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98 Regimental History 353rd Infantry
in Companies "G" and "F" except those on the outguard line left his
hole to bring in the wounded. Company and battalion first aid men
did their best for the sufferers and details were soon on their way
carrying them to the rear.
The time was drawing on toward the beginning of the Meuse-
Argonne offensive. Activity on our part was necessary to hold the
attention of the enemy in this sector. Hardly had we recovered from
the effects of the bombardment of September 23rd when the Second
Battalion was ordered to furnish a raiding party to clear Dommartin
Woods. A general bombardment was to take place on the enemy
lines from 11 p. m. until dawn. Major Peatross named Companies
"G" and "H" to supply fifty men each for the raid. Company commanders of these companies volunteered to lead their respective
parties. But just before dark orders recalled the raid and instructions followed, "Dig in for your lives." The general bombardment
which marked the beginning of the Meuse-Argonne offensive was on.
The enemy expecting an attack on this part of his line would surely
pound us in this sector with all of his might. Every minute until
the shells began to tear through the tree tops, the men plied picks,
shovels and axes with feverish anxiety. Holes were deepened and
cover piled over them.
At 11 o'clock our bombardment with 2417 guns began. Fritz
began "strafing" in reply and kept consistently at it throughout the
night. Shells of all caliber were distributed over the area of the
353rd Infantry with a special concentration along the railroad.
Time seemed to stop as the men calculated the destination of shells
from their peculiar whistle. Whenever indications pointed to one
with "our number on it" men hugged the bottom of their fox holes
a little closer. Some held muscles as rigidly as possible to keep
themselves in hand; others grasped the walls of their shelters. Several direct hits were recorded. Sometimes when two were in the
same hole, one would be taken and the other left. Among the casualties appeared quite a number of shell shocked cases. Finally the
most terrible bombardment yet experienced came to a close.
At daybreak a German plane flying low over our positions tried
to discover why no assault had taken place. Once more the high
command received a painful surprise. They had miscalculated the
intentions of their opponents. Instead of continuing the drive
toward Metz, the first American army had gone over the top west of
the Meuse in the initial stages of the great Meuse-Argonne offensive.
The general bombardment had served its purpose well. The German
divisions hurriedly brought to defend Metz were at least a hundred
kilometers from the scene of the new offensive.
After September 26th the High Command hurriedly withdrew
some of the forces opposite us in their general attempt to stay the
advanced Americans in the Argonne. Artillery fire became less active. Two or three days of fine weather brought back the spirit of
the men and activity on our part continued. Each night we dug
trenches along the outguard line and strung wire in front of our po-
Object Description
| Title | History of the 353rd Infantry Regiment, 89th Division, National Army, September, 1917-June 1919 |
| Collection Name | World War I Unit Histories |
| Subject.LCSH | United States. -- Army. -- Infantry. -- 353d Regiment, 1917-1919; World War, 1914-1918 -- Regimental histories -- United States -- Infantry -- 353d; ; United States. Army. Division, 89th (1917-1942); |
| Subject.Local |
World War I 89th Division 353rd Infantry Regiment |
| Description | World War I account and register of soldiers in the 353rd Infantry, 89th Division. Includes soldiers' names and hometowns, as well as some photographs. |
| Creator | Dienst, Charles Franklin |
| Publisher | [Wichita, Kan.] 353rd Infantry Society [1921] |
| Date | 1921 |
| Date.Digital | 2012 |
| Type | Books and Pamphlets |
| Format | JPG2000 |
| Accession Number | 99.28.1 |
| Language | eng |
| Contributing Institution | National World War I Museum and Memorial |
| Rights | All images are in the public domain. |
| Copy Request | Contact National World War I Museum Archivist Jonathan Casey at 816-888-8121 or jcasey@theworldwar.org |
| Note | Some blank pages have not been digitized, resulting in variations in pagination. |
Description
| Title | Page 98 |
| Transcript | ? 98 Regimental History 353rd Infantry in Companies "G" and "F" except those on the outguard line left his hole to bring in the wounded. Company and battalion first aid men did their best for the sufferers and details were soon on their way carrying them to the rear. The time was drawing on toward the beginning of the Meuse- Argonne offensive. Activity on our part was necessary to hold the attention of the enemy in this sector. Hardly had we recovered from the effects of the bombardment of September 23rd when the Second Battalion was ordered to furnish a raiding party to clear Dommartin Woods. A general bombardment was to take place on the enemy lines from 11 p. m. until dawn. Major Peatross named Companies "G" and "H" to supply fifty men each for the raid. Company commanders of these companies volunteered to lead their respective parties. But just before dark orders recalled the raid and instructions followed, "Dig in for your lives." The general bombardment which marked the beginning of the Meuse-Argonne offensive was on. The enemy expecting an attack on this part of his line would surely pound us in this sector with all of his might. Every minute until the shells began to tear through the tree tops, the men plied picks, shovels and axes with feverish anxiety. Holes were deepened and cover piled over them. At 11 o'clock our bombardment with 2417 guns began. Fritz began "strafing" in reply and kept consistently at it throughout the night. Shells of all caliber were distributed over the area of the 353rd Infantry with a special concentration along the railroad. Time seemed to stop as the men calculated the destination of shells from their peculiar whistle. Whenever indications pointed to one with "our number on it" men hugged the bottom of their fox holes a little closer. Some held muscles as rigidly as possible to keep themselves in hand; others grasped the walls of their shelters. Several direct hits were recorded. Sometimes when two were in the same hole, one would be taken and the other left. Among the casualties appeared quite a number of shell shocked cases. Finally the most terrible bombardment yet experienced came to a close. At daybreak a German plane flying low over our positions tried to discover why no assault had taken place. Once more the high command received a painful surprise. They had miscalculated the intentions of their opponents. Instead of continuing the drive toward Metz, the first American army had gone over the top west of the Meuse in the initial stages of the great Meuse-Argonne offensive. The general bombardment had served its purpose well. The German divisions hurriedly brought to defend Metz were at least a hundred kilometers from the scene of the new offensive. After September 26th the High Command hurriedly withdrew some of the forces opposite us in their general attempt to stay the advanced Americans in the Argonne. Artillery fire became less active. Two or three days of fine weather brought back the spirit of the men and activity on our part continued. Each night we dug trenches along the outguard line and strung wire in front of our po- |
| Identifier | His353Inf89_0119.tif |
