Of course, we all were quite excited about this new sector. All during June we had heard about Chateau-Thierry, Belleau Woods, Bouresches, etc. Now we were there ourselves. The front lines were about 4000 metres in front of us, stretching through a deep valley. A short distance to the south, on a bend of the Marne, lay Chateau-Thierry, with that famous Hill 204 cutting most of it off from view. Then came the much battered village of Vaux which had just been captured in a desperate fight a few days before. It was a "windy" place to be those days, as the enemy raked it with machine gun and trench mortar fire all day and night. A little farther up the valley nestled Bouresches, a point of tremendous contention for both sides. Most of the time it was little more than No Man's Land because either side made it too "hot" for the other to hold. Beyond Bouresches came Belleau and Torcy, both within the German lines.

                On the American side of the valley, Belleau Woods stretched out from Lucy LeBocage down to Belleau and Bouresches. It had been terribly smashed by terrific concentrations of artillery, and the stench from dead bodies and mustard gas was beyond description. Lucy LeBocage itself was never free from the crash of 150's. Situated as it was, overlooking the valley, it offered a splendid target to enemy artillerymen.

                The German half of the valley sloped gradually up to the plateau behind. Open fields, interspersed with bits of woods here and there, predominated. Several large farms like "La Gonetrie" stood out

CONTENTS
INDEX