GERMAN COUNTER-ATTACK
THE following days were severe and trying. About 5:30 P. M., October 25, the Germans made an
attempt to regain their lost ground. Following a terrific preparation lasting about forty minutes, enemy
infantry made a rush for the top of the hill opposite Company D, 1st Battalion, 357th Infantry. The
counter-attack was stopped by rifle and machine gun fire. The 357th Machine Gun Company, which
had played its part in taking these positions, rendered very great service by holding them and continually
harassing the opposing forces.
The official communiqué for October 26 read: “On the Verdun front, yesterday evening, the
enemy extended to the west side of the Meuse his efforts to wrest from our troops the gains of the
preceding days. In the region of Bantheville, after artillery preparation lasting half an hour, he attacked
our positions between the Bois des Rappes and the Bois de Bantheville. After sharp fighting he was
repulsed with heavy losses, our line remaining everywhere unchanged.”
On the afternoon of October 26 the second counter-attack was delivered. This was noted in the
official communiqué of October 27 as follows: “North of Verdun the enemy renewed without success
his attempts to regain the ground lost in recent fighting. Yesterday evening an attack launched with
strong forces against our positions between Bantheville and the Bois des Rappes broke down under our
artillery fire before reaching our lines.” A modest notice, but full of suggestion! It is safe to assume that
no Texan or Oklahoman, on reading the communiqué for October 27, realized that lives of loved ones
had been in the balance, but that the danger “broke down.” So close was the fighting that hand-grenades
were used.
For a week the 3d Battalion, 358th Infantry, clung perilously to its position along the
Aincreville-Bantheville road. The two companies which held this position were in a hotbed of Boche
snipers and trench mortars, which found effective concealment in Aincreville and the Ravin l’Etaillon.
Early on the morning of October 23, while patrolling toward Aincreville, Lieutenant Lyle K. Morgan,
Company M, was killed by a rifle shot, and immediately afterward George F. Dobbs of the same
company was severely wounded. Owing to the peculiar situation of the 3d Battalion, the only avenue of
communication was down the open slope from the Bois des Rappes and across the Andon brook, and the
slightest move by day brought forth a hail of bullets from German sharpshooters. “Chow details” which
attempted to fetch a bit of food for their comrades across the creek suffered particularly until Sergeant
Charles Ward, Company K, with deadly aim succeeded in “bagging” the Hun. Sergeant Ward himself
received several bullet holes in his helmet and the back of his blouse.
The 344th Machine Gun Battalion, commanded by Major Claude B. Gullette, played an
important role during this period. Its best opportunity came when two companies in the Bois des Rappes
succeeded in catching the Germans in a terrific barrage while forming up in the Ravin Cheline for a
counterattack against our positions. The 358th Machine Gun Company, commanded by Captain Mark
D. Fowler, also participated in this barrage. On October 30 the machine guns of the 179th Brigade
assisted the 5th Division in the taking of Aincreville by firing on enemy positions to the north and west
of the town. Aincreville was easily taken, but was immediately afterward subjected to such heavy
artillery fire that it was necessary to withdraw from the town. Captain Clarke W. Clarke, who had
brought the 358th Machine Gun Company to France, was gassed at Vilcey-sur-Trey on September 14.
The stubbornness of the fighting in this region is to be attributed not only to the determination to
hold this precious ground, but also to the quality of the German divisions opposing our troops. When
the Division entered the line the sector opposite was held by the 123d Division, with which the men had
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