# History of the 305th Field Artillery/Consolidating in Lorraine

XII
CONSOLIDATING IN LORRAINE
The second battalion followed close on the heels of the first. Major Wanvig and his staff arrived in Baccarat with Battery D at midnight July 10th. Battery E came in on the morning of the 11th, and Battery T that after- noon. Major Wanvig established his echelon near the Supply and Headquarters Companies in the woods above Bertrichamps.
The major with Lieutenant Fenn, his acting adjutant, Lieutenant Church, acting telephone officer, and Captains Starbuck, Storer, and Mitchell, commanding the three batteries, made his reconnaissance on July 12th.
These reconnaissances for the relief of the French, as has been said, all shared the same surprises and the same hospitality. The conditions the Second Battalion found, however, differed in some ways from those met by the First. To begin with the French group had only two batteries in position. It was decided to place Balleries D and E in their emplacements. A new position was chosen for Battery I to the right of the Neuf Maisons-Vacquerville road.
The group command post was in Vacquerville, a pleasant little village which shell fire had spared. Major Wanvig moved into the Frenchmen's quarters and offices. Scotland was the inherited name of the command post and Godfrin of the battalion observatory.
Drawn by Corporal Tucker, Hq. Co.
The regiment's home in Lorraine
as good natural cover. It was an overgrown hole in the ground, covered with a sheet of elephant iron. It was in front of the woods. Because of its vulnerability it was used only for observation of the sector. For conduct of fire each battery had an observatory of its own, but no one of them approached perfection.
At the start an unexpected task faced the Second Battalion. There was a battery in their portion of the front of two ninety millimeter and two ninety-five millimeter howitzers, sector property. Lieutenant Pike of Battery D was given these guns with nine men from each battery of the regiment, and told to find out how they worked, to register them, and to fire them on demand. He and his ​Page:History of the 305th field artillery (IA historyof305thfi01camp).pdf/159 ​Page:History of the 305th field artillery (IA historyof305thfi01camp).pdf/160 ​Page:History of the 305th field artillery (IA historyof305thfi01camp).pdf/161 ​Page:History of the 305th field artillery (IA historyof305thfi01camp).pdf/162 ​Page:History of the 305th field artillery (IA historyof305thfi01camp).pdf/163 ​Page:History of the 305th field artillery (IA historyof305thfi01camp).pdf/164 ​Page:History of the 305th field artillery (IA historyof305thfi01camp).pdf/165 ​small voice came over the wire, reporting. Through his uncertain words we could hear French flowing. The conversation had an astral quality. We could not interrupt it. The groping demands of our man somewhere on that line in the wet, dark night, failed to dam it.
"The line," we distinguished above the queer conversation, "has been tied into close to the road."
It seemed impossible. We asked the startled linesman if he had traced the wire.
"Ye—ye—yes."
"Where does it go?"
"That's just it, sir. It isn't natural. It goes to a dark dugout."
"Maybe Huns with a listening in set."
But even the puzzled linesman didn't believe that, for over the wire came a weaving of French phrases which meant that it was a bitter night for those who fought, a bad night to die.
Our man wasn't afraid of Huns with a listening in set. That meant a fair fight, but he didn't like that dark dugout with such a conversation slipping from it over a wire. He hadn't followed the wire in. He disapproved of attempting it. A direct command was necessary.
He was so long reporting after that that we became uneasy. Perhaps there had been something he couldn't control—too many Huns talking French.
Drawn by Capt. Dana, Battery A The rolling kitchen
The B drop fell at last, and he was on the wire. His voice was conversational again—rather more agreeable than usual.
"Spooks? Quit your kiddin.' Who said anything about spooks. Frogs. Line looked as if it was tied in, but it wasn't. ​Page:History of the 305th field artillery (IA historyof305thfi01camp).pdf/167 ​Page:History of the 305th field artillery (IA historyof305thfi01camp).pdf/168