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10 Final drive to the rhine and into Germany After capturing the Côte de Châtillon the 42nd division remained in lieutenant General hunter liggett’s 1st USArmy for the final drive to Sedan.1 both liggett and his v Corps commander, General Summerall, to whom the rainbow reported , knew the division well. in the hard weeks of near-constant fighting, supplies had been scarce. now officers of the 167th arranged for Supply Company to bring “uniforms, underwear , blankets and overcoats to the men who had been living in wet clothes for almost three weeks.”2 morale soared. their German opponents were not so fortunate. hans Spiess of the bavarian 2nd infantry division updated his family in an october 21 letter: “right now i am still alive . . . we never have rest anymore, in a few days we had to retreat over 100 km, those who can’t run are made prisoners, so don’t be worried , it doesn’t help, there are no more people here, it can’t last much longer.”3 his death the following day, by a shot to the heart, underscores the poignancy of his last missive home.4 Screws returned from the field hospital to the regiment on the night of october 21, relieving bare of command of the 167th at the PC he had occupied since october 16.the exhausted regiment found it “a welcome sight the night of october 21 when the 165th infantry came to relieve [them].”5 they slogged out that night through the deep mud to the bois de montrebeau between exermont andApremont and camped on the southern slope of the hill there until november 2.the regimental PC (Post of Command) was set up on the edge of the woods nearest exermont, a far cry from an ideal campground but the best place they could find.6 the 1st division had badly torn up the site when taking it from the Germans, but the 167th was able to catch up on sleep.the twelve days at exermont helped restore everyone’s mental and physical condition. on oc- Final drive to the rhine and into Germany / 189 tober 26 Summerall boosted morale further with a glowing citation,“this brigade , under the command of brigadier General douglas macArthur, has manifested the highest soldierly qualities and has rendered service of the greatest value during the present operations.With a dash, courage and fighting spirit worthy of the best traditions of the American Army this brigade carried by assault the strongly fortified hill 288.”7 despite being in range of German artillery,ymCA representatives Gertrude bray of Pawtucket,rhode island,and Charlest.Coker of Gadsden,Alabama,visited the regiment with hot chocolate,sweets,and cigarettes.8 bray made between 150 and 175 gallons of hot chocolate each day.9 they also brought word that the ymCA had established a number of rest areas in southeast France and had plans to arrange small rental cars for soldiers to tour the countryside.10 rumors of leave had circulated since the regiment entered the trenches in February, but theAlabamians had always returned to battle without it. because of intermittent German bombing, fires were prohibited, and in the fourteen hours of darkness that fell each night, rumors gained traction.11 the cold, damp weather sent people to the field hospital every day. on october 23 Sergeant Will Frazer was evacuated with flu to a hospital near Paris.despite being struck down by the epidemic, he rejoiced in getting to the French capital and said “he believed [his] war was over.”12 When the sun finally did emerge, everyone longed to wash, as it had been a month since their last bath at a captured German shower point during the Saintmihiel drive. Getting water for boiling cootie-infested clothes also proved difficult .troops rejoiced when they discovered another German bathhouse several miles from exermont.13 one more Push the war wound down slowly and inconclusively as i Corps, iii Corps, and v Corps were positioned for a new general offensive. FourAmerican observation balloons were shot down on october 24, though crewmen saved themselves by parachuting from gondolas. the offensive began with heavy artillery fire on the evening of october 31.by 3:30 A.M.on november 1,it seemed that all the guns in France were firing.14 the 2nd division went over the top at 5:30 A.M. near the Alabamians, who did not participate but were under a warning order to be ready...

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