Casper Daily Tribune Newspaper, September 30, 1923, Page 5

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1923 WYOMING MEN AIDED SUCCESS OF MEUSE-ARGONNE Litutenant of 148th Artillery Describes Part f Played by Wyoming and Colorado Unit in Greatest Drive of History BY WILLIAM Five years ago Wednesda, R. WRIGHT y was launched the greatest offensive of world’s history—a battle engaging every Am- erican combat division, engaging nearly 1,000,000 men on the American side of the line and as many of the German army in a combat that wage: d with unheard of intensity for forty-eight days, and ended with the complete capitu- Tntion of the the arm’stice. Five years ago this morning the Wyoming soldiers, those former Third infantry national guard troops who had been formed into the 148th field artillery with the Colorado batteries, fired thelr guns in the opening of the attack, and for the full forty-eight days succeed- ing thpee soldiers of Wyoming fought every hour of every day of the full forty-eight days without rest or relief, and added another battle clasp to the four already earned, and earned in addition the highest honors, and the satisfaction of a good job well done. September 26 was the date de cided upon by the supreme allied commander for the general offensive | engaging American, French and) British armies, along a front extend- | ing from the Meuse river, where it ran ‘through Verdun clear across | the far flung front to the English | Channel. The hinge of this gigantic | battle fleld and the hardest portion of the line to break was the extreme right, in front of Verdun, and ex- tending from the Meuse river on the, right to the Argonne forest on the} left. This was the heaviest fortified | section of the entire front, and the defenses built to withstand any of- | fensive, it was believed, protected | the railrcads running back of the | entire German line and on which | they depended for all communica: | tions and supplies from interior Germany. The Americans flushed with pre- | vious victories, and augmented by | many new fresh divisions from | America, were selected by the allied commanders for the job ef breaking | the hinge north of Verdun, and cut-| ting lines of ‘Communication, and just so fast as the Americans ad German army, and so fast could the allied armies France and Belgium push ahead. The Wyoming soldiers were worn and tired after the St. Mihiel bat- tle. They had been in constant ser- vice in the line from early in July and had gone through every day of every battle, and by the usual rules and customs of fighting the regiment would have been ordered to a rest area, where men could r cuperate, be reclothed, and guns and in material be overhauled. In previous battles there were no regiments available trained to use the big G. P. F. guns, and the work de- volved on the regiment through force of circumstances. Prior going into the line before the Meuse- Argonne battle General John Per- shing, realizing that the 148th and 146th regiments had gone beyond the point of exhaustion, but were still willing, called together the brigade field officers and told them that he needed the brigade in this battle, and explained that while it was evident that the men were worn and tired, critical, and that the experience and ability of the western regiments could not be spared at this time, and that the regiments would be ordered into the attack, and that just as soon as it was seen that with safety a green organization could take over without menacing the divisions depending on them to smother German artillery fire, they would be relieved. The 148th opened the attack, and battle worn and weary went the entire forty-eight days of the battle. The two regi- ments were the only two of the thousands engaged that went every day of this monumental struggle— a testimony in itself to the worth of the westerner, and of the faith placed in them by the high com- manders. order given from right to _— LK fs) ne weave eS = we 9 eS ~ ba — “x6 he x Tate Ai Highland Heather The secret of its all-weather service is in the new- the rest is a matter of exceptionally ‘fine designing and needlework double cloth to | that the situation was OFFENSIVE left, with the right division resting on the Meuse river where it enters the fortified city of Verdun. were the 33rd, 80th, 4th, 79th, 37th, gist, 25th and 28th divisions, the latter division being in the edge of the Forest De Argonne. The Argonne forest battle is a misnomer, as the 28th division q@ly fought in this forest, and then only for a portion of the first day. The section was heavily wooded however. noted that half of the divisions were ;national guard units, three national army and one regular army division. Most of the auxiliary and heavy ar- tillery units were national guard, a ratio that was true in every major ;operation. It will also be noted that most of the jump off divisions of this attack were new troops, never before in the line. The shock troops of the Ist, 3rd, 2nd, 42nd and 26th divisions were getting a much needed rest, preparatory to entering the coming battle. Battery ‘D" of Wyoming was placed in posi- tion alo the Esnes road, with bat teries and “F" of Wyoming further to the left, all of them be- hind the famous Dead Man hill that was so flercely fought over during the siege of Verdun. ‘The mission assigned to the west- erners was bombardment and coun- ter battery. The infantry jump off |was set for ing of the 26th, and artillery prepa- ration was to open at 2:30 o'clock. Never before in world's history had thelr been such a massing of cannon as opened the attack in the early hours of this foggy morning. \Over 3,000 guns were literally massed wheel to wheel; guns of alt calibers from the light 7és of the divisional units, the G. P. F. of the western brigade, one regiment of coast artillery armed with G. P. F. in their first battle, many French guns of larger caliber and up to the big_ 12-inch naval guns in the far jrear. The German's had likewise massed their artillery, and augment- jed by hundreds of Austrian bat- terfes, had about as many guns in position to meet the thrust. The opening of fire of this massed ar- | tillery eclipsed anything in any pre- vious battle of the World war in the jintensity of the shock. The earth literally rocked as if from a giganti¢ earthquake, and the shrieks of thou- sands of shells passing one another in the air was likened to the rush- jing of a thousand trains. ‘ jumped off at Handsome heathertones without—rich soft plaids within —=styled for “DOUBLE SERVICE DOUBLES THE VALUE” distinction—patterned for personality Campbell-Johnson Co. HEAD TO FOOT CLOTHIERS MOMMA MTOM TITY —_) eee eee It will be | daylight of the morn: |» OT NAYVO Gh TIM UTTIMANUATTTATNTTT HAT WinNT Che Casper Sunday Cridune daylight, some confusion resulted fing up as the Germans fell from the low hanging fog, but by }ana the evening of the firet day the Hindenburg. line had Nees Gruendhill line, they occupied far and every objective taken. Even |forward positions along the Cuisy that fortified city of Montfaucon.}'4d. and were subjected to heavy the headquarters of the Crown|Punishment from the German bat Prince, and sitting on a hill, siege |t*ries. At no time did their fire {proof, was surrounded by the 79th, |Slacken. nor at no time was a mis. jand was the center of a terrific bom-|*!0n assigned to the westerners no jDardment from the American guns. |™4tter how hard that it was not |It was captured by assault the fol-}“4rried out. |lowing day by the 79th, and within] The notice of the armistice was a few daya had become the head-|siven troops the day preceding No. |quarters and post of command of|vember 11, and instructions were Lt. Colonel (later Colonel) Burke H. | issued that firing should be kept up |Sinctair. of Casper, in command of |aggressively until 11 o'clock at tho jthe Wyotiing and Colorado bat-|11th, but under no circumstances jteries, Quring this and the preced-|was a shot to be fired after this ing battle. hour. Watches were syncronized October 1 found the Germans|that no gun be fired after the back in their secondary and hardest | armistice took affect. The morning line of defensive, along the Gruend:|of the 11th firing was slow, but as hild line, a concrete form of de-|the hour approached every gun [n fense in dense woods, surrounded |both armies was going full blast, by tangled underbrush and barb-|and the salvo fired at exactly 11 wire, and impregnable. The Meus¢ |o’clack rocked the earth, Then a jriver at this point ‘takes a right | silence of death, broken by only the angled turn to the left, and pinched | shrieking of incoming shells, and aa the American front to a narrow-| they fell, the silence waa oppressive. ness of about ten miles. This op-|For forty-eight days the Wyoming |position was the scene of the most}men had been in the center of ‘frightful fighting of the entire war. m of noise and concussion It took the entire American army, were no cheers, no cele jevery combat division, nearly 1,000,- Eivery member of the cont (000 men, a full month to break this line and proceed a distance of four miles. For thirty days every foot |was contested in hand to hand bat- tle, ad the artillery was firing as fast as guns could be laid and fired. It was estimated that over this 40 square miles of battle field that every day of the battle each square mile held an average of 50,000 com- t troops, Americans and Germans. early two million men engaged in this epochal struggle. October 30 found the Americans victorious and the Germans falling back on their third line of defense, the foothills and natural defenses bordering the Meuse river, and to meet this the entire American army swung sharply to the right, and driving the German before them, made a crossing of the Meuse river. |Tho Fifth division, under cover of the westerners’ guns, got a foot hold on the right bank of tho Meuse the afternoon of November 5, and the entire Fifth corps was In posi- |tion there the following morning. From that period until the end the jmovement of the German armies was fast—they endeavoring to ex- tricate their armies from the Woevre plains where artillery was {cutting them to pieces. The in- ifantry portion of the offensive be- |came a running fight, and trucks were used to pursue the retreating | Germans. During the many days of the bat- | tre Previous the Wyoming batteries ‘had been tn several positions, mov. ack, in the terrific fighting for the bration. mand was worn out, tired and weary from the strain of the long vigil added to the strain of previous bat- tles. The armistice celebration was Sreatest by a direct ratio of the dis- tance from the line. The writer did hear of anyone who did hear a cheer on the line when the armistice took effect So ended the greatest battle of history, ended gloriously for the Americans, with Sedan captured, the German army in full retreat, and the German empire calling for Sale Xmas gifts. tL IT savings offered on Royal Society Open Stock ae ) any Royal stock goods, consisting o! Guest Towels Pantry Towels Turkish Towels Centerpieces Dresser Scarfs Table Runners Table Covers Napkins Pillow Cases Aprons Infants’ Dresses Bed Spreads Bolsters, Etc. week at A handsome collection not hear @ cheer, nor did he ever | Richards & Cunning October Special Now is a good time to begin to prepare your Why not take advantage of the Every item offered all this % Discount est grade in the country. Velvette, Famosa, Fashona, etc. Jan armistice, and with the Kaiser deserting his armies. So ended the jbattle activities of tho Wyoming (Soldiers, who so gloriously took their Part, and more, in world affairs, bringing honor to the state of their origin, The regimental battle fag, that hallowed standard placed into poal jtion by Colonel Canender of Wyo ming at the entrance to the line, and maintained in position by {Lt. Colonel Sinclair in succeeding battles never retreated. No Wyo {ming gun was ever moved except at the wishes of tactics. The Ger- }man armies wjth a concentrated bombardment of months had never succeeded in putting one Wyoming gun out of action. Losses—many deaths and wounded, but the guns functioned. | The day ©f the armistice the regi ment was given the news that they with the 146th had been selected for the highest honor of all, that of poster. ner nate ae: t am Bes Piles Cause Nervousness and Destroy Health. If h . It ¥ any Rectal Troubla, DO NOT neglect it. 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