The 329th Barrage Book--Battery B

Introduction

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Click on thumbnail photos to enlarge.

Please feel free to add comments in this section if it concerns the 329th, individuals mentioned, or history concerning events mentioned in the articles directly. General remarks about WWI may be made under the modem entitled Reader's Interest in and Comments about WW I

Battery B and E accounts are representative of most units. In the end, I transcribed far more of the book than I originally intended. The original book has now been returned to my uncle, but the bulk of material is now available to family members and WWI enthusiasts.

This fabulous book (the 329th Barrage, 1917-1919) was written shortly after the war, printed and distributed to the men who returned home. There is no indication of publisher or publishing date. I believe my great-grandfather (Sid's father-in-law), who ran a book-binding shop, may have helped in turning these men's accounts of a soldier's life into a printed book.

I have resisted changing grammar, spelling or punctuation. However, I have taken the liberty of dividing a single entry of the Battery's experiences into sections, to allow readers to locate specific sections that may be of most interest. In places where there seemed to be typos in the book itself, the words are enclosed {as such}.

The 329th Battery Book [Foreword]

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Foreword

Masters, the load was heavy;

Ye whom we served were hard;

Your young men come

With laughter home,

But all are bruised and scarred.

Masters, we met the summons

And you shall say how well;

But now, meanwhile,

It’s ours to smile

At what we do not tell.

Masters, we gave our chances

To build our lives full true;

And so we bled

To build instead

A decent world for you.

Masters, we laid foundations

Your unborn wits shall test;

But we are done

With blood and gun–

Permit us now to jest.

–Cpl. G.C. Channing

Battery E

Battery B entry [arriving at Camp Custer]

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The Camp Receiving Station was reached at 4:00 p.m. The first picture of this famous station was a never-to-be-forgotten one. It was still raining. When the boys got a look at the big open place with its numerous little "sheep-pens’ and more officers than had ever been gathered together before, they mentally decided that they could never go through that labyrinth and come out a civilian. They took a deep breath and plunged in. Here they were questioned as to their previous experience, classified, and assigned to Battery "B," 329th Field Artillery. An officer led the way to building No. 399.

[training begins]

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As civilians we had always imagined that artillery was intimately associated with horses and guns, but to our surprise we found these were conspicuous for their absence. Captain Frazier evidently had the same ideas that we had on the subject, and set out to remedy the deficiency to the best of his ability. He managed to get the loan of an ancient member of the equine family and the 1917 class in "Horseology" was formed.

[Christmas at Camp Custer]

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With drills of various kinds to keep us busy, the time passed quickly until Christmas was at hand. Of course everyone was hoping that he would be lucky enough to get a pass which would enable him to be with his folks for the festive season; and our feelings can be better imagined than described when an order came through advising that, owing oto the congestion of the railroads, no passes over Christmas would be allowed.

[real horses and guns]

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Every day we spent a large part of our time at the stables and after a month’s training became expert "groomers." Our horsemanship instructor, Lieut. Goble, soon convinced us, though, that we were not artillery men until we received our mounted instructions. These had been quite a joke in the past with wooden horses but after several ineffective attempts at mounting "Whiskey Dick" and old "100" we decided that the real horses had the joke on us. After we learned to stick on a horse with the aid of only a blanket and surcingle, we drew some ancient harness and some of the guns which rumor said were used by the Indians about the year 1600. With the aid of this equipment we learned the rudiments of mounted drill.

[85th Division parade in Detroit, April 6th, 1918]

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Another distinction that Battery B can claim is that we were the battery chosen from the 160th F. A. Brigade to represent the artillery of the 85th Division in the Third Liberty Loan parade at Detroit, April 6th, 1918.

[Camp Mills and the trip across the Atlantic]

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Our "quarters" were a bunch of mess tables, fifteen feet long and set perpendicular to the side of the ship and not over a foot apart. Sixteen men to a table–packs had to go wherever we could land them. "Reckon we just mess here," said one buck. "Nope," said another, "look at the flock of hooks up above." Flock was good. The rafters which were new and strong, by necessity it turned out, entertained a literal forest of hooks. They were set facing alternating directions. You get a canvas hammock as we presently discovered and suspend it between two alternate hooks. Everyone else does the same and pretty soon you’re sardined in like Ring Lardner’s traveling rookie.

[training in France]

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Upon arrival we were assigned to Napoleonic barracks with concrete and dirt floors. The first night or two in them were anything but "downy" ones. A week or so was spent in continuation of the training started at Messac. Then we drew a battery of French 75's and our real training began. We found that much of the training received in Custer was quite different from the French drill regulation, consequently drills and more drills were the order of the day. Twice a week we went on the range for practice in firing signaling, fire control, and camouflage.

[Off to the Front]

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After eight weeks training at Cöetquidan we were in shape for the front. "B" Battery, incidentally, did its full share to help the 329th make the best qualification record of any American regiment up to that time. On October 22nd, having loaded everything on the caissons and escort wagons, we marched to Guer, transferred the material to flat cars and stowed ourselves in side-door Pullmans for another two-day trip. On October 24th we arrived at Andelot and hiked to Manois, where we stayed four days. It was here that Mess Sergeant Bill Holzer sent out his famous wood detail. They came back with a skinny apple tree which subsequently cost us fifty francs and beaucoup explaining to an irate Frenchman.