ROAD MARCHING.
The first night’s stay was at Marville, a ruined town in the field of operations. The next
two nights found us at Longuyon and Mont St. Martin respectively. These towns looked a little,
again, like civilization. After pulling out of the gun parks at Marville, which were veritable
quagmires, and getting upon the road, little difficulty was experienced in our subsequent road
marching. In a day or so, all organizations were making and breaking camp like veterans. Each
night the billeting party pushed ahead to find places for the next stop and each night, as the
regiment arrived at its stopping place it was met by the billeting party who piloted the different
organizations to picket-lines, kitchens and billets. After three days marching, Sunday was spent
in resting at Mont St. Martin, This rest was much needed by both men and animals, especially
the mules with their shoulders skinned and the cannoneers whose feet were sore from trudging
patiently over muddy roads. But all spirits were high. The Service of Supply never failed to get
up supplies for men and animals. The animals actually fattened during the march.
THE DUCHY OF LUXEMBURG.
From Mont St. Martin, the march lead through Rondange into Luxemburg. Here were
pleasant fields and prosperous looking people, quite a contrast to the devastated lands just left.
The night of December 17th we spent at Strassen, Luxemburg. Here the people received the
Americans kindly. The next two nights were spent in Dalheim, still in the Duchy of Luxemburg.
Here our experiences were not so pleasant, for the lucrative spirit of the Luxemburgers appeared
and inhabitants attempted to exchange money with the mark more valuable than the franc, but it
did not take long to set them at rights on this score.
INTO GERMANY.
Early on the morning of the 20th, the column headed for Remich on the Moselle. Here
the 345th Field Artillery pulled in ahead of us. The sun came out for a moment as the head of
the column crossed the bridge and into Germany, but the auspicious entry was short lived for at
once the sun went behind a cloud and it began to rain and snow and turn bitterly cold. The heavy
tractors of the 345th had not proceeded two kilometers along the narrow slippery road before
they began slipping off the road and our column was halted half in Germany – half in
Luxemburg. Noon found us thus. Chilled to the bone and shivering we munched our noon
sandwiches as the snow continued to fall. With no prospect of movement ahead, the 2nd
Battalion cut off and went down the river going into their night’s staging place by a back route.
As for the 1st Battalion, it was marooned behind the motorized regiment and could do nothing
but follow slowly into camp. As a consequence of the delay and the muddy roads, the command
made Kirf, the staging point for that night, at the latest hour yet experienced on the march. It
was Germany – Occupied Territory. Requisitions could be levied for things we needed. If the
Germans declined to billet us, we billeted anyway. But quite contrary to expectations, the
Germans received us in a friendly fashion. At Kirf and the adjoining towns, we remained for
three nights and two days, waiting for portions of the 89th Division to clear the roads ahead. On
December 23rd, however, the march was resumed. That night we staged at Konz (just south of
Trier). The mess officers and mess sergeants with trucks, were sent into Trier that night to
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