The sun., 1918-10-11
UPTON BATTALION
SPURNS SURRENDER
New York Men, Beleaguered in
Arg0nne, Cheer Their
Majors Refusal.
TRAPPED FOR FOUR DAYS
Nearly Starved and Out of Am
munition, They Waited
Death or Rescue.
nv ire Associated rrrss.


brightest spot in the heroic and amaz-
ing story Of the now famous lost bat
TALON" which belonged to the Seventy
| seventh (Camp Upton) Division. as yet
untold, was the climax TO the fourth day
Of the troops Disagreement In the Ar
| gonne Forest.
| When the men were long foodless and
almost wholly without ammunition and
| when many were weak from exhaustion
but pot one despairing, an American who
had been taken prisoner by the Germ ins
| suddenly appeared at the little camp
surrounded in the valley.
The man had been sent bllndfolded
from the German headquarters with a
typewriter note to Major Whittlesey
| reading:
Americans. you are surrounded on all
I sides. Surrender in the name of hui
manity. You will be well treated
, Major Whittlesey did not hesitate a
fraction Of second.
| 30 to hell :" he almost shouted. Then
he read the note to those around him.
and his men, despite their WEAKNESS and
hunger and In imminent danger every
moment. cheered 30 loudly that the Ger
mans heard them from their observat ton
posts.
None Of the battalion coull know that
|
hours none felt very sure that II could
come at all before It was too late. but
tho name spirit animating them TO plunge
ahead in the forest to their periloIis po-
! sition maintained them at that moment,
and every living man, wounded or we'll,
| in the battalion enthusiastically ap-
proved Major Whittlesey's abrupt an
| swer when the news of il was circulated
through the position.
Fell Into Enemy Trap.
| A composite story CLEANED from a
dozen recitals reveals that the battalion
when ordered to advance last Friday
pushed its way rapidly ahead through
the forest, and. In It's eseerness TO catch
up with the retreating Germans. grad
ually spread out and widened its ranks.
This allowed the Germans to infltrate
unseen behind the Americans and they
| fell directly into cunning trap which
the Germans had set for them.
| The enemy had planned TO catch the
Americans in a hollow surrounded on all
four sides by heights. the greatest Of
which was a steep hill directly ahead.
The Americans who were not accus-
toned to forest fighting and were filled
with eagerness, dashed into this hollow
without stopping TO think that the enemy
might be awaiting them. The members
Of the battalion were at first checked
by their own artillery bsrrage. which
had worked steadily forward.
| Nevertheless it had not worked as fast
as the troops themselves and the bat
talon proceeded half way UP tn. hill
and there they waited for the barrage to
pass in front Of them. Then they dis
covered that the Germans on both sides
had Jointly fanked them and had closed
in upon their rear
| Sheltered only by shallow and hastily
constructed trenches. the men were sub
jected to a grilling sniping machine gun
| FIRE as we'll as trench mortar bonn
bardment every time they showed them
| selves. Only with the greatest difficulty
! and with extreme caution could they
move from place to place and keep
guard against surprise attacks.
The battalion had started with meagre
rat!ons expecting more to reach them
later. These. of course. could no longer
be transported TO them. II was the
greatest good fortune that they were
fairly supplied with water.
Nightly and daily. too, they sent back
volunteer scouting parties, but II these
reached the positions In the rear without
being captured or killed they could not
tell for none every returned.
|
Daily American aviators searching
vainly for them. few overhead. but no
outcry the men could make brought
anything but volley of shouts and
laughter from the Germans in front and
behind and TO the right and left OF
them.
The beleaguered men discovered there
were German machine gun nests all
| around them every fifteen feet or SO. and
a man to show himself every so briefly
was the signal for a sweeping rain Of
bullets. II man made an unusual
noise trench mortars pounded the vicinity
yiciously.
! Just for diversion the enemy,-made a
practice OF sweeping the whole terrain
the hillside where the improvised
trenches were located and the valley in
which the men crawled to get leaves and
water-regularly and then irregularly
with machine guns,
Shippers were constantly on watch.
German It's pounded tho locality, and
hand grenades also were hourly in evil
dence. The Americans had no rockets or
other signals, and they were powerlsss
to attract the attention OF any one but
! tho Germans
As the days passed the Americans
grew more and moro ema clated and more
/ and more bearded, but they never gave
up hope. There was nothing but a grim
determination TO hold out until the las
| man was finished. There was not a ma n
in the battalion. wounded or otherwise.
| hungry or starved. but secuted the idea
| of surrender. Their ammunition was de-
pleted to point where the few machine
| guns in the outfit had but one belt Of
! cartridges apiece, and the rife amr1uni-
/ ton was running so short that they had
received orders not to fire at any one
attacking until within such short range
that his death or serious injury was
almost inevitable.
| Major Whittlesey, who Is n well known
| New Yorker. had his entire battalion
behind him to n man. Capt. Leo Stromee
OF San Bernardino. Cal, told the Asso-
ciated Press his men jeered at the idea
| OF surrender. and the men who came out
OF the four days siege are united In de-
claring that they never would have
given up.
The Major Whttlesey referred to Ia
Major Charles W. Whittlesey. a lawyer,
who formerly had Offices at Rector
| street. His home Is at 1875 East Forty
| fourth street and he Is unmarried. Major
| Whittlesey is a graduate OF Williams
College and the Harvard Law School and
a member OF the Harvard and Williams
| clubs here. He Is a nephew OF c. w.
Whittlesey OF 81 East F1fty-eighth
| street.
One Law Course Is Continued,
The advanced law courses Of the Coll
| lege OF the City OF New York, except one
have been discontinued on account OF the
/ f..l