Page:History of the Sixth Regiment, United States Marines.djvu/53

48 48 History of Sixth Regiment, U. S. Marines. 2nd- 3rd the 23rd Infantry passed through this regiment and took up th/» advance toward the exploitation line. This reg ment followed as support in column of battalions in the following order : 2nd Battalion, 1st Battalion and 3rd Battalion with a thousand yards between battalions. On November 2nd Major Barker was evacuated to the hospital on account of sickness, being succeeded in command by Major Maurice S. Berry. 1 he 3rd Brigade reached its objective at 8 A.M., this regiment bene in support went into bivouac in the following positions; 2nd BattJion y in woods a kilometer and a half northwest of Fosse; the 1st Battalion* a half kilometei north of Fosse and the 3rd Baitalion in the ravine half a kilometer southwest of Fosse. Regimental Head- quarters moved horn Chennery to Fosse on the morning of November 3rd. In accordance with Operations Memorandum No. 30, Head- quarters Fourth Brigade, dated 4 November 1918, the liaison detach- ment under command of Major Stowell rejoined this regiment, and Maior Stowell assumed command of the 1st Battalion. The afternoon and night of November 3rd were spent in this position. The kitchens wer^ brought up and the men »;ven hot food. On the afternoon of November 4th this regiment moved to the Belval Bois des Dames area where it wr. held in support of the 5th Regiment, which was then hold- ing the right subsector of the divisional front. The regiment remained n this area until after the 7th of November. While in this area the constant exposure to the cold and rain caused much sickness among the troops and resulted in such a great number of evacuations that the effective fighting strength of the regiment was reduced to approximately one thousand men The fact that the advance was to be pushed in a vigorous manner had necessitated orders that the men leave their packs behind. During the advance, however, most of the troops had salvaged some blankets and extra clothing, but the several days of rain had made it practically impossible for them to spend a moments time in comfortable rest or sleep since the attack started on the morning of November 1st. On the afternoon of November 7th the regiment marched to Bois de Sommauthe and Regimental Head- quarters were established in Sommauthe on November 8th. Upon arrival at Sommauthe the Regimental Commander held a conference with the battalion commander and explained to them the plan for the proposed crossing of the Meuse river, on the night November 8th-9th. In accordance with orders from the 4th Brigade Headquarters, November 8th, this crossing was postponed until the night of November 9th-IOth, and the battalions were marched to the woods southwest of Thibaudine Farm where they bivouaced for the night. On the after- noon of November 9th, in compliance with telephonic instructions from Headquarters 4th Brigade, the battalions were marched to Bois du Fond de Limon, where they were held vo readiness to make the crossing at