Bruce Delch's History of the 12th Engineers - July 28, 1917 - October 19, 1918
Transcript
Experience Report. 2nd Lieutenant Bruce Delch, Engineer, U.S.A. 12th Engineers (Light Railway). The writer, at that time a private in Company F, 12th Engineers, left New York at noon, July 28th, 1917, with the regiment for overseas. The regiment, together with the 17th Engineers, sailed on the Carmania. Everyone was comfortably placed, and the food was fair. Journey was by way of Halifax, where a convoy of five ships assembled. The Carmania docked at Liverpool the morning of August 18th. The crossing was entirely uneventful, destroyers joining the convoy the third day out. From Liverpool there was an all day ride to Camp Oxney, Borden, near Aldershot, where the regiment spent five [m.s. illegible 1 wd]. On August 15th, the writer marched with his company in the historic parade of American troops in London. The reception by the people was extraordinary. The regiment sailed from Southampton 7:30 p.m., [August] 17th, and landed at Boulogne the next morning, marching at once to Camp St. Martin on the outskirts of the town. Here conditions were very crowded. Luckily the writer was one of a detachment of 100 which left the next morning and traveled by rail to Montigny Farm near Rotel (Somme). The detachment arrived at Roisal about midnight and during the night transformed the regimental baggage from the broad guage to narrow guage and then unloaded it at Montigny. The detachment had had a gun drill of about an hour
Transcript
[page 2] being up the greater part of five days and always the last to leave any location. For two days the narrow guage equipment being saved was not more than a mile from the German lines, and several times the reserve line of the infantry was thrown in the rear of the railway troops. From LaFluque the company marched to Villers-Bretonneux, Vacquemont, through Amiens, to Valhauraux, and then east again to Terramesnil. Here every man was used on the reserve trench system known as the G.H.Q. Defense Line. The German line, however, never got this far. The writer was made Battalion Sergeant Major at Terramesnil. The trench work was stopped April 13th, and the regiment moved to Val de Maison and then to Weirel where it worked on broad guage double tracking of the line from Longpre to Gumchan. The writer was here promoted to Regimental Sergeant Major. The regiment left the British July 25, 1918, and moved by railway to Baccarat (Maurthe at Moumlle) for service with the A.E.F. From August 1 to 25th it was engaged on ordinary light railway construction and operation work at this point; from August 25th to October 11th near Verdun on the St. Mihiel salient, and October 11th to daze in the Toul sector. The writer
Details
| Title | Bruce Delch's History of the 12th Engineers - July 28, 1917 - October 19, 1918 |
| Creator | Delch, Bruce |
| Source | Delch, Bruce. History of the 12th Engineers (Light Railway). 28 July 1917- 19 October 1918. World War I Collection. A1771. Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. |
| Description | This document provided a history of the Units experience serving with the British for 11 months beginning with the trip to Europe and ending in Baccarat. Details the |
| Subject LCSH | Great Britain. Army. British Expeditionary Force; United States. Army. 12th Engineers |
| Subject Local | World War I; WWI |
| 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 | July 28, 1917- October 19, 1918 |
| Language | English |