Battery E in France Part 7

From Belgium into Luxembourg we went November 23, encountering at the border a gendarme in a uniform worthy of a general. There were not the welcoming demonstrations across the border that had greeted us in the Belgian towns. The houses were closed, and even the children kept off the street. A blind neutrality still prevailed in the duchy. Late at night we entered Brouch, where we stayed the following week, over Thanksgiving day.

The week was filled with foot drill, gun drill, grooming, cleaning harness and carriages, and inspections. But there was ample time for making the acquaintance of the townsfolk, with the ulterior motive of securing "apfelkuchen," "wafflen," or a full meal. Food, it became evident, was not so scarce as in Belgium, and could always be obtained if the American soldiers were willing to pay the prices which the natives, upon learning the extent of the demand, gradually pushed to exorbitant figures. Not content with their gains through extortionate prices, they asked the rate of exchange, from francs to marks, that had prevailed before the war, when, as a matter of fact, the mark was much below the value of a franc, and rapidly descending farther. However, some of the inhabitants, who had lived in the United States, or had relatives living there, were cordial indeed, among them the chief magistrate of the "dorf," who had laid the foundations of his fortune as a barkeeper in some Chicago Loop saloons of fame.

Turkey was not served Thanksgiving day. The army issue for the day was corned beef hash. But Battery E ate a Thanksgiving meal, nevertheless. A foraging detail went out several days before and was able to buy vegetables, apples and pork, going clear back to Arlon for the meat. So the menu comprised roast pork, rich gravy, apple sauce, mashed potatoes, salad, cake, bread and coffee, and the quant.i.ty precluded requests for "seconds."

Sunday morning, December 1, the battery took the road again, up and down hills, whose gloom of dark pines and gray tree trunks was lightened by the carpet of brilliant red leaves beneath them--a landscape peculiarly and always recognizably that of Luxembourg--arriving in Bourglinster late in the afternoon. Next day we made another march of more than twenty kilometres, reaching Osweiler.

There was a compet.i.tion for speed at "harness and hitch" on the morning of November 3, and the winner, the Third Section, led the battery when it entered Germany that day, crossing the Sarre river at Echternach.

When the battery arrived at Alsdorf to spend the night, orders were given that, now that we were on enemy soil, there should be no fraternizing with the natives whatsoever, and no intercourse save in line of military duty. These rigid restrictions were lightened a day or two later, when it was permitted to buy meals or make other purchases of the inhabitants, but otherwise "fraternizing" is still forbidden in the Army of Occupation. All sentries went in pairs, doubling the size of the guard, patrols walked the streets of the towns in which we stayed, and everyone wore his "45" at all times. Such precautions were hardly necessary, for the people of the Rhineland are the most peaceable of the ex-Kaiser's ex-subjects, and much prefer to devote their time to their farms instead of fighting people whose money they would far rather have than their blood.

Most of E battery was billeted in a flour mill--which seemed to have plenty of grain to grind--at Alsdorf. Next day a shorter hike brought us to Ingendorf, where the billets were princ.i.p.ally haylofts. On the march of November 5, we pa.s.sed through the city of Bitburg, whose stone buildings, heavy architecture, numerous shops with plate-gla.s.s windows, and fine residences reminded us more of an American city than had any French town we had seen. The night we spent in the village of Malbergweich.

A long hike next day, about thirty kilometres, took us through the city of Kylberg and along the Kyl river, to Lissingen, where we caught up with units of the 2nd Division, which preceded us. We did only seven kilometres on Sat.u.r.day, through Gerolstein, to Pelm. The ruins of the old castle of Ca.s.selberg, on a neighboring hill-top furnished a bit of historical interest to those whose appet.i.te for sightseeing was strong enough to overcome the pain of sore feet. Next day's hike was eighteen kilometres to Nohn. From there, on December 9, we went, through Adenau, to Quiddelbach, where we stayed for five days. Five days of mud and rain, with intervals of suns.h.i.+ne, while the battery cleaned harness and carriages, and groomed horses.

Sunday, December 15, we marched back to Adenau and thence to Altenahr and down the valley of the Ahr to Dernau, our home for the next month.

Though rain and mists were frequent and the winds swept chilly between the high craggy walls of the valley, the discomfort of these elements during the hours at drill and at work on the picket line were alleviated by the compensating hours of warmth and comfort in the billets. These in most cases were ground-floor rooms--often the parlor of the house--furnished with tables, chairs, stoves and electric light. Our beds were the hard floors, sometimes softened by straw ticks.

Pa.s.ses to Ahrweiler were in demand. In this, the capital of the "Kreis"

or province, whose gates and ruined wall remained of medieval centuries, were to be had candy, at very high prices; "kuchen," of varying excellence; and rings, Iron Crosses and other souvenirs in abundance.

But the charms of this place faded before those of Bad Neuenahr, two kilometres farther down the river, which came into prominence later as a divisional leave area. There the big hotels, housing the 150th F. A., the Kurhaus, the Casino, and the baths, along the brawling little river Ahr, spoke of a resort international in fame before the war. These all became conveniences for the American soldiers.

The foraging detail which had produced so good a Thanksgiving dinner, went out again for Christmas. Corporal Unger, Corporal Collier and Sergeant Pond scoured the countryside. Finances had been provided by the house's interest in games of poker, c.r.a.ps and chuck-a-luck on several evenings at Quiddelbach. Chocolate and soap, however, were better buyers than francs and marks, for these commodities were very nearly priceless to the farmers in the vicinity.

On Christmas Eve the square stone building which had served as the battery guardhouse was thrown open to the battery, decorated with pine boughs and holly, with a spangled, candle-lighted Christmas tree in the center. Every man received chocolate, cakes and tobacco, and a little gift from Captain Waters. Just outside, a huge bonfire threw a red warmth over the whole scene, not the least part of which was a barrel of beer tapped for the occasion. Next day a holiday dinner was served, of roast pork, mashed potatoes, creamed onions, apple sauce, cabbage salad, apple pie, bread, b.u.t.ter and coffee. Of the additional rabbit, chicken and other dinners that were served in the billets that day, this history hath recollection but no menus.

About twenty-five men less ate the same meal New Year's day, for, on the day before, those afflicted even slightly with scabies had been sent to the hospital at Neuenahr, where some of them spent a prolonged vacation amidst the already recounted enjoyments of the resort town.

When, on January 7, the battery left Dernau, it was with some regret at parting with comfortable quarters. But that regret was forgotten when we arrived at Ringen, a farming town on the upland away from the left bank of the river. For here were not only rooms as comfortable as those at Dernau, but beds as well, a "wirtschaft" to serve as a mess hall, and stables for all the horses. The town held only Batteries E and F, and therefore allowed more elbow-room than did Dernau, where all six batteries of the regiment had been crowded in. Later the rest of the regiment moved up from the valley, after Colonel Reilly returned to the command of the regiment at the beginning of February, and Ringen, first on the main road from Neuenahr and Ahrweiler, a.s.sumed more importance than ever, though regimental headquarters was farther on, at Vettelhoven, and the First Battalion headquarters were at Geldsdorf, six kilometres away.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Sergeants in front of the Battery Office at Ringen, Germany]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Picket Lines in the Snow at Ringen, Germany]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Home at Last--The Leviathan Steaming up the Hudson]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Ready for the Review by General Pers.h.i.+ng. March 16, 1919]

Only a week had pa.s.sed by at Ringen when the battery received the sad report of Captain Waters' death, in the hospital at Coblenz, whither he had gone from Dernau. He had been a private of Battery E when it went to the Mexican border, and esteemed the privilege of commanding that same battery very highly, containing, as it did, his early a.s.sociates in the ranks.

Two days later the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Redden struck the men an even harder blow. The men of the Second Battalion gave him their full devotion when he had been their major. When Colonel Reilly had been raised to the command of the 83d infantry brigade, Lieutenant-Colonel Redden had led the 149th Field Artillery through the hardest days of the war, accepting the most arduous tasks and heaviest responsibility. And when the men of the regiment followed him on the long hard march into Germany, they looked forward to the day when he should lead them home.

In addition to the capacity to command, he had the quality to inspire admiration, respect and love in his men. They felt, when the news of his death reached them, that they had lost not alone a capable and admired commanding officer, but indeed a highly esteemed and dear friend. The funeral, at Coblenz, Sat.u.r.day, January 18, was a splendid military tribute, the entire regiment marching behind the caisson that bore his body up the side of the Kartause to the hillside overlooking the Moselle river, where his body was laid near Captain Waters'.

These two deaths postponed to the following week the famous "Stagger Inn" cabaret of Battery E. The performances were held on the nights of January 21 and 22. On the program was a collection of remarkable talent drawn from the battery. Holden, Browere, Monroe and Gahan were remarkably attractive chorus beauties when they donned feminine attire borrowed from German households. Van Hoesen, as a Hawaiian dancer, was unexcelled in his gyrations. Holton's solo, "Smiles," delivered with the a.s.sistance of the black swallow-tail, glistening s.h.i.+rt front, high hat and cane of the professional monologist, brought a hearty encore. George and Holden received heavy applause as drawing-room dancers. Pat O'Mara's efforts as a Scotchman got much laughter, but the real variety bloomed in Wallace the second night. O'Brien, O'Mara, Gahan and Monroe rendered "My Little Belgian Rose," with more pathos than tune. To the black-faced waiters, dressed in the uniforms of Ringen's ex-soldiers, under the leaders.h.i.+p of Oberkellner Unger, resplendent in bra.s.s and braid, belonged much credit for the hilarity of the evening. Much could be said of the impromptu--and unconscious--amus.e.m.e.nt afforded by Lieutenant Bradford's attempt to lead the orchestra, Captain Bok.u.m's infatuation with Miss Browere, and the actions of various other Sam Browne-belted personages. But words fail to picture the delirium of the occasion.

A day in Coblenz, January 27, was the first of various pa.s.ses and leaves for men of the battery. On this Monday practically all of the Chicago men of Battery E made the journey, riding to and from the Rhine city in American box cars, dining at the big hotels operated by the Y. M. C. A., attending the entertainment at the Festhalle, the city's fine opera house, entirely devoted to Y. M. C. A. activities now, and visiting the many shops, all well supplied with articles for sale. By the middle of February leaves were granted men of the 42d Division, and 14-day trips to points of interest in France or 7-day sojourns at the leave areas of Aix-les-Bains and vicinity were enjoyed by many men of the battery.

Early in February two of the old men of the battery left us. Harrison and Collier, having residence in England, obtained their discharges and left for the British Isles.

About the same time Colonel Reilly made his appearance in Ringen, back in command of the regiment, and thrilled the boys by telling them the division would go down the Rhine and sail from Rotterdam early in March.

The Rotterdam plan was not realized, however, and the expectations of early departure proved vain.

Instead of that happy plan materializing the reverse occurred. The horses of the 150th F. A. were turned over to the regiment when the Indiana artillery was motorized. The result was more grooming, and the horses seemed to be a greater and greater bugbear, as the number of men decreased with the departure of some to the hospital and others on leave.

But the spirits of the men did not down. The "Order of the Monk"

developed, its degrees depending on one's success at a new solitaire, and its popularity on the chant that echoed through Ringen. "Apes" were many; "Monks" fairly numerous, but "Zimmermeisters," "Keepers of the Keys," etc., were few. Then the "raspberry" came into a vogue that threatened to pa.s.s all bounds. The query, "Have you been down the Rhine?" was not wholly for the purpose of ascertaining the extent of one's travel. "Slewfoot Kelly's Shoe and Belt Polish" was an article much advertised but not sold at the "Price: One Week."

The schedule was about the following: 6:10, reveille. Feed and water horses. Mess. 8:00 to 10:00, horse exercise. 10:00 to 11:30, stables.

11:30 to 12:00, feed and water. Mess. 1:30 to 2:30, athletics. 2:30 to 4:00, stables. Feed and water. 6:00, mess.

March 16 reports of going home were substantiated by the review of the entire division by General Pers.h.i.+ng at Remagen. Wearing overcoats, helmets, side-arms and empty packs and fortified against hunger by two sandwiches apiece, the men were carried by motor trucks in the morning to the outskirts of Remagen. There the regiment a.s.sembled and marched to the music of the band through the city to a large field bordering the Rhine river just beyond the bridge. After the division had waited in formation over two hours, General Pers.h.i.+ng appeared at 2 p. m., the 149th band, posted in front as the divisional band, playing the welcoming music. After riding around the division on horseback, General Pers.h.i.+ng inspected each organization on foot, and, fast as the general walked, it was past 5 o'clock when he completed his tour. Then followed the decorating of the colors and the award of medals to over forty men of the division. Most spectacular of all was the sight when the entire division, at one command, "Squads, right," marched past the reviewing stand in a column of regiments, like a whole sea of brown, round helmets sweeping irresistibly onward. In his farewell speech to the division, General Pers.h.i.+ng praised it highly for its work, without which, he said, the Americans would not be celebrating victory now.

The following day, amidst rain and snow, the division presented a mounted review on the road from Neuenahr to Heimersheim, waiting several hours in the cold for General Pers.h.i.+ng to roll by in his Locomobile.

Tuesday the men of the battery underwent a hypodermic injection that included in one "shot" the half dozen doses received at Camp Mills. The halting gait of the men next day, bent double with the stiffness amids.h.i.+ps, gave the townspeople and members of Battery F great amus.e.m.e.nt, though the latter's was much tempered by their prospect of undergoing the same thing a day or two later.

Sunday, March 23, the guns and caissons were taken to Oberwinter, and there turned in. The day was spent by the men who did not accompany the carriages, in cleaning and oiling all the battery's harness. Such was the enthusiasm of the men at the prospect of getting rid of this cause of much labor, that the big task was completed hours before anyone expected it could be.

The departure of the horses next day was the signal for much joy, and the battery heaved a sigh of relief when they had gone.

The resulting schedule shows good reason for their relief. Reveille was at 7. From 8 to 9 were calisthenics and some foot drill. At 10 the battery went out for foot drill or a road hike, carrying full packs. An hour's athletics in the afternoon completed the day's work. Baseball games were played with Battery F. A basketball team, under Lieutenant Kelly's coaching, defeated all opponents, with the invincible line-up of the two Durling brothers, Dodge, Vavrinek and Lieutenant Kelly.

Friday morning, April 4, the battery marched to Gelsdorf, where the regiment a.s.sembled for the presentation of the "flammes de guerre"--red ribbons bearing the names and date of engagements in which the regiment partic.i.p.ated--which were fastened on the regimental colors. The ribbons read as follows:

Luneville sector, Lorraine, France, February 21 to March 23.

Baccarat sector, Lorraine, France, March 31 to June 21.

Esperance-Souain sector, Champagne, France, July 4 to July 14.

Champagne-Marne defensive, France, July 15-19.

Aisne-Marne offensive, France, July 25 to August 11.

St. Mihiel offensive, France, September 12-16.

Essey and Pannes sector, Woevre, France, September 17-30.

Meuse-Argonne offensive, France, October 7 to November 1.

Meuse-Argonne offensive, France, November 5-9.

Two days later we bade Ringen goodbye, marching out at 8 with full packs. The regiment a.s.sembled at Oeverich and paraded to the music of the band through each town en route, arriving at Remagen early in the afternoon. There the battery was billeted in the Hotel Furstenberg, one of several big hostelries that overlook the Rhine, its broad verandah scarcely a hundred feet from the river's edge. On Tuesday the battery made a short hike up the river to Oberwinter, where we boarded the train for Brest. The big American box cars, hot meals served when the train stopped, abundant candy and cigarettes from the welfare organizations, doughnuts and coffee and oranges at various stops made the ride far different from those we had taken months before from one front to another. The run, 72 hours, equalled that of through pa.s.senger trains.

At Brest there were three days of sanitary processes and equipment inspections, with a night of stevedore work at the docks sandwiched in.

On the morning of April 15, the regiment marched from Camp Pontamezen to the docks, but the high sea prevented loading that day. So the regiment slept in cots in the dock sheds and embarked next day on the "Leviathan."

Friday, April 18, eighteen months to a day since the regiment had sailed out of New York harbor on the "President Lincoln," the 149th left Brest harbor, at 5 p. m., on the "Leviathan" with a load of over 12,000 Rainbow men, homeward bound.