Weekly journal-miner., 1919-02-26

for fourteen days only at night and
 every night it rained and was cold.
 During the day we hid in the woods
 so as not to be seen by German planes.
 On the Fist of September I went
 ahead to a little farmhouse and estab'
 lfshed our brigade post of command.
 On the 22nd Watzek Pickerell and 1
 selected the gun positions of the
 brigade Besides our own three reg
 iments this is where General Barry,
 whose adjutant I was, mad under his command two regiments, French 75, one regiment French 155, four ba- talions 9O's, three batteries 120's and two batteries 220's. This is the ar tillery which was assigned to divi- sion, and all of which 1 was respon-
 sible for in the way of issuing orders to. Added to this in the sector was two regiments, 155 long guns, two regiments of 75, one battery of 12 inch mortars and 10 big railroad guns. Everyone finally got all fixed and everything set on the night of the 23rd of September Mind you all this time the Germans had a hunch something was up and were sending big ones over, also little ones, and We could not do anything but sit tight and take it, for fear of giving something away.
 Our orders said we would attack on D date at H hour; on the morning of the 18th of September we got a little slip saying D was September 26th, and H hour was 5:30 a. m. I had selected our forward post of command so at 5:3O in the afternoon of ther25th We all started for the hole in the ground The general and | went as far as we could in. the car. A big shell exploded in the road and mashed the car all up, so we decided that the Germans wanted us to walk. We did. At last after being shelled with gas and having to walk two miles in gas masks, we finally reach-, ed our place and got all fixed up, tel ephones established and such like. The infantry were going to their places in the jumping off trench, this was at S:30 p. m., on the 18th of September I had not mad my clothes off for four days and was getting a little "crummy' I wish I could explain all about everything but it would take too much time and paper at 800 a. m., the artillery preparations started. This l will leave out until I can tell you, be- cause it was almost beyond comprc, hension. At 5:30 the barrage start ed, which the infantry followed. The Germans stopped his strafing and we did not hear much from him until the infantry bumped up against his machine guns. The divisions gained l4 miles in the face of terrific re- sistance. l know because l was an eye witness The artillery went for ward behind the infantry and captur- ed German dugouts, where we lived for four days, where I got the cooties and at last now have finally got rid of them. We. found mines in the dugouts that the Germans had Jeff hoping to get a few of us. We found six grenades in the stovepipe, but had sense enough to look before building a fire in the stove, which was left all together.
 I still nave the cane for you that took out of the hand of a dead German officer, who was killed by our barrage. There are so many in stances which would be very inter esting but will have to wait until l l can actually tell you.
 Captain Ed Mitchell was in the Dist Division which was next to us. l heard that he came through o. K. !! The day was to leave 15O German shells hit right by our house or rather our hole. It killed my order ly and wounded two others, knocked l me down a bank and into creek i and can assure you I was a mess when couple of men helped me out | When we were finally relieved and l was getting ready to come here. I 1 can assure you I was feeling rather fed up and far from home"
 From letter written to LeRoy Anderson of this city Nrrrrrr c,Ar rn1n