RAPID ADVANCE ON THE LEFT
IT was in the center of the divisional sector that the chief difficulty was experienced. On the two flanks
the advance went off like clockwork, and the objectives were reached ahead of schedule. On the right,
the 1st Battalion, 360th Infantry, commanded by Major W. H. H. Morris, quickly overcame all
resistance and reached its objective by 6:30 A. M. The left flank of the 3d Battalion, 360th Infantry,
commanded by Major J. W. F. Allen, moved into what had formerly been No Man’s Land to connect
with the 1st Battalion.
The 357th Infantry, on the left, made record time in attaining its objective. By 9:30 A. M. the
line had been reached on the right, although there was still fighting to be done before it was occupied
throughout.
The 1st Battalion, commanded by Captain (later Major) Aubrey G. Alexander, suffered
numerous casualties soon after the jump-off. Lieutenant Roy E. Matthews, battalion scout officer, and
Lieutenant J. Mckenzie McIntosh, Company A, were killed early by machine gun fire. Just before
reaching the Bois de la Rappe, Lieutenant Fred Regenhrecht, second in command of Company B,
received wounds from a machine gun bullet that caused his death in a hospital several clays later.
Lieutenant Eldon Breedon, Company D, although wounded in his side by a machine gun bullet when the
first German positions had been taken, stuck with his platoon and led them on to their objective.
The bitterest fighting the regiment experienced that day was in taking the reserve trenches in the
For
t des Vencheres just north of the ravine in which runs the road from Fey-en-Haye to Vieville-en-
Haye. This ravine was later popularly known as “Gas Alley.” It seemed that every approach was
covered by machine gun fire, and it was necessary to scale a steep bluff in order to reach the position.
Lieutenant James Manahan, Company A, was killed instantly by this machine gun fire. In the advance,
Corporal Arthur H. Koch, Company A, although aided by only one private, flanked a machine gun nest
killed, seven Germans and captured one German and three machine guns.
The 2nd Battalion, 357th Infantry in close support of the1st also received its quota of casualties.
Captain Richard Townsend, Company H, received a machine gun bullet wound during the advance in
the woods which later caused his death. Lieutenant Donald McBride Company E, received a machine
gun wound in the leg, and Lieutenant John C. Donally, Company G, was wounded just before crossing
the valley of the Stumpflager. To the 2d Battalion fell the duty of mopping up machine gunners who
concealed themselves until the 1st Battalion had passed. Lieutenant Tobin C. Rote, Company F, single-
handed, captured a gun and its crew. A short time afterward he was wounded by artillery fire.
The 2d Battalion assisted the advance of the 3rd Battalion, 358th Infantry, and temporarily
closed the gap which their delay, in getting through the Bois de Friere, had created, by striking in the
rear of the Germans in the vicinity of Moulin de Jaillard. When the 3rd Battalion finally arrived on the
objective and connected with the 1st Battalion, 357th Infantry, the 2nd Battalion withdrew to support
position in the Tranchee Claude for the night.
1st Sergeant William G. Greenfield, of Company G, 357th Infantry, from Logan, Oklahoma, was
wounded twice during the morning, but he refused medical aid until the day’s job was over. He was
awarded the D. S. C. for his faithfulness and the qualities of leadership he displayed in reorganizing
groups of men which had become separated from their organization in the dense woods. Private Bart L.
Shadrick, Company E, from Sapulpa, Oklahoma was also awarded the D. S. C. for his fearless action in
attacking machine gun nests on two different occasions. The unique manner in which he effected one of
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