barracks at the edge of the Argonne Forest.

The Argonne--September 26th to November 11th

The memorable and decisive drive known as the Argonne-Meuse Offensive
started on September 26th. That day found us entrenched near the main
road at Florent,--a position in reserve of the 1st Army Corps.

Actual operations were started that night, when the entire cannon of
half a hundred divisions poured forth on the enemy its scorching fire.
Next morning we moved to a position north of Florent, and three days
later we moved thru the town of Le Four de Paris into those trenches
north of La Harazee that had been deserted by the 122d German Regiment
of the 2d Landwehr Division.

The "Lost" Battalion

October 2d we left the reserve and assumed a support position. On that
day the forces in the line drove forward, but in the execution of the
advance Companies E, H, I, K, L, and M of the 308th Infantry and Company
K of the 307th Infantry found themselves trapped by the enemy on a hill
north of the Bois de la Buironne. These units were the only ones to
reach their objective but by thus advancing ahead of their flanks, they
gave the enemy an opportunity to surround them. In this hazardous
position they struggled as the "Lost" Battalion.

[Illustration: _U. S. Official Photo_
_Grim Business in the Argonne_
_A Unit of the 307th Infantry Waiting Orders to "Mop Up"_]

We went forward to their relief on October 4th, but were held back by
the effective machine-gun fire of the enemy. Next day we again strove to
extricate the besieged battalion, but again we failed. Certain enemy
machine guns were so placed that their hail of death was impassable.
They seemed an insurmountable obstacle in the path of the entire 307th
Infantry. The men of Company B knew that the machine-gun positions of
the enemy must be taken. There was nothing, at that moment, that counted
more than the capture of these positions. So on October 6th we attacked,
giving no thought to risk. We did what we thought would have been
impossible before we knew that it had to be done. Persistently we
attacked in the face of the enemy fire and as the German resistance
gradually weakened, we took the heretofore impregnable positions. Seven
of our men were that day cited for exceptional bravery.

On October 7th our division organized a concerted attack on the German
lines. We realized the awful plight of the "Lost" Battalion and all day
we fought against the enemy mach