12 October thru 11 November 1918
(LEFT)Lt. James W. Porch (center, front row) leads reconn party returning from the front on road between Mautillors and Montfaucon.
61st Infantry, Ninth Brigade, Fifth Division. Near Montfaucon,
Meuse, France. October 22, 1918.
(RIGHT) Troops cross a hastily constructed bridge near the
Meuse River.
During the night of 5 October the 61st Regiment with other elements of
the 5th Division marched to Foret-de-Hesse to receive new replacements and
to continue training.
On the 12th of October the division assumed command of the Bois-de-
Rappes Sector. Heavy patrolling and sniper attacks were the order of the day
for the 61st Regiment. The Germans retaliated with some of the
heaviest artillery fire yet seen by the troops of the 61st.
On the 14th of October the division went on the attack. In the lead
element, the 61st engaged in frequent hand to hand fighting and took heavy
casualties. By the evening of 17 October the division objectives were
secured and the town of Boise-de-la-Puliter was
taken.
The division was pulled out of the front lines for replacements and
rest. On the 26th of October it moved back into the front near Brieulles and
immediately went into the attack. By the 2nd of November lead elements of
the 61st Regiment closed on the Meuse River. That night the leading units of
the DIV were able to cross the Meuse only to find their advanced
blocked by the Meuse Canal. After this bloody
crossing attack the MEUSE Valley was taken and the advance continued. The
division headquarters moved to Murvaux on the 9th of November. With
Engineer bridges constructed over the Loison River, the division was
preparing to continue the attack when the war ended on the 11th of November.
It was during this month long attack that the Germans gave the division its
name that would remain with it today; "Die Rote Teufel" "The Red Devils".
Troopers under fire, tank hits mine
For the 61st the war was over and it had seen much of France but it was not yet time to go home.
While other units were awarded with parades and celebrations there was still work to do in Europe.
FLANDERS FIELDS In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from falling hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. John Macrae (1872-1918)