The Delta Of The Triple Elevens - free ebook by William Elmer Bachman

Group photo Battery D Taken at Benoite Vaux, France, March 14, 1919. Reproduced from the Official Photo taken by the Photographic Section of the Signal Corps, U. S. A....

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To The memory of our pals whom we buried in France This Book Is Dedicated

W. E. Bachman ARMY RECORD. Inducted into service at Hazleton, Penna., November 1st, 1917. Sent to Camp Meade, Md., November 2nd, 1917, and assigned as Private to Battery D, 311th Field Artillery. Received rank of Private First Class, February 4th, 1918. Placed on detached service, May 18th, 1918, and assigned as Battery Clerk, First Provisional Battery, Fourth Officers' Training School, Camp Meade. Rejoined Battery D June 27th, 1918, and accompanied outfit to France. Assigned to attend Camouflag

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FOREWORD.

"You're in the Army now." "So this is France!" Oft I heard these phrases repeated as more and more the realization dawned, first at Camp Meade, Md., and later overseas, that war seemed mostly drudgery with only the personal satisfaction of doing one's duty and that Sunny France was rainy most of the time. The memory of Battery D, 311th U. S. F. A., will never fade in utter oblivion in the minds of its members. 'Tis a strange fancy of nature, however, gradually to forget many of the associations

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PREFATORY NOTE.

An effort has been made in this volume to state as concisely and clearly as possible the main events connected with the History of Battery D. To recount in print every specific incident connected with the life of the organization, or to attempt a military biographical sketch of every battery member, would require many volumes. My soldier-comrade readers will, no doubt, recall many instances which could have been included in this volume with marked appropriateness. The selection of the material,

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LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHIC REPRODUCTIONS.

Page Group Photo of Battery D. 3 William Elmer Bachman. 5 Albert L. Smith. 18 David A. Reed. 22 Perry E. Hall. 39 Sidney F. Bennett. 39 C. D. Bailey. 39 Frank J. Hamilton. 39 Third Class French Coach. 57 Side-Door Pullman Special. 57 Interior of French Box Car. 57 A Real American Special. 57 Montmorillon Station. 67 Montmorillon Street Scene. 67 Entrance to Camp La Courtine. 81 American Y. M. C. A. at Camp La Courtine. 81 A Battery D Kitchen Crew. 88 Group of Battery D Sergeants. 88 Battery D on

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CHAPTER I.

Official records in the archives of the War Department at Washington will preserve for future posterity the record of Battery D, of the 311th United States Field Artillery. In those records there is written deep and indelibly the date of May 30th, 1919, as the date of Battery D's official demobilization. The history of Battery D, therefore, can be definitely terminated, but a more difficult task is presented in establishing a point of inception. The development of Battery D was gradual--like a t

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CHAPTER II.

On that eventful day in 1914, when the war clouds broke over Europe, the farmers of Anne Arundel county, Maryland, in the then peaceful land of the United States, toiled with their ploughshares under the glisten of the bright sun; content with their lot of producing more than half of the tomato crop of the country; content to harvest their abundant crops of strawberries and cucumbers and corn, to say nothing of the wonderful orchards of apples and pears, and not forgetting the wild vegetation of

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CHAPTER III.

At Fort Niagara, situated on the bleak shores of the River Niagara, New York State, the nucleus of the first commissioned personnel of Battery D assembled, after enlistment, during the month of May, 1917, and began a course of intensive training at the First Officers' Training School, finally to be commissioned on August 15th in the Field Artillery Reserve. On August 13th, pursuant to authority contained in a telegram from the Adjutant General of the Army, a detachment of the Reserve Officers fr

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CHAPTER IV.

Iron-bound was the rule. You couldn't escape it. Every selected man who entered Camp Meade had to submit. Of course, the new recruits were given a dinner shortly after their arrival--but not without first taking a bath. 019, like all the other barracks of the cantonment, was a wooden structure, 150 x 50 feet, two stories in height. Half of the first floor housed the kitchen and dining hall while the remainder of the building was given over to sleeping quarters, with the exception of a corner set

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CHAPTER V.

"Dress it up!" And-- "Make it snappy!" "One, two, three, four." "Now you've got it!" "That's good. Hold it!" "Hep." Battery D had lots of "pep" during the days of Camp Meade regime. First Sergeant William C. Thompson, of Forest, Mississippi, kept things lively for the first few months with his little whistle, followed by the command, "Outside!" Merrill C. Liebensberger, of Hazleton, Penna., served as the first supply sergeant of the battery. David B. Koenig, also of Hazleton, Penna., ranking fir

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CHAPTER VI.

Towering like a giant over the uniform type of barrack and buildings at Camp Meade, stood a large observation tower, situated on what was known as the "plaza," the site of divisional headquarters. A general panorama from this tower was an inspiring sight. Radiating from the plaza, extending for several miles in any direction the gaze was focused, there appeared the vista of the barracks of the troops together with the sectional Y. M. C. A.'s canteens, stables, corrals and other supply and admini

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CHAPTER VII.

"This is some job." And the opinion was unanimous when stable detail at Camp Meade was in question, especially during the winter of 1917-18, which the Baltimore weather bureau recorded as the coldest in 101 years. Stable detail at first consisted of five "buck" privates, whose duty it was to take care of "Kaiser," "Hay-Belly," and all the other battery horses for a period of three days. When on stable detail you arose at 5:45 a. m.; quietly dressed, without lights, went to the stables and breakf

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CHAPTER VIII.

"Retreat," the checking-in or accounting for all soldiers at the close of a day's routine, was made a formal affair for the 311th Field Artillery on January 13th, 1918. The erection of a new flag pole in front of regimental headquarters furnished occasion for the formal formation when the Stars and Stripes are lowered to the strain of "The Star Spangled Banner" or the "Call to the Colors." When the formal retreat was established Battery D was in the throes of a health quarantine. A case of measl

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CHAPTER IX.

First authentic signs of departure from Camp Meade came during the month of June when the boys witnessed the departure of the infantry regiments of the division. Void of demonstrative sendoff, regiment after regiment, fully and newly equipped, was departing on schedule; thousands and thousands of sturdy Americans, ready to risk all for the ideals of liberty and freedom. It was with no unsteady step they marched through the streets of the military city that had sheltered, trained, tanned, and imp

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CHAPTER X.

Land appeared in rugged outline along the horizon as the Steamship Morvada swept the waves when dusk was falling on the Tuesday evening of July 16th, 1918. It was a beautiful mid-summer's night and the boys of Battery D, in common with the members of the 311th regiment, stood at the deck railings of the S. S. Morvada and watched the outline of shore disappear under cover of darkness. The ship had been sailing since 11:30 a. m., Sunday, July 14th, at which time the Morvada had lifted anchor and s

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CHAPTER XI.

Under serene skies on the morning of July 20th, seventeen ships, assembled in Halifax harbor, made final preparations to steam forth to the highways of the broad Atlantic. At 9:30 o'clock that morning the convoy maneuvered into battle formation with a U. S. cruiser leading the convoy while four small sub chasers circled about in high speed and an army dirigible flew overhead. Each ship was directed in a zig zag course, a new angle of the zig zag being pointed every few minutes, a course of prope

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CHAPTER XII.

A surprise reception was in store for the soldiers aboard the S. S. Morvada when it came to debarking on foreign soil. As the ship plied the channel waters on the night of July 30th, 1918, but few on board knew what port was its destination; but not so with the people of the British Isles. They knew the plans for the arrival of the American army transports. On July 31st, the people of Barry and Cardiff, in common with Newport, in the province of South Wales, did honor to the American troops. Bar

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CHAPTER XIII.

At 9 p. m., it was yet daylight. The boys were weary and tired as the troop train on the London and Southwestern railway pulled into a station, the sign-boards of which gave the name as Romsey. Orders to detrain were passed along. All soldiers and packs were soon off the train; then, line-up as per usual, and march, first under a stone railroad bridge, through the town, soon to strike a highway leading out of the town. The pack on the back got heavier every minute, but the march continued; one m

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CHAPTER XIV.

"So this is France!" For the first time the boys of Battery D repeated this phrase in all its reality as they stood upon elevated ground in the vicinity of the British Rest Camp at Cherbourg and viewed the vista of harbor, four miles distant, where, from the gang-plank of the King Edward they set foot on French soil on Sunday morning, August 4th, at 8 o'clock. The panorama presented the naval and commercial harbors, from which Cherbourg, the seaport of Northwestern France, derives its chief impo

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CHAPTER XV.

Dotted with quaint architecture of 12th and 13th century Romanesque and Gothic design, the hills of Vienne department, France, cradle the crystal-clear and drowsy-moving waters of the Gartempe, a river, which in its course winds through the town of Montmorillon, where four thousand French peasantry, on August 7th, received their first lesson in American cosmopolitism. Montmorillon, where the boys of Battery D were billeted for the first time in the midst of the French people; where they received

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CHAPTER XVI.

La Courtine, a village in the Department of Creuse, France, is surrounded by hilly country, the very nature of the hills affording ideal artillery range. La Courtine, therefore, was the site of a French artillery camp for many years. The village is divided into two parts; that which is gathered around a progressive looking station, and part is on a hill, which part is called Hightown. Both parts are confined to one street, replete with bars and cafes. It was to La Courtine that the 311th was bou

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CHAPTER XVII.

November 11th, 1918, was a memorable day to the populace of La Courtine, France, as was the case in every hamlet, village, town or city in the world, when the news was flashed that Germany had accepted the terms of an Allied armistice and that fighting was to cease at 11 a. m. that day. The armistice that ended the World War was signed at 5 a. m., Paris time, and hostilities ceased six hours later, which was 6 o'clock Washington time. The American troops encamped at La Courtine this eventful tim

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CHAPTER XVIII.

Blancheville, mud and mules are associated in memory of the holiday season of 1918-19 that Battery D spent in France. It was Thanksgiving week when Battery D arrived in Blancheville. The auto convoy deposited the battery paraphernalia in the vicinity of the old stone church and graveyard that stood along the main highway as the landmark and chief building of the village. Nearby stood the only other building of import--a stone structure that housed a pool of water in the manner of the ancients. T

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CHAPTER XIX.

What could be more pleasant or soothing to an adventurous spirit than a trip in the saddle through the scarred and devastated battle sector along the Lorraine border? This is what appealed to the boys of Battery D when announcement was made at Blancheville early in December that one hundred men were wanted to accompany a horse convoy to Longwy on the Belgian border. One hundred volunteers were asked for, and it was not long before the required number was enlisted from the military ranks. The fir

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CHAPTER XX.

During the month of January it was reported in official circles that the 154th Artillery Brigade was to accompany the 79th Division into Germany as a unit of the Army of Occupation. The artillerymen were enthused with the prospects of joining their division and getting in the midst of the big scenery. The movement, however, never materialized. The outfit was forced to bear a disappointment like unto the shattering of expectations of getting in on the finale of the fighting. As has been recorded,

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CHAPTER XXI.

Almost every outfit of the A. E. F., in France, adopted a mascot--a real, live mascot, to be sure; not out of mere pet fancy, but the natural outcrop of the American spirit of benevolence. Through the Bureau of War Orphans of the American Red Cross, units of the A. E. F. made contributions to the Adoption Fund for French War Orphans. The aid in each case was administered by the Red Cross to the welfare of an orphan. The members of Battery D adopted little four-year-old Denise Ferron during the m

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CHAPTER XXII.

When the battery left Benoite Vaux the soldiers knew they had started on the first lap of their "homeward bound" trip. Weeks of hard work were yet before the battery, but the thought of getting home in June, or possibly earlier, as rumor had it that the A. E. F. sailing schedules were operating several weeks ahead of time, kept up the spirit of the artillerymen. The trip from Blancheville was made by road. A short journey on March 19th found Battery D in Boncourt, a small town near Commercy. The

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CHAPTER XXIII.

Its Origin and Its Significance. (Extracts from a Document) Written from data furnished by E. F. HENRI VIARD B. A. Paris University Late London Correspondent of "Le Journal" Sometime Technical Translator to the Ordnance Department A. E. F. The Lorraine Cross, official insignia of the Seventy-Ninth Division, United States Army, was adopted shortly after the armistice was signed. Despite the fact that the Seventy-Ninth Division Artillery did not share in the fighting with the rest of the division,

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CHAPTER XXIV.

CORPORAL FRANK McCABE--Plains, Pa., died January 24, 1918, at the Base Hospital, Camp Meade, Md., at 7:40 p. m., with an attack of acute rheumatism. Body was sent to Plains with a military escort. Buried in Plains. PRIVATE WILLIAM REYNOLDS--Pottsville, Pa., was killed by the explosion of a French field gun on the range at La Courtine, France, at 3 p. m. October 11, 1918. Buried in the American Military Cemetery at Camp La Courtine, October 12th. Grave No. 37. FIRST-SERGEANT JAMES J. FARRELL--Pla

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CHAPTER XXV.

The following is a reproduction of extracts from an article written by the author of this volume, on the afternoon of November 6, 1918, following the burial of Private Joseph A. Loughran, and published in the Standard-Sentinel, a daily newspaper of Hazleton, Pa., on December 11, 1918. In general the article expresses the bond of feeling each battery casualty called forth. "I have lost a friend; the United States has lost a good soldier; and Hazleton, Pennsylvania, has lost another flower of its

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CHAPTER XXVI.

In the moment of laying aside the uniform there surged through the heart of every member of Battery D emotions too deep for words. The rainy days and mud of France were at last a thing of the past. Yes, truly a thing of the past to those staunch comrades who survived not the ordeal to return home. Those who survived and returned home, have had an invaluable experience. With memories of those experiences there will always linger the thoughts and associations of departed comrades. As battery membe

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CHAPTER XXVII.

Officers. Captain Albert L. Smith 1st Lieut. Arthur H. McGill 2nd Lieut. Hugh M. Clarke 2nd Lieut. Robert S. Campbell 2nd Lieut. Frank F. Yeager 2nd Lieut. Berkley Courtney 2nd Lieut. Frank J. Hamilton Non-Commissioned Officers. 1st Sgt. William C. Thompson Supply Sgt. Merrill C. Liebensberger [A]Mess Sgt. Joseph A. Loughran [A]Instrument Sgt. Lloyd E. Brown Signal Sgt. John M. Harman Sergeants. Corporals. Cooks. [Footnote A: Deceased.] Barrack At Camp La Courtine France Barrack At Camp La Court

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CHAPTER XXVIII.

The following officers were associated with Battery D during its career, either as a unit of the New National Army, or as part of the United States Army, the classification of the combined regular and selected divisions: Captain Albert L. Smith, Philadelphia. Pa. Captain Perry E. Hall, Springfield. N. J. First Lieutenant Hugh M. Clarke, Pittsburgh. Pa. [A]First Lieutenant Arthur H. McGill. New Castle, Pa. First Lieutenant Robert Lowndes, Elkridge, Md. First Lieutenant C. D. Bailey, Summit. N. J.

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CHAPTER XXIX.

This list contains the names and home-addresses of the enlisted personnel of Battery D, who served overseas and whose names were on the sailing list of the U. S. S. Edward Luckenbach. Marinus Abrahmse, Pvt., 196 Washington St., Lodi, N. J. Eben C. Allen, Pvt., Main St., Closer. N. J. 36 West 6th St., Ridgefield Park, N. J. John J. Anderson, Cpl., R. F. D., No. 1. Perth Amboy, N. J. Curran B. Armstrong, Pvt. 1 Cl., Dreyton, N. D. Harold J. Arnold, Cpl., 456 E. Broad St., Hazleton, Pa. William E.

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CHAPTER XXX.

As previously recorded in this volume, a large number of men were transferred from the ranks of Battery D during the period of organization. Scores of others also left the battery during the latter days of its existence. No official record in concise form exists of the scores of transfers effected during the first few months of the battery's history. The following list gives information of transfers that a thorough search of the records now reveals. It is the most accurate list that can be compi

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CHAPTER XXXI.

September 20, 1918. Adam O. Dyker was re-christened "Honey-Bee" Dyker. The event took place in a rather stinging manner at Camp La Courtine, France. On the night in question Private Dyker was on guard duty at the battery kitchen, which was situated under a canvas roof in a locality that was infested at that particular time with bees and yellow jackets. While walking his post at the midnight hour Dyker thought of a can of strawberry jam that he knew the cooks had deposited in a certain place. Gro

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CHAPTER XXXII.

"I desire to express to all the men with whom I was fortunate enough to serve, sincere thanks for their universal loyalty and courtesy to me and the other officers who were with me. It was difficult during the active life of the battery to express to its members the affection I felt for them collectively and individually, and the high personal regard I had for them all, both as soldiers and friends. "We were never fortunate enough to be called into action, but at all times, I am sure, that all t

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CHAPTER XXXIII.

1918. July 13--Left Camp Meade, Md., U. S. A. July 14--Set sail from Port Richmond, Philadelphia, Pa. July 17--At anchor in Halifax harbor, Nova Scotia. July 20--Left Halifax bound overseas. July 30--Battle with German U-Boats. July 31--Landed in Barry, South Wales. August 3--Hiked to Southampton, England. August 4--Landed in Cherbourg, France. August 5--Left Cherbourg via rail. August 7--Arrived in Montmorillon. September 4--Left Montmorillon via box car. September 4--Arrived at La Courtine. No

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