Back to the front - Death Valley

Solomon Wraight, my Great Uncle, was serving as a private with the Machine Gun Company of the 315th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army. After taking part in the Meuse-Argonne offensive he had been deployed in the defensive Troyon sector.

Solomon Wraight 315th Infantry USA

Solomon had emigrated to America in August 1915 and made a new home in Philadelphia, working as a carpenter and after joining the army in 1917 he had been in France since August 1918.

On the 28th October 1918 Solomon’s regiment received orders to move back up to the front in the Grand Montagne sector.

The Official History of the 315th Infantry United States Army describes the conditions for the troops.

The evening of the 28th we again started out and hiked to the Forges Woods. About 5pm October 29th we set out on a heart-breaking march, which lasted until after day break on the 30th, at which time we arrived in the Grande Montagne Sector, recently captured from the Boche.

In that sector, we relieved the 29th Division on the site known as Death Valley, and we were to see the name justified very shortly. The carts were unloaded and sent back to Brabant. The first Platoon was on the right of our sector, the Second Platoon in the center, and the Third on the left. 

We remained there until the 8th, simply holding on, while the enemy let us have everything he had in the way of shells and bullets. The great difficulty was in getting up rations, as everything had to be brought across Death Valley, and the Germans bombarded this place continuously and mercilessly. All this time it rained incessantly, and the mud was terrible.

A moments peace - in reserve at Troyon

On the 8th October 1918, Private Solomon Wraight (my Great Uncle), was serving in the Machine Gun Company of the 315th Infantry United States Army. After taking part in the Meuse – Argonne offensive the 315th Infantry were being held in reserve,

Solomon Wraight

The Official History of the 315th Infantry describes the aftermath of the battle for the 315th.

They hiked to Lahaymeix arriving around 3pm on the 5th Oct where they had 5 days much needed rest, as the entire company was exhausted and showed the effects of the strain under which it had been.

On the 10th, we set out again and marched to Woimbey, where we were held in reserve in the Troyon sector. There we were very well fixed, as the billets were good, and the rations were the best we had had in France.

One wonders if Solomon had the chance to reflect on the letter he sent to his father back in January, a couple of months after joining up.

315th Infantry
79th Division
Camp Meade, Maryland, USA
Jan 30th 1918

My Dear Father
I have received your most welcome letter. I was glad to hear that you are still going along fine though I guess it must go pretty hard with you all sometimes, I am mighty anxious when I read of an air raid on old “Lunnon” I can tell you I am still going along the same pottering around with hammer & saw around barracks etc. and have to do a little drill.

It’s very dull down here in camp at times, we are stuck out in the wilds, 22 miles from Baltimore & 20 miles from Washington. I get leave about once a month to go to old Philadelphia, as I look on “Philly” as my “American home”.

I don’t whether I am going to be sent over or not, as they are very particular where they put mechanics. They take shipworkers out of the army and put them in shipyards I re-registered as a ship joiner, you have to put down ship joiner as the word joiner is not used like it is in England I have made good in the Regiment 

I get all the little fancy jobs to do. The joiners over in the old country would be getting good money now if it was peace time. Sometimes I get mad to think of the money I am losing while I am in the army. 20s/- a day was my average now its $1.20 a day for 24 hours at 5cts an hour, I don’t have no trouble keeping count on it. You still ride the old bike, my motorbike is still up in “Philly” believe me I miss it “some” that’s some price you give for shoes eh, we can get a good pair from $2.50 to $6.00 on average just they don’t beat the old country shoes.

We have some who can only speak a few words of English. It is funny to watch them drill in the ranks, they watch the man in front of them follow the leader style. Have you got any of the old joiners working for you. I don’t have to pay any dues into the union now still part of the army.

I sent a little present to mother. I hope that it has arrived safe. I am sending you a few photos with the films of the base camp so that you can make a few copies off. 

I close now with best luck and wishes to you all. Hoping that this nightmare of a war will come to a decision soon. As we are feeling the effects over here pretty bad too.

From your loving son

Charlie Wraight
Company C 315 Infantry USA

(Some words / sentences are missing due to copy and or are ineligible)

Letter Home

Solomon Wraight

Solomon Charles Wraight was born on the 22nd May 1895 in Lambeth, Surrey. He was the eldest son of Solomon (Solly) and Alice Wraight (Nee Uden) and had three sisters Alice (born 1897), Elsie (born 1903) and Ivy (born 10 Oct 1904) and three brothers William (AKA Bill born 1899), Arthur (Born 1907) and Frederick (Fred Born 1911).

Solomon and William were at school together in 1908 at the Gideon Road School, Wandsworth and by 1911 the family were living at 14 Eland Road, Lavender Hill, Battersea. Solomon Charles aged 15 was an apprentice Joiner. His father Solly being a Builders Joiner (Shop Foreman). Alice, William, Elsie and Ivy were all attending school. His younger sister Alice died in 1911 aged 14.

Solomon Charles Wraight, never used his first name and was most often called Toby. Just to confuse matters he signs the letter Charlie (his middle name).

It was probably unbelievable to him that eight months after writing the letter to his parents he would have participated in America’s largest battle of the First World War. Meanwhile back in his new home of Philadelphia the situation was equally as dire with the Spanish Flu epidemic sweeping the city

The mortality report for the first week of October showed 706 people died from the Spanish Influenza. The total of all deaths in Philadelphia for the corresponding week in 1918 was 1,191, which broke all previous records. Whilst Solomon was hiking to reserve positions in Troyon, 254 deaths from the grip and pneumonia have been reported in the last 24 hours. Physicians have reported 1,480 new cases of the flu in that same 24 hour period. It is estimated that there are currently 50,000 people in the city sick with the disease. For the 315th - "Philadelphia's Own" the news from back home would make grim reading.

References
The Official History of the 315th Regiment USA
Philadelphia WW1 years

Meuse-Argonne : America's great offensive

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was a major part of the final Allied offensive of the First World War. It was fought from September 26, 1918 until the Armistice on November 11th, a total of 47 days.

On the 26th August 1918, 100 years ago, Private Solomon Wraight (my Great Uncle) was serving overseas in the machine gun company of the 315th infantry regiment of the United States Army.

Private Solomon Wraight 315th Battalion

Solomon had been born in Lambeth, Surrey on the 22nd May 1895, the eldest child of Solomon and Alice Wraight (nee Uden). The family, originally from Kent moved to Wandsworth, Surrey in 1894/95 and by 1911 the Wraight family were living in Battersea, Middlesex with both Solomon and his father working as carpenters / joiners.

In August 1915, Solomon emigrated to the USA, and found employment as a carpenter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, eventually becoming a naturalised American citizen in May 1917 and enlisting in the United States Army in October 1917.

The Official History of the 315th Battalion tells the story

On the 23rd, orders were received that the attack would be made on September 26th and that 79th Division would form part of the attacking line as a shock division. The 313 & 314th Infantries, were to initiate the attack. The 315th and 316th were to act as a support. The 315th following the 314th at a distance of 1,000 meters, advancing with two battalions in line and one in support.

The bombardment

At eleven o’ clock on the night of September 25th a deep boom far behind heralded the beginning of the six Hour allied barrage. It was the most terrific bombardment ever delivered upon a front of similar extent. None, whose privilege it was to witness it, will ever forget the indescribable grandeur of the artillery barrage which preceded the great Meuse-Argonne offensive.

Over the top

At 5.30am on the morning of September 26th, the first waves of infantry swept forward, and the American Army, with nine divisions on a 25 Mile front, began the mighty offensive which ended only with the Armistice.

On the right of the camp Meade division was the 4th regular army division and on the left the 37th national guard division

The 315th infantry started its advance across no mans land when the last elements of the 314th had passed a thousand meters beyond the jumping off point. The 315th machine gun company supported the first battalion. Scarcely had the leading units of the regiment cleared their own wire. When they plunged into a dense smoke barrage which had been laid prior to the advance of the front line.

About 8 o’ clock, the put-put-put of the German machine guns could be heard in the mist ahead.
The objective of Malancourt was quickly mopped up despite the continuous fire of snipers and from the German trenches. By six o’clock that evening the first wave of the 315th Infantry had crawled up the hill slopes into the Hindenberg trench. During the day, the regiment had lost 3 officers and 9 men killed and 31 men wounded. A total of 61 German prisoners had been captured.

The advance was practically uninterrupted for the first day, the machine gun company stopped for the night just west of Malancourt having advanced about 5 kilos.

The advance continued on the 27th. In the afternoon word came that the Germans were counter attacking and the guns were mounted and everything put in readiness, but the Boche never came. It was here that we suffered our first casualties. Lt. Wallace was seriously wounded in both legs, being hit by shell fragments. The advance was continued until darkness and heavy shellfire rendered further progress impossible. We then dug in about a kilometre beyond Mountfaucon, where we spent a terrible night, under punishing fire of gas, shrapnel and high explosives.

The next day we again advanced, this time with the first battalion acting as an assaulting unit and assisted in the capture of Nantillois. We continued on to the Madeline Farm, where we were met by a terrific concentration of artillery fire, which no living thing could go through and were forced to retire a short distance to hill 274, where the infantry reorganised and pushed forward again under the support of our overhead fire, a fire as intense as we could make it. We dug in and spent the night of the 28th on hill 274 and on the 29th, with intense artillery fire still coming over, we reorganised and took up outpost positions along the road beyond Nantillois. It was here that Capt. Duncan was killed and Lt, Delany mortally wounded by a high explosive shell.

The morning of the 30th brought the news that we were to be relived by the 3rd Division. That afternoon we withdrew. We hiked until dark, spending the night in the open. On the morning of October 1st, we marched back to sector 304, where we occupied the old trenches for two days, during which time we got a few hot meals and removed our week-old beards.

315th Battalion Machine Gunners in action during Meuse - Argonne

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest in United States military history, involving 1.2 million American soldiers. The battle cost 28,000 German lives, 26,277 American lives and an unknown number of French lives.

It was the largest and bloodiest operation of World War I for the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), which was commanded by General John Pershing.

U.S. losses were exacerbated by the inexperience of many of the troops and the tactics used during the early phases of the operation. Meuse-Argonne was the principal engagement of the AEF during World War I. For Solomon Wraight, who only swore the Oath of Allegiance just over a year before, it would have been a baptism of fire.

References

The Official History of the 315th Infantry USA.