:35 A. M., the heavens seemed to crash asunder, as tons and tons of hot +metal sailed over the forest, bound for the German line. + +That mighty artillery eruption came from a concentration of all the guns +of all calibres of all the Allies that Foch could muster. It was a +withering blast and where it landed in that edge of the forest occupied +by the Germans, the quiet of the dripping black night was suddenly +turned into a roaring inferno of death. + +Giant tree trunks were blown high into the air and splintered into +match-wood. Heavy projectiles bearing delayed action fuses, penetrated +the ground to great depth before exploding and then, with the expansion +of their powerful gases, crushed the enemy dugouts as if they were egg +shells. + +Then young America--your sons and your brothers and your husbands, +shoulder to shoulder with the French--went over the top to victory. + +The preliminary barrage moved forward crashing the forest down about it. +Behind it went the tanks ambling awkwardly but irresistibly over all +obstructions. Those Germans that had not been killed in the first +terrific blast, came up out of their holes only to face French and +American bayonets, and the "Kamerad" chorus began at once. + +Our assaulting waves moved forward, never hesitating, never faltering. +Ahead of them were the tanks giving special attention to enemy machine +gun nests that manifested stubbornness. We did not have to charge those +death-dealing nests that morning as we did in the Bois de Belleau. The +tanks were there to take care of them. One of these would move toward a +nest, flirt around it several minutes and then politely sit on it. It +would never be heard from thereafter. + +It was an American whirlwind of fighting fury that swept the Germans in +front of it early that morning. Aeroplanes had been assigned to hover +over the advance and make reports on all progress. A dense mist hanging +over the forest made it impossible for the aviators to locate the +Divisional Headquarters to which they were supposed to make the reports. +These dense clouds of vapour obscured the earth from the eyes of the +airmen, but with the rising sun the mists lifted. + +Being but a month out of the hospital and having spent a rather +strenuous night, I was receiving medical attention at daybreak in front +of a dressing station not far from the headquarters of Major General +Harbord commanding the Second Division. As I lay there looking up +through the trees, I saw a dark speck diving from the sky. Almost +immediately I could hear the hum of its motors growing momentarily +louder as it neared the earth. I thought the plane was out of control +and expected to see it crash to the ground near me. + +Several hundred feet above the tree tops, it flattened its wings and +went into an easy swoop so that its under-gear seemed barely to skim the +uppermost branches. The machine pursued a course immediately above one +of the roads. Something dropped from it. It was a metal cylinder that +glistened in the rays of the morning sun. Attached to it was a long +streamer of fluttering white material. It dropped easily to the ground +nearby. I saw an American signalman, who had been following its descent, +pick it up. He opened the metal container and extracted the message +containing the first aerial observations of the advance of the American +lines. It stated that large numbers of prisoners had been captured and +were bound for the rear. + +Upon receipt of this information, Division Headquarters moved forward on +the jump. Long before noon General Harbord, close behind his advancing +troops, opened headquarters in the shattered farm buildings of Verte +Feuille, the first community centre that had been taken by our men that +morning. Prisoners were coming back in droves. + +I encountered one column of disarmed Germans marching four abreast with +the typical attitude of a "Kamerad" procession. The first eight of the +prisoners carried on their shoulders two rudely constructed litters made +from logs and blankets. A wounded American was on one litter and a +wounded Frenchman on the other. + +A number of German knapsacks had been used to elevate the shoulders of +both of the wounded men so that they occupied positions half sitting and +half reclining. Both of them were smoking cigarettes and chatting gaily +as they rode high and mighty on the shoulders of their captives, while +behind them stretched a regal retinue of eight hundred more. + +As this column proceeded along one side of the road, the rest of the +roadway was filled with men, guns and equipment all moving forward. +Scottish troops in kilts swung by and returned the taunts which our men +laughingly directed at their kilts and bare knees. + +Slightly wounded Americans came back guarding convoys of prisoners. They +returned loaded with relics of the fighting. It was said that day that +German prisoners had explained that in their opinion, the British were +in the war because they hated Germany and that the French were in the +war because the war was in France, but that Americans seemed to be +fighting to collect souveniers. + +I saw one of these American souvenier collectors bound for the rear. In +stature he was one of the shortest men I had ever seen in our uniform. +He must have spent long years in the cavalry, because he was frightfully +bowlegged. He was herding in front of him two enormous German prisoners +who towered head and shoulders above him. + +He manifested a confidence in his knowledge of all prisoners and things +German. Germans were "foreigners." "Foreigners" spoke a foreign +language. Therefore to make a German understand you, it was only +necessary to speak with them in a foreign language. French was a foreign +language so the bowlegged American guard made use of his limited +knowledge. + +"Allay! Allay! Allay veet t'ell outer here," he urged his charges. + +He was wearing his helmet back on his head so that there was exposed a +shock of black, blood-matted hair on his forehead. A white bandage ran +around his forehead and on the right side of his face a strip of cotton +gauze connected with another white bandage around his neck. There was a +red stain on the white gauze over the right cheek. + +His face was rinsed with sweat and very dirty. In one hand he carried a +large chunk of the black German war bread--once the property of his two +prisoners. With his disengaged hand he conveyed masses of the food to +his lips which were circled with a fresco of crumbs. + +His face was wreathed in a remarkable smile--a smile of satisfaction +that caused the corners of his mouth to turn upward toward his eyes. I +also smiled when I made a casual inventory of the battlefield loot with +which he had decorated his person. Dangling by straps from his right hip +were five holsters containing as many German automatic pistols of the +Lueger make, worth about $35 apiece. Suspended from his right shoulder +by straps to his left hip, were six pairs of highly prized German field +glasses, worth about $100 apiece. I acquired a better understanding of +his contagious smile of property possession when I inquired his name and +his rank. He replied: + +"Sergeant Harry Silverstein." + +Later, attracted by a blast of extraordinary profanity, I approached one +of our men who was seated by the roadside. A bullet had left a red +crease across his cheek but this was not what had stopped him. The +hobnail sole of his shoe had been torn off and he was trying to fasten +it back on with a combination of straps. His profane denunciations +included the U. S. Quartermaster Department, French roads, barbed wire, +hot weather and, occasionally, the Germans. + +"This sure is a hell of a mess," he said, "for a fellow to find himself +in this fix just when I was beginning to catch sight of 'em. I enlisted +in the army to come to France to kill Germans but I never thought for +one minute they'd bring me over here and try to make me run 'em to +death. What we need is greyhounds. And as usual the Q. M. fell down +again. Why, there wasn't a lassoe in our whole company." + + * * * * * + +The prisoners came back so fast that the Intelligence Department was +flooded. The divisional intelligence officer asked me to assist in the +interrogation of the captives. I questioned some three hundred of them. + +An American sergeant who spoke excellent German, interrogated. I sat +behind a small table in a field and the sergeant would call the +prisoners forward one by one. In German he asked one captive what branch +of the service he belonged to. The prisoner wishing to display his +knowledge of English and at the same time give vent to some pride, +replied in English. + +"I am of the storm troop," he said. + +"Storm troop?" replied the American sergeant, "do you know what we are? +We are from Kansas. We are Cycloners." + +Another German student of English among the prisoners was represented in +the person of a pompous German major, who, in spite of being a captive, +maintained all the dignity of his rank. He stood proudly erect and held +his head high. He wore a disgusted look on his face, as though the +surroundings were painful. His uniform was well pressed, his linen was +clean, his boots were well polished, he was clean shaven. There was not +a speck of dust upon him and he did not look like a man who had gone +through the hell of battle that morning. The American sergeant asked him +in German to place the contents of his pockets on the table. + +"I understand English," he replied superciliously, with a strong accent, +as he complied with the request. I noticed, however, that he neglected +to divest himself of one certain thing that caught my interest. It was a +leather thong that extended around his neck and disappeared between the +first and second buttons of his tunic. Curiosity forced me to reach +across the table and extract the hidden terminal of that thong. I found +suspended on it the one thing in all the world that exactly fitted me +and that I wanted. It was a one-eyed field glass. I thanked him. + +He told me that he had once been an interne in a hospital in New York +but happening to be in Germany at the outbreak of the war, he had +immediately entered the army and had risen to the rank of a major in the +Medical Corps. I was anxious for his opinion, obvious as it might have +seemed. + +"What do you think of the fighting capacity of the American soldier?" I +asked him. + +"I do not know," he replied in the accented but dignified tones of a +superior who painfully finds himself in the hands of one considered +inferior. "I have never seen him fight. He is persuasive--yes. + +"I was in a dugout with forty German wounded in the cellar under the +Beaurepaire Farm, when the terrible bombardment landed. I presume my +gallant comrades defending the position died at their posts, because +soon the barrage lifted and I walked across the cellar to the bottom of +the stairs and looked up. + +"There in the little patch of white light on the level of the ground +above me, I saw the first American soldier I have seen in the war. But +he did not impress me much as a soldier. I did not like his carriage or +his bearing. + +"He wore his helmet far back on his head. And he did not have his coat +on. His collar was not buttoned; it was rolled back and his throat was +bare. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbow. And he had a grenade in +each hand. + +"Just then he looked down the stairs and saw me--saw me standing +there--saw me, a major--and he shouted roughly, 'Come out of there, you +big Dutch B----d, or I'll spill a basketful of these on you.'" + +All through that glorious day of the 18th, our lines swept forward +victoriously. The First Division fought it out on the left, the Foreign +Legion in the centre and the Second Division with the Marines pushed +forward on the right. Village after village fell into our hands. We +captured batteries of guns and thousands of prisoners. + +On through the night the Allied assault continued. Our men fought +without water or food. All road space behind the lines was devoted to +the forwarding of reserves, artillery and munitions. By the morning of +the 19th, we had so far penetrated the enemy's lines that we had crossed +the road running southward from Soissons to Chateau-Thierry, thereby +disrupting the enemy's communications between his newly established base +and the peak of his salient. Thus exposed to an enveloping movement that +might have surrounded large numbers, there was nothing left for the +Germans to do but to withdraw. + +The Allied army commander, who directed the Americans on that glorious +day, was General Joseph Mangin. His opinion of the immortal part played +on that day by those two American divisions may be seen in the following +order which he caused to be published: + +_Officers, Noncommissioned Officers, and Soldiers of the American Army_: + + Shoulder to shoulder with your French comrades, you threw yourselves + into the counter-offensive begun on July 18th. You ran to it as if + going to a feast. Your magnificent dash upset and surprised the + enemy, and your indomitable tenacity stopped counter attacks by his + fresh divisions. You have shown yourselves to be worthy sons of your + great country and have gained the admiration of your brothers in + arms. + + Ninety-one cannon, 7,200 prisoners, immense booty, and ten + kilometres of reconquered territory are your share of the trophies + of this victory. Besides this, you have acquired a feeling of your + superiority over the barbarian enemy against whom the children of + liberty are fighting. To attack him is to vanquish him. + + American comrades, I am grateful to you for the blood you generously + spilled on the soil of my country. I am proud of having commanded + you during such splendid days and to have fought with you for the + deliverance of the world. + +The Germans began backing off the Marne. From that day on, their +movement to date has continued backward. It began July 18th. Two +American Divisions played glorious parts in the crisis. It was their +day. It was America's day. It was the turn of the tide. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE DAWN OF VICTORY + + +The waited hour had come. The forced retreat of the German hordes had +begun. Hard on their heels, the American lines started their northward +push, backing the Boche off the Marne. + +On the morning of July 21st I rode into Chateau-Thierry with the first +American soldiers to enter the town. The Germans had evacuated +hurriedly. Chateau-Thierry was reoccupied jointly by our forces and +those of the French. + +Here was the grave of German hopes. Insolent, imperialistic longings for +the great prize, Paris, ended here. The dream of the Kultur conquest of +the world had become a nightmare of horrible realisation that America +was in the war. Pompously flaunted strategy crumpled at historic +Chateau-Thierry. + +That day of the occupation, the wrecked city was comparatively quiet. +Only an occasional German shell--a final parting spite shell--whined +disconsolately overhead and landed in a cloud of dust and debris in some +vacant ruin that had once been a home. + +For seven long weeks the enemy had been in occupation of that part of +the city on the north bank of the river. Now the streets were littered +with debris. Although the walls of most of the buildings seemed to be in +good shape, the scene was one of utter devastation. + +The Germans had built barricades across the streets--particularly the +streets that led down to the river--because it was those streets that +were swept with the terrific fire of American machine guns. At the +intersections of those streets the Germans under cover of night had +taken up the cobblestones and built parapets to protect them from the +hail of lead. + +Wrecked furniture was hip deep on the Rue Carnot. Along the north bank +of the river on the Quai de la Poterne and the Promenade de la Levee, +the invader had left his characteristic mark. Shop after shop had been +looted of its contents and the fronts of the pretty sidewalk cafes along +this business thoroughfare had been reduced to shells of their former +selves. + +Not a single living being was in sight as we marched in. Some of the old +townsfolk and some young children had remained but they were still under +cover. Among these French people who had lived for seven weeks through +the hell of battle that had raged about the town, was Madame de Prey, +who was eighty-seven years old. To her, home meant more than life. She +had spent the time in her cellar, caring for German wounded. + +The town had been systematically pillaged. The German soldiers had +looted from the shops much material which they had made up into packages +to be mailed back to home folks in the Fatherland. The church, strangely +enough, was picked out as a depository for their larcenies. Nothing from +the robes of the priests down to the copper faucet of a water pipe had +escaped their greed. + +The advancing Americans did not linger in the town--save for small +squads of engineers that busied themselves with the removal of the +street obstructions and the supply organisations that perfected +communication for the advancing lines. These Americans were Yankees +all--they comprised the 26th U. S. Division, representing the National +Guard of New England. + +Our lines kept pushing to the north. The Germans continued their +withdrawal and the Allied necessity was to keep contact with them. This, +the Yankee Division succeeded in doing. The first obstacle encountered +to the north of Chateau-Thierry was the stand that the Germans made at +the town of Epieds. + +On July 23rd, our infantry had proceeded up a ravine that paralleled the +road into Epieds. German machine guns placed on the hills about the +village, swept them with a terrible fire. Our men succeeded in reaching +the village, but the Germans responded with such a terrific downpour of +shell that our weakened ranks were forced to withdraw and the Germans +re-entered the town. + +On the following day we renewed the attack with the advantage of +positions which we had won during the night in the Bois de Trugny and +the Bois de Chatelet. We advanced from three sides and forced the +Germans to evacuate. Trugny, the small village on the edge of the woods, +was the scene of more bloody fighting which resulted in our favour. + +Further north of Epieds, the Germans having entrenched themselves along +the roadway, had fortified the same with a number of machine guns which +commanded the flat terrain in such a way as to make a frontal attack by +infantry waves most costly. The security of the Germans in this position +received a severe shock when ten light automobiles, each one mounting +one or two machine guns, started up the road toward the enemy, firing as +they sped. It was something new. The Germans wanted to surrender, but +the speed of the cars obviated such a possibility. So the enemy fled +before our gasoline cavalry. + +The Germans were withdrawing across the river Ourcq, whose valley is +parallel to that of the Marne and just to the north. The enemy's +intentions of making a stand here were frustrated by violent attacks, +which succeeded in carrying our forces into positions on the north side +of the Ourcq. These engagements straightened out the Allied line from +the Ourcq on the west to Fere-en-Tardenois on the east, which had been +taken the same day by French and American troops. + +By this time the German withdrawal was becoming speedier. Such strong +pressure was maintained by our men against the enemy's rear guards that +hundreds of tons of German ammunition had to be abandoned and fell into +our hands. Still the retreat bore no evidences of a rout. + +The enemy retired in orderly fashion. He bitterly contested every foot +of ground he was forced to give. The American troops engaged in those +actions had to fight hard for every advance. The German backed out of +the Marne salient as a Western "bad man" would back out of a saloon with +an automatic pistol in each hand. + +Those charges that our men made across the muddy flats of the Ourcq +deserve a place in the martial history of America. They faced a +veritable hell of machine gun fire. They went through barrages of +shrapnel and high explosive shell. They invaded small forests that the +enemy had flooded with poison gas. No specific objectives were assigned. +The principal order was "Up and at 'em" and this was reinforced by every +man's determination to keep the enemy on the run now that they had been +started. + +Even the enemy's advantage of high positions north of the river failed +to hold back the men from New York, from Iowa, Alabama, Ohio, Illinois, +Minnesota and Indiana, who had relieved the hard fighting Yankees. These +new American organisations went up against fresh German divisions that +had been left behind with orders to hold at all cost. But nothing the +enemy could do could prevent our crossing of the Ourcq. + +On July 30th the fighting had become most intense in character. The fact +that the town of Sergy was captured, lost and recaptured nine times +within twenty-four hours, is some criterion of the bitterness of the +struggle. This performance of our men can be better understood when it +is stated that the enemy opposing them there consisted of two fresh +divisions of the Kaiser's finest--his Prussian Guard. + +After that engagement with our forces, the Fourth Prussian Guard +Division went into an enforced retirement. When our men captured Sergy +the last time, they did so in sufficient strength to withhold it against +repeated fierce counter attacks by a Bavarian Guard division that had +replaced the wearied Prussians. + +But before the crack Guard Division was withdrawn from the line, it had +suffered terrible losses at our hands. Several prisoners captured said +that their company had gone into the fight one hundred and fifty strong +and only seven had survived. That seven were captured by our men in hand +to hand fighting. + +While our engineer forces repaired the roads and constructed bridges in +the wake of our advancing lines, the enemy brought to that part of the +front new squadrons of air fighters which were sent over our lines for +the purpose of observation and interference with communications. They +continually bombed our supply depots and ammunition dumps. + +After the crossing of the Ourcq the American advance reached the next +German line of resistance, which rested on two terminal strongholds. One +was in the Foret de Nesles and the other was in the Bois de Meuniere. + +The fighting about these two strong points was particularly fierce. In +the Bois de Meuniere and around the town of Cierges, the German +resistance was most determined. About three hundred Jaegers held Hill +200, which was located in the centre of Cierges Forest, just to the +south of the village of the same name. They were well provided with +machine guns and ammunition. They were under explicit orders to hold and +they did. + +Our men finally captured the position at the point of the bayonet. Most +of its defenders fought to the death. The capture of the hill was the +signal for a renewal of our attacks against the seemingly impregnable +Meuniere woods. Six times our advancing waves reached the German +positions in the southern edge of the woods and six times we were driven +back. + +There were some American Indians in the ranks of our units attacking +there--there were lumber jacks and farmer boys and bookkeepers, and they +made heroic rushes against terrific barriers of hidden machine guns. But +after a day of gallant fighting they had been unable to progress. + +Our efforts had by no means been exhausted. The following night our +artillery concentrated on the southern end of the woods and literally +turned it into an inferno with high explosive shells. Early in the +morning we moved to the attack again. Two of the Kaiser's most reputable +divisions, the 200th Jaegers and the 216th Reserve, occupied the wood. +The fighting in the wood was fierce and bloody, but it was more to the +liking of our men than the rushes across fire-swept fields. Our men +went to work with the bayonet. And for six hours they literally carved +their way through four kilometres of the forest. Before ten o'clock the +next morning, our lines lay to the north of the woods. + +In consolidating the gains in the woods, our men surrounded in a small +clearing some three hundred of the enemy who refused to surrender. +American squads advanced with the bayonet from all sides. The Germans +were fighting for their lives. Only three remained to accept the +ignominy of capture. + +Our forward progress continued and by August 4th the Germans were +withdrawing across the Vesle River. The immediate objective that +presented itself to the Americans was the important German supply depot +at Fismes. It was in and around Fismes that some of the bloodiest +fighting in the second battle of the Marne took place. The capture of +Fismes was the crowning achievement of one American division that so +distinguished itself as to be made the subject of a special report to +the French General Headquarters by the French army in which the +Americans fought. In part, the report read: + + "On Aug. 4th the infantry combats were localized with terrible fury. + The outskirts of Fismes were solidly held by the Germans, where their + advance groups were difficult to take. The Americans stormed them and + reduced them with light mortars and thirty-sevens. They succeeded, + though not without loss, and at the end of the day, thanks to this + slow but sure tenacity, they were within one kilometre of Fismes and + masters of Villes, Savoye and Chezelle Farm. All night long rains + hindered their movements and rendered their following day's task more + arduous. On their right the French had, by similar stages, conquered + a series of woods and swamps of Meuniere Woods, to the east of St. + Gilles, and were on the plateau of Bonne Maison Farm. To the left + another American unit had been able to advance upon the Vesle to the + east of St. Thiebault. + + "On Aug. 5th the artillery prepared for the attack on Fismes by a + bombardment, well regulated, and the final assault was launched. The + Americans penetrated into the village and then began the mean task of + clearing the last point of resistance. That evening this task was + almost completed. We held all the northern part of the village as far + as Rheims road, and patrols were sent into the northern end of the + village. Some even succeeded in crossing the Vesle, but were satisfied + with making a reconnaissance, as the Germans still occupied the right + bank of the river in great strength. All that was left to be + accomplished was to complete the mopping up of Fismes and the + strengthening of our positions to withstand an enemy counter attack. + + "Such was the advance of one American division, which pushed the enemy + forward from Roncheres on July 30th a distance of eighteen kilometres + and crowned its successful advance with the capture of Fismes on Aug. + 5th." + +The German line on the Vesle river fell shortly after the capture of +Fismes. The enemy was forced to fall back to his next natural line of +defence on the Aisne. Between the Vesle and the Aisne, the Americans +assisted the French in the application of such persistent pressure that +the enemy's stubborn resistance was overcome and in many places he was +forced to withdraw before he had time to destroy his depots of supply. + +On August 9th, General Degoutte, commanding the Sixth French Army, +issued the following order: + + "Before the great offensive of July 18th, the American troops, forming + part of the 6th French Army, distinguished themselves by clearing the + 'Brigade de Marine' Woods and the village of Vaux of the enemy and + arresting his offensive on the Marne and at Fossoy. + + "Since then they have taken the most glorious part in the second + battle of the Marne, rivalling the French troops in ardour and valour. + + "During twenty days of constant fighting they have freed numerous + French villages and made, across a difficult country, an advance of + forty kilometres, which has brought them to the Vesle. + + "Their glorious marches are marked by names which will shine in future + in the military history of the United States: Torcy, Belleau, Plateau + d'Etrepilly, Epieds, Le Charmel, l'Ourcq, Seringeset Nesles, Sergy, La + Vesle and Fismes. + + "These young divisions, who saw fire for the first time, have shown + themselves worthy of the old war traditions of the regular army. They + have had the same burning desire to fight the Boche, the same + discipline which sees that the order given by their commander is + always executed, whatever the difficulties to be overcome and the + sacrifices to be suffered. + + "The magnificent results obtained are due to the energy and the skill + of the commanders, to the bravery of the soldiers. + + "I am proud to have commanded such troops." + + * * * * * + +Through the month of August and up to the first days of September, the +Americans participated in the important operations to the north of +Soissons, where on August 29th they played a big part in the capture of +the Juvigny Plateau. + +In this fighting, which was marked by the desperate resistance of the +enemy, the Americans were incorporated in the 10th French Army under the +command of General Mangin. Violent counter attacks by German shock +divisions failed to stem the persistent advances of our forces. + +A large hill to the north of Juvigny constituted a key and supporting +position for the enemy. In spite of the large number of machine guns +concealed on its slopes, the Americans succeeded in establishing a line +between the hill and the town. At the same time the American line +extended itself around the other side of the hill. With the consummation +of this enveloping movement, the hill was taken by assault. + +On Labor Day, September 2nd, after bitterly engaging four German +divisions for five days, the Americans advanced their lines to +Terny-Sorny and the road running between Soissons and St. Quentin. This +achievement, which was accomplished by driving the Germans back a depth +of four miles on a two mile front, gave our forces a good position on +the important plateau running to the north of the Aisne. + +Our observation stations now commanded a view across the valley toward +the famous Chemin des Dames which at one time had been a part of the +Hindenburg line. Before the invasion of the German hordes, France +possessed no fairer countryside than the valley of the Aisne. But the +Germans, retreating, left behind them only wreckage and ashes and ruin. +The valley spread out before our lines was scarred with the shattered +remains of what had once been peaceful farming communities. To the +northwest there could be seen the spires above the city of Laon. + +The American units which took part in this bitter fighting that had +continued without a day's cessation since July 18th, were mentioned +specifically in an order issued on August 27th by General Pershing. The +order read: + + "It fills me with pride to record in general orders a tribute to the + service achievements of the First and Third Corps, comprising the + First, Second, Third, Fourth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-eighth, + Thirty-second and Forty-second Divisions of the American Expeditionary + Forces. + + "You came to the battlefield at a crucial hour for the Allied cause. + For almost four years the most formidable army the world has yet seen + had pressed its invasion of France and stood threatening its capital. + At no time has that army been more powerful and menacing than when, on + July 15th, it struck again to destroy in one great battle the brave + men opposed to it and to enforce its brutal will upon the world and + civilisation. + + "Three days later in conjunction with our Allies you counter-attacked. + The Allied armies gained a brilliant victory that marks the turning + point of the war. You did more than to give the Allies the support to + which, as a nation, our faith was pledged. You proved that our + altruism, our pacific spirit, and our sense of justice have not + blunted our virility or our courage. + + "You have shown that American initiative and energy are as fit for the + tasks of war as for the pursuits of peace. You have justly won + unstinted praise from our Allies and the eternal gratitude of our + countrymen. + + "We have paid for our successes with the lives of many of our brave + comrades. We shall cherish their memory always and claim for our + history and literature their bravery, achievement and sacrifice. + + "This order will be read to all organisations at the first assembly + formations following its receipt. + + "PERSHING." + + * * * * * + +August 10th marked a milestone in the military effort of the United +States. On that day the organisation was completed of the First American +Field Army. I have tried to show in this record how we began the +organisation of our forces overseas. Our first troops to reach France +were associated in small units with the French. Soon our regiments began +to reach the front under French Division Commanders. Then with the +formation of American divisions, we went into the line under French +corps commanders. Later still, American corps operated under French Army +Commanders. Finally, our forces augmented by additional divisions and +corps were organised into the First American Field Army. + +Through these various stages of development, our forces had grown until +on August 10th they had reached the stage where they became practically +as independent an organisation as the British armies under Field Marshal +Sir Douglas Haig and the French armies under General Petain. From now on +the American Army was to be on a par with the French Army and the +British Army, all three of them under the sole direction of the Allied +Generalissimo, Marshal Ferdinand Foch. + +The personnel of this, the greatest single army that ever fought beneath +the Stars and Stripes, is reproduced in the appendix. It might not be +amiss to point out that an American division numbers thirty thousand +men and that an American corps consists of six divisions and auxiliary +troops, such as air squadrons, tank sections, and heavy artillery, which +bring the strength of an American army corps to between 225,000 and +250,000 men. By the 1st of September, the United States of America had +five such army corps in the field, martialling a strength of about one +and one-half million bayonets. General Pershing was in command of this +group of armies which comprised the First American Field Army. + +It was from these forces that General Pershing selected the strong units +which he personally commanded in the first major operation of the First +American Field Army as an independent unit in France. That operation was +the beginning of the Pershing push toward the Rhine--it was the Battle +of St. Mihiel. + +It was a great achievement. It signalised the full development of our +forces from small emergency units that had reached the front less than a +year before, to the now powerful group of armies, fighting under their +own flag, their own generals, and their own staffs. + +The important material results of the Battle of St. Mihiel are most +susceptible to civilian as well as military comprehension. The St. +Mihiel salient had long constituted a pet threat of the enemy. The +Germans called it a dagger pointed at the heart of eastern France. For +three years the enemy occupying it had successfully resisted all efforts +of the Allies to oust them. + +The salient was shaped like a triangle. The apex of the triangle--the +point of the dagger--thrusting southward, rested on the town of St. +Mihiel, on the river Meuse. The western flank of the triangle extended +northward from St. Mihiel to points beyond Verdun. The eastern flank of +the triangle extended in a northeasterly direction toward +Pont-a-Mousson. It was the strongest position held by the Germans in +Lorraine--if not on the entire front. + +The geographical formation of the salient was an invitation for the +application of a pincers operation. The point of leverage of the +opposing jaws of the pincers was, most naturally, the apex of the +triangle at St. Mihiel. + +One claw of the pincers--a claw some eight miles thick, bit into the +east side of the salient near Pont-a-Mousson on the west bank of the +Moselle River. The other claw of the pincers was about eight miles thick +and it bit into the western flank of the salient in the vicinity of the +little town of Haudiomont, on the heights of the Meuse and just a little +distance to the east of the Meuse River. + +The distance across that part of the salient through which the pincer's +claws were biting was about thirty miles, and the area which would be +included in the bite would be almost a hundred and seventy-five square +miles. This, indeed, was a major operation. + +The battle began at one o'clock on the morning of September 12th, when +the concentrated ordnance of the heaviest American artillery in France +opened a preparatory fire of unprecedented intensity. + +At five o'clock in the dim dawn of that September morning, our infantry +waves leaped from their trenches and moved forward to the assault. The +claw of the pincers on the eastern flank of the salient began to bite +in. + +One hour later the claw of the pincers on the western flank of the +salient began to move forward. + +On the east, our men went forward on the run over ground that we had +looked upon with envious eyes from the day that the first American +troops reached the front. Before noon we had taken the villages of +Lahayville, St. Baussant, Vilcey and the Bois de Mortmare and we were +still advancing. By nightfall, our lines were still on the move beyond +Essey and we were holding the important town of Thiaucourt and claimed +Villers sur Penny for our own. + +The seemingly impregnable fortress of Mont Sec had been surrounded, our +tanks had cleared the way through Pannes, we had taken Nonsard and the +towns of Woinville and Buxieres had fallen into our hands. + +On the west side of the salient the day had gone equally well for us. +The western claw of the pincers had pushed due east through the towns of +Spada and Lavigneville. Our men had swept on in the night through +Chaillon, we had taken St. Remy and had cleared the Foret de Montagne. +By midnight their advanced patrols had reached the western part of the +town of Vigneulles. In the meantime, our forces on the eastern side of +the salient were pushing westward toward this same town of Vigneulles. +At three o'clock in the morning the forces from the east were occupying +the eastern part of the town. The pincers had closed; the St. Mihiel +salient had been pinched off. + +Our forces actually met at nine o'clock on the morning of September +13th. The junction was made at the town of Heudicourt to the south of +Vigneulles. We had pocketed all of the German forces to the south of +that town. Our centre had moved forward at nine o'clock the night before +and occupied St. Mihiel on the heels of the retreating Germans. But the +withdrawal was too late. Large numbers of them found themselves +completely surrounded in the forests between St. Mihiel on the south and +Heudicourt on the north. + +We closed in during the afternoon and started to open the prize +package. Located in the area, encircled by our troops, was the Bois de +Versel, the Bois de Gaumont and the Bois de Woeuvre. Each one of these +little forests gave up its quota of prisoners, while much material and +rich booty of war fell into our hands. + +The principal avenue that had been opened for the Germans to make a +possible withdrawal led through Vigneulles and before our pincers had +completely closed, the fleeing enemy had poured out through that gap at +the rate of several thousand an hour. The roads were blocked for miles +with their transportation, and when the American artillery turned its +attention to these thoroughfares, crowded with confused Germans, the +slaughter was terrific. For days after the battle our sanitation squads +were busy at their grewsome work. + +In conception and execution the entire operation had been perfect. +Confusion had been visited upon the method-loving enemy from the +beginning. By reason of the disruption of their intercommunications, +faulty liaison had resulted and division had called to division in vain +for assistance, not knowing at the time that all of them were in equally +desperate straits. The enemy fought hard but to no purpose. + +One entire regiment with its commander and his staff was captured. With +both flanks exposed, it had suddenly been confronted by Americans on +four sides. The surrender was so complete that the German commander +requested that his roll should be called in order to ascertain the +extent of his losses. When this was done, every one was accounted for +except one officer and one private. + +As his command was so embarrassingly complete, the German commander +asked permission to march it off in whatever direction desired by his +captors. The request was granted, and there followed the somewhat +amusing spectacle of an entire German regiment, without arms, marching +off the battlefield under their own officers. The captured regiment was +escorted to the rear by mounted American guards, who smilingly and +leisurely rode their horses cowboy fashion as they herded their captives +back to the pens. + +Tons upon tons of ammunition fell into our hands in the woods. At one +place twenty-two railroad cars loaded with large calibre ammunition had +to be abandoned when an American shell had torn up the track to the +north of them. But if the Germans had been unable to take with them +their equipment, they had succeeded in driving ahead of them on the +retreat almost all of the French male civilians between sixteen and +forty-five years that had been used as German slaves for more than four +years. + +The Americans were welcomed as deliverers by those French civilians that +remained in the town. They were found to be almost entirely ignorant of +the most commonly known historical events of the war. Secretary of War +Baker and Generals Pershing and Petain visited the town of St. Mihiel a +few hours after it was captured. They were honoured with a spontaneous +demonstration by the girls and aged women, who crowded about them to +express thanks and pay homage for deliverance. + +One of our bands began to play the "Marseillaise" and the old French +civilians who, under German domination, had not heard the national +anthem for four long years, broke down and wept. The mayor of the town +told how the Germans had robbed it of millions of francs. First they had +demanded and received one million five hundred thousand francs and later +they collected five hundred thousand more in three instalments. In +addition to these robberies, they had taken by "requisition" all the +furniture and mattresses and civilian comforts that they could find. +They took what they wanted and usually destroyed the rest. They had +stripped the towns of all metal utensils, bells, statues, and water +pipes. + +The St. Mihiel salient thus went out of existence. The entire point in +the blade of the dagger that had been thrust at the heart of France had +been bitten off. Verdun with its rows upon rows of sacred dead was now +liberated from the threat of envelopment from the right. The Allies were +in possession of the dominating heights of the Meuse. The railroads +connecting Commercy with Vigneulles, Thiaucourt and St. Mihiel were in +our hands. Our lines had advanced close to that key of victory, the +Briey iron basin to the north, and the German fortress of Metz lay under +American guns. + +The battle only lasted twenty-seven hours. In that space of time, a +German force estimated at one hundred thousand had been vanquished, if +not literally cut to pieces, American soldiers had wrested a hundred and +fifty square miles of territory away from the Germans, captured fifteen +thousand officers and men and hundreds of guns. General Pershing on +September 14th made the following report: + + "The dash and vigour of our troops, and of the valiant French + divisions which fought shoulder to shoulder with them, is shown by the + fact that the forces attacking on both faces of the salient effected a + junction and secured the result desired within twenty-seven hours. + + "Besides liberating more than 150 square miles of territory and taking + 15,000 prisoners, we have captured a mass of material. Over 100 guns + of all calibres and hundreds of machine guns and trench mortars have + been taken. + + "In spite of the fact that the enemy during his retreat burned large + stores, a partial examination of the battlefield shows that great + quantities of ammunition, telegraph material, railroad material, + rolling stock, clothing, and equipment have been abandoned. Further + evidence of the haste with which the enemy retreated is found in the + uninjured bridges which he left behind. + + "French pursuit, bombing and reconnaissance units, and British and + Italian bombing units divided with our own air service the control of + the air, and contributed materially to the successes of the operation." + +And while this great battle was in progress, the Allied lines were +advancing everywhere. In Flanders, in Picardy, on the Marne, in +Champagne, in Lorraine, in Alsace, and in the Balkans the frontier of +freedom was moving forward. + +Surely the tide had turned. And surely it had been America's God-given +opportunity to play the big part she did play. The German was now on the +run. Suspicious whisperings of peace began to be heard in neutral +countries. They had a decided German accent. Germany saw defeat staring +her in the face and now, having failed to win in the field, she sought +to win by a bluff at the peace table. + +The mailed fist having failed, Germany now resorted to cunning. The +mailed fist was now an open palm that itched to press in brotherhood the +hands of the Allies. But it was the same fist that struck down the peace +of the world in 1914. It was the same Germany that had ravished and +outraged Belgium. It was the same Germany that had tried to murder +France. It was the same Germany that had covered America with her net of +spies and had sought to bring war to our borders with Mexico and Japan. +It was the same Germany that had ruthlessly destroyed the lives of women +and children, American citizens, non-combatants, riding the free seas +under the protection of the Stars and Stripes. It was the same Germany +that had drugged Russia with her corrupting propaganda and had throttled +the voice of Russian democracy. This Germany, this unrepentant +Germany--this unpunished Germany, launched her drive for peace. + +Germany was willing to make any concessions to bring about negotiations +that would save her from a defeat in the field. There was one thing, +however, that Germany wanted to save from the ruin she had brought down +upon herself. That thing was the German army and its strong auxiliary, +the German navy. Neither one of them had been destroyed. The army was in +general retreat and the navy was locked up in the Baltic, but both of +them remained in existence as menaces to the future peace of the world. +With these two forces of might, Germany could have given up her booty of +war, offered reparation for her transgressions and drawn back behind the +Rhine to await the coming of another _Der Tag_ when she could send them +once more crashing across friendly borders and cruising the seven seas +on missions of piracy. + +Germany was in the position of a bully, who without provocation and +without warning had struck down from behind a man who had not been +prepared to defend himself. The victim's movements had been impeded by a +heavy overcoat. He had been utterly and entirely unprepared for the +onslaught. The bully had struck him with a club and had robbed him. + +The unprepared man had tried to free himself from the overcoat of +pacifism that he had worn so long in safety and in kindliness to his +fellows. The bully, taking advantage of his handicap, had beaten him +brutally. At last the unprepared man had freed himself from the +overcoat and then stood ready not only to defend himself, but to +administer deserved punishment. Then the bully had said: + +"Now, wait just a minute. Let's talk this thing over and see if we can't +settle it before I get hurt." + +The bully's pockets bulge with the loot he has taken from the man. The +victim's face and head are swollen and bloody and yet the bully invites +him to sit down to a table to discuss the hold-up, the assault, and the +terms of which the loot and the loot only will be returned. The bully +takes it for granted that he is to go unpunished and, more important +still, is to retain the club that he might decide to use again. + +The rule of common sense that deals with individuals should be the same +rule that applies to the affairs of nations. No municipal law anywhere +in the world gives countenance to a compromise with a criminal. +International law could be no less moral than municipal law. Prussian +militarism made the world unsafe for Democracy, and for that reason, on +April 6th, 1917, the United States entered the war. + +We wanted a decent world in which to live. And the existence of the +Prussian army and its conscienceless masters was incompatible with the +free and peaceful life of the world. We entered the war for an ideal. +That ideal was in the balance when Germany made her 1918 drive for +peace. + +Our army in France knew that if peace came with an unwhipped Prussian +army in existence, the world would be just as unsafe for Democracy as it +had ever been. Our army in France wanted no compromise that would leave +Germany in possession of the instruments that had made possible her +crimes against the world. Every man that had shed blood, every man that +had paid the final price, every woman that had shed tears, every +cherished ideal of our one hundred and forty years of national life, +would have been sacrificed in vain, if we had condoned Germany's high +crimes against civilisation and had made a compromise with the criminal. + +Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States, spokesman of the Allied +world, sounded the true American note when, in his reply to the +insincere German peace proposals, he referred the German Government to +Marshal Foch, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied armies. War by the sword +was to bring peace by the sword. + +And as I write these lines in the last days of October, 1918, +unconditional surrender is the song of the dove of peace perched on our +bayonets as we march into the dawn of victory. + + * * * * * + + + + +APPENDIX + +PERSONNEL OF THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES IN FRANCE + + + =1ST ARMY CORPS= + +Major Gen. Hunter Liggett, commanding. + +1st and 2nd Division, Regular Army; 26th, (New England), 32d, (Michigan +and Wisconsin), 41st, (Washington, Oregon, North and South Dakota, +Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Minnesota), and 42d +(_Rainbow_, troops from twenty-six States) Divisions, National Guard. + +1ST DIVISION--Major Gen. Charles P. Summerall, commanding; Lieut. Col. +Campbell King, Chief of Staff; Major H. K. Loughry, Adjutant General. + +1ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Major John L. Hines; 16th and 18th Regiments; 2d +Machine Gun Battalion. + +2D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Major Gen. Beaumont B. Buck; 26th and 28th +Regiments; 3d Machine Gun Battalion. + +1ST BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--(Commanding officer not announced); 5th, +6th, and 7th Regiments; 1st Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--1st Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--2nd Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--1st Machine Gun Battalion. + + +2ND DIVISION (U. S. M. C.)--Brig. Gen. John E. Le Jeune, commanding; +Brig. Gen. Preston Brown, Chief of Staff. + +3RD BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Hanson E. Ely; 9th and 23rd Regiments; +5th Machine Gun Battalion. + +4TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY (MARINES)--Brig. Gen. John E. Le Jeune; 5th and +6th Regiments; 6th Machine Gun Battalion. + +2D BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig Gen. A. J. Bowley; 12th, 15th, and +17th Regiments; 2d Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--2d Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--1st Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--2d Division Headquarters Troops; 4th Machine Gun +Battalion. + +26TH DIVISION--Major Gen. Clarence R. Edwards, commanding; Lieut. Col. +Cassius M. Dowell, Chief of Staff; Major Charles A. Stevens, Adjutant +General. + +51ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. George H. Shelton; 101st and 102d +Regiments; 102d Machine Gun Battalion. + +52D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. C. H. Cole; 103d and 104th Regiments; +103d Machine Gun Battalion. + +51ST BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. D. E. Aultman; 101st Trench +Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--101st Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--101st Field Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--26th Headquarters Troop; 101st Machine Gun Battalion. + + +32ND DIVISION--Major Gen. W. G. Haan, commanding; Lieut. Col. Allen L. +Briggs, Chief of Staff; Major John H. Howard, Adjutant General. + +63D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. William D. Connor; 125th and 126th +Regiments; 120th Machine Gun Battalion. + +64TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. E. B. Winans; 127th and 128th +Regiments; 121st Machine Gun Battalion. + +57TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. G. LeRoy Irwin; 119th, 120th +and 121st Regiments; 107th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--107th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--107th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--32d Headquarters Troops; 119th Machine Gun Battalion. + + +41ST DIVISION (_Sunset_)--Major. Gen. Robert Alexander, commanding; +Colonel Harry H. Tebbetts, Chief of Staff; Major Herbert H. White, +Adjutant General. + +81ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Wilson B. Burt; 161st and 162nd +Regiments; 147th Machine Gun Battalion. + +82D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Edward Vollrath; 163rd and 164th +Regiments; 148th Machine Gun Battalion. + +66TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--(Commanding officer not announced); +146th, 147th, and 148th Regiments; 116th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--116th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--116th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--41st Division Headquarters Troop; 146th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +42D DIVISION (_Rainbow_)--Major Gen. C. T. Menoher, commanding; (Chief +of Staff not announced); Major Walter E. Powers, Adjutant General. + +83D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. M. Lenihan; 165th and 166th Regiments; +150th Machine Gun Battalion. + +84TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. R. A. Brown; 167th and 168th +Regiments; 151st Machine Gun Battalion. + +67TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. G. C. Gatley; 149th, 150th and +151st Regiments; 117th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--117th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--117th Field Signal Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--42d Division Headquarters Troop; 149th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + + =2ND ARMY CORPS= + +Major Gen. Robert Lee Bullard, Commanding. + +4th Division, Regular Army; 28th, (Pennsylvania,) 30th, (Tennessee, +North and South Carolina, and District of Columbia), and 36th (Missouri +and Kansas) Divisions, National Guard; 77th (New York) and 82d (Georgia, +Alabama, and Florida) Divisions, National Army. + +4TH DIVISION--Major Gen. George H. Cameron, commanding; Lieut. Col. +Christian A. Bach, Chief of Staff; Major Jesse D. Elliott, Adjutant +General. + +7TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. B. A. Poore; 39th and 47th Regiments; +11th Machine Gun Battalion. + +8TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. E. E. Booth; 58th and 59th Regiments; +12th Machine Gun Battalion. + +4TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. E. B. Babbitt; 13th, 16th and +77th Regiments; 4th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--4th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS---8th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--4th Division Headquarters Troop; 10th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +28TH DIVISION--Major Gen. C. H. Muir, commanding; (Chief of Staff not +announced); Lieut. Col. David J. Davis, Adjutant General. + +55TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. T. W. Darrah; 109th and 110th +Regiments; 108th Machine Gun Battalion. + +56TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Major Gen. William Weigel; 111th and 112th +Regiments; 109th Machine Gun Battalion. + +53RD BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. W. G. Price, 107th, 108th, +and 109th Regiments; 103rd Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--103d Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--103d Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--28th Division Headquarters Troop; 107th Machine Gun +Battalion. + +30TH DIVISION (_Wild Cat_)--Major Gen. Edward M. Lewis, commanding; +Lieut. Col. Robert B. McBride, Chief of Staff; Lieut. Col. Francis B. +Hinkle, Adjutant General. + +59TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Tyson; 117th and 118th +Regiments; 114th Machine Gun Battalion. + +60TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Samuel L. Faison; 119th and 120th +Regiments; 115th Machine Gun Battalion. + +55TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--(Commanding officer not announced); +113th, 114th and 115th Regiments; 105th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--105th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--165th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--30th Division Headquarters Troop; 113th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +35TH DIVISION--Major Gen. Peter E. Traub, commanding; Colonel Robert +McCleave, Chief of Staff; Major J. M. Hobson, Adjutant General. + +69TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Nathaniel McClure; 137th and 138th +Regiments; 129th Machine Gun Battalion. + +70TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Charles I. Martin; 139th and 140th +Regiments; 130th Machine Gun Battalion. + +60TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. L. G. Berry; 128th, 129th, and +130th Regiments; 110th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--110th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--35th Division Headquarters Troop; 128th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +77TH DIVISION (Upton)--Major Gen. George B. Duncan, commanding; (Chief +of Staff not announced); Major W. N. Haskell, Adjutant General. + +153D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Edward Wittenmeyer; 205th and 306th +Regiments; 305th Machine Gun Battalion. + +154TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Evan M. Johnson; 307th and 308th +Regiments; 306th Machine Gun Battalion. + +152D BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Thomas H. Reeves; 304th, 305th +and 306th Regiments; 302d Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--302d Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--302d Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--77th Division Headquarters Troop; 304th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +82D DIVISION--Major Gen. W. P. Burnham, commanding; Lieut. Col. Royden +E. Beebe, Chief of Staff; Lieut. Col. John R. Thomas, Adjutant General. + +163D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Marcus D. Cronin; 325th and 326th +Regiments; 320th Machine Gun Battalion. + +164TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Julian R. Lindsay; 327th and 328th +Regiments; 321st Machine Gun Battalion. + +157TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Charles D. Rhodes; 319th, +320th and 321st Regiments; 307th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--307th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--307th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--319th Machine Gun Battalion. + + + =3D ARMY CORPS= + +Major Gen. William M. Wright, commanding. + +3d and 5th Divisions, Regular Army; 27th (New York) and 33d (Illinois) +Divisions, National Guard; 78th (Delaware and New York) and 80th (New +Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia) +Divisions, National Army. + + +3D DIVISION--Major Gen. Joseph T. Dickman, commanding; Colonel Robert H. +Kelton, Chief of Staff; Captain Frank L. Purndon, Adjutant General. + +5TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. F. W. Sladen; 4th and 7th Regiments; +8th Machine Gun Battalion. + +8TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--(Commanding officer not announced); 30th and 38th +Regiments; 9th Machine Gun Battalion. + +3D BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. W. M. Cruikshank; 10th, 76th and +18th Regiments; 3d Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--6th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--5th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--3d Division Headquarters Troop; 7th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +5TH DIVISION--Major Gen. John E. McMahon, commanding; Colonel Ralph E. +Ingram, Chief of Staff; Major David P. Wood, Adjutant General. + +9TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. J. C. Castner; 60th and 61st +Regiments; 14th Machine Gun Battalion. + +10TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Major Gen. W. H. Gordon; 6th and 11th Regiments; +15th Machine Gun Battalion. + +5TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. C. A. F. Flagler; 19th, 20th, +and 21st Regiments; 5th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--7th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--9th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--5th Division Headquarters Troop; 13th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +27TH DIVISION (New York)--Major Gen. J. F. O'Ryan, commanding; Lieut. +Col. Stanley H. Ford, Chief of Staff; Lieut. Col. Frank W. Ward, +Adjutant General. + +53D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Alfred W. Bjornstad; 105th and 106th +Regiments; 105th Machine Gun Battalion. + +54TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Palmer E. Pierce; 107th and 108th +Regiments; 106th Machine Gun Battalion. + +52ND BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. George A. Wingate; 104th, +105th and 106th Regiments; 102d Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--102d Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--102d Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--27th Division Headquarters Troop; 104th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +33D DIVISION--Major Gen. George Bell, Jr., commanding; Colonel William +K. Naylot, Chief of Staff; (Adjutant General not announced). + +65TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Edward L. King; 129th and 130th +Regiments; 123d Machine Gun Battalion. + +66TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Paul A. Wolff; 131st and 132nd +Regiments; 124th Machine Gun Battalion. + +58TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. James A. Shipton; 122d, 123d +and 124th Regiments; 108th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--108th Battalion. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--108th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--33d Division Headquarters Troop; 112th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +78TH DIVISION--Major Gen. James H. McRae, commanding; Lieut. Col. Harry +N. Cootes, Chief of Staff; Major William T. MacMill, Adjutant General. + +155TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Mark L. Hersey; 309th and 310th +Regiments; 308th Machine Gun Battalion. + +156TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. James T. Dean; 311th and 312th +Regiments; 309th Machine Gun Battalion. + +153D BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Clint C. Hearn; 307th, 308th +and 309th Regiments; 303d Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--303d Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--303d Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--78th Division Headquarters Troop; 307th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +80TH DIVISION--Major Gen. Adelbert Cronkhite, commanding; Lieut. Col. +William H. Waldron, Chief of Staff; Major Steven C. Clark, Adjutant +General. + +159TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. George H. Jamerson, 317th and 318th +Regiments; 314th Machine Gun Battalion. + +160TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Lloyd M. Bratt; 319th and 320th +Regiments; 315th Machine Gun Battalion. + +155TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Gordon G. Heiner; 313th, +314th and 315th Regiments; 305th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--305th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--305th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--80th Division Headquarters Troop; 313th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + + =4TH ARMY CORPS= + +Major Gen. George W. Read, commanding. + +83d (Ohio and Pennsylvania), 89th (Kansas, Missouri South Dakota, +Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona), 90th (Texas and Oklahoma), +and 92d (negro troops) Divisions, National Army; 37th (Ohio) and 29th +(New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and District of Columbia) +Divisions, National Guard. + + +29TH DIVISION--Major Gen. C. G. Morton, commanding; Colonel George S. +Goodale, Chief of Staff; Major James A. Ulio, Adjutant General. + +57TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Charles W. Barber; 113th and 114th +Regiments; 111th Machine Gun Battalion. + +58TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. H. H. Bandholtz; 115th and 116th +Regiments; 112th Machine Gun Battalion. + +54TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--(Commanding officer not announced) 110th, +111th and 112th Regiments; 104th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--104th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--104th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--29th Division Headquarters Troop; 110th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +37TH DIVISION--Major Gen. C. S. Farnsworth, commanding; Lieut. Col. Dana +T. Merrill, Chief of Staff; Major Edward W. Wildrick, Adjutant General. + +73RD BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. C. F. Zimmerman; 145th and 146th +Regiments; 135th Machine Gun Battalion. + +74TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. W. P. Jackson; 147th and 148th +Regiments; 136th Machine Gun Battalion. + +62D BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--(Commanding officer not announced); 134th, +135th and 136th Regiments; 112th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--112th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--112th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--37th Division Headquarters Troop; 134th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +83RD DIVISION--Major Gen. E. F. Glenn, commanding; Lieut. Col. C. A. +Trott, Chief of Staff; Major James L. Cochran, Adjutant General. + +165TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Ora E. Hunt; 329th and 330th +Regiments; 323d Machine Gun Battalion. + +166TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Malin Craig; 331st and 332d +Regiments; 324th Machine Gun Battalion. + +158TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Adrian S. Fleming; 322d, +323d, and 324th Regiments; 308th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--308th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--308th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--83d Division Headquarters Troop; 322d Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +89TH DIVISION--Brig. Gen. Frank L. Winn, commanding; (Acting) Colonel C. +E. Kilbourne, Chief of Staff; Major Jerome G. Pillow, Adjutant General. + +177TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Frank L. Winn; 353rd and 354th +Regiments; 341st Machine Gun Battalion. + +178TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Thomas G. Hanson; 355th and 356th +Regiments; 342d Machine Gun Battalion. + +164TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Edward T. Donnelly; 340th, +341st and 342d Regiments; 314th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--314th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--314th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--89th Division Headquarters Troop; 340th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +90TH DIVISION--Major Gen. Henry T. Allen, commanding; Colonel John J. +Kingman, Chief of Staff; Major Wyatt P. Selkirk, Adjutant General. + +179TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. John T. O'Neill; 357th and 358th +Regiments; 344th Machine Gun Battalion. + +180TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. W. H. Johnston; 359th and 360th +Regiments; 345th Machine Gun Battalion. + +165TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Francis C. Marshall; 343d, +344th, and 345th Regiments; 315th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--315th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--315th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--90th Division Headquarters Troop; 349th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +92ND DIVISION--Major Gen. C. C. Ballou, commanding; Lieut. Col. Allen J. +Greer, Chief of Staff; Major Sherburne Whipple, Adjutant General. + +183D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Malvern H. Barnum, 365th and 366th +Regiments; 350th Machine Gun Battalion. + +184TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. W. A. Hay; 367th and 368th +Regiments; 351st Machine Gun Battalion. + +167TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--(Commanding officer not announced); +349th, 350th and 351st Regiments; 317th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--317th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--317th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--92d Division Headquarters Troop; 349th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + + =5TH ARMY CORPS= + +Major Gen. Omar Bundy, commanding. + +6th Division, Regular Army; 36th (Texas and Oklahoma) Division, National +Guard; 75th (New England), 79th (Pennsylvania, Maryland and District of +Columbia), 85th (Michigan and Wisconsin), and 91st (Washington, Oregon, +Alaska, California, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming and Utah), +Divisions, National Army. + + +6TH DIVISION--Brig. Gen. James B. Erwin, commanding; Colonel James M. +Pickering, Chief of Staff; Lieut. Col. Robert S. Knox, Adjutant General. + +11TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. W. R. Dashiell; 51st and 52d +Regiments; 17th Machine Gun Battalion. + +12TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. J. B. Erwin; 53d and 54th Regiments; +18th Machine Gun Battalion. + +6TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. E. A. Millar; 3rd, 11th, and +78th Regiments; 6th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--318th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--6th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--6th Division, Headquarters Troop; 16th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +36TH DIVISION--Major Gen. W. R. Smith, commanding; Colonel E. J. +Williams, Chief of Staff; Major William R. Scott, Adjutant General. + +71ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Henry Hutchings; 141st and 142d +Regiments; 132d Machine Gun Battalion. + +72D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. John A. Hulen; 143d and 144th +Regiments; 133d Machine Gun Battalion. + +61ST BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. John A. Stevens; 131st, 132d +and 133d Regiments, 111th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--111th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--111th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--36th Division Headquarters Troop; 131st Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +76TH DIVISION--Major Gen. Harry F. Hodges, commanding; (Chief of Staff +not announced); Major George M. Peek, Adjutant General. + +151ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Frank M. Albright; 301st and 302d +Regiments; 303d Machine Gun Battalion. + +152D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. F. D. Evans; 303d and 304th +Regiments; 303d Machine Gun Battalion. + +151ST BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Major Gen. William S. McNair; 301st, +302d, and 303d Regiments; 301st Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--301st Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--301st Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--76th Division Headquarters Troop; 301st Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +79TH DIVISION--Major Gen. Joseph E. Kuhn, commanding; Colonel Tenny +Ross, Chief of Staff; Major Charles B. Moore, Adjutant General. + +157TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. William L. Nicholson; 313th and +314th Regiments; 311th Machine Gun Battalion. + +158TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--(Commanding officer not announced); 315th and +316th Regiments; 312th Machine Gun Battalion. + +154TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Andrew Hero, Jr., 310th, +311th and 312th Regiments; 304th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--304th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--304th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--79th Division Headquarters Troop; 310th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +85TH DIVISION--Major Gen. C. W. Kennedy, commanding; Colonel Edgar T. +Collins, Chief of Staff; Lieut. Col. Clarence Lininger, Adjutant +General. + +169TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Thomas B. Dugan; 337th and 338th +Regiments; 329th Machine Gun Battalion. + +170TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--(Commanding officer not announced); 339th and +340th Regiments; 330th Machine Gun Battalion. + +160TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Guy M. Preston; 328th, 329th +and 330th Regiments; 310th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--310th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--310th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--85th Division Headquarters Troop; 328th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +91ST DIVISION--Brig. Gen. F. H. Foltz, commanding; Colonel Herbert J. +Brees, Chief of Staff; Major Frederick W. Manley, Adjutant General. + +181ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. John B. McDonald; 361st and 362d +Regiments; 347th Machine Gun Battalion. + +182D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Frederick S. Foltz; 363d and 364th +Regiments; 348th Machine Gun Battalion. + +166TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Edward Burr; 346th, 347th and +348th Regiments; 316th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--316th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--316th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--91st Division Headquarters Troop; 346th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + + =UNASSIGNED TO CORPS= + +81ST DIVISION--Major Gen. C. J. Bailey, commanding; Colonel Charles D. +Roberts, Chief of Staff; Major Arthur E. Ahrends, Adjutant General. + +161ST BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. George W. McIver; 321st and 322nd +Regiments; 317th Machine Gun Battalion. + +162D BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. Monroe McFarland; 323d and 324th +Regiments; 318th Machine Gun Battalion. + +156TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--Brig. Gen. Andrew Moses; 316th, 317th +and 318th Regiments; 306th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--306th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--306th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--81st Division Headquarters Troop; 316th Machine Gun +Battalion. + + +93RD DIVISION--(Commander not announced); Major Lee S. Tillotson, +Adjutant General. + +185TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--(Commanding officer not announced); 369th and +370th Regiments; 333d Machine Gun Battalion. + +186TH BRIGADE, INFANTRY--Brig. Gen. George H. Harries; 371st and 372d +Regiments; 334th Machine Gun Battalion. + +168TH BRIGADE, FIELD ARTILLERY--(Commanding officer not announced); +332d, 333d and 334th Regiments; 318th Trench Mortar Battery. + +ENGINEER TROOPS--318th Regiment. + +SIGNAL TROOPS--318th Battalion. + +DIVISION UNITS--332d Machine Gun Battalion. + + + * * * * * + +Transcribers Notes + +1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_. + +2. Passages in bold are indicated by =bold=. + +3. Obvious punctuation errors and omissions in original text have been + repaired. + +4. Text spelling was common at the time of its publication. + +5. ILLUSTRATIONS TEXT - Spelling, accent and hypenation corrections have + been made to conform with text. + +6. pg. xi (M. FLOYS GIBBONS) appears in the original text of the letter + and has been corrected to M. FLOYD GIBBONS. + +7. pg. xvii - Table of Contents - Chapter XVIII, pg. 328; the chapter + correctly starts on Pg. 338 - this was corrected. + +8. The word manoeuvre uses an oe ligatgure in the original text, and + has be here represented as oe. + +9. All possibly dialectic-phonetic phrases have been retained, including + the following; + + pg. 31 - "stear" (steer), (we can stear with an oar), quote + pg. 91 - "Sourkraut" (Sauerkraut), (German as Sourkraut), remembrance + pg. 276 - "dimonds" (diamonds), (filled wid dimonds), quote + pg. 370 - "Lueger" (Luger), (of the Lueger make), remembrance + +10. 21 Spelling corrections: (x) shows no. of times word was already + correctly spelled in text. + + pg. xv - "citatation" to "citation" (he received a citation) + pg. 38 - "tatooed" to "tattooed" (tattooed arms of the) + pg. 50 - "Harboard" to "Harbord" (4) (Brigadier General Harbord) + pg. 73 - "practise" to "practice" (9), (began to practice) + pg. 99 - "surpised" to "surprised" (I was not surprised) + pg. 107 - "dicharge" to "discharge" (signal for the discharge) + pg. 139 - "aves-vous" to "avez-vous" (3) (Aves-vous de chevaux?) + pg. 143 - "Nicholas" to "Nicolas" (2) (Saint-Nicolas-du-Port) + pg. 157 - "milimetre" to "millimetre" (2), (battery of 150 millimetre) + pg. 208 - "Ukelele" to "Ukulele" (tending the Ukulele crop) + pg. 222 - "perigrinations" to "peregrinations" (trace the + peregrinations) + pg. 248 - "harrassed" to "harassed" (harassed the road intersections) + pg. 315 - "ricochetted" to "ricocheted" (had ricocheted upward) + pg. 346 - "desposit" to "deposit" (would solemnly deposit) + pg. 349 - "McDougal" to "MacDougal" (7), (MacDougal then began) + pg. 365 - "turrent" to "turret" (the tank's turret) + pg. 367 - "blow" to "blown" (trunks were blown high) + pg. 376 - "barracades" to "barricades" (built barracades across) + pg. 382 - "distingushed" to "distinguished" (that so distinguished + itself) + pg. 383 - "reconnaisance" to "reconnaissance" (2), (making a + reconnaissance). + pg. 391 - "knowng" to "knowing" (knowing at the time) + + +11. 17 hyphenation, Capitalization or diacritical accent corrections made + as follows: + + pg. xi - "ARMEES" to "ARMEES" (2) (DES ARMEES DU NORD) - Fr. + pg. 24 - "victrola" to "Victrola" ( a cabinet Victrola) - Trademark + pg. 88 - "coryphees" to "coryphees" (male coryphees who hold) - Fr. + pg. 88 - "under-sized" to "undersized" (2), (toughest set of + undersized) + pg. 111 - "zigzagging" to "zig-zagging" (3) (through zig-zagging + avenues) + pg. 183 - "hand grenades" to "hand-grenades" (2), (post with + hand-grenades) + pg. 194 - "counter-battery" to "counter battery" (3) (casual counter + battery work) + pg. 232 - "debris" to "debris" (4) (person in the debris) + pg. 251 - "debris" to "debris (4) (the debris ceased falling) + pg. 269 - "tricolour" to "tri-colour" (2) (of the French tri-colour) + pg. 274 - "Americains" to "Americains" (les bons Americains) - Fr. + pg. 307 - "Chatel" to "Chatel" (La Voie du Chatel) - Fr. + pg. 367 - "dug-outs" to "dugouts" (10), (crushed the enemy dugouts) + pg. 370 - "t'-ell" to "t'ell" (Allay veet t'ell outer here), as on pg. + 275. + pg. 373 - "dug-out" to "dugout" (24), (in a dugout with) + pg. 383 - "Thibault" to "Thiebault" (9) (east of St. Thiebault) + pg. 385 - "country-side" to "countryside" (5), (no fairer countryside) + + +12. List of same word variations appearing in this text which have been + retained. + + "cooperation" (1) and "co-operation" (1) + "dockside" (1) and "dock-side" (1) + "farmhouse" (1) and "farm-house" (1) + "heartbroken" (1) and "heart-break" (1) + "manpower" (1) and "man-power" (1) + "midday" (1) and "mid-day" (1) + "old-timer" (1), "old-timers" (2), "old timer" (3) + "well kept" (1) and "well-kept" (1) + + +13. Printers error correction; + + pg 394: - two lines of text were exchanged as follows: + + original text; + + "It was the same Germany + many that had covered America with her net of spies and + that had tried to murder France. It was the same Ger- + had sought to bring war to our borders with Mexico and" + + as corrected; + + "It was the same Germany + that had tried to murder France. It was the same Germany + that had covered America with her net of spies and + had sought to bring war to our borders with Mexico and" + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of "And they thought we wouldn't fight", by +Floyd Gibbons + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOULDN'T FIGHT *** + +***** This file should be named 31086.txt or 31086.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/0/8/31086/ + +Produced by Christine Aldridge, Suzanne Shell and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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