we were aroused at 3, and stood by the guns. At
3:50 we added our fire to the din around us, sending over a barrage in
front of the troops going over the top. It lasted only two hours, and
expended about 175 rounds per gun. So thorough and heavy had been the
preliminary bombardment that the enemy had been forced to withdraw all
his troops from the shelled area, and the infantry met with next to no
resistance in reaching the objective set for them.

May 13 the officers and sergeants went to Azerailles to inspect Battery
B equipped and packed in the manner of a battery on the road prepared
for open field warfare. Rumors had been plentiful for weeks (1) that the
42d Division was going home to become instructors of the millions of
drafted men in the great camps in the United States, (2) that the 42d
Division was going to the Somme to aid in checking the rapid drive of
the enemy in the north, (3) that the division was to go to a rest camp
in the south of France, (4) that the regiment was to turn in its horses
and be motorized, etc., etc. The review at Azerailles strengthened some
of these rumors and stirred up still others. But, for the present, all
these reports came to naught.

May 21 the battery moved four kilometres back to a reserve position just
in front of Merviller, which had formerly been occupied by Battery B.
The latter moved up to relieve us. After the seven weeks of close
confinement in damp abris, the change to the life at the Merviller
position was like a trip to a summer resort. Being so far back of the
lines, the men were permitted to move about with perfect freedom. The
stream just back of the position invited cool swims on the hot dusty
afternoons. Ball games passed the time of waiting for mess. Battery E
won a close game and keg of Baccarat beer from Headquarters Company by
the score of 12 to 11. Just across the road was stationed a bathhouse
and laundry unit, and before long the battery had replaced their
uniforms, torn and dirty from digging, with more presentable ones.

Merviller's cafes and "epiceries" furnished food to make up for the lean
weeks at Montigny. Being only a few minutes' walk from the position, the
town was a frequent evening's resort. Baccarat, about eight kilometres
farther, was visited when Sunday passes permitted. This city was not so
large as Luneville and held by no means the same attractions as that
early favorite of the 149th men. But the shops, cafes, large hospitals,
the cele