Send the Alabamians: World War I Fighters in the Rainbow Division

7. The Ourcq and Brigadier General MacArthur

7 the ourcq and brigadier General macArthur When dawn broke on July 27, Screws of the 167th looked at the situation. in the distance at la ventellette—the large woods approximately eight hundred yards east of the farmhouse—French horse cavalry waited with lances and several motorized armored cars.1 that was the regiment’s objective as called for in the attack order the day before. it was supposed to have swept by the Croix rouge Farm advancing at the rate of two hundred meters in three minutes.that, of course, had not been possible. Further advance still seemed impossible, but a hot meal, a deep sense of relief , and no incoming artillery helped everyone.the decimated 1st and 3rd battalions received new allotments of ammunition.twenty-two German prisoners weretaken,andsearchpartiesrecoveredmoreGermanandAmericanwounded.2 the dead of both armies were buried where they fell, and 283 German bodies were counted, many having died from bayonet wounds.3 before placing a body into its shallow grave, diggers removed all personal effects.After the war, bodies were disinterred for reburial in official cemeteries or shipment home if the deceased’s family desired.4 reorganization onthemorningofJuly27unitswerebeingreorganizedallupanddowntheline.5 Survivors of the 1st and 3rd battalions of the 167th were combined into one battalion .Around 2:00 P.M.First lieutenant mauriceW.howe assumed command of the remnants of l Company, K Company, and the remaining i Company platoons , a total of 210 men. Captain ravee norris commanded another unit consisting of m Company and everybody else standing.6 ourcq and brigadier General macArthur / 127 earlier in the week, Screws had been frustrated when the division was committed piecemeal, but on July 27 he received welcome news: “the rest of the ‘rainbow’were coming into the line.”7 during the night of July 26 the division’s fresh 83rd brigade, consisting of the 165th (newyork) infantry and the 166th (ohio) infantry, started relief of the decimated 167th (French) division north of Croix rouge Farm.With that, US i Corps was reduced to one division, the 42nd. From then on, any fighting along the ourcq would be between the Germans andAmericans.8 the French were removed from the sector. the Germans also made changes on the other side of the ourcq. on that day, “the 4th Prussian Guard . . . replaced the 10th landwehr division near Sergy . . . it was one of the crack divisions of the German army.”9 Another fresh division,the 84th Guard division,arrived the day after.10 the 4th Prussian,a storied German unit, evoked a great amount of confusion amongAmericans, who sometimes used the term“Prussian Guards”to refer to any unidentified German troops.Although several officers, including Screws and Smith, reported facing the 4th Prussian at Croix rouge Farm,these accounts proved inaccurate.11 Kurt Gabriel of the 4th Prussian later reported that the unit was not involved there.12 it was involved later,on July 28,when Captain PercyA.lanison of the 168th infantry led troops across the ourcq river and took several members of the 4th Prussian Guards prisoner.13 the captured Germans reported that“the 4th Prussian Guard division (which was commanded by the Kaiser’s son, Prince eitel Friedrich),the 201st German and 10th landwehr and 6th bavarian divisions had orders to hold at all costs.”14 the Germans knew they could not withstand another series of costly losses such as at Champagne and Croix rouge. Colonel Screws and his exhausted,shorthanded two battalions could only suspect the Germans’determination,but there was one thing for sure.Captain everette Jackson’s 2nd battalion would engage the Germans soon, just as they had done with distinction two weeks earlier at Souain. in preparing for the attack, Jackson and his men moved from their support position near the lake up to the farmhouse.At 2:00 P.M.on July 27,the 2nd battalion went to“establish itself on the hills north of the stream,” with 1st battalion in support and 3rd in reserve.15 Jackson took his battalion northeast on the road from Croix rouge Farm for about a mile and turned east.After filtering through the woods and fields for a few miles, the unit crossed the ru de lataverne, a small branch of the ourcq.16 the remaining forces of the 1st and 3rd battalions, then under First lieutenant howe, and Captain norris followed, stopping for the night behind the 2nd bat- 128 / Chapter 7 talion...