lines were almost constantly under the fire of
enemy minnenwurfers and numerous machine guns located in the Bois de
Mortier, a very dense wood north of the canal.

On the night of September 26-27, 1918, the Battalion Patton was ordered
to relieve with like units one-half of each of the companies of the
Battalion Stokes in the front lines and soon after the relief was
completed an attack along the l'Oise-l'Aisne Canal was ordered. By the
extreme of effort the remainder of the Battalion Patton was brought up
and having completed the relief of the Battalion Stokes, the attack
began as ordered. The attack continued until October 4th, on which date
all objectives had been gained and the enemy pushed back across the
canal. On September 30th the Battalion Duncan was thrown into the fight
and two companies of the Battalion Patton withdrawn to the support. The
Battalion Duncan was ordered to make a frontal attack which necessitated
an advance across the open fields. This was successfully accomplished,
the battalion being subjected to intense artillery, machine gun and
rifle fire continuously. The Battalion Duncan, having gained its
objectives, the Farm de la Riviere and the railroad south of the canal,
held on tenaciously in spite of the intense fire of the enemy and held
the positions gained until the pursuit began on October 12, 1918, when
it passed into the reserve of the division.

During the occupancy of the sector, from September 22, 1918, to October
12, 1918, patrols from the three battalions were out night and day
between the lines making necessary reconnaissances. On October 4, 1918,
a volunteer patrol of twenty men under command of Captain Chester
Sanders in an effort to discover whether the enemy had abandoned the
woods, penetrated the Bois de Mortier to a point about 100 yards behind
the enemy positions and having been discovered were fired on from all
sides by numerous machine guns. The patrol returned to our lines intact.
For this exploit Captain Sanders was awarded the French Croix de Guerre
and the patrol received the commendation of the commanding general of
the division. On October 7, 1918, after 5 minutes violent bombardment by
our artillery, three raiding parties from Company F made a dash for the
triangle formed by the railroad, the L'Oise-l'Aisne canal and the
Vauxaillon road. One of these parties gained the enemy trenches along
the canal, ejecting the enemy after a hand grenade fight. All parties
returned