Tag: Attigny

Codetalkers

Peter Larsen1 Comment

In October 1918 Allied forces and the German army faced each other in a tense standoff along the Aisne river in northeast France. Near the devastated towns of Attigny and Givry, the American 36th Division held the south side of the Aisne. The 36th was at the time part of the French Fourth Army. The French wanted to advance, but German defenses on the north side of the river were strong enough to give any attacker pause. There were rows of barbed wire and machine gun nests along the riverbank. Behind these defenses the Germans were building concrete bunkers and a trench system. Every day French and American troops received artillery hits from German long range guns; sometimes in the thousands.

In the meantime, the Germans had to be moved out of one outpost on the south side of the river.

Assault on the Loop

The Aisne river runs east – west through the Ardennes region of France until it reaches Attigny, where it curves around a hill and then runs to the southeast. On a map, the loop in the river looks like an inverted “U”. When the Germans retreated over the Aisne on October 12, they remained on this hill south of the river.

If the Fourth Army were going to get over the Aisne, it would have to first evict the Germans from the hill. Two attempts by the French 73rd Division resulted in minimal gains. As a result, the American 71st Infantry Brigade (141st and 142nd Infantry Regiments, plus the 132nd Machine Gun Battalion) moved in front of the loop on the night of October 22-23. The 71st began to plan their assault.

A communications problem

The best way to plan an assault is to keep the enemy in the dark about what you are about to do. This was difficult for the Americans because they were in a river valley with the Germans. Almost everything was in plain sight of the enemy. Even small movements during daylight would attract artillery fire. When Allied forces occupied the area, they reused the field telephone wires left behind by the Germans. Using the existing system saved time, but now commanders wondered if the Germans were listening in to their conversations.

American commanders tried a test: each regiment was given the location of a fictional ammunition dump over field telephone. In half an hour the location was pounded by German artillery. Now that they knew their field telephone communications were insecure, what was the solution? Messages carried by runners were slow and dangerous. Many runners became casualties in combat; and messages could take hours to arrive. As commanders in the 36th Division deliberated the answer, one captain at 142nd Infantry headquarters stepped outside to hear two men in HQ Company speaking in their native language, Choctaw. And he had an idea.

Company E, 142nd Infantry in France

American Indians join the war

Oklahoma became the forty-sixth state in 1907. Decades before, what became Oklahoma was set aside by the Federal Government as Indian Territory. As late as 1890, one in four people living in Oklahoma Territory was Native American, about 65,000. Oklahoma still had a substantial Native American population by 1917. About two-thirds were U.S. citizens. The remaining one-third were citizens of one of over thirty tribal nations in Oklahoma.

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, thousands of American Indians and Native Alaskans volunteered to serve. Many volunteers in Oklahoma joined the National Guard. This included both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens.

When the Oklahoma and Texas Guards merged into the 36th Infantry Division, several organizations in the 36th had multiple American Indians in the ranks. For example, E Company, 142nd Infantry was almost entirely American Indian; over 200 members. The reason for this was that the 142nd Infantry was itself a merger of a Texas unit and one from Oklahoma. Another Oklahoma outfit with several Native Americans as members was the 1st Squadron, Oklahoma Cavalry. The 1st Squadron became the 111th Ammunition Train when it joined the 36th Division.

About 12,500 American Indians and Native Alaskans served in American uniform in World War I. Though it is impossible to be exact, researchers and family members have now identified over six hundred American Indians who were members of the 36th Infantry Division at least for part of its World War I service. (See more about the effort to document their heritage here.)

Code talkers of the 36th. Left to right: Solomon Bond Lewis, Mitchell Bobb, James Edwards, Calvin Wilson, Joseph Davenport, and Captain Elijah Horner at Camp Merritt in 1919.

Secure communications

While planning to attack the Germans, leaders in the 142nd Infantry developed the idea to carry out voice communications exclusively in Choctaw. Their commanding officer, Colonel A.W. Bloor, reasoned that “there was hardly one chance in a million that Fritz could translate these dialects.” Two American Indian officers of the 142nd Infantry, possibly Lieutenants Templeton Black and Ben Cloud, formed a group of “Code Talkers”.

Adapting their native language to the realities of Twentieth-Century warfare took some imagination and discipline. The men agreed that code for “regiment” would be “tribe”; similarly “machine gun” would be “little gun shoot fast”. Having worked out every military term they would likely encounter, the Code Talkers dispersed. In a very short period, there was a Code Talker at the phone in every command post from brigade to regiment to battalion to company levels.

It was time to test the plan in action. In preparation for the attack, it was necessary to move two companies of the 142nd Infantry closer to where the attack was to begin. The Germans were watchful; any clue from telephone intercepts could expose the operation. On the night of October 26th, 1918, two companies from 2nd Battalion slid out of their position and moved closer to the front. The Germans did not notice anything. After that, the Code Talkers would have to handle communications for a furious battle, just hours away.

Innovations in action changed the battlefield to the advantage of American Expeditionary Forces in 1918. Almost simultaneously, a number of American Indians used their skills as Code Talkers. These include men in the U.S. 3rd, 30th, 32nd, 36th and 90th Infantry Divisions in France. Their example would show the way to the World War II U.S. Marine Code Talkers.

“I’ll face you!”

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Mid-October 1918 had American and German forces facing each other in an uneasy standoff. The Germans were dug in on the north side of the Aisne river in the Champagne region of France. The Americans were on the south bank, with the French Fourth Army. The French wanted an attack across the river around the town of Attigny. But the Germans had blown up all the bridges. Rows of barbed wire and machine gun pits lined the German side. Getting across the Aisne required a strong force, and a plan.

Commanders, including the American one, were working on it. With the American 36th Division was the 2nd U.S. Engineer Regiment. The Engineers had their work cut out for them: First of all, they had to repair up to forty miles of roads to get men and supplies to the front line. Second, the Germans had left a narrow-gauge rail network in ruins when they retreated. Repairing the railroad would help bring ammunition and supplies to the men at the front. Also, the Engineers had to work out how to get soldiers across the Ardennes canal and the river in a surprise attack.

Floating Foot Bridge for crossing the Aisne. Built by Co. "F" 2d U.S. Engineers.

Engineers get to work

The Germans had left behind lots of finished lumber, so the Engineers got to work. The goal was to build portable but sturdy footbridges to get the men over. Engineers built a number of bridges and tested them. The designs were ingenious but using them in combat was going to be no picnic. (More about the 2nd Engineers with the 36th can be found here.) The Aisne river valley was a war zone, with hundreds to over a thousand artillery explosions every day. Machine gun fire crossed a deadly no-man’s land. Snipers active on both sides made it risky to leave shelter during daylight.

Refugees

When the Americans fought for ruined towns like Saint-Étienne, they were abandoned. This was not the case when the Allies advanced farther into German-held territory. The towns of Attigny, Givry and others had a civilian population, now liberated after four years. Now that Attigny and Givry were wrecked by fire and shelling, civilian refugees had gathered in nearby Sainte Vaubourg. About 1,200 French civilians, mainly elderly and children with their mothers were trapped by artillery fire. They hung white sheets from every building in Sainte Vaubourg, which seemed to work.

Allied forces worked together to evacuate them. A column of trucks arrived to take the refugees south toward safety. However, as they were leaving German artillery struck the column and some of the civilians were injured. A first-aid station was also hit, despite its prominent red cross marking.

French children and 36th Infantry Division Medical Corps Man.

Reconnaissance

If the Allies were going to attack over the river, they would need to know what was on the other side. Both sides hid themselves during daylight but commanders wanted to know German strength just over the riverbank. Once again they turned to First Lieutenant Donald McLennan, scout officer in the 142nd Infantry. Just days earlier, Lt. McLennan had led a patrol over the river, capturing two German prisoners. Returning to 1st Battalion headquarters after another night patrol on the front line, McLennan received orders for a risky daytime operation. McLennan continues,

“I explained that I had just got in from reconnaissance and told them of German locations, and that it was my belief that we could not cross. It did not change the order. I called for volunteers and Ted Watrous and ‘Red’ Smith, who had served me so well on a former occasion, stepped out, also Corporal Allie Gammill and Buster Stinson. I told them what was wanted also informed them as to what I knew of the conditions. I instructed them to go to the old mill and take observations but under no circumstance try to cross the canal, but wait for me.”

While the patrol made their way to the observation post by the canal, McLennan received confirmation of the order. He gathered a support team of ten riflemen and started for the canal with Watrous, Gammill, Stinson and Smith.

Attigny: General view after the war.
Attigny with a view toward the Ardennes canal and Aisne river

Crossover

“When we arrived at the canal I told the men I would go ahead, and when I fell to go back and report that we had contact. We worked cautiously trying to get a small raft, and finally got some men across. We were just starting to advance a little when the Germans opened up. I stooped over and the man behind me was shot in the shoulder, another across the forehead.”

McLennan’s patrol had been observed as it crossed over. Now Germans were coming across no-man’s land between the river and the canal to block their escape. McLennan ordered the surviving members of his patrol to withdraw. Then he stepped out in full view of the enemy and emptied his M1911 Colt at them. He walked backwards, still firing at the advancing Germans. “We’re going back,” McLennan called out, “but I’ll face you!”

First Lieutenant McLennan and Private Lester “Red” Smith miraculously got across under covering fire from his team on the south side of the canal. But McLennan was right about making patrols in daylight. He lamented,

“Ted Watrous and Corporal Gammill were killed and Stinson captured before we could get away. I returned to Headquarters and told them we were in contact.”

Unit Crest of the 142nd Infantry Regiment
Unit Crest of the 142nd Infantry Regiment

A new motto

For his actions at Attigny on October 21, 1918, First Lieutenant Donald J. McLennan was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism in action. When the unit crest of the 142nd Infantry Regiment was created after the war, the Steeple from Saint-Étienne, the Aisne River, and the words “I’ll Face You” symbolized the service and sacrifice of Southwesterners on the fields of France.

Private First Class Ted Watrous and Corporal Samuel A. Gammill were never found. They are remembered on the Tablets of the Missing at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, located on ground liberated by American forces in 1918. More about America’s Missing in Action and the efforts to locate and remember them can be found here.

Pursuit

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After five days in the combat area, troops of the 71st Brigade made way for the 72nd Brigade. The advance of the 72nd Brigade (143rd and 144th Infantry Regiments, plus the 133rd Machine Gun Battalion) brought the U.S. 36th Division to the edge of the Aisne River in northeast France. Taking the lead on October 11, 1918, the 72nd Brigade advanced from Saint-Étienne unhindered for nearly two kilometers. Halfway between Saint-Étienne and Machault, advance guards of the 144th Infantry received machine gun fire from a small German force. At about the same time, a German spotter plane appeared and artillery began to hit near the troops, causing some casualties in the 144th. German artillery also landed on two abandoned ammunition dumps, causing them to explode.

The advance continues

In the confusion of the explosions, some of the German machine gunners retreated to nearby Machault. On the other hand, the ones who remained were killed in the American advance. As they neared Machault, troops were once again under machine gun fire, this time from the town. Germans had put their guns in the upper floors of some houses there to get the best shot. As the Americans began to work their way around the town, German cannon opened up again. But this time German shells fell on the town as well as outside, and the machine gunners fled.

Machault had been used by the Germans since 1914 to store and move ammunition and supplies to the old front line, about eight miles to the south. Some of the town had been burned by the Germans in an effort to destroy their stores. Just north of the town, in Mont-Saint-Rémy, rows and rows of German artillery shells, lumber and railroad equipment were discovered the next day by the 72nd Brigade and the French 73rd Division. Later, the worth of the German materials left behind at Mont-Saint-Rémy was estimated conservatively at ten million 1918 U. S. Dollars (about $171 million in 2020).

Toward the Aisne

By October 12th, the 2nd U.S. Artillery Brigade had also moved forward. Consequently, American artillerymen began a duel with the Germans, moving their cannon daily to avoid a counter-strike. The same day, American forces reached the crest of the Aisne valley. From here the whole district along the Aisne River and beyond it was clearly visible. However by going down into the valley, the Americans were also seen by the Germans. Leading forces of the 72nd Brigade made their way toward the banks of the Aisne late on the 12th.

Attigny

The largest town in this area is Attigny, on the Aisne River. The Ardennes canal, parallel to the river, made Attigny a center for moving supplies to the old Hindenburg line. A railroad line also passed through Attigny from the northwest. A French cavalry patrol approached the town and found the Germans had set parts of it on fire. They had also done this to Machault and several other towns as they retreated. As they crossed to the north side of the Aisne, the Germans likewise dynamited all the bridges across the river and canal.

But the fires failed to ignite gunpowder and ammunition stores left in Attigny. The next day, October 13th, American patrols entered the town. In addition, they found the Germans had cut down the trees on the south side of the river. This gave them a clear field of fire from the north side. American soldiers approaching the riverbank found the other side protected by German machine guns and their artillery, as usual, accurate. They started taking casualties. In short, the Germans had stopped retreating.

German artillery had a clear view of the American side of the valley, as was seen when American troops moved into the area in force on October 13th. Advancing in the open in daylight, a German barrage hit the 144th Infantry hard; wounding 181 men and killing twenty-eight. As a result, the main American force stayed three or four kilometers away from the river. The zone near the river was guarded by smaller outposts of men spread wide and hidden from sight.

The loop

On the right of the American force and directly in front of the French 73rd Division the Aisne bent northward and, reversing, bent to the southeast. Inside this loop was a town, Rilly-aux-Oies, and a hill covered by farmland. The Germans had retreated to this hill and fortified it, their only outpost on the southern side of the Aisne for miles.

Late on October 13th the rest of the 36th Division arrived at the American front line. Leading forces from the 141st and 142nd Infantry and the 132nd Machine Gun Battalion quietly made their way toward the riverbank. The 141st Infantry was on the extreme right near the French 73rd Division. On October 14th, a patrol from the 141st surprised a German outpost on the river loop and captured six soldiers and four light machine guns.

Stalemate

American and French forces were in a stalemate with the Germans. If the Germans retreated, the Allies must advance. But how to know if the Germans are retreating if one cannot see them? As a result, American and French commanders ordered patrols to observe the German side of the river. Sometimes patrols were ordered into the German line to grab prisoners and gain intelligence. The riverbank was well defended by German machine guns: it was a dangerous game.

Patrols

On the night of October 16, patrols from the 141st and 143rd made their way over the canal and river and snatched two prisoners each. Division headquarters found the German POWs were full of useful information. Likewise the next night a patrol organized by 1st Lieutenant Donald McLennan, scout officer in the 142nd Infantry, made its way toward the canal.

Lt. McLennan had a force of about twenty men, which he felt was too large. After placing most of them on the friendly side of the canal to watch for the enemy, he left to visit the French outpost nearby. He explained his mission to the French soldiers as best he could. In other words, McLennan did not want to be fired upon by an ally on the front line. He returned to his men and picked just three others, Privates Ted Watrous, Lester ‘Red’ Smith and Claude Pierce of C Company.

Destroyed bridge over the Aisne, 1918

Enemy territory

McLennan led the patrol across the Ardennes canal into no-man’s land between the canal and the river. Americans had observed sixteen German machine guns in the vicinity. From time to time they would open fire on the small strip of land. Quietly, McLennan found a rickety footbridge across the river and soon enough they were on the German side.

Making their way through dense undergrowth by the river, PFC Ted Watrous motioned to the others that he had found the enemy. Watrous and Smith rushed a foxhole; McClennan came up behind them. McLennan continues:

“I jumped into a small fox hole for a moment and saw two Germans lying off to one side. One of the boys had already shot the smaller one through the arm, I think. The big fellow was no good and showed no nerve and made no resistance. They were too scared to fight I guess, and maybe they thought I had a whole company with me. I didn’t know if we could make it back or not for just a little in front of us they were cracking down pretty lively by that time.”

“Had a notion to cool the big fellow, but I was afraid that with the reckless shooting that was going on they might kill the other and then I would be without a prisoner. So we took a back track and shoved them along in front of us. They let on as though they could not swim but we threw them in and they made it to the planks all right. We got away without any casualty, but how it happened is beyond my understanding. So we returned, the order had been carried out and I delivered two prisoners.”