Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-12

til two-thirds of the columns, we
judged, were in sight"
Foe Slowed Up by Shrapnel
The rifle and machine gun fire
was incessant, and overhead shrap-
mel was bursting. Then the shrapnel
came on the target at each shot.
Inc white patches would roll away,
ana we could see that some of the
columns were still there, slowed up,
and it seemed perfect suicide for
them to try. You couldn't begrudge
a tribute to their pluck, at that.
Then, under that deadly fire and
barrage of rifle and machine gun
flre, the Boche stopped. 1t was too
much for any men. They burrowed
in or broke TO the cover of the
woods, and you could follow them
by the rippies of the green wheat
as they raced for cover"
The writer declared the rifle fire of
the Marines amazed the French who
saw it.
That men should fire deliberately,
and use their sights, and adjust their
range he says, was beyond their
experience. 1t must have had a
telling effect on the morale of The
Boche, for 1t was something they
had not counted on. AS a matter of
fact, after pushing back the weak
ened French and then running up
against a stone-wall defense, they
were literally up in the air and more
than stopped. We found that out
later from prisoners, for the Ger
mans never knew we were in the
front line when they made that at
tack. They were absolutely mysti
fed at the manner in which the de-
fense stiffened up, until they found
that our troops were in line"
The letter tells in detail of the
days of fighting that followed. 1t
describes a daylight charge against
a machine gun host and of scouting
raids up TO June 6, when the whole
brigade swung forward to straighten
out the line. This action resulted
in the capture of Belleau Wood.
Major Sibley's battalion of the
Sixth Marine Regiment led the way
here, with Holcomb in support. The
woods were alive with enemy ma
chine guns. That night word came
back that Robertson, with twenty
men of the 96th company, had taken
Bouresches, breaking through a
heavy machine gun barrage to enter
the town. Robertson, fighting with
an automatic in either hand, was hit
three times before he would allow
himself to be taken to the rear.
Speaking of individual acts of brav-
cry, the writer says Duncan, a COM
pany commander, before he was
moved down. had his pipe in his
mouth and was carrying a stick"
Later, he adds, Dental Surgeon Os-
borne picked up Duncan, and with
hospital corps man had just gained
some shelter when a shell wiped all
three out"
Private Dunlavy, killed later, cap
tured an enemy machine gun in
Bouresches, which he turned on the
foe with great effect, while at an
other point Young Zimmerman
charged a machine gun at the point
of the bayonek and sent in seventeen
prisoners at clip"
When the enemy made a stand at
one point in the woods Sibley's bat
talon was withdrawn, and for an
hour and fifty minutes American and
French batteries hammered the
wood. Hughes. with the Tenth
Company. then went in, and his first
message was that the wood had been
cut to mincemeat. Overton, heading
the 18th company, finally charged
the rock plateau, killing or capturing
every gunner and capturing all the
guns, with few casualties.
The sgd company lost all its off,
GERS, and Major Sbley and his adju-
tant Lieutenant Bellamy, reorgan-
lied it under fire and charged a ma
chine gun nest at the, most critical
time in I'LL the fighting.
II wonder if ever an outfit" the
letter said. went up against a more
desperate job. Stuck to it gamely,
without sleep, at times on short ra-
tions, with men and officers going
off like flies, and I wonder if in all
our long list of gallant deeds there
ever were two better stunts than the
work of Sibley and Holcomb."