My great-grandfather, Alexander Houck Mosier, served in WWI with the 79th Division during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which took place from September 26, 1918, to November 11th, 1918. This is his story.

I have in my possession the transcription of a diary he wrote while deployed. A major help in writing this story is the book History of the Seventy-Ninth Division A.E.F. during the World War: 1917-1919, published in 1922. The book was extremely helpful, as Alexander had trouble spelling the French names. Reading along helped me to narrow down the towns he traveled through. I also have created a google map (https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1Q49-SJTkOTM5jPSWg-qH7cAeFjOtm68&usp=drive_link ) , which plots where I think he was. Especially in later parts where his division is in combat, the pins mark the general area. The map covers his whole diary, so minor spoilers for where he traveled.

In this story, I have picked specific entries from his diary, marked in bold, to tell the story, with my comments/ summary along with quotes from the book, in italics. There are entries for each day, but some are removed to shorten the length of the story.

This story is continued from PART 1, Journey to the Frontline.

Friday, 13 September – In trucks, 20 men and equipment. Very cloudy. No sleep, Then walked to woods and rested from 10 AM until 8 then hike to dug outs which we entered about midnight. Wet and dark. Very hard walking. Men all play out.

Based on the book, I figure the 313th infantry was in dugouts between Avocourt and Harcourt. The 313th relieved the 371st infantry, an African American battalion from South Carolina.

Saturday, 14 September – Weather clear but cool. Lots of airplane battles.

What Alexander did not know was that ahead of them was the town of Mountfaucon, one of the strongest defensive positions the Germans had in the war. From the book: On the horizon, the dominating heights of Montfaucon rose threateningly, the white ruins of the village on its crest giving it a curious snow-capped appearance. It was from these heights that the German Crown Prince had observed the futile assaults upon Verdun two years before. So strong was this position that the Germans called Montfaucon the "Little Gibraltar" and boasted that it could never be taken. Even French officers were positive that no frontal attack ever would be attempted upon the place. Strong as the enemy positions were by nature, the Boche had rendered them still more formidable by four years of ceaseless labor, constructing trenches, gun positions, entanglements and pill boxes, all on ground chosen particularly for defensive purposes.

Sunday, 15 September – Must wear gas mask, rifle and helmet at all times.

Monday, 16 September – Lots of airplanes flying. One brought down. Lots of big cracking here in the woods.

Tuesday, 17 September – Rainy, stay around. Beg bread.

Another quote from the book: To the men of the Division in the outpost lines, and, in a lesser degree to the troops stationed on the line of resistance and in reserve, the task of taking over a sector of the front line presented a situation beset with innumerable thrills. Everything was new, strange, and weird. In the outpost lines, the battered, crumbling trenches, oftentimes only waist deep, which zig-zagged through the sea of shell holes, gave visible evidence of the titanic struggles of the past. This evidence was intensified by the unmistakable signs of the death and destruction which existed on every side. Scattered articles of French and German equipment, rusting helmets, broken rifles and bayonets, half-rotted bits of clothing, here and there a bleached bone protruding from the earth, in a word, the flotsam and jetsam of a battle field — all told their own gruesome tale of devastating conflict.

Farther back, on the line of resistance, the men of the Division also saw the signs of war, but in a different way. Here, long stretches of riveted trenches, their bottoms here and there lined with dilapidated duck-boards and their sides covered with a net-work of telephone wires (most of which had long since passed the stage of usefulness) showed the effects of four years of continuous warfare, but at the same time evidenced a high state of organization.

Wednesday, 18 September- Rainy, mainly all morning. On water detail. Packed up and hike up further front after dark.

Thursday 19 September – Ate first meal in trenches. Good dug out. Went out on patrol with six men. Dan Heller was with me.

Friday, 20 September- Weather cool. Gas give all. Put on gas mask. Packed up ready to move but did not.

Saturday, 21 September – Relieved about 4PM by 37th Division. Got ready to leave. Got caught under heavy shrapnel fire. Lasted nearly 3 hours. No casualties. Blown up trenches we was in. The men in the trenches went into a dugout. Stayed nearly all night then hiked to a woods and pitched tents. Rainy nearly all night.

The Division was ordered to shorten their front, so the first and second battalions were relieved by elements of the 73rd and 37th Divisions, leaving the third battalion on the front line. Alexander retreated to woods known as the Bois de Lambechamp.

As a result of this maneuver not only had the Seventy-ninth Division line been reduced from four and one-half to a little more than two kilometers, but the entire length had now become a single brigade front, with two battalions of the 315th Infantry holding the line of resistance.

Monday - 23 September - Rainy and cold on gas guard in the woods. Troops still assembling. Had gas alarm while I was post.

Tuesday - 24 September - Clear. Wrote a letter, prepared to camp several big shells came over at night. Went for ammunition.

Wednesday - 25 September - Went to trenches for a short while. Packed up about 2 PM. Rained. Went to woods and stayed in shell holes. All night artillery bombardment. Started at 11 PM.

The orders for the attack on Montfaucon were as follows:

While the Seventy-ninth Division was to make the direct assault on Montfaucon, the Fourth Division, on the right, was to aid in turning the stronghold and also in subsequently turning the sector of the hostile second position at Nantillois. At the same time, the Thirty-seventh Division, on the left, was to con-tribute its part by assisting in turning the Bois de Montfaucon, a woods which lay to the south and west of the town of the same name. The axis of advance for the Seventy-ninth, according to the sector boundaries prescribed, was north, about twenty-five degrees west, to a point beyond Montfaucon, and then bore slightly more to the west to beyond Nantillois.

The enemy, the order stated, "holds his line from the Meuse to the Aisne with about five divisions. In the immediate front of the 79th Division he has about one regiment of infantry." This deduction may have been responsible for the deep objective for the first day — it was nine full kilometers from the Avocourt-Malancourt Sector to Nantillois. This unusual distance was recognized, as the order, while stating that the advance should be pushed "with the greatest vigor," also directed that "brigade commanders will provide by echelon in depth, the necessary driving power. "

A preparation fire, to include "wire cutting, harassing, destructive, counterbattery and interdiction fires, "was to precede the infantry advance and was to begin at an hour to be designated later. At H hour, however, the artillery was to concentrate on the enemy first line positions for twenty-five minutes and then change to a rolling barrage which should leap forward 100 meters every four minutes. There were to be certain pauses in the barrage, ten minutes to fire on the hostile intermediate position just beyond Malancourt and twenty minutes on the hostile second position in front of Montfaucon. In addition, a covering fire was directed to precede the barrage by 200 meters."

The Division was to advance with four battalions abreast, two from each regiment, with machine gun units in support. The troops were to advance to within 300 meters of the barrage and follow it "as closely as possible."

September 26 was set as the attack date, time of 05:30, the start of the first phase of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive.