i\ ^ , i -J Ml WmmM m m i:-' aiatnell UntoetBttg ffitbrarg atljaca, Kem ^atk BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE JACOB H. SCHIFF ENDOWMENT FOR THE PROMOTION OF STUDIES IN HUMAN CIVILIZATION 1918 Cornell University Library D 570.3 77th.U58 History of the Seventy seventh division 3 1924 027 817 976 \c='. &\\ Cornell University Library ^^ The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924027817976 HISTORY OP THE SEVENTY S EVENTH ^ DIVISION AUOUST 15ih.\9\7 NOVEMBER lHh.19I8 Copyright 1919. by The 77th Division Association New York I l85« WYNKOOP HALLENBECK CFfAWFORO COMPANY PRINTERS, NEW YORK CITY THE SERVICE THE SERVICE IS NOT A MOSAIC OF PARTS; IT IS A UNITY OF MANY PARTS WELDED INTO ONE. IT IS FAR MORE THAN AN ORGANIZED FORCE OF MATERIAL POWER. THE SERVICE, EMBRACING WITHIN ITS STRENGTH THE INFANTRY, THE ARTILLERY, AND ALL THE VARIED BRANCHES THAT CONTRIBUTE TO (THE EFFICIENCY OF) THE WHOLE, IS AN INSTITUTION WITH ITS GLORIOUS TRADITIONS REFLECTED AND EMBODIED IN THE PRESENT. THE FEARLESS DEFENDER OF OUR RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES, THE PROTECTOR OF OUR INHERITANCE; THE GUARDIAN OF OUR IDEALS AND TRADITIONS, IT STANDS THE GLORY AND PRIDE OF A GREAT UNITED PEOPLE. BOUND TOGETHER BY BONDS OF COMMON SYMPATHY, PURIFIED BY ONE SPIRIT OF DUTY AND SACRIFICE, ACTUATED BY THE SAME INSPIRATIONS AND IMPULSES, IT IS ENNOBLED AND GUIDED BY THE SAME HOPES AND IDEALS. THE SPIRIT OF THE SERVICE HAS ENSHRINED ITSELF IN THE HEARTS OF A NATION. ITS ACHIEVE- MENTS HAVE BECOME THE REALIZATION OF OUR MOST FERVENT PRAYERS, THE RECIPIENT OF OUR JUST PRAISES AND THE EMBODIMENT IN GOLDEN DEEDS OF WHAT WE MOST PRIZE AND ESTEEM IN AMERICAN MANHOOD yv«& .<y*i^ '-^ ..»**'" TO MAJOR GENERAL ROBERT ALEXANDER, WHOSE INSPIRATION, LEADERSHIP, AND WILL, CONSTANTLY CARRIED THE 77th DIVISION FORWARD, FROM THE VESLE TO THE AISNE, AND FROM THE SOUTHERNMOST LIMITS OF THE ARGONNE FOREST, NORTHWARD THROUGH IT TO THE HEIGHTS OF SEDAN, THIS HISTORY IS RESPECT- FULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED The Officers and Men of the 77th Division INTRODUCTION ^ —I HIS short account of the activities of the 77th Division, National Army, does not purport to be a dry recounting of facts, ponderously arranged in chrono- logical order; neither is it possible to tell in detail the countless brave and heroic acts perforn ed by all ranks and all branches of the Division. Instead, this history is in the nature of word pictures, classifying the progressive states of development and depicting therein typical scenes and incidents common to all. There are, however, certain facts in the Division's history which cannot be passed over without a word of comment. (1) The 77th Division was the first National Army Division in Europe. By way of explanation, a National Army Division is one of three types of Divisions comprising the American Army: (a) The Regular Army Divisions, consisting of soldiers by profession; (b) The National Guard Divisions, comprised of troyps voluntarily forming themselves into regiments in peace time under the jurisdiction of their respective States, and who, while continuing their civil pursuits, devoted a period of time each week to their military training; (c) The National Army Divisions, inducted into the Military Service by draft boards, after the outbreak of hostilities, consisting of raw, untrained civilians unused to the customs and regulations of the military service. (2) The 77th Division was the first National Army Division to be made responsible for a sector of the European battle front. (3) The 77th Division was the first National Army contingent to be ordered to an active part of the line. (4) During the whole of the operation which cleared the Porest of the Argonne, the 77th Divi- sion was at all times operating within the Forest itself, of which it was assigned a front at the be- ginning of 7^2 kilometers. Another American Division was placed in line on the right of the 77th Division at the inception of the operation on Sept. 26, 1918, with a front in the Forest itself of about 2 kilometers. This Division emerged from the Forest into the open after the first day's operation. The Forest itself, hitherto considered impracticable ground for an offensive, was cleared of the enemy by the 77th Division, against which were opposed five German Divisions. (5) The 77th Division in the Argonne-Meuse operations gained every kilometer on its front from the original line Sept. 26, 1918, to the line as it stood along the Meuse Nov. 11, 1918, totalling an advance of 59} 2 kilometers. The 77th was in a support position from Oct. 16, 1918, to Oct. 31, 1918, and, upon again becom- ing an attacking Division, found the line just where it had been left a fortnight before. (6) The vital importance of the territory over which the 77th operated in the Argonne-Meuse battle cannot be over-estimated. As a great French General stated prior to the commencement of ' this decisive engagement : ' The Allied Armies will s trike at the door of Germany. To the American Army has been assigned the hinges of this mighty door; either you will push it open or you will tear it down." To the 77th was given a post of honor, the core of these hinges, which had stood practi- cally unmolested for about three years, as though by mutual consent of both belligerents. How unsuccessfully these hinges withstood the powerful attack of the Americans, the progress of the battle gives testimony. (7) The divisions opposing the 77th during the operations in the Baccarat sector were two, on the Vesle and Aisne front four, in the Argonne Forest five, and from the Argonne to the Meuse nine. The great number of divisions on the front of the 77th is indicative both of the severity of its attacks and the duration of its tour of duty as a front-fine Division, while in certain instances it is proof positive of the importance attached by the enemy to the terrain over which the 77th Divi- sion was operating. [7] — With such a record, one ceases to wonder at the thrill of pride its members have in claiming the 77th Division as their own. The superstitious contend there is a reason for this remarkable record. The German artillerymen boasted of the deadly efficiency of his light artillery, commonly called 77's from the size of the shell. Believing there is something to a name, America sent forth her 77's to meet them. The German 77's are silenced, but the name and fame of the thousands of 77'3 who comprise the 77th Division will continue as long as the great deeds in American History are recounted. Seven is a lucky number, but to be called double seven could only intensify the success of a unit bearing that name, as the succeeding pages of this volume will bear witness. You have been told of the Seven Ages of Man ; this history tells you of Seven Phases in the life of an American Division, differing from Mr. Shakespeare in that, while his subject reaches a cUmax during the 4th age and then retrogresses in its development, the 77th Division progresses in each succeeding phase until the final one finds it more powerful and effective than at any other time throughout its magnificent career. Our story naturally resolves itself into the following seven phases:— PHASE I.—August 25, 1917-March 27, 1918, is a formative period beginning with the first arrival of recruits at Camp Upton, N. Y., and shows the Division struggling to mould into soldiers the thousands of civilians, little used to Army discipline and heret(jfore in the habit of changing en- vironment if conditions did not suit their fancies. The recruits represented all races and all creeds men who had only recently been subjected to the pogroms of Russia, gunmen and gangsters, a type peculiar to New York City, Italians, Chinamen, the Jews and the Irish, a heterogeneous mass, truly representative both of the varied human flotsam and the sturdy American manhood which comprise the civil population of New York City. To stamp the fundamental principles of military discipline on such men was a gigantic task. How successfully this foundation was laid, the casual- ties reports a year later bear testimony, for the rude wooden crosses erected over the little graves dotting the landscape of France bear the names of all these classes. The first units embarked for France March 27, 1918. The submarine gauntlet was success- fully run, the entire Division landed without loss of life as the result of enemy activity, and the first period in the Division's fife had ended. PHASE II.—Begins on May 6, 1918, as the Infantry takes up its further training with the British Army in the Pas-de-Calais, the Artillery proceeding to Souge for additional instruction from the French. Infantry training was completed on June 6, 1918. Artillery training on July 4. PHASE III.—June 19, 1918-August .3, 1918. The Baccarat sector was held, at first in con- junction with the French, and later alone. The front was quiet, admirably well adapted for the fur- ther training of inexperienced divisions. PHASE IV.—August 11, 1918-September 4, 1918. The Division takes position along the "Vesle and there experiences the first real test of heavy shell fire. A line is occupied on which the enemy temporarily checked the counter-offensive of the Allies begun in the preceding month of July.