_Lieutenant Colonel General Staff,_
_Chief of Staff._
Official:
EDW. J. TURGEON,
_Captain, Assistant Adjutant, Acting Adjutant._
Nothing that General Ballou could do in the way of prosecuting the
theatre manager, which he is said to have done, could alleviate the
moral effect of this order upon men who were being sent to another
country to fight for the preservation of the very privileges of which
they at that very moment were being denied.
The 92nd Division as a complete unit received no training as such in
the United States, but arrived in France by regiments, the entire
number having landed at Brest by June 20, 1918. The four infantry
regiments went into training at Bourbon les Bains, where they remained
seven weeks, when they were sent to the Vosges Sector; they remained
there from August 23 to September 20, and were then sent into the
region of the Argonne Forest, where they were partially engaged in the
great Meuse-Argonne Drive. It was here that the 368th Regiment was sent
over the top, without being equipped with rifle grenades, instruments
that were absolutely necessary for use in the destruction of German
machine-gun nests. Very few of the officers and none of the enlisted
men had ever seen such a grenade, and the absence of this weapon in
warfare where guns alone were practically useless, caused a retreat
which resulted in several of the colored officers being arrested and
sent to prison for cowardice. _Capt. Leroy Godman, a colored attorney
from Columbus, Ohio, secured a record of the facts, and after his
return to America, was instrumental in having them presented to the
War Department; this action resulted in the release and exoneration
of the officers, and the stigma of cowardice was removed from the
entire regiment, and public notice of it was given in the newspapers
throughout the entire country._
The 92nd Division was never permitted until two days before the
signing of the Armistice to function in battles as an entire unit. The
following bulletin by Brigadier General Erwin shows how certain parts
were at all times kept in reserve:
HEADQUARTERS 92ND DIVISION
A. P. O. 766
A. E. F.
_Bulletin No. 13._ January 27, 1919.
1. Participation of the 92nd Division in Major and Battle operations
during the war.
St. Die Sector, Vosges, Aug. 23, 1918–Sept. 20, 1918.
Entire 92nd Division, less Division Artillery.
Meuse-Argonne Offensive, Sept. 26, 1918–Sept. 20, 1918.
Entire 92nd Division (less Division Artillery and Train, 368th
Infantry, 3d Battalion 365th Infantry, 1st Battalion 366th Infantry,
3d Battalion 367th Infantry, 1st Battalion 317th Military Police) in
reserve. 1st Army Corps.
92nd Division (less 183d Brigade, 317th Engineers and Train,
Division Artillery, Det. Co. A 317th M.P.) in reserve. 38th Army
Corps.
Sept. 20–Oct. 4, 1918.
368th Inf. and Companies A. & B. 351st M. G. Bn., as liaison troops
between 1st Army (American) and 4th French Army operating in the
Provision Brigade with 11th Cuirassiers, under command Colonel Durand.
Sept. 26–30, 1918.
MARBACHE SECTOR
Oct. 9–Nov. 11, 1918.
Entire 92nd Division to be centered as date of actual arrival in
sector.
Offensive Operation
2nd Army, Nov. 10–11, 1918.
Entire 92d Division in Marbache Sector, attacking direction Corny.
Patrols, raids, and defense of raids are not mentioned here. They
are local in character, and concern only the units involved. These
entries are to be made by company commanders, in strict compliance
with the following extracts from G. O.
Discretion must be used by company commanders.
Dates and locations of some minor operations as described above are
the following,—(to be entered only by elements actually engaged).
Repulse of enemy raid, C. R. Mere Henry,
23 hours. 25–26 Aug., 1918.
St. Die Sector.
Repulse of enemy raid, Trapelle,
Sept. 1–2, 1918.
Repulse of enemy raid, C. R. Palon,
6 to 8 hours. Sept. 9, 1918.
St. Die Sector, Vosges.
Repulse of enemy raid, Trapelle,
Sept. 19, 1918.
St. Die, Vosges Sector.
In case where units have operated under independent command, as in
the case of the 317th Engineers, in the Meuse Argonne Offensive,
appropriate notation should be made under supervision of organization
commanders concerned.
By command of BRIGADIER GENERAL ERWIN.
C. K. WILSON,
_Col. General Staff, Chief of Staff._
Official:
EDWARD J. TURGEON,
_Maj. Infantry, Adj._
This bulletin shows that from September 26 to 30, 1918, the entire
368th Infantry, and one battalion each of the 365th, 366th, and 367th
were engaged in action in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, and that, from
September 30 to October 4, the 183rd Brigade, composed of the 365th
and 366th Infantries, was actively engaged in the same offensive. But
at no time is the entire 92nd Division shown to be in active service
except on November 10 and 11, when it is reported to be attacking in
the direction of Corny.
During its activities the Division lost 248 men and 7 officers killed
and died of wounds. There were a number of individual citations for
bravery, and one entire battalion belonging to the 367th Infantry
was awarded the Croix de Guerre. On the morning of the signing of
the Armistice the 365th Infantry had taken several hundred yards of
the battle front, the 366th had captured and was still in possession
of several kilometers of territory, and the 367th was nearest to the
coveted stronghold of Metz of any of the units of the Allied Armies.
Had the war lasted another day, the entire Division, along with six
other divisions, had been selected to absorb the first shock of the
battle.
Because of some unusually interesting things that happened in
connection with the 367th Infantry, and because it has the distinction
of having the only entire unit of the 92nd Division that was awarded
the Croix de Guerre, its full history follows in some detail: