As We Were: the First World War; Tales from a Broken World, Week-by-Week

One Lucky British Soldier

Review by Dominic Sandbrook from The Times, 28 March 2021 

How do you tell the story of something as bewilderingly vast as the First World War? How do you convey the sweep of such an enormous global drama without losing sight of the human factor? And how do you capture the weight and pace of events, day after day of misery and bloodshed, without oppressing the reader with interminable detail?

These were the questions facing two retired teachers, David Hargreaves and Margaret-Louise O’Keeffe, in the summer of 2014, when they began an online project to tell the story of the First World War, week by week. For the next four years they kept it up, never missing a week. Their project became more ambitious: originally based largely on British newspapers, it became increasingly international, weaving together letters, diaries, and memoirs. And now they have turned it into four thick paperback volumes, handsomely self-published in a smart slipcase. If nothing else, it represents a tremendous feat of dedication.

Is it any good, though? That’s a slightly different question. After all, telling the story of the war in a weekly narrative makes it very hard to tease out underlying patterns. To some extent, this is history as one damned thing after another: men die, battles are won and lost, the wheel turns, the seasons come and go. And to their credit, the authors know it. “Nothing out of the ordinary this week, according to the archives,” begins a characteristic entry in June 1915. “No great offensives and certainly no breakthroughs, East or West.” So what, then?

Yet this apparently random entry perfectly captures the project’s strengths. The next paragraph tells the story of Lance Corporal William Angus, who won the Victoria Cross for bringing back his injured lieutenant under fire, suffering 40 separate wounds in the process. Then the poet and soldier Roland Leighton, engaged to the feminist Vera Brittain, writes home to ask for a large wooden rattle. He needs it, he says, because he and his men spend so much time in gas masks now, and he wants “to call the attention of respirator-swathed men” when he needs to give an order.

A few lines later, the prime minister’s wife, the vinegary Margot Asquith, complains that the Mail (“a foul paper”) has accused her of playing tennis with German prisoners of war. Then we are in the offices of Country Life, which has produced a special summer edition celebrating “the bird life of the fields and the flower life of the garden,” so that readers on the Western Front can be “wafted back in imagination to the fields and lanes of home.”

The entry ends with the troops at Gallipoli, clinging on under a blazing sun and punishing Turkish fire. “We set to work to bury people,” one survivor writes. “We pushed them into the sides of the trench but bits of them kept getting uncovered and sticking out, like people in a badly made bed. Hands were the worst: they would escape from the sand, pointing, begging—even waving! There was one which we all shook as we passed, saying ‘Good morning’ in a posh voice. Everybody did it.”

In essence, then, this entry is the entire project in miniature. The arbitrariness, the unpredictability, the lack of pattern is the point. “Sometimes it is the pity of war that overwhelms, and sometimes the stoicism and loneliness,” another entry begins, a few weeks later. “This week, it was its randomness and folly.”

To Order the Set Click HERE

. . . Hargreaves and O’Keeffe’s labour of love has two outstanding qualities, which few academic histories can match. First, the week-by-week style gives a rare sense of total immersion. On and on the war continues, for hundreds and thousands of pages. You get a real sense of time stretching endlessly out, as day follows day in the trenches. Things happen, but often they have no meaning beyond the individual tragedy. And yet, as one entry puts it: “What is tragedy if it is not personal?”

And second, it is gloriously readable. All human life is here: courage and cowardice, heroism and horror. It may cost £100 [$120 USD, $65 Kindle], but it’s worth every penny.

It's 1914 and the Indian Army Is Fighting in France

Indian Soldiers Digging Trenches in France

It was decided in London by 6th August, just two days after the declaration of war, that India would send two divisions to Egypt, and mobilization in India commenced straightaway. Even before the BEF had embarked the destination of the Indian Corps was changed to France. The Corps filled an essential gap until the British Territorial Army began to arrive at the front in the spring of 1915 (just a few regiments came in 1914) and before the New Army (the volunteer army initiated by Lord Kitchener) was ready to take to the field.

When the German Army crossed the Belgian frontier on 4 August 1914, Great Britain declared war on Germany, taking with it the member countries of the erstwhile British Empire. Britain’s small regular army, the “Old Contemptibles” that made up the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was exhausted and hard pressed by September 1914 when the Indian Corps arrived in France. In August 1914, apart from Britain, the Indian Army was the only trained regular army ready to take to the field in the entire Commonwealth.

The Indian Army Corps that arrived on the Western Front in the autumn of 1914 would be instrumental in checking the German advance toward the channel ports. The infantry element of two divisions served in France and Flanders till the end of 1915, while the cavalry stayed in France till 1918. Wounded Indian soldiers were treated in hospitals set up in the south of England. This was the first operational deployment of Indian troops in Europe. The exposure to European society had a significant impact upon the soldiers who served in this theatre of the Great War.

Arrival at Marseilles

Indian Soldiers Disembark at Marseilles on 26 September 1914

The Indians received a warm welcome from the inhabitants of Marseilles. The 47th Sikhs’ historian recorded that this “was the result of genuine feeling and not mere excitement over a novel sight.” When Vaughan’s Rifles arrived, the battalion “wended its way through streets lined ten deep with cheering inhabitants who offered a great welcome, and presented, indiscriminately, flowers, wine and tobacco to the men.”

The first to arrive, however, were only there for a few days, as on 30 September they entrained for Orléans, about seventy miles southwest of Paris, where an Indian advanced base camp was established. The large camp at Orléans remained in use throughout the stay of the Indian Corps in France.

Arrival at the Front

Indian Officers, 39th Garhwalis at Estaire, La Bassée Road

When the regiments of the Indian Corps moved up from Orléans to the front, they found themselves immediately thrust into the front line—and into battle—with no time to become acclimatized to shelling or even to learn their way around. The first Indian units to head north, in mid-October, were the 57th Rifles and 129th Baluchis when, at a most critical point in the First Battle of Ypres, they were sent to reinforce Allenby’s Cavalry Corps at Ypres.

Many regiments went into the line without time to reconnoitre their new positions. On 29 October the 2/8th Gurkhas marched up through Festubert to take over front line trenches for the first time. The troops endured almost unimaginable conditions: soaked with water and caked with mud they occupied waterlogged ditches and shell-holes. Because the trenches had been dug for taller men the diminutive Gurkhas could not see over the parapet to fire their rifles.

Under these conditions the Germans launched a series of more or less intensive bouts of shelling and several feint attacks during darkness. In the morning came a severe German attack, which was beaten off, then four hours of concentrated bombardment. German shells obliterated the front line trench, but the Gurkhas held on. Eventually, with Germans working around behind the positions and a grave shortage of British officers there was no option but to retire.

The 58th Rifles detrained near Hazebrouck on 28 October and marched to Gorre, near Béthune. Within 24 hours of its arrival at the front it was involved in the counterattack where the 2/8th Gurkhas had lost their trenches. At 2.30 a.m. on October 31, the 58th was called upon to pass through the troops in front and rush to the trenches. It was a pitch dark night in pouring rain, and no one in the battalion had ever seen the trenches or knew anything of the state of the ground, or how far they were from their objective, but their attack was successful.

In the early days the trenches were primitive and supplies rudimentary. Many of the troops were wearing lightweight khaki drill deep into the first winter of the war. The mud and water in hastily constructed trenches, many of which were adapted ditches, was almost knee deep: there were no duck boards. They were very narrow, with no fire step at first, and by day utterly isolated as there were no communication trenches—nor any latrines. There were frequent alarms and firing; supply arrangements were haphazard, despite the efforts of the Mule Corps. There  was certainly no hot food in the front line.

The First Battle of Ypres

Unloading Officers’ Chargers

The First Battle of Ypres in Belgium was the culmination of the famous “Race to the Sea.” At the most critical point in the battle, during the last week of October and the first days of November, British infantry were so heavily committed that the front from Zandvoorde south to Messines was defended only by Allenby’s Cavalry Corps, fighting dismounted in the fields east of the Ypres-Armentières road. The Cavalry Corps was in touch with probing German forces when two Indian battalions, 129th Baluchis and 57th Wilde’s Rifles, arrived as reinforcements. These battalions were quickly parceled out among the cavalrymen. The 129th Baluchis made the first actual attack by an Indian unit on the Western Front when, on 26 October 1914, they attacked German trenches east of Hollebeke. In this attack, under bleak and darkening autumn skies, two companies advanced side by side on a 600-yard front. Together they were to charge across muddy, open fields and cross a small watercourse before attacking the German trenches after a preliminary bombardment of ten minutes duration. Despite support from its own machine guns at Jardine’s Farm, the battalion could make no real headway and, under sustained rifle and machine gun fire, they were stopped about the natural line of the Roosebeke stream which offered them some protection. With dusk falling, orders were received to fall back to their original trenches. Casualties were seven killed and 40 wounded.

Not far away, at Jardine’s Farm the Baluchis’ two machine guns were eventually overrun by the Germans on 31 October after a very severe fight. The farm was smashed by shellfire, and was burning, when one gun suffered a direct hit and was put out of action. The men kept the remaining gun in action until the German assault swept over them, every man being shot or bayoneted at his post except Sepoy Khudadad Khan. Although severely wounded, Khudadad Khan continued to fire his gun until prevented from doing so. Feigning death, he waited until dark then managed to crawl back from the front to find his regiment. He received the first Victoria Cross awarded to an Indian.

Meanwhile, 57th Wilde’s Rifles was the first Indian regiment to hold its own front line trenches and take an active part in the Great War. When the big German attack came on the 30 October, Wilde’s were spread out on a line between Wytschaete and Messines, and all four companies fought hard and suffered severely. The remnants of the 57th regrouped with the 129th Baluchis at Westoutre on 1 November. Both regiments then returned to the Indian Corps in its own sector near Béthune.

Attack on Neuve Chapelle—28 October 1914

On 26 October, the Germans advanced through the Bois du Biez and captured some of the British trenches northwest of the village of Neuve Chapelle, a small and straggling habitation which was to be the scene of a major battle in March 1915.

Two companies of the 47th Sikhs moved up to the front alongside the 9th Bhopals and the last reserves, the 20th and 21st Companies Sappers and Miners, were called in to complete the line by filling in gaps on either side of the Sikhs. These men were highly trained specialists not normally used as infantrymen. Their employment in the counterattack on Neuve Chapelle is indicative of the seriousness of the situation. The 47th Sikhs and the Sappers and Miners, charging shoulder to shoulder, had to cross about 700 yards of open ground to make their attack.

By the time the Indians reached the enemy trenches many of the Germans had already retreated and those left were either bayoneted or captured. The attackers quickly moved into the village where fierce hand-to-hand fighting took place. The fighting in Neuve Chapelle was bitter and disorganized and the Indians struggled to retain their hold on the main street through the village. Against great odds they recaptured the village, but without support had no option but to retire.

This attack showed how the élan of the Indian Corps was sufficient to overcome seemingly insuperable odds to gain an objective. However it also demonstrated that holding on to an objective required a level of manpower and firepower that the British Army simply did not possess at that stage. The Sikhs and Sappers’ appeals for reinforcements went unanswered and as a consequence their fate was sealed. 

Battle of Festubert,  November 1914 

Indian Machine Gun Section

Essentially a defensive action by the Indian Corps consequent on a severe German attack resulting in loss of trenches, it was significant in that it was the first time that they had fought together as a corps.

General Willcocks, recognizing the significance of this battle to the Indian Corps’ reputation, was insistent that trenches lost in the German attack should be recovered. Several counterattacks were launched, but while some portions of the trenches were regained a large part of the line remained in German hands by nightfall. The snow covered ground made the attacking troops very conspicuous and casualties were heavy.

By the morning of 24 November, the Indian Corps had recaptured their lost trenches and had emerged victorious in what the Indian Corps historians referred to as “the most important battle in which the Indian Corps as a whole had hitherto been engaged.” Whilst the battle had undoubtedly demonstrated the fighting prowess of the Indians and their skillful use of artillery, it had also demonstrated the serious shortfalls that existed in the tools of trench warfare.

Givenchy, 16–22 December 1914

18th K.G.O. Tiwana Lancers

In December 1914, the Indian Corps was ordered to adopt an offensive stance. In accordance with this the Ferozepore Brigade undertook an attack on the German lines northeast of Givenchy on 16 December. Although ultimately unsuccessful, the attack, by the 129th Baluchis, was pressed home doggedly and this was reflected in the high number of casualties.

Orders were received the following day for the Indian Corps to participate in a concerted attack with three other corps on the 18th December. Over a period of forty-eight hours on 18 and 19 December various regiments, notably the 2/3rd Gurkhas, 41st Dogras, 1/4th Gurkhas, 59th Rifles, as well as the Sappers and Miners, participated in offensive operations, often reaching and holding portions of the German trenches during fighting in atrocious conditions with heavy casualties.

On the 20th the Germans detonated a series of ten mines under the trenches held by the Sirhind Brigade around Givenchy. The mines were followed by a massive German attack. Vicious hand to hand fighting ensued in the 1/4th Gurkha trenches, with the Gurkhas making good use of their kukris in the confined space. However they were eventually overwhelmed by sheer numbers and superior weaponry and were forced to retire. Heavy fighting continued throughout the day and the Indian units were sorely tired. By the night of the 20th/21st December the Indian Corps had been fighting for some 30 hours and was badly in need of relief. The relief of the Lahore Division was complete by the night of 22 December, although the Meerut Division remained in the line until 27 December. 

Source: "India and the Great War: France & Flanders," Indian Ministry of External Affairs

Mrs. Tietjens's View of War

Sylvia Tietjens is one of the most consistenly annoying literary characters I've ever run into since I checked out my first book at the Mission Branch of the San Francisco Public Library.  She is however, viciously insightful at times.

If her name does not ring a bell,  let me give her a little  introduction.  Sylvia is married to Christopher Tiejens, a serving British officer and the central character of Ford Maddox Ford's four-part World War I-based masterpiece Parade's End. Sylvia is a beautiful socialite who marries statistician Christopher Tietjens before the war because she is pregnant—although not necessarily with his child. She is selfish, manipulative, and cruel, yet also mesmerizing. Forever restless, Sylvia enjoys a stream of affairs, but she is secretly hurt by the fact that Christopher does not seem to notice her adulteries.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Christopher and Rebecca Hall (Perfectly Cast) as Sylvia in the BBC Production of
Parade's End

In this excerpt the author Ford opens up Sylvia's cranium and exposes her opinion of the nasty events distracting all her friends and her husband, Christopher.

The whole of this affair [the war], the more she saw of it, overwhelmed her with a sense of hatred... And of depression!... She saw Christopher buried in this welter of fools, playing a schoolboy's game of make-believe. But of a make-believe that was infinitely formidable and infinitely sinister... The crashing of the gun and of all the instruments for making noise seemed to her so atrocious and odious because they were, for her, the silly pomp of a schoolboy-man's game...Campion, or some similar schoolboy, said: 'Hullo! Some German airplanes about...That lets us out on the air-gun! Let's have some pops!'... As they fire guns in the park on the King's birthday. It was sheer insolence to have a gun in the garden of an hotel where people of quality might be sleeping or wishing to converse!

At home she had been able to sustain the conviction that it was such a game... Anywhere: at the house of a minister of the Crown, at dinner, she had only to say: 'Do let us leave off talking of these odious things...' And immediately there would be ten or a dozen voices, the minister's included, to agree with Mrs Tietjens of Groby that they had altogether too much of it...

But here!... She seemed to be in the very belly of the ugly affair... It moved and moved, under your eyes dissolving, yet always there. As if you should try to follow one diamond of pattern in the coil of an immense snake that was in irrevocable motion... It gave her a sense of despair: the engrossment of Tietjens, in common with the engrossment of this disreputable toper. She had never seen Tietjens put his head together with any soul before: he was the lonely buffalo...  Now  Anyone: any fatuous staff-officer, whom at home he would never so much as have spoken to: any trustworthy beer-sodden sergeant, any street urchin dressed up as orderly... They had only to appear and all his mind went into a close-headed conference over some ignoble point in the child's game: the laundry, the chiropody, the religions, the bastards...of millions of the indistinguishable... Or their deaths as well! But, in heaven's name what hypocrisy, or what inconceivable chicken-heartedness was this? They promoted this beanfeast of carnage for their own ends: they caused the deaths of men in inconceivable holocausts of pain and terror. Then they had crises of agony over the death of one single man. For it was plain to her that Tietjens was in the middle of a full nervous breakdown. Over one man's death! She had never seen him so suffer; she had never seen him so appeal for sympathy: him, a cold fiend of reticence! Yet he was now in an agony! Now!... And she began to have a sense of the infinitely spreading welter of pain, going away to an eternal horizon of night... 'Ell for the Other Ranks! Apparently it was hell for the officers as well.

The real compassion in the voice of that snuffling, half-drunken old man had given her a sense of that enormous wickedness... These horrors, these infinities of pain, this atrocious condition of the world had been brought about in order that men should indulge themselves in orgies of promiscuity... That in the end was at the bottom of male honour, of male virtue, observance of treaties, upholding of the flag... An immense warlock's carnival of appetites, lusts, ebrieties... And once set in motion there was no stopping it... This state of things would never cease... Because once they had tasted of the joy—the blood—of this game, who would let it end?...These men talked of these things that occupied them there with the lust of men telling dirty stories in smoking-rooms... That was the only parallel!

Source: No More Parades  (Part 2 of the Parade's End  tetralogy) by Ford Maddox Ford; BBC

The Great White Fleet and the Great War

The decade following the Spanish-American War gave the generation of American officers destined to serve in command positions during the Great War a remarkable number and variety of missions to perform. For the Army and Marine Corps there were deployments all over the Pacific Basin and in the Caribbean. The Navy, of course, gained great experience in supporting all of these operations. But the Navy got its greatest preparation as a global force with one of the most unforgettable peacetime extravaganzas in American history — the round-the-world voyage of the 16 pre-dreadnought (and arguably already obsolete) battleships of the Great White Fleet. 

Near the end of his second term in the White House, President Theodore Roosevelt felt he needed to demonstrate in some concrete way America's know-how and growing military power to other nations. With the memory of the poor transit of the Russian Baltic Fleet to the Pacific and its subsequent annihilation by the Japanese still fresh in people's minds, Roosevelt chose to make a dramatic naval demonstration. Fleet pageants were a popular form of mass entertainment in those days, so the cruise was intended to win goodwill in foreign lands as well.

The flotilla's 43,000-mile voyage, which lasted from December 1907 to February 1909, was a spectacular public relations success. Although the American battleship fleet would play only a peripheral role in the Great War, many veterans of the cruise would become important officers in both World Wars, including future admirals Raymond Spruance, John McCain (grandfather of the senator), Husband Kimmel of the Pearl Harbor disaster, and William Halsey. As a preparation for naval operations in the Great War, the cruise helped educate the Navy on the special problems of maintenance, resupply, and refueling during long periods at sea and the need for specialized combat and service vessels. That the Navy's accomplishment of its most important mission in 1917 and '18 — conveying the American Expeditionary Force to France — was a tremendous success was in part due to the experience gained with the Great White Fleet.

Further, the voyage provided valuable intelligence for any future wars in the Pacific.  It led to revisions in War Plan Orange, the contingency strategy for an American–Japanese war.   Pearl Harbor was surveyed and recommended as a suitable anchorage for U.S. battleships and Truk Lagoon was selected as an advance base to prepare for a decisive battle in Japan's home waters.  Ironically, Japan also had their eye on Truk and would put it to great use in the Second World War. The U.S. Navy due to the invention of floating dry dock technology would later decide the base was not needed.

The 353rd "All Kansas" Infantry Regiment of the National Army, Part 10—Legacy

By James Patton

The following is an extract from the History of the 353rd Infantry Regiment 89th Division, National Army September 1917–June 1919 by Capt. Charles F. Dienst and associates, published by the 353rd Infantry Society in 1921. It has been extensively edited for length, style, and clarity.  

Commendation for the Regiment from the French Army

Song of the 353rd Infantry

At some point over the past ten weeks you’ve probably wondered why I chose to write about the 353rd Infantry. Was there a family connection? No. Was there a local connection? No, unless you count that I used to live in Kansas. Was there a service connection? No. It all started with the song. You remember that at the beginning I mentioned that the 353rd had a parlor song? While researching another article I came across this citation:

Kansas Hymn - Dedicated to the "All-Kansas Regiment" —353rd Infantry

Words and Music: Lillian Forrest

©March 4, 1918 by Lillian Forrest E 418751

Who, I wondered, was she and why did she write this song? More research found that Lillian Forrest (1869–1950) was a single, door-to-door salesperson living in Jewell, Kansas, (1920, pop. 805). She wrote articles for the weekly Jewell County Republican (named after the Republican River, not the party). She composed at least one other piece of music, "Under the Cottonwood Tree" © Nov. 18, 1927 E 678857. She wrote a history of Jewell County and was a life member of the Kansas State Historical Society in Topeka. Jewell is about 100 miles west-northwest of Camp Funston. She seems to have had no personal reason to write this song, so the "why" remains a mystery. 

Apparently, at the time her song enjoyed local popularity, judging by this clipping from the Topeka Daily Capital, April 4th, 1918:  

"Kansas Hymn" to Be Sung at Native Sons and Daughters' Luncheon. The Kansas Hymn, words and music of which were written by Miss Lillian Forrest, a native Kansan, whose home is in Jewell City, will be sung by Mr. Glenwood Jones at the Native Sons and Daughters' luncheon at the Chamber of Commerce, at twelve-fifteen o'clock Saturday. The song is very patriotic in spirit and is dedicated to the 353rd infantry, "All-Kansas" regiment.

 

But that’s not the end of this story. Her song lingered in the public consciousness for several decades after the war. In 1915, Kansas governor Arthur Capper, who later spearheaded the campaign to build the 353rd regimental hall at Camp Funston, had begun the search for an official state song. This dragged on for over 30 years, and Lillian’s "Kansas Hymn" was in the running, competing with "My Golden Kansas," "Hymn to Kansas," "The Call of Kansas," and "My Western Home."  Here are the first two verses of Lillian’s song:

O Kansas, 'tis of thee,

Sunflower State so free,

I sing in praise;

State where brave soldiers fought,

State where homesteaders wrought,

For all thy domain sought,

In freedoms ways

Thy goal is starward still,

Upward through any ill,

Standing the test;

Thy faith when storms smite thee,

Or when wrongs dare to be,

Aimed at thy loved country,

To fight thy best.

The use of "starward" in verse two is a reference to the inscription on the Kansas State Seal “Ad Astra per Aspera” ("Strive for the Stars"), which was adopted in 1861. You can click HERE to read the rest of the verses and/or listen to a MIDI performance of the music.

In the last go-around, Lillian’s song didn’t stand a chance. In the 1930s, Hollywood had found "My Western Home," and with the title changed to "Home on the Range," it became the quintessential cowboy song. Recorded or performed on film by Bing Crosby (three times), Frank Sinatra, Connie Francis, Gene Autry, Burl Ives, Pete Seeger, Slim Whitman, Steve Lawrence, Willie Nelson, Sons of the Pioneers, and even Bugs Bunny (twice), "Home on the Range" was popularly proclaimed the Kansas State Song on 30 June 1947.

Men of the All Kansas

All Kansas

Was the 353rd really “All Kansas’? The answer is Yes. I’ve already said that it started out that way, with 2,974 draftees from Kansas. The roster of the 353rd as provided in the regimental history lists 412 officers and 6,252 soldiers who served in the 353rd at any point in time during 1917–19. Of these, 41 officers (10%) and 4,294 soldiers (69%) were from Kansas—all 105 Kansas counties were represented. The senior officers were regulars and most of the junior officers came from the Officer Training course at Ft. Riley. The Supply Company had the highest percentage of Kansans (77%), and “B” Company had the lowest at 49%. 

Was Kansas a typical state? It was certainly a "Mid-American" state. It lies literally in the middle of America. (The geographic center of the 48 states is in Smith County.) It’s a crossroads of railroads and highways, and statistically it sits in the middle of the rankings: number 16 in geographic size and number 36 in population. It’s fairly rural: number 40 in population density (66 counties have less than 10,000 people), but nearly half of the population lives in the Kansas City, Missouri, metropolitan area.

In 1910, Kansas had 2% of the national population (today it has less than 1%) and also 2% of the national income. It was quite rural, but the country was still rural; 70.9% of Kansans lived outside of cities (54.4% nationwide). In 1910, Kansas was a more typical state than it is today. 

Was the 353rd a typical National Army regiment? Many were formed around a geographic nexus. For examples, the 332nd was made up mostly of men from eastern Ohio, the 339th from southeastern Michigan, 354th from Missouri, and the 363rd from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Was the service of the 353rd typical? Maybe. It was typical in two ways: they were never broken up and they saw a fair amount of action. However, their service was also atypical in two ways: they belonged to one of only two National Army divisions in the occupation force, and they belonged to one of only three National Army divisions that participated in the St. Mihiel Offensive.

Corporal Kline Is One of the 353rd's Five Missing in Action Remembered on the Memorial Walls at US Cemeteries in France. One Hundred and Fifty-nine of Their Regimental Comrades Are Buried at the Same Cemeteries

The Record of the 353rd "All Kansas" Infantry 

First let’s consider sacrifice.  The official record lists 12 officers and 349 soldiers who died while serving with the regiment, 59% of whom were from Kansas. This doesn’t include transfers out of the 353rd who died while serving elsewhere. The total number of wounded were 35 officers and 1,425 soldiers; the severely wounded were 43% of the officers and 31% of the soldiers. The 353rd had the second highest number of casualties among the constituent units of the 89th Division. 

Let’s consider valor. The 89th Division received nine Medals of Honor (MOH), first among National Army Divisions (and second among all divisions) out of a total of 92 Army MOHs awarded thus far for WWI, and 148 Distinguished Service Crosses (DSC), third among National Army Divisions. The 353rd accounted for two of these MOHs and 44 of the DSCs (only 13 went to officers). Their personnel were also awarded 34 Division Citation stars (which became Silver Stars in 1932).  The foreign decorations awarded individually include four Chevaliers of the French Legion d’Honneur, four French Medaille Militáire (only bestowed on non-officers), 26 French Croix de Guerre, four Belgian Chevaliers de L’Ordre de Leopold and four Italian Croce di Guerra. 

Medal of Honor Recipients

Lt. Hunter Wickersham & Lt Harold Furlong

2nd Lieut. John Hunter Wickersham (1890–1918). Familiarly called "Hunter," he grew up in Colorado and attended the first Officer’s Training Camp at Ft. Riley in the summer of 1917. After his commissioning he was sent over to the new 353rd.  Wickersham’s heroism on 12 September 1918 has been related in the St. Mihiel chapter. 

Lt. Wickersham Citation: Advancing with his platoon during the St. Mihiel offensive, he was severely wounded in four places by the bursting of a high-explosive shell. Before receiving any aid for himself, he dressed the wounds of his orderly, who was wounded at the same time. He then ordered and accompanied the further advance of his platoon, although weakened by the loss of blood. His right hand and arm being disabled by wounds, he continued to fire his revolver with his left hand until, exhausted by loss of blood, he fell and died from his wounds before aid could be administered.

At the time, he was also well known for the poem that he wrote in his last letter to home. It was titled The Raindrops on your Old Tin Hat and was first published on 31 October 1918 in the Colorado Fuel and Iron Co.’s Industrial Bulletin, a "house organ." It was a contribution from Wickersham’s mother, who was an employee. However, she neglected to get a copyright, so the poem subsequently appeared in many newspapers and poetry collections, especially the Fawcett Publications’ popular pulp magazines, including Captain Billy’s Whizbang. Wickersham isn’t known today as a great poet, but he grew up in a romantic age, when poetry was taught in schools and was a popular form of entertainment:

The mist hangs low and quiet on a ragged line of hills,

  There's a whispering of wind across the flat,

You'd be feeling kind of lonesome if it wasn't for one thing—

  The patter of the raindrops on your old tin hat.

An' you can't help a-figuring—sitting there alone—

  About this war and hero stuff and that,

And you wonder if they haven't sort of got things twisted up,

  While the rain keeps up its patter on your old tin hat.

When you step off with the outfit to do your little bit

  You're simply doing what you're s'posed to do—

And you don't take time to figure what you gain or lose—

  It's the spirit of the game that brings you through.

But back at home she's waiting, writing cheerful little notes,

  And every night she offers up a prayer

And just keeps on a-hoping that her soldier boy is safe—

  The Mother of the boy who's over there.

And, fellows, she's the hero of this great, big ugly war,

  And her prayer is on the wind across the flat,

And don't you reckon maybe it's her tears, and not the rain,

  That's keeping up the patter on your old tin hat? ”

Collar Insignia for the 353rd Infantry

 

1st  Lieut. Harold A.  Furlong (1895–1987) was a native of Pontiac, Michigan and completed officer training while a student at the Michigan Agricultural College, now Michigan State University. He was commissioned in June 1917 and subsequently was assigned to the 353rd.  

Furlong’s valorous actions have also been recounted previously. He was decorated in person by General Pershing on 9 February 1919. 

Lt. Furlong Citation: Immediately after the opening of the attack in the Bois-de-Bantheville, when his company was held up by severe machine gun fire from the front, which killed his company commander and several soldiers, 1st. Lt. Furlong moved out in advance of the line with great courage and coolness, crossing an open space several hundred yards wide. Taking up a position behind the line of the machine guns, he closed in on them, one at a time, killing a number of the enemy with his rifle, putting four machine gun nests out of action, and driving 20 German prisoners into our lines

He later earned an MD from the University of Michigan in 1924 and practiced Obstetrics in his hometown until his retirement in 1970. He created and headed the Maternity Unit at the Pontiac General Hospital, which was named after him in 1982. In 1921, Furlong joined the Michigan National Guard, from which he retired in 1946 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Called to active duty during WWII, he served as a surgeon in Europe.

In an interview given in 1959, Furlong downplayed his exploits: ″Personally, I’m just happy to be a doctor and would just as soon not be written up in the newspaper as a war hero.″ 

The Veterans of the All Kansas  

Let’s consider the legacy of the men of the 353rd Infantry. After the war, these sons of the prairie dispersed widely. Many became leaders in their communities and their chosen fields. While most went back to their hometown, which was frequently in Kansas, others decided to head elsewhere. They went on to  become doctors, a lot of lawyers (at least two were judges), plenty of bankers, teachers (and principals), scientists, politicians (including several mayors), business executives, engineers, retail merchants, auto dealers, civil servants, farmers and ranchers, managers, civic leaders, developers, entrepreneurs and inventors, generals (at least three), ministers, newspapermen, and a hereditary Indian chief. Along with the regulars, a few stayed in the Army, and others came back to serve in WWII. Sadly, several died young as a result of being gassed. 

Two who merit special recognition: Capt. Charles Dienst (1886–1980), who produced the regimental history. Trained as a teacher, in 1919 he became a high school principal and later was appointed the director of the Idaho Department of Labor. During WWII he returned to active duty and commanded a training battalion at Ft. Bliss, TX. 

Lieut. Colonel James Peatross DSC (1885–1952), previously mentioned several times in this series, rose from 2nd Lieutenant to command of the Second battalion in 13 months. He stayed in the army until 1929, serving as the commandant of R.O.T.C. at the Missouri School of Mines. Subsequently he was the superintendent of the Federal Soldiers Home in St. James, Missouri, and the tax collector for Phelps County, Missouri. During WWII he served as the commandant of the Florida Military Academy, St. Petersburg. For many years he ran the 353rd Infantry Society.

Lt. Col. Peatross Even Ran for Office

Other World War I veterans of particular note from the 353rd include:

• Dr. James Adee DVM, Deputy State Dairy Commissioner, Topeka, KS

• Major General Fred Boschen, Chief of Finance, U.S. Army 1938-42, Washington, DC

• Major General Peter Cannon, Rhode Island National Guard, Providence, RI

• Hubert Carpenter, Lawyer, Louisville, KY—Ran for governor of Kentucky in 1958

• Walter Coolidge, chemistry professor, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH

• Floyd Couchman, Director & Chief Examiner Kansas Soldier’s Compensation Board, Topeka, KS

• Fred D’Amour, Entomologist, Univ. of Denver, Denver, CO—Researcher on black widow spiders.

• Chester Ensign, Founder of ESSCO (electrical parts manufacturer), Greensboro, NC

• Thomas Gowenlock, personal aide to Col. Robert McCormick at the Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL

• Ruby Hulen, lawyer and US district judge 1943–56, St. Louis, MO—Integrated public facilities in St. Louis in 1950

• Dr. Herbert Laslett PhD (Stanford), psychologist, professor, Oregon State College, Corvallis, OR. (Dr. Laslett was also a member of the 89th Division football team that won the AEF championship after the war.)

Clockwise from Top Left: Charles Dienst,
Daniel Spurlock, Joe Speer (KIA) , and Floyd Fletcher

• Harold Leedy, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City 1941–1961, Plattsburg, MO

• Roley McIntosh, Hereditary Chief Muscogee Nation, Eufala, OK

• John Newman, botanist, Denver, CO—Developed numerous iris hybrids

• Boykin Paschal, editor, Savannah Daily News, Savannah, GA

• Milton Portman, lawyer, Cleveland, OH—Great-uncle of former U.S. senator Rob Portman

• Leonard Rice, lawyer, city attorney, Jefferson City, MO

• H.H. Robertson, founder HH Robertson Co., Kenosha, WI—Leading maker of steel floor deck

• Major General Maurice Rose DSC, Denver, CO—led the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions in WWII, KIA (1945), namesake of the Rose Medical Center in Denver and USNS Maurice Rose T-AP-126.  

• James Scanlon, Indiana state representative, Boswell, IN

• Robert Schutt, Founder of Schutt Sports, St. Louis, MO—Maker of athletic gear, especially football helmets. Schutt introduced the helmet with face guard in 1935.

• Colonel Daniel Spurlock LOM, oil man, Shreveport, LA—Assistant Chief of Fuels, U.S. Army WWII. 

• James Tucker, state auditor, Little Rock, AR—Father of former U.S. representative and Arkansas attorney general, lt. governor and governor Jim Guy Tucker, who succeeded Bill Clinton. 

• Courtney Turner, Banker and Philanthropist, Atchison, KS—Said to have made the first car loans.

• Albert Wheat, union-busting lawyer, Wheeling, WV

• Errett Williams, aviation Pioneer, Wichita, KS

Let’s consider honors and memorials: As previously mentioned, the regiment was decorated by the French with the Croix de Guerre avec Palme on 4 May 1919. I have reviewed 578 war or veterans memorials in Kansas, none of which commemorates the 353rd Infantry. Below is a simple monument to the 89th Division that was erected in 1948 near the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, MO.

Nevertheless, names of men from the 353rd appear on war memorials throughout Kansas, thereby indirectly honoring the regiment. Of particular note are the memorials at the University of Kansas (KU) and the Kansas State Agricultural College, now Kansas State University (K-State), although it is important to note that most of these college men were volunteers, not draftees.

KU sent 598 officers and 1,883 soldiers off to the war, 818 of whom were undergraduates, and 129 of them died, including two women. To honor all of them the War Memorial Stadium was built in 1921 and the six-story Memorial Union building in 1926. Photographs of all who died are displayed on the top floor of the Union. 

Both facilities are still in use, although the stadium has been extensively modified and co-named twice. They were built by public subscription; a foundation called the Memorial Corporation oversaw the project, and it still owns and operates the Union, including its two branch locations, 19 other dining venues, and the bookstore. It also holds the FCC license for and houses the student-run radio station KJHK. 

Kansas State University's Memorial Wall Features
Four of the 353rd's Fallen in the Great War

K-State sent over 1,200 to serve and 48 died. To honor them, the War Memorial Stadium was built in 1922. Football was played there until 1967 when it was deemed too small; today it is used for club sports and band practice. Four 353rd dead are memorialized at K-State, all rural Kansans—Pvt. Floyd Fletcher from Waldo, Sgt. Lester Hamill from Tonganoxie, Sgt. Joe Speer from Muscotah, and Pvt. George Titus from Harper. 

There were poets at K-State, too, and this work seems fitting to include near the close the series. Royal Purple is the title of the yearbook:

Tribute to the fallen

Not unto ancient angry gods,

Nor unto earthly potentates,

We offer honor,

But unto those who lately went out from us, 

Being of our kind and kin

And representing us and this our college,

And who, being ours, died in our stead,

Pouring the blood of Kansas on the fields of France.

To them, our comrades now beyond

the veil,

We dedicate this Royal Purple,

The purple still more regal for

their sacrifice,

The pages brighter for their 

stars that rise.

— N.A. Crawford

Lineage

The 3-353rd on Parade at Fort Polk, LA

The legacy of the 353rd isn’t just due to its distinguished service, sacrifice, valor, the memorials or the deeds of its members, because it’s still active.

In 2006, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd battalions of the 353rd were reactivated as part of the 162nd Infantry Brigade, which assumed the combat advisory training mission of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division at Ft. Riley, KS. These battalions were badged to the 353rd because of the historical relationship of the 353rd to Camp Funston. In 2009 the brigade was re-assigned to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at then-Ft. Polk, LA.

In 2019, as a part of a major mission shift, the 162nd was reduced to one battalion, the 3-353rd, which was assigned as the training component for the new Security Force Assistance Command (SFAC), which is a division-level activity that sends teams to train, advise, assist, enable and even accompany foreign nation military partners, operating in a host nation. The 3-353rd’s role concentrates on "regionally focused foundational and collective training to maintain the operational readiness of SFAC units to deliver tailorable and scalable training." Today’s army has been reorganized to minimize the need to commit American ground forces by encouraging and supporting foreign partners. 

Today the men and women of the 3-353rd continue the legacy of the regiment, writing new history and extending the heritage. 

James Patton

______________________________

About Our Contributor

In 2011, our contributor for this series, James Patton, traveled with my battlefield tour to the Western Front.  At the U.S. Somme Cemetery he honored the memory of  fellow Cornell University graduate Lt. Oscar Hellquist of the 27th New York Division, KIA October 1918.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Jim on the completion  of his terrific series on the All-Kansas 353rd Infantry and thank him for the 122 (estimated) articles he has contributed to Roads to the Great War over the years.  Our regular readers know that, not only is he a prolific writer on the war, his range of interests—from the scientific aspects of warfare to interesting  personalities  to fascinating but forgotten episodes of the Great War—is remarkable. 

On behalf of the readers, our fellow editors and contributors, and myself, Jim,  Thank You for a great job.

Mike Hanlon, Edior/Publisher 

Guarding Fort Vaux's Flank

Fort Vaux Today
The Action Described Here Took Place About 500 Yards NW (Toward Upper Left) Beyond the Fort

The heroic defense, eventual fall, and retaking of Verdun's Fort Vaux has been the subject of several articles on Roads to the Great War over the years. It's one of the great sub-dramas of the memorable 1916 battle. Links to those earlier entrees can be found HERE.  Until recently I thought I had run out of fresh material on this fascinating topic, but I've discovered that at the critical May and June moments leading to the surrender of the Fort by its commander Major Raynal—just 500 yards away was positioned one of the greatest observer/diarists of the First World War.  In this article I want to share some of his memories on the titanic struggle to save the fort.

Captain Charles Delvert (1879–1940) is one of the great eyewitnesses of the First World War.  Born in Paris, he was educated as a teacher at the École Normale Supérieure and then taught history in schools in the south of France. During the war, he  became commander of the 8th company of the 101st French Infantry Regiment. He kept a diary recording his daily experience of the war between August 1914 and August 1916. In May-June 1916, his regiment was engaged at Verdun at  a redoubt, the fortified position designated R1, to provide immediate defense for Fort Vaux. At the same time, the Germans launched a violent offensive surrounding the fort, which fell on 7 June. At the height of the attack, under fire from both German and French artillery, the 8th company entrenched their position and held on until—reduced to 39 men—they were relieved on the evening of 5 June.

Charles Delvert

________________________________________

18 May 1916

In front of headquarters is Fort Vaux. To the north and east it is surrounded by the Boche trenches.

The dreariness of the landscape is beyond description. At this moment (7 P.M.) it is bathed in the soft, warm, purple light of the setting sun. The ridges of the hill are bare, without a blade of grass.105 The Fumin Wood is reduced to a few tree-stumps ranged like the teeth of a comb along its summit, like that wood of ‘the Hand of Massiges’ [in Champagne] which our troopers have nicknamed ‘the Cock’s Comb.’ The soil has been so much churned up by the shells that the earth has become as shifting as sand, and the shell-holes make the place look like a range of dunes.

All of a sudden the cannonade, which had slackened off a little, breaks out in all its fury. In one minute we count eight Boche shells whistling over our heads. On the ridge of Vaux [Village], which shows up purple against the setting sun, the black clouds of our 155’s rise in every direction. It is an orchestra of Hell. . .

"Teeth of a Comb"

19 May 1916

The cannonade never stops day or night. It deafens our ears and clouds our brains. To-day, since 6 P.M., the hillsides of Vaux have been disappearing under our shell-fire. From here one can see them falling right on to the white lines formed in the ground by the Boche trenches and communication passages.  At night, in the starlight, green rockets shoot up from our front lines at the bottom of the ravines. ‘Lengthen the range! Lengthen the range!’ cry our poor comrades. . . 

Meanwhile, the Boches from their lines send up other kinds of rockets, trench flares or ‘star-shells.’ These flash forth from the darkness every moment in order to ensure that no shovelful of earth shall be removed by the victims marked out for annihilation by the shells.  The whistling of the projectiles which cross each other above our heads is so loud that you might imagine yourself to be by the sea, with the swell of the waves, as they rise and fall, crashing in your ears. The explosions, with their tremendous uproar, produce the effect of a continual thunderstorm, accompanied by periodic flashes of lightning.

20 May 1916 (11 P.M.)

The lake, with its dreary waters and its sombre setting, runs right up to the three ridges that shut in the horizon. The moon hangs over this distant quarter like a silver veil, dotted with darker specks along the summit of the hills. At the foot of our trenches she sheds her shimmering light over the marsh of the ravine, so that it forms a burnished island amid the ripple of the waters.

To the right, on the dyke, a procession of funereal shadows glides past in silence. It is the relief that is going by.  At a steady pace, never stumbling, it climbs up towards the Hardaumont plateau, where our shells are crashing, and the white, red, or green cones rise unceasingly into the sky—a firework display given by men marked out for death.

Trench Map of the Situation, Note Location of R1

On 1 June 1916 the Germans begin a concerted effort to take Fort Vaux

2 June 1916

A night of agony, broken by continual alarms. Yesterday we were not replenished. Thirst is what troubles us more than anything. Biscuits are being looked for.... A shell has just made my pen slip. It fell not very far off. It landed in headquarters by the door, and pulverized my quartermaster-sergeant, poor little C——. Everything suffered from the concussion. I was covered with earth, but was quite unhurt—not a scratch!

The Boches opposite us are emerging from their trench. Here, every one is at the loophole. I have had grenades handed out to the whole company, for at the distance where we are the rifle is useless.

"Here they come!"

"Forward, boys! Stick to it!"

S—— cuts the wire and we fling our bombs.

The Boches reply to us with rifle-grenades, but their range is too long. Those who came out of the trench, taken aback by our reception of them, turn tail and make with all speed for Sarajevo—except those who here and there, sometimes in groups, are left stretched out upon the plain.

From Sarajevo (the Sarajevo trench, occupied by the enemy, is scarcely 50 or 60 yards from the redoubt) shadows can be seen flitting out hastily and betaking themselves to the rear: doubtless this is the second wave that is ebbing back.

"To your rifles, lads! We must follow them up!"

Ch—— sends up a red rocket. If we could use 75’s now, the conditions would be ideal.  All of a sudden there is a spurt of flame behind us, with torrents of black and white smoke. It is as though fiery fountains were playing. There can be no doubt about it! They have forced a passage on the right and are directing a liquid fire attack at us.

German Flamethrower Team

But now, from the conflagration, red and green flames are rising. What can it be? Ah, it’s my store of rockets that is ablaze. At such a moment! Luckily the Boches have been well looked after. Some poor devils rush down on the right, with loud shrieks. A few of the men near me take alarm and leave the loophole.

"Back to your places! Good heavens, what do you think you are doing? And you, you pack of fools, bolting away because a couple of rockets catch fire!"

In less than two minutes order is restored. The flames rise and bubble incessantly, in the blackness of the night, amid the shower of shells. Every moment a fresh rocket gushes out into flame. The blaze reaches headquarters, and two tongues of fire soon dart out from there. First of all we must save the grenades, which are quite close to us. A sack of cartridges has been caught in the furnace, for we can hear the crackling. The worst of it is that the walls are made of sandbags and also help to feed the flames. Then there are the shells, and the bullets that never stop whistling.

At last! All the cases of grenades have been cleared away. Shovelfuls of earth are thrown on to the fire, which is now beginning to grow less violent. Fortunately, our bombs have had a sobering effect upon the Boches. True, we must go and look for more grenades if we wish to hold out against a fresh onset. Nearly twenty cases of them have been emptied.

10 o’clock P.M.—A man comes from the Colonel’s headquarters with five water-bottles—one of them empty—for the whole company. The bottles hold four pints each. This makes not quite eighteen pints for 60 corporals and privates, 8 sergeants and 3 officers. The sergeant-major, in my presence, distributes this water with scrupulous fairness. It has a taint of corpses.

Trench at R1

3 June 1916

I have not slept for nearly sixty-two hours.

2.30 P.M.—The Boches are making a fresh onslaught.

"Keep cool, my lads! Let them get well out! We have to husband our ammunition. At twenty-five paces! Let them have it hot and strong when I give the word of command!

"Fire!"

"Jump to it!"

“Crack!" go the rifles, all together. A smart piece of work. Well done! Black smoke rises. We see batches of Boches spin round and fall. One or two get up on their knees and manage to crawl away. Another lets himself roll down into the trench, so great is his haste. Some, however, advance towards us, while their comrades who remain in the trench riddle us with bullets. One of them even comes right up to the wire entanglement, three yards from the parapet. D—— lays him out with a bomb flung fair and square at his head. At three-thirty they have had enough, and withdraw into their lair. The sun is shining brightly. A song rises to my lips.

"You are in good spirits, sir!"

"Obviously. After all, when the die is cast——"

At six o’clock the German stretcher-bearers come out to pick up their wounded. I forbid my men to fire upon them. The Germans pass the dyke without a stop. They occupy R1.  [Redoubt 1] We are hard pressed on all sides. The situation is highly critical. The horror of it grips our very heart-strings. This evening, the Boches clear the way with heavy artillery fire. We shall certainly have to face a fresh attack.

I order my men to reconstruct the machine-gun emplacement, which has been destroyed during the day, and to take up a position with the one of the two guns which they have succeeded in repairing. For drinking-water, as it is raining, the men have put their mugs outside, and have laid down canvas.

At 8.30 P.M. the gentlemen over the way emerge from Sarajevo. The poilus rejoice at this. At 15 yards they send them such a violent barrage of bombs, supported by machine-guns, that the Germans are not inclined to press the point. The attack is brought to a dead stop.

Shelter DV4 at R1 Today
Probably Delvert's Position

“At 10 P.M. an officer appears in my quarters. This is to announce reinforcements, some details of the 124th and 298th Regiments which have come to help in the defence. The sorely-tried little garrison of R1 is already greatly thinned in numbers. The shells begin to fall again. It is impossible to light a candle in the C.O.’s headquarters. If the least bit of light is seen from outside, the Jack Johnsons land on the spot. In order to make out my report for the past twenty-four hours, I have to crouch down in a corner, under a blanket, and write on the ground.

As for taking a moment’s rest, that is not to be thought of. The bombardment does not break off for a single minute, and, what is more, we are so much pestered with fleas that we scratch ourselves as if we had the itch.

4 June 1916

"They’re not up to taking R1, those Boches," cries one of my poilus to me as he passes.  I was at the redoubt, organizing the connections with my left. "Well, about twenty-four hours ago you had a pretty gruelling time of it here," remarks X—— to me.

“‘Yes, you saw those grenades being handed out.’

At the same moment comes a significant crackle. A duel of grenades is in progress. I hastily scramble up the narrow path which leads me into the trench and reach my post in the fray. The weather is superb. The bombs are roaring on all sides. A grenade duel is a fine sight: the bomb-thrower, firmly ensconced behind the parapet, hurls his bomb with the graceful swing of an athlete. “S——, crouching down near the grenade cases, calmly cuts the wires and passes them to us without a word. A dense black smoke rises heavenwards, in front of the trench.

At four o’clock all is over, but for a few rifle-volleys. These are like the final sobs of a long spell of weeping. The sunshine is glorious, and makes one realize all the more keenly the utter desolation of this ravine. Some wounded come down, streaming with blood.

“The dead are brought in, among others poor D——, who rose up in the trench in order to smite down a Boche officer, and had his skull pierced. At the end of the trench occupied by bomb-throwers of the 5th, and ten men of the 124th, two Boches entered and were blown to atoms. 

A prisoner comes down. His face is beardless, his eyes are sunken. He lifts his bleeding hands and shouts "Kamerad!" Our fellows take hold of him and hurry him off to the dressing-station. I go to visit that dressing-station. It is a gloomy place. In a dark room, with only one candle for a light, the patients are laid out, and one hears a constant groaning. They recognize me and call out to me. One of them has been asking for me long before I came in; he wants me to give him news of his brother. Another requests me to write to his parents. . .

Close-in Bombardment

6 o’clock P.M.—The bombardment opens again.

A stretcher-bearer, gasping for breath, comes to lean for a few moments against the wall of my headquarters. His plucky, honest, good-natured face is now worn and hollow; his eyes, with blue circles round them, seem to start out of his head. "Sorry, sir, but I am simply done up. There are only three of us stretcher-bearers left; the others have been killed or wounded. For three days I haven’t had a bite of food or drunk a drop of water."

One feels that his frail body only lasts out through a miracle of energy and will-power. They are always talking of heroes nowadays; here is a hero, a more genuine one than many who are so acclaimed. 

“The appalling cannonade goes on all the time.  “D——, R——, and I, under a low shed built of planks covered over with a few sandbags, wait for the shell which will blow us to pieces. We all look glum. The horror of the situation is clutching at our very vitals.

8 P.M.—We are relieved!

11 P.M.—A note from the colonel: In view of circumstances which have arisen, the 101st cannot be relieved.  Thanks! What a disappointment for my poor lads!  Lieutenant X—— is astounded at them, and with good reason. But I have only thirty-nine left!

5 June 1916

I should like to take a rest, but the fleas seem to have an objection. Since the relief has been countermanded, the company won’t have any water to-day. As soon as I received the order I sent out a fatigue party for water. It did not come back. It must have been overtaken by daylight. Probably it is held up at Tavannes or in the tunnel. Luckily it is raining. The men go to spread out canvas so as to catch the water.  One’s throat is parched with a terrible thirst. I am hungry. To eat bully beef with biscuit will make my thirst still worse. . . 

5 P.M.—The order for the relief has come. If only it isn’t countermanded!

We shall leave our dead in the trenches as a souvenir. Their comrades have piously laid them out of the way. I recognize them. Here is C——, with his velvet breeches; A——, poor youngster, of the 1916 class; and D——, stretching out his waxen hand, the hand that once flung bombs so valiantly; and P——, and G——, and L——, and so many others!  Alas! how many ghastly sentinels we leave behind! There they are, lying in a row on the breastwork, stiff and stark in their blood-stained, blood-dripping canvas,—grim and solemn guards of this nook of French soil where it seems that, even in death, they would fain bar the way to the enemy.

“9 o’clock P.M.—The relief.”

The uninterrupted bombardment, the fire in the neighbourhood of the grenade store, the daily onslaughts, the lack of provisions, the lack of water, the lack of sleep, the smell of the corpses and the asphyxiating shells, the mind preyed upon by the sense of death as the body is preyed upon by vermin,—these men have endured all. And because the sun is shining, the captain finds a song rising to his lips.

“You are in good spirits, sir.”

“Obviously. After all, when the die is cast——”

The whole attitude of our soldiers is summed up in that phrase. A private as he passes exclaims with a laugh:

“They’re not up to taking R1, those Boches.”

Yes, the whole attitude is summed up in this: to stick to one’s post and to think nothing of self.

________________________________________

Site of R1 Today

Aftermath

The 8th Company of the 101st is relieved on June 5, in the evening, by a company of the 298th, which will hold out for three days longer, under more and more critical conditions, but will be outflanked in the night of June 8–9. The enemy has managed to make progress on the right. The fall of the fort, in the early morning of June 7, has given him a tactical point. R1, however, throughout the whole siege of the fort, from June 2 to 7, has floated, like a fishing-boat that has mastered the waves, in the wake of the great vessel.

After the defense of Fort Vaux, Delvert, who had been wounded, was evacuated and temporarily declared unfit for fighting. He later was given a provisional assignment to the 5th Army headquarters, and then, to the Italian Expeditionary Force, until his demobilization in August 1919.

Sources: From the Marne to Verdun: The War Diary of Captain Charles Delvert, 101st Infantry, 1914–1916; 1914-1918 Online