The 302nd
ENGINEERS
by,
Gilbert H. Crawford
Thomas H. Ellett
John J. Hyland
CHAPTER V.
BACCARAT.

THE Baccarat Sector took its name
from the city of Baccarat on the Meurthe River near
Luneville. Baccarat was a pleasing little city several
miles back of the front lines, rarely, in 1918, disturbed
by the sounds of war. In 1914, the city had been overrun
by the Boches who, however, occupied it only a few days.
It was soon recovered by the French with only about
one-third of its best houses gutted by fire and shell.
Baccarat is noted for its fine glassware and "Point
de Luneville" lace.
The front line in this sector was only a few miles from
the Alsatian border and had been stabilized for nearly
four years. The villages near the front, such as
Badonviller, Montigny, Herbeviller, etc., were quite
ruined by the long- continued artillery fire. Other
villages, farther to the rear, such as Pexonne,
Neuf-Maison, Reherrey and Merviller, were badly damaged,
but still habitable. In this sector most of the front
trenches were in woods or forests. By the summer of 1918,
both the Germans and the French considered the eastern
sectors as "quiet", and aside from occasional
raids to identify the opposing divisions, little fighting
took place. Although at this time the Baccarat Sector was
actually held by an American division, it was under the
control of a French corps, and strict orders had been
given not to engage in aggressive warfare.
The line at this point had for so long been immobile that
the front trenches had all been constructed. with great
care, some even in solid stone, and were well protected
by heavy barricades of wire. The second or support
position had likewise been completed. The third or
reserve position had been planned by the French, and its
construction had just been begun by the 117th Engineers,
U. S. A., when these troops were relieved by the 302nd
Engineers.
The first important work, therefore, to be undertaken by
the Regiment was to construct dugouts for this third
position. Each company, except Co. F and H. Q. Co. was
assigned to this work. The H. Q. Co. and Co. F were
stationed at Baccarat, and acted as general utility
troops, attending to the many important duties connected
with the work of division headquarters, such as
map-making, carpentry, gas proofing dugouts, etc.
For the dugout work, the lettered companies and platoons
were spread out in a line a few kilometers behind the
front. The digging was hard, mostly in rock, but as the
men had done similar work at Camp Upton, the progress was
rapid. One or two concrete "cut and cover"
dugouts were also constructed. All this work had to be
done under camouflage, so as not to disclose the
locations to the enemy airplane observers. It was of
paramount importance that the camouflage should be
complete before the work of digging was started. As
matter of fact, from subsequent examination of our own
airplane photographs of this area, it is doubtful whether
any marked success resulted from our efforts to deceive
the enemy, in this regard.
These dugouts were later to be connected by continuous
trenches, which previously had been wired. The usual
order of work for such a reserve position was (1) wire;
(2) dugouts; (3) trenches. For a front line position, dug
in the face of the enemy, the order of work is the
reverse of this; i. e., (1) trenches; (2) wire; (3)
dugouts.
In addition to the work on the reserve position, many
other tasks were assigned to our men. For instance, Co.
"E" pushed to completion a splendid concrete
observation post at Pierre A Cheval; Co. "F"
had charge of a saw-mill which supplied lumber for the
dugouts, and this company also laid six kilometers of
light railroad.
Almost as soon as the Regiment arrived in the Baccarat
Sector, a number of officers and non-commissioner
officers were detached and sent back to the United States
to officer and help train the new regiments which were
being formed. This was the beginning of a series of
transfers which considerably reduced the number of
officers with the Regiment, although its aim was to
increase the efficiency of the service as a whole.
Other non-commissioned officers were also detached and
sent to the Army Engineer School at Langres. These men
were later commissioned and rejoined the Regiment at the
beginning of the Argonne drive, where their services were
invaluable.
The number of the men of the Regiment who have risen from
the ranks to the responsibility of command, as occasion
called them forward, was remarkable. The supply of
leaders always seemed unlimited. No sooner did a need
arise in any rank than the right man was found at once to
meet the emergency.
It should be recalled at this time that in the Fall of
1917 men of the 302nd Engineers were sent from Camp Upton
to the engineers officers training camp at Camp Lee,
Virginia. These men were all commissioned at the end of
their term of training, but, unfortunately for the
Regiment, it was possible to secure the return of only
three of these new officers, viz., Lieuts. J. J. Hyland,
E. R. Finlayson, and J. M. Cunningham. Other men had been
sent to the infantry officers training camp at Camp
Upton. These men, however, were not commissioned until
June, 1918, and they were all ordered detached from the
Regiment. It was only through the determined efforts of
Colonel Sherrill that the following were allowed to
return to the Regiment: Lieuts. D. Romeo, J. A. Walsh, J.
F. Brown, and H. R. Eitsen.
In July, Co. "C" was moved back to Deneuvre, La
Chapelle, and Glonville to work on a so-called
"barrage position" south of the Meurthe River.
This position was to be a last defense in case of a
forced retirement. For it must be remembered that while
the French never doubted ultimate victory, they very
wisely prepared "defenses in depth". As a part
of this policy, during the occupation of the Baccarat
Sector by American forces, the Regiment was ordered to
prepare demolitions for all bridges and culverts in that
area.
While in the Baccarat Sector, the Regiment had its first
casualty due to enemy fire. Private W. J. Susat, Co.
"E", was hit by a bomb splinter while he was at
Camp Ker Avor. At about the same time Lieut. T. H.
Ellett, Co. "D", had a very narrow escape. A
mustard-gas shell exploded in the room where he was
sleeping. By the greatest good fortune, Lieutenant Ellett
was wearing his gas mask at the time; otherwise, he would
most certainly have been killed.

It was also at this time that
Sergeant Barney S. Shephard, Co. "A", won a
citation for bravery-the first received by any member of
the Regiment. While engaged on some trench work, Sergeant
Shephard went, under heavy shellfire, to the aid of a
wounded infantryman and carried him to safety. Sergeant
Shephard was later commissioned in the infantry, where he
also distinguished himself for bravery, winning the
French Croix de Guerre as well as the American
Distinguished Service Cross.
The Engineer Train, while stationed at Baccarat during
this same period, also did good work transporting
engineer material forward under considerable
difficulties.
Toward the end of July, 1918, rumors to the effect that
the 77th Division was to be relieved by the 37th Division
(Ohio National Guard) became more and more persistent.
Finally, officers from the 112th Engineers arrived to
arrange for the relief of the 302nd Engineers, and during
the nights of 1st of August to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd, the
Regiment marched away from the Baccarat Sector,
presumably for a rest period, but actually to begin the
most strenuous work to which up to this time it had been
assigned.
During its stay of approximately two months in the
Baccarat Sector, the training of the Regiment for active
operations had continued without pause, so that by the
1st of August it was considered as ready for any duties
in the field. Indeed, the whole 77th Division was
fortunate in having been able so gradually to approach
real war, and to have received such thorough training
before assignment to an active fighting front.
Marching only at night west from Baccarat, the Regiment
passed through Domptail, Mattexey, and took temporary
stations as follows:
Regimental H. Q. and H. Q. Co ------------- Roville (near
Bayon) First Battalion and Engineer Train ---- Moriviller
Second Battalion ------Borville

During such changes of station, the
transport marched separately. Lieut. H. C. Cresson
commanded the 1st Battalion Transport, and Lieut. J. C.
Wallace that of the 2nd Battalion, while Lieut. J. A.
Ryan commanded the Engineer Train. Many were the
experiences in bringing forward the wagons. What, with
uncertain food and forage, poor roads, and weak animals,
each such march was a trial, and the greatest credit
should be given to the officers and men who always
reappeared at the right moment with the impedimenta.
These night marches were among the most pleasant of any
taken by the Regiment. The weather was fair and mild. The
front was far enough away so that the band could play.
Spirits were high, not only because of the expected rest,
but also because of the news of Allied success that daily
came from other fronts.