December 28, 1917
to January 3, 1918
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St. Nazaire harbor, five months after the
6th MGB disembarked here from the Dekalb |
December 28
On Dec 28, the DeKalb docked at St. Nazaire harbor, France. Word of their arrival was cabled
to Washington, DC, where postcards announcing their safe arrival, such as the one shown on the left, which the Marines
had written before shipping out, were mailed to the Marines' families.
December 31
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Map showing main French
railroad lines during WWI,
with probable route of 6th MGB
from
St Nazaire to Damblain marked in yellow. |
At 5:00 p.m. on December 31st, all troops disembarked and marched to the railroad entraining station. Engrained at 6:00 p.m. and proceeded to the training area.
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5th Regt of Marines embarking on journey
from St Nazaire to training area around
Gondrecourt during the summer of 1917.
Among their number were two companies,
the 77th & 81st, who would later join the
6th MGB. When the 6th MGB (still
designated the 1st MGB), made this journey
at the end of the year, conditions were
far harsher.
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Marines in boxcar in France during WWI.
Unit & date unknown. By this time they
have exchanged campaign hats for overseas
caps. The French boxcars were designed to
hold either 8 horses/mules, or 40 men.
However, as American soldiers tended to be
taller than their French counterparts,
40 Americans could be crammed into a
car only with considerable
difficulty & discomfort.
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January 1 ~ 2
6th Machine Gun Battalion enroute in "boxcar pullmans"
from St. Nazaire on the west coast
of France eastward to Damblain in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains.
At least two Marines of the 6th MG Bttn noted in their diaries that the temperature
was sub-zero.
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