Voices of 1918; Captain Harry S. Truman’s Combat Experience in World War I - Part 2 of 5

D-Day for the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

(To understand the geography and proximity please see the map below.  Look to the left of the US First Army sector.)

In the build-up to the big push, cover and concealment was extensively used to mask the operation and it was thought that the enemy might leave them alone.

US artillery in the Argonne Forrest , 26 Sep., 1918

As it was, the Germans did give it a good go.  High explosive rounds did land in their rear hitting their bivouac area, blowing up a battalion ammunition dump and putting holes through their kitchen mess equipment.  Their own battery position was hit with fire on either side but none of it did any significant damage.  As they do, the men were most concerned about the food preparation.  Truman wrote that, “I promptly moved the kitchen on the urgent request of the cook.”  (Truman, 23 Nov., 1918)


Battery D was sent up to the front lines, “The real front this time, west of Verdun and just alongside the Argonne Forrest.”  (Truman, 23 Nov., 1918)

On 26 September, 1918, at the outset of the offensive, the three regiments of the division's artillery brigade, the 60th Field Artillery, fired over 40,000 rounds during the opening bombardment.  Truman's mission during this was to saturate the defense in an immediate adjacent to Boureilles and then shift his guns to the east where he would fire a rolling barrage ahead of the infantry to the Cheppy area.

US Armor in WWI

In comments on the batteries contribution to the opening salvo, CPT Truman wrote, “I began firing a barrage that lasted until 7:20.  My guns were so hot that they would boil wet gunny sacks we put on them to keep them cool and I was as deaf as a post from the noise.  It looked as though every gun in France was turned loose and I guess that is what happened.” (Truman, Nov, 1918)

The ammunition column to sustain this effort stretched about eight miles or so to the rear every night of the build-up.

Meuse-Argonne map 26 Sep. to 11 Nov., 1918

After the rolling barrage reached the Cheppy-Varennes line, the 60th Brigade's two 75mm regiments, the 128th and 129th, hitched up and moved out, close on the rear elements of the infantry regiments and ahead of the expected traffic jams with Truman's battery leading the 129th column.

Truman's battery was detailed to provide fire support for Gen. George S. Patton's tank brigade during the Meuse-Argonne offensive.  As such they had to be in the lead.  To effectively support the armor, they had to engage the enemy as far forward as possible.  As such, they moved as far forward as possible as fast as possible and were at times, located directly on the forward edge of the battle area. 

Column movement had been steady but came to a sudden halt at the first line of German defenses where retreating forces had blasted huge craters in the road - the Route National. 

While the rest of the 129th turned around to cross no man’s land, Truman's battery dug in as he and the 2nd Battalion commander, Major Gates, forded the Aire River and scouted the area looking for any remnant of the armor brigade that they could link up with and to liaise (become trail party of.)  Eventually they found they were overlooking Varennes and decided to turn back. 

Truman and his battery followed the rest of his regiment across no man's land.  They often forced to pull the guns one at a time by double teaming each with12 horses, not the usual six in order to get them through the muddy, shell-torn terrain. There was no visibility, it was raining, and it was 2200 that night before the exhausted battery reached the regiment's bivouac area.

The next morning the 2nd BN moved north through the main defensive line to establish itself northeast of Varennes.  Truman was, as usual, sent forward to observe and direct fire.  The mission called for him to support the assault on Carpentry.  He was meant to link up with the infantry’s command but no one was spotted.  Truman did, however, have a visual on an unsupported tank assault into the German reverse-slope positions and from his vantage point he was able to watch the fighting around the village.

Meuse-Argonne US artillery forward observer

In the noise of combat, intense smoke, confusion and incoming fire, the infantry Truman was meant to support had actually shifted their battle line.  Truman was so intent on calling in fire missions that he ended up about 200 yards inside what were technically the German lines.  He had an exciting few moments where his immediate future and longevity were both somewhat uncertain.  Truman admitted that he lived a “charmed” existence and he was able to scurry back to the relative security of his own lines.  (Truman, 30 Oct., 1918)

The First Army had known that with the exception of a small number of batteries with specific missions, their divisional artillery would be out of action after about 0745 on 26 September as it moved forward, but they planned that most units would be ready on 27 September. What they did not anticipate was how massively clogged the roads would become, further delaying units that didn't get off to the immediate start of the 60th Brigade's 75mm artillery regiments.  Furthermore, there was no possible way they could have foreseen the rather extraordinary and peculiar series of events centered on some of the 28th's senior artillery officers.  They, together with the road congestion, prevented the use of its artillery for nearly three full days.  (Giangreco, 2002.)

It must also be noted that corps artillery, who was at this point in the offensive, operated under the restriction that it could fire on targets no closer than four miles in front of the infantry's lines.  Even division art’y was ordered to fire only at targets within their own sectors.  (Under the stress of battle, the Army has always seemed to have a propensity to issue confusing and ill thought-out orders.)
This change of events allowed the Germans to slip under the  coverage of 1st Army’s guns and move in 16 of their own batteries, raining down a conflagration of fire against the US 28th and 35th, with much of this fire coming from behind the 35th’s lines.

The Main Events at the Orchard at Cheppy

In moving into the Orchard at Cheppy, they were again on the forward edge of the battle.  They were so close to their targets that they were basically bore sighting their guns and firing on a flat trajectory.   As Mr. Wooden said, “There was a valley down there and then a slope up, and this slope was lined with machine guns in pillboxes. The old boys would just look down the barrel and give a yank. If they didn't get him with the first shot, on the next shot you'd see him go up in the air.” 

Remains of a damaged German artillery

Truman, at his OP was primarily observing his division front and the approaches down Route National.  That evening, Truman noticed an American aircraft just to the west of his position.  Turning his attention to the area, he saw a German battery setting up less than a thousand yards away.  In a text book response to the situation, Truman kept calm, alerted his battery to a fire mission and calculated the distance and position.  Moe importantly, he held his fire.  He waited until the Germans set up and moved their horses well away from the battery so there was no hope of them being able to move.  Then he called for fire.  He walked the rounds in, fired for effect and destroyed the entire battery.  He calmly destroyed a significant portion of the German weaponry that was having so much of a lethal effect on the Americans.

When it became too dark to see, CPT Truman and his few men at the OP returned to the battery’s firing position and immediately repositioned to the south.

Only the words of the men from Battery D can properly describe what happened next:

“While he was out there, we were strafed by a couple of German planes.  When Truman came back to the battery he gave orders to hitch up and pull out. We got up the road probably a hundred yards and where we had just left, boy, the shells were just raining in there. We would have been caught but we were a hundred yards away by that time -- just intuition on his part that we got out of there. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here talking to you.”  (Mr McKim) 

WWI heavy artillery

“I think that Truman realized that that airplane had probably notified the German artillery of our position. They, of course, knew the locale and so forth, and they just gave that location the business. I think that act on the part of Truman in moving our location probably saved a lot of lives.” (Mr Ricketts)

Meuse-Argonne offensive

And finally, Mr Wooden said, it was “just a little before sundown when a German plane came right over, right over our position. By God, you know what Harry did? He moved us back about 100 yards, and to our right about 200 yards, right in a little cut in the road, a chat road.  It wasn't fifteen minutes until they just shot that orchard all to hell. If he hadn't done that there might not have been a one of us left.”


In this regard, Truman had an uncanny ability to stay one move ahead of the Germans.  In referring to an earlier moment Truman had said, “Got up about 3 in the afternoon and picked out another place to put my cot which was very lucky for me because that night my first choice was unmercifully shelled and I'd be in small pieces now as would half my battery and my LTs if I'd stayed there.”  (Truman, 23 Nov., 1918)

Americans in the remnants of the Argonne forest, 1918

Before dawn on 28 September, (the third morning of the operation) CPT Truman again moved out and set up another OP and immediately began transmitting firing information.  At about 0900 he inadvertently viewed a German OP being set up and immediately called in fire and destroyed it.  About 1100 he observed another German battery, but this one was hitching up to move out.  Truman directly called in fire data with a fire for effect and forced the enemy to flee and leave behind their guns.  He later wrote to Bess, “I shot up a German battery in position one morning out and a German O.P.” and “I'm the only commander in the 129th who ever saw what he fired at and I think that is some distinction.”  (Truman, 23 Nov., 1918)

Come back tomorrow for Voices of 1918; part 3 of 5

Voices of 1918; Captain Harry S. Truman’s Combat Experience in World War I - Part 1 of 5

Prologue

1LT Truman

This could be entitled Combat as a Political Training Ground, because that is exactly what the future US President took home from the war: the experience and training to effectively lead America out of one of the most turbulent and violent times in world history.

What I remember most about Harry S. Truman was that when I was attached to the Infantry School at Ft. Benning, I had to stand outside on parade for a two hour memorial service for him after he died.  I was in the Army ‘Class A’ dress uniform which was much too light weight for that particular winter’s day.  The Georgia winter of 1972/73 was a cold, cold winter by all standards.

US Field Artillery with horse-drawn 75mm gun

Aside from that, as I recall from my history studies, he was a rather small, bespectacled, softly spoken man, full of homey charm and witticisms.  “The buck stops here.” and “If you can’t stand the heat, you better get out of the kitchen.” are two quotes that I have heard attributed to him.  Both of which fit well with what I understand about him.  As do his hobbies, which were music, reading and history.

President Truman

An in-depth look at Truman’s battery and battalion paperwork, including operations orders and reports, when combined with the extensive oral histories of his Soldiers, records of other Officers in his unit, and his own letters reveal an extremely intense picture of the future president's time in combat.  That he was the tough Commander-in-Chief who ended WWII with the dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan always seemed out of character for him.  That he was truly an unsung hero of WWI continues to astound me.

So let’s get to the story.  

The Prelude to War                                                 

Like many men of his era, Truman didn’t take no for an answer when it came to serving his country.  His childhood dream was to serve in the Army and to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, but he failed the vision exam.  His response was to memorize the eye chart and join the Missouri National Guard, with whom he served in from 1905 to 1911.  He did his time, fulfilling his enlistment obligation and easing his self-imposed need to serve.  However, at the outbreak of hostilities in Europe, he re-enlisted and shipped out with his friends as an enlisted man.

US Field Artillery

Truman’s abilities and potential were recognized and he was commissioned an Officer, eventually being promoted to Captain in France and being appointed the Company Commander of Battery D, 129th Field Artillery, 60th Brigade, 35th Infantry Division.  Battery D was composed of 188 men, 167 horses and a complement of French-designed 75mm guns.  The unit was well known for it’s lack of discipline.  As Truman remarked, they were predominately “Irish Catholics” and were “historically rowdy.”   

~ As I am an Irish Catholic male, I can assure you, reader, that ‘rowdy’ is a rather polite word that well describes most of us... me, admittedly, included. ~

According to Fred Bowman, “Captain Truman was assigned over to Battery D, but he got a hold of a bunch of drunks who were all under arrest in quarters.  Well, that was his initiation to Battery D.”  The battery had been under arrest and accordingly confined to quarters.  They were not under guard and there was a unit birthday, so they, naturally, decided to go out anyway and have a party in the local village.  They were originally under confinement for being drunk and disrespectful, so when they went to the party they only got drunk.  But they were ‘respectfully’ drunk when CPT Truman found them in their condition.

As stated by Mr. Leigh, “...and the next morning, on the bulletin board, about half of the non-coms and most of the first class privates were busted.”

CPT Truman was in command by assignment but in control by deed.

Incoming artillery fire on a US position

The Battle of Who Run                            

Prior to deployment, all the Artillery units had only trained on US guns, but once in theatre, they found that the need for guns surpassed the inventory.  The Art’y (old military slang for artillery) was needed on the lines, so Battery D was issued French-designed 75mm guns.  They spent an intense couple of weeks training on them before moving up.  Then their assignments and missions were gradually scaled up in increments before getting to the real war. 

US Field Artillery; 75mm gun being deployed

It was late summer before they were sent on their first serious operation.  It was in a defensive capacity near the village of Kruth in “Foret de Herenburg” [Truman, 23 Nov 1918 (note misspellings)] in the Vosges Mountains.  It was meant to be a low intensity live fire exercise more than an enthusiastic exchange of munitions.

But, as they do, events do not always match up with plans.  When faced with an unexpected incoming artillery barrage, the men of Battery D panicked and broke position, some hiding and some starting to flee. 

Truman regained order by firmly standing his ground in the open and using profanities that burned the ears off the troops, them being the good Catholic boys that they were.  Those who had not completely run off were shocked back into control by the outburst.  They reassembled and Truman led them in an orderly withdrawal.

This was a serious attempt by the Germans to rid the battlefield of their presence; however, it didn’t work as there were no casualties of any kind.  Nonetheless, they had some interesting experiences.  In his letter to Bess on 1 Sep., 1918, CPT Truman described how a high explosive shell impacted ‘15 feet’ in front of him. 

In the Captain’s own words, “The boys called that engagement The Battle of Who Run, because some of them ran when the first sgt did and some of them didn't.  I made some corporals and first class privates out of those who stayed with me and busted those who fled.” (Truman, 23 Nov, 1918)

In oral histories, the Battery members recalled that First Sergeant Meigs Woolridge was meant to bring up the horses to pull the guns out of a firing position after laying down a 30 minute barrage.  It was night time and counter to common sense the Top turned on his flashlight to find the firing position.  This drew immediate counter-battery fire.  In a blind panic, the First Sergeant deserted his post under the incoming fire, provoking a near rout.  He was demoted to private but he could have been court-martialed.   As recalled by Walter Menefee, “This first sergeant got so scared that he ran back eight miles to the echelon and I've never seen him to this day.  The next day the Captain stripped his stripes and transferred him and I don't know what ever become of him.”

Note: In this engagement, the only injuries were the blisters on Woolridge’s feet after he ran the eight miles to the rear.

Artillery Observers, 1918

From there they went on to serve in the Saint Mihiel campaign building knowledge and experience, preparing for the big push they knew had to come.

They didn’t have a central part of the fighting there but they did get a taste of the receiving end of artillery with incoming shells hitting around them.  The men also saw the aerial bombing of several cities as well as the effects of sustained combat.

 Come back tomorrow for Voices of 1918; part 2 of 5

Chaplain Angelo Liteky, a Brother-in-Arms

Being a brother-in-arms means many things to different people.  To me it certainly means being a bullet pusher and a ground pounder while being in the line of fire.  But I also include others, like the support personnel who are attached to line units or the precious few who throw themselves into harms way of their own accord.

This is one such example.

Captain Angelo Liteky was a 36 year old Roman Catholic Chaplain, serving with Headquarters, 199th Infantry Brigade, in the Bien Hoa Province during the Vietnam Conflict.  Even though he was, by specialty, a non-combatant, on 6 Dec., 1967 he attached himself to a reinforced patrol consisting of Company A, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry.  They were transported by helicopter to conduct a search and destroy mission near the village of Phuoc-Lac. 

The patrol was on the hunt and the chances of sustained conflict were excellent.  Just after clearing the landing zone (LZ), one segment of the patrol came under fire from a battalion sized enemy force.  The violence and intensity of the fire momentarily overwhelmed the unit and threw them into disarray.  They froze in position, hugged the ground and didn’t properly return fire.  The overall response was sporadic, totally disorganized and ineffective.

Observing two severely wounded men and seeing the lack of response from the attached medics, Chaplain Liteky moved to within about 20 yards of a firing enemy machine gun position to reach them, placing himself between the wounded and the fire.  When a lull in the fighting developed, the Chaplain dragged the wounded back to the LZ and its relative protection.

Encouraged by the sight of the Padre moving through the kill zone and motivated by his lifesaving actions, the patrol rallied and began to lay down a concentrated volume of direct fire on the enemy positions.

When Father Angelo saw the response that his actions had on the men, he became more overt in his tasks, moving from man to man, giving last rites or encouragement as needed.  Any wounded he came across, he personally removed to the LZ.

Upon seeing another severely wounded Soldier and realizing that he was being targeted by enemy fire, the Chaplain low-crawled to him and pulled him out of the vegetation.  Chaplain Liteky then, in an inspired moment, rolled onto his back and pulled the wounded man on top of his chest.  He dug in with his heels and elbows and through sheer determination and bullheadedness managed to crawl with the man back to the LZ.

At this point, Father Angelo was exhausted and wounded, suffering from combat injuries to his feet and neck as well as sustaining massive cuts and abrasions to his entire body.  Nonetheless, he persevered.  When he came upon yet another man entangled and severely wounded, he again bent to his task and pulled the man free.  Even though he was drawing fire, he picked the man up and carried him back for evacuation.

Seeing that the LZ was under fire with wounded awaiting evacuation, the Chaplain stood up and directed the helicopters to hover while wounded were loaded.  When they were out of the area, he moved back to his unit’s defensive positions, again inspiring the men by performing his lifesaving actions as well as giving religious succor as needed.

This continued until the next morning when a response in strength finally reached them and allowed the patrol to pull back.

Chaplain Liteky managed to bring more than 20 wounded members of the patrol back to the LZ, most of whom survived their injuries.  Furthermore, he acted as an inspiration to the remainder of the patrol and undeniably enabled them to rally sufficiently enough to repel the enemy.  He therefore likely saved all of their lives.

1SG Jack Duncan

1SG Jack W. Duncan from S.C. was the youngest 1SG in the 502 and was known for his hair-trigger temper. Before D-day, Duncan had been in a number of brawls in England when he perceived that other Soldiers had crossed him. Before Normandy, Duncan was demoted to SSG and transferred from HQ Co, 2nd Bn, to E/502. On 18 September, 1944, D/502 was embroiled in a battle at an (possibly a rail) embankment east of Best, Holland. Ray Hood called it "hand grenade city," as both sides were lobbing grenades over the embankment and shooting when targets presented themselves.

The ground was sandy and heavy fighting raged on. The 101st troops had run out of water and were extremely thirsty. Walt Kawalek of D/502 later wrote: "Our rifles got sand in the breeches and we were forced to work the bolts by hand until we could get enough oil on them to properly function. Seemed like the hotter they got, the better they worked. Linseed oil boiled out of the stocks and burnt our hands from the terrific heat of the barrels."

Into the battle came SSG Duncan. He rushed over from his company's position, several hundred yards away, to take part in the fighting. He did not receive permission to do this, but was always eager to join the action. Somehow, Duncan captured a German Officer. As the story goes, he put a .45 government model pistol to the Officer's head and marched him up onto the embankment. As the two men became visible, firing from both sides tapered off. SSG Duncan instructed the German to shout orders to his troops to lay down their weapons and surrender. The German Officer shouted something to his men, but none of the Americans understood what. As if in reaction, all the German troops opened fire simultaneously, killing both Duncan and the enemy Officer.

The battle resumed until British armor eventually arrived, which turned the tide of battle. Some Germans withdrew, but many more were captured.