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BEING THE NARRATIVE OF BATTERY A OF THE 101st FIELD ARTILLERY

Page 64

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At the echelon, the first work of the day is feeding the horses. After breakfast the horses are groomed and watered. Again at noon they are fed grain. Finally, just before supper, they are watered and fed hay and grain. It is after dark, however, that a driver's real work begins. After supper the caissons set out for the ammunition dumps. After being loaded there, they start on the trip up to the firing battery. As soon as they arrive there, the cannoneers are routed out to unload and carry the shells to the dumps in the position, while the drivers start back to the echelon to get to bed as fast as possible.

In the morning of March 19, all preparations for the coming trip were completed. Rumors of a long road-hike and possibly divisional maneuvers were persistent. To offset these unpleasant tales, there were also rumors of a long rest in a mythical paradise called "permanent billets." That afternoon we marched over the road to Soissons in a pouring rain. We reached the city after dark,—cold, wet, and hungry. Without delay we started entraining, but the shortness of the loading platform, and the absence of lights made the task difficult. It was then that some­ one discovered a "Y" girl serving coffee and apples in the freight shed: nor could she have come at a better time. Her cheerful smile and the hot coffee sent us back to work with renewed energy. Eventually the last horse was dragged aboard, the last wagon lashed in place, the last bale of hay distributed. After a rush to get a last cup of coffee, we climbed into our cars and the train rolled out of Soissons. Going to bed was a simple affair. You simply wedged yourself in

 

 

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