THE YPRES TIMES
175
THE American divisions that moved into and away from the Salient in 1918 no
doubt do fill a small place in the recollection of writers for The Ypres
Times. Members of these divisions appreciate thisstill, certain facts
remain.
Some of these divisions, among them the 27th and 30th, that served in British
armies until the Armistice, were organized of volunteers. They arrived at the
front as soon as permitted by development of national policies, impatient of past
delays and bringing the same eager enthusiasm of your own First Hundred
Thousand.
To the 27th Division as well as others the Salient was an abrupt introduction
to warstyle of 1918. We had moved from Brest by train into the British sector,
exchanged our rifles for yours, our cooks puzzled over and finally learned to use
Photo] [Imperial War MuseumCrown copyright
GRANDE PLACE, POPERINGHE.
your ration, the men to march the metalled roads in your issue boot. The days
were given to your instructors that our tactics and organization might be altered
to suit, the nights spent along village streets, in bell tents and in estaminets,
absorbing your stories. By day and night we studied multiple wound-stripes with
incredulous eyes, envious of such soldier badges-of-courage.
Many divisions of 24,000 to 30,000 men each, mostly young men with
open, impressionable minds, had this strange schooling. Strange because of the
sharp impressions of war-time, most vividly sharp there behind the guns; listening
to our own language in a country speaking another tongue; meeting other soldiers
so far from home with our own viewpoints and ideals.
Our retraining and refitting over, we moved from the Abbeville area into that
of St. Omer, then up to Poperinghe.
