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{
    "localId": "17343226",
    "label": "The Memoirs of Sergeant Verne Chaney",
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{
    "id": "17343226",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "The Memoirs of Sergeant Verne Chaney",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/17343226",
    "collections": [
        "Verne E. Chaney Papers",
        "Subject Files"
    ],
    "subjects": [
        "Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972",
        "Spina, Frank E., 1887-1972",
        "Klemm, Karl D., 1880-",
        "Wooldridge, Glenwood F., 1893-1977",
        "Pershing, John J. (John Joseph), 1860-1948",
        "Thacher, John H., 1872-1960",
        "Miles, John L., 1878-1961",
        "Soldiers",
        "World War, 1914-1918",
        "Artillery"
    ],
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            "logicalDate": "1919-01-01",
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    "seq": 12,
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    "ocrText": "12\nbarrages. 30 Until one day Gen. Pershing came to inspect the firing of the\nBrigade, as a whole.31 He observed from an observation balloon. When\nfinished we received the order to turn in all ammunition, much to our\nsurprise. We knew then we were bound for the front.\nThe order came a few days later to prepare to entrain. It was August\n16th we packed up, harnessed and hitched and pulled out for Gare a\nrailroad station about 5 kilos distance. We were at the loading platform at\ndaylight. We waited about three hours for the trains. 3²Each battery had its\nown trains of about thirty cars. From the time we started loading it was 48\nminutes when we had finished loading guns, caissons, horses, other material\nand men. We were given credit of breaking the record in loading a battery. 33\nOn Sunday August 18h we arrived at a beautiful little town named\nSalzures. It was located in a valley in the Vosges Mts. A clear water stream\nflowed thru the town making it very picturesque with its rocky bed and\nTRUMAN\ngreen meadows on either side. It was only a few days stay in Salzures until\nKenne ARCHIVES & \"NATIONAL RECORDS ADMIN. JANAS\nis\nCONTRIBARE\n30\nThere are four \"basic\" types of barrages. The \"rolling\"(creeping) preceded the attack by 150 yards\nand softened up the area for ten minutes then moved up to the next preplanned area. The \"box \"laid a three sided\ncurtain on the area to be raided and covered the withdrawal in the same manner. The \"protective\" was intended\nto protect the trenches by making the attacker launch his attack through a curtain of artillery fire. The \"counter\"\nwas directed at assembly points, supply depots and other areas in an attempt to disrupt or abort an impending\nattack. Indirect fire is the technique of firing on a position not visible to the gunner. The gunner gets his firing\ndata second hand from ground or air observers or preregistration.\n31\nJohn William \"Black Jack\" Pershing was the Commanding General of the American Expeditionary\nForces to France. When war was declared he was the Commanding General of the Southern Department of the\nArmy. He was selected over several senior Generals deemed to old or sick to command in France. His nickname\nwas actually \"NiggerJack\" and was given to him when he was the commanding officer of the 10th United States\nCavalry. The 10th was a famous, hard fighting, hard drinking, Negro frontier regiment known as the \"Buffalo\nSoldiers.\" The Indians gave the troopers the name because of the buffalo skin coats they wore during Winter\ncampaigns.\n32\nThe translation of the French Gare to English is \"station.\" Sergeant Chaney obviously mistook a\nsign signifing a railroad station as a village name.\n33\nA caisson is an ammunition wagon for a gun. A caisson has its own horses and drivers. The drivers\noften act as loaders."
}