New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the world war, 1917-1918, Part 16

Author: Wall, John P. (John Patrick), 1867-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: New Brunswick, N.J. : S. M. Christie Press
Number of Pages: 246


USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > New Brunswick > New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the world war, 1917-1918 > Part 16


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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Rutgers Cadet Corps uniform, and, leaving him with nothing but a pair of running pants, began to paint him with the molasses. Not a part of his body was left uncovered, the sticky mass of "molasses and feathers" being applied with great fervor.


At a given signal four husky young men shoulder- ed a plank with Chovenson, who was blind-folded, as their burden, and headed the parade down George street. At every corner new recruits were added until, by the time the procession reached Albany street five hundred men were in line. Signs were carried at the head of the line bearing the inscrip- tions, "He's a Bolsheviki." He is against the Liber- ty Loan and the U. S. A.," and "This is what we do with Pro-Germans." The procession moved along George street in a very orderly manner, the curbs being crowded with people from the theatres who were demanding more severe punishment for the offender.


Numerous soldiers were spectators and were es- pecially anxious to get to the "tar and feathered" young man. The line moved to George and Liberty streets, where it counter-marched to George and Albany. At this point the blind was removed and Chovenson was allowed to go free. Setting out at a pace only a frightened man can take he headed for his boarding place on Commercial avenue, and that was the last seen of him in New Brunswick.


Red Flag Lowered at Stelton


Acting upon information to the effect that the Socialist colony, known as the Fellowship Farm, at Stelton, and the Ferrer Modern School colony near- by were flying red flags instead of the Stars and Stripes a company of determined young men from New Brunswick, mounted on horseback, visited the colonies, November 21, 1918, and demanded the re- moval of the objectionable emblems.


The patriotic demand was complied with in both cases and the red flags came down without a resort


to force, which undoubtedly would have been em- ployed had a refusal been met with.


Those who engaged in the visit to Stelton said: "This was just a little patriotic affair similar to some others which need attention in this section. If the red flags are again hoisted at Stelton there will be less gentleness shown.


"The purpose of the whole affair is to keep New Brunswick and the surrounding district free from an- archy, extreme Socialism and revolution."


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Map showing starting line Sept. 26; ground won in steady fighting by Oct. 31; the swift advance after th German line was broken, Nov. 1, until the armis- tice, Nov. 11, 1918. Arrows indicate routes taken by the various divisions.


One hundred eighteen


GRAND: PREJ


STJUVIN


VILLERS


IN


THE WORLD WAR


With the 78th Division


TH


Intensely gripping is the story telling of the glory which the soldiers of New Brunswick earned for themselves, as members of the Seventy-eighth Divi- sion, which was trained at Camp Dix, N. J.


Among the first of the National Army soldiers to start out for the battle fields of France, the New Jersey troops sailed on May 19 and 20, 1918, from a number of different United States ports.


One of the vessels carrying members of the 78th Division ran into some submarines off the Irish coast which caused no little excitement.


The Seventy-eighth Division landed in three dif- ferent English ports, Liverpool, Southampton, Lon- don, from may 30 to June 6. These were the days when the Germans were smashing their way down past the Chemin des Dames and through the Marne pocket toward Paris. The 311th Regiment, of which the New Brunswick boys were a part, arrived in Liverpool on May 31, and crossed the channel be- tween June 3rd and 12th.


Arriving in France the division trained with the British Expeditionary Forces for two months, and in August moved into the American sector, acting as reserve for the First Corps in the St. Mihiel offen- sive September 12 to 16.


It was then placed in the front line, relieving the Second and Fifth Divisions, and remained in the Limey sector with the Fourth Corps of the American First Army until October 4. During this time the division kept up continuous aggressive patroling until relieved from the line.


On the night of October 15-16, it relieved the Seventy-seventh Division and thereafter remained in the Meuse-Argonne offensive until November 5. On November 2 the division occupied the Bois des Loges and thereafter made a rapid advance of over twenty- one kilometers, during the course of which the towns of Beffu et le Morthomme, Britquenay, Boult-aux- Bois, Belleville-sur-Bar, Germont, Authe, Brieulles- sur-Bar and Verrieres were occupied.


When the First American Army was formed and preparations were made for the first great American offensive, the Seventy-eighth Division was in reserve near Arras.


In June 18, the division was to take over the sec- tor in front of the Arras-Sambrai road.


Major General McRae received orders on July 18, 1918, to entrain for the American sector near Neuf- chateau and there the plans for the St. Mihiel of- fensive were learned. "The First Army (U. S.) will reduce the St. Mihiel salient," the order began.


The troops moved into their reserve position dur- ing the night of September 11, prepared to jump into the attack at any point where it might be necessary. The 78th Artillery, meanwhile, under command of Brigadier General Clint C. Hearn, was in support of the 90th Division in the Puvenelle Woods near the Moselle River.


Before noon on the day of the attack word came back that the St. Mihiel salient had been reduced and that the assaulting American troops had all reached their final objective before night and ahead


One hundred nineteen


NEW


BRUNSWICK


of schedule. Thus the Lightning Division, as the 78th was caleld, lost its chance to get into the attack.


It got its chance two days later, however, when word came to relieve the 2nd and 5th Division, which was a difficult task. The Division had never had the advantage of any experience in a quiet sector. As a whole, it had never been under fire. The relief required the taking over of a new and unorganized sector from two divisions at a point where there was danger of counter-attack, and where, in any event, the enemy, even if constantly on the defense, was very active.


The division faced four enemy divisions-the 10th, 31st, 123d and 88th.


The 78th's casualties in the Limey sector totaled 2,107 in seventeen days, of whom 329 were killed or died of wounds. Only two men died of disease, in spite of the rainy weather which continued almost the entire stay-an indication of the excellent physi- cal condition and ability of the men to endure hard- ships.


LIEUT. M'DOUGAL IN COMMAND


A week after the start of the first phase of the Argonne-Meuse battle, the 78th was ordered to be relieved in the Limey sector. The relief was begun on the night of October 3-4 and completed the fol- lowing night. At the same time the 153d Artillery Brigade and the 303d Ammunition Train were re- lieved in the Puvenelle sector, where they had been holding a line separated from the remainder of the division.


It was during this battle that the Captain of Bat- tery D, 314 F. A., 80th Division, was killed and the command was taken over by Lieut. Neil McDougal, who acted as commanding officer until the discharge of the men, after their arrival in the United States.


On October 10 the division moved into the Argonne and the Division P. C. was established at Varennes. Infantry replacements to the number of 1,400 were received at this time. The majority of these were of good calibre, but lacking in both training and ex- perience. The artillery brigade rejoined the division on October 13. The Division P. C. had moved from


SEND UP


MORE CHOW


P.C.



LIEUT. WALTER JONES SENDS IMPORTANT MESSAGE


One hundred twenty


Varennes to Le Menil Ferme at midnight, October 12.


Lieutenant Walter Jones was in charge of the divi- sional message center during this period.


On October 15 the 78th Division was ordered to relieve the 77th Division and the same night at eight o'clock a telephonic order directed an attack by the division, to be started at 6 A. M. on October 16.


The attack was made as ordered, the 309th Infan- try, with two battalions, advancing on the Bois des Loges from the southeast, through mud at times knee deep. The 310th, whose relief was delayed, came up and joined the 309th and got a foothold in the Bois des Loges. The 311th Infantry had got into position in time to attack through the mist at 6:35 A. M. without any definite information as to where the enemy's line was. Some prisoners were taken in the town of Chevieres, and the advance continued to the Aire at the north and west of the town. Some troops were pushed across the stream at this point against heavy machine gun fire. The 312th Infantry, when it reached Grand Pre, found the troops of the Seventy-seventh Division had attacked, and the re- lief was completed while the fighting went on in the southern part of the town.


"When the Second Battalion of the 312th Infantry, under Major Mallory, advanced to relieve the Seventy-seventh Division units in the town of Grand Pre," says the operations report, "the enemy was found to occupy the whole citadel and was still in partial possession of the rest of the town. In some of the houses the enemy held the upper stories and a sort of perpendicular warfare ensued. Before the relief could be completed at 11:15, thirty-four pris- oners had been taken and it took almost two days of house-to-house fighting to complete the capture of the lower part of the town. Further west, the First Battalion of the 312th Infantry, under Major Debevoise, an a machine gun company, detailed as a liaison detachment to the Thirtyeighth French Corps, had forded the river in the morning under heavy machine gun and artillery fire, established liaison with the French and dug in along the Grand Pre-Tarmes road."


Daily attacks were made for several days follow- ing the relief. A new attack was planned for the twenty-third. The plans called for heavy destruc- tive fire and a concentration of non-persistent gas on some of the points to be attacked. A smoke screen was to be laid down to cover two converging attacks from Grand Pre and Talma Hill.


While the full objective set for this attack was not reached two of the three points which made the stronghold of Grand Pree were taken and way opened for the success which followed.


CAPT. REED WOUNDED; PERRY KILLED


With the situation in the vicinity of Grand Pre cleared up the First American Army was in a posi- tion to begin the second phase of the attack-the


.


IN


THE WORLD WAR


culminating triumps of the American Army, which brought our troops to the doors of Sedan. The mis- sion of the First Army Corps in the attack was to flank the enemy out of the Bois de Bourgogne by envelopment from the right and to connect with the French at Bouitaux-Bois. The Bois de Bourgone, according to the plans from the artillery preparation, was to be made untenable for the Germans by the use of mustard gas. Our troops were to advance so as to always face the Bois de Bourgogne, and they were ordered to pursue vigorously any withdrawal of the enemy.


Information obtained at this time tended to show that the morale of the German army was deteriorat- ing. Prisoners gave this advice and repeated identi- fication of new divisions and of the intermingling of new divisions seemed to carry out this idea.


A captured document taken by the 78th Division gave very important information on the subject of a possible retirement. It gave detailed instructions for the withdrawal of a part of the German forces to the vicinity of Briquenay, and showed the disposi- tions of the German troops to be made in case of such a withdrawal. A prisoner taken on October 23 reported that a general withdrawal was in progress.


The plans for the attack on November 1, called for reaching the northern edge of the Bois des Loges on the third day, with the division pivoting on Grand Pre. The second objective was a ridge two kuo- meters north of Briquenay. Contact with the French was to be established at Boult-aux Bois. The artil- lery preparation for the attack was on a large scale.


Captain Charles H. Reed was seriously wounded and Spencer Perry of Milltown killed during this action.


The great concentration of artillery and machine guns was unable, however, to affect substantially the machine gun nests in the Bois des Loges, such was the natural strength of the positions there. In con- sequence the Second and Third Battalions of the 309th Infantry, under command of Captain Jones and Major Segarra, and the First and Third Batta- lions of the 310th were successful in beating off one serious counterattack. This cleared the way for a flanking movement from the northwest against the woods.


Both regiments were halted to reorganize their units before starting the pursuit. At 10:30 A. M. ten companies of the 309th, under Major Segarra, and ten of the 310th, under Major Ray, supported by trench mortars, thirty-seven machine-guns and machine-gun companies, moved out of the Bois des Loges. All companies were so reduced by losses that the total of the twenty companies was only the equivalent of the fighting strength of a full " .-... lion. They flanked a few enemy machine gunners about noon and advanced steadily northward with only occasional slight machine gun resistance until about 5:30 P. M.


On November 3 Briquenay was taken. The Ger- mans were moving out so fast that the First Army Corps decided upon a pursuit in motor trucks. .. detachment of the 312th Infantry, started this pur- suit, but found after going some distance, that the Germans had undermined the roads and they were forced to abandon their trucks and march. On the following day the 78th Division was ordered to withdraw from the line as soon as connection was assured between the 77th Division of ine right and the French on the left.


So hasty was the Germans retreat that French civilians were left in all the towns that the 78m Division occupied. on November 3. Further informa- tion was gained concerning the speedy character of the German's course, from the French people.


FORTY MACHINE GUNS CAPTURED


On November 5, the 42nd (Rainbow) Division was ordered to relieve the 78th Division, less artillery, by passing through the lines of the Lightning soldiers. The following day the divisions marched back past the scenes of the three weeks' fighting, and by November 11, after intermediate stops, the unit was at St. Menehould, where it was to await transporta- tion to a training area.


Nine enemy divisions faced the 78th during its operations on the Argonne front. They were the 195th Division, the 76th Reserve Division, ine 2d Landwehr Division, the 45th Reserve Division, the 103d Division, 203d Division, 202d Division anu the 14th Reserve Division. Our troops captured 322 prisoners, of whom six were officers and thirty-six non-commissioned officers.


During the operations before November 1, about forty machine guns were captured in addition to a large number destroyed. After November 1, the ad- vance was so rapid and the division left the area so soon after its withdrawal that not even a fair estimate of the captures could be made. One regi- mental operations officer reports that he personally saw six 77-mm. guns abandoned on the roads. Some horses, wagons and lorries were also abandoned. A pioneer dump was captured between Authe and Authuche, and at Verrieres a railroad yard v much equipment, cars and engines, a storehouse full of clothing, blankets, horse equipment, machine gun ammunition and parts, a 220-mm. shell dump, a saw- mill and planing mill. There was also one abandoned airplane. A large amount of artillery ammunition was captured, scattered over the area in small piles along the roadsides.


The battles of the Argonne-Meuse was America's greatest national achievement of the war, the culmi- nation of all her previous preparations, it cut the German line of communication, prevented the orderly withdrawal of one-third of the German Army, threatened Germany with immediate invasion and forced the signing of the Armistice.


One hundred twenty-one


NEW


BRUNSWICK


THE ARTILLERY


"Splendid fighters, 100 per cent efficient camou- fleurs, and the luckiest brigade in the A. E. F .! "


That is the way Brigadier General C. C. Hearn, commanding the 153rd artillery brigade, summed up the overseas work of the New Jersey and Western New York boys of the 307th, 308th and 309th field artillery regiments of the Seventy-eighth division, to which a great number of New Brunswick boys were attached.


To lay down a barrage lasting from sunrise until 9 o'clock in the evening, on October 29, 1918, during which 40,000 rounds of ammunition were fired by the 307th and 308th regiments, all the time under heavy hostile fire, but without the loss of a singel man, was a feat of this brigade which was regarded overseas as one of the finest exhibitions of the science of camouflage during the entire war. General Hearn, in speaking of the barrage said:


"We were preparing the way for the great drive in which the Seventy-eighth opened the German lines at Grand Pre. The two regiments of light artillery were in action all day, sending over to the Huns ap- proximately 40,000 shells. German air scouts sailed over our lines all day, in an effort to find out our guns, but so excellent was the camouflage science and discipline that they failed to locate a single bat- tery and, incredible as it seems, we came through that day without the loss of a man."


The fact, probably more than any other American artillery brigade, they practiced scientific camouflage in the field, had much to do with the low casualties of the brigade. During many weeks of fighting on several fronts and with different divisions, they lost in killed only one officer and twenty-five men.


"The spirit of the brigade was magnificent," said General Hearn. "There was never any duty that they cnosidered too arduous, too dangerous. In all their service abroad, there was not a single incident where a member of the brigade showed the white feather.


"No matter how long or how hard the duties re- quired of them, those boys would never admit they were tired. They worked together without jealousies or bickering between regiments, and they co-operated in a splndid manner with every division with which they served."


The Lightning cannoneers were with their own di- vision only during the great drive in the Argonne. They helped blast a gap in the Hun lines in the drive at the St. Mihiel salient, for the Ninetieth division, August 28. It was October 13 when they finally


joined the Seventy-eighth division in the Argonne, supporting their own doughboys and machine gun- ners during the terrific fighting around and beyond Grand Pre, until November 8. They were then at- tached to the Forty-second division, transferred to the Sixth division on the morning of November 9, and on the morning the armistice was signed were marching to join the Fifty-fifth division of the sec- ond army. For a month after the armistice, they were on the Verdun front until the Army of Occupa- tion advanced. On December 10, they were sent back to their own division again in the Twenty-first training area, where they remained until ordered home.


THE START FOR HOME.


In the last week of April, 1919, the division be- gan to move to embarkation camps. The artillery and machine gun units sailed from Marseilles and the other units from Bordeaux, arriving in the United States at intervals in May and June.


Out of 93 Distinguished Service crosses awarded to men of the 78th Division, in which there were 11,806 New Jersey men and 11,064 New York troops, 43 went to men from this State. In addition the only Congressional Medal to be received by a member of this organization went to a Jersoyman, Sergeant William Sawelson, deceased, Company 4, 312th Infantry, whose home was in Harrison, Hud- son County.


The division had a total of 947 inen kuled, 163 died of wounds, 195 missing in action, 12 captured and 5,715 wounded, making a grand total o_ 1,032. It participated in two major operations, namely the reduction of the St. Mihiel salient and the Argonne offensive. The casualties of the New Jersey men and the New York men in the division were about on a par in each of these great battles. New Jersey's was 2,698 and New York's 2,744. The respective figures for each of the two operations follow: Mihiel, New Jersey, 830; New York, 846; Argonne, New Jersey, 1,868; New York, 1,898.


Of this number, New Jersey men to the total of 138 were killed or died of wounds at St. Mimer, and New York's total was 149; the Argonne figures were: New Jersey 285; New York 351.


The State of New Jersey has every reason to be proud of the part played by the soldiers of th: command. Their unquestioning loyalty at all times, their spirit of sacrifice and self-negation under the strain of battle and their unsurpassed gallantry in action was an inspiration to all.


One hundred twenty-two


IN


THE WORLD WAR


Capt. Reed Writes About


the 311th Infantry


CAPT. REED WRITES ABOUT THE 311th INFT. Chatel Guyon, Puy de Dome, Jan. 14, 1919.


Dear J. P .:


Now that I'm in the hospital and have a little time on my hands I thought likely that you wouldn't mind hearing something of the 311th Infantry, especially as the papers don't seem to know that it exists.


I guess you know all about the organization of the regiment and its work at Camp Dix, but I'll tell you a little anyway.


It was organized early in September, 1917, with Col. M. B. Stokes as · regimental Commander and . most of the rest of the officers from the first Officers Training Camp at Madison Barracks.


The first men to join the regiment were the 5% men on September 5th. To these were added about 100 regular army men as instructors. Then on September 22d we received 2,500 men, all from New Jersey south of New Brunswick, while the north Jersey men went to the 312th Infantry.


After this, one draft followed another very quickly for as fast as the men were trained they were shipped away. This can best be shown by the fact that Co. M of which I was a member, handled nearly 1,200 men between September, 1917, and April, 1918.


All during the winter of 1917-1918 we followed regular training schedule with no prospect of change, but early in the Spring came rumors of overseas departure. These became more and more certain and the early weeks of May found us equipping the last few men, packing supplies and making other preparations.


We got under way on the 18th, part of the regi- ment not leaving until the 20th, and from ports ranging from Philadelphia to Boston. My part of our battalion sailed from Boston on the morning of the 20th. We went up to Halifax and laid there two days, giving us a fine chance to see the scene of the great explosion.


We left Halifax on May 23rd in a convoy of 17 vessels. We had a quiet trip both on the score of weather and submarines or "tin-fish" as the men called them. We had a little flurry one evening when one of the destroyers dropped a couple of depth bombs on a submarine that came up in the middle of the convoy by mistake, but we were not attacked.


We landed at Tilbury Docks, Gravesend, Eng., on June 5th and immediately entrained for Dibgate Camp near Folkestone, where we remained until June 12th, giving us a chance to see this famous summer resort, several aviation fields and some of us Canterbury and Canterbury Cathedral.


On June 12th we crossed to Calais where we arrived about 4 o'clock and were warmly received by an air raid the same evening. We were in a rest camp at Calais for a couple of days, then loaded into freight cars, the kind you've read about "8 chevaux 40 hommes" and rode for about 12 hours.


We landed in a little town about 100 inhabitants by the name of Verval, half way between Boulogne and St. Omar, near the Hazebrouck salient. Here we started our intensive training under British super- vision. On July 19th we again entrained for a 10 hour ride, which really is about what ought to be a 2 hour one. We detrained and after a hike arrived at Ternas, which is near St. Pol, which at ore time was British G. H. Q. Here we continued our training by means of division manouvers. During these prob- lems I met Henry Smith of Redmond street, and had a short talk with him and saw Dudley Watson several times, but not to speak to. It was here also that Frank Morris of Metuchen, who was with the Canadian forces, paid a visit to several of the Metuchen men in Co. G. of the regiment. Finally we ran a practice relief in a trench system back of Arras. It was during this operation that we were inspected by King George.




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