History of Company C, 12th Engineers - April 14 - May 8th 1918
Transcript
History of Company C 12th Engineers (Railway) While on Detached Service From April 14th to May 8th 1918. Company C 12th Engrs. (Railway) was a detached from the regiment at Le val de Maison on April 14th 1918. The company was directed to report to the Town Major of the village of Planques. (Dept Pas de Calais), and moved from headquarters in three convoys. The first, consisted of the water cart and rolling kitchen, departed from Le val de Maison at 3:00 P.M., arriving at Planques at 7:00 A.M., April 15th. The second convoy which consisted of about 62 men in four trucks and the kitchen and QM Supplies, departed from Le val de Maison at 6:30 P.M., and arrived at Panques at 1:30 A.M., April 15th. The four trucks used in the second convoy, after being unloaded, returned to Le val de Maison with instructions to bring the third convoy, which consisted of about 86 men and the Medical Detachment. They left Le val de Maison about 1:00 P.M., April 15th and arrived at Planques at 6:00 P.M., of the same day. Captain W.J. Millard, 1st Lieut I.E. Burks, accompanied the second convoy, and 1st Lieut S.M. Smith, 2nd Lieut M.S. Fiske and 1st Lieut T.P. Brookes M.R.C., accompanied the third. Leaving Le val de Maison the convoys followed the main highways, passing through the villages of Talmas, Beauval, Doullens, Frevent, Monchel, Hesdin au Planques, the distance traveled was about forty-five miles. The village of Planques is located at the head of the valley of the river Grequois, which is a tributary of the river Cauche, which empties into the English Channel at Etaples. The village, which is nothing more than a collection of dwellings, is scattered over about two miles of road. With exception of two or three estaminets there are no business houses in the place. The land is very hilly, but all cleared portions were under cultivation. When the leading convoy arrived at the village, considerable difficulty was experienced in locating anyone who had any information as to where the detachment was to locate. On account of the early hour (1:30 A.M.) no one was about to direct us. Through the aid of a dispatch rider we located the OC of the 62nd Squadron R A F, who kindly offered to billet our troops with his men for the night. The detachment officers were given quarters with the R A F officers. On the following morning April 15th, Major Lang, the
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[Page 2] The work on the roads consisted of digging out low points and putting in new material and rolling it down. The material used in filling was hauled from the railway dump at Fruges, and from a quarry at Dennebroucq, a distance of about five and ten miles, respectively. Roughly, the detachment repaired about six miles of road in the vicinity of Planques, between April 17th and May 7th. During our stay in the village, the Medical detachment under command of Capt. Brookes rendered valuable service to the inhabitants, there being no native doctor in the place. In one instance Capt. Brookes acted in the capacity of coroner and certified to the cause of death of one of the villagers. On May 7th the detachment received an order from Army Hqrs, (British) to return to our own regiment. WE were to entrain at Auchy Les Hesdin the following day, May 8th at 10:30 A.M. Our kitchen, QM Supplies and extra baggage was moved to headquarters, then at Woirel, but truck. The troops marching, with full equipment from Planques to Auchy Les Hesdin a distance of six miles, at which point they entrained at 1:00 P.M. From Auchy Les Hesdin our route was Hesdin, Neuville and Etaples. At the direction of the RTO we detrained at Etaples. We arrived at that point at 6:00 P.M. and were told that we would entrain again at 9:30 P.M. While here we set up our kitchen and served at hot meal to the troops. At the appointed time we entrained again and went south from Etaples through Abbeville to Longpre, arriving there at about 4:00 A.M. The detachment moved from Longpre to Woirel by truck, arriving there about 11:00 A.M., May 9th.
Details
| Title | History of Company C, 12th Engineers - April 14 - May 8th 1918 |
| Creator | Unknown |
| Source | Unknown. History of Company C, 12th Engineers. 14 April 1918 - 08 May 1918. World War I Collection. A1771. Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. |
| Description | The history of Company C of the 12th Engineers Railway detailing work accomplished from April 14 to May 8, 1918. |
| Subject LCSH | United States. Army. Engineers, 12th |
| Subject Local | World War I; WWI; Light Railway |
| Site Accession Number | A1771 |
| Contributing Institution | Missouri History Museum |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond those allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Missouri History Museum: 314-746-4510 |
| 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. Contact the Missouri History Museum's Permissions Office at 314-746-4511 to obtain written consent. |
| Date Original | April 14, 1918 -May 8, 1918 |
| Language | English |