Race to Sedan by Otto P. Higgins - November 8, 1918
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Higgins. There was more than one race for Sedan, that famous old French town that figures so prominently in French history. The Rainbow and the First divisions made one race, now being in the daily press chronicled by, Junius Wood, war correspondent, and then there was Our race for Sedan, which never has been told. For thrills, adventure, fatigue, hunger, mud, rain and cold, neither of the two famous divisions had anything on us four war correspondents the closing days of the war. While the divisions went fast, we went faster. None of us ever reached Sedan, but we made a mighty effort. The official American communique that night of November 7 announced that Sedan was taken. At the time I was with the 89th Division on the Meuse River at the time. The night of November 8 I reached press headquarters at Bar le Duc about 10 o
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[page 2] Burr Price of the New York and Paris edition of the Herald, William Slavens McNutt of Colliers
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[page 3] About ten kilometers south of Grandpre two more tires went down, and we had no more inner tubes. It was up to Ritchie to patch the old ones. For a time we stood around trying to keep warm by dancing, boxing and usin the rum bottle. We managed to keep warm, but we were losing valuable time, and Ritchie had no idea how long he would be. So we decided to
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[page 4] several inches higher than the sides of the truck. They didn
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[page 5] But we did find a medical officer from Rainbow who informed us the headquarters of the division was at Maisoncelle. We also found a a marmite can with some stew in the bottom, which we ate by taking it out by hands full and drinking it like coffee. Anything was better than starving. Here also we found an ambulance that carried us a few kilometers, and then again it was the everlasting plodding through the mud. In a pasture near Brieulles-sur-Bar we found some Rainbow troops. There were a supply unit coming out. Here also we found Bernie O
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[page 6] When the men learned we were correspondents they couldn
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[page 7] It was Colonel Garrett
Details
| Title | Race to Sedan by Otto P. Higgins - November 8, 1918 |
| Creator | Higgins, Otto P. |
| Source | Higgins, Otto P. Race to Sedan. 08 November 1918. Higgins, Otto P. Collection. 2010.145. The National World War I Museum, Kansas City, Missouri. |
| Description | Otto P. Higgins did not serve in the United States military, but he spent the entire span of the war in training camps and overseas with the army as a staff correspondent for the Kansas City Star. He wrote about soldiers from the Mid-West, especially Missouri and Kansas. Higgin's began his service with the old Third Regiment, and was with regiments at Camp Nichols, Fort Riley, Camp Funston, Camp Doniphan, Fort Leavenworth, Fort Sheridan, and finally in France. Otto P. Higgins of the Kansas City Star wrote about the final days of the war. Higgins' and his fellow correspondents wanted to be as near to the front as possibel when the armistice was instated. In this very entertaining story, Higgins' wrote about their overnight journey to the front lines and described the troubles they encountered. |
| Site Accession Number | 2010.145 |
| Contributing Institution | National World War I Museum and Memorial |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the National World War I Museum and Memorial: (816) 888-8100. |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. |
| Language | English |