Funkhouser Memorial
Paul Taylor Funkhouser
[Home]
Sketching Chateau-Thierry
By Capt. Joseph A. Minturn, Indianapolis News, Nov. 1,1919
Back to the Paul Taylor Funkhouser Page
Introduction
It was the happy privilege of Capt. Joseph A. Minturn, a lawyer, of
Indianapolis, attached during the war to the 309th engineers, to be assigned by
general headquarters in France to sketch for the American Government the
military lay of the land at Chateau-Thierry, where the Americans turned the tide
of the war and started the Germans homeward. Captain Minturn's sketches are to
go into the war archives at Washington. One of them, the large sketch here
shown, discloses the terrain of the Chateau-Thierry country, and Captain Minturn
tells the story of Chateau-Thierry as he heard it from Major John R. Mendenhall,
a West Pointer of Hoosier ancestry, who was in the fighting that turned the
fortunes of war for the allies. ...and here is Captain Minturn's story,
interestingly told:
Visits Chateau-Thierry
I had been sent to the front several times while stationed at Ft. Plesnoy, near
Langres, and one of these trips had ex tended as far west as Chateau-Thierry,
where I made sketches of the town itself, of Hill 204 and Belleau Wood, which
are visible from the old fort hill, below which the town is built.
Big Battle Discussed
I had heard so many discussions by officers at headquarters about the fight at
Chateau-Thierry and vicinity when the German drive had broken through the
British lines to the north and had bent the French back within fifty miles of
Paris to the point of despair, I confessedly eavesdropped while a young major,
with a deep scar from his eyebrow to the hair across the right forehead,
described to Colonel Fulmer, my immediate superior, his experience as captain of
one of the machine gun companies that saved the day for the Allies and started
the Huns back through the Argonne, and to their final defeat.
"That youngster's had a great experience, Minturn," he said. "I
must get the general to send him with you so you can make drawings of the battle
for our manual." A few days later the official order came from General
Pershing. We had a chauffeur and a fast motor placed at our disposal.
The man was Maj. John R. Mendenhall, then only 25 years old, a graduate of West
Point, as his father and grandfather before him had been. It will be of interest
to Indianians to know that the grandfather lived at Westfield, Ind., when he
received his appointment to West Point, and the family still owns property in
that Indiana town.
Travel French Roads
Major Mendenhall and I left Chaumont by the Paris road which winds three times,
under the high stone arches of the great railway viaduct, and were kept busy
saluting the colored American soldiers who were everywhere, remaking the once
beautiful roads now full of chuck holes, developed by the heavy trucking of the
war. The easy grades of the highways of France, here winding along and across
the high hills and ridges, are splendid examples of engineering developed
through centuries, reaching back to Caesar's time, and they can be located as
far as the eye can see by double rows of high poplars and other trees, aged,
moss-covered and full of mistletoe. The moss, in fact, is everywhere. Its velvet
of golden green is a mantle to the ground, to the stone walls and houses, to the
tiles on the roofs, and almost to the people who live so slowly and so far
behind the times- blending everything into that restful harmony is the special
charm of France.
Major Tells Story
"We arrived in France about April 15, 1918," said the major, as we
drove along. "I was captain of Company B, 7th Machine Gun Battalion, 3rd
Division. The division was billeted in the training area around Chateau-Villian
and our battalion at La Ferte-Sur-Aube. We'll go there first and then follow the
same roads we took when ordered to Chateau-Thierry. Our organizationtion was the
machine gun battalion of the division and had two companies with twenty-four
active and eight reserve guns; twenty-four officers and 353 men. Our motor
equipment was not received until May 20, when we got twenty-four half-ton Ford
trucks and two Ford touring cars for each company and six trucks and one touring
car for battalion headquarters. We began at once to teach the men how to drive
the cars. Our other training schedule called for two months of preliminary,
followed by a short period of trench duty in some quiet sector of the front.
This should have put us on trench duty about July 1, 1918.
"Around 10 A. M. of May 30, Decoration Day at home, an order came to our
major, Edward G. Taylor, to go at once on our own transportation to Gonde-en-
Brie, and report to the French officer commanding that sector. Speed was urged
because the German drive was forcing back the French and the British troops, and
all reserves must be thrown in at once to stop the enemy and save Paris."
Major Mendenhall and I had now reached La Ferte and were crossing the bridge
over a small stream on which was a large mill.
Ordered to Battle Line
"Here is where we started to train," he pointed, "and where we
received the hurry-up order to go to the front. When loaded we found that our
cars had on three times their capacity, but the battalion left La Ferte at 2:55
P. M. in good order. Major Taylor went ahead, followed by Company A, and then by
Company B, after which came several three-ton trucks with extra ammunition,
gasoline and equipment.
"We had difficulty in making the steep grades on account of unavoidable
overloading. In many cases the rear springs touched the axles, and blow-outs
were frequent because the tires could not stand the extra pressure and we were
soon badly strung out along the road.
Refugees Block Roads
"We made no stop for supper and reached Arces-Sur-Aube by 8:30 P. M. We
were out of gasoline and hoped to get some there, but could not, and had to wait
for our three-ton trucks,which came in near midnight. Our route was by Mer-Sur-
Seine, Anglure, Sezanne, Montmort and Orbays. We came out of Sezanne on this
road we are on now about 5 A. M. of May 31. It was blocked with refugees with
their household goods, babies, old women and little children, crowded and piled
on carts, to which cows and donkeys were hitched. Many pulled the carts
themselves; and loaded wheelbarrows and dog carts were in the jam. Men and women
carried their heavy loads with frightened children clinging to what they could
to keep themselves from being trodden down or lost. The expressions on the faces
of the refugees were most pitiful, and we began for the first time to realize
something of the real meaning of war. Farther on, spaces between cars were
forced and filled by small detachments of French and British troops, all looking
thoroughly de moralized and discouraged. Following these came artillery,
blocking the road entirely at times, the faces of the men showing signs of great
fatigue and many sleepless nights. Some of the light batteries were going into
position there on the slopes of these hills and were firing vigorously, which
added to the confusion and frightfulness. One cannot look at the road now and
imagine what I can but faintly describe.
Traffic Jam Appalling
"This appalling jam of terrified traffic made it impossible for us to keep
our train intact, and as a result our arrival at Conde-en-Brie was very
fragmentary. Great credit is due the individual man, and especially the drivers,
for the way they handled the cars and for their untiring efforts to keep them
moving and on the proper roads to reach our destination.
"The major and I reached Conde-en-Brie, built on a hill. Its many shell-
shattered buildings told us that we were getting into the battle area. We
negotiated the steep hill and reached the center of the town. A shell had
demolished all but the sign on the village bookstore, but in a kitchen in the
rear we found the proprietor, who sold us out of a scant remainder of her
larder.
Gasoline Runs Low
"By 2 P. M. the entire battalion except the three-ton trucks had arrived
here at Conde," the major went on. "We were again almost out of
gasoline and our major reported to General Marchand, of the French army, at
Janvier Ferme. We were told the enemy was expected to begin shelling Conde at
any time, and were ordered to evacuate Janvier Ferme. Our gas tanks were so
nearly empty that our Fords would not pull the hill southwest of the town. So,
filling a few tanks by emptying gasoline from the others, we moved as many of
our companies as we could and the remainder marched on foot, carrying their guns,
equipment and packs. They were later picked up by the cars who had filled their
tanks upon arrival of the three-ton trucks.
"A French courier, greatly excited, met us here. The major pointed to a
part of the road by which we were leaving Conde. He urged us to hurry or all
would be lost. A full regiment of French cavalry was apparently waiting orders
in yonder field, and numberless detachments of French and British soldiers were
hurrying across the fields in every direction in what seemed to be the greatest
confusion.
"We were on a ridge road and approaching Nesles, a suburb of Chateau
Thierry, when Major Mendenhall stopped the car and we dismounted.
"Our Major Taylor, with the two company commanders, pre ceded the battalion
from Conde to this point above Nesles," he continued, "where he
reported to a French general commanding a colonial division. This officer, after
outlining the scheme of defense, instructed the company commanders to report to
a French lieutenant-colonel, then in the town of Chateau-Thierry, who would
indicate the positions we were to occupy. We left instructions for our battalion
to rendezvous in Nesles, and, proceeding to Chateau-Thierry by automobile, found
the lieutenant- colonel had crossed to the north side of the River Marne, where
he had been captured by a German patrol. The officer, a French captain, who gave
us this information, urged us to bring our troops into the town with all speed
to prevent the enemy crossing the bridge to the south side of the river.
"When we got back to Nesles about half of each company had arrived from
Conde-en-Brie, and, assembling gun squads as quickly as possible, we transported
them hurriedly in what cars were still in running condition to Chateau-Thierry,
where we reported to Major Taylor in the Place Carnot. By 6 P.M. about six gun
squads from each company were available, and were assigned positions which
roughly divided the town into two sectors - Company A on the west toward the
cathedral and Hill 204; Company B on the east toward the sugar factory and
Brasles - each being responsible for the defense of a bridge, the local river
margin and one flank.
"Second Lieutenant Cobbey of Company B had a machine gun in a two-story
brick house on the bank of the river, ready to fire from a lower window and
cover the river bank from the bridge east, and one in a shed on the east of this
building with range to the northwest. Second Lieutenant Paul T. Funkhouser had three
guns in a wooded peninsula about 600 yards to the east of the bridge we were defending;
two guns ranging west along the river, and one east. Two guns, under First
Lieutenant Charles Montgomery, were in a sunken garden 200 yards south of the
bridge, which also enfiladed it. The other guns of Company B were held at
battalion headquarters as a reserve. My post of command was established under
the railroad bank, giving me a covered line of communication to all my guns and
to the battalion post of command, located in a house facing Place Carnot. This
arrangement was completed by 3 P. M., June 1.
German Infantrymen Seen
"About 4 A. M., just as daylight was getting strong, a column of German
infantry was observed marching west of the town of Brasles along the road
paralleling the river toward Chateau-Thierry. They apparently did not know they
were in danger. In fact, we afterward learned that they believed the French had
abandoned the town and they expected to march through and cross the river,
halting for the night at Montmort. The guns under Lieutenants Cobbey and
Funkhouser opened fire when the enemy arrived at a slight bend in the road. The
German discipline was such that the soldiers continued to advance until our
positions were apparently located, when they deployed into the wheat fields
between the road and the river. The grain stood waist high and the men were lost
to view. How ever, our men whipped the field continuously with machine gun fire,
causing heavy casualties to the enemy. At 5 A.M., or within an hour, our guns on
the peninsula were located and fired upon by enemy machine guns, wounding a man
and forcing the rest to withdraw. Our other guns continued their effective fire.
Making a rapid reconnaissance with First Lieutenant J. W. Ransdall, I placed him
with two guns near some small buildings where the railroad crosses the Crezancy
highway. By this time the enemy machine gun fire was much heavier, coming
apparently from the high ridge in the north distance across the Marne from us. A
call by phone to the French artillery brought a response within just two
minutes, in the form of a '75' barrage on the north, or opposite side of the
Marne, and extending from the railroad bridge we were defending, 500 yards east
toward Brasles, and creeping north for 500 yards toward the long ridge there. It
was the prettiest job you ever saw from our point of view and practically
cleared the wheat fields of all Germans. A general artillery duel now commenced,
which lasted through the next three days. This shelling made it advisable to
move Lieutenants Montgomery and Cobbey's guns.
Artillery Fire Increased
"At nightfall of June 2 the enemy machine gun and artillery fire increased
tremendously, and we increased ours in the same proportion, keeping at least one
gun firing on the bridge at all times. About 11 o'clock that night I heard a
terrific explosion, shortly after which all of my guns ceased firing, and in a
little while Lieutenant Bissel of Company A came to my post with several wounded
men belonging to his company. He said he had taken part in a counter-attack by
the French and got left on the north bank of the river; that the French had
blown up the west bridge to keep the Germans from following them and this had
prevented his retreat, forcing him to make a run for the railroad bridge we were
defending. Lieutenant Cobbey con trolled the fire of our guns on the railroad
bridge but knew the Germans had enfilading fire from their side of the river. He
heard Lieutenant Bissel's call for Company B to hold its fire that some of
Company A were about to cross. But not being satisfied with holding his fire,
Lieutenant Cobbey unhesitatingly crossed the bridge in the face of the enemy
fire, found Lieu tenant Bissel with his men preparing to swim the river, and
dissuading them led them back over the bridge to safety. This act of heroism was
characteristic of all our men.
"Fearing that enemy troops had followed Lieutenant Bissel's party across
the bridge and were hiding for a surprise attack, Major Taylor sent me four of
the battalion reserve guns which I placed as best I could, but, except for heavy
gas shelling, nothing further occurred during the night.
Hun Airmen Locate Gun
"On the morning of June 2 we dug a pit in an open field as a better
position for one of the four extra guns, but the enemy air scouts saw us and we
put the gun in a building near the wagon road. Just a few minutes after we
abandoned the pit, which we camouflaged before leaving, a German shell was
dropped almost into it and would have killed our men had they been there. There
was a French passenger coach on a switch in the yard near the bridge under which
our men, who were in the op en, would duck for cover from aerial observation.
During the morning Lieutenant Montgomery, leaving his former guns under
Lieutenant Funkhouser, took those having no overhead cover to positions where he
covered the railroad track, and to a house, from the second floor of which he
did effective long-range firing at the enemy groups on the long ridge across the
river. After the slaughter on the level roads near the wheat field the enemy
worked toward Chateau-Thierry on the ridges, where they could be seen by the aid of
our field glasses. For several days our men tried out their machine gun theory by
practice on human targets.
Supported by French
"We were supported by French colonial troops, among them the Senagalese
sharpshooters-wild, fierce, dark-skinned, silent fellows, who gave you constant
thrills at night by unexpectedly challenging at the point of a wicked looking
bayonet. By day also their conduct excited my curiosity. A group would be sit
ting silently under cover, when, without any command, one of them would get up
at intervals, face the enemy ridge across the Marne, gaze intently for a minute
or two, raise his rifle and fire, then go back and sit down. After some
observation with the glasses I learned what they were doing. They could see
incredibly far, and when they located a gap in a far-away hedge back of which
the Germans were moving, up came a rifle and down dropped a German!
"We were relieved at 3 A. M. on June 4 by Lieutenant Hose and Company A,
9th Machine Gun Battalion, 3rd Division. My company left town for the woods
south of Fontenelle in three large trucks over a road being constantly shelled.
The firing was so heavy during the early part of the night that it was necessary
to change the guns under Lieutenant Cobbey for cool ones and these fresh guns
became so hot after a couple of hours of firing that they could not be
dismounted and were left with the relieving company.
Assembled Near Fontenelle
"Our 7th Machine Gun Battalion was assembled near Fontenelle by 5 A. M. on
June 4, and proceeded to billets at Courbon, where we were met in person and
congratulated by Maj. Gen. J. T. Dickman, at that time commanding the 3rd
Division.
"Our losses throughout the entire engagement were relatively small, being
one officer, First Lieutenant Thomas Goddard, Company B, and four enlisted men
killed, and thirty-two men wounded, in nearly all cases from shell fire. No
American troops except these two machine gun battalions of the 3rd Division were
at any time engaged in the town of Chateau-Thierry itself, this town being in a
French sector throughout the second and third battles of the Marne, with the 2nd
Division sector on the west, and the sector of the 3rd Division on the
east."
This is the story of the Battle of Chateau-Thierry as gathered from the officer
in command during the critical hours and at the places where the German pressure
was most intense. It was not told at one time, but on several occasions, as we
visited the spots referred to.
Men Given Credit
"Two much credit cannot be given the men of the battalion; their action
throughout was cool and courageous," was the closing declaration by Major
Mendenhall to a class of generals and high army officials escorted by General
Crookshank, who happened to be at Chateau-Thierry on a tour of the front when we
arrived, and who pressed the major into service to explain what he witnessed
here and at Mezy while history was in the making. "Our men did their duty
and carried out orders or used their initiative where orders were not at hand,
absolutely regardless of personal danger. Coming fresh from the United States,
with out the opportunity afforded the earlier arrivals for completing their
training, they were rushed practically overnight into a battle upon the outcome
of which depended in a great measure the success of the allied cause. Had the
enemy succeeded in crossing the Marne at Chateau-Thierry on that first day of
June, there was nothing to hinder its advance to Montmirail and Sezanne, as they
had done in 1914, and threatening, if not actually capturing, Paris
itself."
Indianapolis News, Nov. 1,1919
[TOP]Source:
Funkhouser Memorial
c. 1920
pp. 138-146
Back to the Paul Taylor Funkhouser Page
Return to A Little Vanderburgh County History
©2000
Christopher D. Myers
All Rights Reserved
September 14, 2000