History of the 151st field artillery, Rainbow Division, by Louis L. Collins, lieutenant governor of Minnesota. Edited by Wayne E. Stevens, PH. D. Pub. by the Minnesota War records commission.

144 HISTORY OF THE 151ST FIELD ARTILLERY

very dense forest and occupying a commanding position which
was destined to give the American army much trouble.1l A glance
at a map of this region reveals that the first four of the points
just mentioned, namely, Sommerance, the Bois de Romagne, St.
Georges, and Landres-et-St. Georges, occupy the corners of a
rough quadrilateral. Sommerance and a part of the Bois de Romagne were in the hands of the Americans; the other two, lying
at the northern corners of the rectangle, were still in the possession of the Germans. This quadrilateral was destined to be the
scene of terrific fighting.
The attack which marked the opening of the second phase
of the Meuse-Argonne battle had met with some success, but as
the struggle continued the progress of the American army had
gradually slowed down, its driving power absorbed by the defenses of the Kriemhilde Stellung. The general staff, therefore,
prepared plans for a new assault to be delivered along the whole
front on October 14. Fresh divisions, including the 42nd, were
placed in the line, and the American forces along the front were
so reorganized as to afford the maximum degree of striking power.
The urgency of the situation is revealed in an order issued by
General Pershing to the entire First Army on the eve of the attack, in which he declared that the army must be more aggressive. Attention was called to the extensive use of machine guns
by the enemy and it was directed that the American artillery be
pushed forward to the very front lines, if necessary, to destroy the
nests which sheltered these formidable weapons of defense against
infantry attack. The higher officers were also urged to show themselves in the advance in order to serve as examples to the men
under them.
During the night of the twelfth and all day on the thirteenth,
feverish preparations for attacking the German strongholds went
forward. The gun positions of the 151st Field Artillery were
organized and large quantities of ammunition were carried forward in the face of many difficulties. All day long the enemy
"For a good description of the C6te de Chatillon and the German defenses
located there, see the Appendix to Summary of Intelligence No. 22, October 12,
1918, on page 287.