Army did not contemplate an artillery preparation. On September 11 the four-hour preparation was
ordered, one reason undoubtedly being the necessity of cutting as much wire as possible with high
explosive. So, during the first two hours of this preparation, the artillery played on the back areas,
principally with gas, in order to catch the German personnel in their trenches, dugouts, and camps but
from three to five o’clock every available battery was directed on the enemy wire. However, this part
of the program was not a great success. As the guns had not previously registered, and fired without
observation or correction, the effect on the entanglements was practically nil.
The infantry plans also were drawn up to minimize the danger of the wire as far as possible.
Owing to the width of No Man’s Land, and the necessity of using a formation to get the men through
existing lanes in the entanglements so that units would arrive intact in front of the enemy first position, it
was provided that each platoon of the assault companies would he formed in “line of combat groups,”
that is, with each little group of riflemen and specialists in single file – while the support companies
were to be in “column of half-platoons,” a still more compact formation.
In each platoon four men were equipped with the big wire-cutters and told off with the sole
mission of cutting wire so that the remainder of the platoon could pass through. This plan worked
admirably. The scheme to detail engineers with Bangalore torpedoes to accompany the assault wave
for the purpose of blowing up entanglements was carried out, but was not a great success for the reason
that from the time that the American and hostile lines drew close together, and the battle waxed hot, all
processes of wire-cutting proved too slow, and each soldier solved the problem for himself. Here the
physical prowess of the men in the ranks saved the day, and the bands were cleared at one leap. In the
m
lée the clothes of hundreds were torn to shreds, and some arrived on the objective so naked that it was
necessary to send them to the rear for a new uniform in order to avoid freezing.
The wire proved most serious for Company G, 358th Infantry. Just as this company was picking
its way through the sea of entanglements in front of Barnum Trench, 500 meters north of their jumping-
off positions, it came under murderous machine gun fire from the right flank.
View of the region which was no Man’s Land before the attack on September 12,
taken from the take-off trenches in front of Fey-en-Haye.
The assaulting battalions were forced to cross the maze of trenches
and wire before getting at grips with the enemy.
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