Page:History of the Sixth Regiment, United States Marines.djvu/14

Rh The enemy artillery, however, showed a marked increase in its activity and endeavored to impress this regiment upon its first duty in the front lines. It gave the regiment a daily shower of shell fire, which proved to be rather ineffective. On April 6th the enemy attempted a raid on the 74th Company, which was posted in the town of Tresevaux, but did not meet with success. He was repulsed, leaving four dead behind, and the 74th Company lost one dead and three wounded. On April 12th the regiment received its first heavy loss when the 74th Company, which was then in reserve at Camp Fontaine St. Robert, was heavily shelled, the majority being gas shells. The enemy fire was extremely accurate, catching the men in their billets before they had a chance to escape. All officers were evacuated in a serious condition and about two hundred and twenty men were also affected by the gas, forty of them dying later as the result of this first bombardment. On April 25th Major Adams was assigned to detached duty and Major M. E. Shearer assumed command of the 1st Battalion.

The 2nd Battalion remained in reserve at Camp Massa until March 28th, furnishing trench digging details. On the night of March 28th the 2nd Battalion took up a front line position, relieving the 3rd Battalion. This position embraced the ruined and shattered towns of Mesnil, Bonzee and Mont-sous-les-Cote. On the night of April 20th-21st, after the enemy had put down a box barrage around the outpost town of Villers, The Hindenburg Circus attacked P.P.-16 and P.P.-15 with flamed throwers and grenades. This raid was repulsed by the 84th Company with rifle fire and grenades, the enemy leaving two dead in the wire. With the exception of the incidents mentioned the only activities of any kind were patrols almost every night and the usual light artillery shelling in the day time. The men grew accustomed to dugout life and the various phases of trench warfare, enemy airplanes were active and the men received valuable training in keeping under cover. On the night of April 22nd, after a four-days rest in reserve billets at Camp Sommedieue, the 1st Battalion relieved the French at Haudiomont in the front line, about two kilometers north of the line which this battalion had formerly held. The Headquarters of the regiment was moved to Camp Romaine, relieving the 252nd Regiment Inf., French, Verdun Sector, April 23rd. On the night of April 24th the 3rd Battalion was relieved by the 3rd Battalion, 20th French Regiment, and went into reserve at Camp Chiffoure. The 2nd Division, which had been relieved from the front line April 7th, relieved the French on May 1st in the trenches, its front line embracing the ruined towns of Watronville, Tresaveaux, and Rondveaux. On May 2nd the 3rd Battalion relieve the 1st, disposing of its companies as follows: Two companies in line, one in support and one in reserve at Chiffoure. The stay in this subsector was uneventful. On May 13th the Regimental Headquarters was moved to Haudianville. However, the first movement which was to take the regiment entirely out of this sector was begun on May 10th; on that date the 1st Battalion