78th Company, 6th Marines

Where Our Company Has Been And A Few of The Things It Has Done

Our company was formed at Quantico, Va., on July 21, 1917, from sections of B, D, E and F Recruit Training Companies, of Mare Island, Calif. The men were mostly from western and northwestern states. The University of Minnesota furnished the largest number from any one place. Captain Messersmith was made company commander, and Second Lieutenant Shinkle was second in command.

On August 20, 1918, the company, having reached full war strength by the addition of men from the Paris Island, S. C., Training Camp, was made the Seventy-eighth Company, Second Battalion, of the Sixth Regiment, and the following officers were assigned to it as platoon commanders:

Sergeant G. W. Walker was made first sergeant, and the platoon leaders were: Gunnery Sergeants George Lyman, George W. Hopke, Noble Arndt and Richard Day.

We remained in Quantico through the fall and early winter, receiving special training in modern warfare, and going through a general hardening process, which we called "pneumonia drill." At Christmas time all of us who could be spared, and who did not live too far, were granted furloughs home, and on January 19, 1918, we entrained for Philadelphia, where we boarded the U. S. S. Henderson for overseas service.

Landing at St. Nazaire on February 8, after a rough but uneventful voyage, we made our first acquaintance with "40 Hommes 8 Cheveaux," on a two-day ride to Damblain. After spending the night at Damblain in "pup tents," a four-mile hike was made the following morning to Robecourt, where we found billets.

From February 11 to March 17, we remained in Robecourt, going through some very severe training, consisting of practice hikes, trench-digging, bomb-throwing, and "standing by" all night in trenches. The weather was disagreeable, and there, was a great deal of mud.

Leaving Robecourt, March 17, a 24-hour train ride, followed by a 20 mile hike, brought us to Camp L'Eveche, in the Verdun Sector. From here the platoons went up to the third line trenches and worked every night. While here we had our first gas alarm, and saw wounded French soldiers being carried from the line. On the night of March 23 we were under fire for the first time.

On March 28 we moved up to the front line at Mont-sous-le-Cote, Toulon Sector, where we were crowded into dugouts. Space was so limited it was necessary for two men to sleep in a single bunk, only 24 inches wide. The days were spent in sleeping and the nights were devoted to working on the trenches and "standing by." While here we were subjected to shell fire and air raids, but suffered no casualties.

On the night of April 7, a movement was made back to L'Eveche, a place we nicknamed "Never Rest." This was a very appropriate title, for hikes were made from here up to the front line every night, through rain and mud, in order to work on the trenches.

We received our first replacements on April 16, and on April 18, we moved again up to the front line, on a hill overlooking Bonzee, where larger dugouts were found, with better bunks . The routine was the same as before—sleeping during the day and "standing by" in the trenches at night.

On April 23 we moved back, and on April 25 moved up again to trenches at Ronvaux, near Verdun, where we found old water-soaked dugouts, some of them fifty feet deep. Shelling was heavy, and it was here that, on April 26, Ray Crow was killed, he being the first man killed in action with the Seventy-eighth Company. There was very little work done here, but the danger from enemy shell fire was greater than at any time before, several men being wounded. The food was poorer than usual and harder to get up to the men, on account of their exposed position.

On May 3 we moved back into support position at Ronvaux, staying here nine days, digging and repairing trenches at night and sleeping through the day.

On May 12, the Second Division was relieved by the French, and at 1.30 a. m. the Seventy-eighth Company left the lines. We hiked to St. Nicholas, where we had something to eat, and at 7:30 a. m. started on a 15-kilometer hike to a railroad, entraining at 11 a. m. The rest of the day was spent on the train. At 7:30 p. m. we disembarked at Blesmes, and made a 32-kilometer hike to Changy, arriving at 1:30 a. m., having been 25 hours on the move and hiking a total of 50 kilometers. General Pershing inspected us the following day, finding the company rather ragged and worn, but still "going strong."

The stay in Changy. from May 13 to 19, was spent in drilling, hiking, and bayonet practice. There was a river near, where we went in swimming and washed up, the weather being warm.

Beginning on the morning of May 19, a hike to Vitry-le-Francois, an all night ride to Isle-Adam, followed by a 33-kilometer hike, brought us to Marines, where we were received most heartily by the French people.

Leaving Marines on May 22, we had a very hot and dusty hike to Serans, where we remained for ten days, drilling and hiking every day.

On the afternoon of May 30, there were rumors of a rush order for the company to move to the Somme front, and the following morning at 9:15 o'clock we loaded on trucks. We rode all that day and night, going near Paris and through Meaux, passing a continuous stream of French refugees on their way to the rear. At 4:15 a. m., June 1. we unloaded and rested beside the road until 2:30 p. m., when we again loaded in the trucks, with orders for the Chateau-Thierry front, to stop the German advance along the Paris-Metz Road.

We advanced some distance further in the trucks before unloading. We then formed a skirmish line and began hiking toward the front with fixed bayonets, passing many French soldiers, who were falling back before the German drive. By nightfall we had reached a field, where we spent the night on the "top side" of the ground.

We had taken up an advance position to meet the Germans, in front of Belleau Woods, overlooking the town of Bouresches, and while we were "digging in" the next morning (June 2), the enemy came upon us. There was fierce fighting all that day, with many killed and wounded on both sides, but we succeeded in holding our position. For the next seven days we remained in this exposed position, repulsing all the Hun attacks and living on "hard tack," raw bacon, and what little canned goods we could get during the night.

On June 9, a company of the Fifth Marines relieved us at the front line, and we moved back to a support position, where we received our first hot meal since May 30. It was here that we were joined by the Third Replacement.

At 1 :30 a. m., June 13, we were ordered to the front again, and moved up under heavy shell fire, and gas, to a position in the woods just back of the front line, where we waited to relieve the Fifth Regiment on the following midnight. However, at 12:30 a. m., June 14, just as we started out of our position in the woods to make the relief, we were caught in a box barrage of gas shells and shrapnel. This lasted for two hours, and all but twelve men of Seventy-eighth Company were killed, wounded or gassed.

The Fourth Replacement Battalion was rushed up to the front in trucks, to reinforce the Second Battalion, and 160 men were assigned to the Seventy-eighth Company, joining us at a reserve position in woods near the town of Montreuil-aux-Lions. Here the company was reorganized and again moved up into support position on June 21.

On the night of June 25, our battalion took over the front line at Hill 142, Belleau Woods, Chateau-Thierry Sector, where we were engaged against the enemy until. July 5. Our position on Hill 142 was a good one, being on a hill side facing the enemy, who were in another woods beyond an open wheat field. To add security to this position it was necessary to erect barbed-wire entanglements in front of our line. Preparations for this entailed a great deal of work, as stakes of three and five feet lengths had to be cut and concealed near the line. Also rolls of wire had to be carried by hand from a dump two kilometers back of our position. All this was carried on under cover of darkness, for the enemy had direct observation of our movements, and kept a continuous rain of shells on the entire woods. When all the necessary material was collected on the line, details from every company in the battalion went out into "No Man's Land" one night and constructed the entanglements. A peculiar incident worth mentioning here is the fact that every night when we would go out on working parties back of the line, some of our men would be hit by shell fire, but the night the entanglements were constructed in front of the line, not a single shot was fired at us, and we found the wheat field in "No Man's Land" the safest place in the neighborhood.

While on Hill 142 we would get one meal every 24 hours, which was brought up sometime during the night in Ford cars to a dump one kilometer back of the line, being carried the rest of the way on foot.

July 4, 1918, was celebrated in Paris by a big parade in honor of the American successes in the Chateau-Thierry Sector, and a company, made up of the older men in our battalion, was sent to Paris to represent the United States Marines in the parade.

On July 5, we were relieved by a company of the Twenty-sixth Division, and moved back to a reserve position in woods near the Paris-Metz Road. On July 10, we took up a support position in woods near Bezu, and on July 14 entered Nenteuil-sur-Marne, an evacuated French town, where most of us were fortunate enough to find billets with real beds in them. The Marne River, nearby, furnished a good place to wash and swim.

Our pleasant location at Nanteuil-sur-Marne did not last long, however, and on the afternoon of July 16 we loaded into trucks for another front. We rode all that night and until the afternoon of the following day, when we passed through Villeres-Cotterettes [sic] and unloaded. After two hours rest, we took up the march, entering some dense woods and hiking until 11 o'clock at night, when we stopped by the roadside to sleep until morning.

July 18 found us in the theatre of the Allied counter-offensive. The roads through the woods were crowded with troops, trucks, caissons, tanks, and all the other machinery of war. In the early morning we began hiking, and about noon came to the edge of the woods. We were now to the south of Soissons, on ground which had just been wrested from the Germans by other units of the Second Division. In the afternoon we moved forward over some open country, and formed a support line in anticipation of an enemy counter-attack.

On the morning of July 19 we passed through Verzy [sic Vierzy] and formed in waves back of the front line, Seventy-eighth Company being in the front wave. At 10 o'clock we went "over the top," assisted by French tanks. Without a supporting barrage we advanced across a wheat field and out into a beet field, capturing quite a few prisoners and driving the enemy into a woods beyond. For the time it lasted, this was one of the bloodiest battles the Seventy-eighth Company was ever in. Our losses were heavy, owing to the fact that the terrain offered no natural protection, and the fields were swept by enemy artillery and machine gun fire. In spite of our losses, those of us who were not hit dug "fox holes" in the beet field and held our position through a day of extreme peril and hardship. Our tenacity and continuous rifle fire throughout the day compelled the enemy to withdraw their line after dark for about one kilometer. There were fifty-three men left in the Seventy-eighth Company, and the Second Battalion was about the size of a regulation war strength company.

Before daybreak on July 20, we were relieved by some Frencn Colonial troops, and moved back to a support position near some big French guns, that were now firing into the Marne salient. As a result of the advance in the line, these guns were in a position where they were connecting with similar guns firing from Rheims, causing great damage to the Germans by a flanking fire on them as they withdrew from the salient.

We were in support for four days, then hiked by easy stages to Nanteuil-le-Haudain [sic Nanteuil-le-Haudouin], where the entire battalion was billeted in a big barn from July 25 to 30. A few casuals from the hospital joined us while here. On July 30, we took a train to Nancy and hiked nine kilometers to Chavigny, where we were billeted for four days. The Fifth Replacement joined us here, bringing the company back to normal strength.

On August 5, we hiked 20 kilometers to Liverdun, and on the following day hiked 20 kilometers to Dreulourd. On the night of August 7 we moved up to Pont-à-Mousson in the Marbache Sector, where our battalion occupied the front line from August 8 to 16.

Our engagement against the enemy at Pont-à-Mousson is a pleasant recollection. It was what the French, whom we relieved, called a "bon sector." The fighting was confined to artillery bombardments and encounters between raiding patrols. We could not drill during the day on account of our proximity to the enemy, and there was very little work to do, as the line had not changed position here for four years. Consequently we had quite a lot of leisure moments, which were chiefly devoted to eating plums, there being an abundance of this fruit in nearby orchards.

August 21 we made a 30-kilometer hike to Autreville, where we remained for eleven days, carrying out an eight-hour per day drill schedule. We also received intensive training in the new battle formations and practiced a divisional maneuver. Our stay in Autreville was the longest period we had remained in one place since going into action on June 1.

From September 2 to 12, we were enroute by march to the St. Mihiel Sector, passing through the towns of Thiully, Chandenay, St. Glangout and Manancourt. It being necessary to conceal our movements, we hiked at night and bivouaced [sic] in woods during the day. Heavy rains at this time added greatly to our discomfort.

The Sixth Replacement joined us on September 11, and that night we started hiking for the lines, after salvaging everything but our arms and combat packs. We were all night on the road in a heavy rain, arriving in the trenches a short time before daybreak.

American artillery began a heavy bombardment of the entire St. Mihiel salient at 1 a. m., September 12, which lasted until 5 a. m., and was then changed into a rolling barrage. We followed the barrage, going "over the top" in support of the Twenty-third Infantry. After advancing ten kilometers, Thiacourt was captured, and we took up a position beyond the town at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Our casualties for the day were small.

We were in the vicinity of Thiacourt for three days, where we were subjected to heavy shell fire. In the early morning of September 15 we moved into the Bois-de-la-Montagne to establish a front line, as it was not well defined in these woods. At daybreak we unexpectedly ran into the enemy, who had taken up an advanced position during the night. We immediately attacked, without artillery support, driving the enemy from the woods and forming a new front line.

The Seventy-eighth Company had become greatly scattered during the morning attack, and had suffered a number of casualties, so it was a very thin line that repulsed the enemy and held the woods when the Germans came over on us that afternoon in wave formation, preceded by a rolling barrage.

The Second Division was relieved by the Seventy-eighth Division on September 16, and we moved back to woods near Minorville. On September 21 we hiked 25 kilometers to Domgermain, where we were in barracks for six days, drilling and maneuvering.

September 27 we entrained for the Champagne Sector, unloading at Vitry-la-Ville, and hiking 15 kilometers to Sarry. Two days were spent in Sarry, and then we loaded into trucks, riding through Chalons-sur-Marne to Suippe, where we left the trucks and hiked up to support trenches. Before daylight on October 2, we took over a section of the front line from the French, near Somme-Py. We remained in the trenches for a day, gathering what information we could about the enemy's positions.

At daybreak on October 3, we went "over the top" behind a rolling barrage, advancing four kilometers and reaching our objective on the crest of Blanc Mont Ridge by 9 a. m. The Seventy-eighth Company was in the front wave of the attack, and was officially credited with the capture of 285 prisoners and 75 machine guns in this battle.

On reaching our objective, we found our position to be a wedge driven into the enemy's line, as the outfits on either side had not advanced so rapidly. We dug in and held our position, although for two days we were harrassed by enemy fire from three directions, both flanks being open. An advance made by the Third Battalion of the Sixth Regiment, on the morning of October 5, relieved our situation. That night we again moved forward, taking up a position in some woods that were being shelled by the enemy. Before daybreak on October 6, we moved back to a support position on Blanc Mont Ridge, where we remained until relieved in that sector.

It was the first time under fire for the Thirty-sixth Division when they were sent in to relieve the Second Division, on October 7. This was a hard test for a new division, as the sector was very active, so the relief was not made at once, but the Second Division remained on the line until the Thirty-sixth Division became accustomed to fire.

The Seventy-eighth Company was relieved on October 9, and moved back to Camp Nantivet, at Suippe, where we were joined by the Seventh Replacement. There were only 83 men left in the company after the Blanc Mont Ridge engagement.

On October 14, we hiked 20 kilometers to La Veuve, where we spent a week in drilling, going to Bouy, a distance of 12 kilometers, on two different days to parade. On October 20, we received orders to go back to the front, and leaving La Veuve at noon on that day, we hiked 20 kilometers to Suippe, where we spent the night at Camp Nantivet. Leaving Suippe at 8 a. m., October 21, we made a forced march all day, stopping only for ten minute rests, passing over the ground we had fought on earlier that month, and arriving at Leffincourt at 8 p. m., after spending 12 hours on the road and hiking a distance of 40 kilometers. On arriving at Leffincourt, we found we would not be needed on the line, so we began hiking back by easy stages, sleeping in woods at night.

On October 25, we moved to Somme-Suippe, and took trucks for the Argonne front. After riding about 40 kilometers we unloaded and hiked into the Argonne Forest, where we bivouaced near Baracquement Lenhardt. On October 26 we moved up to some scrubby woods, within range of the enemy artillery, and it was here that Major General Summerall, commanding general of the Fifth Army Corps, addressed us, stating that we had been chosen for the place of honor in the impending American drive, as we had already qualified as shock troops of the American army.

On October 30 we took up a support position near Exermont, and on the night of October 31, took over the front line from a unit of the Forty-second Division, just beyond Sommerance.

At daybreak, November 1, we went "over the top," following a rolling barrage from the American artillery, which had been preceded by two hours' intensive bombardment of the enemy positions. We advanced in support of the Third Battalion, Sixth Marines, passing through St. Georges to Bayonville.

At Bayonville we were held up for a time by our own barrage. "Lean-frogging" the Third Battalion here, we pushed on in the front wave, capturing the heights of Bayonville and taking up a position in a thicket beyond the Buzancy-Nouart Road. Our total advance for the day amounted to 11 kilometers.

Our position in the thicket was in constant danger from enemy shells intended for the Buzancy-Nouart Road, but we remained here until the Twenty-third Infantry passed through our lines, and captured Fosse, on November 3.

The weather conditions were terrible in the Argonne Sector during the first part of November. The nights were very cold, and continuous rains made the ground like a saturated sponge. It was useless to "dig in," for the slightest depression made in the ground would immediately fill with water. We had no shelter, and when we would lie down, our blankets would soak up water like a burning wick drawing oil. During the last drive a number of Seventy-eighth Company were evacuated with wounds, but a great many more were sent to the hospitals on account of sickness, due to exposure.

When we left our position near the Buzancy-Nouart Road, on November 3, we moved forward with the American advance, taking a zig-zag course, going into support positions where the line seemed to be weakest, until the night of November 10, when we took up a position on the front line near Mouzon, for the final drive across the Meuse River, just before the armistice was signed.

At 10:50 a. m., November 11, when the last gun was fired, we could hardly realize the war had ceased, but that night, when we were allowed to build big fires and once again enioy the almost forgotten luxury of being warm and dry, we knew the unbelievable had happened.

For a few days following the signing of the armistice we were bivouaced in woods near Beaumont, drawing new clothes, exchanging our Chautchat automatics for Browning machine rifles, and making all the necessary preparations for entrance into Germany. The Eighth Replacement joined us near Arlon, Belgium, on the fourth day of the march.

The march to the Rhine, a distance of 342 kilometers, or 215 miles, was made under full arms and equipment, each man carrying 100 rounds of ammunition. While enroute, we received two meals per day, and slept under shelter every night. usually on straw in barns.

The Seventy-eighth Company was frequently in the advance guard during the march, so we were the first American troops to reach a number of the towns along our route. The streets and houses were decorated in our honor, and the people cheered us frantically as we passed. The inhabitants of the Duchy of Luxemburg were also very cordial and demonstrative.

The noteworthy dates of our march to the Rhine were the entrance into Germany at Wallendorf, December 1, and the arrival at Brohl on the Rhine, December 9. This was the earliest date any American unit reached the river. Below is a complete "log" of the march to the Rhine:

Decorations Won by Men of 78th Company

It is only fair to state here that quite a number of our men have performed wonderful acts of heroism, but have received no official recognition, for the reason that their deeds were not witnessed, or on account of the nature of their acts being a departure from the accepted performances for which citations are awarded. Any man who has served creditably through an engagement with the Marines deserves honorable mention, and there are men in this company who have done their bit in five of these engagements and still have nothing but a couple of service chevrons, and perhaps a wound stripe, to show for it.

During the war the Seventy-eighth Company was in the front line in seven different sectors, and in the front wave of attack in five different battles. Eight replacements were required to keep the company up to full war strength. Seventy-six men were killed in action and over 500 were wounded. There were no members of the company taken prisoner by the enemy.