IN ARGONNE FOREST
"Well, I reckon we get a rest now, don't we?" asked Bob of his two
chums, as they were ordered to report to a certain point with others
of their command.
"A rest?" cried Ned. "Say, Chunky, I'm going to take a leaf out of
your book and wish for something to eat."
"I guess we'll get that, but I doubt if we get much rest," put in
Jerry Hopkins. "I can smell something cooking, but I don't see 'em
getting any beds ready for us."
And Jerry proved a true prophet, for there was refreshment for the
battle-worn troops--hot food which they very much needed.
"Have we got to fight some more?" asked Bob, as he ate his rations
with every indication of appetite.
"I should say so!" cried Jerry. "Why, we've got to take the Argonne
Forest yet, and that's going to be worse than this."
And it was.
Without giving his divisions a rest, which he dared not do, General
Pershing, on the day after the capture of St. Mihiel, sent some of
them toward the area back of the line between the Meuse River and the
western edge of the Forest of Argonne. Though the fighting to gain St.
Mihiel had been terrific, with this out of the way the German line was
still intact from Switzerland to the east of Rheims. The general
attack, all along this line, was with the hope of cutting it, and the
part assigned to the American armies was, as the hinge of the Allied
offensive, directed toward important railway communications of the
German armies through Mezieres and Sedan.
Knowing that the Germans realized what it would mean to them to lose
the Argonne Forest, General Pershing and his staff made every
preparation for success. To this end as much secrecy as possible
marked the advance of the Americans.
Says General Pershing:
"We expected to draw the best German divisions to our front, and to
consume them, while the enemy was held under grave apprehension lest
our attack should break his line, which it was our firm purpose to
do."
Ringing words that will go down in history to the honor of America!
And with this advance, fighting as they went, Ned, Bob, and Jerry, and
thousands of their brave comrades, dashed forward into what was to be
one of the bloodiest and most desperate engagements of the war. To let
General Pershing tell the story in part, by quoting again from his
wonderful report:
"On the night of September 25th our troops quietly took the place of
the French who thinly held the line in this sector, which had long
been inactive. In the attack which began on the 26th we drove through
the barbed-wire entanglements and the sea of shell craters across No
Man's Land, mastering all the first-line defenses. Continuing on the
27th and 28th, against machine guns and artillery of an increasing
number of enemy reserve divisions, we penetrated to a depth of from
three to seven miles and took the village of Montfaucon and its
commanding hill and Exermont, Gercourt, Cuisy, Septsarges, Malancourt,
Ivoiry, Epinonville, Charpentry, Very, and other villages. East of the
Meuse one of our divisions, which was with the 2d Colonial French
Corps, captured Marcheville and Rieville, giving further protection to
the flank of our main body. We had taken 10,000 prisoners, we had
gained our point of forcing the battle into the open, and were
prepared for the enemy's reaction, which was bound to come, as he had
good roads and ample railroad facilities for bringing up his artillery
and reserves.
"In the chill rain of dark nights our engineers had to build new roads
across spongy, shell-torn areas, repair broken roads beyond No Man's
Land, and build bridges. Our gunners, with no thought of sleep, put
their shoulders to wheels and drag-ropes to bring their guns through
the mire in support of the infantry, now under the increasing fire of
the enemy's artillery. Our attack had taken the enemy by surprise,
but, quickly recovering himself, he began to fire counter-attacks in
strong force, supported by heavy bombardments, with large quantities
of gas. From September 28th until October 4th we maintained the
offensive against patches of woods defended by snipers and continuous
lines of machine guns, and pushed forward our guns and transport,
seizing strategical points in preparation for further attacks."
And Ned, Bob, and Jerry had an honorable if humble part in all this.
Forward they fought their way, now falling back as some fierce German
resistance turned into a counter-attack and again rushing on to
capture some little wooded knoll or hold some group of trees after the
Hun machine gunners had been killed.
That was the worst of the fighting--against the machine guns. They
were almost as thick as leaves in this Argonne Forest and the woods
offered excellent protection to the enemy.
But it was fight, if not exactly in the open, more nearly so than
battles of the trenches, which the Americans hated. It was like being
on their own ground, for, though the forest was in France, the trees
and bushes were like those in any dense American woods.
"It's like being with the professor on some bug-hunting trip!" yelled
Bob, as he and his chums rushed on, firing as they went.
"Except it isn't so healthy," added Jerry. "Look out!" he shouted, and
he pulled Bob down into the underbrush beside him only just in time,
for there came a burst of bullets from a machine gun, concealed in a
clump of trees, and but for Jerry's timely act when he saw it, Bob
might have been killed.
Then, with a yell, a company of Americans, with Ned, Bob, and Jerry
aiding them, rushed on the Hun nest and wiped it out, turning the
machine gun on the gray troops about them.
So the fighting went on, bitterly and terribly, as it had been going
on for over a month, for this was now the beginning of October.
There came a lull in the conflict in the immediate neighborhood of the
Motor Boys. They sank down exhausted on the ground under the trees,
waiting for further commands, for an officer had ordered a halt.
As the captain of the company to which Ned, Bob, and Jerry had been
assigned was approaching to gather his men together, a runner came
along a scarcely defined path.
He saluted the captain, and talked to him for a moment. Jerry, who was
nearest his commander, saw a queer look on the latter's face. Then, as
the runner, with his message disappeared into the depths of the
forest, the captain turned to his lieutenant, and our heroes heard him
say:
"We're cut off!"
"Cut off?"
"Yes, our battalion and another is surrounded here in the Argonne
Forest. There are Germans all around us. We're cut off. A runner has
just gone to see if he can get through and summon help."
"Surrounded!" was the thought that came to all who heard. "Surrounded
by the Germans! Cut off!"
And then, almost as soon as that thought formed came another.
"We'll hold out until help comes or fight our way through!"
And then began the tragic story of the "Lost Battalions."