An Italian unit relieved our Company and we withdrew to a reserve position in the Vesle Valley, east of Fismes. Here, on the night of September 16th, our division was relieved by an Italian division and we pulled out of the sector.
We looked forward to a period of rest, but it was not to be. Twenty kilometres of hiking brought us to the Arcis le Ponsart Forest, where we bivouaced for a day. Then into lorries for an all-night ride to Le Chatelier-sur-Marne, where our losses were replaced by a detachment from the 40th "Sunshine" Division. Two days of speculating as to our chances for a rest terminated when on the night of September 20th we were ordered to roll packs. We stepped off on a thirty-two kilometre hike at 1:00 A.M., via St. Menehould and Florent, and seventeen hours later we dragged ourselves into the Forêt de Maisons Petites where we were quartered in barracks at the edge of the Argonne Forest.
The Argonne—September 26th to November 11th
The memorable and decisive drive known as the Argonne-Meuse Offensive started on September 26th. That day found us entrenched near the main road at Florent,—a position in reserve of the 1st Army Corps.
Actual operations were started that night, when the entire cannon of half a hundred divisions poured forth on the enemy its scorching fire. Next morning we moved to a position north of Florent, and three days later we moved thru the town of Le Four de Paris into those trenches north of La Harazee that had been deserted by the 122d German Regiment of the 2d Landwehr Division.
The "Lost" Battalion
October 2d we left the reserve and assumed a support position. On that day the forces in the line drove forward, but in the execution of the advance Companies E, H, I, K, L, and M of the 308th Infantry and Company K of the 307th Infantry found themselves trapped by the enemy on a hill north of the Bois de la Buironne. These units were the only ones to reach their objective but by thus advancing ahead of their flanks, they gave the enemy an opportunity to surround them. In this hazardous position they struggled as the "Lost" Battalion.
U. S. Official Photo
Grim Business in the Argonne
A Unit of the 307th Infantry Waiting Orders to "Mop Up"
We went forward to their relief on October 4th, but were held back by the effective machine-gun fire of the enemy. Next day we again strove to extricate the besieged battalion, but again we failed. Certain enemy machine guns were so placed that their hail of death was impassable. They seemed an insurmountable obstacle in the path of the entire 307th Infantry. The men of Company B knew that the machine-gun positions of the enemy must be taken. There was nothing, at that moment, that counted more than the capture of these positions. So on October 6th we attacked, giving no thought to risk. We did what we thought would have been impossible before we knew that it had to be done. Persistently we attacked in the face of the enemy fire and as the German resistance gradually weakened, we took the heretofore impregnable positions. Seven of our men were that day cited for exceptional bravery.