The sun., 1919-04-13

Story Of "The Lost Battalion Tells Why Even the Foe
Bows Acknowledgements to Bravery and Prowess
of Uncle Sans Selective Service Men

getting it-chocolate. cigarettes ana
bull beefl
ION the morning of October about
A. NJ. was doing in my funk hole
when 4 heard a voice calling: LIEU
tenant; Lieutenant thought II
was time to repulse another Boche at
tack. But 1t was my battalion run
ner with a little gunny sack contain
ing bread and two cans Of bully beef.
we gods.' l said to myself. what will
the men think of thisl' He brought
message from the Major that our right
flank had come up and that patrol
had reached US with few rations.
Food Comes at Last.
IT opened up the bully beef, took
a fork from my mess kit and went
around my posts on a tour Of in
spection. told the men what had
happened and to prove the truth OF
what I said-it seemed so incredible
Il gave each man a forkful Of bully
We were ready to go on for another
six days them
So 1t was that relief came to the
Lost Battalion"-its whole signin-
canoe, like the significance of the
great moments OF life. being epito-
mixed in little thing-"a forkful OF
bully"
Boche morale was badly dented by
the stand and relief OF the Lost
Battalion" And as much crippled as
was the 154th Brigade-that is. the
307th and the 30Sth--the whole d.
vision now continued the advance with
"buoyancy"-to use the words OF
Lieut.. Heinrich Prinz, the German
officer who sent the plea for surrender
| to Col. Whittlesey-"that was most
| depressing upon the German troops"
| On went the Seventy-seventh to
| Vindicate the trust reposed in il by
Gen. Pershing when he assigned 10
1t the most difficult sector in the whole
twenty-mile Meuse-Argonne offensive
the Argonne Forest. The forest
had been cleared by October Q. Now
1t has been said in some quarters that
other divisions went through the
forest Many divisions-twenty Of
them besides the Seventy seventh
took part in the Meuse-Argonne show.
Several were in the Argonne country,
but not the Argonne forest, which is
almost exactly bounded by the Aisne
I ''N N''S <hiAV iiNciS. NJIe ulNlSlOn-
the Twenty -eighth-during the first
TWO days OF the offensive covered the
eastern edge Of the forest along the
Are, but thereafter. as from the out
set, the seventy-seventh drove straight
! through the heart OF it.
| The villages OF La Besogne. Chew
leres and Marq had fallen to the
| Seventy-seventh by the night OF Oc-
tober 10. Perhaps second in impor-
lance only to the Argonne thrust were
the storming and capture OF ST. Juvin
ana Grand Pre-. Under heavy enemy
nre the 302d Engineers after repeated
attempts succeeded in bridging the
Are River, and on the morning of
| october IA the 306th at akcd the
! town. The credit for takinl; St. Juvin
belongs, rather to the entire $3.50
| Brigade. with part Of the 305th Ma
! chine Gun Battalion. About 500 pris-
oners were taken. St Juvin had been
! thrice attacked by another American
! division without success.
IN" following day, October Is, tho
! l"rh Brigade assaulted Grand Pre-
successfully. Major Breckenridge going
at the head Of the victorious dough
| boys. The Seventy-seventh had proved
themselves tried veterans by this time,
as MaJor-Gen. hggett commanding
the First American Army, acknowl-
edged In a commentator of the H.
vision TO Major-Gen. Alexander.
Second Phase OF Offensive.
For two weeks now, or from Ucto-
Der 10 to November /, the opening OF
the second phase OF the offensive. the
SeVenty-seveRth was in a support posl-
ton behind the Seventy eighth, which
oid not advance, however beyond the
original position turned over to them
oy the New Workers.. This was not
rest period for the Seventy-scventh.
Much reorganization was needed after
lhe hard days OF fighting-new mon,
equipment, clothing. ammunition The
SeVenty-seVenth was always within
range OF the enemy artillery In the
vicinity OF Camp de Bouzon, and there
were positions to be organized and
intrenched.
! NOW began the drive to the Meuse.
the determinant OF the war, and tho
hhest show of them all" according
10 the most recently returned officers.
Inc lo3d Brigade led the attack. d.
rected against the extreme left flank
OF the renowned Kriemhild stcllung
trench system, in comparing which to
| lhe Hindenburg line the Stars and
STRIPES says that as far as the need
OF artificial offences on the Krieni-
hllo was concerned. zone might as