The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1919-02-20
TELLS OF EXPERIENCES.
Luke Bellinger in Midst Of Battle
That Broke Hindenburg Line.

which broke the Hindenburg line
started, Lucius S. Bellinger, of this
city, was in the midst of this battle
long enough to see some of the mag
nifcent fighting Of the thirtieth di-
vision. He also witnessed the re-
treat of the German army for thirty
miles before mustard gas, mixed
with chlorine and other gasses,
knocked him OUT as he expresses
it. Since Sept. 29th, Mr.. Bellinger
has been recuperating from the ef-
fects of German gas.
Mr.. Bellinger was one of the first
nine selected men from Bamberg
county. After a farewell meeting
held on Main street, Mr.. Bellinger
and the other eight left on the morn
ing of Sept. 5th for Camp Jackson,
being attached to the 306th engi-
neers. On October 18th, he was
transferred to Camp Sewer and at
tached to the 105th engineers. He
NAMED at Sewer until May 18th,
1918. when he was started on his
way to France. His regiment was
first sent to Camp Mills, N. Y, where
they remained for five days, and then
| were carried to Montreal, Canada.
! After a short stay there the regi-
ment joined a convoy at Halifax, N.
S., and embarked for Liverpool. On
! ly few days were spent at Liver
pool in a rest camp before the boys
were carried to Calais, arriving in
the old French city in June last
year.
Mr.. Bellinger and his comrades
were transferred by train from Cak
ais to the inland, and attached to the
British army, along with the Thrift
eth and twenty-seventh divisions, he
being in the famous thirtieth. The
thirtieth is composed of South Caro-
lima, North Carolina, Tennessee and
District of Columbia men, and the
twenty-seyenth is composed of the
national guard of the State of New
York.
About the first week in July the
American boys were moved up into
Belgium. For strategic reasons the
whereabouts of the division were
kept sercret, and although the folks
at home thought their boys were in
France, about two months were
spent in Belgium, and to keep the
Germans from knowing their where
abouts, the boys wrote their letters
ostensibly from France. The occu-
pied territory of Belgium was so
small that to divulge the fact that
they were in Belgium would have
been to give the Germans their ex-
act location, and this, of course, was
not permissible.
The 105th engineers took up work
at Ypres building "pill boxes" or
gun emplacements, erecting barb
wire entanglements, etc. 1t may be
explained that this work is exceed
ingly dangerous, inasmuch as it is
necessary for the engineers to go
ahead of the infantry, and much of
the work is necessarily done in the
open. Mr.. Bellinger states that his
company worked every night, the
darkness affording some protection.
The engineers were also in charge of
the trench railways, which were used
for transporting relief troops to and
from occupied sectors. Mr.. Bellin-
gers company remained near Ypres
for two months, and during this
time he witnessed the driving of the
Germans off KENNEL Hill, one of the
Hun strongholds. This occurred in
August, 1918. He was right in this
fight and tells many thrilling Incl
dents that occurred.
In August he was moved back into
France and stationed near St. Paul.
He saw no active service there, and
was sent to points near Amiens, and
Albert, and then on up to the linden
burg line north of st. Quentin at Bel
licourt. There the engineers prepar-
ed the way for the attack that will go
dowr in history as the beginning of
the end for the German armies. The
engineers were Kept busy opening up
the reads for lines of communication,
filing shell craters, etc.
On September 29th the big drive
was strated. That day witnessed the
breaking of the Hindenburg line. AL
though the British we're first given
credit for this work.. Marshal Haig a
little later gave full credit to the thir-
tieth division, in which there were so
many South Carolina boys, and quite
a large number of Bamberg men. Mr.