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.

46 HISTORY OF THE 151ST FIELD ARTILLERY

days when the fires were built in the kitchens in positions among the
trees, the K. P.'s found that the German shells had already split
their wood and they were saved the labor of cutting fuel!
Ammunition came up every night, the drivers guiding their
teams along roads which were often objectives of German fire.
When these trains of caissons arrived at the battery positions, the
men were called out of their dugouts in the dark, and the work of
carrying shells to the gun positions began. Occasionally the work
would be interrupted by enemy shell fire. The men at the guns
did not envy the drivers their journeys on the roads during these
nights in Lorraine. Telephonic communication between the batteries and battalion posts of command was maintained with great
difficulty and telephone details were busy at all times of the day
and night, repairing lines broken by shell fire.
When the division had been in line for a month, preparations
were made for its relief. The period of front-line training had come
to an end. On the nights of March 21 and 22 the guns of the 151st
Field Artillery were withdrawn, and at daylight on March 23 the
last units passed through Merviller on the road to Baccarat. The
withdrawal took place in two stages, two guns being taken from
each position on the night of March 21 and replaced by two of the
French. The remaining guns were withdrawn the following night.
The month which the regiment had spent in line had been the most
strenuous in its history. Hard work and fighting in cold weather,
rain, snow, and mud had told on men and horses and both were
very weary. Moreover, five guns had been destroyed. But in
spite of their weariness the esprit of the men was good.
The word spread rapidly that the division was going into a rest
camp, and, although this rumor brought visions of inspections and
drills, most of the men were cheered by the prospect of three meals
a day and a quiet and comfortable place in which to sleep. The
regiment marched toward the rear and halted in two little French
towns about eight kilometers south of Baccarat, the 1st Battalion
in Ste. Barbe, the 2nd in Menil. Billets for the men were found in
haymows and lofts. Picket lines were stretched, equipment was
cleaned, and the men who were not on guard turned in for their first
real night's sleep since the regiment had left Coetquidan more than