The Second Cavalry at St. Mihiel
TacomaDave May 22nd, 2008
By Captain Ernest N. Harmon
The strength of the squadron at this time, September 8th, 1918, was fourteen officers and four hundred and four enlisted men. The squadron had no staff or demolition outfit; it was simply four line troops under the command of the senior Captain who had only one and a half years of commissioned service. On September 8th Lieutenant Colonel O. P. M. Hazzard took over command. On September 9th orders came detaching Troop “B” from the squadron and ordering the troop to proceed to Menil-la-Tour for courier and liaison duty with the 1st, 42nd, and 89th Divisions. The troop arrived at Menil-la-Tour on the 10th. From this point detachments were sent to the headquarters of the 1st, 42nd and 89th Divisions under the command of N.C.O.’s. These detachments performed hard and perilous duty on the roads, keeping traffic open and carrying messages under harassing shell fire from the enemy. On the 13th the headquarters of the troop was established at St. Benoit. This position which was in advance of the 42nd Division Artillery position was heavily shelled during the night. On the 14th the troop headquarters moved to Pannes.
Pannes had been a German supply base and large quantities of stores were taken by the troop, including an abundance of potatoes, cornmeal, and some American made Ivory soap and evaporated milk.
On the 15th the troop sent out the usual patrols and detachments. The troop continued on this work until the 19th when it received orders to march to Rarecourt-en-Argonne.
On September 9th orders also came for the remainder of the squadron to proceed by night marching to a certain wood called Rangeval Forest, about ten kilometers behind the front line trenches. The distance to be covered was about thirty kilometers. The night was dark, the roads were full of traffic and no one was familiar with the roads.
The first march we made toward the front on the evening of September 9th taught us many lessons and many new ideas as to march discipline at night when hostile aeroplanes are hovering about. The formation taken was a column of troops on either side of the road with a distance of fifty yards between platoons. This formation naturally caused the command to be strung out greatly with the result that upon our first halt, by the time order to halt had reached the rear of the column the head was ready to resume the march. This of course had to be corrected by better liaison from front to rear. The night was pitch dark and no noises or whistles were allowed. These precautions were unnecessary at that distance from the lines, but we were to approach closer and it was necessary to start early and impress the men. No smoking was allowed as the spark from a cigarette has often revealed to a low flying plane the whereabouts of a body of troops on the road causing them to be bombed or machine gunned. The roads were choked with traffic and it was necessary to get the horses well off the roads during the halts. Marching at night, while apparently not fatiguing to the horses, was greatly fatiguing to the men and constant watch had to be kept by all N.C.O.’s and officers to prevent slouching in the saddle and straggling. On the way from Toul to a position in rear of the lines there were many interesting and startling sights and sounds. We passed beside narrow gauge railroad trains hauling ammunition and men. Every now and then the sky in our direct front was illuminated by star shells and a constant shower of very light signals seemed to be in the air all the time. Twice we heard the sinister interrupted hum of “Boche” planes, and it was not necessary to caution silence and all lights out. It began to rain in torrents about 2 a.m. We reached our camp, a grove of trees about one and a half miles behind the front line at 4 a.m. Between flashes of lightning we strung lariat lines from tree to tree and tied our horses, removing the equipment in the blank darkness and piling it on the ground in rear of the horses. Everyone was weary and miserably wet and cold yet all dropped down in the rain and slept. Our wagons and kitchens lost the way but finally reached our camp about 8 a.m. when breakfast was soon after served. Everyone had to remain under cover of the wood and the smoke from our kitchens was well screened from aerial observation. Our horses lost many shoes extra fitted were carried and the blacksmiths were kept busy getting the animals in shape for the coming “D” day. “D” was the code letter of the day of the attack, and “H” was the hour of commencement of the attack. Continue Reading »
