the gallant fighting of the 27th Division, against great odds, it would have been impossible for the 30th Division to advance.

I am convinced that the officers and men of the 27th Division have done all that was humanly possible for brave men to do, and their gallantry in this action must stand out through all time in American history.

(Signed) H. MURRAY,

Lieutenant-Colonel V.C.D.S.O. Bar., D.C.M. Commanding 4th Australian Machine-gun Battalion.

HEADQUARTERS, 27TH DIVISION, U. S. A.
AMERICAN E. F., FRANCE

Bulletin No. 103.

October 21, 1918.

Since the 25th of September-a period of nearly a monththe Division has been engaged almost continuously in fighting and marching. Some of this fighting involved a leading rôle in one of the fiercest battles of the war-the breaking of the great Hindenburg defense line. We have suffered the loss of some of our best officers and men, but unfortunately such losses are incidental to battles of such magnitude. Only divisions highly trained and disciplined, possessing the greatest confidence and morale and at the very top notch of their strength could have accomplished what the Division and our comrades of the 30th Division accomplished in that great battle. Only such divisions could have met the sacrifices demanded, and with morale unimpaired have renewed the advance in the manner characteristic of the operations of the past two weeks.

This is not the occasion to describe the Hindenburg defenses or the details of the battle for breaking them. That will doubtless be done after the war. The same comment applies to the details of the operations since that engagement. Nevertheless, the Division Commander cannot withhold this expression of his admiration and respect for the valor and discipline as well as the endurance and spirit manifested by officers and men throughout this long period of fighting. These sentiments are stimulated by the events of the past week. When reduced in num

bers, the Division attacked the enemy, took the town of St. Souplet, forced the crossing of the Le Selle River, and against strong opposition successfully assaulted the heights on the other side. Since that date the Division has attacked daily, taking by force the town of Arbre Guernon and a number of strongly fortified farms and forcing a withdrawal of the enemy to the Canal de la Sambre.

In this latter advance the Division captured more than 1,400 German officers and enlisted men, and a vast amount of military property, including field guns, a great number of machine guns, both light and heavy, anti-tank guns, trench mortars, dumps of ammunition and railroad rolling stock. In all this fighting the character of the enemy's resistance and the extent of his losses are indicated by the large number of enemy dead on the field.

The efforts of the past month constitute a record to be proud of, and their value is indicated in the commendatory letter from the Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Forces which has been published for the information of the Division. Officers and men have justified estimates made of the Division when after its arrival in France it was selected to hold the Mont Kemmel sector against the expected great effort of the enemy to drive through to the sea. They have justified the opinions of their fighting qualities formed when this crisis, with the evacuation of Mont Kemmel had passed, and the Division promptly attacked and took Vierstraat Ridge, being, with the 30th Division on our left, the first American troops to fight on Belgian territory.

JOHN F. O'RYAN, Major General.

The 54th Pioneer Infantry, Coblenz-Neuendorf, Germany.
Top: Some 71st-54th Non-coms.

Centre: Burial of Corporal Eddie O'Shea (71).

Bottom: Regimental Review. Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Background.

THE 54TH PIONEER INFANTRY

This regiment was organized at Camp Wadsworth, S. C., in January, 1918, by redesignating the skeleton of the old 71st N. Y. Infantry. In it were about nineteen officers and 183 enlisted men of the old 71st, but later, through transfers, but six of the original 71st officers were left in the Pioneer regiment. Many of the 71st enlisted men who were transferred became noncommissioned staff officers and non-commissioned officers in the new organization.

The duties of a Pioneer regiment at the time of the organization of the 54th were practically unknown and never during the war were they definitely fixed. Pioneer regiments in France were called upon to do whatever had to be done at the moment and for which no other troops were available. The organization of the 54th was the same as an infantry regiment with the exception that there was no machine gun company, the headquarters company consisted of only 184 men and the liaison and signal detachments were omitted.

During the spring of 1918 the work of the 54th was theoretical for the officers and some practical drill. In August the regiment was filled with drafted men, about 83 per cent. of whom were from Minnesota and the balance from Pennsylvania and North and South Carolina. This draft, with what was left of the 71st, completed the regiment's quota of 3,549 enlisted men. On August 20th the regiment left Camp Wadsworth, destination unknown. It reached Camp Stuart on August 21st.

On August 29th the regiment embarked for overseas, arriving at Brest September 12th. The following itinerary of the 54th shows its moves from the date of its organization to the date of its demobilization. During its entire existence it was commanded by Colonel William G. Bates. Other 71st regiment officers who served with the 54th were Major A. E. Wells, Captain Harvard A. Kehlbeck, Chaplain William T. Crocker, Captains E.