York’s 328th Regiment marches in the 4 April 1918 divisional parade that marked the end of its time at Camp Gordon, Georgia. After this, the men boarded trains for New York, to board ships destined for Europe and war. (AHEC)
It was a quiet sector where they put new troops into training before sending them out to No Man’s Land. The Greeks and Italians and all of the other boys done fairly well. They shore were turning out to be the bestest soldiers. I was often out on No Man’s Land.
—Alvin York
Alvin returned on 31 March 1918 to Camp Gordon just as his unit received orders to deploy to France. The division had a farewell parade on 4 April that was reviewed by Georgia governor Hugh M. Dorsey and the widow of the celebrated Confederate Civil War general for whom the camp was named, John Brown Gordon. Thus the odyssey of moving York’s unit to France began. The next weeks were dedicated to frantic deployment activities that included packing, issuing equipment, organizing movement routes, preparing rail and ship manifests, developing load plans, and having soldiers fill out stacks of predeployment documents that ranged from wills to financial allotments.1 Adding to the confusion was an order from the War Department to “comb out alien enemies [Germans, Austrians, Turks, or Bulgarians] and men unfit for service.”2 This created gaps in the regiment that were later filled by raw recruits.
The movement of the 82nd Division from Camp Gordon to France began when elements of the division departed on 10 April. York’s regiment left Camp Gordon on the 19th. The men marched in complete gear, with packs and rifles, to the nearby rail station at Chamblee, Georgia, where local soldiers in the regiment were given a tearful farewell by family and friends.3 The regiment spent two days on the train, arriving at Camp Upton, New York, on 21 April. Although the conditions on the train were cramped, York was taking in the new experiences, being sustained by his faith, praying:
York’s 328th Regiment marches in the 4 April 1918 divisional parade that marked the end of its time at Camp Gordon, Georgia. After this, the men boarded trains for New York, to board ships destined for Europe and war. (AHEC)
O God, in hope that sends the shining ray,
Far down the future’s broadening way;
In peace that only Thou canst give;
With Thee, O Master, let me live.4
The soldiers were cheered by American citizens whenever the train made a stop, with the largest welcome in New York City, where there was “shouting, blowing whistles and tooting horns.”5 The soldiers stayed at Camp Upton for nine days, until the ships that would send them to France were ready. While at Camp Upton, York and the men were put through endless inspections, marching, drills, and issued more seemingly useless equipment and clothing “to ensure that the cause of Democracy was satisfied.”6 The leaders foolishly went so far as to say that no time would be given off even for a large number of the men from New York City, which was less than an hour away. This was too much to bear for the Mid-Atlantic and New England soldiers, who were close to home and had not seen their families for some six months. In response, large groups went AWOL.7
As most of the 328th’s officers were southerners, and were close enough to their families at Camp Gordon to see them often, they did not anticipate that their northern men would desire the same courtesy of seeing their families before going overseas. To stem the flow of AWOLs, the regiment eventually caught on and offered furloughs, but this was too little, too late. Most of the men returned, but several hundred arrived at Camp Upton after the regiment had shipped out. These men were reprimanded and boarded later ships to catch up with the 328th in France. For many, it would be the last time that they would see their loved ones.8
York’s regiment commenced rail movement to the Port of Boston late on 30 April and boarded two Canadian ships of the Montreal, Canada Allan Line during the early morning hours of 2:00–4:00 A.M. on 1 May 1918. The ships that the 328th boarded were the SS Scandinavian, which transported the 2nd Battalion (York’s unit) and 3rd Battalion, and the SS Grampian, which transported the “1st Battalion, Regimental Headquarters, Machine Gun and Supply Companies.”9 The weather during the men’s early morning departure was a cold light rain. Combined with the darkness, it matched many of the men’s mood of “feeling gloomy and … dismal” on going off to war.10
As soon as boarding was completed, the Scandinavian and Grampian sailed to New York, where they remained until a convoy of sixteen ships was ready. The convoy began its journey across the Atlantic on 3 May 1918 and was escorted on the first leg of the journey by the armored cruiser USS San Diego, a veteran of the acclaimed Great White Fleet.11 Veterans of the regiment commented on the sadness they felt as the Statue of Liberty faded into the horizon. Nonetheless, the men had troubles of their own. In addition to getting used to the sea, the conditions were so tight that some in the regiment commented that “there wasn’t enough room left in the ship for an extra shoe lace.”12
This was the first time that Alvin had seen the ocean or sailed on a ship. The cramped quarters, combined with seasickness, made the trip difficult for him. “It was too much water for me. Like me, Mark Twain, whose parents come from Jimtown, was borned inland. And he never seed the open ocean until he growed up. And when he stood on the beach and seed it for the first time, his friends asked him what he thought of it, and he said, ‘It was a success.’ But when Mark said that he weren’t on the ocean. He were on the shore. And when our old boat got away out and begun to pitch and toss I jes knowed Mark was wrong.”13
The trip improved Alvin’s opinion of his foreign troopmates, many of whom had only a few years before crossed the Atlantic to immigrate to the United States. “The Greeks, Italians, and Poles, and New York Jews stood the trip right smart. That kinder impressed me. It sorter made up for their bad shooting. I sorter got to like them more.”14 During the voyage, York’s regimental commander, Colonel Lindsey, was promoted to brigadier general and given command of the 164th Infantry Brigade, which included both York’s 328th Infantry Regiment and the 327th. Major Frank Jewett was given temporary command of the 328th until Colonel Hunter B. Nelson arrived on 26 June 1917.15
The men had a busy schedule of training and lectures throughout the journey. As there was little room to spare on the ships, a training schedule was published when particular units would go to the deck to conduct boat drills, perform physical exercise, or participate in a lecture on some topic of military importance.16 During the long voyage the men experienced convoy zigzag operations whenever a suspected U-boat was spotted, and had to sleep in their clothes with their lifebelts on from time to time. The interaction of the Doughboys with the ship’s crew was interesting. A soldier in York’s unit wrote that the ship was operated by the “cockiest gang of Britishers. … They didn’t get us and we couldn’t ‘compree’ them. They compared us to the Canadians, of whom they had transported … and said that they came over singing and praying, but the bloody bloomin Americans didn’t seem to care a darn and they came over gambling and cussing.”17 Other than spotting a few whales in the open sea, the trip across the Atlantic was uneventful. The highlight for Alvin was studying the Bible with Murray Savage, his best friend in the army.18
When the convoy entered the “danger zone” near Ireland, where the risk of being attacked by a German U-boat was the most likely, an escort of six fast-moving British antisubmarine destroyers joined them. York said that they reminded him of “a bunch of well-trained bird dogs trying to get wind of birds.”19 Finally, on 16 May, after a twelve-day journey, the ships arrived at Liverpool, England.
The soldiers spent the greater part of the day unloading the ships before marching to the Knotty Ash Rest Camp.20 There, Alvin and his fellow soldiers learned that the army’s idea of a rest camp belied its title. “We learned that we were to march a ‘little way’ to a ‘rest camp.’ Reader: take the ‘little’ out of way and the ‘rest’ out of camp and put the two together and you have the result. … Oh Boy! Something doing every minute! The magic phrase ‘Rest Camp’ never fooled us again.”21 These camps had been active throughout the war, witnessing tens of thousands of men passing through, with the ultimate destination being the Western Front. York was now in the midst of the machines of war, and those machines were quickly moving him forward to face off with Germany.
The Knotty Ash Rest Camp was in eastern Liverpool, five miles from the ships. To add insult to injury, this was no parade, and the soldiers all carried added burdens.22 In addition to their own excessive equipment and their rifles, they also carried the equipment and rifles of the soldiers who did not return in time to board the ships, plus an assortment of field desks, extra boxes of rations, and the like. Soldiers in York’s regiment wrote that although the residents of Liverpool were elated to see the Yanks, they were perplexed by the vast quantities of equipment that the Americans hauled. When asked by an Englishman why some of the soldiers carried two rifles, one of the Americans answered, “We shot so fast that our rifles got too hot to handle and hence it was necessary to carry some extra pieces.”23
The next day, 18 May, York’s unit boarded a train for a 236-mile ride across England to another rest camp near the channel port of Southampton to prepare the men for the final leg of the journey to France. For soldiers recently completing two weeks at sea, they found the scenic countryside awe-inspiring.24 What Alvin saw of England impressed him: “The English countryside was … beautiful. It was sort of rolling-like and the parks and fields were so neat and tidy that it ’most looked as though they had special gardeners to look after every few acres of them.”25
The men were disgusted to learn that the Southampton Rest Camp was also nowhere near the railhead, and thus they began another long road march. The soldiers experienced the same revulsion to the Southampton Rest Camp as they had to the Liverpool Knotty Ash Rest Camp. One soldier said, “The bird that named that ‘Rest Camp’ would call hell an ice box. … We got up very early the next morning and started doing a great many unnecessary things that we had no chance of finishing—just something to keep us busy.”26 While awaiting transport to France at Southampton, the unit was officially welcomed by a British officer, who gave every soldier in York’s unit a letter from King George V that read, “Soldiers of the United States, the people of the British Isles welcome you on your way to take your stand beside the Armies of many Nations now fighting in the Old World the great battle for human freedom. The Allies will gain new heart & spirit in your company. I wish that I could shake the hand of each one of you & bid you God speed on your mission. Signed, George R. I.”27
Despite the warm welcome by England and its monarch, the soldiers were eager to get into the fight: “We wanted to get into it and get it over.” Their wish was not far from being fulfilled. Late on 20 May 1918, they moved to the Southampton port and boarded the channel transport Viper, arriving at Le Havre, France, early on the 21st. During the trip across the English Channel, Alvin was again seasick, saying that it was like being on something “more like a bucking mule than a boat.”28
After arriving in France, and wearing their M1911 Montana campaign hats, the 328th Regiment marched through Le Havre to the excited cheers and waves of the French and toward their final phase of training.29 The pre-battle bravado of these green troops was dulled as a train full of battlefield casualties pulled up. The injured men were loaded aboard ships for medical evacuation to England, giving the 328th a glimpse of the grim reality of war.30
The regiment remained in Le Havre briefly. The first order of business was to shed the unnecessary equipment issued at Camp Upton to lighten the load. The men were also finally issued gas masks and helmets. Training was given by British soldiers in the use of the gas mask. They informed the Americans that this little device would be their “best friend” and save their lives if used properly. Six-second drills were conducted over and over again until the men were able to get the masks on in that time, with the training culminating in a trip through the gas chamber.31 Alvin wrote, “That brought the war a whole heap closer.”32 After this, the men deployed behind the British Fifth Army in the Amiens area of France, to both serve as a reserve and to receive more combat training. Soon there would be ten American divisions near the Fifth British Army.33
The idea of stationing ten American divisions behind the British Fifth Army was a compromise in supporting the British and French armies. The German high command knew that the American Expeditionary Forces would ultimately give the Allies a decisive quantitative advantage in soldiers and thereby end any chance of a German victory along the Western Front.34 It was regarding this that Ludendorff said, “with the American entry into the war, the relative strengths would be more in [German] favor in the spring than in late summer … unless we had by then gained a great victory. … Only a far reaching military success which would make it appear to the Entente powers that, even with the help of America, the continuation of the war offered no further prospects of success, would provide the possibility of rendering our embittered opponents really ready to make peace. This was the political aim of the Supreme Command in 1918.”35
Time was of the essence for the Germans. After having secured victory against Russia in late 1917, they hurriedly transferred nearly 1 million men from the Eastern Front to France. Berlin hoped to deal the Allies a knockout blow before the Americans could stem the tide. The resulting German attack, Operation Michael, was launched on 21 March 1918 and nearly destroyed the British Fifth Army. Two months later, putting the Americans with the Fifth Army bolstered their line should another German offensive transpire in this sector. To compound the crisis of 1918, the French Army was close to collapse. This was in part due to the massive casualties it suffered during the 1916 Battle of Verdun, and its failed Chemin des Dames Offensive in 1917, which triggered widespread mutinies across the front, with soldiers refusing to attack any longer. It was in this dire situation, of weakened French and British armies desperately trying to hold back the tenacious assaults of Germany, that the Americans arrived.
In the midst of the 1918 crisis, the French and British worked out an ambitious shipping schedule to move the Americans to Europe faster than planned.36 In the end, the German spring-summer offensives of 1918 failed, with the Americans playing an important part in holding them at bay.37 General Pershing’s concept of operations was to regain control over all American forces in Europe once the crisis was over. Thanks to the Allies’ help, the independent American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) would be ready for operations by September.
In his memoirs, General Pershing went to great lengths to describe the strategic and operational challenges that he faced in getting an independent American army into the field during this turbulent period of the war. This was no small matter, in that the British and French demanded that they be allowed to use the Americans as replacements (via amalgamation) within their depleted forces, while Pershing intended to create an independent American army. Through amalgamation, the British and French vehemently argued, the Americans would be in the fight faster. Indeed, their appeals for amalgamation made sense during the crisis of the German spring offensives, as there was a real chance for German victory in the West.38
General John J. Pershing was the overall commander of the American Expeditionary Forces. He successfully resisted pressure from his British and French counterparts to amalgamate the newly arrived Americans into their respective forces. Instead, Pershing formed an independent American army. Pershing would endorse York’s being awarded the Medal of Honor in the spring of 1919. (NARA)
Still, Pershing and President Wilson remained committed to the idea of fielding an independent American army in France so as to keep the soldiers under American command. This organizational structure would also increase Washington’s influence in the conduct of the war.39 The United States’ commitment to establishing an American army was perhaps the single most important decision shaping the American “soldier” experience in the Great War. In fact, it would shape the identity and collective memory of the “Doughboy.”40
The British unit that trained York’s regiment was the 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division. While with the British, the Americans turned in their M1917 Eddystone Rifles for the British .303 Lee-Enfield. The reason for this was that the British did not use or supply the American standard .30-06 ammunition required for the M1917 Enfield. Therefore, the Americans used the British .303 Lee-Enfield while in the line with the Brits. Upon completion of this phase of the training, “the Lee-Enfield rifles … [would be] turned back to the British and the U.S. M1917 Rifle (Eddystone) [would be] reissued.”
The 328th Regiment moved out of Le Havre on 22 May, “packed as tight as sardines in a box” in French troop trains labeled “40 hommes 8 Chevalier.”41 This caused much joking for the soldiers, of which York remarked, “One of our boys who was detailed to load the cars went to the Captain and said: ‘Captain, I loaded the forty men all right, but if you put the eight horses in too they will shore trample the boys to death.’”42 The regiment moved one hundred miles east, to the French town of Eu, located in the Somme River Valley. From there, the regiment marched twelve miles south across the countryside to billet in area villages. The 328th Regiment’s headquarters was centered at the village of Horcelaines, with its units set up in battalion groups, under the supervision of British trainers.43
York’s battalion was based out of the village of Floraville, where it trained hard, conducted frequent road marches, and prepared to rotate through the British trenches. General Burnham directed that his divisions march to a different village every day so as to get reconditioned for combat after the sedentary weeks on ships.44 During marching, the men were ordered to sing songs like “Dixie” and “Over There.” These were sung with gusto and were a source of national pride, to the interest of the nearby Brits, or admiring French girls.45 During this period most of the soldiers were billeted in barns, where they were introduced to the menace of lice (cooties). In this strange old world, the Americans shared a comical view of their French hosts, as the regimental history noted:
All the “easy methods to learn French” that had been bought in the States were brought out, and everyone started to try out his particular brand of “Parlez vouz,” with surprisingly unsatisfactory results. We got on pretty good terms with “Vin Rouge” and “Vin Blanc.” All the towns the Regiment had been billeted in were about the same, several centuries old and badly out of repair. The village “Vamp” ran the “Vin Rouge” stand, the mayor was the oldest and most disreputable looking citizen in the town and a man’s wealth was judged by the size of his manure pile.46
York had respect for the British veterans, but generally did not like their “scant” rations. One of the officers wrote: “with British NCOs, British equipment and British rations, we were in a fair way to become regular John Bulls. For the first two we had some respect, but as for the rations—well, give us gold fish and corn willie every time.”47 Nonetheless, the regiment benefitted from the schools that the British Expeditionary Force had established in the Saint-Valery-sur-Somme training area that were designed to prepare the Americans for combat. Under the guidance of the British 66th Division commander, Major General H. K. Bethell, the Americans learned how to operate the Lewis Gun, fight with the bayonet, fire the Vickers machine gun, use hand grenades, navigate through wire entanglements, properly react to incoming artillery, use mortars, and prevent death and injury from gas attacks. The enthusiasm with which the British soldiers threw themselves into the training was infectious to the Americans, who were to mimic their unique training methods, with one of York’s officers later commenting, “The flash and pep they put into their drilling and games were refreshing.”48
After arriving in La Havre in June 1918, York’s unit marched across large swathes of France. Here, French children watch as American Doughboys pass by. (NARA)
The American officers and senior NCOs also rotated through the British frontline trenches, where the division suffered its first combat fatalities. Despite the losses, the men were gradually becoming ready for action. Alvin’s opinion of his fellow platoonmates was improving as well. After seeing them weather the Atlantic crossing, they improved too in their shooting (thanks to British instruction). York wrote, “The Greeks and Italians and Jews and Poles were improving. They had stayed continuously on the rifle range for a month or two, and got so they could do shooting. They were fairly good pals, too.”49
This period of training brought in a series of senior officers eager to inspect the readiness of these Americans. The first to visit was the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) commander, Field Marshal Douglas Haig. His visit was to see how well the 66th British Division was doing as trainers and to take a look at the American soldiers that he wanted to keep in his command. Haig hoped that the Americans would undo the German gains of March and April and “redeem the lost battlefields of Picardy.”50 With this in mind, Haig knew how to win the hearts of the Doughboys. While inspecting American field kitchens, he inquired of the cooks if everything was in order, to which York recounts what a fellow Tennessean said to the field marshal: “No, everything is all wrong, most awfully all wrong there is no salt. The Field Marshal turned to the Quartermaster General, who was with him, and asked for an explanation. The Quartermaster said the two last salt ships were torpedoed and there was a shortage. The Field Marshal then instructed him to immediately send some salt to the American kitchen. That kinder tickled our boys.”51
Haig’s visit was followed two days later by Pershing’s. This caused quite a bit of excitement in York’s battalion. “We were anxious to make a right-smart impression on him, because we knowed if we did we would get up to the front-line trenches so much quicker, and our boys were jes rarin to go.”52 Pershing gave the unit good marks and made plans to move it into the lines. Although York and his platoon were raring for getting into the war, he was philosophical about it. “Anyone who thinks that soldiering is jes goin’ back in again and fightin, is jes plumb foolin’ himself. Weeks passed and we never even seen a trench except the training ones. We never once heard the sound of guns. All we did was hike, and hike, and hike and then hike again. They shore kept us a-going hiking. It seemed as though they had sent us to France to kinder test out the strength of them-there American military shoes.”53
After a month of being out of contact with their loved ones, the first of the mail caught up with the 82nd in June, while training with the British. York longed to hear how things were back on the farm and with Gracie. During the time in France, many of the soldiers received “Dear John” letters from their girlfriends breaking off the relationship. Alvin would have none of that, and frequently wrote to Gracie, “I’m so glad to know that you have promised to be true to me until I come back … so please promise me that you will not go with one while I am in France … I am trusting to you to do what you said.”54
The division received marching orders to move out beginning 16 June for the French XXXII Corps sector east of Verdun, where an American sector would be created.55 The soldiers turned in their British rifles and gear, while retaining the British Tommy helmet and gas mask. Again carrying their American M1917 Eddystone rifles, the men climbed into the now legendary “40 hommes 8 Chevalier” train cars and began a two-day ride to the Lorraine region of France. Keeping an ever positive view of the month of rigorous training, York reflected: “We shore were a different outfit to the rambunshus crowd of half-wild men that first got together in Camp Gordon, in Georgia.”56 Most of his mates had a more circumspect view, with the regimental history recording a widely held view of the British:
We never became very enthusiastic over staying with the British for there was that “British Army Ration.” We heard a lot about the “blooming bloody offan”; being “fed up” and learned to know what “carry on” meant, but never could understand when and how to use the expression “cherry-oh,” or just what it signified; nor could we ever feel comfortable or know just how to act in the presence of the all powerful British “Sergeant Major.” We rather liked the four o’clock tea, which nothing must be allowed to interfere with, but on the whole, were indeed glad to get back to an American outfit.57
York and all of the 82nd Division, save for its artillery brigade (which was still training with the French), arrived at Toul, France, on 18 June and billeted in the surrounding villages. York’s battalion was assigned to the village of Lucey. In addition to their American rifles and side arms, the men were issued several French weapons with which they would enter combat. This included the notoriously unreliable Chauchat light machine gun, as well as the 8 mm Hotchkiss machine gun, all of which required extra training to learn how to operate and maintain. Thus was the cost of America’s lack of preparedness, forcing it to rely on British and French war stocks.
Time was given for the men to blow off steam before going into the trenches, although York usually steered clear of the cafes and bars, where the temptations of wine and women were available. While in Lucey, although refraining from drinking himself, York watched his comrades partake of a bit too much wine and cognac, and “being soldiers, they was right smart when it come to finding them-there pretty French girls. Some of them shore knowed more about hunting and finding them, too, than I did about trailing coon and fox back there on the mountains at home.” Although the training had improved the unit, it still struggled with the tendency of the men to fall into ethnic or regional groups. Combined with the mixture of wine and women, there was certain to be trouble. At the Lucey cafe, York saw this explosive mix come to a head. “There was a heap of Irish and Poles in our platoon, and one night in one of the cafes one of the Irish boys said he didn’t believe the Poles could fight nohow. Ho! Ho! That shore started it! They went at it with fists and belts. They turned that cafe into a No Man’s Land, only worse, and we had to turn out the guard to stop it.”
Alvin stood by his convictions and continued to sharpen his moral courage by steering clear of such temptations. He was helped by the encouragement of Corporal Murray Savage, who studied the Bible with Alvin. York described this difficult time:
I didn’t go into the towns much. I had put all of the drinkin’ and fist-fightin’ away behind me. I left it back home on the Kentucky line. I didn’t have a drink all the time I was in France. I didn’t have a fist fight or an argument. I didn’t swear or smoke either. I wasn’t any better’n any of the other boys. It was jes my way of livin’, that was all. They did what they wanted to do. So did I. Our ways were different. We left it at that. I did a heap of reading from the Bible. I read it through several times over there.58
Despite Alvin’s generous recollection of simply going separate ways from the men when it came to partying, this is far from a complete view of the situation. In addition to the clash between ethnic groups, there were some in his platoon who still resented his beliefs and morals, with William Cutting being the chief protagonist. Cutting said that he was sure that York would be a coward in combat, and therefore could not be trusted. Bernard Early shared this view of York.59 Simply put, Alvin did not fit in, and his faith exacerbated this. Cutting and Early’s view that Alvin lacked what it took to be a soldier was ostensibly confirmed when York again expressed misgivings about killing during bayonet training in late June, just before entering the trenches.60 With this friction in the platoon, whether ethnic (Irish versus Pole), regional, or religious, they all were soon to get their baptism of fire that would ultimately demonstrate if such suspicions were warranted.