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THE 88th AERO SQUADRON
ON THE FRONT
The 88th Aero Squadron, which had been organized August 18, 1917, at Kelly Field, Texas, and which had embarked for overseas October 2, 1917, after three weeks re-outfitting at Mineola, Long Island, spent the months of November, December and January as a construction squadron under 1st Lt. T. D. Mahan, establishing the present Air Depot at Colombey les Belles. During the night of Dec. 5th and 6th German bombers paid their first respects to the squadron, resulting in the wounding of Privates Ebsen and Warren.
On February 1, 1918, the end of a long, hard winter was signaled by orders sending the Squadron to Amanty, the Headquarters of the First Observation Group, to be made into an Observation Squadron. Major H. B. Anderson was assigned as Squadron Commander and 1st Lt. Mahan became Adjutant and Supply Officer. On February 14, the first pilot, Captain A. Littauer, en route to France from Issoudun, was assigned, and on the 22nd eighteen first lieutenants reported, filling up the roster of pilots. Those who remained with the squadron through the work ahead were G. M. Comey, P. H. Bernheimer, F. E. Evans, F. L. McCordic, T. A. Box, I. G. Bower, R. C. M. Page, E. A. Hastings, L. V. Hollimon, P. R. Babcock, P. H. McNulty, J. H. Farrell and O. H. McClendon.
From this time until May 5th the squadron waited in Amanty for planes to take the front. During the interval the squadron used A.E.F.’s telegrams to the First Corps School, carrying out the work of the Observer School there and the men did considerable construction work in connection with Amanty, which was becoming an air center of some importance. At this time most of the old squadrons of the Air Service were in or near Amanty, putting on the finishing touches of their training. There was the 94th and 95th Squadrons at Epiez, the 96th Bombardment at Amanty and the following observation squadrons: 1st, 12th, 88th, 91st, 90th and 96th. The order in which these first squadrons left to fly over the lines was as follows: 1st, 94th, 95th, 12th, 88th, 91st, 90th and 96th.
On May 5th the first Sopwith 1½ strutters, with which the squadron was to be equipped, arrived and from then on the squadron rapidly worked into shape in all its departments. Lt. Balfay the Supply Officer had already secured a truck train, touring cars and established our transportation. Lt. Hall had gotten our Armament Department into working order, and Lt. Segurty was establishing the Engineering Department. On the 22nd of May Lt. E. O. Woodman was ordered as Radio Officer and on the 24th of May the first observers began to arrive from the various French observation squadrons where they had been working. Those who came in the first two batches and who remained with the squadron were: 1st Lts. T. A. Kirwin, 1st Lt. H. W. Merrill, 103rd Lt. A. J. Rancourt, 1st Lt. J. H. Osborn, 1st Lt. F. J. Wagner, 1st Lt. E. A. Douglas, 1st Lt. H. S. Barrows, 2nd Lt. W. M. Hasselman, 150th Inf., 1st Lt. H. Moore, 7th Inf., 1st Lt. C. W. Plummer, 101st Inf., 1st Lt. F. W. Chester, 9th Inf., 1st Lt. B. Boyd, 7th Inf., 1st Lt. E. S. Hardwell, 103rd Inf., 1st Lt. J. S. D. Burns, 165th Inf., P. J. Mathis, 102nd Inf., J. W. Jordan, 7th Inf., and Curtis Wheeler, 5th Inf., representing the four original divisions of the A.E.F., the Rainbow, Yankee, 1st and 2nd.
On May 28th the squadron moved from Amanty to Ourches, some six miles northwest of Toul, and on May 30th the squadron was at the original front of the A.E.F., the Toul sector. Major Kirwin as operations officer made the first missions out on May 30th. Major Anderson with Lt. Kirwin, Captain Littauer, Lt. F. Evans and Lt. Hardwell and Lt. Box went with Douglas and received their baptism of fire from the enemy machine batteries between Apremont and Montsec.
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The squadron was assigned to the 28th Division under General Edwards which had already touched the engagement of St. Mihiel and was turning an old rest sector into a fairly hot front along the line Apremont to Limey.
There were two other squadrons on the field with us at Ourches, the 1st acting as the 1st Corps squadron, and the 12th with the French Division on our left. This completed the Corps and occupied the sector up to Vigneulles. The 91st was also operating from Gondrecourt at the same distance. Being a division squadron the 88th sent few photographic missions over the lines, and because a push was on, no infantry contact patrols. Most of the work being reconnaissance and artillery adjustments, at which Lts. Kirwin, Merrill, Hasselman, Rancourt and Lowman were particularly successful. Lts. Box and Jordan conducted a number of successful photographic missions behind the lines from the Achetville to the battery in Martincourt Wood.
The first real trouble came on Sunday, June 16th when the Germans drove us out of the town of Xivray at dawn and the Americans counter-attacked. On this day the squadron sent up ten missions and some excitement as Lt. Jordan conducted a successful reglage for neutralization of two German batteries in Montsec. Lt. Merrill spent a wild morning looking for a German long range gun which was supposed to have been brought down by railroad from Metz, and Lt. Kirwin conducted a few shoots against the night battery that had peppered Capt. Littauer’s plane a few days before.
During these weeks while the squadron was settling into shape the entire situation on the western front had changed. On May 26 the Germans had attacked down the line of the Chemin des Dames, headed straight for Paris, and in six days had gotten as far as Chateau-Thierry on the Marne. At this time our squadron was directed from St. Quentin to Romilly-sur-Seine and the British main railroad lines at Meaux to help stop the drive, and it was evident that they were executing very large and rapid movements and the bulk of the American Army would soon be called to France.
In this exigency the old plan of keeping the American Army in the Toul sector was abandoned and the best divisions were rushed toward Chateau-Thierry. Shortly after Xivray the 26th Division was relieved by the French, and a new drive in the 1st Corps started, and the Observation Corps working with it began to pull out. For a few days the 88th squadron worked with the 82nd Division and the 4th Army Corps, while the 1st and 12th Squadrons were moved out. During this time a number of changes were made in the personnel of the 88th. Lt. Balfay, the Supply Officer, had been badly hurt by the explosion of gasoline in the mechanics’ tents, but who had nevertheless continued his work with his head in a bandage, was ordered to General Foulon’s staff and relieved by Lt. S. D. Somers as Armament Officer on June 3rd. On June 4th Lts. Merrill, P. Marshall and R. W. Hitchcock arrived and on July 2nd Lt. J. W. Murphy was assigned to the squadron as pilot. Lt. Leo F. P. Penrose as Adjutant took the place of Lt. Mahan, who had been transferred to the Group. On July 6th Major Anderson, who had been acting as Group Commander, definitely severed his connection with the squadron and Lt. Kirwin as Group Operations Officer. Captain Littauer became squadron commander, with Lt. Hardwell as his operations officer.
At this time the non-commissioned officers with the various departments were: Sergeant-Major S. Office, Sgt. 1st Cl. Walter D. Thrane, First Sergeant, Sgt. 1st Cl. Earl F. Hersch who was to trade positions later with Sgt. 1st Cl. John L. Putt in the line crew; Chief of Experimental and Repair Shop, Sgt. 1st Cl. Burt C. Carter; Machine Shop, Sgt. 1st Cl. Christian V. Mortensen; Operations, Sgt. 1st Cl. Floyd L. Evans; Magazines, Sgt. 1st Cl. J. O. Taylor; Hangar Chief, Sgt. 1st Cl. Wm. H. Hicks; Mess, Sgt. 1st Cl. H. O. Johnson; Transportation, Sgt. Ralph L. Townsend; Armament, Cpl. Max Walton; Radio, Cpl. Harold S. Williams. Among the crew chiefs were Sgts. 1st Cl. H. C. Roberts and Joseph W. Stansfield, and Sgts. N. H. McKay.
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T. R. Gladwill and Capts. T. W. Tooker and E. E. McFarland.
The squadron was now in about the form in which it was to go through several engagements. It was selected early for its first combat. On July 5th Lt. J. R. Casey was attacked during the dawn reconnaissance by two or three Albatross of a crack pursuit squadron. He had just moved into the sector. They blazed at each other for several kilometers till the Boches dived off and Lt. Hastings’ scout plane with his albatross controls shot away and the fuselage riddled with bursts of seven or eight rounds together. It is probable that Lt. Douglas brought down one of the Albatross, but nobody over had time to look up that matter or the decorations for which they were both recommended, for on the next day the squadron moved to the Chateau-Thierry front.
Two days later the squadron was all together again in a large farm at Trenchville, four kilometers west of Coulommiers just off the great road. The pilots had flown down on the 6th with their chief mechanics by way of Lingay-les-Parcs, later to be the headquarters of the 1st American Army at St. Quentin, Valley of the Marne. Somewhere between Coulommiers and the old battlefield of the Marne, the observers had come in the Cadillac and rigged up headquarters in eight hours, and the rest of the squadron in a light and a heavy truck train in two days. This was the method adopted for all later moves and enabled the squadron thereafter to start active operations the day it moved. Headquarters, armament, radio, supply and engineering were established in tents, and the ships in the hangars.
On this field at Trenchville, we were back with the old group, the 1st and 12th squadrons under the command of Major Boyce, then Major McNarney and finally of Major Hall. The 1st Squadron was working as the Corps Squadron of observation for the 1st Corps which had moved from the Toul and Cierges sectors to cover the front from Chateau-Thierry to Torcy northwest of Belleau Wood, and the 88th Squadron of the other divisions of the Corps, the 16th Infantry whose front extended from Torcy to St. Gervais, at which point the 1st Corps crossed the Marne. In other words, we were working at the bottom of the enemy’s wedge of penetration. The work of the squadron at this time consisted mainly of reconnaissance, but a great deal of infantry and artillery was done in cooperation with the infantry and the artillery. Lts. Merrill, Rancourt and Hardwell were in the hardest series of work in this new line service and taught the squadron some valuable lessons in the work.
At this time the situation was probably more critical than it had been at any time since the battle of the Marne. The Germans had nearly 25 divisions in the area and were apparently ready to drive. In the first days of July along the Marne front Chateau-Thierry was threatened. During this period of uncertainty the Marine Brigade of the 2nd Division was on the west of the Marne in front of Chateau-Thierry and the French held the south bank of the Marne. This was perhaps the most critical moment in the war. Only by very rapid movements and strong resistance did the Allies hold their ground. The situation on our front was much the same, with both sides dug in and with strong machine gun fire and continual small attacks going on on both sides.
Everyone knew that the German Army had twenty or thirty fresh divisions to throw into the line and it was only a question of time before their attack should be delivered, probably opposite our Corps. On July 10th all the excess baggage in the squadron was sent to the rear and Capt. Littauer issued detailed orders in case of a retreat.
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Lt. Toulman had a detail assigned to him to burn all equipment and planes left behind and a flying field south of Paris was picked out to move to.
It was at this time that Marshal Foch evolved the plans for his big attack, which were kept so secret that even corps commanders knew nothing of them till the day before the attack. Enormous reserves of infantry, artillery, cavalry, and tanks were concentrated in the Forest of Villers Cotterets, back of the sector between Chateau-Thierry and Soissons. Because of the 1st Division’s record at Cantigny and the 2nd Division’s record in and around Belleau Wood, they were picked as part of the shock troops to work on either side of the famous Moroccan Division. The Second Division began pulling out of the sector on our right immediately and was relieved by our old friends the 26th from Toul. The 3rd Division was rushed to Conde en Brie to hold the line there at all costs in case the Germans launched their attack across the Marne, and the 42nd was sent in just east of Rheims. Aside from the concentration of divisions at Villers Cotterets the French had no reserves left anywhere and the English army was even worse off. It was strictly up to America.
On the 15th, heralded by a terrific barrage, the Germans crossed the Marne between Dormans and Jaulgonne and fought their way against the Third Division and two French divisions as far south as St. Aignan. There they were held at a terrific loss preparing for another attack. At the same time they launched a similar attack east of Rheims to widen the salient, but were driven back by counter attacks. At this time the 42nd Division gained their first reputation. All this came at the lowest ebb since the battle of the Marne and people of Paris began to look to the south and plans were made to shift the government to Bordeaux again.
On the night of the 15th the woods to the east of the squadron field were shelled by long range German artillery and most of the squadron spent the night in shelter trenches or hay stacks. The nights of the 16th and 17th German bombers came over the field and dropped pills on the surrounding country. Everyone expected another big German attack and the squadron sent out a large number of reconnaissance missions in preparation for a desperate defensive action.
At 12:00 o’clock on the night of the 17th the squadron received orders for ATTACK instead of defensive action. Zero hour was to be at dawn on the 18th and our division was to take Hill 195 and strike toward the Chateau-Thierry–Soissons road. At dawn Lt. Douglas with Lt. Bernheimer conducted what was probably the first infantry contact patrol of the A.E.F. and our little part of the big push was on. Ten infantry contact patrols were sent out that first day. While protecting Capt. Littauer and Lt. Wheelen on one of these patrols that afternoon, Lt. Evans was shot through the leg by a machine gun bullet from hill 204, but with the assistance of Lt. Merrill, his observer, managed to get back behind our lines and earn the first of the squadron’s twelve Croix de Guerre.
By nightfall our division, with the help of the 26th, had taken Hill 195 and Courchamps, the pivot of the line, and the French staff officers in the ruined chateau at Dhuys were dancing around kissing each other on both cheeks. A little later we received word that the Third and Second Divisions with the Zouaves and Foreign Legion between them had cut the Soissons–Chateau-Thierry road with the right wing of the attack and the Germans were on the run. During the rest of July the 88th Squadron, doing practically nothing but infantry contact patrol and reconnaissance, helped follow the retreating Germans out of the Chateau-Thierry pocket from the Clignon River to the Ourcq. All the old rules of trench warfare were gone and we located the front line mainly by machine gun bullets in the wings.
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On the 18th the first of our Salmson planes were received and from then on the 88th was fortunate enough to operate as a Salmson Squadron.
Meanwhile the 3rd Division, which had borne the full brunt of the German attack across the Marne, had turned and was driving them north through Jaulgonne, Le Charmel, and the land between in the sector to our right, until they were relieved by the 28th Division as part of the 3rd Army Corps which now took over that sector on our right. As the Corps had no American Air Service we were relieved from the 1st Corps Group and assigned to the 3rd Corps as both Corps and Divisional Squadrons. This ended our part in what is loosely called “Chateau-Thierry” and marked the beginning of what is generally known as:
The Vesle
On August 4th the Squadron moved to a little farm just off the road from Courboin to Blismes and about halfway between Chateau-Thierry and Conde en Brie, and started operating the same day for the 3rd Corps. One brigade of the 3rd Division was still in line when we started operating with the 32nd Division on their left and the 42nd Division just coming up. The 237th and 284th French squadrons were assigned to the group, and together we worked for the above divisions while they drove the Boche north of the Vesle.
Here the lines stuck and the operation took on the character of position warfare. On August 9th the 6th Photo Section was sent to join us, and the 88th has been operating as a Corps Squadron from that time on. The character of the missions changed considerably. Between August 10th and September 7th seven successful photo missions, totaling 150 plates, made a practically complete photographic map of the territory between the Vesle and the Aisne, and between Courlandon and Bazoches. This was of very considerable assistance to the 3rd Corps in their attacks which by September 8th had driven the Boche back to the line of the Aisne.
During this time, the 28th Division had relieved the 32nd and 3rd, and the 77th Division had relieved the 42nd. With all of them as well as with the 55th and 56th regiments of Corps artillery long range artillery adjustments were conducted. It was owing to the nature of these two types of missions which proved to be more dangerous than infantry contact patrol, and to the air situation, that the squadron suffered so heavily. The Americans were now preparing for the St. Mihiel attack and every American Squadron except the 88th was being drawn from the Vesle sector. This left us unsupported and the Boche pursuit ruled the air. Without its experience in the Toul and Chateau-Thierry sectors, and without the leadership of Capt. Littauer and the experience of Major Hall, who was now Corps Air Service Commander, the squadron would have been wiped out. As it was, Lts. McClendon, Plummer, and Burns were killed and Lt. Jordan wounded on the 11th on a photographic mission, and while doing artillery adjustment Lts. Hitchcock and Moore were killed on September 2nd, Lt. Rancourt severely wounded on August 9th, and Lt. Wagner slightly wounded on Sept. 5th. During this time the Squadron had some twenty important combats in which one Boche was brought down officially and two unofficially.
On Sept. 4th the Squadron was ordered north to the ruined town of Goussancourt, a few kilometers east of Cierges and ten back of the lines, and started operating the next day. The 28th and 77th divisions started their final push immediately and the Boche were driven up to the Aisne in three days. By this time the air was swarming with Fokkers again and we were glad to learn that the Higher Command intended to stabilize the sector, and that all the Americans would be rushed to another show immediately. On September 8th the Squadron was ordered back to Ferme de Greves to await orders.
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ST. MIHIEL
On the night of Sept. 11th the Squadron received orders to move to Souilly, Marshal Petain’s old headquarters during the Verdun attack of the previous year, a small town half way between Verdun and Bar le Duc. The next morning we pulled out, and started operating that afternoon for the 5th Army Corps. The Squadron had been loaned to the 5th Corps by the 3rd, owing to the fact that its two squadrons the 99th and 104th were not expected to arrive in time from the Vosges, where they had been operating. As a matter of fact, both squadrons got in about the same time as ourselves, so that the field was rather crowded.
The plans for the much discussed St. Mihiel attack which had been maturing for some time had been rushed to rapid completion in order to catch the Boche unawares. As a matter of fact, the attack came two days earlier than they expected and was as effective as if they had known nothing of it whatever. The attack was to be on the two sides of the salient, the main part of the push being north of the old Toul line between Apremont and Xivrey. We were assigned to the 26th Division which, with one French division, was to strike south-east on the other side of the salient from Les Eparges.
At eight o’clock on the morning of Sept. 12 our division jumped off, three hours after the infantry on the Toul side had started north. The problem was to effect a junction as quickly as possible and cut off the German divisions located in the St. Mihiel tip of the salient. The 26th had very rough country to go through and met with much more severe resistance than our divisions coming up from the south. By 4 o’clock they had reached Dommartin la Montagne, and that night the 102nd Regiment was sent on a forced march to Vigneulles where it met the 1st Division coming up from the south at 9 o’clock the next morning and closed the salient. The line, however, was very thin and several reconnaissance missions were dispatched that day from the 88th to locate the German divisions that had been cut off and estimate the possibility of their breaking through.
Captain Littauer and Lieuts. Bagby, Bernheimer, Hellbrunn, Douglas, Wheeler, and Marshall went on those missions, and while the lost German divisions were not actually found, enough information was sent down to help the Higher Command in preventing their breaking through. By that night the line cutting off the salient had been thoroughly organized and the number of German prisoners taken tells the rest of the story.
The next day, the 13th, a number of photographic missions were sent out to reconnoiter the country ahead of our troops who were now striking north into the plain of the Woevre. The 97th being the 5th Corps Squadron furnished the photo planes, the 88th the protection. One mission protected by Capt. Littauer with Lt. Boyd and Lt. McCordic with Lt. Carl, owing to the inexperience of those in the photo plane, penetrated too far into the lines beyond Conflans and was surprised by a patrol of Fokkers. Capt. Littauer’s plane was practically riddled with bullets and Lt. Boyd was severely wounded in four places. Landing with a punctured radiator, Capt. Littauer was able to get inside our lines and save Lt. Boyd’s life and the photo plane got back with its photos.
The American Army had now reached the lines of Jarny to Hattonville and was ready to go on to Metz. Whether they could or not is a question. The Germans had pulled out of the salient with comparatively little resistance, but they were now rushing all the divisions they could spare to test again in the line.
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We should undoubtedly have had a hard struggle ahead. At this point an absolute halt was called by Marshal Foch. He was preparing the greatest offensive of the war from Verdun to the British Channel, and the American Army was to be given the post of honor at the pivot of the whole attack between the Meuse river and the Argonne Forest. Accordingly the line was left as observed and above and most of the divisions that had taken part in the St. Mihiel drive were rushed over as rapidly and secretly as possible to the west of Verdun.
MEUSE-ARGONNE
Meanwhile the 88th Squadron was no longer necessary to the 5th Army Corps. The third squadron of the Corps arriving at Souilly about this time made the field and accommodations very crowded and thru the sagacity of Capt. Littauer we were able to move to the best airdrome we had so far seen—prettz en Argonne. This was a little village just south of the Argonne Forest, and on the headquarters of the Aisne river. The Squadron left Souilly on the afternoon of the 14th and on the 17th was re-assigned to the 3rd Corps which expected to take over the line from the French from about Vauquois to Varennes. At this time everyone was talking about the big spring offensive, and it was thought that the Squadron would spend the winter at Prettz. The men’s quarters were more comfortable than they had had for some time and the ships had for once in the war enough hangar room. It was the squadron’s first real rest since we left Ourches in July and it was deeply appreciated. It would have been even more appreciated if they had known how short it was to be.
On the 17th approximately a thousand infantry line troops (33rd, 79th, 80th and 4th) the four divisions of the Corps arrived for training in work with the aeroplanes. This was in pursuance of an idea evolved by Major Hall while Chief of Air Service to go back to Ferme de Greves and consist in having picked men from troops either in line or just going in the line, undergo a three days series of manoeuvres with their Air Squadrons. They were shown how the aeroplane stakes the line and what it can and cannot do for infantry during a battle. At Ferme de Greves we had so worked with 200 men from the 77th and 28th divisions then in line and it had resulted in perfect staking of the line for those divisions in the next weeks attack.
By the time Major Hall had been made Air Service Commander for the 1st Corps at Toul and Capt. Littauer in addition to being Squadron Commander was also nominally Group Commander and Air Service Commander for the Third Corps. The work of the Squadron Commander was beginning to devolve upon Lieuts. Evans and Lieut. Babcock, in addition to his duties as mess officer, was beginning to learn the trials of a second in command. The flying personnel of the Squadron was now down to sixteen pilots and eleven observers, of whom practically all were veterans to the original pilots had been added 1st Lt. Charles E. Ensign on Aug. 22nd, and Lts. William A. Hogan and Harold Z. Loud on Sept. 9th and at Prettz during this period Lts. Sidney R. Grant. To the original observers 1st Lts. Ralph B. Bagby and Charles T. Trickey had been added July 14 and in time to go through all the important operations of the Squadron, and a little later 1st Lts. F. A. Carl (Aug. 31) and O. G. Gifford (Sept. 5). Of the non-commissioned officers Sgts. 1st Cl. Mortensen and Carter in charge of the Machine shop and E. & R. respectively had been made M.S.E.’s, Sgt. Putt to First Sgt., Sgt. Hersch to Sgt. 1st Cl. as well as Sgt. Hicks the Hangar Chief, Sgt. Essberg the E. & R. of the crew chiefs, Sgt. Lechner and Mortensen, Gladwill and Hatcher had been made Sgts. 1st Cl. and Cpls. Jones and Sebring Sgts. Chauffeur Williams of the Radio had been made Sgt.
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On Sept. 20th the Infantry School closed with a month, the Squadron was ordered back to Souilly immediately and the 1st American Army which had only recently come into being at Ligny en Barrois, suddenly began to take on shape. The spring offensive was going to be started in September.
By this time the English Army had been entirely reformed after its battering at Montdidier and Paschendael. In March, 40 American divisions with more or less training were ready to take the field, and the French army was prepared for another supreme effort. General Foch determined to launch the grand attack of the war at once, first to cut out all winter if necessary and end it as soon as possible. In this plan of campaign the 1st American Army with a front of 140 kilometers from Forges Wood on the Meuse north of Verdun to the western edge of the Argonne Forest at Vienne le Chateau was to strike first, drive the enemy back out of their famous secondary defense, called the Kriemhilde Stellung, and draw as many of their first class shock divisions as possible off the British and French fronts. Meanwhile the French, British, Belgian, Italian and Portuguese units from there to the English channel were to execute a turning movement with us as a pivot, and drive the Germans back in a northeasterly direction out of France and into the almost impassable hills of the Ardennes in southeastern Belgium. During this process the duties of the American Army were threefold, 1st to hold that pivot, 2nd to keep on eating up the Prussian Guard and 3rd to break through the heights of the Meuse between Dun and Buzancy and cut off the southern half of the German Army at Sedan on the southern edge of the Ardennes. In all of these it was successful and while the German Army up to Nov. 11th was getting away in fairly good order, a few more weeks of war would have seen them in a much more critical situation than the allied Army was four months before on July 17th.
After Sept. 20th at Souilly, now headquarters of the 1st Army under General Pershing, the 88th Squadron found itself up on a hill above the town sharing a fair landing field with the 90th Squadron which had been attached to the group.
The third Corps held the left of the American Army with the 33rd, 80th and 4th Divisions extending from Forges on the Meuse to Malancourt. The 5th Corps held the center from Malancourt to Vauquois, and the 1st Corps the left from there to Vienne le Chateau and including the Argonne Forest. From the 20th to the 25th the 88th acting as Corps Squadron made 24 reconnaissance sorties to learn the sector and coordinate ground liaison with the various divisions of the Corps. The 99th Squadron was assigned to do divisional work for the 33rd and 80th divisions, the 284th French Squadron which had just moved on to the field and which was short handed was assigned infantry contact patrol only for the 4th Division. The 88th was to do all other work for this division as well as to conduct all work for the Corps as a whole. For the first five days all squadrons were under orders to cross the lines in order that the enemy might not be alarmed by an increase in aerial activity. That he suspected some sort of attack is certain, but the misty weather of that week prevented him from photographing or seeing clearly the tremendous extent of our preparations. That he did not realize the serious importance of the attack is shown by the fact that the large number of his divisions the St. Mihiel attack had drove to the neighborhood of Metz were left there until two weeks after the push had started. He was doubtless also relying on the character of the terrain between Dun and Buzancy which with the hitherto impassable Argonne Forest and the strong point of Montfaucon made it probably a most uninviting sector to fight through on the Western front.
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On the night of the 25th American troops took the places of the French in the first line, and the morning of the 26th the great push of all broke loose along the entire Army front. On this day the squadron made twenty sorties, eleven reconnaissances, five artillery co-operations, and two infantry contact patrols. Just as we had previously had to work out a new kind of photograph mission and a new kind of infantry contact patrol, so we now had to work out a new kind of artillery adjustment. The observer was given a map showing the zones in which artillery fire was wanted at successive times during the attack. In twenty six designated areas the observer adjusted the artillery fire of the division or corps artillery in those different areas and a machine was constantly in the air. This work was done so well by Lt. Bagby, Capt. Trickey and Lt. Wagner that General B. B. Buck commanding the 4th artillery brigade sent a telegram of congratulation that night. The reconnaissances executed surveillance of seven designated areas from which counter attacks might be feared and reported direct to General Bullard.
This is a sample of the type of missions the squadron was executing up to October 4th, while the corps ploughed its way north along the west bank of the Meuse, being constantly counter-attacked and shelled day and night from the heights on the west of the river. An advanced field was established at Rampont, Corps Headquarters, and two ships a day were sent up there to wait on alert. On one of these missions Lts. McNulty and C. T. Levenrode made a deep reconnaissance as far as Dun which was of great value to the corps. On Sept. 28 Lt. Loud and Capt. Trickey while doing an infantry contact patrol were attacked by a Fokker patrol, hit by some sort of incendiary projectile and brought down in flames just inside our lines. Lt. Loud managed to land the plane and save Capt. Trickey’s life, but was burned to death himself. On the same day Capts. Babcock and Lt. Bagby conducted a reconnaissance of enemy bridges across the Meuse and machine gunned the troops who were crossing for a counter attack.
By Sept. 29th the 33rd and 80th divisions had gained their Corps objective and the 4th division, having passed Montfaucon, had gotten to the Bois de Lay. On this day Lt. Gifford while staking the infantry line in that neighborhood was shot through the leg by a machine-gun bullet from the ground, but succeeded in completing his mission. By Oct. 4th the 4th Division had been able to clean out the Bois de Lay and the line was straightened out to the Meuse and consolidated. Meanwhile the corps on our left had penetrated as far as the Kriemhilde Stellung, a very strong series of German trenches and held a line from Nantillois to the Bois de Bazilny. The 1st Corps was fighting its way into the Argonne-Meuse. This is generally what is known as the 1st phase of the Argonne-Meuse operations and marks the completion of the 1st Army’s effort to drive the enemy back out his main line of defense. By this time the whole allied front to the sea was under way and the Germans were pulling back ten and twelve kilometers in some places.
The second phase of the Argonne-Meuse operations marks some of the hardest fighting our troops have had. It consisted of a series of little actions here and there against woods or ravines held by machine guns, interspersed with big attacks for one or two days. The work of the squadron remained about as before except that our pilots were learning how to fly low in the foggy weather we were having and to penetrate the enemy lines to a greater extent than in clear weather. Lieuts. Bagby and Brenchmeyer particularly distinguished themselves at this time and earned the commendation of most of the generals in the Corps. The Squadron was very successful at picking up enemy batteries and established more than a third of the known battery positions in the Corps front.
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Its front line also saw its long series of successful infantry contact patrols, consisting of good dives on masses of successful shocks while missions were carried out daily. As every aviation branch had been thrown into the attack, many more and more were frequently brought down. Practically every member of the squadron having had one or two. On Sept. 28th Capt. Babcock was brought down by a Fokker which he officially confirmed and more day or two mission was attacked by two others.
During this period the Corps sent for a three large liaison school of lectures and terrain exercises details of 200 troops each from the 3rd, 5th, 32nd, 35th and 92nd Divisions.
By October 23rd our troops had torn their way through the Kriemhilde Stellung in almost every place. The 5th Corps had crossed the Barricourt–St. Juvin road which was taken up to date, and the 1st Corps had driven the northern edge of the Bois de Buzancy, and as the Bois de Barricourt closed in on the Argonne forest and taken it in flank. All this had been accomplished while the American Army had been continually attacking and advancing. All the available aviation units were working for the divisions on the ground, and our own squadron was constantly flying in the line and near the line. The Allied front was extending its way north and east. Practically all of France was clear of Germans and in Belgium the British had executed a successful attack on the southern coast.
About this time D.S.O.’s for the work of counter-battery and on the north front were recommended and the full list announced later. Capt. Babcock, Capt. Trickey, Lt. Wagner and Lt. Bagby received these awards. The Squadron had also received mention in dispatches. In addition Lt. Bagby did especially fine work in very bad weather. The loss of our own ships which had been knocked out in work also during this time were also to be mourned. These losses included Capt. Cook, Lt. Merrill, Hitchcock, Moore and Rumsey. On Oct. 30th Lt. Murphy while on a photo mission was seriously wounded in the leg by Archie fire and evacuated. He subsequently received the D.S.O. as well.
On Nov. 1, the last phase of the Argonne-Meuse operations was begun. From now on beginning of the attack the Boche seemed weaker and in two days they were plainly on the run. It was evident that only a few days more would see them cleared out of the high ground. By the 7th the enemy’s big counter-attack would cease, so both squadrons were pushed to the limit. On the 9th the Armistice had been signed and the guns fell silent. The moving was now impossible due to the mud, so the squadron took its place on the advance field near Sedan. On the 11th of November at 11 o’clock the war was over. A few days later it was announced that we were to move to Coblenz with the Army of Occupation.
Thus ends the story of the 88th Squadron as it touches on the history of the A.E.F. in the battles of Chateau-Thierry, the Vesle, St. Mihiel, and the Argonne-Meuse, and the lesser engagements of Zivray and Varux.
@ copyright Jason Baird
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