Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-09-01
As Germans Pour Through Gap Command Comes to Entran
-r News of Cary's Remarkable Fea---FTst
Decorations Issued.
CHApTER VI

CHAPTER VI.
And horror is not from terrible
things-men torn TO rags by
shell,
And the whole French swimming in
blood and slush like a Butch
ers shop in Hell;
It's silence and night and the smell of
the dead that shake a man to
the soul,
From Misery Farm to DeaS Mans
Death on a nil report patrol"
Knight Adkin.
BY the end of Marck We were vet
eran troops. All during. the latter part
of the month rumor mad been rife
about the proposed German drive.
After nearly four years of war. Ger
many had crushed Russia, Rumania,
Belgium, Serbia, Montenegro and AL
bania, had dealt Italy staggering
blow, and was about to assume the
offensive in France. ON March 2S
the blow fell, the allied line staggered
and split and the Germans poured
through the gap.
The news reached us and at the
same time came orders to prepare for
an immediate move. Immediately
after this, the Twenty sixth American
division moved up in our rear and
with hardly any time for reconnols-
sance, they took over from us. My
battalion moved out and marched
twelve kilometers to the rear the last
units checked in to where our trains
were TO meet us at about a. m. and
by a. m. we were on the march
again to the vicinity of Toul. where
the division was concentrating.
Here we were told that we were to
be thrown into the path of the Ger
man advance. BY this time all types
of rumors We're current. We heard
of Cary's remarkable feat, how he col
lected cooks, engineers, labor troops
from the retreating forces, formed
them into a fighting unit and stood
against the German advance. and how
his brigade grew up over night Cary,
because of this feat, became. from
captain in the @. Nj. c.. general of in
fantry. We heard of the thirty-siX
hours during which all contact was
lost between the French left and the
English right, when a French cavalry
division was brought in trucks from
the rear of the line and thrown into
the gap, and on the morning of the
second day. reported that they be-
lieved they had established contact
with the English.
First Decorations.
The next few days all was excite
ment We formed the men and gave
out our first decorations to Lieuten-
ant Holmes and Sergeant Murphy. At
the same time we told them all that
we knew about plans. They were de-
lighted. Men do not like sitting in
trenches day in and day out. and be-
ing killed and mangled without ever
seeing the enemy and this promised
a fight where the enemy would be In
sight
We had a large, rough shack where
we were able to have all the officers
of the battalion for mess. Lieutenant
Gustafson, an Itakan boy. who had, in
civilian life. been a head waiter at
summer hotels, managed the mess.
We had some good voices among the
officers, and every night after dinner
there was singing.
Our supply officer, meanwhile, was
annexing everything in sight for the
battalion in the most approved fash
ion. One time Sergeant Wheeler
passed by some tethered mules which
belonged to a green regiment. He
hoped off the ration cart he was rid
ing, caught them and tied them be-
nlnu ln6 cart. "A lii4it uOWI lilt lOfiN
some one came pounding after them.
"Heyl Where are you going with
those mules?' Are them your
mules" Wheeler was equal to the oc-
cason well, what do you mean by
leaving them loose by the road?
had to get out and catch them l
have good mind to report you to
the NJ. 2. for this" Eventually,
Wheeler compromised by warning the
man and giving one of the mules back
TO him.
Then the trains arrived. We had
never travelled on a regular military
train before. military train is made
UP to carry a battalion of infantry;
boxcars with about forty men or
eight animals each. and flat cars for
wagons. kitchens, etc We entrained
safely and got off all right, though We
were hurried at the last by a message
saying the schedule given us was
wrong, and our train left one-half
hour earlier than indicated.
We creaked off toward the south
west. We didn't know where we were
going, but by this time we had all be-
come philosophical and self sufficient
and believed that If the train dropped
us somewhere far away from the rest
of the division, we would manage to
get along by ourselves without too
much trouble.
After DAYS Travel.
After a days travel We stopped at