GEN John J. Pershing leads the victory parade past the Arc de Triomphe on Bastille Day, July 14, 1919, the last time the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) marched in Paris. First Lieutenant William J. Cunningham carries the general’s standard and is followed by MG James C. Harbord, AEF chief of staff.

n assessing the reasons for the Allied victory during , American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) com- mander GEN John J. (Black Jack) Pershing noted that By COL Cole C. Kingseed “upon the young commanders of platoons, companies U.S. Army retired and battalions fell the heaviest burden.” Deeds of daring, to use Pershing’s phrase, were legion during the war, and there

were many whose heroic services had been recognized over Archives National

November 2010 I ARMY 45 A memorial marks the valley in the through one of the Plattsburgh, N.Y., Argonne Forest in Binarville, , camps designed in the American pre- where the “Lost Battalion” of the 308th paredness movements in 1916. His Infantry, 77th Division, led by MAJ Charles previous wartime experiences had W. Whittlesey, held off surrounding Germans for a week until relief arrived. been unremarkable. By October 1, 1918, Whittlesey’s 1st Battalion positioned itself on the front the course of the war. In his memoirs, line within the Argonne Forest, under however, Pershing mentioned only orders to continue the attack the fol- three soldiers whose battlefield ex- lowing morning toward Charlevaux ploits he deemed particularly extraor- Mill, with McMurtry’s 2nd Battalion dinary and representative of the fight- in direct support. Due to the attrition ing spirit of the AEF. during the previous week’s combat, Best typifying the spirit of the rank the fighting strength of the combined and file of the AEF were a Reserve of- battalions was less than 700. To their ficer, a draftee from the mountains of front was a deep ravine that separated northern Tennessee and a Regular the left flank companies from the Army man. Of the more than 2 million main body. soldiers who composed the American At precisely 0630 hours, Whittlesey Expeditionary Forces over the course plunged forward under cover of an of the war, Pershing singled out MAJ intense artillery bombardment. The Charles W. Whittlesey, who refused to Ret. MAJ Lillian Pfluke, USA assault across the corps front failed surrender the “Lost Battalion” of the 77th Division; CPL immediately, but by early afternoon on October 2, the divi- Alvin C. York of the 82nd Division, who singlehandedly sion commander renewed the attack. Whittlesey somehow killed 25 enemy soldiers and captured 132 Germans; and discovered a gap in the enemy defense and penetrated the LT Samuel Woodfill from the 5th Division, who personally German line to a half-mile. McMurtry’s 2nd Battalion was attacked a series of German machine-gun nests near Cunel, hot on his heels. Casualties, however, had reduced their France, and killed the crews of each in turn until reduced combined strength to approximately 550 men. to the necessity of assaulting the last detachment with a Awaiting reinforcements, Whittlesey assumed direct pick, dispatching them all. All three soldiers fought in the command of the survivors and relayed his position to bat- -Argonne offensive that began the last week of Sep- talion headquarters. Alone in the Argonne since his flank- tember 1918 and continued until the armistice on Novem- ing elements had failed to match his advance, Whittlesey ber 11. established a defensive posture and waited for the inevitable German counterattack. He did not have to wait long. ew legends from the Great War have endured as By midafternoon, the Germans had recovered from their long as the story of the Lost Battalion. In reality, initial surprise and began penetrating Whittlesey’s perime- MAJ Charles W. Whittlesey’s 1st Battalion of the ter. Whittlesey dispatched two of his eight carrier pigeons 308th Infantry, 77th Division, was never lost, nor to the division commander, requesting resupply of ammu- was the Lost Battalion a single battalion. What be- nition and giving his approximate position. MG Robert came known as the Lost Battalion was actually Alexander, commanding the 77th Division, ordered a res- sevenF companies from two separate infantry battalions cue attack on October 3, but the relief effort failed due to and two machine-gun sections from the 306th Machine heavy fog and determined German resistance that reduced Gun Battalion. From October 2, 1918, until the surrounded the assaulting Americans by 50 percent. Whittlesey was doughboys were relieved a week later, Whittlesey was the now hopelessly surrounded with little expectation of relief. senior commissioned officer of the besieged defenders. By the end of the day, he had lost 222 men, 82 of them CPT George G. McMurtry, an old Rough Rider, commanded killed. Whittlesey’s sister battalion from the same regiment. October 5 proved the worst day of the battle. Friendly ar- Whittlesey lacked the military presence of a Pershing or tillery descended on Whittlesey’s troops and wiped out one a Woodfill. A “slender bespectacled New Englander, a man platoon. Now subject to enemy artillery and mortar fire, of manners, a practicing lawyer in New York” is how Whittlesey released two more carrier pigeons in an attempt doughboy historian Laurence Stallings describes him in his to halt the fratricide. McMurtry was badly wounded, and book The Doughboys: The Story of the AEF. Not a profes- the Lost Battalion was under repeated infantry and hand sional soldier, Whittlesey had earned his commission grenade assault. To make matters worse, aerial resupply was totally ineffective. The next day produced no relief as COL Cole C. Kingseed, USA Ret., Ph.D., a former professor of the Lost Battalion again held their position by the skin of history at the U.S. Military Academy, is a writer and consul- their teeth. tant. On October 7, nine soldiers from McMurtry’s battalion

46 ARMY I November 2010 attempted to escape the encirclement, only to be killed or Not that far from where the Lost Battalion was rescued, captured by the enemy. Later that afternoon, one of the York’s company moved forward to the vicinity of the vil- prisoners, PVT Lowell R. Hollingshead, under protest de- lage of Chatel-Chéhéry, France, near the edge of the Ar- livered a surrender demand from the German commander gonne along the Aire River. On October 8, Company G to Whittlesey. The letter read in part, “The suffering of moved forward without artillery support. Instantly the your wounded men can be heard over here in the German company encountered stiff enemy resistance, and the at- lines, and we are appealing to your humane sentiments to tack stalled. At that point, Danforth decided to send a stop. A white flag shown by one of your men will tell us small detachment of men from the 1st Platoon around the that you agree with these conditions.” Whittlesey treated left flank of the company line. CPL Bernard Early com- the surrender demand with utter contempt and sent no re- manded the platoon-size detachment, with York com- ply. Hearing nothing from the Americans except cries of manding one of three infantry squads. Within minutes, profanity, the Germans attacked the Early’s force ran into heavy machine- Lost Battalion with increased inten- gun fire and was reduced to 17 men. sity. Moving through the dense under- Down to their last rounds of ammu- growth, the doughboys came across nition and dying from thirst, Whittle- two German stretcher bearers who sey’s Lost Battalion repelled the final fled as soon as they saw the American German assault. That same afternoon, platoon. Early followed and soon an American battalion from the 307th stumbled upon an encampment of 25 Infantry Regiment finally reached German soldiers, whom they promptly Whittlesey’s beleaguered troops and captured. As Early rounded up the provided rations, medical supplies prisoners, a German officer hollered a and ammunition. Whittlesey waited command, and two concealed ma- until the afternoon of October 8 to chine guns started firing on the Amer- withdraw his troops. By that time, the icans. Early fell with five bullets in his Lost Battalion had captured the imagi- body. Six doughboys died instantly, nation of the American high com- and another two were wounded in mand. GEN Alexander himself visited addition to Early, leaving York and Whittlesey in the Argonne and con- seven others unharmed. gratulated him on his spirited de- MAJ Charles W. Whittlesey Now the senior noncommissioned fense. Only 194 of the original 554 officer, York seized command. Leav- doughboys who started the attack on October 2 stood un- ing the remnants of his command, he crawled to a position wounded. where he could draw a bead on the enemy machine-gun The Army promoted Whittlesey to lieutenant colonel fol- nests. “In order to sight me or swing their machine guns at lowing the relief of the Lost Battalion and pulled him from me,” he later explained, “the Germans had to show their the front line. On December 5, Whittlesey was honorably heads above the trenches.” Every time a gunner appeared, discharged from active service. The next day he was York picked him off, emptying three clips of ammunition awarded the . A civilian once again, Whit- in the process. Just then, a German officer with six men tlesey returned to his law profession where he served as an with fixed bayonets charged York from 25 yards away. associate for a prestigious law firm from 1919–1920; but he York promptly killed each with a carefully aimed shot, never adjusted to civilian life—always haunted by the starting with the rear soldier and working his way for- deaths that he had witnessed in the Argonne Forest. ward. Having disposed of the enemy to his immediate front, bout the time that the Lost Battalion was finally res- York led the prisoners to the rear. En route to the American cued, acting CPL of Pall Mall, Tenn., ex- lines, he encountered several additional machine-gun posi- perienced his personal rendezvous with destiny. tions and directed that his senior prisoner order them to York was the unlikeliest of heroes. Drafted in No- surrender, too. With a single exception, the Germans de- vember 1917, this Tennessee mountaineer proved a scended the hill and surrendered to York. One of the en- natural hunter whose marksmanship was already emy soldiers tested York and tossed a grenade at his cap- Alegendary. Upon receipt of his draft notice, York immedi- tors. York immediately shot him through the heart. The ately submitted his paperwork as a conscientious objector, remainder of the prisoners got the message and marched but the District Board rejected his request. Twenty-nine off to captivity. years old when the entered the war, York By this time, York had captured more than 100 enemy was assigned to 1st Platoon, Company G, 328th Infantry soldiers, and he was afraid that his detachment would be Regiment, 82nd Infantry (All-American) Division. Com- fired on by his own artillery. How many enemy dead he manding York’s company was CPT E.C.B. Danforth, an of- had left on the ridge was anyone’s guess. Fortunately, a re- ficer whom York came to admire. lief squad sent to aid CPL Early met York as he neared

November 2010 I ARMY 47 commissioned ranks. It was a smooth transition. As Woodfill later stated to reporter Lowell Thomas, the NCO Corps “had been as good as captains for years because during the frequent absences of their company comman- ders they had run the outfit.” SGT Alvin York re- Now with Company M, 60th Regi- ceives the Medal of ment, 5th (Red Diamond) Division, Honor. He was Woodfill barely survived the St. Mi- later awarded the hiel offensive in September 1918 and French with palm. then moved his company to a railroad line east of Cunel in the Argonne For- est. Woodfill’s battalion was sched- uled to attack on October 14, 1918, but a day earlier, Woodfill’s commander directed him to conduct a combat re- connaissance to identify the enemy’s main line of resistance within the Bois

Signal Corps U.S. Army Signal Corps U.S. de la Pultiere, several hundred yards American lines. Reporting to the battalion adjutant, York to their front. relinquished more than 130 prisoners. He left at least 25 No sooner had they crossed the line of departure when enemy dead on the battlefield. When GEN George B. Dun- Woodfill’s company encountered several machine-gun can, newly assigned commander of the All-American Divi- nests that inflicted horrific casualties on Woodfill’s lead sion, later asked York how many he thought he had hit, platoons. The enemy fire seemed to be coming from three York replied, “General, I would hate to think I missed any directions. One gun was to Woodfill’s right in an aban- of them shots; they were all at pretty close range—50 to 60 doned stable, another was to his front, and the third was yards.” from the church tower in a little village, about 250 yards to Not surprisingly, Pershing judged York the outstanding Woodfill’s left. Unable to maneuver his command, Wood- civilian soldier of the AEF. Allied Supreme Commander fill directed his company to remain in position as he Gen. Ferdinand Foch concurred and awarded York the crawled forward to ascertain the location of the first ma- Croix de Guerre with palm, adding, “What you did was chine gun. Working his way around the flank of the ma- the greatest thing accomplished by any private soldier of chine-gun nest, Woodfill fired four carefully aimed shots, all the armies of Europe.” As for Alvin York, he stated in killing four members of the machine-gun crew as each at- 1926 that he had rather it be said that he gave his life to- tempted to sight the gun. The remaining German soldier ward aiding his fellow man than to be remembered as a attempted to escape, but another shot from Woodfill’s warrior who had capitalized on his fame as a fighter. Springfield brought him down as well. Woodfill then moved forward to examine the position. As he approached s remarkable as were York’s achievements in the Ar- the gun, a German officer sprang toward Woodfill. Wood- gonne, in Pershing’s estimation they were second to fill and the officer fought hand-to-hand until Woodfill sub- those of acting CPT Samuel Woodfill, an ex-sergeant dued his opponent and killed him with his pistol. from the Old Army. To Pershing, Woodfill was the As Woodfill’s company resumed their advance, a second outstanding figure in the AEF, America’s “dough- machine gun opened fire on them. With his company dis- boy of doughboys.” Born in in 1883, Wood- persed throughout the woods, control was virtually impos- fillA joined the Army at the time of the Philippine Insurrec- sible. Woodfill described the ensuing action as “every man tion at the onset of the 20th century. A natural marksman, for himself.” The enemy gun was in a shallow dugout, he served a combat tour during the Philippine Insurrection with the head and shoulders of the gunner in plain sight. and then reenlisted for the first of four hitches with the 3rd With a five-cartridge clip, Woodfill dispatched him and Infantry Regiment in , where he became the only several other enemy soldiers with carefully aimed shots. American soldier to outshoot the Royal Canadian Continuing his advance, a third machine gun opened Mounted Police. From the Arctic, Woodfill was transferred fire on the assaulting Americans. Crawling on his stomach to the Mexican border in 1916 during the crisis following to get closer to the enemy, Woodfill located the enemy po- Pancho Villa’s raid on Columbus, N.M. sition in the woods on the edge of a trench that ran back Wearing six hashmarks on his sleeve by the time Con- into the enemy lines. Though his eyes were burning with gress declared war on Germany in April 1917, SGT Woodfill mustard gas, he picked off five men with a single clip of accepted an appointment as a Reserve lieutenant, one of ammunition. Running forward to inspect the machine-gun many battle-hardened noncommissioned officers to join the nest, Woodfill discovered another German soldier whom

48 ARMY I November 2010 he promptly dispatched with his Colt sey, York and Woodfill stood together. automatic. Two weeks after the ceremony, Whit- For once Woodfill let his guard tlesey booked passage on the S.S. down, thinking he had wiped out the Toloa, a steamship bound for Havana, entire machine-gun nest. Before he Cuba. Prior to coming aboard, he had could respond to a noise from the put his affairs in order and paid the side, a German soldier rushed Wood- next month’s rent in advance. On No- fill from behind around a turn in the vember 24, Whittlesey walked to the trench, rifle in hand. Woodfill pulled rail and jumped overboard. When the trigger, but his Colt jammed. Woodfill heard of Whittlesey’s death, Grabbing a long-handled pickax stuck he guessed that those four days in the into the side of the trench, Woodfill Argonne Forest must have put too crashed the pick down on the enemy’s heavy a strain on the former comman- head. He then wheeled just in time to der of the Lost Battalion. miss a bullet in the back from one of York returned to Tennessee follow- the wounded Germans. With another ing the war and worked a farm given blow of the pick, Woodfill finished to him by the state of Tennessee in him off as well. Within the span of a recognition of his wartime heroics. He few hours, Woodfill had captured later established an agricultural insti- three machine guns and killed more tute in the Valley of the Three Forks of than 11 Germans. the Wolf and enjoyed a brief resur- gence of fame when Hollywood beck- ow well within the enemy lines oned in 1941 to tell the story of his life, and under intense fire, Wood- with Gary Cooper portraying the soft- fill requested reinforcements spoken York. The subsequent years from his battalion commander, proved difficult for York. As LIFE who instructed him to return to magazine described York in a special their former position. When he issue in 1997, “This exemplar of the Nreported to the command post, Wood- American fighting man died in 1964, fill’s battalion commander asked him all but forgotten” by the nation he had what he had been doing to the Ger- served so well. mans. “I got a few,” Woodfill re- Following the war, Woodfill re- sponded. “Yeah, I know you did,” the verted to his NCO status to preserve commander responded. In his mem- his tenure of service, since as a Re- oirs, Woodfill described his action as serve officer, he would have lost his “a frontiersman stalks machine guns.” military benefits. That reduction in The armistice found Woodfill recu- CPT Samuel Woodfill rank seemed appropriate, stated his- perating in a hospital, suffering from torian Stallings, because Woodfill pneumonia resulting from repeated gassings during the served as “the eternal sergeant of Black Jack’s esteem.” Argonne offensive. Within weeks Woodfill received orders Woodfill died alone on his farm in 1951 and was buried at to Chaumont, France, Pershing’s headquarters, where he Arlington National Cemetery, not far from the Iron Com- received his Medal of Honor from Pershing himself. mander himself. Among the 16 other recipients was CPT McMurtry from It has been four score and 12 years since the guns fell the Lost Battalion. silent along the Meuse River and the Argonne Forest. Why Fate would finally bring Whittlesey, York and Woodfill write of Whittlesey, York and Woodfill now? The Great War, together three years later when Congress authorized the more than the Spanish-American War, ushered the United burial of an unidentified American soldier from World War States onto the world stage, and that awesome projection of I in the plaza of the new Memorial Amphitheater at Arling- military power was borne on the backs of the American ton National Cemetery. A War Department committee re- doughboys who fought in France in 1918. GEN Douglas viewed 3,000 wartime citations and narrowed the search MacArthur, himself one of the most highly decorated com- for pallbearers to 100 soldiers for Army Chief of Staff Per- manders from that conflict, said it best in his final address shing to review. Without hesitation, the “Iron Comman- to the U.S. Corps of Cadets: “His [the American soldier’s] der” selected York, Whittlesey and Woodfill. President name and fame are the birthright of every American citi- Warren G. Harding presided over the interment ceremony zen. … From one end of the world to the other, he has on November 11, 1921. Also in attendance were former drained deep the chalice of courage.” Representing the 2 presidents William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson. million soldiers of the AEF, Charles Whittlesey, Alvin York The interment was the first and only time that Whittle- and Samuel Woodfill most certainly would agree. (

50 ARMY I November 2010