INFANTRY ENGAGEMENTS
From Bourbonne-les-Bains the infantry regiments and headquarters troops were moved to Bruyères, and it was here that they heard for the first time the roar of the big guns. Here also it was that the Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, General John J. Pershing, first visited the division. After spending twelve days in securing necessary equipment, all moved to St. Die. Here the Americans were welcomed as deliverers. The Germans had occupied the city for fourteen days in 1914 and because of their treatment the people had learned to hate them. The bishop’s house and the church, more than six hundred years old, were used as headquarters.
Because of the nature of the terrain the St. Die sector was usually quiet and for this reason it was used for schooling divisions of recruits, who often got here their baptism of fire before leaving. There was a little bathing pool in “No Man’s Land,” and it was said that at certain times, by agreement between the Germans and the French, each had access to it without being fired upon. The 6th Division of the American Army, however, which occupied the sector before it was given over to the 92nd, fired on every German that ventured forth. When the French said that such action would precipitate offensive tactics, the Americans insisted that this was their purpose. The 92nd Division accordingly found the enemy active when it entered the sector. While there was no major offensive, raiding parties from both sides were frequent and patrol duty was very necessary.
The St. Die sector will always be remembered by the men of the 92nd Division because it was there that they received their first casualties. The first man killed was Private Moses Justice, Company H, 365th Infantry. He had worked as a farmer and enlisted from Marietta, Ohio. While on patrol duty September 2, 1918, Second Lieut. Thomas J. Bullock, Company D, 367th Infantry, was killed, the first officer in the division to fall. In this sector the Negro soldiers remained until September 21, 1918, when they were ordered to the Meuse-Argonne region, the 81st Division, known as the “Wildcats,” relieving the 92nd when it entrained.
Between September 21 and 23 the 92nd Division was carried from the St. Die sector to the Argonne region, and by September 24 various units had been assigned a place in the big drive scheduled for the 25th. Headquarters were at Beauchamps Farm and Triacourt, and the division was attached to the First Army Corps.
On September 23 the 368th Infantry was assigned to the 38th French Army Corps, commanded by General Durand. It was given a position on the right bank of the Aisne, north of Vienne-Le-Château and La Harozee and 500 meters west of Binarville. The Second Battalion of the regiment, which was in the front line, on September 26 “reconnoitered the enemy trench position opposite it and progressed at a slow pace, because of the abundance of wire, until the right half had made an advance of three kilometers, where it met with strong opposition of machine-gun nests.” The Third Battalion, according to plan, supported the advance of the second. On September 27 both were ordered to attack, the objective being the Trench du Dromadaire. The Second Battalion progressed two kilometers against machine-gun fire and the third reached the enemy trench line. On September 28 the objective of the two battalions remained unchanged.
As these two battalions advanced and were subjected to heavy machine-gun fire and enemy artillery barrage, the major commanding the second was relieved of duty because of physical exhaustion. The Third Battalion was within two hundred meters of its objective when, under heavy fire, a portion of the line of an advance company broke and withdrew to the rear. This company was reorganized and the attack was resumed, but again the line broke. In spite of the action of some of their comrades, however, Capt. R. A. Williams and First Lieut. T. M. Dent held their position with the part of the company with them until the following day, when they were relieved by the 9th Cuirassiers, a French regiment.
As to the withdrawals, it was stated by company officers that “some one, identity unknown, ordered a retreat.” Secretary Baker’s report on this affair said that “there is strongly supported evidence that orders from some quarters were carried forward by runners directing the withdrawal, although orders had been given ... that no withdrawal order, not in writing and signed by the battalion commander, should be obeyed. The investigation showed that no such written order had been issued.” The First Battalion, which had been in reserve, was placed in the front line to renew the attack. It joined the French in the advance on Binarville and progressed until the leading company reached and passed by 200 meters the objective that had been given the regiment. The advance covered four and a half kilometers and 11 prisoners and 5 machine-guns were captured. The total casualties, including killed, wounded, and gassed, were 9 officers and 269 enlisted men. The commanding officer’s report of this engagement said that there was insufficient use of the infantry rifle. Although machine-guns and Stokes mortars were with each battalion ready and seeking opportunity for action, the character of the terrain prevented their use. This sector, which had been held alternately by the French and Germans during the war, consisted of a rolling country, cut up by ravines and covered with the debris of the Argonne Forest, blasted by four years of shell fire; and it was interlaced by solid wire defences of all kinds. Col. F. R. Brown, who was in command during the engagement, said of the regiment: “It deserves commendation for successfully performing its original mission of liaison between the 38th (French) Corps and the 77th Division (U. S.). It deserves commendation as a whole for successfully advancing as rapidly as did the French units on our left, in spite of the many difficulties encountered.”
As a result of the withdrawals of the Third Battalion of the 368th Infantry during the Argonne engagement, rumors spread in both France and America that the 92nd Division had been charged with “cowardice before the enemy.” So great was the confidence of the Negro people in the bravery of their soldiers, based upon the deeds of a glorious past, that such rumors seemed almost unbelievable; and when the men in other regiments of the division heard the reports, many of them begged for an opportunity to go to the front. The final report of the Secretary of War, however, somewhat allayed the rumors. He said: “The circumstances disclosed by a detailed study of the situation do not justify many of the highly colored accounts which have been given of the behavior of the troops in this action, and they afford no basis at all for any of the general assumptions with regard to the action of colored troops in this battle or elsewhere in France. On the contrary, it is to be noted that many colored officers, and particularly three in the very battalion here under discussion, were decorated with Distinguished Service Crosses for extraordinary heroism under fire.”
The Division remained in the Argonne until October 5, 1918, when it was ordered to the Marbache sector, where it remained until the signing of the Armistice. It was in this sector that the best fighting was done. During the quiet days between October 5 and November 8, considerable patrol work was carried on. Some of the enemy soldiers were killed and others captured, and a number of 92nd soldiers met a similar fate. Active operations began November 8, the 183rd Infantry Brigade holding the portion of the Allied line east of the Moselle River, extending from Pont-à-Mousson to Marbache. On the morning of November 10 an attack was executed on Bois Frehaut by the Second Battalion of the 365th Regiment, commanded by Major Warner A. Ross. A similar attack was made on Bois Voivrotte by two platoons of the Second Battalion of the 366th Infantry, commanded by Major A. E. Sawkins. Each battalion was supported by its machine-gun company and had the co-operation of the divisional artillery. Trench mortars and 37 M. M. guns were to support the attack, the object being to capture and hold the above named places and advance the line of observation in the sector. On the afternoon of November 9 the Second Battalion of the 365th Infantry was placed in Pont-à-Mousson and the Second Battalion of the 366th in Forêt de Facq in preparation for the attack which was to be made at 5 a. m. on November 10. The hour was changed from 5 to 7 in order that the 92nd Division might co-operate with the Second American Army, which was to launch its drive at that time. By 8.12 a. m. the Second Battalion of the 366th had completely occupied Bois Voivrotte and taken three prisoners, and by 11.45 the Second Battalion of the 365th completely occupied Bois Frehaut, although it had been heavily shelled with gas and high explosives. After the first objectives had been successfully reached, reinforcements were brought forward and a new attack launched on the strong enemy positions of Champey, Bouxières, La Côte, and Bois Cheminot at 5 a. m. on November 11. The troops making the attack were met by the strong artillery, machine-gun and infantry fire of the enemy. However, by 7.30 they had reached the outskirts of Bouxières and Bois Cheminot. Then a telephone message from headquarters, ordering all hostilities to cease, stopped the advance of the 92nd Division, which was sweeping the enemy before it. The opposing units engaged between the Moselle and Seille rivers were the 86th and 30th Regiments of infantry, the 31st Landwehr Brigade, and the 47th Infantry Regiment. They were supported by one battalion of sharpshooters. East of the Seille River were the 70th Infantry Regiment and the 6th Grenadiers.
In the report of the commanding general of the 183rd Infantry Brigade on the offensive operations in this sector in the last engagement during the Great War, Brig. Gen. Malvern Hill Barnum made the following summary and conclusion:
“The advance of the brigade in this battle, most of which was made on the east banks of the Moselle River was 3½ kilometers. It was against heavy artillery and machine-gun fire and high concentration of gas. In order to drive the enemy from their strongly fortified positions all forms of auxiliary arms, such as machine-guns, Stokes mortars, 37 M. M. guns, and rifle grenades, were effectively used against them. The divisional artillery supported this attack with a rolling barrage, which was well laid. It also placed a heavy concentration fire on German machine-gun nests, completely routing the enemy.
“A great part of this attack was executed over an open, sloping terrain, heavily wired, which was completely controlled by German artillery. The Bois Frehaut and Bois Voivrotte were woods protected with heavy German wire and were filled with machine-gun nests, trench mortars, light artillery, and infantry. The enemy was driven from his strongholds with a loss of six prisoners and approximately the following material: 1000 grenades, all types; 5000 rounds ammunition; 25 boxes M. G. ammunition, in belts; 50 rifles and bayonets; 10 pairs field glasses; 4 machine-guns; 6 carrier pigeons; 1 signal lamp and battery; 2 Very pistols; 3 carbide lamps; 100 helmets. Many overcoats, boots, canteens, belts, and other articles of equipment were left by the fleeing enemy.
“In this advance the brigade suffered the following casualties in the 365th and 366th Infantry and the 350th Machine-Gun Battalion: killed, 32; wounded, 119; gassed, 285; missing, 8; total, 444.”
This attack, on the last two days of the war, was made in a sector that had been organized for four years. It was in front of the great fortress of Metz and was occupied by young, efficient soldiers of the most famous military power in the world. Yet against this opposition the inexperienced Negro troops took complete possession of “No Man’s Land,” constantly remaining on the offensive until the enemy had been pushed back three and a half kilometers.
The Congressional Record of February 28, 1919, contains the following statement concerning the First Battalion of the 367th Infantry of the 92nd Division: “The entire first battalion of the three hundred and sixty-seventh (Buffaloes) Infantry was cited for bravery, and awarded the Croix de Guerre, thus entitling every officer and man in the battalion to wear this distinguished French decoration. This citation was made by the French Commission because of the splendid service and bravery shown by this battalion in the last engagement of the war.” The writer has been unable to find a copy of the citation in the War Department records; but because it did appear in the Congressional Record as indicated and also given publicity in the newspapers of the country, it is included in the story of the 92nd Division.