The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1919-02-04
JERSEY SOLDIERS WONDER
FULLY EFFICIENT.

JERSEY SOLDIERS WONDER
FULLY EFFICIENT.
What amounts to an official sum-
mary of the military operations of
the 311th Infantry, of the 18th Divis-
ion, American Expeditionary Forces,
has been transmitted to Governor
Edge by Colonel Marcus B. Stokes,
commanding the regiment. This let
ter relates every move made by the
regiment, which contains many Bur-
lington county boys, from the time
the unit arrived in England until the
armistice was signed, and shows that
the troops took leading parts in some
of the greatest battles of the war.
Colonel Stokes also informed the Gov
ernor that there is reason to hope
that the regiment will be back or
American soil by early Summer.
The Governor has also received g
letter from Major General C. G. Nor
ton, commanding the 10Th Division, in
which the old Third Regiment men
from this section went overseas. Gen
eral Morton told of the wonderful rec
ord made by Jersey troops, "onewhich
they and the people of New Jersey
may and will remember with pride
always" He also outlined plans for
publication of the lists of officers and
men Of the division who have been
decorated and who have received di
visional citations; preservation of the
history Of all units Of the division,
and arrangements for the organiza
ton Of regimental and unit associa-
tions among the men after demobili-
zation.
Colnel Stokes letter to the Cover
nor follows:
eve are now settled enough for me
to write to you such a letter as / have
been wanting to write for several
months. It has been my intention to
try to give you a little of the history
Of the 311th Infantry since our arri-
val in France. knowing your interest
in its welfare, for, while we have a
great many men in the regiment from
other states, we cannot help but feel
that we are still an old Jersey regi-
ment.
1.-THE 311th Infantry landed in Eng
land and was Immediately sent. to
France, via Calais, and for the first
three months of our service we were
associated with the British troops in
Northern France. All of our training
and equipment was soon put on a
British basis. We were stationed re-
serve along the British front at places
from Calais to as far south as Arras.
From near Arras we were transferred
to the American sector, in the ex-
treme east, not very far from Swift
erland. Over in this new sector we
had to again take on our American
methods.
SOON IN FRONT LINE
after few weeks Of training, we
began by marches, to approach the
part of the line in which we were to
take our first part In battle, which
proved to be in the drive against the
st. Mihiol salient. For the first day
or two Of this campaign we were in
reserve, but were soon assigned to a
position in the front line. Our parti-
cular sector was right up under the
Hindenburg line, and it was here we
began our career which soon made us
q regiment of veteran soldiers.
1Our entrance into the fight was
under particularly severe and trying
circumstances, but the men demon
strated fully their true worth and
made Us proud, not only of our regi-
ment, but of our division. After about
three weeks of as severe trials as any
soldiers were ever subjected to, we
were suddenly taken out of the line
to the east Of st. Mihiel and moved
by forced marches at night westward
OF course, we did not know at that
time where we were going to finally
turn up, but it eventually proved to be
the Argonne Forest, just west of Yer
dun The drive here had already be-
gun, and in few days we were placed
into the line just south of Grand
Pre-.
IN FINAL DRIVE.
eve took part in three or four en-
gagements along this particular front
in October and, as the extreme left
organization of the American army,
in the great and final drive of the
war we made the jump off on the
early morning of November 1. A
French corps was on the left of our
regiment. Divisions could not be
kept along in the front lines in this
drive and. after four days of pursuing
and fighting, our division was finally
relieved after gaining twenty -one
kilometers.
1T was especially gratifying to me
to note that the 311th Infantry was
well in the lead of other organiza-
tions in the division, by several miles,
when the division was finally with
drawn While your estimate of Jer-
seymen is undoubtedly great at all
times, it would have filled you, as
well as every man, woman and child
in the state, with the highest admira-
ton for the way those men conducted
themselves under these greatest of
hardships. My own praise of them
i simply beyond expression 1t did
not matter what they were called on
TO do, at any time of day or night, in
the deepest of mud and the blacklist
Of night, they always responded to
every demand, with every man doing
his fullest duty.
"Our brigade had one of the hard |
est propositions to contend with along
the entire battlefront in the capture |
Of Grand Pre-, particularly strong
enemy position. This place held us /
up for some time but it was eventu-
ally taken. Grand Pre- was never
fully occupied until the 311th Infan-
try had completely secured the heights
to the north of the town and made
it possible to assure it's capture.
at was glad day when the ar
mistice was signed and our men knew
that the war was over. They had
done their part and did it nobly. II