by Neil Hanson
6 “MINEOLA!” and “SO DENSE THAT A COMPASS” John H. Eggers, 27th Division, 5; Commanding Officer, 105th Infantry, to Commanding General, 27th Division, October 5, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA.
7 “THE SICKENING, WHIRRING” and “JUMPED OFF ON TIME” Eggers, The 27th Division, 5; Summary of the Operations of the 27th Division, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 2, NARA.
8 “ALL THE STRENGTH” and “RUSHING FORWARD” J. Leslie Kincaid, “The 27th New York’s Guard Division,” 2–3; New York Times, March 2, 1919; Trench and Camp, March 1919.
9 “WHEN THE TIME TO CHARGE” New York Times, October 13, 1918; Operations Report of the 27th Division, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA.
10 CARNAGE and GETTYSBURG Operations Report of the 27th Division, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA; Eggers, 27th Division, 10; Frederick Palmer, quoted in Mitchell Yockelson, “Brothers-in-Arms,” 9.
11 A DISGRUNTLED OFFICER Commanding Officer, 105th Infantry, to Commanding General, 27th Division, October 5, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA.
12–13 MONK SET AN INSPIRING LEAD and THE CONCUSSION WAS Albany Times Union, May 8, 1919; The Evening Telegram, December 30, 1920; Missing in Action/Wounded Notices 1918, Brooklyn Standard Union, October—December 1918.
14 “DON’T LET ANYONE” Major Raphael A. Egan, quoted in O’Ryan, History of the 27th Division, 14.
15 “GUILLEMONT FARM” and TORN OUT O’Ryan, History of the 27th Division, 26; Commanding General to Commander-in-Chief, American EF, December 15, 1919, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division, Historical Files [NM-91] 1241, box 1, NARA.
16 “STUMBLING, GROPING” History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA.
17 THE FIGHTING WAS MOST Kincaid, “The 27th New York’s Guard Division,” 2–3.
18 GUILLEMONT FARM AND CEMETERY and TOO WEAK TO ADVANCE Operations Report of the 27th Division, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA; History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA; Swetland and Swetland, These Men, 162.
19 “EVERYBODY THOUGHT” Quoted in Stephen L. Harris, Duty, Honor, Privilege, 216.
20–21 AT NO TIME and OBSCURE OR NOT CLEAR Commanding Officer to Commanding General, 27th Division, October 3, 1918, 391 United States Regular Army Mobile Units, 1821–1942, Records of the 106th Infantry Regiment [NM-93] 2133, box 1643, NARA; Major General John F. O’Ryan, Operations Report, 27th Division, A.E.F., May 29–September 22, 1918, folder 5, entry 270, RG 120, NARA.
22 WHEN GENERAL O’RYAN Commanding Officer to Commanding General, 27th Division, October 3, 1918, 391 United States Regular Army Mobile Units, 1821–1942, Records of the 106th Infantry Regiment [NM-93] 2133, box 1643, NARA; 27th Division, Summary of Operations in the World War, 18.
23 CATEGORICALLY STATED and “THICK AS FLIES” Operations Report of the 27th Division, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA; Kincaid, “The 27th New York’s Guard Division,” 2–3; General O’Ryan, quoted in New York Times, April 11, 1919.
24–25 TWENTY-FIVE OR THIRTY and MINIMAL GROUND Swetland and Swetland, These Men, 162; 54th Brigade, Unit History, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division, Historical Files [NM-91] 1241, box 7, NARA.
26 “NO MAN MUST,” “THE SUPREME RULE,” and “AN OFFER TO SURRENDER” Major General John F. O’Ryan, Operations Report, May 29–September 22, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 270, box 5, NARA; Eggers, 27th Division, 9; Secret Bulletin No. 6, Headquarters 27th Division, August 26, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 6, NARA.
27 QUARTERED IN “ELEPHANT HUTS,” “PROUD TO THINK,” and CERTAINLY IT WAS TRUE War Diary, 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry, September 28, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), A.E.F. General Headquarters, War Diaries [NM-91] 26, box 2694, NARA; Gas Attack, March 1919, 42–43; Summary of the Operations of the 27th Division, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 2, NARA; History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA.
28 GENERAL MONASH Mitchell Yockelson, “Brothers-in-Arms,” 10; Field Notes, Action of 27th Division Against that Portion of the Line near Bony, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 2, NARA.
29 INFILTRATION and “ADVANCE BY WAVES” GHQ, A.E.F., France, May 23, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 5, NARA; Stanley H. Ford, Lieutenant Colonel, G.S., Chief of Staff, June 26, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 6, NARA.
30 “AN EXTRAORDINARY FEAT” and “FOUGHT LIKE WILDCATS” General John F. O’Ryan, letter to Commanding Officer, 106th Infantry, October 22, 1918, quoted in Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 302; General O’Ryan, quoted in New York Times, April 11, 1919. 224 “TIRED, SPATTERED” and LOSSES Eggers, 27th Division, 12; Operations Report of the 27th Division, September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 270, box 3, NARA. (Some of the losses may have been double-counted after initially being listed as missing in action.)
31–32 “THE END OF THE WORLD” and “A SORT OF SACRIFICE” Private Angelo Ferraro, quoted in New York Times, March 23, 1919; History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA.
18 THE HINDENBURG LINE
1 “THEY WERE QUIET” John F. O’Ryan, History of the 27th Division: New York’s Own, 14.
2 A PROVISIONAL BATTALION 27th Division, Summary of Operations in the World War, 1; Gas Attack, March 1919, 42–43.
3 “EVERY OFFICER AND MAN” and “THE COMPLETE ANNIHILATION” Rutherford Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment N.G.S.N.Y., 295–96.
4 “THIS POSITION WILL BE HELD” New York Times, March 7, 1919.
5 THREE DEEP TRENCHES J. Leslie Kincaid, “The 27th New York’s Guard Division,” 3; Stars and Stripes, May 9, 1919.
6 THE ALLIED STAFFS O’Ryan, History of the 27th Division, 24.
7 MOVED OUT AT MIDNIGHT and “A PYROTECHNIC DISPLAY” H. G. Rosboro, 1st Lieutenant, 106th Infantry, October 5, 1918, 391 United States Regular Army Mobile Units, 1821–1942, Records of the 106th Infantry Regiment [NM-93] 2133, box 1643, NARA; Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 297–298.
8 “A LITTLE OF IT” and THE MOST TERRIFYING Commanding Officer to Commanding General, 27th Division, October 3, 1918, 391 United States Regular Army Mobile Units, 1821–1942, Records of the 106th Infantry Regiment [NM-93] 2133, box 1643, NARA; Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 297–98; Mitchell Yockelson, “Brothers-in Arms,” 10; William F. Clarke, Over There with O’Ryan’s Roughnecks, 52; History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA.
9 REFUSED BY THE BRITISH and A HUNDRED YARDS: Operations Report of the 27th Division, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA; Summary of the Operations of the 27th Division, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 2, NARA.
10 TWENTY-FIVE YARDS and A SURPRISE Operations Report of the 27th Divisi
on, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA; Elliott Schoen, History of the 107th US Infantry; History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA.
11 MILLIONS OF MACHINE-GUN and HEAVY CASUALTIES Trench and Camp, March 1919; Operations Report of the 27th Division, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA.
12 NINE TANKS and WHO WERE INDEED STILL HOLDING A Short History of the 106th Infantry, 4–5; Leslie W. Rowland, The 27th Division Crashes Through, 5; Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 299.
13 MAJOR GILLET Franklin Ward, Between the Big Parades, 140; Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 298; Operations Report of the 27th Division, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA.
14 GOUGED OUT HIS, “MURDER, HELL-TO-BREAKFAST,” and A HUMAN CHAIN Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 298–99; Ward, Between the Big Parades, 136; Stephen L. Harris, Duty, Honor, Privilege, 275, 289; Commanding Officer to Commanding General, 27th Division, October 3, 1918, 391 United States Regular Army Mobile Units, 1821–1942, Records of the 106th Infantry Regiment [NM-93] 2133, box 1643, NARA; History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA.
15 “THICKER THAN FLIES” and “A SLAUGHTER” Harris, Duty, Honor, Privilege, 281; Norman Stone, quoted in Mitchell Yockelson, Borrowed Soldiers, 172.
16 ORDERS BEFORE THE BATTLE John H. Eggers, 27th Division, 25; Kincaid, “The 27th New York’s Guard Division,” 4.
17 A LIAISON OFFICER and EVACUATED BY STRETCHER Trench and Camp, March 1919; Commanding Officer, 105th Infantry, to Commanding General, 27th Division, October 5, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA.
18 THEY WERE FIRED EVERY A Short History of the 106th Infantry, 10.
19 ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES, SHEARED FROM HIS BACK, and “THESE INCIDENTS” Lieutenant J. A. Kerrigan, Company G, 106th Infantry, quoted in Chicago Daily Tribune, December 27, 1920; New York Daily Tribune, April 2, 1919; Trench and Camp, April 8, 1919.
20 “GOT ALL THE HELL,” “STILL AS WINE CAVES,” and “THE HINDENBURG TUNNEL” A Short History of the 106th Infantry, 11; Trench and Camp, March 1919; Kincaid, “The 27th New York’s Guard Division,” 4; Eggers, 27th Division, 27.
21 “IN ACTION THROUGHOUT” and THE COOKS, ORDERLIES Lieutenant J. A. Kerrigan, Company G, 106th Infantry, quoted in Chicago Daily Tribune, December 27, 1920; O’Ryan, History of the 27th Division, 39; Trench and Camp, March 1919.
22 “BROKEN IN BODY” Kincaid, “The 27th New York’s Guard Division,” 4.
19 THE PHANTOM DIVISION
1 “AN ODOR” and “HUMAN VULTURES” Franklin Ward, Between the Big Parades, 148–49.
2 “IT IS FIRST DEPRESSING” John F. O’Ryan, History of the 27th Division: New York’s Own, 18.
3 A CRITICAL AUSTRALIAN REPORT Summary of Operations, September 29, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA; Commanding Officer to Commanding General, 27th Division, October 3, 1918, 391 United States Regular Army Mobile Units, 1821–1942, Records of the 106th Infantry Regiment [NM-93] 2133, box 1643, NARA.
4 “MERE SKELETON” John Bowman letters, AMHI; Rutherford Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment N.G.S.N.Y., 299; Colonel Franklin W. Ward, 106th Infantry, enclosure in Commanding Officer to Statistical Officer, 27th Division, October 12, 1918, 391 United States Regular Army Mobile Units, 1821–1942, Records of the 106th Infantry Regiment [NM-93] 2133, box 1632, NARA.
5 AS A TRIBUTE and CORPORAL PORTER Orders No. 50, 27th Division, August 5, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 4, NARA; Missing in Action/Wounded Notices 1918, Brooklyn Standard Union, October–December 1918.
6 DOG TAGS Orders No. 50, 27th Division, August 5, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 4, NARA.
7 NO KNOWN GRAVE See the author’s Unknown Soldiers for the story of the “unknown dead” of the Great War.
8 BURY ALL SOLDIERS Orders No. 50, 27th Division, August 5, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 4, NARA.
9 TINCOURT Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 308–9; Gas Attack, March 1919, 42–43.
10 UNBURIED REMAINS and ONE DESTROYED MACHINE-GUN POST Field Notes, Action of 27th Division Against that Portion of the Line near Bony, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 2, NARA; Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 309–10; Mitchell Yockelson, Borrowed Soldiers, 187.
11 MOVE AT ONCE Field Orders No. 58 and 59, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division, Historical Files [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA; History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA.
12 NINE HOURS and “SOME SINISTER AGENCY” War Diary of 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry, October 12, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), A.E.F. General Headquarters, War Diaries [NM-91] 26, box 2694, NARA; Trench and Camp, March 1919.
13 TWO TEASPOONSFUL A6/JFG, October 16, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division, Historical Files—106th Infantry [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA.
14 A HIGH-EXPLOSIVE SHELL History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA.
15 DEEP HOLES Operations Report of the 27th Division, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division, [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA.
16 SERIOUS OBSTACLE History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division, [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA; Field Notes, Action of 27th Division at and near St. Souplet, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 2, NARA.
17 COMPASS BEARINGS and JUST WEST War Diary of 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry, October 17, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), A.E.F. General Headquarters, War Diaries, [NM-91] 26, box 2694, NARA; Secret Field Orders No. 18, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division, Historical Files [NM-91] 1241, box 7, NARA.
18 LOST THEIR WAY and LAY BLOCKING Operations Report of the 27th Division, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA; Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 318.
19 SLIDING DOWN THE Summary of the Operations of the 27th Division, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 2, NARA; Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 315–17.
20–21 FORMIDABLE OBSTACLE and MARCHED THEIR CAPTIVES Field Notes, Action of 27th Division at and near St. Souplet, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 2, NARA; Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 317.
22 FULFILLING THE PROPHECY Memorandum for Brigade Commanders, October 15, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division, Historical Files [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA.
23 WAS ABOUT TO SHOOT The Evening Telegram, December 30, 1920.
24 UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES New York Times, December 15, 1918, March 7, 1919; Memorandum for Brigade Commanders, October 15, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division, Historical Files [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA.
25 “ONE OF THOSE UNFORTUNATE” History of Company M, 105th Infantry, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 9, NARA.
26 DESPERATELY SEEKING Ibid.
27 NO MORE THAN 850 and AGAIN BEEN HIT Op
erations Report of the 27th Division, A.E.F., covering the period September 23 to October 1, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), Records of the 27th Division [NM-91] 1241, box 3, NARA; 13721–83, Abstracts of National Guard Service, box 14, vol. 43.
28 A BITTER ADVANCE ATTACK and “BEGGED TO BE” Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment, 320–22.
29 “THE PRETTIEST FIGHT” New York Times, March 7, 1919; War Diary of 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry, October 19, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), A.E.F. General Headquarters, War Diaries [NM-91] 26, box 2694, NARA.
20 ALWAYS SHALL WE HONOR THEM
1 “THE COLUMN MOVED” Gas Attack, March 1919, 42–43.
2 “ROADBED AND RAILS” Ibid., Rutherford Ireland, History of the Twenty Third Regiment N.G.S.N.Y., 328–29.
3 BUSSY-LÈS-DAOURS Gas Attack, March 1919, 42–43; War Diary of 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry, October 25, 1918, 120 Records of the A.E.F. (WWI), A.E.F. General Headquarters, War Diaries [NM-91] 26, box 2694, NARA.
4 “FRIDAY’S CASUALTY LIST” Alpine Avalanche (Texas), October 24, 1918.
5 A RECESSION BEGINNING J. P. Morgan, quoted in Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, 353; Sarah Bradford Landau and Carl W. Condit, Rise of the New York Skyscraper, 279; Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States, 341.
6–7 GASOLINE-POWERED TRACTORS, “WHEATLESS MONDAYS,” and “VICTORY MENUS” David M. Kennedy, A Freedom from Fear, 17; Elmira Herald, October 27, November 10, 1917.
8 “WHAT WE NEED TO WIN” http://academic.udayton.edu/health/syllabi/tobacco/history2.htm#1.
9 “NEVER EMBARKED ON” Gary Mead, The Doughboys, 361.
10 “FORGET THERE EVER” H. C. Peterson and Gilbert C. Fite, Opponents of War, 11.
11 “WE WILL PRUSSIANIZE” Max Eastman, quoted in Mead, The Doughboys, 362.
12 SPIRIT OF ’76 and FORTY-FIVE MENNONITES Peterson and Fite, Opponents of War, 134.
