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76
History of the 89th Division
Advance Post Position worked at improving their positions and engaged
nightly in patrolling and raiding; troops on the position of resistance worked,
in conjunction with the Engineers, in digging trenches and dugouts, stringing wire and improving the position; while those in reserve were engaged in
resting, refitting and training. The companies of the brigade machine gun
battalions and the regimental machine gun companies were divided among
the infantry elements in each of the three positions and engaged in like occupations as the infantry.
The troops in each position were relieved approximately every ten days.
Carefully prepared schedules for the relief of troops were issued, so devised
that the machine guns would not be relieved at the same time as the infantry
in the sector, nor would adjacent infantry regiments be making reliefs on the
same night.
Early in August Companies B and C, 314th Ammunition Train, reached
Andelot, and, after brief further training there, proceeded to Leonval, near
Boucq, when the Division entered the line. On August 9th their first trucks
were received and two days (or rather nights) later both companies made
their first haul of ammunition to the front, small arms ammunition, hand
grenades and detonators. Days and nights of unremitting toil followed.
The novelty of driving ammunition-laden trucks over shell-pitted roads at
night, without lights and sometimes under fire, soon wore off, but cheerfully
the miles were ground out with little thought for the lack of sleep, cold
rations, rain and mud.
PATROLS AND RAIDS
The service of patrolling and raiding was one upon which both the French
higher command and our own division commander laid great stress, the standing orders from the French Grand General Headquarters requiring each
infantry division to identify the enemy in front of it twice a week. This
service was prosecuted with such marked intelligence, vigor and courage as
to win commendation from the French and American higher commands and,
as was ascertained later from captured documents, from our enemies also.
From the very beginning of the occupation, penetrating patrols were sent
out against enemy positions in a systematic manner. A schedule for these
patrols was prepared far in advance. Each regiment was required to send
out a patrol each night. The sector of each regiment was considered as consisting of three parts, the left, center and right, and the Division schedule
for the patrols was so arranged that no regiment would have a patrol out in
front of the right or left of its sector at the same time that an adjacent regiment had one out on the left or right, as the case might be. By the use of
this schedule confusion or conflict between the patrols Avas avoided, each
infantry organization and the supporting artillery were constantly advised
of the locality of the patrol and time was afforded for the patrol leaders to be
selected, and for them to organize their patrols and reconnoiter as far as
possible during the daylight the ground to be traversed at night; most
important of all, it assured the examination of all points on the front, and
Object Description
| Title | History of the 89th Division, U.S.A.; from its organization in 1917, through its operations in the World War, the occupation of Germany and until demobilization in 1919 |
| Collection Name | World War I Unit Histories |
| Subject.LCSH | World War, 1914-1918 - Regimental histories - United States - Division, 89th; ; United States. Army. Division, 89th (1917-1942); |
| Subject.Local |
World War I 89th Division |
| Description | History of Missouri's 89th Division in World War I. |
| Creator | George H. English; War Society of the 89th Division. |
| Publisher | War Society of the 89th Division. |
| Date | 1920 |
| Date.Digital | 2012 |
| Type | Books and Pamphlets |
| Format | JPG2000 |
| Accession Number | 77.29.3 |
| Language | eng |
| Coverage | Missouri |
| 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 76 |
| Transcript | 76 History of the 89th Division Advance Post Position worked at improving their positions and engaged nightly in patrolling and raiding; troops on the position of resistance worked, in conjunction with the Engineers, in digging trenches and dugouts, stringing wire and improving the position; while those in reserve were engaged in resting, refitting and training. The companies of the brigade machine gun battalions and the regimental machine gun companies were divided among the infantry elements in each of the three positions and engaged in like occupations as the infantry. The troops in each position were relieved approximately every ten days. Carefully prepared schedules for the relief of troops were issued, so devised that the machine guns would not be relieved at the same time as the infantry in the sector, nor would adjacent infantry regiments be making reliefs on the same night. Early in August Companies B and C, 314th Ammunition Train, reached Andelot, and, after brief further training there, proceeded to Leonval, near Boucq, when the Division entered the line. On August 9th their first trucks were received and two days (or rather nights) later both companies made their first haul of ammunition to the front, small arms ammunition, hand grenades and detonators. Days and nights of unremitting toil followed. The novelty of driving ammunition-laden trucks over shell-pitted roads at night, without lights and sometimes under fire, soon wore off, but cheerfully the miles were ground out with little thought for the lack of sleep, cold rations, rain and mud. PATROLS AND RAIDS The service of patrolling and raiding was one upon which both the French higher command and our own division commander laid great stress, the standing orders from the French Grand General Headquarters requiring each infantry division to identify the enemy in front of it twice a week. This service was prosecuted with such marked intelligence, vigor and courage as to win commendation from the French and American higher commands and, as was ascertained later from captured documents, from our enemies also. From the very beginning of the occupation, penetrating patrols were sent out against enemy positions in a systematic manner. A schedule for these patrols was prepared far in advance. Each regiment was required to send out a patrol each night. The sector of each regiment was considered as consisting of three parts, the left, center and right, and the Division schedule for the patrols was so arranged that no regiment would have a patrol out in front of the right or left of its sector at the same time that an adjacent regiment had one out on the left or right, as the case might be. By the use of this schedule confusion or conflict between the patrols Avas avoided, each infantry organization and the supporting artillery were constantly advised of the locality of the patrol and time was afforded for the patrol leaders to be selected, and for them to organize their patrols and reconnoiter as far as possible during the daylight the ground to be traversed at night; most important of all, it assured the examination of all points on the front, and |
| Identifier | 078.tif |
