New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the world war, 1917-1918, Part 18

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 18


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At the town of LeRody, we got the first glimpse of our enemy, a few German prisoners behind barb wire, who stared with wondering eyes at the passing train-load of Yanks. The train sped on and we wondered how the dinky cars kept to the tracks. Old vine covered ruins of castles, beautiful chateaus sur- rounded by high turreted stone walls and the vast cultivated regions with faithful peasant women work- ers formed part of the scenery. France was one great military camp and harbored soldiers from every quarter of the world. On the road we passed Italians, Tommies, Anzacs. Canucks, Algerians, Rus- sians, Chinese employed by the French government and thousands of our own boys. At Rennes, Laval, Nevers, Dijon or in fact at any city the streets were occupied by men in uniform of all designs and colors.


Many times the train stopped at stations and hot black coffee was distributed. It was in many cases almost undrinkable and was only downed by the men because of the warming qualities it offered. At noon time, July 2nd, we arrived at Vaux and detrained, having completed a six hundred mile journey over France.


ISOMES


After a hike of a mile Co. H. reached the village of Isomes, where the men were divided into groups and assigned to billets-our first in France. This little place is comparatively near the Swiss and Al- sace border. How near we were to the firing line can be judged by the fact that we heard reports of heavy guns and saw flashes in the sky made most likely by rockets or flares. Isomes is characteristic of all villages in France. All the houses are made of stone and are joined together on one long string. All show signs of old age and inadequate care, some buildings having their roofs or walls caved in in consequence, while others looked as if they might tumble anv minute. And in these


places the men made their homes. The usual "Epicerie" and wine shops were present and after each day of drilling the men gathered in them and sang away their troubles and cares. Manure piles were in abundance and filled the air with their yet unaccustomed odor.


After our arrival, we cleaned up, not only ourselves and our clothes, but one day we put on our "blues" (denim fatigue suits) and cleaned up the streets in that part of the village occupied by us. It was dur- ing Private Mark Walraven's process of cleaning up his clothes that this big Texan met with a terrible catastrophe. He was standing in a stream, devoid of all clothing, when an innocent looking cow came along the bank, picked up his underdrawers and started away, consuming them as she went. Mark, as slow as he is good-natured, started in pursuit in his "back to nature" attire, but gave up the chase when he saw the last bit of the clothing disappear in the cow's mouth.


Intensive training started once more and every day the company hiked some two miles to the drill grounds, a high hill which afforded an excellent pan- oramic view of the surrounding country. The men drilled all day, a solitary jelly or salmon sandwich constituting their noon meal and at 5 o'clock started back for their billets, a tired and hungry aggrega- tion. French automatic rifles, trench knives and gas masks were issued and then we were ready and eager for the trenches.


While at Isomes we celebrated two great holidays. On Independence Day, July 4th, all drill was forgot- ten. Many tri-color flags were displayed by the in- habitants and they celebrated with us. On July 14th, the anniversary of the falling of the Bastille and the Independence of the French people, we joined with them in their commemoration.


ANDELNANS


This time the men were not destined to ride as comfortable as they did during their journey from Brest and when they arrived at the entraining point, a long string of flat and box cars was in waiting. The battalion boarded the train and a little before noon we were underway. All afternoon we sped on in the direction of the trenches, and at 6:00 P. M. the train came to a standstill at the city of Belfort. our destination. It wasn't long before we were hiking through the city's thoroughfares and were the ob- ject of curiosity of many eyes. The heat was terrific and our packs extremely heavy and before we had passed from the main streets the ranks were thinned by the falling out of great numbers of men. Every- time a man dropped he received immediate attention from some of the many people who lined the streets. Some lads were taken with fits and they were rushed in ambulances to the hospital. The column passed fortifications surrounding Belfort, and a little time


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later entered a village. It was here that the boys first witnessed a Boche plane being fired upon by French anti-aircraft batteries. It was a beautiful scene to watch. The deep blue sky was just dotted with pure white puffs of smoke, small at first and gradually increasing in size until it finally faded from view. After walking six long kilometers, the town of Andelnans was reached and some of the men were so exhausted that they flopped on the ground anywheres and went to sleep, not even wait- ing to be assigned to billets. The next day H. Com- pany moved over to the other part of the town to make room for another company of the battallion. Drilling was begun immediately, each day the men going out wearing their heavy steel helmets and carrying gas masks. Because of the frequent Ger- man aeroplane incursions over this section, the men ate their meals in the shade of the trees and were thus screened from the birdman's view and when go- ing to and from the drill field the platoons marched 50 meters apart. Many times our drill was inter- rupted by the Boche flying overhead when on such occasions all men were forced to lie on the ground, face downward so as to escape detection, until the enemy had disappeared. Needless to say, the men enjoyed these little rest periods and wished that Fritz would come over more often. In the course of our instructions all the men had the opportunity of throwing live hand grenades, the automatic squads tested their rifles on the range and the rifle gren- adiers fired their V. B.'s. Second Lieutenants Goode, formerly with the Rainbow Division, and Lamp of the 32nd Division, were assigned to H. Co. to fill the vacancies left by Lieutenants Little and Stevenson, the former being sent back to the States to be made Captain in a National Army organization, the latter being transferred to Headquarters Company of the 113th Regiment.


The Lines were only 15 miles from Andelnans and almost every night we could hear the booming of the artillery. On the 8th day of our stay, (July 28th) in this town all our worldly possessions were packed in our rolls, automatic gunners loaded their magazines with shells, all the cartridge belts were filled, coffee, sugar, salt and pepper were put in condiment cans, emergency rations issued and everything made ready for the trip which was to finally find us in the trenches-beginning from this day and lasting until September 23, 1918, the 29th Division was in de- fence of the Center Sector, Haute Alsace.


TO THE TRENCHES


As soon as darkness set in (about 9:30) on the night of July 25th, the hike was started. It was a beautiful night and the moon, behind a curtain of thin white clouds, seemed to be laughing at us plodding along with our overloaded packs. We marched silently passed the fort we used to see from


the drill field and went on through a village which was filled with French soldiers.


Powerful searchlights played amongst the clouds and made it impossible for a German to fly over without being detected. At one in the morning we arrived at a fairly large town, 3 miles from the bor- der of Switzerland, and here we were to put in barns for the remainder of the night. We had passed from the soil of France and had entered that part of the provinces of Alsace that had been ceded to Germany, as result of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Hik- ing in the war zone is always done by night, the men - resting by day. Again the next night at 9.30 the march was resumed, but before starting the men were warned in regards to taking particular care of their gas masks as the report came in that only the day before some members of the 114th Regiment had been gassed. It was practically an up-hill grind all of the way and at the end of every half hour, we fell out and rested.


By the light of a full silvery moon, we could see that the ground was just molded with entrench- ments and that barbed wire and other obstacles were placed everywhere. We passed some beautiful forests and in one of them carefully hidden from the eyes of an enemy avion, a French hospital which was later taken over by the 104th Sanitary Train of our Division. About 2 A. M. we reached Chev- annes La Grande and went off to a much needed sleep in the various billets assigned to us. When daylight broke the rain was falling in torrents, but despite this, the men wandered through the country and looked over the elaborate system of trenches. Inno- cent looking manure piles proved to be, on close in- spection, camouflage for heavy guns and great rows of shells.


It was at this town that Lieutenant Meyers was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant and it pleased the men just as much as it did him. At 9 o'clock the battalion again started to hike and for three hours travelled under a cloudy sky and along muddy roads. Strict silence was the order of the march. Frequently flares were seen sending forth their bright light "out there." We reached Suarce about 3 miles from the trenches and were quartered in barracks and barns. Early next morn- ing the terrific reports of an anti-aircraft battery, situated about 200 yards from the village, awakened all. Part of the 410th Infantry (French) was in this village too, and they were to go into the trenches with us. Everyone, including the little tots going to school, carried gas masks and even while we were here, a few gas shells passed over our heads with their peculiar whine and exploded far behind us.


When it became dark companies G. and H. strung out in a column of two's started on the last inter- vening lap, which separated them from the front line trenches. Every few minutes rockets and very bright


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IN THE WORLD WAR


lights were shot high in the air and the heavens were almost cunckually brightened. This sort of reminded one of a 4th of July celebration back in the States, but the rattle of the machine guns and automatic gun fire and the occasional report of a 75 brought back all the seriousness of the grim busi- ness of war. However, the men were in high spirits and the usual "crabbing" which accompanies all night hikes was done away with on this night. We passed from the open country and switched into a corduroy road which led into a dense forest. After a long tire- some walk through the woods, the platoons took their respective positions in the front lines, at each place relieving a detachment of French who shouldered their packs and moved to the rear.


The 29th Division was the 2nd American Division to occupy the trenches in Alsace, the 1st one being the 32nd Division who held the lines in June. On July 30th, when we entered the trenches the Blue and Gray was attached to the French 7th Army.


When day-light broke the men had a chance to study their surroundings. Back of the lines and away from the winding trenches, the machine gun emplacements and the maze of wire, the scenery took on a more peaceful aspect. The company P. C. was situated in a beautiful spot among the trees and except for the numerous shell holes in the ground one would never have thought that the war had touched there. For five days and nights we were in the lines, desultory firing continuing all of the time, but taking it all in all it lived up to its name of a "quiet Sector." Nevertheless the Yanks were be- ginning to liven things up and it gave prospects of becoming a very hot sector before long. Every day the artillery sent some shells over to the Boche lines, which were about a mile away and as they passed over our heads they made a weird, shrieking sound, the sound seeming more uncanny than ever when heard in the dead of night.


From our observation posts, situated far out in "No Man's land," the men could see the smoke and hear the "Crump" of the exploding shells. A Ger- man patrol came over one night and attacked and killed a few engineers and Co. E. men (situated on our left) but the sector manned by H. Company men remained unmolested. One night, however, some of the men at a G. C. reported being fired upon by machine guns and they and the French stood ready to repel the anticipated Boche raid which for some rea- son was never attempted.


The woods were infested with snipers, who altho silent during the day, were very active at night. Every night brought in reports of men being fired upon and it was a great wonder that no one was hit. We were never able to discover who was doing the shooting, but rumors never confirmed, yet con- sidered official, were spread about that German sol- diers disguised in French uniforms were responsible


for it. This could easily be done for in all these Alsatian villages many German faces could be seen, some of these families having husbands and sons in the Kaiser's army and it was a simple matter to shelter a supposedly French poilu in the day and for him to start on his expedition to the lines at night without anyone having the least bit of suspicion.


Our worst enemies in these trenches were the rats. Dugouts, shelters and barracks were infested with them and many a hobnail was flung with a curse at the pests. To hear a flock of rats go scampering on the duckboards through the trenches at night was a sound which many a time got on a fellow's nerve. On the night of August 2nd Co. H. sent out a patrol to ascertain the extent of damage done to our wire by the enemy. It consisted of 22 men, including French guides, and was under the command of Lieu- tenant Stover. No Boche patrols were encountered and after ducking from several fares which Fritz threw up and crawling and tearing through what seemed to be miles of barbed wire, the men arrived back in their own lines, all torn and scratched, but otherwise no worse off for their experience. Early in the morning of August 4th, we were relieved by F Company and our first trip in the trenches was at an end with no casualties sustained and we pro- ceeded to the village of Hindlingen about 8 kilo- meters away.


HINDLINGEN AND MAGNY, ALSACE


Our four days in Hindlengen were spent in drilling in the practice trenches most of the time. While here we were given our pay for the month of June and it was our first time to receive French money. The paper bills reminded one of so many cigarette coupons. On Thursday night, August 8th, the Company packed up and started on another one of those despised night hikes. It was only a few days after we had left the village that it was bom- barded and the billets that the kitchen force and 4th platoon had occupied were wrecked, a few people and some stock being killed. For a couple of hours we marched parallel to the front, the star shells lighting up the road. We turned off this road and followed one which led towards the rear. The town where we were to billet was found to be occupied by engineers, so that necessitated us going about 4 miles further, we having gone 10 miles already. Finally Montreux Chateau was reached and the entire company was billeted in the freight station. After staying around this section two days, we once more started on our wanderings. The American Army in France seldom stayed in one spot long enough to let the men get acclimated to their environments. For two hours we marched back over the same roads we had passed on August 8th and then we entered the village of Magny which was to be our homes for a little while.


On August 13th we were awakened at three in the morning by the thunderous roar of artillery. The


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French soldiers living in barracks near us sounded their bugles and soon were marching towards the Front, Co. H. got orders to roll packs and be ready to move, too, but nothing materialized and we carried out our regular schedule of drill. Again three days later a terrific artillery bombardment started and lasted for about two hours. Our batallion , was moved out to reserve trenches situated along a canal and after spending the whole of a hot day there with nothing eventful taking place, we hiked the long ways back to Magny. At this time the 113th Regi- ment was in reserve for the 114th, who were then holding the lines.


On August 17th packs were rolled and prepara- tions were made for another trip to the trenches. As Captain Warren was now acting Major of the 3rd battalion, Lieutenant R. A. Smith of E. Company was placed in command of Copmany H. We was form- erly an officer in old H. Company, 2nd N. J. Infantry and a general favorite among those who knew him. Company H. was extremely fortunate in securing such a leader as Lieutenant Smith as was proven in days to come and on so many occasions. At 9 P. M. the company joined the rest of the battallion and hiked 5 miles to a big woods about 4 kilometers be- hind the lines where they stayed for the night. During the march an enemy plane flew very low over the column and everyone expected a few bombs to be dropped, but all were to be given a pleasant surprise, though, when Fritz sailed by without giving us any further annoyance. It seemed that this plane was headed for Magny, which village it raided. For the second time we were fortunate enough to leave a village before it was bombed.


THE GERMANS RAID OUR TRENCHES


All the next day the men were forced to stay in the woods on account of the increased activity of Ger- man aeroplanes. The night of August 18th the men hiked for 3 stiff hours and finally arrived at the trenches relieving a company of the 114th. This time we occupied a sector opposite Mulhouse, far to the left of where we had first gone in. The first night in everything went smoothly. But on August 21st at 4:40 in the morning an enemy plane flew overhead and dropped a signal flare, almost immediately after which Hell was turned loose in all its fury. The Germans had opened up their artillery and for one hour and thirty minutes continued their terrific cur- tain barrage. The shells tore through the woods knocking down trees, sending roots high in the air, leveling trenches and making a man's chance of com- ing out alive seemingly very small. Private West was killed at his post. Privates Lorenz and Maddrah were also found dead on post, riddled with shrapnel. The earth quivered as if in the throes of a severe quake, dugouts even trembled and the concussion of the bursting shells was so great that it extinguished candles in them. Some shells burst high in air, rain-


ing down their jagged pieces of shrapnel, others exploded with a deafening roar close to the earth while still others buried their noses deep in the ground sending up guysers of earth and stone when they exploded.


Privates Termeer, Camus and Swiger were occupy- ing an observation post when a shell exploded, blow- ing Swiger completely out of the post and burying Termeer and Camus so deep that it took several men two hours of hard digging to free them. The woods were filled with heavy smoke which greatly helped the advance of the raiding party that followed close in the wake of the barrage. The 2nd platoon re- ceived the brunt of the bombardment and attack but the coolness and daring of Lieutenant Meyer and platoon Sergeants James Cooley and George Meirose kept up the morale of the men through it all. The Huns' raiders comprised 120 men as was afterwards learned through the return of Private J. Oakley, who was taken prisoner during the engagement. As to their losses we were not able to find out as both their dead and wounded were carried back to their own lines. For fifteen minutes the Boches were in our trenches hurling their "potato masher" bombs. Private Mohl was entering a dugout when he was struck by shrapnel, he turned to go out when a Ger- man in the trench threw a bomb at him which ex- ploded and killed him instantly.


The enemy disappeared much faster than they had come, taking back with them besides Oakley, Privates B. Tallman and E. Nolan. A barrage was called for at the Company P. C. and Lieutenant Smith succeed- ed in getting it, but the Boche managed to work their way through it. Many individual feats of dar- ing were performed by members of the Company, in this first severe attack; Corporal Terrill who received 27 pieces of shrapnel and had his right hand shatter- ed, transferred his gat to his left hand and continued to fire until the Germans were beyond the wire. Private J. Zych was hit in the eye and after ban- daging it himself, continued to fight until the Boche were driven back. Both men received the Dis- tinguished Service Cross. It is almost impossible to pick out the individual cases of bravery as every- one lived up to the name and tradition of the Ameri- can soldier. Lieutenant Meyer, Sergeants Cooley and Meirose and Corporal Apgar received divisional citations for the part they had taken in the fight. Mess Sergeant Dougherty and the cooks did excellent work in the comforting and bandaging the wounded.


Our casualty list for this action was as follows:


KILLED


Private Arthur Lorenz Private Harold West


Private James Maddrah


Private Ernest Mohl


WOUNDED


Corporal Elsworth O. Terrill


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THE WORLD WAR


Corporal Russell I. Apgar Corporal James J. Hannan Private 1st Cl. Joseph H. Lamey Private 1st Cl. Joseph Patrak Private 1st Cl. William B. Manley Private 1st Cl. John Zych Private Rocco Di Taranto Private Michael Fitzpatrick Private Julius Resta Private Antonion Nasuti Private Albert Camus Private Edward Haas Private Peitro Galetti


Private Stephen Sidorento


Private George Teeple Private Lastano Lacerro


Private Walter Cason


Private Alphus Webb


Private Clarence W. Cheshire


SHELL SHOCKED


Corporal Raymond S. Tice Private Nelson Swiger Private Arthur V. Miller


Private John W. Termeer


MISSING


Private Benjamin Tallman Private John Oakley Private Edward Nolan


In the afternoon what remained of the 2nd platoon was relieved by a platoon from E. Company. The men were in a high state of nervous tension, the re- action of the ordeal through which they had gone at dawn began to tell on them and they needed rest. It was only a few days later Corporal R. S. Tice was taken to the hospital suffering from severe shell shock.


The night of August 23rd the remainder of the Company was relieved by Co. E. and fell back to the support lines. Some of the dugouts boasted of electric lights and were large and spacious and the boys were fortunate who got into them. Up to the 29th of the month the Company was in support. Everyday the men of the 1st and 3rd platoons worked hard in the lines filling in shell holes, repairing broken sections in the trenches, cleaning the dirt from beneath duck-boards, etc. Meanwhile at Hagen- bach, where the Company P. C. was located, the 2nd and 4th platoons were doing guard duty.


ST. LEGER AND MAGNY, ALSACE


On the 29th the 3rd Battallion relieved us and we hiked to our billets in St. Leger. The day after our arrival new clothes were issued and the men once more presented a creditable appearance. In front of the village six huge ten inch guns. were mounted on trains and also in the rear of us were more can- nons. The Germans tried to locate these pieces and


as a result of an aeroplane reconnoissance one day opened up a bombardment, which lasted for twenty minutes. Fortunately no one was hit, nor were the guns destroyed.


As usual drill was carried on and a couple of times the Company hiked to the battallion field, one of the longest hikes we ever made to go to drill. Men who never "crabbed" before complained on these days. On the 6th of September four Boche planes sailed high over head, one of which swooped down very low over the village. Everyone shot at him using rifles, gats and automatics and it sounded like a regular battle. His planes must have been riddled but the pilot was lucky enough to escape the hail of bullets and he guided his machine back to his own lines followed by his less daring comrades who still stuck to their high altitude. There was great aero- plane activity all of the time we were here and the boys witnessed many interesting air fights in one of which a French machine was disabled by a Boche. Early in the morning of the 7th the 113th Regiment raided the German lines. Men were pick- ed from each company to form the raiding party. Corporal W. Hampton, Private Termeer, Summers being among H Company's representatives. After a heavy barrage by our artillery, the men went "over the top," reached their objective without opposition and found only dead Germans, mangled and half buried in dirt, in what was formerly the trenches.


On September 9th the company hiked back to Magny and occupied their same old billets. As was the case during our former stay here, the days were filled with drilling-always the work of training . The Montreux Chateau barracks, a few yards from the baggage station where for two days we had stayed, . was bombarded and 6 men were killed and about 30 wounded of Co. L of our regiment. The Germans in this sector seemed to hold the supremacy in the air and their aeroplanes were canstantly flying over us. One day the company occupied the reserve lines which were only about 1,500 yards from Danna- marie. The Germans in retaliation for the French artillery fire heavily bombarded the village during our occupation of the trenches.




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