Memoirs of 2dLt W. B. Jackson, USMC
BLANC MONT
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Around the 30th of September we hiked up to a position near a village of Somme Pye not far from Verdun. That night each platoon commander was told to send an NCO to a certain spot on the highway to meet a battalion officer who would show the NCO how his platoon would reach its jump off spot in the old trenches at the base of Mont Blanc Ridge Massif. This was a German strong point which the French had not been able to take. We were to take it. Suffice it to say my NCO never found the officer and naturally never found the route we were to follow to the jump-off place. In the middle of the night we were told to move up to the jump-off and join the 16th company of Marine infantry with which my platoon was to operate. The company commander pointed to a place on the map and said, "that's it, move out." So we took off in the cold of the night down the deserted highway looking for something like a communicating trench which might lead to that spot on the recollected map. We finally found an old trench that seemed to head in the right direction. We staggered along, sometimes on duck-board, sometimes through mud. Can you imagine my mental perturbation? I was a brand new shave tail with his first battlefield assignment with a platoon he had command of for less than three weeks-in a field situation entirely strange-with no lead in man who knew where he was going-with Heinie strong points less than a mile away-complete darkness- uncertain footing and with the responsibility for sixty men who were expecting to get me to get them there. We struggled on. About three in the morning we came up over a rise in the ground. Against the shadowy skyline I saw figures moving. Us or Boche? I decided to take a chance and called softly, "What outfit is that?" Back came the reply "16th company". We had been guided by something that knew more than I did. I identified our outfit-moved up and joined the 16th and reported to its Captain. At day break we moved forward to the upward slope's start. It seems to me that our assault was delayed until the next morning. But at any rate when it came we had a rolling barrage. As we had come up to Mont Blanc all along the highway at intervals were big guns some as large as 210s. None were in evidence less than 155s so our barrage was noisy and violent. A platoon of the 16th company under Lieutenant Sweet and my platoon were assigned the chore of covering the junction of the left flank of our division with the French troops on our left who were supposed to advance when we did. We started rolling along but it soon developed that something was wrong. The French were not advancing. Our divisional flank was to rest on the main highway from Some Pye to St. Etienne a Arnes Some kilometers ahead of us. The division went ahead all of that day and the next. By that time the flanks of the French and our Division became so far apart that it was impossible for an infantry platoon and a platoon of machine guns to cover the breach even on a patrol basis. So on the morning of the 4th Lieutenant Sweet and I decided we should rejoin our division. We thought that it was well ahead of us flanking on the highway. However, during
the first few days the division had been diverted to the right moving somewhat away from the highway. We moved out with alacrity thinking the Division had passed through and cleared everything along our side of the highway and that we were simply following where the Division had been. Actually, in effect we were moving blithely out in Germany.
Heinie saw what had happened and set an ambush for us in a copse woods at the bottom of a long forward slope of plowed ground down which we had to come. By the time the Marine infantry approached the copse woods they were pretty well flagged and my machine gunners were even worse as each man, in addition to his personal gear pistol etc. was carrying a minimum of fifty pounds of machine gun, tripod or ammunition. So Lieutenant Sweet ordered a stop for a breather with the infantry just barely in the edge of the copse. My gun crews were perhaps 50 yards back of the infantry on open ground. Everybody was of the opinion that the Division was dead ahead of us and had passed through all of this territory. Fortunately we did not move on into the copse wood. It seemed like we had hardly halted when from up front came the word, "To the rear". Looking up to see what had happened we saw our infantry falling back followed at a little distance by two lines of German infantry. My gun NCOs and the section NCOs were well trained and immediately started taking up their guns and spreading out so as to enfilade the Germans and establish a field of fire in the short distance ahead of the 16ths men. The far right gun corporal went racing by me carrying his gun with an ammunition clip in it. He was followed by the tripod carrier with the tripod. In the meantime the Heinies had started throwing potato masher type of grenades. One of these fell near the carrier's leg, exploded and apparently broke his ankle. So much for the tripod. The gun corporal, seeing what had happened turned, aimed his gun at the Deutsche and started firing, holding the gun in his hands. He couldn't hold it of course and after 3 or 4 shots he was on his back with the gun pointing up in the air. Not far from where I was standing there was a sizeable stack of manure for field fertilizing. I ran up on this mound. Corporal Butterfield was setting up his gun right in front of the mound. Just as he was about ready to fire, a potato masher lit right under his gun and blew it over. As he turned to set it up again his face was all bloody. This angered me and I started firing my pistol at the German officer who was throwing most of these grenades. He was in advance of his first line. He would reach around behind him. Someone would hand him a grenade and he would turn and throw I at us. Whether my shots cause any physical damage or not I do not know. The officer stopped advancing momentarily and stopped reaching for grenades. When he stopped his men stopped. By the time he started again two of our guns got in action and fired a few rounds. As if this were a signal the Heinies turned and faded hurriedly back into the woods. The Division had seen our difficulty and had sent a bunch of infantry to our assistance. However, they arrived in time to congratulate us but not much else. The platoon of the 16th and my platoon did a sort of oblique and moved on in the wake of the division. We finally came out on tip of a wooded hill from which we could look down across the highway to St. Etienne. About 200 or 300 yards directly ahead of us was a battery of four field pieces with metal shields on the guns for crew protection. They spotted us almost at once and began firing. It turned out that they were Austrian 88s. These have a muzzle velocity and flatness of trajectory which made their shells sound "whiz bang' with practically no interval between firing and explosion. The shells they fired at us came in and exploded so fast we barely heard the gun report that fired them. While we stood by figuring on the best approach, word came up for everybody to fall back to a ravine a few hundred yards to our rear. We did so and occupied the ravine, which was a little deeper than a man's height.
During our ambush experience of the morning, one of the Marine infantry had been wounded and fell to the ground as his comrades retreated to our guns. He was apparently unable to bring himself further. Corporal Butterfield saw him lying there in the face of the
approaching Germans. He ran to the fallen Marine, grabbed his uniform blouse by the collar and dragged the wounded man back into our group. I understand that he was later decorated for this act of bravery in the face of the enemy.
For the rest of the day, after occupying the ravine, all was quiet except for desultory artillery fire. Word came from the machine gun company headquarters that the Lieutenant of another platoon had been killed and that I would take charge of his platoon as well as my own. The flank of the ravine was completely exposed as the French still had not come up on our left. Not only directly to our flank but for kilometers back of us the terrain was completely open to German infiltration in sizeable numbers. I was sure, as was the commander of the 16th company, that we would be attacked that night from the rear as well as from the front. I now had eight guns. I set up enfilade positions on both front and rear and to our flank. At dusk we heard movement behind our line. A patrol was sent out which made contact. When they came rushing back an NCO was dragging a German corpse which he dropped in front of the 16th's Captain with the word, "They are Boche alright Captain." Shortly we could hear an approach from the rear. Our guns fire a burst or two. Apparently the Krauts were surprised that we were ready in that direction and called off their attack.
The next day, an assault carried the Marines to our right into the village. Our outfit remained in the ravine. In another day or so the French moved up on our left and about the 10th we were relieved by elements of a draft army division.
During our advance one of my men had found a full length German bear skin coat in a dugout. He had brought it to me asking if I could use it as he could not carry it with his other gear. I gratefully accepted it and carried it along the rest of the advance and used it every night. The nights were quite cold and wrapping up in that bear skin was wonderful even if it had a few multi-legged inhabitants already. After our relief, we pulled back to support positions in the trenches on Mont Blanc. Our first night there was extremely cold and I snuggled in the bear skin. Next morning, Captain Yowell, the friendly skipper of the 16th came along and saw me in that coat. He said, "Jackson, what will you take for that coat?" Never thinking that he would buy if the price was high I replied, "250 francs Captain," (approximately $50). "Sold", he said and I had to give up my warmer. He peeled off the 250 francs but they did not help much against the cold.
A day or so later, Heinie launched a counter-attack on the outfit that had relieved us. They had never been in combat before and began to break under the assault. Many of their individuals straggled back as far as our positions. Apparently the higher command began to fear losing the ridge. So suddenly we were ordered back in again and took over the positions we had so recently left. We stayed her most of the rest of October.
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