USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Metropolitan Boston; a modern history; Volume III > Part 6
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Woevre and Verdun-For a time after St. Mihiel, the division held an advanced line in the region captured, and played the rôle of an army that was to break through to Metz, and so create a diversion that would prevent the enemy from concentrating on the Argonne-Meuse front which was to be the point of the next great attack. While at this task, actions against Marcheville and Riaville, towns out on the great plain of the Woevre, brought additional honors to the YD, particularly to the 102d Infantry. The Yankees were then transferred to the famous citadel of Verdun. On October 16, companies of the 104th Infantry,
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METROPOLITAN BOSTON
assisted by 15 French tanks (14 of which were lost), fought through the night of October 16. They did not take their objective until the next afternoon, and their losses were about 250 altogether. This was but a minor affair as such things were termed at that time, but one of the severest of minor engagements, if we must call it that.
General Edwards Returned Home-What was a much greater dis- aster to the 26th, one from which it never recovered, was the order of October 22, relieving General Edwards of his command. He was called home to train a new division. Three days before, he had received word of his daughter's death from pneumonia in one of the cantonment hos- pitals in which she had been serving. At Verdun, he had been organiz- ing an attack for the very morning that saw the coming of his order to return. His personal aide, Captain "Nat" Simpkins, had been taken by a complication of diseases following influenza. It was a heart-breaking time for the General and his beloved division. Hiding his disappoint- ment, he quietly broke the news of his early departure, bespeaking their loyalty to Brigadier-General Bamford, who was to succeed him. Gloom settled down on the division. "For nine months, with General Edwards to lead them, the New Englanders had gone through the most strenuous experiences with only a few days rest. Undeterred by fatigue, sickness, shortage of supplies or any of the fiendish methods employed by the resourceful enemy, they had piled up a record which vied with that of the élite troops of the French Army. They had been complimented and cited and decorated time and time again. They had been hailed as 'Shock Troops,' and the 'Saviors of Paris,' and their fame was known throughout the length and breadth of the land. And all their glory they attributed to the leadership of Clarence R. Edwards. He it was who stimulated them with his own indomitable spirit, and caused them to go forward when it seemed that human nature could do no more. It was he whose unflagging optimism and cheery words lifted them up, superior to privations and hardships. It was their general who watched over them, cared for them, and saw to it that their lives were not unnecessarily sacrificed." (Harry A. Benwell, in his "History of the Yankee Division.")
It is hard to understand the constant interference with the command- ers of the National Guard forces in France ; why there should have arisen a policy which deprived units of their officers, often at a time when they were the most needed. The Army authorities made the announcement that it had been deemed desirable to send home experienced officers to act as instructors of the divisions in training in the home land. This excuse could hardly hold water, for it was already realized that the
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troops in training would never be brought across, for their presence would not be needed to bring the war to an end. The YD, and by the way the YD insignia had only just been adopted at this time (October 23),-the YD was seriously weakened by disease (the influenza which overran Europe), by unavoidable conditions, flooded dugouts, hillsides which were quagmires, wet, cold clothing, insufficient hot food, drenched by the enemy's gas, and whipped at all hours by snipers and artillery. And then to be made to feel that they were no more valuable in the army game than pawns are on a chess-board. It was a tremendous blow to the morale of the division, just as it had undergone one of the severest of battle tests, and in its weakened condition was to bear repeated counter- attacks by a still numerically superior enemy.
Before Verdun-The action in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive of the 26th before Verdun cannot be given in detail here. It was a set of opera- tions which was planned to wrest a series of important local positions from the enemy which, if successful, would compel their withdrawal. It was successful, but at a severe loss to the division; Belleau Wood sadly depleted it, particularly the IoIst Infantry. A change was made in the sector, and in the direction of the contemplated advance. The purpose now was to keep up a pressure upon the German troops which would compel their withdrawal, but even more to practice a watchful waiting which would prevent their escape when such a movement should be made. On November 8, almost without warning, the Germans began a retreat along great sections of the line. The 26th prepared to take an advanced position, but orders of the next day changed the direction of their movement towards the village of Azannes. Ground was taken, but not as much as has been hoped, probably because some of the regi- ments were exhausted numerically and physically ; and as suggested, the loss of the YD leaders had not helped any.
The Last Attack-Meanwhile negotiations for an armistice were go- ing on. Wild rumors filled the air. Hostilities ceased on November II, at II o'clock, French time, but as late as midnight of the tenth, orders were given out for an advance on the morrow. These orders were with- drawn in the morning, but to the amazement of the corps staff, the orig- inal attack order was made to stand, and the 26th was to advance until the hour of eleven, when hostilities were to come to an end. Why such a movement should have been undertaken in those final hours, with the attendant likelihood of loss of American lives without any corresponding military advantage, has yet to be explained. The division did as it was told, and won what it was supposed to win. The 104th completed the capture of Ville-devant-Chaumont; the center moved up to the railroad ; and the 102d extended its line to a point beyond Bezonvaux.
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METROPOLITAN BOSTON
Eleven o'clock and silence! The artillery had been loosing all the ammunition it could all through the morning, in the general direction of Metz. As the time approached to cease firing, companies fastened long lengths of wire to the lanyards so that every member of the battery could have a share in firing the last shot. There was little rejoicing; the men were drugged with fatigue. Bonfires were lighted when the night came, great roaring blazes on which had been thrown almost anything that would burn. The division was named as one of the first American organ- izations to have the honor of going to the Rhine, but the YDs were too completely worn out to be able to march to the German area. On the fourteenth of November, the 26th was relieved by the 6th. "For twenty- six days the division had occupied the Neptune Sector and fought to enlarge its bounds, the longest period of service, be it said, which any division rendered during the Meuse-Argonne offensive of the First American Army. Only five and a half kilometers of ground was gained ; but what that ground was, let us testify who fought before Verdun, the historic field of blood, and tears, and imperishable glory, where, with every task accomplished, in the face of supreme difficulty, the 26th ended an incomparable fighting career."
Preparations for Embarkation-Having completed their task, the minor one of getting back home was now undertaken. By easy stages the division moved towards the point of embarkation, although the time of their departure had not been set. It is to be remembered that an armistice does not necessarily mean peace, and until this was assured, the division trained as though hostilities might again call them to com- bat. Major-General Harry C. Hale succeeded General Bamford in com- mand of the 26th on November 18, continuing throughout the period ending with the discharge from service of the division in April of 1919. Christmas came and the 26th was honored by being chosen by President Wilson as the division with whom he would eat his Christmas dinner, and as the one which should furnish the Presidential guard of honor when Mr. Wilson visited the general headquarters at Chaumont. As it worked out, the President did dine with officers from the division head- quarters and all the units of the division. He also reviewed troops of which the four best drilled companies of the four regiments-"B," IOIst; "K," 102d; "F," 103d; and "L," 104th-were a part. From the IOIst Signal Battalion was sent one company ; from the IOIst Engineers went Company "F"; from the 102d Machine Gun Battalion went Companies "A," "B," "C," and "D." Pershing congratulated the division troops on their "fine appearance and discipline."
On January 8, 1919, came the order to prepare the 26th for return to the United States. In the midst of the preparations for departure came
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a colorful interlude on January 15, when the French gave a final God- speed to the division. "With only the briefest warning, arrangements were made to receive, at Mandres-les-Nogent, both the American Com- mander-in-Chief and the famous defender of Verdun, Marshal Pétain, who was to decorate with the Croix de Guerre the colors of the regiment and battalion which had done so valiantly at Marcheville on September 26, the 102d Infantry." On a gray, misty morning, the battalion paraded, the cross was affixed to the colors by the marshal in person with all the appropriate and stirring ceremony prescribed for that occasion. . It was a brief affair; but how deeply the honor and its method of pre- sentation touched the hearts of the regiment and of the whole Division, all can testify who shared the emotions of the moment."
The last grand review in France of the division was made by the commander-in-chief on February 19, 1919, in a field near Mayet. "In a drizzle of rain, the great array of troops was curiously sombre and im- pressive, the bright color of the flags, the bluish sheen of the oiled steel helmets, the gleam of bayonets topping the whole mass, being in high and picturesque relief." The commander-in-chief made far more than a formal inspection of the troops, and his summary of his impressions were expressed in a letter two days later.
AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES. OFFICE OF THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
MY DEAR GENERAL HALE :
March 21, 1919.
It gives me a great deal of pleasure to congratulate you, and through you all the officers and men of the Twenty-Sixth Division, on their splendid appearance at the inspection and review which was held near Ecommoy on February 19. The spirit and soldierly bearing of all ranks pleased me very much, and was what one would have expected of a division with such a long and excellent record in France.
Arriving in the autumn of 1917, the division went through the prescribed course of instruction until early in 1918, when, brigaded with the French, it entered the line for a month and a half's further training north of Soissons, in the Chemin des Dames Sector. It was withdrawn for rest when the German offensive of March 21 necessitated its im- mediate return to the line in the La Reine and Boucq Sectors, north of Toul. Here it had two important engagements-one in the Apremont Forest, where it repulsed with loss a heavy German raid, and at Seicheprey, where casualties on both sides amounted to approximately 2000 men.
On July 18 the Division was thrown into the battle between the Aisne and the Marne, advancing in seven days more than 17 kilometers against determined enemy opposition, and capturing the towns of Epieds, Trugny, Torcy, Belleau, and Givry.
It next took part in the American offensive of September at Saint-Mihiel. Oper- ating under the Fifth Corps in the Rupt and Troyon Sectors, north of Saint-Mihiel, it captured Bois-des-Eparges, Hattonchâtel, and Vigneulles.
Later, during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, it attacked northeast of Verdun, and aided in the storming of Etrayes Ridge, capturing Bois de Belleu and the Bois d'Ormont, one of the most formidable heights in that region. The Division was in this sector when the armistice called a halt to active operations.
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METROPOLITAN BOSTON
Each soldier should be proud of the share which the Twenty-Sixth Division has had in adding glory to the fighting record of our armies, and I want every man to know of my own appreciation, and that of his fellows throughout the American Expeditionary Forces, for the splendid work which has been done.
Very sincerely yours,
JOHN J. PERSHING.
At Home-In March, the division embarked for home; on April 4, . the first transport arrived in Boston. Every day after for a week or more, transports arrived bringing additional contingents of the 26th, until the whole division was again in Camp Devens. It is quite impos- sible to chronicle the various receptions which the New England towns gave their "boys" when once they were released from final duties. Un- fortunately for the furtherance of a prompt release of the division, it was thought necessary by the army authorities to forbid all participation by the troops in any local receptions or demonstrations. Even a divisional parade in Boston was frowned upon by the War Department, and was only brought about by the persuasions of the most important persons in New England. On April 22, the Yankee Division was reviewed at Camp Devens.
It was partly with the purpose of meeting this desire of all New England to wel- come its own, that the Division Commander extended his invitation to the Governors of the New England States to review the Division on the afternoon of April 22 at Camp Devens. And a notable event in the varied history of the Twenty-Sixth this review did prove to be. On an afternoon of flawless spring weather, in the presence of a crowd which was estimated to include not less than 300,000 persons, the troops, in full field equipment, to the music of a massed band of 300 pieces, behind their regimental colors which that day were decorated with the battle streamers bearing the names of major engagements, swept down the Camp Devens parade ground in perfect order, faultless rhythm, and steady cadence, which thrilled the vast crowd to the very marrow. Before the review there was held the ceremony of awarding decorations-Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, and Croix de Guerre-to some forty-five officers and men ; and in this ceremony, the Division's former commander, Major-General Edwards, was called upon by Major-General Hale to award the crosses to those whose gallant deeds had been performed while General Edwards was still in command.
Three days later came the long-anticipated street parade of the Division in Boston. And for the last time it was possible to demonstrate the workmanlike methods of those officers who had, for many months, been charged with the duty of moving, subsisting, equipping, and billeting the troops. With no confusion the various units were brought into town, lodged, fed, formed for the parade, and returned to camp. In a fine spirit of cooperation, every officer and man of the whole Division worked to show himself and his unit, from squad to regiment, to the best advantage. And Boston, who seemed that day to have taken to herself the whole population of New England, roared an approval and a welcome from the miles of towering reviewing stands, from windows, curbstones, from every vantage-point, which never can be forgotten by those present. It should be remarked that the people did not view the Boston parade of the Twenty- Sixth as a spectacle, as an interesting, picturesque march of veteran troops. It was in a far different spirit that the crowds were cheering. They were welcoming home their
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own boys-their own blood, their kinsmen. They hailed the return not only of the soldiers of the United States, but also-and with shriller joy-the soldiers of their own home regiments. This is worth recording, one believes, on the last pages, as on the first, of this history of American citizen-soldiers in the European War. It is a record of the expression of that love for its own territorial localized military unit which has always linked closely together the American community and the American soldier.
("New England in France," Emerson G. Taylor.)
A few days later, April 28 and 29, came the prosaic business of receiv- ing pay and papers. Then farewells and the gallant members of the Yankee Division took their accustomed places in the life of their com- munities, once more, as they had been, civilians.
A TABLE OF THE CASUALTIES IN THE 26TH DIVISION.
Unit.
Killed in Action.
Died of Wounds.
Missing in Action.
Prisoners.
Total.
IOIst Infantry
255
140
118
27
540
102nd
"
394
153
189
252
998
103rd
308
I35
52
16
5II
104th
263
II2
72
17
464
IOIst Machine Gun Battalion
10
9
I
. .
20
102nd
42
20
II
22
95
103rd
66
21
8
6
2
37
IOIst Field Artillery
26
21
3
3
53
102nd
30
38
I
I
70
103rd
25
9
·
9
42
IoIst Trench Mortar Battery
I
I
9
5
41
1388
660
462
354
2864
Apremont Day in the State House-The wild joyous reception of the returning New England troops was quite in contrast to a celebration of "Apremont Day" in the late spring of 1927. It was the ninth annivers- ary of the day, April 28, 1918, that General Passaga decorated the colors of the 104th Regiment with the French Croix de Guerre for its gallant conduct in its first important engagements on French soil. To the 104th the spring day was rather a reunion of the regiment ; to others it was the day when the Commonwealth formally accepted, through its Governor, the beautiful mural painting which depicted the historic Sunday after- noon in the little town of Boucq, France. One wonders what the crowds thought who witnessed the march of the 1,200 veterans of the 4,000 young and strong who went overseas ten years before; and the throngs who filled the State House to see the unveiling of the painting by Mrs. Shelton, widow of Colonel Shelton, who commanded the regiment dur- ing the action for which it was decorated. Whatever else it may have been, it was a quiet, thoughtful day, one without display, dedicated to the men who had not returned. As one expressed it, "Rather was it a solemn occasion-in the midst of a jazz period-a day set apart for prayer for those brave boys who gave their lives for their country, will-
er .
2
IOIst Engineers
I3
14
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METROPOLITAN BOSTON
ingly, gladly, bravely." It was surprising that the organization could remain intact nine years after the war. The veterans came from all parts of the country back to the city from whence they had set out for war. There were no snappy uniforms, neat packs, shiny helmets adorning the men who marched through the streets; but young or old, maimed or whole, they were still members of the 104th, survivors of as gallant a company of Americans as ever served under the colors of their country, mindful of the shadowy legion which once had marched with them, but never could again, mindful of the responsibilities which were still theirs by right of sacrifice and service.
The Unveiling of the Mural Memorial-A wreath was placed upon the tablet in the State House erected in memory of the chaplains from Massachusetts who had died in the war, two of whom, the Rev. Walton S. Danker, and Father John B. DeValles, had been chaplains of the 104th Regiment. As many as could crowded the main floor, the stairways and the balcony of the State House to witness the unveiling of the painting and to listen to the messages of those who were there to give them. Chaplain William Farrel, of the regiment, offered a prayer as the last notes of "Taps" sounded through the marble corridors. "God forbid another War" were his words. "God forbid another War," he repeated, "but if we must fight again, let the spirit of the brave boys of this regi- ment, the first to be decorated by a foreign nation, guide you in your country's hour of need." Then the Governor faced the soldiers, the gold-starred mothers, the crippled and maimed veterans, their brothers, sisters, wives, mothers, fathers and friends, and began to speak: "In the name of the people of Massachusetts, I accept this beautiful mural painting of the scene which took place in the little town of Boucq, on Sunday, April 28, 1918, when the Colors of the 104th Infantry were dec- orated by General Passaga of the French Army. . . It seems very fitting that we should have this indelible record with its bronze seals of the Republic of France and of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on the walls of our State House of a great historic event."
Governor Fuller's Address-The address of Governor Fuller is worthy of quotation in full, but the following excerpts will give much of its spirit :
In this historic building we have mural paintings entitled, "James Otis making his famous argument against the Writs of Assistance in the old Town House in Boston in February, 1761," "The Boston Tea Party," "Paul Revere's Ride," "The Pilgrims on the Mayflower," "John Eliot Preaching to the Indians," "Concord Bridge," "The Return of the Colors," and now this "Decoration by the French Republic during the World War of Colors of the 104th Infantry of the 26th Division."
I believe that the throngs of people, children and their parents, who yearly visit this
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State House, will carry home with them a finer and a more vigorous love for Massachu- setts, from the sight here presented of the honor done sons of the State in a time that tried men's souls. The school children of Massachusetts can learn the lessons of democ- racy from the walls of the State House, and every one of these pictures might be said to represent an epoch.
And how appropriate it is that here in Massachusetts, where we have so many of the shrines of American liberty-Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill-that here also should be added this memorial of the men of the 104th Regiment.
Looking back through almost a decade, we can well remember the early days of the World War. Our troops-particularly those of the 26th Division-had left Massachu- setts during the fall of 1917. We knew that they had been training during the winter months and we also knew they had finished their training and gone up into the front lines some time during February of 1918, so that we were aware that the youth of America was taking part in the struggle for the survival of democracy.
Days passed, and the anxiety increased. News items were meagre, and slow in coming. Very tense indeed were the feelings of all of us who watched and waited, dreading each morning, yet eager to see what the day would bring forth. Those times went on until one day in April when the people of this country, particularly of this Commonwealth, were electrified by the news of the battle of Apremont, at which our 104th Regiment of Infantry took a major part, distinguishing itself by its dash, its dogged determination, and its will to win. For the first time in the great World War, Amer- ican troops were put to the test. The enemy had selected some of its trained soldiers- shock troops, they called them-specially trained and used to break the morale of new- comers in the lines.
These were the words of General Passaga, when he gave the 104th Regiment its reward of valor : "The general commanding the army corps cites in the orders of the army corps the 104th Regiment of Infantry. During the fighting of the 10th, 12th and 13th of April, this regiment has displayed the greatest bravery and the most remarkable spirit of sacrifice.
"Subject to a very violent bombardment and attack by strong German forces, it stopped a dangerous advance of the enemy and regained at the point of the bayonet by an energetic counter-attack, a few destroyed trenches which it had lost during the first assault of the enemy. It has also taken many prisoners.
"Given at the headquarters at Toul the 26th of April, 1916."
We cannot add to those honors. We can but stand at attention here and salute the memory of the men who won them in France. Many of those men are here. Many have passed on. The spirit of those who have passed on is hovering near. . . .
General Dumont has said that the French were well aware that the tide of battle was turning against them when the Yankees came over; and my mind went back to a graphic description I heard of the situation over there when the French were being beaten back: Belgium had been overrun and her troops were well night mastered; the British had been forced back close to the Channel ports. And then it was, in the des- peration of that hour, that new voices were heard in the rear, approaching. They were American voices. They arrived in the hour of their greatest need. They did turn the tide of battle in favor of the Allies.
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