Memorandum of Operations of the 129th Field Artillery in the Argonne

MEMORANDUM OF OPERATIONS OF THE 129th F. A. in the ARGONNE. On the afternoon of the 27th of September, the Battery Commander, Captain Harry S. Truman, and the Liaison Officer, Lieutenant Leslie N. Zemer, went forward by order of Major Marvin H. Gates, Commanding Officer of the Second Battalion of the 129th Field Artillery, to observe the effect of the fire of the Second Battalion on Charpentry and Baulny. They w ent forward down the Route Nationale and eastward over the hill to a point at about 3161, being about 700 meters south of Charpentry. The German front lines at that time were about 100 meters south of Charpentry at the foot of a hill. The town of Charpentry was plainly visible from the point where the officers were posted and they could see the effect of the fire of the Second Battalion on Charpentry. This was about two 'clock on the afternoon of the 27th of Sep- tember Three American tanks went into Charpentry and were driven out by the Germans. Batteries of German Artillery in the Argonne forest were fir- ing on these tanks and also on the American infantrymen in the open field to the right of Route Nationale. The infantrymen at this time fell back 200 meters and Captain Truman and Lieutenant Zemer also found it necessary to fall back. They established an observation post at 2955, above Mont- blainville. The telephone detail of the battalion was having a hard time establishing communication, because the infantry continually broke the tel- ephone line by walking over it. Communication was finally established about 5:30 o' 'clock in the evening when the fire of Battery D was directed on a German battery in position just east of Montblainville at L1455. Shortly afterwards it became too dark to see and Captain Truman returned to the battery position. Because the battery had been located and attacked during the day by an airplane, which destroyed some telephone equipment but caused no casual- ties, the battery was moved to a new position on the road between Cheppy and Varennes The next morning Captain Truman went forward again to the observa- tion post, which he had established the day before and fired on the German 0. P. Chenne Tondu at L3252, at 9:30 A. M., causing the Germans to desert it. At 11 O'clock fire was directed on a battery moving down the road at 8666. Forty-three shells were dropped on this train in less than two minutes, caus- ing the Germans to abandon the carriages and leave them on the road. No further traffic was observed on this road during the day. When first observed three carriages were plainly visible, harnessed and moving. Some time after the Armistice, Colonel Burleson of the 28th Division informed Captain Truman that at the point in question he found six abandoned German guns 3. is ARCHIVES RECORDS SERVICE' NATIONAL AND