TRANSCRIBED FROM THE HOT SPRINGS NEW ERA FEBRUARY 3, 1919 P. 4
I was sent first to Jefferson barracks Mo., then to Fort Taylor, Fla. Trained there for ten and a half months. They called for volunteers for overseas service and I asked to be taken. I was in the 32nd Artillery Brigade. We sailed from Hoboken, N. Y., March 31st, 1918, and landed at St. Nagaire, France on April 4th.
We were stationed at Limoges for three months, then we got moving orders. St. Mihiel was my first experience of real warfare. I can’t express my feelings when all the big guns began to roar around me. The barrage lasted for several hours. We took 15,000 prisoners in this drive.
In a few days we received orders to move to another front which proved to be Verdun. This was a strong sector: we were shelled every night, but when we got our heavy pieces trained on the place we came near moving it off the map.
We moved next to the Argonne Woods. When were all set and ready to give them-----we received orders to give them ten minutes gas, then high explosives. It worked too, for Fritz couldn’t stand the pressure. Montfaucon was a very hard place for the boys to take. It is on the top of a high hill and the Germans had concrete entranchments for their machine guns. The boys took it, but were driven back sixteen times in succession before they stayed.
Our brigade supported the boys at Grandpre. This was a hard fought and bloody battle. The thick forest made it difficult to take the place as the Germans had machine guns in the trees.
Believe me, if you had been with us on September 26th, October 8th, and 13th, you would agree with me that we were very much in action on these dates.
From November 1st to November 11th, we used Uncle Sam’s ammunition as though we had plenty and didn’t care for expenses.
NOTES: This partial letter was written by Felix Smith of Baxter Township in Garland County, Arkansas. He was attending college in Michigan during his senior year when he enlisted in the army on May 4, 1917. He was discharged after the war in 1919.
TRANSCRIBED BY MIKE POLSTON
I was sent first to Jefferson barracks Mo., then to Fort Taylor, Fla. Trained there for ten and a half months. They called for volunteers for overseas service and I asked to be taken. I was in the 32nd Artillery Brigade. We sailed from Hoboken, N. Y., March 31st, 1918, and landed at St. Nagaire, France on April 4th.
We were stationed at Limoges for three months, then we got moving orders. St. Mihiel was my first experience of real warfare. I can’t express my feelings when all the big guns began to roar around me. The barrage lasted for several hours. We took 15,000 prisoners in this drive.
In a few days we received orders to move to another front which proved to be Verdun. This was a strong sector: we were shelled every night, but when we got our heavy pieces trained on the place we came near moving it off the map.
We moved next to the Argonne Woods. When were all set and ready to give them-----we received orders to give them ten minutes gas, then high explosives. It worked too, for Fritz couldn’t stand the pressure. Montfaucon was a very hard place for the boys to take. It is on the top of a high hill and the Germans had concrete entranchments for their machine guns. The boys took it, but were driven back sixteen times in succession before they stayed.
Our brigade supported the boys at Grandpre. This was a hard fought and bloody battle. The thick forest made it difficult to take the place as the Germans had machine guns in the trees.
Believe me, if you had been with us on September 26th, October 8th, and 13th, you would agree with me that we were very much in action on these dates.
From November 1st to November 11th, we used Uncle Sam’s ammunition as though we had plenty and didn’t care for expenses.
NOTES: This partial letter was written by Felix Smith of Baxter Township in Garland County, Arkansas. He was attending college in Michigan during his senior year when he enlisted in the army on May 4, 1917. He was discharged after the war in 1919.
TRANSCRIBED BY MIKE POLSTON