The Second Division
American Expeditionary Force
in France
1917-1919

Commanders — 2nd Division A.E.F.

"These are American Regulars. In a hundred and fifty years they have never been beaten."

Under what circumstances these words were used, the reader will learn if he has the courage to read farther. Perhaps they may serve as a text for this discourse. As a first step in the exposition of this text, an incident in the history of another division may be illuminating.

In Germany, soon after the completion of the Anabasis of the Allies, an officer of the division in question—a regular division, not the Second—was telling of his experiences on that march. It chanced that his duties had to do with billeting, and that a small permanent detail of men from the various regiments was assigned to work with him. The group, naturally, became well acquainted, and "old soldier stories" filled their leisure moments.

One day, the talk turned upon a recent battle, in which this division had relieved another, which had been trying unsuccessfully to advance over open country. Immediately after the relief, this division moved forward and took the disputed positions. Seeking light on how things happen in battle, the officer began to question the men a little. How was it that they had succeeded where others had failed? How was it that they, individually, had moved out so unhesitatingly? What if the rest had hung back, and left a few leading spirits alone in the open?

This was a brand new idea. The men were frankly puzzled—it had never occurred to them before. "Why, lieutenant, I never thought of that. I knew they were all coming we are regular troops."

Not yet satisfied, the lieutenant began personal inquiries. What had been the military record of each man in the group? It developed that not one of them had come to France with his regiment they were transfers and replacements, from various sources, and not one had been with his regiment over three months!

What manner of men were these "American Regulars", of the Second—and its sister divisions? What is this spirit—"possunt quia posse videntur"—which makes them unbeatable as soon as they step within the magic circle of a regular regiment? Is such a spirit not worth possessing? Can our peace-time organization not take more account of it, and can our mobilization plans not utilize it better?

The Second Division hopes that the following pages may furnish some little food for the thought of such as may wish to find answers to these questions.

This narrative is based almost entirely upon original documents. These fall into three classes.

1.—American official documents.—These papers are from the files of the Adjutant General of the Army and from those of the Marine Corps. In many cases where papers were missing from the files, the Second Division was able to find them and restore them to their proper places. In 1924 the Division was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. There a section of the division staff under Captain Clyburn O. Mattfeldt, 9th Infantry, was established and charged with the collection and preservation of every map and paper which pertained to the Division's active operations. The result is the Records of the Second Division, all mimeographed and bound in nine huge volumes, with an atlas and a volume of situation sketches. Copies of this work have been placed in the War Department, Congressional Library, Service School libraries and a number of University libraries. They form the written record.

This work of incalculable value could not have been carried to conclusion but for the loyal painstaking services of one of the Army's finest soldiers, Master Sergeant Arthur J. Counihan, Headquarters Company, Second Division. To him and the assistants who served under him we owe a great debt of gratitude.

2.—Foreign documents.—These are papers secured from the French and German archives. The facilities for securing them were arranged through the Historical Section, Army War College, which has, since 1920, had one office in Paris and one in Berlin, selecting and copying documents affecting American operations. Most of the French documents required were already in the files of the Adjutant General or in those of the Historical Section, Army War College. German documents offered more of a problem the Historical Section, Army War College, had the authority to secure these, but not the clerical force to copy them quickly enough. In 1927 a representative of the Division was sent to Berlin to survey the situation, and arrangements were completed by which the documents desired by the Division should be given priority by the representative of the War College Historical Section, the necessary clerks being employed by the Division. The Division wishes here to express its high appreciation to the German Reichsarchiv and to General Heye, then Chief of Staff of the Reichswehr, for their courtesies in this matter.

A translation section was organized by the Division, and translations of these German documents have been published as a supplement to the Division Records.

3.—Personal documents.—The Division has made great efforts to secure diaries, letters, etc., of members of the Division. A number of these have been sent in, as gifts or loans, and have been utilized freely. The Division here publicly expresses its indebtedness to the individuals concerned, an indebtedness already expressed personally.

The maps indicating the operations of the Division are based upon those which were compiled by the American Battle Monuments Commission after years of painstaking research and examination of all available records, and which were made available to the Second Division through the courtesy of the Commission.